[Treasure] Forest On The Sea

Forest On The Sea

Along the coastal border of Dunnstads lies a curious, not so hidden gem that attracts both tourists and adventurers. As if a forest of trees, a seemingly endless quantity of densely clustered, towering masts can be seen protruding from a tightly knit fleet of ships that rest anchored just off the shore. Serving as both a jungle gym and a maze, a winding path of planks from one crow's nest to the next can be seen with occasional hops and gaps needing to be bridged by various dangling ropes and running jumps. Numerous children can be seen sliding down the sails of one ship, only to propel over to the next's for a landing as if it were a safety net.

Near the center of this dense network rests a small wooden chest that sits innocuously in one of the lower crow's nests. It appears to be entirely isolated, requiring some creative maneuvering in order to gain access to it.


Only one route may be utilized:

Hidden: You've earned your sealegs!

Requires Adept in one of the following: Seafaring
You're well versed with maneuvering about ships. This is a piece of cake.

If the first post results in a fail, players may:

• Exit the thread permanently and return to safety unharmed (edit your post with a few words about leaving).
• No, there's no second attempt.

Hidden: Trail Blazing: Not for the weak of heart...

With enough time and effort, perhaps an adventurer could properly navigate this nightmare of a jungle gym in order to claim a prize they clearly lacked the skill set for... Be careful though! Between the poor footing, the rocking boats and the harsh winds, it's a long way to fall...

1. Roll d100 in your post.
2. A roll of 85 or higher is needed to successful brute force your way through the obstacle without the proper knowledge and skills to navigate from one ship to the next. If the first post results in a fail, players may choose 1 of 2 options:

• Exit the thread permanently and return to safety unharmed (edit your post with a few words about leaving).
  
• Proceed anyway and post a second time (no words required) with your roll(s). Failure on the second roll results in character death.

Code:

[dice]d100[/dice]

The Pirate's Chest : After arriving at the small wooden chest, one can tell that it's sealed by magical runes. Upon closer inspection, there is a small object resting nearby that's been hollowed out and carved out of whale bone. Small holes can be seen littering the length of the bone, indicating that perhaps its a wind instrument of some sorts. Surely this isn't a coincidence...


Note: This is an event for people (one account per OOC player) who have yet to open a treasure chest this month (timer reset's on the first of the month). Last reset - 7/01/17.

List of Ineligible Participants:
@Roland Rutledge

Briefly tell a story about what were you doing up until this point, then describe how you would claim the goods inside the "chest". (300 words minimum, 500 words maximum)

1/1 Reward Claimed​

 

The scent of briny seas didn't call to the hunter like the crisp mountain winds or the heady forest air, but Gwyn was not the kind of woman to turn down an adventure, even less so a challenge, and so she roamed. Obstacles were just as welcome a fight as a beast and when she stumbled upon the smattering of ships turned death trap over a treasure chest? She was game.

She fit her fist into her palm as she looked up and up and up at the tangled masts with a grin, "Let's give in a shot then, folks." Said folks in attendance being a grand total of her singular pet. He didn't look impressed since he always looked scared, but she dismissed him. No need for him to get hurt even if she did. With that she was off. She was more than used to the terrible winds that seemed resolute in trying to tear apart the sails of the collection of ships, they were just as mighty as those of higher altitudes. Gwyn was perfectly talented at navigating the obstacles themselves, years of looking for and testing out the perfect foot and handholds served her well.

What she was decidedly not used to was the fact her little jungle gym was moving beneath her. The rocking and shifting was dangerous and she had more than once had to duck sharply to avoid the shifting of wood that sent something her way. A fine foothold had become useless to her when the wind pulled it out from under her foot and only the strength in her upper body was enough to keep her up. Cliffs did not move. Rocks fell, yes, but they didn't writhe like serpents and Gwyn found herself unsettled where normally she'd be at home. Finally, perched on the end of a spar, Gwyn reached the end. If her leap was true and she landed in the crow's nest then she'd set about trying to figure out the sea shanty perhaps that unlocked the chest.

Thrown die:

23

​

Unfortunately, it wasn't her day. The wind snatched at the boat both her and the chest were and on and her jumped was sorely misjudged. She fell harmlessly into the sail below her mark and slid down with a tight grip on one of the ropes. "Guess today's not my day." Maybe she'd try her hand at more seafaring in the future, given the time. For now, it was back to the wilds she went.

