As Portal Master Dreyfus — revered archmage of thresholds, wayfarer of the hidden skeins, and unrivaled architect of the interdimensional veil — you have finally mastered the arcane and metaphysical intricacies of portalcraft. Having proven yourself time and again before the High Conclave of Planar Artisans, the Grand Order of the Arcanogate has bestowed upon you its greatest and most sacred charge: to open the way to an unclaimed plane of existence, tame its chaos or emptiness, and establish from scratch a flourishing interplanar metropolis — a nexus of civilizations, a jewel of trade and learning, a sanctuary for seekers from a thousand worlds.

But before the first stone is conjured, before the first leyline is tapped, you must choose your canvas: the raw, untouched plane upon which your grand experiment will unfold.

You've located ten vast planes of existence that might be suitable for the task ahead. Choose which one you desire to settle.

>>6234100 (OP)


> The Shifting Expanse
A vast, shimmering desert that changes its geography with the rising and setting of alien stars. By day, crystalline dunes sing in the wind; by night, rivers of silver mist reveal sunken ruins of ancient, forgotten gods. Settling here would require stabilizing space itself — anchoring structures to reality with runes of permanence.

> The Verdant Hollow
An immense, concave world, like the inside of a hollow sphere, where the "sky" is a living forest canopy stretched across the heavens. Bioluminescent flora drift in the air, and gravity bends in strange loops. Perfect for a city built vertically across the curvature, like vines clinging to the inside of a world-sized terrarium.

> The Azure Strata
An endless sky-ocean with no ground — only floating islands drifting slowly on the currents of aetheric wind. Here, massive flying beasts serve as beasts of burden, and cities must be built upon rocks lashed together or grown from airborne coral. Ideal for airships, bridges of light, and communities that glide between cloud palaces.

> The Ember Core
A volcanic underworld illuminated by rivers of molten soulfire and studded with titanic crystal formations that sing with ambient magic. Harsh and beautiful, this realm offers vast reservoirs of raw elemental power. A city here would be carved into glowing basalt cliffs or suspended over lakes of living flame.

> The Still Mirror
A calm, featureless plane where the sky and ground are indistinguishable — an endless, perfectly reflective surface. No weather, no sound, only silence and eternity. Every step echoes twice. Ideal for philosophical contemplation, illusion magic, and hidden architectures that blend into the mirrored void.

>>6234101


> The Bone Garden
A wasteland of colossal skeletal remains from gods, titans, and star-beasts — a boneyard of the multiverse. The terrain is jagged, littered with fossilized relics and buried secrets. Cities here would be carved into femurs the size of cathedrals, sanctuaries grown from marrow and divine detritus.

> The Gloam Between Worlds
A shadowy, mist-laced plane that touches all others through rifts and echoes — a liminal crossroads haunted by dreams and memories that never belonged to you. It is a plane of transition, a place where time flows inconsistently and doors open where there were none. Ideal for a secretive city of spies, scholars, and shadowmages.

> The Choir of Stones
A floating archipelago of sentient rocks that hum harmonies in an endless celestial chorus. Each stone has a name, a personality, and a resonance. Settling here requires diplomacy with the land itself. The city would be a grand symphony of architecture and vibration, harmonizing with the stones to keep from being ejected into the void.

> The Bleeding Horizon
A realm of endless twilight where reality itself is unstable — mountains melt like wax at sunset, stars bleed color into the sky, and gravity weeps sideways. Magic is powerful but unpredictable. Perfect for a city of chaos-tamers, probability sages, and alchemists drawn to risk and revelation.

> The Pale Bloom
An eternally blossoming realm where time resets every 24 hours. Every dawn, the world begins anew — plants regrow, water refreshes, wounds heal. But memories persist. Settling here would mean designing infrastructure that endures through resets, and building a culture that can thrive amidst daily resurrection.

Now Choose!

You may also Write-in your option, the Planes are endless.

>>6234101
>> The Verdant Hollow

Lets go with the forest one.

>>6234100 (OP)
> The Pale Bloom
An eternally blossoming realm where time resets every 24 hours. Every dawn, the world begins anew — plants regrow, water refreshes, wounds heal. But memories persist. Settling here would mean designing infrastructure that endures through resets, and building a culture that can thrive amidst daily resurrection.

>>6234101
>The Verdant Hollow

>>6234105
>Write-In: The Plane of Giant Violent Cartoon Cats with Comically-Large Mallets

> The Azure Strata
I like the idea of a land that's open and free like this. We'll make a home to the bold and adventurous, ready to jump into the unknown.

>>6234101
>> The Verdant Hollow

What about a Verdant Hollow that resets like the Pale Bloom, is full of cats with comically large mallets and... sorry, Azure Strata bro but...

>>6234102
>The Pale Bloom

The portal shimmered behind him, sealed with a whisper as Dreyfus stepped forward into the unknown. The Verdant Hollow stretched before him — a world turned inside out, its sky a living canopy of interwoven trees glowing with soft bioluminescence. Vines hung in midair like serpents, and the air brimmed with the perfume of moss, pollen, and age.

The wonder lasted only moments.

From the shadows of great trunks and woven bridges, figures emerged — lithe and silent. Night Elves. Their skin mirrored the moonless night, armor grown from bark and bone, weapons shaped from living branches. They moved as one and swiftly encircled him.

One stepped forward — tall, silver-haired, crowned in glowing roots. Her voice was steady and low.

“I am Syra'thal, Seerleaf of the Hollow’s western realm. In the Deep Dream, I saw a figure cloaked in fire and glass — a demon masked in civility — tearing this world’s roots apart. You stand where that demon stood.”

Dreyfus calmly lowered his hood and raised empty hands.

“I am no demon,” he said. “I am Dreyfus, Master of Portals. Builder of bridges, not destroyer of worlds. I come to raise a city that honors this plane, not defiles it.”

Her gaze stayed sharp. “Then prove it.”

