The Drowned Palace
GROUP 4
@Cecilia Merrick,@Violence Bloodthorn,@Percival Rocier,@Maisie Gemmell,@Esme Hestridge,@Milica Vranekova
The small hall is split into a maze of smaller rooms, their doors lie every few feet, labelled with the number of the group meant to be in it. Each member who had found the place would find their name on a large whiteboard near the entrance to the hall, their name corresponding to their room number. If they tried to enter the wrong room, they would find the door to be locked, and only their door would open to them.
The door slides shut as the last member of your crew steps in. A sudden darkness takes possession of your every step, and your eyes need a few seconds to adjust. Slowly, some features are revealed to you. Some forms and shapes of what seem to be the outline of various furnitures lies ahead, yet the light doesn't allow you to fully see them. A green-ish glow casts itself over the room, and after a few moments, you manage to locate its source. Algae filaments ornate the cobbled stone walls, and if you squint, you could almost swear they're forming.... words? Along another wall lies algae in strange patterns.A low humming is heard from every corner of the room, and softly, a voice is singing an unknown song.____ ___ ______, ____ ____ __ ______,
___ ________ ____—___ __ __ ___.It's tone is deep, slow, and shivers start running down your spine. A strong sensation takes place within your stomach, and your eyelids grow heavier and heavier. Suddenly, it stops abruptly, and silence rises. It seems to be... waiting for something...listening for something? After a minute, a loud sigh is heard, and the song begins again.Come seek us where the torches glow,
Within the castle, far below.
Where shadows feasts and silence calls,
Not great, but lesser halls.
Pearls and gold awaits inside,
Treasure torn from those who died...
OOC NOTESReducio- Intended deadline and Mod Post and Rolls: Saturday (in theory)
-Your moderators have lives and there are a lot of you, so please be patient
- Post at least ONCE per round
- Please follow site rules and ratings
- 200+ wc minimum
-Please enter all objects/inventory you may have in your first post.
-Add your action at the bottom, and if you could add stats and abilities we would appreciate it
-Walking around the room and talking are free actions.
-While it may be fun to read through other people's rooms, they may figure out clues before you so we ask that you refrain until the end, or be cautious of metagaming. If there is a very obvious metagaming, you may find your action backfiring quite spectacularly
THE ENCHANTED DEPTHSReducioAs you have certainly understood, there are three different threads. To participate, you must be indexed. If you are not indexed yet, please apply here. Your character does not need to post in a thread to access another, all are free of access. IC speaking, your character would enter through The Lost Pearl to reach The Weeping Shore. The location of The Drowned Palace, as well as an additional clue to the treasure hunt, are hidden in The Lost Pearl. Your character doesn't need either to access or play the game, these are options adding to the atmosphere.
⚓︎ THE LOST PEARL — is a boat, where you will be able to wine and dine.
⚓︎ THE WEEPING SHORE — is platforms resting on water, in the middle of the Great Lake, where you will be able to dance your heart out.
⚓︎ THE DROWNED PALACE — is an escape game....you are here.
Last edited by Avis Marlong on 13 Oct 2025, 23:46, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Changed topic type to RP:)
| sta • 7 | eva • 6 | str • 1 STATS⠀HERE wis • 7 | arc • 3 | acc • 6 | Seer | Sixth Sense | ability THROUGH⠀THE⠀YEARS ability | ability | ability |
The Drowned Palace
Surely, surely, the steam should have stopped by now.
Or not.
The Ravenclaw cocked her head up as she could see it still bubbling up towards the ceiling out of her ear. Gods, and she had to be split up from Mylo and Avis too. This was going to be awful. Still, she'd follow into to the room for Group 4, which contained exactly two people she knew: Esme, the girl she'd prevented from taking a turn down Knockturn Alley, and Percy, who she'd help from his fall. The rest remained a mystery, so she steeled herself for whatever reaction to the remnants of her cold were to come.
She blinked a few times as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. Although she should have felt relief that the steam could no longer be seen, she suddenly was acutely aware of the sound of it. The whirring seemed to occupy her whole being. And then—
a puzzle.