 

Alpha had been taking the day off from her regular schedule of finding quests and beating up baddies for money and stress-relief once she had heard about one of Dunnstads' brightest tourist attractions: a forest of boats and masts on the sea. She hadn't exactly believed it despite being in a game that was precisely based on the fictional imagination but curiosity (ever getting her in trouble; ever putting her in motion) had drew her to the shoreline to see what all the fuss was about. When she had finally arrived in Dunnstads, however, she found herself amazed by what had greeted her. Rows upon rows of ships littered the ocean top and she could scarcely see a bit of blue within the checkered aisles of wooden seafaring construction. All around her were of marveled spectators and the sound of playing children bouncing and hopping from ship to ship, rolling off the sails of a ship like a slide and landing on the next boat a distance ahead. It was like a flying monkey circus and Alpha's eyes shone with sparkles and amazement.

"Woah," was all she could manage to get out, taken aback and unable to recover from the surprise for a solid minute. Without even thinking or looking around the area (if she had, she would've noticed a familiar chest nestled tightly in one of the crow's nests that rested underneath the flagpole), she rushed to the fray, not wanting to miss anymore excitement. "Are you guys playing tag? Can I join?" she called out from the distance, doing a cartwheel until her foot landed on the sturdy planks. Some of the kids stared at her in confusion and others nodded. She grinned before snatching one of the many bandannas lying beneath her feet (alongside wooden swords and balloon animals). Tying it on her head, she immediately climbed up the center pole. "Haha! Catch me if you can!" she landed onto the crow's nest, making sure that they could reach her, albeit with some difficulty. Then she plopped down and, as she did so, she felt her bottom land on something hard and stone-cold and she winced, jumping up with a yelp. She looked down to what had caused her the discomfort. "Why are these treasure chests everywhere?" she asked to no one in particular before her curiosity had, once again, taken charge and she found herself trying to pry the container open. Unfortunately, after her first attempt failed, she was immediately distracted as the kids began to climb up far faster than she had expected. With a wild grin, she leaped up and set herself up on a different crow's nest. "Try harder!"

Thrown die:

23

 

Leaping precariously from one boat to another, Amane didn't know what she'd been thinking, going after such a treasure chest. Even though one placed in such a hard to reach location had to bear treasures of nigh impossible rarities, surely it wasn't worth anything remotely close to her life. But here she was, almost half way through the maze of intertwining ropes and planks, the boats swirling gently in the waves. The rocking motions of each individual ship weren't too hard a thing to overcome, but it was the combine shaking of the entire mass that threw her completely out of her comfort zone.

I can do this, she told herself, feeling vaguely sick. She'd already made it this far — going back now would expend almost the same amount of effort as continuing forward anyway. So really, turning back wasn't an option, unless absolutely no other choice presented itself. But how to continue forwards, however? The situation had surpassed being a mere issue of courage; even if she dared to, Amane doubted she'll be physically able to jump or swing herself over to the next boat.

Reaching out a hand, she grasped onto the nearest rope, winding it in complicated loops over her wrists, arms, and fingers, topping it with a knot that she closed within her fists. Grabbing on tight, she jumped off from the crow's nest, soaring gracefully in the air for a second or two, only to smash into the mast in front of her, collapsing in a tangled heap of limbs and ropes. Amane could feel her health bar trickle down, but at least it worked, and it was still loads better than falling. Climbing back up, he repeated the process, preparing herself once again for another jump.

In this manner, she made steady, albeit slow progress, inching her way towards the one crow's nest with the treasure at its top. But soon she'd gone as close as she dared, she realised that she couldn't possibly make the last jump. It was too wide, and too high up, to manage it without a mastery that provides speed boosts, like Aeromancy. But giving up was out of the question. How then, to proceed? Suddenly, the faint buzzing in her mind grew in potency. Eyes widening in understanding, Amane frantically began opening negotiations with the spirits, hoping against hope that one of them would be willing to aid her in a floatation spell, or really anything along those same lines.

OOC:

Thrown die:

85

EDIT;; Breathing a sigh of relief when her spell seemed to work, she leaped forwards, landing in the crow's nest. Amane crouched in front of the chest, scrutinising the magical seals that sealed its lock. Well, she was no rogue, but magic stuff she could handle. Placing a palm on its surface, she channeled a stream of Arcanamancy into the chest, fidling with it gently until the seal gave way, the chest popping open with a satisfying burst. It was a simple matter then to put whatever was inside into her inventory, leaving Amane to answer a much more vital question — how to get down.

 

@Amane Hirota

Still waiting to see how she opens the chest... (Anyone else is free to try and claim the prize. I'll compare it to any edit time stamps if needed).

 

Aye sorry Hec, it's open now! ^-^;

@Hecatus

 

The chest responds violently as the forces enchanted upon it detect improper interactions with the runes. A blinding flash of light radiates from the container as a wave of magic washes over @Amane Hirota . Given a moment or two, vision returns to the vixen's eyes, making it painfully clear that she's been returned back to the shoreline...

