Twisted Tavern Group 1

Speech -- Thoughts

They ended up as a group of five, and Pam was pleasantly surprised to see Amelia. The latter hadn't struck her as someone who would be interested in an escape room, as far as she had known her. Surprises never ceased, really.

Dennis had taken to casting the repairing charm on the broken pieces, and Pam watched, fascinated as the pieces reattached themselves into a cup, displaying a bold '2' in the front side of it. She spotted two pieces of paper inside the cup, before Dennis' words distracted her and she flashed the boy a grin. He was silly, and Pam was always finding herself majorly amused because of him. "You expect too much," she told him, glancing at the writing on the cup, "Do you suppose that's the number of the clue?" She asked into the room.

Dennis read out the clues to the group with a dramatic flourish Pam would never tell him she liked. The girl knew nothing about potions so the input from the Ravenclaw was very much welcome. She was, however, more interested in the assortment of random variables written on the second chip of paper. "Is that a different language?" She mumbled, before Dennis responded, leaving her to feel dumb. "A cipher...right, I knew that."

Pam took up the paper and quill Amelia had placed on the table, flashing the girl a grin, "Good thing you brought your bag." before seating herself next to Dennis. Pam had solved ciphers before, it was a bit difficult until you could figure out how the letters had been shifted. Dennis has already done that for me. She jotted down the sentence the boy had said, before remarking, "So....seven letters forward? Why did you get that so quickly?" She supposed that was the advantage of having one or more Ravenclaws in the group.

Figuring out the rest of the cipher proved to be easy, especially with the availability of the pen and paper. Pam lifted up the paper with the decripted riddle, "Hey, this actually makes sense!"

If the answer to the code you seek,
Then the next digit you need is three,
Only one more and you'll be free
The next is to answer found,
A string of memories aloud,
Music that will make you proud.

She read out the riddle to the room and looked up, "I think this is correct. So...got any ideas?"

𝕽uth had barely set the lute back down when she heard the breathless voice of Amelia behind her. She froze momentarily, then relaxed to cock her head in Amelia's direction, nodding back at her. "Don't worry, we just started," she told the girl, then smiled at Dennis, stepping to the side so that he didn't have to go through the trouble of looking past her shoulder (which honestly wasn't very hard). "I've never gotten to try a lute before," she admitted. "It's quite lovely." Ruth stifled her chuckle at Dennis's tease.

As she did step aside, Dennis had already swiftly taken his wand out of his pocket, incanting "Reparo!" at the pile of shards Ruth hadn't paid much attention to. Right before her eyes, the shards molded back together like clay, jigsaw pieces snapping into a finished puzzle. This puzzle, as it turns out, was a cup with a single number engraved on it.

Ruth frowned at the sight. Yes, the two must mean something. She took a glance towards the old combination lock, the brass awaiting the correct numbers inputted. A boy stood next to it, seemingly having come in at a time Ruth had been paying attention to the cup. Ruth decided to introduce herself later, her attention flitting back to Dennis, who now held two slips of paper in his hand and was reading one. "Wit needs to be enhanced?" she mumbled, before her eyes widened. Aurelia had something about this, hadn't she? Listening to her ramble was worth it after all!

"We need the wit sharpening--" she was beginning to say when Dennis cut her to it. She nodded meekly, then stepped forward to the table with the potions, staring at each cautiously. Her experience with consuming one randomly hadn't been the best, and she would hate to do it again. The thought sent a shiver down her spine as she reached for the white potion with trembling hands. Calm down, she snapped at herself. This isn't some random potion. There was little possibility of getting this one wrong. The luminescent white was hard to miss, further confirming its function. Just as she raised it to her lips, a thought occurred to her.

What if?

It was then did Pamela's voice jolted her out of her thoughts, and she whirled around to find her friend beaming as she proudly raised a piece of paper in the air, the unmistakable handwriting of hers scribbled across the note. As Pamela read through the resolved cipher, Ruth placed the potion back down, relieved. "Guess we don't need a Wit-Sharpening potion, then, eh?" she asked, suppressing a sigh of relief. She joined the two again. "'The next digit you need is three'...well then, isn't that easy? We now have two numbers to put into the combination lock," she held up her fingers, her left holding up a '2' and the other '3'. "One more and then we can get out of this place."

The next few lines stumped her. "A string of memories? Aloud?" Ruth chewed her lip, then walked past the two back to where she had placed the lute. "I mean. This is kind of the only thing that can produce music, isn't it?" Besides the gramophone, which Amelia looked to be checking out. She would leave her to it. She plopped herself down on the spare stool that the instrument had been leaning against. It was surely worth a try to trigger something. If nothing happened, well...Ruth was never really good at solving riddles anyway.

