The Drowned Palace Group 13

Aisling was one of the first people in her group to enter the room. Her eyes surveyed the dark area. There wasn't much at first glance, but she could make out the divets in the coblestone wall and the outline of a few other things further in. Furniture maybe? Aisling wasn't entirely sure. That outline only seemed to fade when the door slid shut. She took in a deep breath, even though the air was musty. Good thing I'm not claustrophobic, she thought to herself.

Suddenly, a vague green glow spread out over the room. In the dim light, Aisling could see who she had been grouped up with: two third-year girls from Gryffindor, a second-year girl from Slytherin, and two girls from her year that were also in Hufflepuff. Aisling furrowed her eyes at that. How come she never saw the other Hufflepuff girls? It was possible that they were in the Common Room, or in her other classes but just didn't get the chance to know them before. Then again, her social anxiety had been fluctuating since her arrival at Hogwarts. Some days, she was able to talk to others with no problem. Other times, she kept to herself. Perhaps those girls were around her when she wasn't able to socialize as much as she'd like to have. Whatever the case, Aisling was here now and eager to solve this escape room. Maybe the girls could be friends with her afterward, too.

It wasn't long before the room decided it would have its own ideas, with its haunting melody reverberating throughout. Aisling blinked away whatever had taken over during the voice's chorus. "You ... you guys heard that, too, right?" she asked, her voice quivering slightly, "I'm ... I'm not going mad?" Aisling wasn't one to get easily spooked, but since she was in an eerie atmosphere and around those she already didn't know, it was safe to say she was a bit more on edge than she had anticipated being.

Kafelé entered the room last the darkness seemed to swallow him at first. As he entered the room he caught a glimpse of some sillouhettes in the distance. He could quite make them out but they didnt appear to be moving so that was good. Looking around he couldnt make much out save for some of his classmates in the faint glow. He didnt recognize anyone except Aisling from the group. But they all appeared more collected than him. Kafelé strained his eyes to try to see the room ahead. As he took a few steps forward he reached into his robes. He knew he had them somewhere he thought as he searched. Kafelé thoroughly searched his robe and eventually produced a magical candle. He was about to light the candle when a voice echoed through the room. It sang a spooky song that sounded oddly like a riddle. Silence fell for a moment at the songs end. Kafelé shuddered at the erie silence looking around in search of its source. But no one was there save Kafelé and his fellow students. Suddenly a sigh came followed by that same erie song. Kafelé quickly lit his candle and tried to illuminate the area where he saw the shapes before. "Wha...what was that sound. Im not c..c..crazy right?" Kafelé stammered out as he struggled to steele his nerve. He looked to his classmates hoping one of them might know where the sounds were coming from.

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Tatiana wasn't the first to enter the room, neither was she the last. She feared being first or last would've ended her up with ... something—and that something wasn't a thing she was most ready for. Once she entered the room, her first instinct would be to first familiarize her teammates, if one of them would get abducted somehow, at least they knew who and hopefully would know how to rescue. She scanned each of their faces once the door had slid closed cleanly, leaving a small trail of dust behind as it shut. Familiarizing their features—from their eye creases to how their lips curves when they showed the slightest of smiles, she needed to know how they looked like if there would be a chance that someone would be switched within them.

Tatiana wouldn't call herself the “brightest” of her peers, but she definitely had something in that brain of hers. She was quick to think, quick to complete the puzzle together even before all the pieces were found;but that also came with a price. There would often be a 50/50 chance of on whether she was right or wrong, so she couldn't just completely rely on her findings, she needed to consult someone else first; fortunately there were a lot of them—she just needed to choose a good person who'd give good advice.

After the quick analysis, her eyes immediately flew to the carvings on the walls. Her legs immediately followed after, slowly raising her hand and reaching out to the wall, feeling it for any sign of secrets things, perhaps if she pressed something a little nook would open up.

Then they heard it—a faint, haunting melody that echoed within the room itself. One of her teammates stammered, then the other followed, all whilst Tatiana was still trying to piece together what was happening.

Reducio Stats Sta ⤷ 5 Eva ⤷ 5 Str ⤷ 4 Wis ⤷ 6 Arc ⤷ 5 Acc ⤷ 5 Abilities Part-Veela · Alluring Speech — Sample Thoughts — Sample

Reducio Action: observe the carvings on the wall

Reducio WC: 307/200 — @Alliasta Holista, @Evony Senoj, @Sere Nade, @Shelowyn Bloomthorn, @Aisling Doyle, and @Kafelé Kahotep

