ARCADE SESSION: REBOOTED

[1011686]

Take the egg back to the base first, maybe pop in to inform the kobolds about the creature on the way. Echo, can you see anything of interest to the south of you, or is it just more caves?

[victorianflorist]

Egg first

[knux400]

Echo picks up the GIANT EGG. It's surprisingly light- more awkward to hold than anything else. Needless to say, there's no way Echo can fly or do anything with her hands while she's carrying it. Topaz still sitting calmly on her shoulder, she stops by the KOBOLD VILLAGE, setting the egg down near the entrance. She gently knocks on the door.

...Hello?
 

After a moment, Orkahm arrives.

Oh! Hello, Echo.
Hi! I just wanted to tell you I found the thing that's been taking everyone's stuff, and I don't think it'll bother us anymore.
Oh, that's great! Did it have a bunch of gemstones with it, by any chance?

You put your face in one hand. You completely forgot in the heat of the moment- the gems belonged to the kobolds.

It did! There was a big pile of them. Trinket wanted me to bring this back to my base first, though.
Bring what b- is that a giant egg?
A GIANT EGG LET ME SEE

Taipu appears in the doorway, nearly shoving Orkahm aside.

Ohhhhhh that's so cool! Where did you get that?
Oh, uh, the creature had it.
*gasp* No wayyy! Is there, like, a baby creature in there?
Umm... I don't know?
Taipu, look at the size of that thing. There's no way it could've come out of the creature. It probably belonged to someone else.
Oh yeah.
So, anyway... The creature's still incapacitated if you guys want to go see it. It should stay that way for the next few minutes, plus it has a net over it.
How far away would you say its den is?
Not far. Just take a left from here, go straight for a bit, and then it's the first thing on your left.
Great. I'll probably be heading out, then. Thank you, Echo.
Oh, uh, no problem! I've just got to haul this thing back to my base, so-
...Can I come?

A small voice pipes up from the back of the room. You've only heard it once before, but you recognize it as Tamaru, the kobold who was hiding in his room when you first visited.

Uhh... Orkahm?
...How far is it?
Not much further than the creature's den is. It's in the other direction, though.
Is it safe?
I haven't had anything attack me other than the creature from earlier. And like I said, that won't be a problem for a while.
What do you want to do there, Tamaru?
...I just want to see. A place made by a being who can make anything might have some interesting things in it, right?

Orkahm sighs heavily.

...As long as it's okay with Echo and Trinket, you can go. Taipu, I'm guessing you want to join them as well?
No! I want to see the creature's den! And you'll probably need help hauling all those gems back, too.
I can't let you do that, Taipu. That thing might attack us again.
But Echo said it was safe!
 

The two of them continue their discussion as you think to yourself. Should you bring Tamaru along?

[1011686]

Yes.
I am now wondering if the egg might belong to that other TCP we met or their player/god. Not really sure what to do about that though.

[cosmo]

if they do come along we’ll need to tell echo to go on ahead once they near the base to tell the iron golem that tamaru is a friend!

[knux400]

You tell Echo it's okay for Tamaru to come along, and she relays the information to the kobolds.

...Which is why I just don't think it's safe for you to- hm?
Tamaru can come. It's okay with me.
Alright. Tamaru, listen to Echo and do what she says. She'll keep you from getting hurt.

Orkahm shoots Echo a stern look. Even through the pixelated display, you can tell that if something happens to Tamaru, you'll have hell to pay.

...I'll do my best!

Tamaru shuffles next to Echo, waiting for her lead. He still looks a little nervous, but he seems excited. As the two of them depart, you can still hear the conversation between Orkahm and Taipu.

But Tamaru got to go somewhere and you're not even going to be with him! And he's a lot less tough than me and we don't even know Echo that well and-
Alright, alright. But you stay with me at all times.
Yayyy!! Let me go grab my backpack!

You can just barely hear Orkahm sigh heavily before you get too far. It seems like your hearing extends about a room and a half from your current screen, depending on whatever obstacles are in the way.
 

Tamaru walks quietly beside Echo, taking everything in. After a while, he decides to talk to Echo.

So the canary on your shoulder is...
Topaz. One of my friends. He's the one that got taken by the mean thing from before.
Oh! Is he nice?
He should be. Just try not to scare him.

