Treasure Hunt - Serenity Newman

Posts : 1364 Join date : 2015-12-20

The Great Hall begins to empty as the students trickle out from breakfast. Eventually, the Hall is bare of any students except for you, and as you stand from your seat to leave your attention is pulled away from the treasure hunt by something unusual out of the corner of your eye. At the front, where the Professors usually sit, is a pedestal. It’s not that tall, perhaps only half your height, and is pure white. You can see intricate designs of leaves carved around it.

On top of the pedestal is a chest. You take a few steps closer to investigate. It’s not too large but you know that with magic, it could hold far more than meets the eye. It is a bit shabby and old looking, as if it's gone unopened for many years, a layer of dust and what seems to be cobwebs covering it. There are hints of water damage; the lock is tight and made of a strong metal that has some traces of rust on it, and there is moss growing on the side of the chest.

What do you do?

a) Approach and investigate the chest
b) Open the chest with Alohomora
c) Ignore the chest and leave the Great Hall

(OOC: At the end of your post, please make your choice clear by writing it in another color, or bolded.)

Guest

The news of the treasure hunt had intrigued Serenity, even more so when she discovered it was to be completed individually. This was something she wouldn't have a problem with; if it was teams, or even partnership, it might be tricky. Knowing she could -- had to -- do it alone made it that much easier. And so, without much hesitation, Serenity had signed up even before she really knew the details of what would be taking place.

What was there to know, after all? It was something new, and those were always interesting; there was so much to learn from new things.

It was on one morning after breakfast, and Serenity found herself wondering when the hunt would begin. "Soon," they had been told. "You'll know," they were also told, when she asked; but how would she know? Glancing up, she realised she was the last to leave, and she stood up from her seat, mind still churning as she tried to figure stuff out, when she saw it.

Turning, she let her eyes run over the pedestal, taking in the details of both it and the chest. Was this it? The start of the hunt? Why else would an old chest be in the middle of the hall? Stepping forward at once, she made her way towards it.

Choice: a)

Posts : 1364 Join date : 2015-12-20

4.
You decide to take the safe route and investigate the chest. Approaching it, you become aware the lock isn’t as sturdy as it first appeared and is almost rusted through. Now right in front of it, you realise that the chest has begun to shake a little, as though there’s something inside. Suddenly, the top bursts open and there are squeaks that fill the empty hall. There is a blur of blue as something emerges from the chest and flies over your head.

The door to the great hall slams shut and you turn to find that it’s being guarded by six creatures. They are eight inches high and are electric blue. They have long pointed ears and long arms, three fingers on each hand. You recognise them as Cornish Pixies.

They start chattering to each other, loud, shrill noises that hurts your ears. You notice one of them is holding a piece of paper -- that must be the clue! Gripping your wand tightly, you prepare to fight them.

a) Defeat the pixies in order to receive the clue. End your post with picking up the clue.

Guest

As she approached the chest, she studied it, noting the lock; it was rusty, almost broken, and she wondered if she was supposed to break it open. Taking another step forward, she stopped suddenly as the chest began to shake. Whatever was inside was alive, and she glanced over at Tammie at once; the house elf didn't seem too concerned, though, and Serenity wondered if Tammie had been briefed about what would happen during the hunt so she didn't try and 'protect' Serenity from things and accidentally help her.

Hand going to her wand, she moved her gaze back to the chest in time to see it burst open. Wincing slightly at the squeak, she nevertheless recognised it at once: cornish pixies. Following their movements, she spun, taking out her wand as she did, hearing the slam of the door.

So, this was the start of the hunt.

Noting the piece of paper in one of their hands, Serenity let out a soft sigh. She hated having to hurt creatures, as annoying as they might be. Thinking for a few moments, ignoring the noise, she settled on a route of action.

"Spongify," she said, using the softening charm just beneath the creatures. Then, slowly, accurately, she used a freezing charm, allowing them to drop, unharmed, onto the ground below. Walking over, she noted the clue had come loose. Before that, though, she used wingardium leviosa to carry each pixie back to the chest, placing them down carefully.

Then, quickly, she unfroze them, slammed the chest shut, pointed her wand at it, and said, "Colloportus". Now satisfied that they were both unharmed and unable to harm her, she made her way back to where they'd fallen, and picked up the clue.