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Shelowyn had found her way to a long hallway. Doors were on either side, each with a list of names and a number. She took slow steps, as if walking in water. Her eyes swinging from door to door. Something deep inside her told her she needed to be inside one of these very rooms. Deeper and deeper into the hall she went. It all looked the same. As if without an end. She swallowed and gripped the hems of her sleeves. Then there was her name. Upon door 13. Her fingers ran along the names, having heard some of them even though she never spoke to any of them. Although, she never spoke much at all. 'Here I am running from good food and a dance party all in favor of what? Being crammed in a room with strangers? Lovely, Shelowyn, just lovely...' She stared pointedly at the 13. It had an eery meaning to muggles. Perhaps the number had real magic imbued into it. Her lips curled into each other as she huffed.
She stepped inside. The room was dark but not unpleasantly so. She could still make out the others in the room, the algae that creeped along the cobblestone walls. The air was stuffy, smelling salty and green. As if she stood along the shore collecting seaweed.
The door clicked shut behind her. 'I'm sure that's definitely NOT locked.' She observed her party around her. Yes, she had seen a few around, their faces recognizable from their shared common room. The others though, not so much.
Shelowyn stood frozen as a song drifted into the air. The words vibrated deep in her bones. Just as the song had arrived, it faded away. A few around commented on the song, gasps of shock echoing in the room. Shelowyn simply nodded. 'Oh boy, this is going to be...just as...very...well very Hogwarts.' Shelowyn was starting to believe the few odd stories her father told her of the school. There was a sigh then the song repeated. 'If the atmosphere wasn't enough...'
Shelowyn took a proper look around the room. Furniture sat with a sickly green hue. She looked for the light source, noting the filaments in various familiar shapes. She did her best to get closer. Are those words?

Action: Look at algea filaments

@Tatiana Contraire
@Evony Senoj
@Alliasta Holista
@Aisling Doyle
@Sere Nade
@Kafelé Kahotep

Aisling stopped in her tracks. There must've been one last person who came in, and she didn't realize it until now, that voice. "Kafelé?" she asked out loud. She turned around but couldn't make out much in the dim light. She smiled anyway, thankful that there was one familiar person here, even if she couldn't see him all that well with the lack of light.

Aisling turned her attention to the bioluminescent algae on the wall. It was definitely supposed to be a saying of some sort. A motto? A catchphrase? Better yet, it was probably sea-themed, seeing as the Fall Ball this year had a thalassic theme. Fourteen words, two commas, one hyphen, one period. She looked to the side of her to see another Hufflepuff, a girl with dark brunette hair, examining the filaments as well. "What ... what do you think it is?" she asked her. Aisling wasn't entirely sure what the girl's name was, but she hoped that the other Hufflepuff girl would be friendly enough. She swallowed. "I ... I don't know if ... if you have an idea," Aisling continued, "but I ... I think it might be like a, well, a sea-faring phrase. Maybe ... my verses of a sea shanty?"

Aisling took in a deep breath. Oh God, she thought, what if that wasn't right? Oh, she'll think I'm thick if that's the case. Aisling scratched the back of her neck as her pulse elevated. "It uh," she stammered as her voice wavered, "it was just a ... just a guess. If ... if I'm wrong, I'm ... I'm sorry." She swallowed again.

Date	:	October 4th, 2025
Color code	:	Written|Thought|Said

Sere walked down to the Small Hall, dressed in a full set pirate costume sewn by her grandma. When she sent her grandma a letter some times ago and mentioned about the Fall Ball theme, she had no recollection that her grandma was a tailor for many theaters decades ago. Just right after she looked at herself in the mirror, she realized that her grandma's skill was ingrained along with her journey. This is a perfection.

Sere was plotted in group thirteen for The Drowned Palace, with the same door number. Thirteen? Isn't that a symbol of bad luck? Sere thought to herself as she stepped inside. She heard the clicking sound -door locked- behind her as a very dark, stony room surrounded her. She could sense that she wasn't the only one in the room. There might be four or five other students, several girls and one boy @Kafelé Kahotep. Their voices trembled with fear because of the humming that filled every corner of the room. Sere muttered, "Is this... siren's lament?" The Gryffindor girl felt a shiver ran down her spine as her eyelids grew heavy. "Well, that's crazily impossible." She cut her wild thoughts off.

Sere took a few steps forward, arms outstretched, keeping her distance from anything she might bump into. When her feet stopped, she scanned the dark room once more with her eyes. She could see algae formed in strange patterns. She heard a discussion about sea shanty, but unfortunately she didn't have any memory or knowledge about pirate songs.

"About that sea shanty... Please recall as much as you can, maybe any phrase that fits the pattern. Don't hesitate to share it with us." @Aisling Doyle Sere approached the group carefully @Tatiana Contraire @Shelowyn Bloomthorn, her voice sounded as clear as the bravest lioness, "In the meantime, let's try this one..." She took out her wand and prepared herself to cast a spell.

Action : Scanning the room and casting Revelio at the strange patterns.
Interacting with : This group, tagged.

