Ortix began his search for some kind of trigger, something that would give them access to the dungeon. His search area was extremely vague. Instead of searching one area thoroughly, he gave all of his surroundings a light glossing over. The abundant grass itched at his ankles relentlessly. Ortix was beginning to become irritated by the fruitlessness of his party's search so far, then from behind him, “SNAP!" He whirled around and saw Roland brandishing his sword. Ready for an ambush, Ortix did the same and withdrew his spear while assuming a battle stance. A frighteningly loud creaking noise could be heard from the dungeon to his left now, the door has was opened. Seeing Roland drop his combat readiness, Ortix relaxed as well and followed the rest of the party over to the now wide open dungeon entrance. He looked at each of his teammates' faces. Not one of them had the look of confidence that it was their doing and it sure as hell wasn't himself. They party came to a halt at the dungeon entry point and seemed absorbed by something. Ortix cocked his head to the side attempting to look between a gap in his teammates. On the ground in front of them were bones, a paper, and a pink-striped box.

"Where did this come from? Also, who got the door open?" Ortix looked around curiously awaiting a response.

"Well anyhow, let's get in there and finish this... Oh, and uh, watch your step." Ortix said with a wink to Cynesiege and a long stride to position himself up front and next to the man. He was feeling up for some frontline action with his spear still tightly clasped in his right hand.

@Roland Rutledge @Cynesiege @Beatle the Bard @Magi Heart

 

Cyn was still at the door by the time everything began unfolding, and he had little time, as it were, to interject when another interrupted. This, of course, irritated the knight on a cosmic scale, but he retained his anger for the dungeon itself. The man then dived over, flopping more like, as the catapult launched. It was a reflex, but it was notable that he'd leaped in the direction of his team, arms wide to try and body block a potential attack. After recovering from a rather embarrassing dive to save his friends from a nonexistent attack on them, the big guy formally introduced himself once more.

"As I have said, I am Cynesiege. I have training in two handed slash weapons, Aeromancy, and Illumancy! I bear my plate armor with PRIDE, HONOR, and JUSTICE!" The big guy pounded his chest a few times, and then grew rather solemn, and serious, "Are any of you faint of heart? I obtained a weapon recently, but... Some people have expressed a squeamish dislike of my weapon. It isn't fashioned from bodies, but it is rather... sinister in its application. I am willing to be weaker in my powers, if it means you all are safe and comfortable." Of course, at the mention of another, shyer member, Cyn cleared his throat awkwardly. "I will... I will keep it down, I believe I've scared the poor soul."

 

Beatle investigated the field to a certain extent, but it was hard to focus with such beautiful scenery everywhere he looked. The colors of the flowers were vibrant and gorgeous, the weather settings were prime, and the only thing Beatle could think about was how great it would be to just... live in the game. Not having to worry about bills or traffic or internet or any of the numerous things that make the real world so dreary and boring. How wonderful it would be to just leave it all behind and drift away...

Beatle was shaken out of his daze by Roland, asking him a question about the Muse mastery. Beatle reflexively gave him a shrug, and opened his mouth to answer, but before he even knew what he was going to say, the contraption Roland was standing on made a loud "SNAP" sound and launched some sort of package towards the Dungeon door.

Several things happened at once. As the Catapult activated, Cyn jumped to the side and struck a defensive pose, seemingly ready for anything. His reaction time proved promising, which gave Beatle great confidence in the Dungeon ahead. Roland and Ortix struck a combative stance at almost the exact same time, though Ortix seemed a little more confused than everyone else. Perhaps he missed the event? Magi was just out of Beatle's view at the moment, but he was sure that everyone knew that things were happening.

As the box landed, Beatle joined the group in observing its contents.

"That's.... different. Yep. Much different than what I expected..."

Beatle squatted closer to the box, reading the note and staring at the Skull for a little, intrigued by its realistic quality. He was pulled from his thoughts by Magi Heart calling from behind him.

"Hi, I'm sorry if I'm being rude but... are you okay Mr? You don't have to be shy, we are all friends here okay?"

Beatle smiled warmly at the girl's intent, and took her hand in his. He brought her knuckles to his mouth and kissed them, patting her hand in a reassuring way. "How sweet," he thought, "She's gonna make a fine healer, I just know it! So young and helpful and innocent..."

Beatle's mind jumped back to the bones in a box that sat behind him. Luckily he was in just the right spot to block Magi from seeing it's contents, but it raised the question; is she too young? Would seeing a skull and some bones in a game be psychologically damaging if there truly was a child playing the game? Its not like the E-mail he got had an ESRB rating on it...

Beatle hastily put the top back on the box and picked it up, figuring there was some purpose to its contents. Perhaps it was a quest item? Either way, it seemed important, and Beatle had plenty of room in his inventory.