The two of them stop walking for a moment as Tamaru slowly extends a finger towards Topaz. Topaz seems apprehensive at first, but sensing Echo's calmness, decides to give Tamaru an investigative peck. Tamaru chuckles quietly- more of a forceful exhale than anything else, really, but you're pretty sure he was laughing given the smile on his face.
 

After some more walking, the two of them reach the tracks. Tamaru seems mystified by the train tracks, and asks politely if he can stop and take a closer look at them. Echo hesitates, awaiting your decision.

[1011686]

Compromise, keep moving, but at a slower pace, so he can inspect it on the way.
Also, I want to ask, does Tamaru notice anything unusual about his hearing?

[Dzib 9001]

slow down so they can take a look and answer any questions they have about the tracks. might as well be nice to your neighbors right?

[knux400]

I don't think it would be a good idea to stop, but we can slow down a bit so you can look.
Okay!
There's also a set of tracks running right through the middle of the base, you can take a closer look at those once we get there.

By the way, Trinket wants to know if you're noticing anything different with your hearing?
...I hear more things, I think? I'm not sure, it might just be my imagination.

The two of them continue walking in silence, Tamaru fixated on the train tracks. He occasionally leans his head to one side, examining the tracks from every angle, but is very careful not to touch them or get too close.

...What are these?
They're train tracks.
Train... Tracks?
Yup! They're a set of rails that trains can drive on.
Um... What's a train?
It's a sort of thing that you sit in and it goes forward by itself. It's really good for carrying things or moving quickly.
It moves by itself?
Well...
 

The two of them continue like this all the way back to the base. You decide to tune it out for now, but you could always look at what they said later in the

Show Content

chat log...What are these?
They're train tracks.
Train... Tracks?
Yup! They're a set of rails that trains can drive on.
Um... What's a train?
It's a sort of thing that you sit in and it goes forward by itself. It's really good for carrying things or moving quickly.
It moves by itself?
Well, not by itself. There's an engine inside it that you control by-
What's an engine?
...It's a thing that you put coal in and it makes things go.
...How?
It burns up the coal, and then it uses the heat to push the train forwards.
So it eats it?
It what?
It eats it! Because it makes the food go away and then it uses it to do things!
...Oh! Yeah, I suppose that's one way to think about it.
So you control the train by putting coal in the engine and then you can make it go?
Yup!
...Why does it leave these behind?
It doesn't! These are what it uses to control where it goes.
But I thought tracks were a thing you left behind? Like footprints.
Sometimes, but not for trains. Train tracks are a way of guiding the train so it goes the way you want it to.
So without a track...?
The train would just keep going all crazy until it bumped into a wall.
Huh... It must be pretty big if it fits on these.
It's pretty big alright! Big enough for me to ride in, along with any supplies I might need to take with me.
And Trinket made all this?
Yup!
...How?
Uhhhh... I don't know! She just sort of makes things appear. But she can only do it when I'm at my base.
Which we're heading to now.
Yup! We're almost there, actually.
...What else can Trinket make?
Anything she wants, I think? I'm not sure.
Can I talk to her?
Mmmaybe? I'll ask.
Okay!

 

Just outside the base, you run into another familiar face. Clemont looks excited to see Echo at first, but quickly regains his composure.

Oh! Um... Hello again!

[1011686]

Introduce Clemont and Tamaru

[victorianflorist]

Say hi real quick and then move on, gotta get that egg back to base.

[Dzib 9001]

say hello and ask what there doing back here. we're kinda busy but maybe we can multitask.

[knux400]

Echo briefly turns to Clemont before continuing towards the base.

Oh, hey Clemont. I can't talk for too long, I've been carrying this thing for a while and it's starting to get heavy. Let me drop it off at my base real quick. This is Tamaru, by the way.
...Hi.
Oh, I know Tamaru, he's the shy one from the village.

Clemont tilts his head, giving Echo a skeptical look.

Uh... Is that egg yours?
Well...

...Is it? You don't actually know where it's from, but you did beat up a knocker for it. Tamaru looked as if he was about to say something before Clemont spoke, but he's staying quiet now.

[cosmo]

maybe something like “we found it somewhere it definitely didn’t belong so we decided to take it back with us. if you know who’s it is we’d be happy to return it though!”