(The chest still available to whomever can claim it properly.)

 

The entire path which laid upon her was intimidating in the least to say. In order to truly traverse it's settings with as little fail as possible one would need precision, cautiousness and athletic strength. One false step would lead to one plummeting to their doom. The idea still beckoned towards her, the path laid out as if it was a parkour field. While the chances of her success were low, it was always worth a shot. While she was lacking in all three fields that would be needed in order to traverse the gym, there was one path that she excelled in. Courage. Clearing away all the quiet doubts which whispered in her mind, she took a firm grasp upon a vine and jumped, letting out a mighty scream in the process.

The swing itself brought an exhilarating feeling flowing through her body, reminisce to a child who would play on the swing. However, it was taxing upon her arms which were struggling to hold her body weight up. However, the pain was what allowed her to make the swing. It had snapped her out of the almost hypnotic state she was in and signal her to land on a tree branch. While she had nearly lost her footing, she was successful. However, her success would nearly lead to her downfall as Augusta made the rash decision to swing once more without a break nor scouting the area for another place to land. As soon as she touched the vine and had jumped off the vine and was in mid-swing she realized that she had mistaken how far the next perch was and had begun to fall. She would feel her health bar trickle down as she hit branch by branch, only able to catch herself after the third impact.

Rubbing her aching body, Augusta looked up. While her fall was not fatal, she was still stranded from the branch she would have to reach. However, Augusta had another plan as she brought up her spells. There was a way to get one more chance, but it would be taxing upon her energy. Casting the spell, she would find herself upon the branch she laid before. She need not be rash again as she would not be able to recover a second time. While she had convinced herself to play it safe, the truth laid itself in front of her. The next jump was nearly impossible if she were not to time it correctly. She could only close her eyes and cross her fingers before she gripped the vine and began to jump.

Thrown die:

41

While she tried her best to be careful, she was simply too impatient to do so. Her hands left the vine too quickly as she fell down upon the forest ground. Disoriented she had almost believed she was dead but fortunately she had survived barely. It would not have been wise if she were to stay. Maybe this wouldn't be worth it in the end regardless. Standing back up, Augusta then abandoned her quest and traveled elsewhere.

 

Zaos had ventured to the coast just to see what it was like, and he was quite impressed by what he saw. Even just travelling there was an adventure, since the trees were taller than anything he had ever encountered. But finally he reached the small cluster of ships he had heard about in the rumours. There was said to be treasure there, hidden somewhere in the maze of sails and masts. Curious to see how the thing was set up, Zaos had made the trip out and now stood at the start of the branching paths of planks. It looked dangerous, but he was willing to give it a shot.

His small size gave him a slight advantage as he traversed the winding maze of planks and ropes, being able to walk on the narrow wooden path quite confidently than someone of normal height and weight. Children played among the ships like it was a normal playground, and he watched them carefully, noting how they moved about the ships. Upon meeting some large jumps that were too wide for him to jump over, he followed the kids' lead and used one of the sails as a trampoline of sorts to bounce onto the next ship. It was terrifying, flying through the air like that, but it gave him an exhilarating rush as well.

Finally, he spotted a chest in the crow's nest of one of the ships and stopped. The gap was still too wide for him to leap over, but there had to be a way across. Leaning on the railing of the crow's nest, he studied the situation. If he couldn't get there from the top, then he'd try from the bottom. Reaching the deck of the ship that the treasure was on proved easy enough, since it was just a careful walk across the pole that held the sail on one ship to the similar pole on the ship he wanted on, then a quick slide down the ropes to the deck.

Once on board, he checked his energy levels and then header for the mast. There were rope ladders going most of the way up the mast, so he had no trouble with those, but the last span was ladderless, so he had to rely on his own strength to get up there. Hopefully he could make it.

Thrown die:

63

Halfway up, a stray gust of wind hit him, almost tearing him off of the mast. It caused him to loose his grip and he slid back down to the point where the last ladder stopped, loosing a good chunk of energy and some health. Deciding that another attempt might be dangerous, he left to go explore the rest of the gathering of ships.

 

By the time Alpha had come back to the Forest on the Sea in Dunnstads, for the explicit purpose of testing her luck once more in opening that treasure chest, it had been days of excruciating training and learning on the mechanics of seafaring and naval ships. In the end, she could firmly say that her abilities navigating, using, and managing a sea vessel could be comparable to an established sailor if she did say so herself (despite having no frame of comparable reference otherwise). And now, it was with these skills, that she had traversed through grassy and wheat plains to solve her case of curiosity.