It seemed the group was ready to go, with Ortix and Cyn immediately in front, and Roland hanging back near Beatle. "This should be perfect," Beatle thought. "If Roland and Magi both use their bows, we'll have a fair amount of both ranged and Melee damage, plus Roland can alternate into more melee and Magi can double as a healer! This party is so freaking balanced it's not even funny!... The whole communication thing might not even be that detrimental... right?"

Beatle took his place behind the front line, playing a more fast-paced medley that felt invigorating. Anyone paying attention would notice they had an on-going buff named "Bardic Winds", which simply increased the Party's movement speed slightly.

@Lyre

 

Hecabbit's Room

You all slowly trickle into the ruins, a beautiful melody spurring you on. All of you walked at a quicker pace than usual, the jingling sounds of rapid footsteps being coaxed by the Bardic Winds. Before long, you were standing before an old door. It took awhile and you all looked at each other, sharing a knowing glance, before someone stood up and opened the door. You were tense as the wooden opening slid open with a bloodcurdling screech, revealing what was inside.

It was a large room. An empty one. It seemed as though no one had inhabited it for a great many years, and that was to be expected from the state of dilapidation you had found the ruins in. As you stepped forward, you felt a chill. The wind blew past the entryway as the walls chipped and cracked, so fragile with age that a mere gust could damage it so greatly. The room was distinct for its lack of furniture or hospitality. It was cold, desolate, and dangerous. The walls were perfectly clear of any decor except for the four clocks that stood on the opposite end of where you were now. Despite the fact that the clocks had seemingly stopped working, frozen in four distinct times, there was a ticktock that permeated through room. It seemingly came from nowhere yet everywhere, the hollowness of the room echoing the sound.

The only other item that rightfully belonged in the room was a brown rabbit. A statue, perhaps, that sat right below the four clocks and had a menacing look to it. There was no way any type of machinery could survive this long, yet when one of you took another step closer the resounding ticktock grew louder. At this point, it was obvious as to where the sound had originated and a great many of you stared at the clock of apprehension, wariness, or fascination. To your surprise, the rabbit began to flicker a yellow light for a split second. Then, it happened again. And again. Longer and longer each time as you all stood there until the light suddenly flashed one last time and stayed on.

The clock hands refused to move and the rabbit's eye seemed to gleam and stare straight at you. Finally, with the newfound light illuminating the room, you could find one last part that you were all missing from the scene. There was a dark, almost unnoticeable door that laid on the right-hand wall. It stood a grand 6 feet yet was slim and quiet, closing in on itself. The moment one of you walked up and tried to turn the knob, however, it was locked. There was no way to break through it despite being made of flimsy material, seemingly protected by some sort of ancient magic beyond the skill of anyone of your party.

"The puzzle here," a voice pierced through the air. There was a rush of wind and you look behind you to see the cloaked creature once again. "Solve it to move forward. You can do that, right?" it smiled as, once again, it disappeared as soon as it came. The rabbit gave another ticktock and you all looked at the cause of it. The four clocks and the rabbit were disturbingly obvious in their meaning.





Another closer look at the objects in question had revealed several things to all of you. The clocks all showed different times, the rabbit construction had its hands on 4:20 and, for the most important conclusion, another piece of paper hung out from the rabbit's paw. Written in a childish scribble with an assortment of crayons read:

“my name is hecabbit! nice to meet you!
just find my mirror image!”

It was a puzzle you'd have to solve to move forward and, idly, you hoped it wasn't a trap.

​

RULES:

• On the bottom of your post, make a separate OOC note that clearly states your choice (Clock I, Clock II, Clock III, or Clock IV).
• The choice with the most votes will be selected as the official route.

@Beatle the Bard @Cynesiege @Roland Rutledge @Ortix Farlin @Magi Heart

 

Beatle shivered a bit as the door opened, and felt a rush of goosebumps crawl up his spine... or maybe that was a spider? Beatle was too bewitched to care. There was information being made available! Beatle entered the room readily, blissfully ignorant of its potential as a trap.

"The puzzle here," said the small cloaked creature from earlier, who had suddenly appeared behind them. "Solve it to move forward. You can do that, right?"

Just as it appeared, again it was gone. Beatle nodded once or twice to himself, going over all the information available. "Four clocks, each with the same hour hand but different minute hands. Gotta choose the right clock to match what the little machine had, but none of the clocks are on 4 o'clock? Then there's the note, probably left by our cloaked friend. Hecabbit, apparently, was its name. My mirror image...."

Beatle thought for a second, then checked the polished back end of his guitar to see his reflection. Grinning slightly, Beatle turned his back to the clocks and held the guitar out in front of him at an angle, testing to see just how realistic a game could get. Sure enough, the clocks reflected back towards him, displaying various minutes, but a consistent 4 on the hour hand. The closest representation to 4:20 would be both hands aligned, so Beatle jumped in front of the group and clapped his hands twice to attract their attention.