Maisie liked puzzles, and had done well in the maze last Halloween with the riddle presented to them. Finally, something to occupy her mind beyond sheer embarrassment. "We have to complete the poem," she explained as she considered it, "the last couplet." At least form could help inform what exactly this was. "I think it has to do something with the dungeons," she mused turning back towards the group, before casting a quick, "Revelio," for good measure. There a few Slytherins on that list, including both Percival and Esme. Perhaps they'd have good ideas.
Outfit
ReducioStats & Abilities
Stamina: 7 | Evasion: 9 | Strength: 2 | Wisdom: 8 | Arcane Power: 5 | Accuracy: 9
Muggle Condition | PerfectionistOpen to interactions!Action: Casting Revelio on the letters and looking for clues.
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The Drowned Palace
late evening |
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04/10/2025 |
charmer in effect |
speech ◦ thoughts |
785 words |
◦ "𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔢𝔞 𝔰𝔭𝔢𝔞𝔨𝔰 𝔪𝔬𝔯𝔢 𝔥𝔬𝔫𝔢𝔰𝔱𝔩𝔶 𝔱𝔬 𝔱𝔥𝔬𝔰𝔢 𝔴𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔱𝔬 𝔡𝔯𝔬𝔴𝔫" ◦
| ┏ | ┓ | |
| 𝕮lues had led Violence to the small hall. She was still recovering from the run in with Azzure. She'd wanted for so long to see her once. To hear her once. Now that it had happened, she didn't know what to think. Hurt and relief coursed through her veins at the same time, clashing like swords in a battlefield. She blinked. Again. Yet again. She would not cry twice in a single day. She'd kept it in for so long, she sure as hell could do it for more. Besides, this was progress, right? They met. They talked. Violence considered it progress. Where it would lead to, she had no idea. But she was okay with this. So she told herself she wouldn't think about this, and looked around her. As she walked on, she saw a large whiteboard which Violence realised at a closer glance, was filled with names of the students. She quickly found hers with a number 4 written next to it. Doors lined the walls, with numbers on them too. Connecting the dots, she walked to the room with the number 4 written on it. 'Phew! Let's do this.' she thought to herself as she stepped inside. Another girl was already there, she smiled to her but didn't say anything. Violence didn't know whether starting a conversation would be appropriate or no, but she wouldn't mind if the girl did. Percival entered the room and Violence smiled. She'd recently found out that her cousin was attending Hogwarts. She walked over to him, "Hey! Glad we're in the same group. How was the ball for you?" Her eyes searched the room for further clues as to what was about to happen. More people trickled in, and she saw Cecilia among them. Cecilia had been to the Bloodthorn mansion during the holidays between school years. Vi was excited to be with her although her face showed no hint of the giddiness that now tormented her stomach. "Cece! Hi, how have you been? Do you know anything about this? Any idea about what's gonna happen?" Suddenly, the doors shut and an eery darkness settled over the room, before some stuff started illuminating. As Vi's eyes adjusted to the darkness, she could notice faint illuminations of some objects. She couldn't quite figure out what it was. She took out her wand and murmured, "Lumos" to see clearly. A few moments later, a soft glow lightened the room. Almost as if they were underwater, and the water was reflecting in the room. That couldn't be possible, right? She looked around and noticed that the source of the light were the algae. Were those... letters? There was a strange pattern. She looked around towards the others hoping to see them mildly aware about what was happening, but she saw them just as lost as her. The patterns almost looked like sentences, did they have to fill in the blanks? With what? She held the card from the ball in her hand still. She