Treasure Hunt - Sophie Heart

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

Sophie shoved the last bite of cereal into her mouth as she flipped the page of the trick riding book Granma got for her. It had pictures and How-tos as well as some brief history and fun facts. So engrossed was she in it that by the time she looked up, the Great Hall was empty. As she put the book away in her bag and got up to leave, something out of the ordinary caught her eyes. There in the front was a pedestal. But it wasn't that Sophie was interested in. It was the thing sitting on top of the pedestal.

A chest?

Without thinking, she took a few steps closer. She'd never seen something like this in the Great Hall before and was dying of curiosity to discover what was inside. It wasn't very big but from her year at Hogwarts and learning about magic, she knew to expect something far more than what she was used to. As she drew closer, she realised that it was a rather old chest and judging from the amount of dust on it, it hadn't been open in years and years. Studying it closer, she saw a lock. There was only one thing to do. Adventure dictated that she find out what was in the chest. Taking out her wand, she said clearly, "Alohomora," and stood ready to fight whatever it was that came out.

b)Open the chest with Alohomora

Posts : 1364 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 apprehension and excitement running through her veins, Sophie watched her spell hit the chest and it opened. Her expectations were buried when nothing happened. More than a little confused, she drew closer to the chest, only to stop in her tracks when something came flying out of the chest, leaving a trail of blue light behind it. What in the world was that? she thought as she took a step back. Before she could do anything else, a loud slam echoed through the hall and she didn't need to turn around to know that the door had shut. Was this a trick of some sort? A prank?

Her eyes followed the path of the flying creatures and she turned to find them guarding the door to the Great Hall. Since they weren't flying around so much, she could make out their shape and form, realising that they were pixies. As they began talking in their very annoying voices, Sophie took a step closer and spotted a pixie clutching a piece of paper in its hand. Perhaps that would let her know what this was all about?

Feeling her heart rate pick up, Sophie got a good grip on her wand and ran through all the spells and charms she'd learned that year, sifting through which would be useful in this situation and which were not. She didn't want to hurt them but she also needed to find out what was in the pixie's hands. Killing them was out of the question. Perhaps...yes, that would work. With a decisive nod, she settled on one. Pointing her wand at the group of pixies, she moved it in a sort of hook shape and said loudly, "Petrificus Totalus!" In quick succession, she casted the spell six times, missing only twice and having to cast it another two more times. In triumph as the pixies one by one dropped to the floor, Sophie quickly went to the one who had the piece of paper and pried it out of its hands, wondering what it would say.

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 color, or bolded.)

Guest

Sophie flipped the piece of paper open and read the words on it. She didn't particularly like potions; it was pretty boring, unless of course you mess things up. It was pretty easy to figure out where she was supposed to go. Seriously, anybody who couldn't figure that out needed a brain check. It was only that last sentence that was a bit vague. Folding the paper back, she put it into her pocked and headed down to the dungeons.

Reaching the potions room, she immediately spotted the three glasses, each containing a liquid of some sort. She went closer, noticing the different colours of each. Upon smelling them, she realised that they had their own scent too, except for the white one. That just looked disgusting. Drawn to the blue one - because she didn't really like gold, and the white one was plain boring - she picked it up and drank it.

c) The dark blue, sparkly liquid

Posts : 1364 Join date : 2015-12-20

7a.
The dark blue liquid seems like the safest choice and you pick it up, drinking it quickly. It taste of blueberries and leaves a sweet aftertaste in your mouth. Moments after swallowing it you are overwhelmed with an incredible sense of sleepiness, as though you haven’t been to bed in many days. You let out a yawn and wonder what the harm is in a little nap. Before you can help it, you find yourself lying down on the floor, curling up in a comfortable position and drifting off to a dreamless, peaceful rest.

Some time later, you awake and take a few moments to gain your bearings. When you realise what you had been doing, you quickly wipe the sleep from your eyes and stand. It must have been a sleeping potion! Shaking the last traces of sleep from your mind, you look back at the two remaining options.