"What ingenious design..." Beatle thought wistfully.

He took a deep breath, gave a confident look, and held out the number 4 with his fingers.z

(OOC: 4th clock)

 

Though Bard didn’t respond to anyone’s attempt to start a conversation, Roland was glad to see he was at least playing his role accurately as he played a tune to increase their movement speed as they entered the threshold of the dungeon. It gave Roland a sense of urgency he tried to fight back as they strode forward. He eyed the walls of the dungeon carefully as someone, likely Cynsiege, opened the door forward, being distracted Roland didn’t know who, not that it mattered. Swiftly the group filled into the room and took in the bizarre scenery before them.

“Well whoever built this place really did go all out on the clock motif.” Roland said out loud as he inspected the four giant clocks on the other side of the room. “This will likely be some sort of puzzle.” Roland thought as the sound of ticking filled the room, realizing only now that it had actually been emanating from the brown rabbit below the old style grandfather clocks.

A mysterious voice suddenly pierced the air, causing Roland to spin in place, unsheathing his sword in a fluid motion. It was the creature from before who briefly hinted at their being a puzzle before disappearing again. “We will likely need to deal with that thing sooner or later.” Roland thought scornfully as he relaxed his stance and regained some of his composure, “I don’t think it will be an easy fight either.”

Pushing the thoughts out of his mind he focused on the puzzle at hand. It was simplistic, even more so than the mechanism to get in. Even better, the objective was all but spelled out for them in on a piece of paper than hung from the rabbit’s paw. Roland glanced at the clue, the rabbit’s whose arms pointed to its left, and then again at the available options. Roland opened his mouth to explain the puzzle, happy to enlighten any of his companions who might be struggling. "If the rabbits hands were a clock, they'd be pointing to 4:20. Since he wants the mirror image of this we must simply mentally visualize where the hands would move too." Simply missing Bard, who stuck his fingers in the air well before him, Roland announced loudly, “The answer must be the fourth clock.” Before moving over to the device inspecting it for a level or somehow to get past it.

(OOC: Roland chooses the fourth clock.)

 

The group descended into the dungeon. Ortix was in the middle of a stride when he suddenly received a small boost of speed. That was all it took, however, throw him off balance completely. With his next step he kicked his own ankle, stumbling forward with his hands out to catch his fall. When he in fact did not fall, his hands moved to cover his face and hide the apparent embarrassment he felt. He soon forgot about the happening as his party had reached the door at the end of the hallway. The door crept open slowly, revealing four clocks and a metallic rabbit with a clock of its own. To the party's right a door which blended in well with the wall. While he stood in thought, the strange creature from before appeared again. Seconds later it was gone without a trace once more.

"Say, why do we need to bother with this? There's a door right he- Ughh, Ughh! Well... nevermind then." The door would not budge an inch despite it's frail appearance.

"Okay then, let's do this clock thing after all." The ticking penetrated his very consciousness. This is where Ortix's subtle hatred of analog clocks began. He glossed over the paper in the rabbits paw until the bards pair of claps revived his attention in the clocks. The bard gestured towards the clock on the right end. Seconds later, the other man, Roland also said the answer was the fourth clock. Who was Ortix to disagree, haphazardly he also agreed on the first clock.

(OOC: Ortix chooses the fourth clock.)

@Beatle the Bard @Cynesiege @Roland Rutledge @Magi Heart

 

ANNOUNCEMENT

@Magi Heart and @Cynesiege have up to 16 hours (at 4:00 pm EST tomorrow) to post. Otherwise they will be skipped and, if they miss a post for two consecutive cycles, they will be kicked from the dungeon.​

 

The adventure had moved on into the ruins themselves. Magi Heart was left in awe of the almost Alice in Wonderland like decor. Even the scary kitty person had that feel to it. Sticking mostly to the rear of the group, Wendy saw how cool and good everyone was at the game compared to her. They all flipped through their status and seemed to know what they were doing so well. While Wendy had played maybe... one mobile rpg before? Why she didn't even play console games at all. This was a completely new genre other than for her love of magical girl anime. Even the bard guy made being quiet look kinda charming and cool. Wendy needed to work on this stuff a bit more.

As they continued along. They made their way into a big room. The sound of a clock was coming from... everywhere. How weird. Then Magi saw the the four clocks and the brown rabbit toy. Oh wow! She ran towards it wanting to check it out, but saw that it had a pretty scary face and that made her slow into a trot before stopping at the sight of it activating a yellow light. When the wind picked up and the creepy kitty returned from out of nowhere. Magi Heart almost fell on her butt from surprise. Why couldn't this stuff not be so scary? The kitty talked about solving the puzzle. Then there was a weird message about a mirror image. Wendy stopped for a moment to put a finger to her chin in thought. Oh yeah, this might not be that hard.... hopefully. Everyone else was making their guesses with a good amount of certainty. She would had come to the same conclusion and that made her very happy.