re-read it, "Aye, fine souls ! It is me greatest honor to welcome you aboard a vessel of bloody legend, once the deadliest batiment ever to prowl these enchanted depths, feared leagues upon leagues on black water, the brightest jewel of me treasure, the one and only Lost Pearl! I, Captain Bartholomew Vane, once trod these very good ol' planks you lubbers are currently stomping on. Feared by many, cursed by more, I ruled these uncharted seas with an iron hook, pillaging the weeping shores and sending fine vessels to their grave. But even kings of the tides meet their doom, and now my proud lady lies abandoned, her treasure forever swallowed by the waves in some drowned palace no soul dares enter. Avast, matey, for the sea hides more than she shows. Words often conceal others. Fair wind!" Could this be of any help? Before she could think any further, a humming filled the room, blaring in her ear drums, before a soft voice started singing. Come seek us where the torches glow, Within the castle, far below. Where shadows feasts and silence calls, Not great, but lesser halls. Pearls and gold awaits inside, Treasure torn from those who died... An abrupt ending, as if waiting for something more. Silence. A sigh. The voice started singing again. As if it would keep going until it got an answer. Violence replied to the girl who was there when she entered, "Yeah, it needs the last two lines, or maybe more. The poem mentioned lesser halls. Would dungeons be considered as halls? I'm Violence, by the way. Violence Bloodthorn. Nice to meet you all!" The girl cast a Revelio. Violence waited for something to happen. | ||
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action: casting Lumos
stats: sta~6 𓍼 eva~6 𓍼 str~2 𓍼 wis~7 𓍼 arc~2 𓍼 acc~9
abilities: prodigal potions learner~y1 𓍼 charmer~y2
notes: interacting with Maisie, Percival and Cece, open for interactions 𓍼 permission from Azzure's writer to mention them.
The Drowned Palace
Banner by: violence
"Hey, Violence," Percival said when he entered the room and was immediately spotted, relieved to be around some familiar faces. "It was... interesting." He had been at the ball with Cecilia, and while he had enjoyed the event, he also felt like he had made a fool out of himself once again. Being surrounded by friends at least helped him forget about that.
Still, Percival kept to the back of the group.
The darkness was intense here, so he squinted and tried to make sense of all the strange shapes around the room. Slowly, the greenish light from the glowing algae came into view, and he blinked a few times before realizing they weren’t just scattered randomly. All of this was one big puzzle.
He then moved a little closer, his head tilting as he tried to read the faint outlines of words. “Huh...” he mumbled under his breath. Before he could look longer, he picked up on the humming in the room. It was soft at first, but he could soon make out words, and even entire sentences.
It was a riddle of some kind.
Percival’s eyes then turned to the others, and he realized he’d been holding his breath. It was only when Maisie spoke that he was able to focus a little again. They had to complete the poem and get this done. Right. He could do that! But that's when he noticed something strange. The moment Maisie cast a spell, the flash of her wandlight revealed something to him. He turned toward her, brows slightly furrowed. What was... that sound?
"Maisie?" he asked, completely unaware of her situation. "Are you alright?" He hoped it wasn't a stupid question, but it probably was. Water wasn't supposed to make that sound around someone's head, right?
Or was that some kind of spell he didn't know—
Lumos He heard Violence speak the incantation before a flash of light forced his eyes to adjust, just in time for him to see what was happening to Maisie.
"Oh..." he thought. That was certainly interesting.
Reducio@Maisie Gemmell
Actions: None just yet!
