The Drowned Palace
The Drowned Palace | October 4th, 2025
"Words" | 'Thoughts'ReducioHairReducioOutfit
Shelowyn listened intently to everyone's ideas, her head bobbing along. Right now, any idea is helpful. Her fingers grasped at her waist but caught nothing but air. She looked down. Lips dramatically parted with a sigh. 'Wow, I can't believe I forgot my satchel. I think some writing materials would come in handy right about now.'
She agreed that Fail had to be the beginning. As for search, there were two commas. Not a lot rhymned with search, if this was a stanza. The alternative didn't make too much sense either.
"Church...birch...lurch?" She breathed, her hands slid over her face before resting her chin in the webbing between her thumbs and fingers. She stepped back, lightly leaning on a piece of furniture behind her. "Fail the search...Fail your search, and?...the treasure..." Maybe her idea of it relating to the song is wrong. No other ideas came to mind though. Fail your search. That made the most sense to her.
She glared at the the algea, dropped her hand then turned around. There was other things she could ponder on. 'Too many minds on one thing could hinder more than help.'
She ran her hand across the piece of funiture. A chair. Leather or cloth? Worn or new?Her eyes adjusting to the darkness. She tried her best to see around the rest of the room. What else was in here?
Action: Look around the room
Reducio
@Tatiana Contraire
@Evony Senoj
@Alliasta Holista
@Aisling Doyle
@Sere Nade
@Kafelé Kahotep
@Evony Senoj
@Alliasta Holista
@Aisling Doyle
@Sere Nade
@Kafelé Kahotep
Stamina: 7 | Evasion: 6 | Strength: 4 | Wisdom: 7 | Arcane Power: 6 | Accuracy: 5
Sixth Sense
Sixth Sense
Stamina: 7 | Evasion: 6 | Strength: 4 | Wisdom: 7 | Arcane Power: 6 | Accuracy: 5
Sixth Sense
Sixth Sense
The Drowned Palace
Date : October 4th, 2025 Color code : Written|Thought|Said Sere clicked her tongue as her wand didn't cooperate with her at such a crucial moment. "Sorry..." She shrugged in regret and chose to observing the algae once more. She discovered a few new words grew brighter in the darkness after Kafelé put out the candle. "The words are clearly scrambled," she said.
She approached Alliasta @Alliasta Holista, a Gryffindor from the same year, knowing that the girl had a phobia of the dark. It was nice to have peers at times like this; Sere didn't have to feel so grown-up, thinking she had to take everything happening in the room under her care. It was also Alliasta who made Sere pay more attention and realize that the hum in the room seemed to be missing its last two lines. "You're right! Do we have to work from here?"
Everyone began to discuss and share their opinions. Aisling @Aisling Doyle and Evony @Evony Senoj seemed quite good in this kind of thing. "Evony has a point. Some of the letters don't match the blanks." The girl went silent after stating her agreement, the word combinations scattered in her head.
"Fail the search, your stays is through,
The treasure lost—and so do you."
Sere muttered the one that made the most sense to her, but then immediately shook her head, "The letters don't line up, the grammar sounds weird." Another thought came across her mind, the one that she didn't say: Is it worth spending time on this riddle? If the last line is just a threat, it would be better for us to look for clues that might lead us to the treasure.
Even with the limited source of light, Sere could still see Shelowyn @Shelowyn Bloomthorn moving around the room, perhaps looking for another clue. Right, it was a good idea not to only focus on this first riddle. Sere stood still on her place beside Alliasta, but asked to the Hufflepuff, "I can hear the hum saying something like 'seeking us where the torches glow' and 'not great but lesser halls'. Have you found anything that might be related to these lines, Shelowyn?"
Meanwhile, Kafelé @Kafelé Kahotep seemed about to cast a spell with his wand and Sere was about to do the same. "I'll check if there's a secret passage in this room." Magic and spells were her core afterall.Action : Casting Passage Opening Charm - Dissendium.
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)
The Drowned Palace
It was unknown why @Kafelé Kahotep thought Verdimilious would work well with the algae that seemed not to be great friends with light, but the charm worked, quite a bit at that. Green sparks lit the area around them once again, not enough as lumos would, but enough to make the algae retreat again. Do not take it the wrong way, they really just don't like light other than the very dim one they themselves let out. So maybe it was for the best if this as well was extinguished, or some other spell tried.MOD POST - GROUP 13
In terms of the rest, @Aisling Doyle, @Evony Senoj and @Shelowyn Bloomthorn seemed to be close to something, yet not enough, it was clear they still missed some words, and without them, not matter how much they struggled to find a solution for the continuation, there was little to no way they would get it right by just sheer luck.