Posts : 1364 Join date : 2015-12-20

5.
The clue reads:

Brewing potions isn’t easy unless you have all the ingredients and the skill. Luckily, three have already been made for you. Find them where you first learnt how to use your cauldron. Choose wisely and your next clue will be revealed.

Quickly, you make your way down to the dungeons, bypassing empty classrooms until you reach the Potions Classroom. Stepping inside, you find, as the note had said, three small glasses on the table. You approach them.

The first contains liquid that is clear and has no special scent, instead appearing to be water. Upon closer examination, you realise that it’s slightly thicker than normal water, but other than that there’s nothing to give away what it could be.

The second glass has a light gold liquid inside, reminding you of the sky at sunset. It’s got swirls of orange inside, and smells faintly of carrots, but other than that has no scent. It’s thick, like medicine, but doesn’t look unpleasant.

The last glass contains a beautiful dark blue liquid that sparkles in the light. There appears to be bits and pieces of glitter inside it as it refracts the light. It smells familiar, but you can’t quite place it. It makes you feel safe and relaxed.

You are now faced with a choice.

Which potion do you drink?

a) The clear, almost water-like liquid
b) The bright golden liquid
c) The dark blue, sparkly liquid

(OOC: At the end of your post, please make your choice clear by writing it in another colour, or bolded.)

Guest

It wasn't a particularly hard clue, and without needing to really think about it, Serenity started out, making her way to the dungeons. The potions classroom wasn't hard to find, and she entered, wand out, looking around. There was nothing out of the ordinary, and as she slid her wand back to where she kept it, she approached the table, studying the three potions before her.

Out of the three, she only recognised once instantly -- the blue one. It was a sleeping drought; they'd given it to her a few times in the Ministry when she had a particularly bad vision, but it was a last-means resort. They wanted her to learn to control and deal with it, not turn to potions. As such, she hadn't taken one in a long time, but she recognised it nevertheless.

That left two.

Picking up the first glass, she sniffed it, but there was nothing to smell. Was it water? She tilted it, noting the way it moved; no, it was too thick to be water. What was it, then? She didn't know, and she didn't like that.

The second one was something she didn't know, either, although she recognised the smell. Much thicker than the water-like one had been, it smelt like carrots and did not remind her of anything she'd ever seen or read about. What was it?

There was a fifty-fifty chance of getting it wrong, and she glanced helplessly at Tammie. But the house-elf stood at the side of the room, looking straight ahead, and gave nothing away. Serenity sighed, almost to herself, and then reached for the second glass; it was pretty, and seemed to at least have some kind of properties, which the water-one didn't.

Choice: b)

Posts : 1364 Join date : 2015-12-20

8a.
The golden liquid seems to be a wise choice and you down it. It’s not unpleasant, tasting only slightly of carrots, but it’s thick and hard to swallow. For a while, nothing happens and you wonder if you’ve wasted your time -- but then, slowly, your start to see a tint of gold around your vision. You blink a few times, trying to clear it, but it only gets worse until all you can see is a film of gold.

Abruptly, the film clears, and as you look around, you realise you can see something written on the wall that wasn’t there before. Written in gold letters, it says:

Make your way to Greenhouse Two to find the next clue. Remember to watch your step, but don’t be afraid to take a leap of faith!

You leave the potions behind and make your way outside to the Greenhouses, finding Greenhouse Two easily enough. Opening the door, you find it’s pitch black. You take a while to adjust, but once you do, you realise that in front of you is a pit. Remembering the instructions of the clue, you take the jump and find yourself being grabbed by a plant! It twists itself around you and starts to squeeze.

You realise that you can’t reach your wand.

What do you do?

a) Struggle
b) Don’t struggle

(OOC: At the end of your post, please make your choice clear by writing it in another colour, or bolded.)

Guest

It wasn't bad tasting, and as the faint trace of carrots faded, she made a face at the remnants of the potion still stuck in her throat; she had to swallow a few times to clear it. Then, looking around, she frowned. Nothing was happening. Looking towards Tammie once more, she was about to ask if her house-elf thought she should try the other potion when a sudden gold at the side of her eyes caught her attention and she turned, trying to see what it was.

It wasn't until she had turned a little more that she realised it was her eyes and not the room. Blinking a few times, she rubbed at her eyes, wondering if a drop of potion had somehow ended up there. But it didn't help, and a few moments later all she could see was a layer of gold and nothing else.