Balancing the lute on her right thigh, she gently curved her hand on the lower half of the lute's neck, then began plucking at the strings awkwardly, her eyes constantly shifting around the area before her to see if anything changed or occurred.

Stamina: 6 | Evasion: 7| Strength: 4 | Wisdom: 8 | ArcPower: 4 | Accuracy: 6
Ability: ’s Grace
Action: Playing the lute.
Interactions: @Amelia Garnett, @Glen Boren,@Pamela Graham, @Dennis Tumberton
Mentions: @Sabrina Lyons

This group of players are certainly doing well, skipping the entire process with the potions and figuring out the cipher all by themselves. Perhaps the food, drink, and overall vibes of the main ball in the great hall some of them were in helped, or maybe they were just educated on ciphers, it was certainly lucky that one of them happen to have a quill and parchment. Whatever it was, it got them a successful result and allowed them to move on to the next part.

Ruth and Amelia were the two players quick to try to find the answer to this clue Dennis and the others managed to crack. With Ruth trying to play the lute and Amelia checking the gramophone for some kind of clue. No matter how good or bad Ruth's music on the lute was it would not yield a result, too bad for her the place of the answer is with the gramophone, sitting on the bar. As Amelia would inspect the gramophone she would find a small vinyl poking out from the bottom, it was a five inch vinyl, smaller than any standard size you would find in a store, and under it was another note, on it is says:

The next clue will not be in sight
Unless you charm it down by flight
On the ground it lays not
So look up and your attention will be caught

If anyone were to look up after reading that note they would just barely make out something on top of the rafters, too high for anyone to reach. Assuming Amelia would play the vinyl on the gramophone, the sound that comes out would not be any kind of music, instead it is a word, "seven". Now, with three out of the four numbers needed for the lock found, it shouldn't be long before they are free.

Group #1 players: @Glen Boren, @Dennis Tumberton, @Amelia Garnett, @Pamela Graham, @Ruth Fairchild, and @Sabrina Lyons
Rolls:
N/A

The black void. No, no, not dramatic enough. How about the endless darkness? Ugh, not cool enough. Amelia had her head almost in the gramophone's horn, trying to peer inside and name what she saw. No wonder it was so dark, she blocked almost all of the light. She left a hole for the light to come through, but it didn't help her see anything in there. Guess there wasn't anything, then, right?

Amelia stepped back, letting the light flood in fully. Empty, then. She moved on to the outer layer of the golden horn, passing a hand over its cold surface. Nope, no out-of-place bumps or anything. Just smooth metal and smooth wood.

Out of the corner of her eye she could see Ruth doing something with the potions, but she didn't dare turn her head to see what she was doing. Instead, she listened as Pam and the boy next to her solved the riddle. A proud smile spread across her face as Pam read the solution out loud. Yup, that was her friend!

Hang on, what now? Play the lute? Not wanting to miss it in case anything happened when Ruth played, but also to not meet Ruth directly, Amelia turned only halfway, keeping her eyes peeled, and listening as the unique sounds of the lute filled the room. No, aside from the other members in the room, there wasn't any movement.

Disappointed, Amelia turned back to the gramophone, more out of boredom than belief it'd have anything. The box had such an old design, Amelia had never seen one of these in real life before. Did they all have shiny black pieces under them that looked like... vinyl?

"Guys, check this out!" Lifting the gramophone carefully, Amelia grabbed hold of the small rounded object underneath. As she raised it she noticed a piece of paper sitting beneath it. Amelia took it out as well, then replaced the gramophone, making sure it was steady.

How could she forget? A gramophone was a record player, it produced music! Amelia facepalmed herself mentally, then turned around to face the room. She held up the two objects for everyone to see, read the note out loud, then put it down on the table, still holding the vinyl, and asked, "Does anyone know how to play this?"

𝑺𝑻𝑨𝑻𝑺:
𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂: 6 | 𝑬𝒗𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏: 6 | 𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉: 3 | 𝑾𝒊𝒔𝒅𝒐𝒎: 7 | 𝑨𝒓𝒄𝑷𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓: 6 | 𝑨𝒄𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒚: 7
𝑨𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔: finding the next clue & vinyl, presenting them to the room

𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 & 𝑴𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈: @Pamela Graham, @Dennis Tumberton, @Ruth Fairchild, @Glen Boren, @Sabrina Lyons
𝑶𝒖𝒕𝒇𝒊𝒕: the dress + a french braid +a black school bag (:

Dennis felt bad about cutting off Ruth’s train of thought about potions. He shot her an apologetic look as she realized they’d no longer be needing the potion. “Sorry…” he mouthed sympathetically as Pamela deftly solved the rest of the cipher. “Well done, Pamela! That was a brilliant job! I couldn’t have done all that!” He said enthusiastically giving her a pat on the back.

