Treasure Hunt - Stephanie Richardson

Posts : 1363 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

Breakfast was delicious and after Stephanie was finished with hers, she chatted with a few of her friends, exchanging the latest news and school gossip. Ever since that talk she had with Toryn, she'd been more aware and observant of the people she hung out with. No longer was it all about her and making sure she was saying the right things. Now, as she talked with them, she was more critical of their behaviour. Were they only hanging out with her because she was a Richardson? Because of her status and wealth? Or because they genuinely wanted to be friend with her?

As her friends left the Hall, Stephanie stayed behind, contemplating her life so far. It wasn't until the last student left that she got up to leave as well. That was when she spotted the pedestal. And the chest on top of it. Frowning a little at such an odd sight in the Great Hall, Stephanie glanced around, thinking that someone must have left it there by accident. Seeing no one, she turned her attention back to the object. Perhaps there would be a name on the thing and she could return it to it's owner?

As she walked closer, she took a moment to appreciate the design carved into the pedestal. Having grown up with the wealth of her family, she was no stranger to tasteful and expensive decorative - albeit useless - items both at home and at the many balls and parties she attended. She could see that this pedestal wasn't a very cheap object. Her eyes moved to the chest on top of it. Now there was a contradiction. Contrary to the clean white of the pedestal, the chest was old, stained, and dusty. There was even moss on the thing. How did that happen?

Taking a deep breath as she glanced one last time around, she took out her wand and said, "Alohomora."

b) Open the chest with Alohomora

Posts : 1363 Join date : 2015-12-20

3.
Deciding that the best option is to use Alohomora, you get out your wand and cast the spell, moving the wand in the familiar ‘s’ shape. The purple light hits the chest and a click echoes around the hall as the lock opens and drops to the floor. Nothing happens for a moment and you take a step closer. 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

With her wand in hand, Stephanie watched as the lock fell to the floor. At first, nothing seemed to come out of the chest but Stephanie knew better than to approach it. She would bide her time until she was sure nothing dangerous was inside - it could be a pieces of parchment or some inanimate object after all. But until she was certain nothing would come out, she wouldn't go nearer. Her cautiousness was proved right when something burst out of the chest, making her jump back a little as she was startled.

Not hesitating, she cast a shielding charm around her just as a loud bang echoed through the hall. Her eyes followed the creatures until they stopped in front of the door. Blue in colour, pointed ears, three fingers...Cornish Pixies! They were relatively harmless though known for their pranks and love of mischief. Her eyes roved over the group as their loud chattering got on her nerves, and landed on a piece of paper in one of their hands. That was it! That would give her some idea as to what was happening.

She casted the first spell that came to mind. Holding out her wand, she charged up the spell, keeping the magic in her wand and watching as the blue light turned purplish-red. She released the spell then, saying, "Flipendo!" Since the pixies were rather close to each other, all of them were knocked back. Not waiting for them to get their bearings, she went on with her magic. "Glacius!" As the pixies froze over, some with frost covering them as they dropped to the floor, she casted another spell, just to make sure the would not disturb her. "Depulso!" All six pixies moved to the extreme end of the hall and Stephanie summoned the piece of paper to her with Accio.

Posts : 1363 Join date : 2015-12-20

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 color, or bolded.)

Guest

As she read the note, Stephanie frowned a little. She knew exactly where she had to go since the clue essentially told her which room to head for. That last sentence, however, she didn't really understand. It wasn't a clue; it was more like a statement of sorts. Perhaps she would find out more in the classroom.

It didn't take her long to get there, ignoring everything else but still keep her eyes and ears out for anything that might come along as she navigated the halls and corridors. She pushed the door open and entered the room, walking towards the table that held three potions. The golden one caught her eye immediately and she picked it up, sniffing it gently. Carrots. She wrinkled her nose, reminded of the vegetable she didn't particularly enjoy eating, and set it back down, not keen on drinking something carrot flavoured.

Next, she picked up the dark blue one. The colour reminded her of a dress she would wear to a ball or party. She owned countless blue dresses, but none as eye-catching as this shade of blue. It helped that it was sparkly. She spent a whole minute just turning the glass around and admiring the way it refracted the light, before reminding herself that she wasn't here to admire a potion bottle. She took a whiff of it and almost against her will, smiled softly. It didn't have a distinct scent she could name but somehow it made her feel nice.

The next potion she picked up was the clear one. It looked just like water but Stephanie knew better than that. She picked it up and swirled it around a little, noting that the liquid was thicker than water. She put her nose to it and when she couldn't pick up a smell, she sniffed harder and closer. Her efforts yielded no results and she frowned. Now that was fishy.