A slight fear began to rise, but she held it back easily enough; she was used to fear and the unknown, and this wasn't as confusing or disorientating as a vision was. Standing there, she kept blinking, waiting. It would clear, with time, hopefully; if it didn't she'd merely ask Tammie to apparate her to St. Mungo's and alert one of the Ministry workers.

And then, just as she was considering this, her vision cleared, and she automatically looked around to make sure everything was as it should be. Noticing the writing on the wall, she stopped, stepping closer to read it.

Again, it wasn't so much a clue as an instruction, and Serenity left the room behind, still wondering what the clear liquid was -- she'd have to ask the Professor the next time she saw him, or ask around the common room to see who had tried it -- and started down the path to the greenhouses.

Stepping into the one clearly labeled 'Greenhouse 2', she blinked against the sudden darkness and stood at the entrace, adjusting. For a moment, she was tempted to use her wand, but decided against it. There was no knowing what plants were inside or what lay in store; the last thing she wanted was to hurt a plant with light. There was a reason the place was in darkness, that was for sure, and so she waited until her eyes had adjusted.

A pit was before her, and she peered down it, trying to figure out what was inside. The instructions given didn't escape her -- leap of faith -- and she hesitated, turning to Tammie. "Is it safe?" she asked, quietly. Many times she'd been cautioned by those in the Ministry; she was to do nothing that could so much as jepordize her safety, because as a Seer her responsibility was to the department first and foremost.

Tammie smiled and nodded. "Safe," she confirmed, and Serenity let out a breath and turned back to the pit. Closing her eyes, she steadied her nerves and jumped, falling, falling, fallin-- something stopped her movements a couple seconds later. A vine, by the feel of the cool rubbery tendils wrapping around her. She could feel it, gently running a finger down a section of it, trying to identify it without sight.

It continued to squeeze, and as Serenity automatically moved for her wand, she found her arms pinned to her side; she couldn't move! The darkness didn't help... That's it! Darkness. It has to be devil's snare! she thought. At once, she forced herself to relax, focusing on her breathing -- in, out, in, out, in, out -- and allowing her muscles to go limp.

Choice: b)

Posts : 1364 Join date : 2015-12-20

10a.
You relax, deciding not to fight the plant. The tentacles tightens a little, but still you do nothing, and a moment later you feel it stop. Bit by bit it loosens its grip until you find that you are slipping down, past it, and a few seconds later you drop down softly and unharmed onto the ground below. Already adjusted to the dimness of the area, you look around and find that you are in the middle of a small hallway. In front of you is a door with a note on it.

Your next task brings you into the lake. Choose wisely.

To your left is what appears to be a dead tree stump on top of a bottle of something green. From where you are, it looks like slimy, grey-green rat tails. There’s a label on the jar, but you can’t make it out from here.

To your right is a small table with ingredients and a cauldron in the middle of it. There’s a piece of parchment beside it, and while it appears to be a list of instructions, you can’t read what the potion is or how to make it.

Which do you choose?

a) Investigate the potions table
b) Investigate the mysterious jar under the stump

(OOC: At the end of your post, please make your choice clear by writing it in another colour, or bolded.)

Guest

The plant started squeezing harder, but Serenity focused on her breathing still, trusting her knowledge and the plant to do what it always did; the laws of nature hardly ever changed. Sure enough, as the seconds passed, the tightening relaxed, and she felt herself slipping down. Still resisting the natural urge to tense up, she let herself fall further and further until she was clear of the plant. Her feet landed gently on the ground; looking up, she noted the plant just a few feet away and smiled as she heard a crack beside her, turning to see Tammie there.

Automatically, she moved towards the door, stopping to take in the note. Choose? Choose what? Only then did she glanced properly around, taking in the table on her right and the stump on her left. If her suspicions were right, the stump wasn't ordinary.

If she were to go to -- she frowned, looking back to the note, and corrected herself mentally -- into the lake, she would need to be able to breathe underwater. While there were potions she knew about that could acheive this, it was a tedious one that couldn't be interrupted. What were the chances of receiving a prophecy halfway? Not very high, but it wasn't a chance she wanted to take.

Instead, she turned her attention towards the stump, focusing on the bottle underneath it. What was the grey-green thing inside? It looked familiar, as though she should know what it was, and she frowned a little. Where had she seen it before?

Hand on her wand -- she didn't trust the stump; in a greenhouse, nothing was ever as it seemed -- Serenity cautiously approached it.

Choice: b)

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