Dreyfus stood firm in the clearing, surrounded but unshaken.

“I came to build a haven, not a battlefield,” he said. “Let’s imagine something greater than war — a city that lives because it listens.”

And so the forest listened.

You must now choose whether to coexist with the Night Elves or destroy them.

> The Pact of Living Stone: Dreyfus will build only with grown, living structures. No metal, no quarried stone — just a city shaped from the forest itself, guided by elven tradition.
> The Rootbound Oath: He offers a binding magical pact: if the city ever harms the Hollow, ancient wards will trigger and banish him. The Hollow becomes judge and executioner.
> Shared Watch — The Guardians’ Council: A council of Night Elf elders and Dreyfus’s envoys would oversee every phase of construction. Nothing advances without full consent.
> Sanctuary of Passage: Dreyfus proposes a neutral grove — a haven for interplanar travelers. No city, no conquest — only safe passage and elven stewardship.
> The Dreambinding Trial: He agrees to the Dreambinding, a sacred rite where Syra'thal would see his soul’s true shape. If darkness lies within, it will be revealed.
> The Weaving of Wards: He offers to embed peace wards around the site, preventing all hostile magic and summoning. The elves would hold the power to disable them at will.
> Path of Ruin: The Unrooting Spiral: If all diplomacy fails, Dreyfus can unleash a forbidden portal technique — collapsing the elven strongholds into void pockets and building atop their silence.
> Write in

You should have replaced the elves with cats with comically large mallets
>>6234587
> The Dreambinding Trial: He agrees to the Dreambinding, a sacred rite where Syra'thal would see his soul’s true shape. If darkness lies within, it will be revealed.

>>6234587
> The Pact of Living Stone: Dreyfus will build only with grown, living structures. No metal, no quarried stone — just a city shaped from the forest itself, guided by elven tradition.

>>6234587
> The Dreambinding Trial: He agrees to the Dreambinding, a sacred rite where Syra'thal would see his soul’s true shape. If darkness lies within, it will be revealed.
If I wanna make shit outta stone I'm gonna make shit outta stone

>>6234587
>The Pact of Living Stone: Dreyfus will build only with grown, living structures. No metal, no quarried stone — just a city shaped from the forest itself, guided by elven tradition.

>>6234587
> The Dreambinding Trial: He agrees to the Dreambinding, a sacred rite where Syra'thal would see his soul’s true shape. If darkness lies within, it will be revealed.
Let's get a general planning permission and avoid any drama later on.

>>6234587
>> The Dreambinding Trial: He agrees to the Dreambinding, a sacred rite where Syra'thal would see his soul’s true shape. If darkness lies within, it will be revealed.

Dreyfus nodded. “Then let my soul speak for me.”

Syra’thal bowed slightly. “Come to the Dreaming Grove under the twin moons. If you lie, the Dream will devour you. If not, your path will be clear.”

That night, amid silver mist and whispering branches, Dreyfus entered the Seer’s Circle — a ring of living stones. Vines coiled gently around him. Syra’thal placed a carved seed on his brow. The Dreambinding began.

He plunged into the Hollow’s memory stream. Syra’thal saw it all:

Cities ablaze. Bridges collapsed. Skies torn open. Spells that razed armies, portals that devoured beasts. Dreyfus had wielded destruction — not with cruelty, but with precision. His soul was not innocent. It was a weapon.

And yet…

He breathed life into a dying beast. Rescued refugees through a crumbling rift. Destroyed a fortress he once built when it threatened balance. At his core: not wrath, but structure. Not purity, but purpose.

He was no saint. But he was no liar.

Syra’thal stepped back, gaze sharp and thoughtful.

“You carry darkness,” she said. “But you aim to build. A soldier’s soul with a builder’s dream — dangerous, but rare.”

Dreyfus bowed. “I don’t ask your trust. Only your voice at the table.”

After a pause, she placed her hand on his shoulder.

“Then build, Portal Master. But know this: if you turn your power on us, the Dream will not warn you again.”

The pact was made — not in innocence, but in mutual respect. The Hollow had accepted him. For now.

Now, it was time to begin.

The first foundation would shape the Nexus forever.

> The Rootspire Approach: Grow a central tree-temple with Night Elf druids — the city’s living heart and anchor of planar energies.
> The Mirror Gate: Erect a reflective portal of memory glass — symbolic, inward-facing, to show all who arrive who they truly are.
> The Wayfarer's Ring: Lay a grand circular plaza marked with sigils from many worlds — a hub for trade, diplomacy, and gathering.
> The Hollow Archive: Raise a library of living trees — knowledge sung from bark and root, staffed by sages from across the planes.
> The Runeforge Basin: Shape a serene valley for safe experimentation — where mages and makers blend nature, magic, and tech.
> The Warden Stones: Place enchanted stones around the border — a growing perimeter, jointly guarded by elven and portal magic.
> Write in

>>6235074
>An stadium where Idols (and other artists but specially cute idols) from many worlds can bright everyone's lives with (mostly idol) music.
Make the Portal Wizard an idolfag.

>>6235074
>The Hollow Archive: Raise a library of living trees — knowledge sung from bark and root, staffed by sages from across the planes.

>>6235074
>>6235079
+1 to this idea. Gotta think outside the box

>>6235079
this is too funny to pass up
lets go wizard Idol manager!

As his first act, Dreyfus didn’t summon a fortress or council hall. He summoned joy.

A shimmering rift bloomed open — and from it, a massive stadium unfolded, gleaming with lights and echoing with music. At its center stood an idol: radiant, adorable, singing in a voice that bypassed language and reached the soul.

The crowd had already come, drawn through subtle rifts — humans, elves, spirits, machines, all swaying in euphoria. Dreyfus stood at the edge, quietly smiling.

But when the final note faded and people turned to leave… the illusion cracked.