Last but not least, @Sere Nade would most likely think that there was something hidden around the room, like a passage or a corridor. But as it turned out, once the spell was successfully cast, it...unfortunately for the group, was just a normal room. The spell exposed nothing out of the ordinary, at least out of the ordinary for Hogwarts.
Reducio
MOD ROLLS: (If I make any mistakes, please do let me know)
Kafele Kahotep used Verdimilious:
Sere Nade used Dissendium:
Member Mentions: @Tatiana Contraire,@Evony Senoj,@Alliasta Holista,@Shelowyn Bloomthorn,@Aisling Doyle,@Sere Nade,@Kafelé Kahotep
Kafele Kahotep used Verdimilious:
Reducio
WDC: 6
Wisdom Check d20; [12] + 8 = 20
20>6 SUCCESS
Wisdom Check d20; [12] + 8 = 20
20>6 SUCCESS
Sere Nade used Dissendium:
Reducio
WDC: 12
Wisdom Check d20; [18] + 8 = 26
26>12 SUCCESS
Wisdom Check d20; [18] + 8 = 26
26>12 SUCCESS
Member Mentions: @Tatiana Contraire,@Evony Senoj,@Alliasta Holista,@Shelowyn Bloomthorn,@Aisling Doyle,@Sere Nade,@Kafelé Kahotep
| 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
Aisling narrowly dodged Kafelé's verdimilious spell as it struck the other side of the wall. As the green sparks dissipated, Aisling looked over at him. "Jaysus!" she exclaimed, her Limerick-regioned Irish accent sounding more noticeable. She let out a deep, yet exasperated sigh. She did not want to know what would've happened if those sparks had hit her, though she could guess that it probably wouldn't have ended well. She knew Kafelé wasn't going to hurt her, but he did unintentionally give her a fright fit for such an eerie escape room.
Aisling noticed that Sere had cast a revealing spell of some kind, or at least attempted to, considering the room stayed the same. Whatever the spell was, it was entirely new to her. Must be an older year spell, she thought to herself. She glanced back at the riddle that Sere was reading out loud. Aisling shrugged. "I ... I mean," she stammered, "it could be formatted right. Poems sometimes have a similar build. Maybe the riddle is like that, too, but one of the elements is missing." She narrowed her eyes briefly as she reviewed the riddle. "Wait," Aisling said, "the fifth word only has four letters. 'Stays' only has five. And we only found ten words. There should be fourteen words altogether."
Aisling noticed that Sere had cast a revealing spell of some kind, or at least attempted to, considering the room stayed the same. Whatever the spell was, it was entirely new to her. Must be an older year spell, she thought to herself. She glanced back at the riddle that Sere was reading out loud. Aisling shrugged. "I ... I mean," she stammered, "it could be formatted right. Poems sometimes have a similar build. Maybe the riddle is like that, too, but one of the elements is missing." She narrowed her eyes briefly as she reviewed the riddle. "Wait," Aisling said, "the fifth word only has four letters. 'Stays' only has five. And we only found ten words. There should be fourteen words altogether."
Reducio
Aisling's Stats:
Aisling's Abilities:
- Stamina: 6
- Evasion: 6
- Strength: 4
- Wisdom: 8
- Arcane Power: 5
- Accuracy: 6
Aisling's Abilities:
- Non-Human Enthusiast (First Year)
Reducio
Interactions: Dodging the receiving end of Kafelé's verdimilious charm and deciphering the riddle with Sere.