Statistics
Stamina: 7
Evasion: 9
Strength: 0
Wisdom: 6
Arcane Power: 3
Accuracy: 10
The Drowned Palace
| E | ✧  ✧location. ??? date. day of fall ball 2025 mentions. @Maisie Gemmell, @Violence Bloodthorn, @Milica Vranekova, @Percival Rocier, @Violence Bloodthorn;   Upon entering the room marked with a shining number four, it seemed the room filled with darkness almost immediately. Esme had to blink a few times, feeling as if she’d just been dunked into the depths as her eyes slowly adjusted. It was still dim — a greenish glow clung to every surface like a film, some shapes now visible though unclear. Were they still in the small hall? She couldn’t be sure. She knew apparition was prohibited on school grounds, but who knew what spells the staff that organized whatever this was had access to. A low humming soon filled wherever they were. It buzzed through the air, an odd sensation making Esme’s fingers twitch— and then it turned into an equally hypnotic song, sung by some soft, disembodied voice. Come seek us where the torches glow, within the castle, far below… It was enchanting. When it stopped, the silence felt as sudden as it did anticipatory — as if it expected a response. After a few moments, the voice sighed deeply, and Esme felt her attention release. The song began again, but it no longer captivated Esme so entirely as it did the first time, and she was once more allowed to take in her surroundings. Beyond the abysmal lighting of the new room, Esme noticed she wasn’t alone. A few people also stood around the room, looking equally unbalanced as she was. Taking a cursory glance around, Esme could recognize two of the faces. One was Maisie Gemmell — she had an outfit just as fanciful as when they’d first met during summer, black and white polka dots covering something between a skirt and a cape. Interesting. A sheer bow tie completed the look. The other was— “Cecilia Merrick,” the name popped up in Esme’s mind and fell from her lips at the exact same moment, before she could catch herself and stop it. Her tone was far too overenunciated to be casual, especially on the last syllable of Merrick, poorly concealing Esme’s surprise and irritation. She’d entertained the girl’s company before on her father’s insistence, and she couldn’t describe their first meeting as particularly pleasant — more like the worst idea her father had had since trying to push her to buy Moste Potente Potions instead of the regular textbook she needed. Still, Esme steeled herself, pushing down the groan of annoyance that was trying to push itself forward. She forced on a polite, if strained, smile. “How… lovely to see you again.” Esme did not try to linger on Cecilia’s presence. “Maisie,” she quickly turned, her smile relaxing a bit as she nodded. At least from what Esme knew of her, Maisie was competent — so, counting Esme herself, there’d be at least two capable people in the room. As was habit, Esme figured it would probably be best to try and get an impression of them, too. There were two Slytherins, ones she’d recognized from classes or the common room, but hadn’t bothered to take note of them prior to now. A girl with pale skin and black hair — mildly unsettling, though a more in-depth look proved she was quite pretty beneath the aura of macabre that surrounded her. A brunette boy kept to the back, looking apprehensive as ever. Esme stared at him for a good few seconds, analysing the shaky demeanour: the boy seemed only capable of questions and surprised exclamations, expressed exclusively in low, muted tones. Nothing… impressive, to put it politely. The last girl Esme did not recall seeing either in the common room, or in any of her classes. Esme concluded she must have been from a different year, or just blended into the crowd particularly well when out of formal wear. She seemed to already know both the shaky boy and Cecilia. All things considered, Esme felt safe disregarding her for the time being. She focused on the song once more as the voice continued singing on loop. Esme considered it might be talking about the Slytherin Common Room for a brief moment — both shared the same green-ish glow, and the hypnotic quality of the song suggested merpeople, so someplace connected to the great lake seemed apt. Ultimately, though, as a minute passed and the song began again, speaking of lesser halls and treasures torn from the dead, it seemed to be a bit more generic. “It's most definitely about the dungeons,” she agreed as people started to speak up. The girl Esme had previously disregarded introduced herself — Violence Bloodthorn. Esme curbed her curiosity about the nature of such a… blunt name, and instead just nodded. “My name is Esme Hestridge,” she said, making brief eye contact with the people whose names she did not yet know before moving on. “Pleasure to meet you all.” Maisie seemed focused on the algae for the time being, casting revelio on the strange symbols they formed. Esme decided it'd be wise to turn her attention elsewhere. She turned on her heel, deciding her best option for now was to look for anything else that might get them closer to completing the couplet — perhaps the source of the everpresent darkness, perhaps wherever the disembodied voice was coming from.  action. look for other clues around the room. stamina. 5 evasion. 4 strength. 2 wisdom. 7 arcane power. 5 accuracy. 7 wc. 870 notes. banner made by violence. ✧✦✧ |
H |
Last edited by Esme Hestridge on 17 Oct 2025, 20:12, edited 2 times in total.
thales amaro. second year castelobruxo quidditch. |
katherine townsend. professor of charms, former thunderbird. |
The Drowned Palace
banner made by @Violence Bloodthorn
After a long night of forced talking, Milica could only hope that taking this hallway would finally present her with the break she well deserved. She only had to walk past a few doors to find the one that was appointed to her. Here goes nothing.