There were no exits. No stars. The sky was a forest — roots dangling like veins — and all around, trees twisted in impossible loops. The air was sweet, cloying. The stadium hadn’t opened into the Hollow.

It had pierced through it.

The idol kept singing, unable — or unwilling — to stop. Then came the screams. The panic. The realization.

The song faltered.

Just for a breath — a skipped note, a tremble in the voice. The idol’s perfect composure cracked as the screams rose, echoing off the curved walls of the stadium. She blinked, confused, the spotlight still bathing her in dreamlight that no longer soothed anyone.

Then silence.

Her mic dipped. Her hands trembled.

“I… I’m sorry,” she whispered, her voice raw, unscripted. “Please… please don’t panic. I don’t know what’s happening either, but we’ll fix it. Okay?”

She stepped forward, eyes scanning the crowd — some crying, some climbing, some just frozen. She forced a smile, the same one that had once lifted hearts. It faltered. Her lip quivered.

“This isn’t the end of the show,” she tried again, louder now, steadier. “It’s just… an intermission. We’ll figure out how to get you home. You’re not alone. You’re not forgotten.”

She took off her earpiece.

Then her crown.

And stepped off the stage — into the chaos — to be with them, one trembling step at a time.

And from the mist, Syra’thal arrived with her wardens.

“You swore harmony,” she said coldly. “Now you trap thousands? Explain, Portal Master.”

Dreyfus raised his hands, breath steady, mind racing. Something ancient was watching. He had seconds to act.

Choose how to respond:

> Heartgate Pavilion – Summon a floating sanctuary that calms emotions and shows the sky as each remembers it. Peace through empathy.
> Interplanar Shuttle Circle – Open exit portals to major planes. Complex. Risky. Needs focus to stabilize.
> Guardian Choir – Call celestial idols whose harmony can dispel fear and mend rifts. But if broken, the magic could collapse.
> Memory Weaver – A gentle giant who reads origins and guides each person home — emotionally and literally.
> Rootgate Spire – Grow a living portal under Night Elf control. Safe, permanent, but cedes power.
> Idol’s Wish – Let the first idol choose. She is tied to the magic. Her choice could fix everything — or cost her dearly.
> Write in

>>6235390
Honestly, I thought he would build the stadium and then organize the event. I like the wizard being an irresponsible lunatic. It's what I expected in a sense.
> Memory Weaver – A gentle giant who reads origins and guides each person home — emotionally and literally.
The show is over for now.

>>6235390
>> Memory Weaver – A gentle giant who reads origins and guides each person home — emotionally and literally.

>>6235390
> Memory Weaver – A gentle giant who reads origins and guides each person home — emotionally and literally.
s-sumimasorry...

Don't give up, Idolbros. I have another wonderful plan.

>>6235432
>>6236073
>>6236211
>>6236231


From between the trees, the air rippled — like silk parting on a breath.

The forest opened, and Jira arrived.

Three stories tall, woven from mist and moonlight, her thread-like limbs shimmered with memories. Her eyes, vast and kind, carried galaxies. Where she stepped, fear faded.

She knelt beside the stadium.

“I’m here,” she said, voice like velvet. “I see you. I hear you.”

One by one, people approached — lost, afraid. She listened to each, asking their name, their home, their last memory of safety. Her fingers brushed their brows, lifting flickers of their pasts into glowing constellations.

Then, she opened her mouth.

Inside: a swirling portal, tuned to each soul. She didn’t speak — only nodded.

One by one, they stepped forward and leapt.

It looked, for a heartbeat, like she was devouring them. But there were no screams. Only soft flashes of light, as they returned to where they belonged.

She never rushed them. She only waited, humming a lullaby from no world, yet somehow known to all.

Even Syra’thal, blade still in hand, whispered, “She mends what was torn.”

Dreyfus watched, awed. This wasn’t the solution he’d imagined.

It was better.

And then — the last traveler gone, the forest quiet — Jira turned.

Her form loomed above the empty stadium. The kindness in her eyes dimmed. Her smile stretched too wide, stitched at the corners like something once broken.

“Now,” she said, voice rough and dragging, “you must pay me, Portal Master.”

Dreyfus stiffened. “What is your price, Jira?”

She leaned close, breath thick with old flowers.

“I don’t want to listen anymore. Or open doors. Or carry others’ pain.”

She turned toward the idol on stage — trembling, silent.

“I want to be beautiful,” Jira said. “I want to sing. Give me her body.”

Threads coiled tight around the stage. The idol gasped. The Hollow stirred.

The cost of the miracle had arrived.

> Transfer Pact – Exchange the idol’s body for Jira’s essence. Jira is reborn. The idol becomes a drifting voice.
> Severance – Destroy Jira’s form, scattering her back to the mist. Violent. Dangerous. Permanent.
> Mirror Bind – Trap Jira in a perfect illusion: a dream where she sings forever, adored — never knowing it’s false.
> Dual Vessel – Forge a shared body. One voice, two souls. Unstable, risky, but fair — if both accept.
> Idol’s Choice – Ask the idol to decide her fate. Her answer could change everything.
> Hollow’s Judgment – Appeal to the forest itself. Let the Hollow choose what Jira becomes. All may bear the cost.
> Write in

>>6236250
ah fuck the giant wants to be an idol
>Dual Vessel
our first idol will be a half giant monster woman and she has the power to open portals in her voice to sing songs to work as a mini portals

>>6236250
> Dual Vessel – Forge a shared body. One voice, two souls. Unstable, risky, but fair — if both accept.
I was going to suggest they just perform as a duo, but this works too

>>6236250
>> Idol’s Choice – Ask the idol to decide her fate. Her answer could change everything.

>>6236250
Can't he summon someone else? Like a cute murderer girl so Jira can posses her instead.

Dreyfus lowered his hand, the shimmer of power fading at his fingertips.

“The Dual Vessel, then,” he said quietly. “But only if both consent.”