Teammates: @Kafelé Kahotep, @Sere Nade, @Shelowyn Bloomthorn, @Evony Senoj, @Alliasta Holista, and @Tatiana Contraire
Word count: 291
Teammates: @Kafelé Kahotep, @Sere Nade, @Shelowyn Bloomthorn, @Evony Senoj, @Alliasta Holista, and @Tatiana Contraire
Word count: 291
The Drowned Palace
MOD POST IS POSTPONED THIS WEEK - Only one person wrote, and I do not want to bother anyone with more owls, so I'll write it here. This is in no way to rush anyone. I am aware you likely are busy in real life, but mod posts for this group will be moved to once every 2 weeks to reflect that. If you do not want to continue this for whatever reason, please do owl me so I know.MOD NOTE - GROUP 13
| 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
Date : October 4th, 2025 Color code : Written|Thought|Said The Dissendium didn't work. It didn't open any secret passage as she'd hoped, precisely. Maybe there wasn't anything like secret passage here after all. "So, we're going to spend the entire time in this one room?" She was starting to feel stuck, also more and more confused. There was no other way but to cast a spell so that the algae grew brighter in the darkness. She didn't know if the other students had figured anything out, but--"Huh?" Sere glanced at the tip of the wand that had emerged the Green-Sparks Charm.
"Kafelé?" @Kafelé Kahotep
Sere saw how the Hufflepuff boy had successfully casted that Verdimillious, which of course caused the algae to dim and hide itself. She heard Aisling exclaim in response to the green light Kafelé had made. Meanwhile, Sere herself could only chuckled. First, she had already said to herself that there was nothing she could do if any free-minded felt a little bit 'creative' at the time like this. Second, she had already memorized the sentence she'd arranged earlier, so it wouldn't matter if the algae dimmed.
"'Stays' sounds odd at the placement I did earlier?" Sere thought for a second, "I guess you're right." She reconsidered where this word should be placed. "Maybe the algae pattern isn't clear enough, and what looks like an em-dash actually has another blank before it?" Sere moved the word 'stays' behind the word 'treasure' implicitly.
"Fail the search, your _ _ _ _ is through,
The treasure stays—and so do you."
It did sound more plausible, but the next thing to solve was the four-letters blank. "I think we're right up until here," she interacted with Aisling @Aisling Doyle, "Just one more word... What do you think it is?" she again spat out all the words in her head, "Task? Work? Hunt? Life?... Time?... Game?" Sere tapped the tip of her wand against her chin. "'Your game is through' or 'your time is through'? Which one sounds better?" Sere silently studied Aisling. She looked more confident now. Confidence looks good on her.
Thinking about it for some other while, Sere ended up with a decision, "I think the one with time in it makes more sense," She said the new sentences she had made afterwards,
"Fail the search, your time is through,
The treasure stays—and so do you."
"Anyway," Sere tucked her wand and folded her arms, "Why should we spend a very long time just to solve the lines that only contains threat to us?" In her opinion, there should've been something they could do -with this many students in the room- in parallel with solving the last two lines. She began to grumble impatiently.Action : Discussing with Aisling and grumbling.
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)
The Drowned Palace
The Drowned Palace | October 4th, 2025
"Words": #982ABC | 'Thoughts'ReducioHairReducioOutfit
The green light sparked in the air. Shelowyn spun to face Kafelé, instantly recognizing the familiar spell. She watched the algae hide away again. The room momentarily filling with surprised exclamations. She took a slow breath. Sere seemed to cast another spell. Shelowyn looked around the room again. Everything was lit up once more so she could see the space around her. She observed the room carefully. It seemed pretty ordinary to her. Nothing changed with whatever spell Sere had cast either.
Shelowyn shook her head before turning back to the group. They were talking again about what the missing words could be. The word 'stays' sounded out of place to Aisling and Shelowyn had to agree. She sat on the arm of the chair, thinking about what 4 letter word would work when Sere began speaking.
"Fail the search, your ---- is through,
The treasure stays—and so do you."
Shelowyn listened to the melody. Her hand patting along with the syllables of the song. She nodded her head, eyes still closed. "I think that sounds right—in rhythm with the song." Her head continued to bob, slowly. 'Yeah, time makes more sense than game. I have to agree with Sere.'
"Why should we spend a very long time just to solve the lines that only contains threat to us?" Sere questioned.
"I mean, we have nothing else to solve so far..." Shelowyn mumbled the words quickly. Then she swallowed, rubbing her hands together, speaking louder. "Should we try singing our guess? Or should we try another spell?" She listened to the song again, filling the blank in her mind.
'Come seek us where the torches glow,
Within the castle, far below.
Where shadows feast and silence calls,
Not great, but lesser halls.
Pearls and gold await inside,
Treasure torn from those who died.