The clue was still in her hand and she opened it up again, reading that last line again and taking the time to pick each word apart. Choose wisely. Wisely. Was there a potion she'd learned before that made someone wise? No, she would've remembered that. ...revealed Revealed? How in Merlin's wet boots did that apply to the potions in front of her? The transparent one which she could see through? It couldn't be as simple as that, could it? The blue one that was really beautiful? Or the golden one which smelled of carrots? Wait. Carrots. She remembered being told over and over again to eat her carrots so she would have good eyesight. That was it, wasn't it?

But she hated carrots. Sticking out her lower lip in a pout, she picked up the golden potion once again. If this wasn't it, she was going to hate herself the rest of the year. She placed the clue safely in her pocket and used her now free hand to pinch her nose, hoping to Merlin that it just smelled of carrots and didn't taste like the horrid vegetable. It took a few swallows to get it down but she did it, and set the glass back on the table.

b) The bright golden liquid

Posts : 1363 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

Stephanie waited, wondering if her reasoning had been right, or if she had been completely wrong and had to drink the clear one. Deciding to play it safe, she waited a little longer. When the gold tint first began, she thought she'd chosen wrong. When it got worse she knew she'd chosen wrong. Blinking furiously, she tried to get her vision to clear, panicking slightly when nothing happened.

Her first instinct was to call out for somebody. Perhaps in a stroke of luck, someone would be passing the room and would be able to help her. But before she could so so, her vision cleared and she exhaled, putting a hand on her chest in an effort to calm her racing heart. After reassuring herself that she was just fine, she glanced around the room and saw the words written on the wall. She read them through, committing them to memory and double checking by turning her back and reciting them.

Once she was certain she could remember it word for word, she headed out of the dungeons and to the greenhouses. Glad to be out, she took a slow stroll to Greenhouse 2 and opened the door. All she could see was darkness and she frowned. What is this supposed to be? She took out her wand, ready to cast Lumos but remembered what the clue said. ...a leap of faith. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness and she made out a pit. So that's what she had to do. She had to cross over. Although tempted to just levitate herself over the pit, she knew she had to follow the directions.

Taking a deep breath and keeping her wand away so she wouldn't drop it, she crouched and launched herself into the air, only to find her body being grabbed by tentacles. No, no, no. What is happening? She couldn't reach her wand, the thing she needed most to get herself out of this mess. Panicking, she began to struggle, hoping she could break free of the plant.

a) Struggle

Posts : 1363 Join date : 2015-12-20

9.
You panic, struggling to get free. You can feel the tentacles of the plant wrap tightly around you, cutting off air supply. It gets harder and harder to breathe, and that just makes you struggle all the more. You try to go for your wand, but find you can’t reach it; the plant has your arms pinned to your side.

Just as you think it’s over and you’re going to pass out, you hear, in the distance, someone mutter Lumos and a bright light appears.

The plant retracts at once, loosening its grip on you and you find yourself slipping down, past the tentacles. You land with a soft thud on the ground below and take a few moments to gain your bearing. You hear the Greenhouse Professor somewhere above you asking if you’re okay and if the Devil’s Snare hurt you in any way.

a) In order to move on to the next part, please write the above scenario.

Guest

Stephanie struggled, trying to get free of the tentacles around her. Her heart rate picked up and she began to sweat from the exertion, tossing from one side to the other in an attempt to break free. Nothing worked. Instead, the thing began to tighten around her and she felt herself struggling to breathe. No, can't die yet. Panting for air, she wriggled her fingers - the only part of her hand she could move - to get to her wand. But without being able to use her whole arm, it was hopeless.

It was getting harder and harder to breathe. The effort of tossing her body from side to side didn't help at all. Very soon, Stephanie began to see black spots in her vision as she choked, no longer able to take air into her lungs. She closed her eyes, ready to yield, when somewhere in the corner of her mind, she heard a voice.

The next thing she knew, she was falling down. As her body hit the ground, she groaned softly before promptly coughing, her body heaving with every breath she took. Tears of pain escaped her eyes and she shut her lids, panting heavily. From somewhere outside her state of shock, she heard someone asking if she was okay. Are you stupid? Of course I'm not okay. That thing just tried to kill me was what ran through her mind. But after catching her breath, she opened her eyes to see the Greenhouse Professor, and nodded her head in a silent yes. She would be alright after a short rest.

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