The idol trembled. Her voice, when it came, was small. “I… I don’t want to disappear.”

“You won’t,” Dreyfus assured. “You’ll share. You’ll still be you.”

Jira loomed over them both, threads coiling tighter. “This is the only payment I will accept. No less. No other.”

The idol’s eyes darted between Dreyfus and Jira’s vast, expectant gaze. The forest pressed in, silent and watching.

“…Okay,” she whispered. “I’ll do it.”

Jira smiled — vast and unblinking — and lowered her head. Her threads reached forward like roots in water, weaving into the idol’s skin. The ritual began.

The stadium dimmed. Light pooled around them, threaded with singing not heard but felt — like veins humming with stars. The idol convulsed once, then stilled.

Strange glyphs and coiling designs bloomed across her skin — ink that shimmered and moved like living silver. Glyphs that hummed with memory and depth.

Then she shifted.

Her body twisted — not broken, but rewritten. Limbs elongated, skin flushed with bioluminescent markings. Her hair fused into tendrils that flowed like liquid silk. Her eyes split — not just in number but in dimension — revealing layered pupils, spirals that saw through time.

Wings unfurled. Not feathered, not scaled — organic architecture, like something grown from a cathedral of bone and breath. A mouth opened where none should be, and when she sang, the sound was wrong — beautiful, holy, and unsettling all at once.

A living Giger painting of stardust and muscle — terrible and transcendent.

Then, as suddenly as it came, the form folded in on itself. The idol stood once more — shaken, tattooed, but whole.

She exhaled. So did Jira — now silent within, content.

“…She’s with me,” the idol said, her voice layered with an echo not her own. “And I can feel her joy.”

Jira did not speak again. She didn’t need to.

Dreyfus finally let out a long breath and nodded. “Deal honored. Portal closed.”

The Hollow exhaled around them — rustling leaves like soft applause. Peace returned, for now.

And somewhere, far beneath the idol’s skin, something sang.

Then the air ripped — fire and ash in its wake.

A demon woman stepped through: black horns, flame-stitched wings, and a smile too sharp to trust.

“Hell-o,” she purred. “Nice plane. Ours got wiped. Mind if me and a few friends move in?”

A demon scout. Of course. She must have sensed all those portals.

Six options formed:

> Pact-Bound – Let them stay under contract. They serve your law. Dangerous but useful.
> Gate Slam – Deny her outright. No demons. No deal.
> Lockbox – Trap her now. Seal her forever in a prison of void.
> Mirror Bargain – They stay as illusions. Reflections only. No freedom, no danger.
> Write in

>>6236795
>Write-In
Who the hell are you anyways? If you're going to move in I'm going to need you to fill out a Tenant Agreement Form. You and all of your little pals

>>6236795
>> Gate Slam – Deny her outright. No demons. No deal.

>>6236795
> Pact-Bound – Let them stay under contract. They serve your law. Dangerous but useful.
It's on character for the Wizard to take the most stupid choices.

>>6236795
> Write in
>The Dreambinding Trial
Add this, it would be safe enough I think. And ask for a young demon girl so she can be an idol.

Rolled 2 (1d3)

>>6236862
>>6236959
>>6236966

1 - Tenant Agreement
2 - Gate Slam
3 - Pact-Bound

Dreyfus didn’t flinch.
“Absolutely not.”

The demon blinked — stunned — then her expression crumbled.

“You don’t understand,” she said, voice cracking. “We’ve lost everything. They’re tired. Starving. We drift from ash to ruin. Just let us stay... please.”

Dreyfus said nothing.

Her sorrow twisted into fury. “You’ll regret this, Portal Master,” she hissed — and with a snap of claws and sulfur, she vanished.

Silence.

Dreyfus turned to the Hollow. “We seal the seams.”

He walked the perimeter of the clearing, fingers slicing the air, pulling threads of realmstuff like strands from a stubborn wound. He wove barriers — dense, recursive folds of dimension twisted inward. Wards flared and anchored into the trees, the roots, the sky.

He spoke old words: binding laws of access, transit, and memory. Anchors sank into the ley beneath the Hollow.

The plane thickened — not sealed shut, but thorned.
Fast-moving demons would bounce. Slower ones would twist endlessly in spirals.

He left one gate open — his own — and locked it with a name only he remembered.

Jira watched in silence. The trees held their breath.
The Hollow slept a little easier.

Jira turned her many-threaded head, eyes gleaming faintly.

“It was your intention to turn this place into a city, wasn’t it?” she said. “But with a single access point, that might be… difficult. Unless, of course, you turn that point into a massive welcoming gate.”

Dreyfus didn’t hesitate. He looked to the sealed seam pulsing with quiet power.

“That’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

Dreyfus began the summoning.

The ground shook. Light bent. A deep hum rolled through the roots.

Then it appeared: a massive gate, incomplete — a mountainous arch of stone, gold, and rune-metal — with scaffolding clinging to its bones. Dozens of master dwarves stood frozen mid-work, tools in hand, startled by their sudden displacement.

One of them — a thick-bearded foreman with eyes like coal and grief — stepped forward, looking around in disbelief. Then, quietly:

“We were building a monument,” he said. “To commemorate a victory over our foes. But the victory was too costly. Our world is cracking, our halls thinning. We worked in silence while it died.”

He looked up at Dreyfus, his hammer clenched.

“Where... are we now?”

> Let Them Stay – Offer them sanctuary in your growing city. Let them finish the gate — not as a monument to war, but as a passage to peace.
> Send Them Home – Return the dwarves to their world. It’s crumbling, but it’s theirs. Let them decide its fate.
> Forge a Pact – Bind them to this land as honored builders. They’ll work and be protected — in return, their skills shape your future.
> Share the Hollow – Give them a pocket territory to reshape as a dwarven enclave. They build their own city within yours. Two legacies, side by side.
> Write in

>>6237053
>> Forge a Pact – Bind them to this land as honored builders. They’ll work and be protected — in return, their skills shape your future.