One of the first things she noticed as she entered the room was the darkness that filled it. This darkness suited her tastes perfectly, and she secretly hoped this would intimidate her group members into not talking to each other, especially to herself. She actually recognized some of the people in her group. Her memory of Percival was mostly made up of the boy shivering just by being in her presence in the Slytherin common room. Milica honestly didn't know what he had been so afraid of. It couldn't have been her, she was perfectly nice to the boy.
The other person she recognized was Cecilia, her beloved roommate. She would never admit this out loud, but the girl somehow started growing on her. All Milica could hope was that she would become less noisy - and meddlesome - as the time passed.
Three girls made up the rest of the group. Two of them, Milica didn't recognize at all, not even from her classes. The other girl was another Slytherin, at least, she had seen her around the common room before. They'd never actually interacted though and she didn't mind keeping it that way.
Whilst she may have been used to the dark due to her messy sleep schedule, even her eyes needed some time to adjust. After a few blinks, she recognized the outline of what seemed to be furniture, slightly lit up by the green glow of algae. The algae were shaped in a strange way, appearing to form some sort of shape, like letters. Milica tried to decipher it, narrowing her eyes, looking to see if she could make up what the algae were supposed to be showing her.
At the same time as she was busy deciphering the message, a soft voice could be heard from the corners of the room.
Come seek us where the torches glow,
Within the castle, far below.
Where shadows feasts and silence calls,
Not great, but lesser halls.
Pearls and gold awaits inside,
Treasure torn from those who died...
The song stopped abruptly, as if it was waiting for the group to finish it. Milica was honestly unsure how though. Could this have anything to do with the algae?
It appeared that the rest of the group agreed that the poem was meant to be finished by them. Milica was actually quite alright trying to figure this out by herself. Still, when the others introduced themselves, she followed. "I'm Milica, but I'm sure some of you know that already", she said in a cocky tone, her eyes gazing over at Percival and Cecilia. "Actually, it's not much of a pleasure to meet you all. Let's just try to finish this poem and leave as soon as we can."
It was clear that the poem was referring to the dungeons, but Milica didn't know what they were looking for. She hoped the algae would give her something useful. Wasting her time in an escape room with her roommate, a panicky kid and some strangers wasn't exactly her idea of a fun night.
Action: Trying to decipher what the algae are trying to show us
=chibi made by @Eunaria Kabukimono
== === Information
Mentions: @Maisie Gemmell @Violence Bloodthorn @Percival Rocier @Esme Hestridge @Cecilia Merrick
Stats: sta ◦ 4 | eva ◦ 7 | str ◦ 8 | wis ◦ 2 | arc ◦ 1 | acc ◦ 8
Abilities: Dhampir (year 1)
Notes: None
The Drowned Palace
banner by violence bloodthorn
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dialogue: #588F45───word count: 651
mentioned: @Violence Bloodthorn, Maisie Gemmell, Esme Hestridge, Percival Rocier, Milica Vranekova
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Once Cecilia had stepped into the chamber, the door slid shut behind her and sealed her inside. In an instant, she was swallowed by an eerie darkness and blinked, waiting for her eyes to adjust. Then a green light began seeping into the room and shapes slowly began to take form. Silhouettes of furniture and people emerged. Her eyes narrowed in an attempt to identify them.
A familiar outline quickly caught her attention. “Lovely to see you again, Percival,” she smirked, a flicker of amusement in her eyes as she recalled their recent encounter. Somehow, watching the boy trip over air had relieved her worries about his ability to conceal the secret of their first meeting. As long as his lips were sealed, so were hers.
Her gaze then moved onto another familiar figure and immediately softened. “Vi, what a pleasant surprise,” she smiled, stepping closer to the girl. “I’ve been well, and you?” she asked, tilting her head slightly as she scanned her face. Violence was not one to wear her emotions on her sleeves, but something about her seemed off. However, this did not feel like the appropriate time to enquire further. She simply listened as the older girl spoke. Then with a firm shake of her head, she responded, “I haven’t the slightest clue.”
