Treasure Hunt - Sophie Heart

Posts : 1363 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

Sophie stayed still, exactly like how she would've done when confronted with a particularly angry horse. Stay still, don't look it in the eye, angle your body sideways. Not threatening. She focused on making her breathing even. Don't panic, whatever you do. A horse knows your fear. Breathe in, exhale. Breathe in, exhale. For a minute, she worried that she'd done the wrong thing as she felt the tentacles tighten even more. Patience. Breath in, exhale.

Little by little, she felt the pressure around her loosen. Still, Sophie remained quiet. When the plant's hold on her was finally lose enough, she very slowly slipped out of it's grip, landing with a soft thud on the ground below. She took a moment to breathe a sigh of relief, closing her eyes briefly to try and collect herself. Once she felt well enough, she opened her eyes and gazed around, noticing that she was in a hallway of sorts. Her eyes picked out the note easily enough and she walked closer, reading the words on it.

Well, that tells me so much, doesn't it?

She turned her gaze away, looking to see if there was anything else that could possibly help her. That's when she spotted the dead tree. She wasn't close enough to see what exactly it was, but she could make out something green and shaped like rats' tails. Next was a cauldron - there was no mistaking that - and another piece of paper which Sophie supposed were instructions to brew a potion.

Because potions were infinitely boring, she didn't hesitate to head for the tree stump instead.

b) Investigate the mysterious jar under the stump

Posts : 1363 Join date : 2015-12-20

12a
You decide to investigate the stump. The label on the jar says ‘Gillyweed’. As you near it, you take in the stump. It’s old, with moss growing at the side, and thick branches curled inwards. The jar sits in the middle of an opening of the trunk; it is just wide enough for your hand to reach inside and pull out the jar.

You take another step forward and at once the plant springs to life. The branches extend outwards, vines emerging from somewhere inside it. They are long and thin, covered in thorns, and wave around dangerously. You hesitate and realise that they aren’t reaching for you, and seem to be moving at random, protecting the jar. If you are fast enough, you could reach inside and grab it without getting hurt, or you could try and use a spell.

The other option you have is to ignore the plant altogether and opt for brewing the potion instead.

What do you do?

a) Get the jar of Gillyweed (write the successful obtaining of the jar to continue)
b) Go over to the potions table

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

Guest

As she walked closer, Sophie read out the label on the jar. "Gillyweed," she murmured to herself, her eyebrows creasing a little as she tried to recall if she knew anything about that plant. "Oh right. It's the stuff that lets you breathe underwater." She remembered thinking how cool it was to be able to swim without ever coming up for air.

Besides Care of Magical Creatures, Herbology was another subject that Sophie excelled in, which was why as the plant sprang to life, she recognised it as a Snargaluff. They weren't particularly dangerous unless they were provoked, and from her observation, Sophie realised that they weren't about to attack her. Her gaze returned to the jar as she thought through her options, finally settling on casting the summoning spell. Taking out her wand, she concentrated then said clearly, "Accio!"

The jar of Gillyweed flew towards her and she caught it with her free hand, a smile on her face.

a) Get the jar of Gillyweed

Posts : 1363 Join date : 2015-12-20

13b
You manage to get the jar from the stump successfully. Taking it with you, you leave the hall through the door, making your way down to the Black Lake. Reaching the shore you look around and notice there is a sign post that has never been there before. Beneath it is a locked box. The sign post explains that the box is magically locked and can only be opened with the key -- which is located somewhere in the marked out section of the lake.

It goes on to tell you that there are three areas for you to explore. The first is the kelp forest. The second is a rock pile. The third is a small cave. It ends with wishing you luck and adds that if you run into trouble to shoot red sparks from your wand; the merpeople on standby will assist you.

You eat the Gillyweed just before you enter the water. You feel the gills grow and you plunge into the lake and find you can breathe without issues. You start to swim downwards, and soon find yourself facing the decision of which area to search first.

Where do you go?

a) The kelp forest
b) The rock pile
c) The small cave

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

Guest

Gripping the jar in one hand, Sophie left the hallway and made her way to the lake. She knew the way well, having been there many times with Phoenix, and it didn't take her long at all to reach her destination. As the lake came into view, Sophie kept a sharp eye out for anything unusual, spotting a sign post that she was sure wasn't normally there with a box underneath it. Cautiously, she walked up to it and read what was written there. It informed her that to open the box, she needed a key hidden in one of three places in the lake. She also read the thing about the merpeople and tucked that information away in her mind.

Lifting her gaze to the lake, Sophie frowned. Although the sign had said the key would be in one of the listed places, it was still a large lake and if she didn't choose carefully, she could be spending hours searching for the key. But she'd come this far and she wasn't about to give up. Plus, she was a good swimmer, having swum in the lake back on Grampa's farm in the summer.