>>6237053
>> Forge a Pact – Bind them to this land as honored builders. They’ll work and be protected — in return, their skills shape your future.
They are worthless as idols though

>>6237053
see if they have any shortstack tsundere dwarf girls we can add to our Idol listing

The foreman listened as Dreyfus offered the pact — sanctuary in exchange for their craft, their legacy woven into the bones of a newborn city.

He glanced at his crew, proud and tired. Nods were exchanged. A quiet murmur passed like a prayer.

“We accept,” he said, planting his hammer into the earth. “We will build. But… our kind only knows the crops of the deep. Mushrooms, lichen, stone-root. No sun-grain. No surface meat. If we are to stay, our bellies must be considered.”

Jira chuckled softly nearby, “A civilization can run on stone and pride — but not for long.”

The dwarves bowed and began setting up camp around the unfinished gate.

The torches flared as the night deepened — and from the far side of the Hollow, shadow peeled from shadow.

She arrived without sound.

Tall, silver-eyed, skin like the inside of a raven’s wing. Draped in layered cloths of star-thread and living silk, the Night Elf Matriarch glided forward, flanked by silent sentinels with blades made of shadowglass.

The dwarves froze.

Hammers paused mid-swing. Stone clattered. One grizzled mason muttered, “Well. The spiders have come.”

Dreyfus raised a hand before tempers rose. “This is Velessai, leader of the Umbran Host. She protected this Hollow long before our arrival.”

Velessai inclined her head — just barely. “Dwarves,” she said, coolly. “I did not expect to smell iron and beard oil this far from the ruin-choked mountains. Tell me — does stone still weep in your halls?”

The dwarven foreman, bristling, crossed his arms. “Only when cursed shadows crawl through the cracks whispering secrets best left buried. Tell me, do your people still drink moonlight to forget their shame?”

A tense silence followed.

Dreyfus stepped between them. “You’ve both seen too many wars and buried too many kin. This is a new place. I won’t have old blood soaked into its foundation.”

The foreman snorted. Velessai gave the faintest smile — not of amusement, but of interest.

“We’ll see,” she said.

“Long as they don’t sneak around our bunks,” the foreman grumbled.

“Long as they don’t collapse the ceilings with their drunken singing,” Velessai replied.

And yet, neither left.

Now came the second task: how to feed them.

> Dig Deep Farms – Carve vast caverns beneath the Hollow for subterranean agriculture. Luminous moss, giant mushrooms, and crystal-fed springs. Slow but sustainable.
> Portal of Plenty – Open a stable rift to the Dimension of Fried Chicken. Food rains daily. Morale soars, nutrition plummets. Possibly addictive. Definitely greasy.
> Living Feast Beast – Bind a docile regenerative monster. Cut it, cook it, and it regrows. Ethical nightmare or culinary miracle? Depends on the seasoning.
> Seed the Hollow – Enchant the Hollow itself to bear edible fruits and roots. The forest feeds the builders — if it agrees to the transformation.
> Write in

>>6237415
>> Dig Deep Farms – Carve vast caverns beneath the Hollow for subterranean agriculture. Luminous moss, giant mushrooms, and crystal-fed springs. Slow but sustainable.

>>6237415
>Portal of Plenty – Open a stable rift to the Dimension of Fried Chicken. Food rains daily. Morale soars, nutrition plummets. Possibly addictive. Definitely greasy.
Add a portal to the watermelon dimension.

>>6237415
>> Dig Deep Farms – Carve vast caverns beneath the Hollow for subterranean agriculture. Luminous moss, giant mushrooms, and crystal-fed springs. Slow but sustainable.
Plump Helmets let's goooo

The echoes of pickaxes rang like steady heartbeats beneath the earth.

The dwarves dug with purpose, carving smooth tunnels and vaulted caverns beneath the Hollow. Bioluminescent moss unfurled like tiny constellations. Spore-pines rooted deep. Underground springs shimmered with faint crystal light. Slowly, life began to pulse in the deep — stubborn, silent, and entirely their own.

Above, the Hollow’s great gate stood unfinished but proud.

And then, one morning, it opened again.

Through it stumbled a party of five, young and wide-eyed. Dusty cloaks, mismatched armor, a talking backpack, and one of them already nursing a minor dimensional burn. Adventurers. First-timers, by the look of it.

Their leader — a red-haired girl with a chipped greatsword — approached you nervously.

“You’re… the portal master, right?” she asked. “We heard you might know the planes. We’re looking for something.”

She opened a scroll. “The Phylactery of Vrosh-Ka, the Bone Crowned. Said to be sealed in a hidden demi-plane. It could be anywhere. We think it passed through here.”

Her mage added, “It’s important. If we destroy it, we can finally stop his rise.”

Jira raised a brow, watching them silently.

> Help Them – Use your influence and planar knowledge to guide their quest. You may risk drawing the Lich’s attention — but these young adventurers might become something more.
> Refuse Politely – Let them find their own way. You owe them nothing, and bringing a lich’s wrath here would be unwise.
> Warn the Lich – Secretly send word across the planes. A powerful ally could be earned by betraying their hunt.
> Divert Them – Send them on a safer quest first — a trial to see if they’re worthy of your help.
> Imprison Them – Something about their timing feels off. Interrogate them and find out who really sent them.
> Write in

>>6237887
>> Imprison Them – Something about their timing feels off. Interrogate them and find out who really sent them.
You guys like idols?

>>6237887
> Imprison Them – Something about their timing feels off. Interrogate them and find out who really sent them.
Don't forget to give the girls a full body check with cavity search.

>>6237887
>> Imprison Them – Something about their timing feels off. Interrogate them and find out who really sent them.

As the words leave your lips, the air thickens.

You raise a hand. Runes flicker in a circular pattern beneath the adventurers’ feet — then snap shut like jaws.