[1011686]

Yeah say that. Tell Clemont they can have it if they want.

[Dzib 9001]

"it's not ours but until we know for sure whose it is, we're keeping an eye on it. if you know, can you help us find them?"
insist that if they know who the egg belongs to, that they take us to them. we only meet Clemont twice, and we really don't know if we can trust there player.

[knux400]

I don't know whose it is, we're going to keep an eye on it until we find the owner. If you know who it belongs to, could you take us to them, please?
Well, you're in luck then- that there egg is ours.
Sorry about the test. My player seems to do a lot of checks like that, haha...
Test?
I mean, if you had said the egg was yours, you'd be lying.
And that would mean we can't trust you, not a bit.
...Oh. I guess that makes sense.

Echo passes the egg to Clemont, who eagerly accepts it. He gently sets the egg down next to him for now.
 

You have to be careful out here. Hasn't anyone told you about enemies yet?
...I think I found one already, actually. Enemies are things that try to hurt you, right?
Really? You found a cat ready to throw down already?
What's a cat?
I'm a cat, you're a cat, we're both cats! Tiny cat people, TCPs!
Oh, right! No, I'm pretty sure it was something else.
It was a little growly thing that had a pile of stuff. Your egg was in there.
AH! That!
You scared me for a second there.

The two stare at each other for a few moments before Tamaru pipes up.

...May I see your base now, please?
You go on ahead. Oh- thank you for returning my egg safe and sound!
Oh, no problem! Honestly I'm glad I found you, I don't know what I was going to do with this thing.

Clemont chuckles a bit at that, picks his egg up, and exits to the left. Echo, meanwhile, enters the code to the gate and leads Tamaru through. Tamaru watches, fascinated.
 

As soon as the two of them step inside the base, the golem makes an angry noise before lurching towards Tamaru.

STOP! Don't hurt him. He's a friend.

The golem stops in its tracks. It lets out a heavy metallic sigh before returning to its idle state. Tamaru looks like he's about to jump out of his skin.

Sorry about that. Trinket made it after the knocker attacked our base. It's set to attack anything it doesn't recognize.
...T-trinket made that?
Yup. You can have a look around if you like! Nothing here will hurt you.
Okay.

Tamaru is (understandably) hesitant, but he begins walking around, taking everything in while making sure to maintain a good distance from the golem, which hasn't moved at all since its outburst.

May I go inside?
Sure! I'll introduce you to Opal and Pumice.
 

Echo calls Opal over with a shrill squeak. Opal bounces into the room, nearly knocking Echo over with excitement before noticing Tamaru. She sniffs Tamaru's hand for a few moments before rubbing her head against his hand, purring.

This is Opal! She's something called a generic animal companion.

Tamaru laughs.

What?
You do know what those words actually mean, right?
Which words?
'Generic animal companion'. Generic means it's sort of like a blank slate that could be interpreted as any type of animal. So instead of making you a cat or a dog or something, Trinket made you a generic animal companion.
Well, I still like her! She's friendly.
Oh, I didn't mean to offend! I just thought it was funny. Who's this?

Tamaru points to Pumice, who has just walked in to see what all the excitement was.

That's Pumice, the mole. He's a bit more mellow, but he's still nice.

To illustrate Echo's point, Pumice simply sits in his spot on the couch, eyeing the group. Tamaru frees himself from Opal's embrace and gently pats Pumice on the head. Pumice doesn't respond much, but he seems content.

While the group continues to play and joke around, you can't help but feel a twinge of fear at Clemont's words.

You found a cat ready to throw down already?

There are five players out there, including you and whoever Clemont's player is. Not all of them are going to be friendly, you think. Suddenly the scene before you feels a lot less cozy. Should you let them keep playing for now, or is it time to get serious?

[aeshihowl]

Aw, let the babies rest for a little bit.

>GIVE: blanket pile.
>GIVE: pillow fort.

[TwistBone]

There’s not much we can do right now without knowing anything about the other players, so it’s no good worrying about what they might be like. Let them play.

[Dzib 9001]

let them play for now, but in secret start making some stuff for surveillance.
make a security cameras, long range motion sensor, heat vision goggles. once the playdate is over, teach Echo how to use this stuff.