Determined, she had no idea if the treasure box would still be there after so long of a wait but she was resolute in her goal. She had to know what was in there and, with all the tourists and witnesses around, she could find out whoever opened it (if there was anyone who had done so) and pester them until they'd reveal what they had obtained as a mysterious prize. "I'm so ready for this," she hyped herself up, pumping her arm back and forth into the air as her companions all watched with red faces behind her. They trailed slowly, as if they had not wanted to be associated with her dalliances, and Fish had a case of stained purple cheeks.

She quickly pushed her way through the dense crowds (for once happy that her small size had helped her in some fashion; although that might've been just her Rogue mastery at work) and was soon at the front lines looking straight at the massive militia of sea boats. After her intense tutelage (cut to a training montage here), she was finally able to recognize the architectural quality of the construction of the boats and found herself in awe for a solid minute. And then she hopped pass all the playing children with ease, climbing the pole, and landed onto the crow's nest. To her surprise, she found the box to be undisturbed from her last visit and, with a grin, got to work. She pulled out her Professional's Lockpicks and immediately began examining the lock closely, looking at every minute detail to a practiced precision. She'd unlock this box if it was the last thing she did.

 

The chest responds violently as the forces enchanted upon it detect improper tampering with the runes. A blinding flash of light radiates from the container as a wave of magic washes over @Alphabet Chocolate . Given a moment or two, vision returns to the young girl's eyes, making it painfully clear that she's been returned back to the shoreline...

(The chest still available to whomever can claim it properly.)

 

Alpha groaned as she got whirled back to the shoreline and, when faced with the familiar sight, growled in outrage. Luckily, Terry and co. were still around her and, with loud stomps and tightly closed fists, she slowly made her way back to the Forest on the Sea. Luckily, she was still in Dunnstads and it was only a few minutes of walking before she had reached the oddly nostalgic location. With a huff, she was so gonna make this box pay for all the trouble. And she was gonna loot it for all it had at this rate. Without another word, she gestured for Terry and the rest to stay with the tourists in the shoreline as she made her way through.

After a few more jumps through navigating the ship's sails and locations, she managed to land into the crow's nest yet again. She decided to stare at it with an unblinking gaze, fully concentrated on her attempt to decipher this puzzle. Apparently the holes on the box weren't a lock at all but some sort of mystery for her to figure out. The detailed magical runes that she had tried to solve (similar to the Forest Trapdoor) was, in fact, probably purely decoration so she chose not to focus on it any longer. After a few more minutes of staring, something clicked in her head.

"An...ocarina?" she hesitated, looking over the instrument from all angles. "Or a flute? Uh, I think I've seen one of these before?" she didn't know what to do, having never played an instrument in her entire life (other than mandatory orchestra, band, and chorus during her elementary school years but that was long behind her). She took a deep breath, steeling herself for whatever may come. She could only hope she wouldn't be whisked away back to the shoreline once again. And then, she huffed and puffed into the holes, moving her fingers around confusedly. This better work. With her free hand, she crossed her fingers.

 

Wrecked ships upon the shores of the Dunnstad coast seemed like a perfect place to investigate leads into necromancy, if such skills were even available within the game. Pirate ships and merchant wrecks were notorious for having undead milling and meandering where they weren’t particularly wanted. Namely, above the surface of their watery graves. Navigating the wreckage of several vessels upon the graveyard, Lord Lemming moved from one water logged mess to the next, bemused at what she saw.

Each seemed to be an intricate part of a sort of maze, or obstacle course, where a path could be divined from the arrangement of the debris as you jumped from ship to ship and raced towards the path’s end. She lacked the rogue-like abilities to simply leap of course. One stupid and desperate jump would send her plunging into the waters below… But she had her pyromancy, and with it as an aide, she bolstered her movement and gave herself an unimpressive but none the less beneficial double-jump; blasting the air under her mid-fall and propelling herself further along her path so that she could make up for with magic what she lacked in athletics. The ships were old and warped and soaked with moss and rain and so were in no danger of catching fire as she trudged along, finding herself at last amidst a small area where a strange chest lay, and near it a pipe of bone.

She glared at the pipe, suspicious for a moment at the likely trap that it was, but if the thing was able to summon undead then it was something that could benefit her on her quest for personal growth and power. The chest was a curious presence but not something that greatly interested her; still, she planned to toy with it once she was done investigating the instrument. Picking it up, she examined the number of holes it held and placed her hands upon it awkwardly, not trained in the Music mastery but attempting to utilize the tool regardless. Perhaps it was a magic tool, and she didn’t need to actually know the music? But what to play… Smiling, she blew upon the pipe and recited a very crude version of the Chest Opening Theme from an ancient game, just to bemuse herself.

Thrown die:

76

 

Thrown die:

76

RIP

 

The system bars Alphabet's entry due to too many attempts. Her foot is met with an invisible wall of force that refuses to budge.