They cry out in surprise as a containment ward crystallizes around them, translucent but unbreakable. The red-haired leader slams her fist against it.

“Hey! What the hell is this?!”

Jira steps forward slowly, voice velvet over iron.
“Your story is too clean. Too convenient. This phylactery you seek… just so happens to cross through this place? Right as the wards go up, the dwarves arrive, and a demon scout tests our walls?”

She kneels to the shimmering ward, eye-to-eye with the mage.
“Who sent you?”

There’s hesitation. Then denial. But you’ve seen enough liars to know when you’re facing trained ones.

Inside the cage, something shifts. Their cleric — too quiet, too calm — mutters a phrase in a language you’ve never heard.

The runes flicker. For a moment, the spell stutters.

> Break the Seal and Interrogate Immediately – Dispel the ward and extract answers by force or truthbinding. Risk: If they’re magically reinforced, it could get dangerous fast.
> Summon a Mind-Flayer Interrogator – An ethically dubious but highly efficient option. Truth is inevitable. Souls may fray.
> Let Jira Handle It – She knows how to break minds delicately. May involve nightmares, illusions, or worse.
> Send Them to the Mirror Prison – A one-way planar pocket where they’ll live as fragmented reflections. They’ll talk eventually.
> Release Them and Pretend to Trust – Watch from the shadows. Set a tail on them. Let them reveal their true purpose.
> Use the Hollow to Read Them – Let the plane itself judge their hearts. But the Hollow sometimes reveals more than you're ready for.
> Write in

>>6238440
> Use the Hollow to Read Them – Let the plane itself judge their hearts. But the Hollow sometimes reveals more than you're ready for.

>>6238440
>> Let Jira Handle It – She knows how to break minds delicately. May involve nightmares, illusions, or worse.

>>6238440
>> Let Jira Handle It – She knows how to break minds delicately. May involve nightmares, illusions, or worse.

You nod to Jira. No words are needed.

She steps forward, lips curling faintly. Her shadow peels away from her feet, stretching long and serpentine. A scent like burnt cedar and ash fills the chamber.

Inside the ward, the adventurers shrink back.

“I’ll be gentle,” Jira lies.

The runes shift color — from blue to deep violet — and a veil of shimmering black pours inward like smoke, obscuring the captives from view.

You hear no screams — only silence.

Then one whisper. A voice, trembling, from within:

“We didn’t know who we were working for. The contract came from a masked broker. We thought… it was just a job.”

Jira emerges moments later. Her eyes are black pools, her skin faintly cracked like porcelain cooling too fast.

“They’re mercenaries. One of them is lying still. His mind didn’t… hold. But I know this much: whoever hired them knows about the Hollow, and about you. The phylactery is real — but it’s bait.”

She wipes a smear of ichor from the corner of her mouth.

> Destroy the Phylactery First – If it’s bait, break the trap before it’s sprung. Get there before whoever set it up.
> Trace the Masked Broker – Let the adventurers go. Track them. Let them lead you to whoever is pulling the strings.
> Summon a Lich Ally – Get a lich’s insight. You might need a monster to trap another.
> Use the Phylactery to Set Your Own Trap – Reverse the game. Use the lure to bait out the enemy — but prepare for chaos.
> Seal the City Further – No more visitors. Fortify, lockdown, and prepare for siege — physical or magical.
> Ignore the Bait – Let it rot where it lies. Focus on your city. Let whoever’s behind this waste their moves.
> Write in

>>6238777
> Trace the Masked Broker – Let the adventurers go. Track them. Let them lead you to whoever is pulling the strings.

>>6238777
>> Summon a Lich Ally – Get a lich’s insight. You might need a monster to trap another.

>>6238777
> Trace the Masked Broker – Let the adventurers go. Track them. Let them lead you to whoever is pulling the strings.
A rival idol manager... we knew this day would come

>>6238852
>>6239185
>>6239189


You let the adventurers go — apparently unharmed — and whisper subtle incantations under your breath.
They don't notice the spy wards woven into their bones like thread through cloth.

Days pass.

Through fractured lenses of sound and shadow, you trace them to their contact: a figure cloaked in shimmering dusk, faceless beneath a veil of shifting masks. You press deeper, pushing spy-vision through spy-vision, scrying through the network of linked wards. Your eyes flicker, bleeding faint light.

Then — contact.

The web of surveillance tightens, and you see her.

A woman standing in a tower above no known plane. Surrounded by glyph-machinery, artificial stars in glass orbs, and a stitched homunculus polishing her staff. She is elegant, severe, inhumanly composed — and already looking directly at you.

“So,” she says smoothly. “Portal Master. You found me.”

She raises a crystal goblet — filled not with wine, but what looks like suspended thought — and sips.

“No point hiding, then. I need a place for work. Advanced experiments. Things lesser minds label... unethical. But your city — chaotic, new, ungoverned — might suit me.”

She steps closer to the scrying window, and the image pulses faintly.

“I propose a deal. I’ll build a Laboratory here. Sell potions, scrolls, the occasional artifact. Contribute to your economy. I’ll rarely visit in person — my apprentices will manage things. They’re loyal. Mostly.”

Her eyes gleam.

“So, Portal Master… do we have an accord?”


> Accept – Magical Industry Boom: Let her build her Laboratory. Gain economic and magical advancements… at the cost of unpredictable side effects. The city gains prestige, but apprentices may cause trouble.
> Regulated Admission – Strict Oversight: Let her in — but under heavy surveillance. All experiments must be cleared through an appointed magical council. She may bristle at the red tape.
> Conditional Pact – Monthly Contributions: Demand magical aid, monthly deliveries of crafted items, and training for locals. Turn her presence into public benefit. Risk: she might cheat or loop around the terms.
> Banish Her – No Room for That Here: Reject the offer. Inform her this city won’t house unchecked power. She’ll likely become an enemy.
> Trap the Apprentices – Use Them as Hostages: Pretend to agree. Use her apprentices as leverage — trap them, bind them, and force her cooperation.
> Build a Counter-Lab – Invite a Rival Mage: Say no — then invite one of her rivals to build a sanctioned laboratory instead. Escalate the arcane cold war on your turf.
> Write in

>>6239391
Conditional pact and use the contributions to finance an inter dimensional Comiket. If we can't produce idols, then let's produce quality doujinshi of idols getting "produced" by ugly bastards. A zone free of censorship (for drawings only) and the chosen people.