As Pam read the clue out loud the others got to solving it. Amelia went to the gramophone and Ruth took center stage with the lute. She rested the instrument against her leg and started to pluck it. Even if it was awkward and it looked like she had never played an instrument before in her life, Dennis was suitably impressed. However, his attention was caught once more with Amelia sticking her head so fall into the horn of the gramophone he feared she might actually fall in and never be seen from again! This was after all Hogwarts, benign things were often the most dangerous.

“Careful not to fall in,” he warned softly as he approached her, ready to grab her at a moment's notice should she actually fall in. However, his fears did not come to pass and she presented the room with both a record and the location of the next clue. “Wow! You clever girl! That’s amazing!” He said mouth agape, excitedly taking the record and playing it. “I love music!” He continued as he attempted to play the record, ignoring completely that there was another clue to be had.

Dennis’ excitement turned to frustration. “This dingy old record, it’s just saying ‘seven’ over and over again. This music stinks.” He said as he removed the record, holding it in his hand and frowning. “We should probably throw this out huh?” For a boy who cracked a cipher without so much as a quill and parchment, he sure had his moments…

Interacting with: , @Amelia Garnett, @Pamela Graham, @Ruth Fairchild,

Action: Playing the record

Equipment: Dogbreath Potion

Abilities: Fearless and Impartial

Sta: 5 | Eva: 8 | Str: 1 | Wis: 8 | Arc: 8 | Acc: 10

𝓝othing. No sudden appearance of a magical apparition, no revelation of a secret compartment. Unable to hide her disappointment, she placed the lute back down on the stool and stood, brushing her hands down her dress. It had creased ever since the run to the Small Hall with Pamela--now, with the shifting and sitting, the wrinkles were growing much more visible by the minute. Mum won't like this, she thought idly to herself as she attempted to smooth the rumples one last time. Ruth looked up in Amelia's direction as the Slytherin called out to all of them.

From where Ruth stood, Amelia had grabbed something from underneath the gramophone, now nestled in her palm. As she drew closer, Ruth could make out a piece of paper. Another note. The other hand held up a vinyl, and this Dennis intercepted with a quick pip: "I love music!" Ruth couldn't help but smile as he lowered the needle onto the first groove. Ruth couldn't help but admit that yes, some music would be nice to fill the empty atmosphere.

Her expectations plummeted quickly when all that played was the number seven. Hold on, seven? "Another number," Ruth mumbled. That would make it the third one, then. Two, Three, Seven. To her amusement, Dennis was grumbling. She let out a light laugh as she stepped forward, teasingly nudging the lad. "You silly," she chided. "That's the next number for the combination lock." She threw a thumb in the direction of the brass lock behind them. "Now, according to the note..."

Ruth peered up. Sure enough, something did catch her eye--but due to the distance between whatever it was and her, she couldn't pick out what it was. Without hesitation, she took off her ballet flats, grunting slightly as she clambered onto the nearest table and stood, her neck craning back up to catch a better glimpse, to no ado. "We've got to knock it down," she said aloud to nobody in particular, then wobbled slightly. Best not to stay on the table for long. With the ballet flats still in her hand, she threw her arm back and let one flat fly with no aim whatsoever. Of course, the result was obvious, and the shoe went spiraling back towards the stool with the lute, skidding down close to it. Ruth let out a dry chuckle and climbed down. "Don't mind me, folks," she managed to say as she hopped away from the gramophone to retrieve her flat back.

Stamina: 6 | Evasion: 7| Strength: 4 | Wisdom: 8 | ArcPower: 4 | Accuracy: 6
Ability: ’s Grace
Action: --
Interactions: @Amelia Garnett, @Glen Boren,@Pamela Graham, @Dennis Tumberton

Dennis looked at Ruth and then at the record that was in his hand. So it was an actual clue to how to unlock the door. Well isn’t that quite brilliant. Maybe the music didn’t suck at all because…it wasn’t meant to be music! Dennis nodded sufficiently satisfied with Ruth’s explanation and put the record down on the table. He was just about to take note of the paper that Amelia had pointed out when, and much to Dennis’ surprise, his Hufflepuff pasta-taster was now on a table!

Dennis rushed over, afraid she would fall, arms out to catch her just in case. “Ruth, what are…” Dennis asked before ducking her low flying shoe. Did she just throw her shoe at him? Dennis looked up at her with hurt and disappointment. It dawned on him that she was aiming, not for him, but for the note. He looked back at her with a ‘really’ look and drew his wand.

“You know…we are wizards,” Dennis chuckled. She was a good chef but he was starting to doubt if she was as good with a wand as she was with a fork. “Wingardium leviosa!” Dennis commanded with a flick of his wand, pointed at the note, attempting to lower it to the table, at Ruth’s feet.