In an instant, her attention shifted when someone spoke her name. The familiar voice, laced with venom, revealed the girl's identity before Cecilia had even turned to face her. “Miss Hestridge,” she hissed curtly, meeting her cold stare in acknowledgement of her presence. A faint smile played on her lips when she caught a glimpse of the strain in her smile – unsurprising yet ever so amusing. Oh, Esme, the performer that you are, she mused. "Oh, is it now?” she asked, cocking an eyebrow in response to her claim. The corner of her mouth twitched slightly as she stifled a laugh. “That's rather surprising. Say, you're not feeling unwell, are you?" she continued with mock concern.
Perhaps Cecilia should have played nice, but her disdain was difficult to stomach. Being trapped in a room with Esme Hestridge was – for lack of a better word – a nightmare. It was nothing personal – they were simply akin to iron and copper. Formidable in their own right, but whenever they met, there was a galvanic response that made them corrode each other. Only great pressure could force them together, so whilst they were still graced with choice, it was best that they kept their distance.
With that in mind, Cecilia promptly turned her attention elsewhere. “Milica, you came,” her eyes lit up when she laid eyes on the brooding girl. Though she had roped her roommate into the event, they had not run into each other during the ball. As a result, Cecilia did not expect her to show, so she was pleasantly surprised to be proven wrong. That was a first. She wanted to ask about her night, but instead found herself stifling a laugh upon hearing her introduction. “Charming as ever.”
Finally, her gaze met the last girl whom the others referred to as Maisie. They had not met before, so Cecilia opened her mouth to introduce herself but promptly fell silent when the girl offered up information. She then nodded in agreement to her statement. “That seems right," she agreed as her eyes flicked towards the faint glow rippling across the walls. "But we needed to figure out how to get there,” she murmured, mostly to herself.
Cecilia thought back to what Violence had read out. Words often conceal others. She listened to the low singing again, noting the pause at the end. With that in mind, she walked over to the algae filaments and joined Milica. A second pair of eyes wouldn’t hurt. She just hoped that one of them could decipher something. Squinting her eyes, she tried to make sense of the patterns.
──
──trunk: gillyweed, antidote to common poisons, antidote to uncommon poisons
──stats: stamina 5・evasion 8・strength 4・wisdom 6・arcane power 6・accuracy 6 ──action: trying to decipher the algae──
The Drowned Palace
@Maisie Gemmell would find her wand cackle a bit from the spell, but no Revelio was successfully made. Equally as such, @Violence Bloodthorn would find that her own wand was deciding not to cooperate this time either, as the slight sparkle of light died down before it would be even cast properly. It seemed, none of the crew would be leaving for the dungeons, nor would they be leaving whatsoever, it was an escape room, after all. And all that they needed they would find, conveniently in the room. It would just take a few trial and error and a bit of luck as well it seemed.MOD POST - GROUP 4
Whatever semblance of "words" that were not even clear as to what they were before (more like blanks), barely visible before, almost seemed petrified now, taking clearer shapes. It was still hard to distinguish much, only about 3 words could be made out and even that with quite a bit of difficulty because of how they "revealed" themselves.
and xxxxxxxxxxxxx search, xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx through xxxxxx
This was still something, 3 out of 14 words were at least "distinguishable" in the otherwise mass of "unknown". And that song kept on playing, over and over again, as if taunting them with finding the answers...or maybe trying their luck again.
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)
Reducio
MOD ROLLS:
Maisie Gemmell used Revelio:
Violence Bloodthorn used Lumos:
Member Mentions: @Cecilia Merrick,@Violence Bloodthorn,@Percival Rocier,@Maisie Gemmell,@Esme Hestridge,@Milica Vranekova
MOD ROLLS:
Maisie Gemmell used Revelio:
Reducio
WDC: 12
Wisdom Check d20; [3] + 8 = 11
11<12 FAIL
Wisdom Check d20; [3] + 8 = 11
11<12 FAIL
Violence Bloodthorn used Lumos:
Reducio
WDC: 9
Wisdom Check d20; [1] + 7 = 8
8<9 FAIL
Wisdom Check d20; [1] + 7 = 8
8<9 FAIL
Member Mentions: @Cecilia Merrick,@Violence Bloodthorn,@Percival Rocier,@Maisie Gemmell,@Esme Hestridge,@Milica Vranekova
| sta • 7 | eva • 6 | str • 1 STATS⠀HERE wis • 7 | arc • 3 | acc • 6 | Seer | Sixth Sense | ability THROUGH⠀THE⠀YEARS ability | ability | ability |
The Drowned Palace
The embarrassment had crystallized: a failed spell, awkward introductions, and a dead end. And no matter how much time passed, the steam seemed endless. All Maisie could do was find herself wondering if she should have simply stayed within the company of Mylo and Avis—what room were those two in? Maisie glanced around desperately for a way out or a way back, but in the darkness there seemed to be none.