Fail the search, your time is through,
The treasure stays—and so do you.'
"It sounds like a good completion to the stanza..." But if they were wrong...
Action: Look around the room and discuss the puzzle
Reducio
@Tatiana Contraire
@Evony Senoj
@Alliasta Holista
@Aisling Doyle
@Sere Nade
@Kafelé Kahotep
@Evony Senoj
@Alliasta Holista
@Aisling Doyle
@Sere Nade
@Kafelé Kahotep
Stamina: 7 | Evasion: 6 | Strength: 4 | Wisdom: 7 | Arcane Power: 6 | Accuracy: 5
Sixth Sense
Sixth Sense
The Drowned Palace
@Sere Nade was the one to chant the words in the same tune with the the siren was singing that haunting loop melody. The rythm was also being aided by @Shelowyn Bloomthorn tapping along the syllables. And with that, the song seemed to have been completed. The music continued with her, and as her voice faded out at the end of those lines, the singing did as well.MOD POST - GROUP 13
Upon singing the last word, a bell-like laugh is heard, followed by a splash of water. The room suddenly enlightens, lights coming from floating luminescent jellyfishes, blue-flame candles, and gigantic glowing pearls. You are clearly within a palace's room, the intricate designs reminiscing old-time castles, its columns stretching toward the surface of the ocean. For indeed, this palace is sunken deep within troubled seas—flowing motifs on the walls mimick the pattern often found when looking back at the surface, and a blue filter seems to be cast over the room.
Facing you, eyes can distinguish a large window opened on the underwater world. An infinite horizon of blue is shown, though in the distance, some recognisable shapes can be glimpsed. Sharks, fish, and mermaid silhouettes can be made out. Strangely, they seem to be holding their hands in the shape of an 8. Thick and heavy velvet curtains frame the window, their fringes piling on the floor underneath. Behind you is the door from which you've entered, though the knob seem to have disappeared. Next to it is an immense clock, though its mechanism seems to be broken, as it is frozen in time, the large hand on the II and the smaller one on IV. On your right is a bookshelf painstakingly carved from an oversized shell, its books worn, pages damaged by the ambient humidity.
Ambient Oceans, By Willy Embers
Watching the Waves, By Rylee Waters
Below the Waters, By Pearl Cordelia
Whispers of the Shells By Coral Ocean
Crossing the Trenches By Dolphina Wave
Man, they really name these kids strange names.
Besides it stands what appears to be a collection of shells, with a small wicker basket standing by its side.
What truly catches your eyes, though, is the wall found by your left side: a fascinating assortment of art, a gallery of moving paintings. These paintings are truly eye catching - it is hard to tear your eyes away. The first depicts a whale piercing the water, it's majestic shape crashing down the surface. Next to it is what appears to be a jellyfish, sister to the one floating throughout the room, pink, aligned with delicate lilac dots. The three following show, respectively, an orca chasing a seal, an elegant shark swimming about, and finally an adorable octopus hiding beneath a rock. The last one is that of a woman, staring directly at you, perched on a rock. Each member of the room will see the woman's eyes following them. Watching. Waiting. Hoping.
Member Mentions: @Tatiana Contraire,@Evony Senoj,@Alliasta Holista,@Shelowyn Bloomthorn,@Aisling Doyle,@Sere Nade,@Kafelé KahotepNo mod rolls
| 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 sudden bloom of light made the girl flinch before she could pretend to not otherwise. One moment the world was nothing but that chilling melody that had been twisted around the group, looping like it wanted to settle under her skin. The next, the darkness had broken into shimmering pieces, scattering into a place of blue and drifting glow.
Her eyes travelled upwards first, caught by the floating jellyfish above them that was swaying its tendrils lazily, lighting up the carved pillars that had ghostly ripples which mimicked waves. The jellyfish pulsing as though someone had let a stray lantern free in the dark sky, which was the dark ceiling.
A soft splash echoed somewhere they couldn't see and her spine stiffened. Great, wonderful. Nothing like mysterious disembodied laughter in a sunken palace to really set the mood. How fun. She wrapped her pale hands around herself, which was now unmistakably cold. The action wasn't because she was intimidated or scared ,she refused to give the room that sort of assumption, but because every instinct inside her was screaming to be prepared, cautious, ready. Her eyes travelled towards the enormous window, where stray shapes were drifting by outside. There were silhouettes of merfolk, sharks that had lazy tails, and shoals of fish that glistened like coins in wishing wells as the moonlight hit the still water. The oddest panorama wasn't even that, but because the merfolk were forming an unmistakable number eight with their hands. Tatiana didn't know what it meant, nor did she like not knowing, either.