Thing(s) : Her Wand
Stats : STA 10 (+4)| EVA 15 (+2)| STR 4 | WIS 8 | ARC 8 | ACC 9
Abilities : Statistically Relevant (STA) | Statistically Relevant (STA) | Statistically Relevant (EVA)

Pirates, sirens, and sunken treasure, huh? Evony was intrigued. Intrigued enough to wander and curious enough to sign up for an exploration of these "depths". She didn't care much for fancy dining or dancing anyway. She arrived in the small hall and glanced at the board. "Lucky number 13," she mumbled and headed toward her group's door. It freely opened and she stepped inside, noticing at least five other people. Looked like they were just one person short for their full group. She stood quietly against one wall and waited... until the room went dark.

Following the others, she moved toward the greenish light. Glowing algae? It moved along the wall as a humming began to echo in the room. A couple of the others commented on the eerie sound, and one muttered something about "siren's lament" @Sere Nade. Evony silently scolded herself for jumping slightly when the singing voice began.

It was then that she noticed the pattern on the other wall... a series of blanks? Someone @Aisling Doyle mentioned a sea-shanty, and Evony nodded to herself. That made sense. Too bad Evony was not musically-inclined in the least - she knew of no sea shanties specifically. A familiar voice @Sere Nade spoke up again, asking the other girl to share her thoughts. Evony could tell now that she was a bit older than her. She seemed confident and well-spoken. A leader.

The song ended and an audible sigh could be heard before it began again, as if it was disappointed that they hadn't joined in. "We should try to match the rhythm of the song," Evony finally spoke up, her voice sounding strange to her own ears. She wasn't typically one to interact with others much, but this last year at Hogwarts had given her a strange new confidence. "And the rhyme," she added. "If we don't know a specific song, we could try to make one up?" she suggested.

She pointed at the wall with patterned blanks and looked back at the others. "Two spaces; two-letter words, right?" She held her hand off and listed the two-letter words she could think of: "Of, in, on, at, so..." She paused and listened to the song before continuing. "It seems to be in first-person, so: me, my..." Was she being helpful? She had no idea. She added a shrug to show indifference toward her own thoughts. She wasn't a know-it-all... She'd leave that to the Ravenclaws. However, she did love a good puzzle, and she was very academically-minded. After all, knowledge is power.

Interacting with: The group, in general.
Evony's Dialogue: 2d005f
WC: 419
Inventory: Wand
Stats and Abilities in sig; Y2 ability not yet applied.

MOD POST - GROUP 13

@Kafelé Kahotep's candle was enough to light up the room reasonably. It was after all not such a large place they were crammed into. Nonetheless, this allowed the group to see more details such as the door they came through now faded and almost "hidden" in the wall. It was not a thing of it being locked even, they were unable to even try to open it even if they used charms that would have otherwise worked. It was certainly designed to keep them there until they solved the puzzle. There was no leaving for now. After all this was an escape room, all that they had to do could be found here.

While the light shone on everything, the algae seemed to shrink from it, sliding back and blending into the foliage of the wall. Whatever semblance of "words" that were not even clear as to what they were before, were not even less so. No, this algae thrived in darkness.

@Sere Nade would cast a well-timed and well-cast revelio, and the algae seemed to grow brighter and sharper, allowing him to read the words - sort of. The algae seemed confused, whether to hide from the light or come out to the revelio, and each word seemed to make up its own mind, half of them choosing to rebel from the light, half choosing to spark under the revelio.

and xxxxxxxxxxxxx search, xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx through xxxxxx is xxxxxxxxxxx so
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxyour xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx treasure

Note: I am aware this is a bit early given that the thread opened on Tuesday and I apologize for that, but this was done as to then keep on track with the every Saturday mod post schedule as much as possible. (as during the week it is less likely I'll be able to get the mod posts done)

Aisling turned to see who was speaking: it was the girl from Slytherin. She had mentioned something about the puzzle possibly being written in the first person. She looked back up at the wall. From what she could tell, the algae only drew a series of blanks. Aisling turned back to the girl. "What ... what gives you the notion that it's written in first person?" she asked, "I ... I mean, anything's possible. But I just, uh, I don't see why it'd be first person just from the lines."

Suddenly, part of the riddle was revealed. While the Slytherin girl may have been onto something, one of the Gryffindor girls' revelio spell seemed to respond to that possibility: try second person instead. Aisling pondered as she read the few words the algae had revealed. "I ... I think," she stammered. Aisling cleared her throat. "I think it's instructing us to look for something," she said, "some sort of clue or key." She turned to the Gryffindor girl who casted revelio. "I, uh," Aisling muttered, "I don't believe I um, that I caught your name. But thank you."

Right as the hint was revealed, Aisling noticed that the algae seemed to fade away from Kafelé's candlelight, its bioluminescence dulling drastically. She turned to him. "Hey, uh, Kafelé," she said. "try blowing out your candle. Or actually, try moving it away from the wall. Just for right now."