There was only the ringing of the names of her companions one after another in an endless cycle of pleasantries (was this how posh people actually talked?), she absolutely did not want to participate in—not like this. Her eyes did prick up briefly at a name like 'Violence,' an association which seemed unsettling at best. But she let it pass. All she needed to do was get out of here—and hopefully, if she was right, the Slytherins would be able to help. (Gosh, a year ago she'd never expected to need to rely on that House.)
She was squinting as she saw three more words through the algae when she heard Esme's cool voice acknowledge her, "Maisie," without any trace of acknowledgement of her situation (thank Merlin) and she'd nod in return. But then—
"Maisie, are you all right?" Percival asked.
Suddenly, the steam extended further out and louder than it had before. It was a kind, considerate question, but she wished to all that was magical that he hadn't asked it. As her cheeks flushed, she knew—she just knew—every single eyeball that was in this room would immediately turn on her and the steam rapidly pouring out of her ears. Even with Violence's failed casting to create light, there would be no denying the sound—the high-pitched, incessant screeching that surely by now would be unavoidable.
With a gulp, she confirmed, "I'm fine," when it was probably obvious to every single person in that room that she was anything but fine. The effects of the Pepper-Up Potion may have dealt well enough with her cold, but it had riddled her with a visual conundrum no preteen would ever want—and it showed no sign of stopping.
For the faintest moment, she considered throwing a ridiculous spell—anything that might take attention away from her—but she qwelled that inside as best she could. Everyone seemed pretty focused on the words. So, Maisie stepped towards the other wall where the pattern was and crouched down here she would attempt a second "Revelio."
Outfit
ReducioStats & Abilities
Stamina: 7 | Evasion: 9 | Strength: 2 | Wisdom: 8 | Arcane Power: 5 | Accuracy: 9
Muggle Condition | PerfectionistOpen to interactions!Action: Casting a second Revelio on the patterned wall.
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The Drowned Palace
Banner by: violence
When Maisie replied, he instantly realized he had asked a really dumb question. The steam whistling around her ears made it obvious what was happening, so his cheeks flushed a little. Now he knew why she was embarrassed. “Right… sorry,” he muttered quickly, before lowering his eyes as if that might help her feel less seen. He then turned back toward the wall, pretending to study the algae instead.
They needed to figure out this whole riddle, anyway.
After a few moments, he rubbed the back of his neck and glanced around at the others. The older students were all trying different spells, and even though none of them seemed to work perfectly just yet, they were still a lot more valuable than he was.
“I’m, uh… probably not much help here,” he said with a sigh. “I don’t really know any spells that could help figure this out.” His wand hung a little loosely in his hand. The best thing he could do, it seemed, was stay out of the way and not make things worse.
Still, as the group continued to work on the problem, his eyes landed on someone he hadn’t really noticed before. Esme's beauty drew his attention in an unusual way. So much so, that it made him forget entirely what he was supposed to be doing, even with his friends around him, working on the problem. He also tried his best not to stare, but it was like his focus refused to shift away from her.
It almost made him forget where they were.
He blinked a few times and tried to look away, but each time he did, he found his eyes returning until it very much felt like staring.
Reducio@Maisie Gemmell
Actions: Staring. Intently.
Statistics
Stamina: 7
Evasion: 9
Strength: 0
Wisdom: 6
Arcane Power: 3
Accuracy: 10