Interacting with: , @Amelia Garnett, @Pamela Graham, @Ruth Fairchild,

Action: Casting Wingardium Leviosa on the note

Equipment: Dogbreath Potion

Abilities: Fearless and Impartial

Sta: 5 | Eva: 8 | Str: 1 | Wis: 8 | Arc: 8 | Acc: 10

The tiny record was played and the players swiftly moved on to the next part, determined to get out of here as soon as possible. Though this ball planner does have to ask that they do not throw away or wreak the record. Ruth's attempt to get the note down was certainly...something but I can hardly say it had any chance of succeeding at all, especially considering it was not a large object at all. You'd think being a broom racer would make the use of spells in this scenario more clear, but that fact would be made up for by the duellist in the room. None other then the boy who managed to crack that cipher without using the potions provided at all. Dennis made quick work of the simple levitation charm, letting the small note float onto the bar table next to where Ruth's ballet flat fell down near. If Dennis, Ruth, or anyone else in the room opened and read it, it would say:

Now that all the digits have now been found
Leaving this tavern is finally allowed
Retrace all your steps and you will see
That is where you will enter the key.

And if someone picked up the note and flipped it over, on it is the final digit this group needs, a singular, simple "1".

Group #1 players: @Glen Boren, @Dennis Tumberton, @Amelia Garnett, @Pamela Graham, @Ruth Fairchild, and @Sabrina Lyons
Rolls:

Reducio

dennis casts Wingardium Leviosa, wdc 9 based on average wdc of first year duelling spells
[d20 : 18] + 8 = 26, success

"𝓦ell, sorry for trying to be a little funny," Ruth bit back playfully, a cheeky smile on her face as she turned away from the rest and continued to hop towards the thrown shoe. In her impulsive act, Ruth hadn't stopped to consider whether her ballet flats might have dented in the process of their impact against the ground. She could only hope not...her mother wouldn't be pleased about it. She winced at the thought of her face contorted into horror upon the realisation of what her daughter had done. How could Ruth forget? Her mother adored clothing and accessories and everything in between.

Wobbling slightly, she bent down to inspect the wings of her ballet flat. Thankfully enough, due to its design, there was barely a light scuff. It was then that Ruth heard Dennis incant "Wingardium Leviosa" from behind her back. Ruth slipped on the flat once more and straightened, coincidentally catching sight of a white flicker of paper drifting down onto a table. She adjusted the heel of her shoe, then walked towards it, glancing at Dennis for a moment before picking the paper up and flipping it open.

A feeling of triumph soared through her chest as Ruth read the note aloud, her eyes flashing with victory. She held the note up in the air and bounced lightly on her toes, waving it around wildly. "Mates, we did it!" she cried aloud, the grin on her face so wide it hurt. And without drinking any of the bloody potions, too. This she shuddered lightly at.

Gesturing everyone over, she bounded towards the combination lock that had caught her attention a long time ago. Only now did she take the time to examine the brass material and graze a finger on the first dial before rotating the disks to a number "2". "First was the cup," she murmured to herself as she moved on to the next disk, pausing reluctantly. "Oh, bollocks," she mumbled, then looked over her shoulder at the rest, shooting them a sheepish grin. "I've forgotten what the second number is. But the third and fourth ones are..." She quickly spun the wheels such that the numbers "7" and "1" beamed back at them. "These."
She then turned to the rest of them, head tilted slightly in contemplation. "Well?"

Stamina: 6 | Evasion: 7| Strength: 4 | Wisdom: 8 | ArcPower: 4 | Accuracy: 6
Ability: ’s Grace
Action: Entering 2 _ 7 1 into the combination lock
Interactions: @Amelia Garnett, @Glen Boren,@Pamela Graham, @Dennis Tumberton

Speech -- Thoughts

The rest of the game progressed pretty smoothly, Pam thought, watching as the others worked steadily. Amelia found out the third clue in the gramophone and soon she found herself staring up at the ceiling, squinting her eyes to try to read it, before a pink shoe flew neatly into her sight.

Ruth Fairchild was up on the table and had apparently thrown her shoe at the last clue. What the lack of better judgement... Pam frowned, unsure of whether she should have found it funny. What she did definitely find funny was the fact that Dennis had almost gotten hit by said shoe while trying to make sure Ruth did not fall off.

I wonder if I'm becoming a sadist.

Luckily for them, Dennis seemed to be the sole braincell of the party, swiftly casting the levitation spell to bring the note down. Ruth, lively as ever, had soon entered the numbers into the lock. Well, most of them anyway.

Pam walked over to join her, remembering the missing number quite easily, the one they had got from the cipher, "Three." She told her with a grin, spinning the second untouched disk until the number '3' stared up at her. "There, that should do it."