But where to start searching? She hadn't been the wisest with choosing the potions. This time, she would take careful thought before actually making the decision. The kelp forest and the cave sounded the most appealing to her. Hiding a key in a rock pile just seemed too easy and obvious. Both the kelp forest and cave sounded as if they housed dangerous creatures, but in the kelp forest, she would be at a disadvantage, not being able to see through the plants, if they were growing thickly together. With that logic, she decided on the cave.

The first thing she did was take off her shoes, then she released her hair from its ponytail and braided it instead, making sure it would stay out of her way. She ate the Gillyweed, feeling the gills growing and touching them curiously before taking her wand in hand and diving into the lake. She experiment with her breathing, eyes darting about for any dangerous creatures that may be lurking in the murky depths. Once she was comfortable, she began swimming, her legs kicking powerfully and propelling her forward.

c) The small cave

Posts : 1363 Join date : 2015-12-20

16a
The cave is what you decide on and you swim towards it. It’s badly lit and small, and you take a moment to adjust to the light. Something glimmers at the very back. You just manage to make out the shape of a key hanging on the wall! It seems that the cave was the smart choice, and you move forward to take the key. Suddenly, something darts out from a small crevice hidden at the back.

It’s a small creature, green in colour, long tentacle like fingers moving around it. It’s a grindylow! It bears its teeth at you. The key seems to be under its protection. If you want it, you have to fight it. As you prepare to do so a second thought hits you -- you could always ask the merpeople for help.

What do you do?

a) Fight the creature yourself
b) Ask the merpeople for help

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

Guest

Sophie drew closer to the cave, on the lookout for anything dangerous. The sign had said to ask the merpeople for help; that alone told her to expect danger. Reaching the cave, Sophie paused outside, waiting until her eyes adjusted to the darkness before she entered the cave. It was rather empty and nothing much of consequence caught her attention, but Sophie swam deeper.

Just as she was about to leave, something shiny caught her eye right at the back of the cave. She kicked her legs a little, propelling herself a bit forward until she could make out that it was a key. That's it! She made the move to swim towards it when something moving stopped her in the tracks. Glancing at it, Sophie realised that it was a grindylow. And it was protecting the key. Her first instinct was to fight it off. After all, she knew all about it and knew how to defend herself against the creature, but she was reminded of the sign she'd read. It had specifically told her to ask the merpeople for help if she ever ran into trouble.

Moving slowly so as not to startle the creature, Sophie took her wand out and concentrated, making red sparks shoot out of her wand. All she had to do now was wait for the merpeople to arrive.

b) Ask the merpeople for help

Posts : 1363 Join date : 2015-12-20

18b
You raise your wand and conjure up red sparks. Within seconds a merperson is there and begins to talk to the grindylows. They begin to leave, and soon they are all gone. The merperson takes the key and passes it to you before leaving.

You make your way out of the cave and back to the shore. Quickly, you unlock the box. Inside is your next clue.

Follow the path of life to find the shack in the middle of the forest.

You head into the forest, walking down the only path further into the thicket of trees. A few moments in, you find that the road splits into three. A signpost labels the paths with a mere picture; the one on the right is marked by a crude drawing of a flame, the one in the middle is marked by a drawing of a water droplet, and the one to the left is marked by a drawing of a leaf.

Which path do you take?

a) The right one (marked by the drawing of a flame)
b) The middle one (marked by the drawing of a water droplet)
c) The left one (marked by the drawing of a leaf)

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

Guest

She didn't have to wait at all. Almost immeditately, a merperson came and to Sophie's astonishment, began talking to the grindylows. She knew that merpeople were the only ones who'd managed to tame the creatures, but to see it in with her own eyes instead of reading about it was something else. One day, I'm going to tame a grindylow she thought to herself. She also knew that grindylows ate humans, but that wouldn't stop her from trying.

She took the key from the merperson and thanked him, swimming to the surface and wading out of the lake. Shivering a little from the cold and the wetness of her clothes, she slipped her shoes on and walked quickly to the box, inserting the key and opening it. Apparently her next step was to go to a shack. What 'follow the path of life' meant, she didn't know but was eager to find out.

She walked down the path, coming to a three way for in the road. There was as signpost unlike anything she'd ever seen, for instead of words, there were pictures. Studying them, she saw that one was a flame, the next was a droplet of water, and the one after that was a leaf.

The path of life.

The flame made her think of Phoenix. She'd named him after the bird once she'd learned what a phoenix was. After everything he'd been through, he deserved that name and it fully described his life.

Without even thinking twice, her feet moved in the direction of the right path.

a) The right one (marked by the drawing of a flame)

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