>>6239391
> Conditional Pact – Monthly Contributions: Demand magical aid, monthly deliveries of crafted items, and training for locals. Turn her presence into public benefit. Risk: she might cheat or loop around the terms.
also she has to join our idol team, we need a haughty elegant gothlita idol

>>6239391
>> Conditional Pact – Monthly Contributions: Demand magical aid, monthly deliveries of crafted items, and training for locals. Turn her presence into public benefit. Risk: she might cheat or loop around the terms.

>>6239419
>>6239610
>>6239941
Cecilia narrows her eyes at your terms.

“Magical doujinshi... that tailor themselves to the reader’s desires?”
She pauses, calculating.
“Disturbing. But creative.”
Then, with a sigh:
“As for becoming an idol... absolutely not. But I do have someone. My apprentice, Inara — the banshee-blooded girl. Her voice does... things.”

She leans in through the scrying portal, deadpan.

> “She has a slight dermal issue. Her skin doesn’t stay on. But I imagine a Portal Master could stabilize her... molecular integrity or something.”

You accept the deal.

Cecilia vanishes in a shimmer of ash and glass.


Inara arrives two days later, stepping gently from the gateway, hooded and wrapped in heavy silks. Her aura is quiet dread. Her presence, magnetic.

When she pulls down her hood, you flinch. She is uncanny — delicate and horrifying. Her skin is translucent in places, barely clinging, strands flaking like silvered lace. Her eyes glisten like pale opals.

“Hello,” she whispers.
The sound tickles the bones in your ears. A hundred forgotten memories echo behind her voice.

You ask her to sing.

She opens her mouth — and the world shifts.

Her voice is a psychic storm, a chord strung between fear and desire, grief and beauty. The Hollow gasps. Dwarves drop their tools. Flowers bloom and wither in moments. Somewhere, a heart shatters.

When it ends, you're breathless — half in love, half afraid.

But her skin is worse. The vibrations caused more of it to slough off. You must stabilize her form — if she's to become the city's Idol and emotional amplifier.

Choose:

> Stabilize Her with Portal Thread: Weave energy from the space between realms to knit her body together. Risk: opens her form to unpredictable fluctuations or dimensional bleed.
> Craft a Glamour Exoskin: Create an illusionary second skin — a magical sheath that holds her body together, responsive to emotion. Elegant, but fragile under duress.
> Bind Her with a Soul Anchor: Attach her spirit more tightly to her body using a necro-spiritual seal. More stable, but may limit her vocal range or independence.
> Hybrid Golem Shell: Ask the dwarves to forge her a subtle, lightweight exoshell with emotion-conductive runes. Makes her half-artifice, but sturdy and beautiful.
> Do Nothing – Let Her Fall Apart Gloriously: She sings until she disappears — a tragic idol. The city worships her like a myth. Short-lived, legendary.
> Write in

>>6240148
> Craft a Glamour Exoskin: Create an illusionary second skin — a magical sheath that holds her body together, responsive to emotion. Elegant, but fragile under duress.

>>6240148
> Hybrid Golem Shell: Ask the dwarves to forge her a subtle, lightweight exoshell with emotion-conductive runes. Makes her half-artifice, but sturdy and beautiful.
Make the exoshell look like the Wizard's favorite idol: Arisu Tachibana

>>6240148
>>6240168
+1 to this. Gotta stay on-brand in this Portal Biz

>>6240168
+1 for me as well
Our idol listing grows but we should strive to make our girls at least a little more useful outside of magical singing

>>6240148
>> Hybrid Golem Shell: Ask the dwarves to forge her a subtle, lightweight exoshell with emotion-conductive runes. Makes her half-artifice, but sturdy and beautiful.

>>6240157
>>6240168
>>6240176
>>6240310
>>6240544


The dwarves outdo themselves.

Forged from dreamsteel and inlaid with emotion-conductive runes, the exoshell gleams like starlight wrapped in silver lace. Every contour and detail matches the legendary idol Arisu Tachibana — down to the faint blush on her cheeks and the delicate ribbons at her waist. But when Inara steps into it, it’s clear: this is no mere imitation. This is rebirth.

Her voice resonates perfectly through the runes, her movements fluid and enchanting. Even the night elves, usually aloof and wary, gather under moonlit canopies to watch her rehearse.

Above the Hollow, a haze of scrying eyes glimmers like constellations — wizard after wizard, tuning in from far-off towers and hidden sanctums.
Then the messages begin to pour in:

“Portal Master — may I attend the performance in person?”
“I’ll bring gifts. Magical. Expensive.”
“I... must see her live. Please.”


Choose how to handle the audience:

> Open Access – Let All In: Let anyone come. Risk of chaos, but huge attention and trade. Your city becomes a beacon of magical tourism.
> Targeted Portal Pulse – Open Portals Near Anyone Who Desires to See the Show: Let the concert seek its audience — the portal appears beside anyone truly yearning to see her. Romantic. Dangerous.
> Selective Access – Ticketed, Curated Entry: Only a chosen few — those you approve or who pass a test. More control, but less fame.
> Astral Concert – Beam the Show Psychically: Transmit her performance across the multiverse via psychic broadcast. No travel, no risk — but weaker emotional effect.
> Patron-Only – Invite Only Wealthy or Powerful Mages: Build political capital and riches. Risk of elitism or manipulation.
> Illusion Duplicates – Send Inara’s Projections to Other Realms: Her body stays safe. Copies sing across the planes. Efficient, but impersonal.
> Write in

>>6240736
> Selective Access – Ticketed, Curated Entry: Only a chosen few — those you approve or who pass a test. More control, but less fame.
Choose great Mangaka and important personalities of the entertainment industry BUT also transmit the show by Astral Concert.