Which do you drink?

a) The clear, almost water-like liquid
b) The golden liquid

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

Guest

Sophie's tastebuds registered blueberries, and for a moment, she recalled all the times she went wild-berry picking with Granpa and Granma. Of course, she ended up eating most of the berries she picked instead of putting them in her basket, but she had so much fun. She finished the liquid - which, in hindsight, probably wasn't a very good idea - and set down the glass, waiting to see what would happen.

Sleepy. So sleepy. She gave out a yawn. But I had a good sleep last night. What's..hm...

No matter how hard she tried to figure out what was going on, she couldn't. Her eyes were closing, as if of their own free will, and before she knew it, she was sleeping on the floor. She didn't dream - which was quite unusual - and didn't know how long she slept, but when she opened her eyes, she paused a moment to figure out what she was doing on the floor of potions class. It all came rushing back to her. The chest! And the pixies! And the thingy that led me here!

She got up off the hard floor and saw the two remaining bottles on the table. Hmm. Perhaps this required more thought that she originally imagined. She whipped the clue out of her pocket and read it through once more, certain that it was in that last line, but she couldn't figure it out. Choose wisely and your next clue will be revealed. She frowned and glanced back at the two choices before her. Could it be the clear one? It was completely transparent and she could see through it. Did that count as revealing something? But it was so common! And boring! That just couldn't be it.

Pursing her lips, she reached out for the one with the golden liquid instead, and drank it.

b) The golden liquid

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 didn't taste bad and Sophie could decipher the carrot flavour. She didn't mind it, having grown up eating carrots and often sharing one with a horse. She swallowed the last drop and put the glass back on the table, expectantly waiting for something to happen. She loved the risks involved with this. Did she get it right? What would happen if she didn't? What would happen if she did?

When nothing happened for a while, Sophie shrugged and moved to pick up the last potion. Before she had the chance to do so, something went wrong with her eyes. She could still see but there was like a golden tint to everything. She blinked a rapidly and rubbed her eyes with her fingers. When she opened them again, she panicked. She couldn't see anything but gold. Maybe this would pass like the sleeping one? She closed her eyes, counting to ten and opened them again, breathing a sigh of relief when her vision cleared.

Wondering what that was all about, she glanced around the room, her gaze landing on some words on a wall. She read it carefully then, in a moment of inspiration, rummaged around for something to write with, finding a quill. Taking out the previous clue, she copied down the words on the wall on the piece of paper, reading them through once again. Similar to the last note, this one had a vague ending. Don't be afraid to take a leap of faith? What?

As she pocketed the piece of paper and turned around to leave, her eyes landed on the last potion. Wonder what that does. She already knew that she'd drunk the correct potion and should be moving on, but she wanted to know what that last one did. It was her nature to want to try new things, risky though they may be. It only took her few seconds to decide to drink it up.

Picking up the glass, she tilted it back and swallowed the contents and began laughing. To see how strong the potion was, she tried to hold in her laughter but failed. Soon, she was laughing so much that she had to sit on the floor, finding it was difficult to breathe. Was it possible to die of laughter? But Sophie didn't think that would actually happen. She didn't know how long it went on for but finally, it ended and Sophie took a few moments to catch her breath. Well, that was interesting.

Getting up from the floor, she headed to the specified Greenhouse and opened the door. All she could see was darkness. She took a moment to let her eyes adjust and could make out a pit. This should be easy. She'd jumped many times - albeit sitting on a horse's back - but this couldn't be any different. Taking a few steps back so she would have enough momentum, Sophie began to run. Countless hours spent jumping Phoenix had honed her judgement of distance, and at the right moment, she took off.

Just as she thought she was going to make it, she felt something grab her, winding itself around her body and tightening. If only she could get her wand, but no matter how hard she tried, she could not get to it. As always, her mind wandered back to Phoenix and the time he'd been aggressive. She remembered how patiently she worked with him, never struggling for the upper hand but gently and firmly helping him understand her. Even with the other horses she worked with, it did more harm than good to work against it than with it. Never fight a horse, Sophie had been her Granpa's words. It had never failed her before and Sophie took it to heart, relaxing her body.

b) Don't struggle

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