"Uh, the fourth clock, I guess? This seems pretty easy."

Wendy hoped this wasn't some kind of mean gag or something...


OOC: 4rth clock
@Cynesiege

 

At the heightened speed of his bootfalls, Cynesiege carried himself ever faster, and felt the rush of his fervor, that yearning for battle, ever growing. Hearing no qualms with drawing his rather... gruesome weapon, Cyn raised his hands high mid-charge, the weapon he held dissipating, and then from there he opened his palm. Guiding through the, rather cluttered at that, menu, the large knight summoned his over sized butcher's cleaver. He felt oddly... satisfied having the thing in his hands. As they arrived to the clocks, that knight crossed his arms, pacing back and forth as he mulled over the solution.

Sadly, he couldn't muster any extra brainpower, and shrugged. "Forgive me, friends. I cannot think of a solution for this. I'm built for combat, not for solving time puzzles. I will side with you all." The man walked over proudly, standing closest to the center of the group, he stood tall. "If anything happens, I will do my best to help you all."

(Fourth clock!)

 

Surprise Loot

You push through the forth the fourth clock which unsurprisingly pushed in with your hand. All five of you had agreed on this choice and, through that teamwork and trust, all five of you had came out unscathed and uninjured from this ordeal. Perhaps it was thanks to the smartest of you all who had figured the puzzle out. Maybe, instead, it was the charismatic ones who convinced your allies to not stray. The glory could fall between any one of you. That, however, doesn't matter.

As soon as the clock pushed it, there was a click. You withdraw your hand as the clock popped open from its position and fell to the floor, smashing into bits. Inside, where the hollow clock was, laid a golden key and a scroll of parchment paper. There was another whir and you look to see that the rabbit (Hecabbit, as it was called it the notes) had been unscrewed from its position. The metal-and-cog contraption would be too heavy for most of you to carry on your own without possible future consequences such as slowed speed or such.

Regardless, a UI pops up on all of your screens. The scroll disappears, vanishing into thin air, as you look at the pop-up to see an image in its likeness.
​

RULES:

• Copy and paste the code to your post.
• This round only: 100 words minimum.

Hidden: Loot UI

Loot

Recipe: Mother's Squid Cake The horrible taste grants you confidence for a few minutes. Even your cooking skills are better than whoever made this recipe.

Code:

[dice]d100[/dice]

@Ortix Farlin @Cynesiege @Magi Heart @Roland Rutledge @Beatle the Bard

 

Oh wow! Cool beans! Magi Heart laughed a little as the recipe appeared. But who would get it? She was not sure she even wanted something that tasted nasty like that... she liked sweet things, super sweet! Maybe she would give it to someone else if she got it, or give it one taste to see if it was really that bad first? It did sound gross though.

Thrown die:

33

 

Loot

Recipe: Mother's Squid Cake The horrible taste grants you confidence for a few minutes. Even your cooking skills are better than whoever made this recipe.

"A recipe... for squid cake?" Beatle stared at the screen, bewildered by the concept of such a cake. "Who in their right mind would eat such a thing for a confidence boost? You get the same result from pulling a Shia LaBeouf in the mirror! Plus, I'm not much of a cook, so pass."

Beatle hit the big red "X" on the item, forfeiting his chance at it.

 

Ortix was shocked when the clock shattered. He held high hopes that they didn't just break whatever contraption they were attempting to work. To his surprise there was a gold key and some kind of scroll in the shattered remains of the clock. Without a trace, the scroll vanished leaving Ortix with a confused look on his face until a picture of it popped up onto his hud.

"A recipe, huh? Might as well... maybe it's worth something!" Ortix then hopped forwards and swooped the key off the ground in one fluid motion. Next, he made his way over to the door and looked back.

"Just say the word and we're in!" He said looking back while gesturing at the door knob with the key.

Thrown die:

31

 

Roland was not surprised as the clock gave way as he pushed into it. What did surprise him was that the clock suddenly pushed back It quickly fell to the floor revealing a golden key and scroll, more worrisome was the mechanical bunny which had somehow become unscrewed from its position. Likely it was a part of the puzzle they had just solved, but why? What purpose did the rabbit have? Perhaps it –was- the trap if they had selected the wrong clock? Not knowing for sure Roland shook his head, muttering “It doesn’t matter” as he refocused himself on the items behind him. As he turned back to the item, however, an interface popped up revealing some sort of recipe, after quickly reading the description he pressed the dice button before waving it out of his face.

Thrown die:

56

Win or lose the supposed gamble, Roland would attempt to fetch the key and use it on the six foot door.