>>6240736
>> Open Access – Let All In: Let anyone come. Risk of chaos, but huge attention and trade. Your city becomes a beacon of magical tourism.

>>6240736
> Selective Access – Ticketed, Curated Entry: Only a chosen few — those you approve or who pass a test. More control, but less fame.
I'm not letting every wizard autist in here without a basic security check, no way

>>6240835
>>6241194
>>6241306


The concert is a triumph.

Inara, radiant in her exoshell, sings under the Hollow’s twilight canopy. The crowd — mostly dwarves and a scattering of carefully vetted wizards — sits spellbound. Emotions surge, controlled yet intense, as her banshee lineage fuses with the idol persona in something transcendent.

After the final note fades, Bugrov, a snake-eyed wizard from the Plane of Rotating Glass, leans over and says:

> “This could be a whole economy, Portal Master. There are worlds that live for this kind of spectacle. But you’ll need order — strong, strange order.”

He’s right. Before opening permanent entertainment portals, the city needs a planar police force. One weird enough to deter, strong enough to hold the line, and smart enough to adapt.

Choose your enforcers — each with their own cost:

> The Hollow Eyes – Inquisitors from a dream-plane where thought is law. They detect lies instantly and paralyze intent before action. Cost: Weekly offerings of raw dreams or nightmares — collected from sleeping citizens.
> The Verdant Court Enforcers – Plant-construct knights from a sentient jungle realm. Peaceful unless provoked; when roused, devastating. Cost: A sacred grove within your realm — no buildings, no portals, just sun and songbirds.
> The Waxbound – Shifting wax golems from the Temple of Melts. They absorb weapons, reshape endlessly, and smother magic with silence. Cost: A tithe of candlelight each night. No fireless lighting allowed — only flame.
> The Scale Choir – Seraphic dragon-snakes who sing in harmonics that collapse violence. They patrol by voice. Cost: They demand a shrine where their songs are played daily — failure invites dissonant storms.
> The Thorns of Glass – Mirror-insects from a shattered plane. Fractal logic, fast strikes, eerie beauty. See all, strike silently. Cost: Your city must display at least 1,000 reflective surfaces — mirrors, water, crystal.
> The Chain-Kin – Beings made entirely of enchanted bindings. Once summoned, they wrap around offenders until judgment. Cost: Every year, one being must willingly surrender their freedom for a day — or the Chain-Kin take a random one.
> Write in

>>6241642
>> The Waxbound – Shifting wax golems from the Temple of Melts. They absorb weapons, reshape endlessly, and smother magic with silence. Cost: A tithe of candlelight each night. No fireless lighting allowed — only flame.

>>6241642
> The Thorns of Glass – Mirror-insects from a shattered plane. Fractal logic, fast strikes, eerie beauty. See all, strike silently. Cost: Your city must display at least 1,000 reflective surfaces — mirrors, water, crystal.

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>6241966 1
>>6242173 2

>>6243480


The Waxbound arrive first — silent, gliding guardians molded from translucent wax, shifting shapes with every flicker of light. As they melt and reform, they radiate a deep hush, smothering ambient magic like a velvet curtain over fire. They settle across your city like still sentinels. Torches are lit, lanterns hung. The Hollow glows in flame-born warmth.

Then — something immense emerges from the portal behind them.

A gust of unplaceable energy surges. The Waxbound ripple, but do not react.

He steps through.

Urgus.

A towering man in robes stitched from the remnants of ancient spell-scrolls. His staff isn’t wood or bone, but a bleeding paradox — a floating shard of space where reality loops back on itself. His eyes glint with timeless exhaustion.

“Portal Master,” he says with a voice like thunder muffled by sleep, “I’m tired. My magic is absolute. But every spell I cast rips open a rift and brings demons. Always demons. They scream. They swear vengeance. It’s all terribly repetitive.”

He sighs, deeply.

“I was hiding in the Temple of Melts, savoring the silence. Then I saw your gate. Your city... feels curated. Managed. Safe. I like that.”

Urgus places his paradox-staff on the ground. It slowly turns into a glowing loaf of bread.

“I ask for sanctuary. I’ll behave. Mostly. I don’t want to cast anymore — unless you need me to.”

What do you do with Urgus, Mage of Unwelcome Summonings?

> Welcome Him with Conditions – Let him live here, but enforce rules: no spells within city limits unless authorized. He must wear a wardstone collar.
> Assign Him a Remote Tower – Build him a tower at the edge of reality, within your domain but away from people. He can cast freely, and demons can’t reach the Hollow proper.
> Enlist Him – Offer him a seat as your court archmage. His curse becomes a weapon you aim — unleash him only in desperate times.
> Redirect His Curse – Use portal magic to reroute his spell-aggro. Every time he casts, demons appear in a sealed hell-pocket — where your Waxbound practice.
> Bind His Power – Seal most of his magic. He lives as a scholar, consultant, or artist — not a caster. He may hate this.
> Refuse Him – The risk is too great. Politely but firmly decline. Demons are chaos you don’t need near your rising city.
> Write in

>>6243484
> Enlist Him – Offer him a seat as your court archmage. His curse becomes a weapon you aim — unleash him only in desperate times.

>>6243484
>>6243484
> Enlist Him – Offer him a seat as your court archmage. His curse becomes a weapon you aim — unleash him only in desperate times.
have him summon a new idol for us
we need more marketable girls

>>6243484
Dig a very big pit and set him on a floating platform in the centre
Then keep casting spells until the demons learn not to go in
Alternatively, if the demons keep spawning, farm demons