Behind her, there was a door with a missing door handle, but it didn't stir her interest so much more that she merely gave it a quick glance before moving on. Classic magical nonsense, once you got in, you weren’t supposed to get out until something decided you were done. Cute or annoying, probably both. The frozen clock was worse. Something about a broken mechanism and unmoving hands gave her a prickle along the back of her neck that she didn't like, the sort that whispered time doesn’t work here the way you think it does.
Her attention drifted right to the bookshelf carved from a massive shell, each curve was shaped with such deliberate care it almost felt reverent. She scanned the book spines: Ambient Oceans, Watching the Waves, Below the Waters, Whispers of the Shells, Crossing the Trenches. All water, water, water, and those authors’ names… gods, were these parents okay?
She didn’t touch anything. Curiosity was great until it killed you.
But the wall of paintings, now that was different. Tatiana found herself slowing down as her gaze slid across it. The whale breaking the surface. The soft-pink jellyfish. The predator chase frozen mid-motion. The shark’s effortless grace. The tiny octopus was hiding as though it was playing a painfully slow game of peek-a-boo.
And then that last painting. The woman perched on a rock. Eyes that followed. Always watching. Always waiting.
Tatiana refused to look away first. She wasn’t about to lose a staring contest to a portrait.
@Evony Senoj, @Alliasta Holista, @Shelowyn Bloomthorn, @Aisling Doyle, @Sere Nade, @Kafelé Kahotep, @Eric Kim
Action: Stepping closer to the wall of paintings, keeping a careful eye on the one with the woman as she examines it
——————————————————————
The Drowned Palace
Date : October 4th, 2025 Color code : Written | Thought | Said After Shelowyn's agreement @Shelowyn Bloomthorn followed by her perfect recall of the song surrounded the room, a dramatic transformation occurred around the group, which had previously resembled nothing more than high stone walls and algae. They clearly success sung a secret code that brought the sunken palace back to the surface. "Whoa, whoa, whoa." Forgetting the annoyance and boredom that had strucked her before, Sere's interest in this game increased up to one-hundred percent.
The room was no longer dark, solving Alliasta's phobia @Alliasta Holista and Kafelé's desire @Kafelé Kahotep to keep a ray of light around him at the same time. The boy could rest his moth now because the blue flame candles, jellyfish, and glowing pearls created a blue hue in the game room.
Oh? Were they even still in the game room? Sere had almost forgotten that fact. She felt like she was in an old castle with long pillars and walls patterned with the surface of the sea instead of a game room. In front of her a large window with thick velvet curtains displayed an endless blue ocean, silhouette of sea creatures, and mermaids holding hands in a shape of eight. Huh? Strange. Strange but beautiful.
Sere turned her head and found the entrance with an immense, broken clock beside it. "Ten past four?" She murmured, speaking to herself, "looks like it needs to be fixed to show the correct time." She considered casting a spell, but perhaps someone else could do it instead of her, considering The Mending Charm was the one every student would get as soon as they attended the first lesson of their first-year Charms. Every Hogwarts student in this room should be able to do it.
The Gryffindor folded her arms as she studied the six paintings displayed on the left side of the room. Exquisite. Breathtaking. There was no way Sere would pass up the opportunity to examine every each of it. A whale piercing out of the water, a pink jellyfish with lilac dots, an orca chasing a seal, a shark swimming about, and an octopus hiding beneath a rock. Sere rubbed her upper arm with her thumb -up and down- as she examined the last painting: a woman perched on a rock. The eyes of the woman seemed to be staring at her, as if waiting and hoping for something. Something Sere found creepy enough so she tried to avert her gaze to the other side of the room.
The right side of the room was filled with a shelf made from shell. "How did they make this?" Shout out to the ball committee. Sere walked closer to the shelf and found five books, all worn; their pages damaged, likely due to humidity. Despite of the papers' condition, she could still read the titles and authors: Ambient Oceans by Willy Embers, Watching the Waves by Rylee Waters, Below the Waters by Pearl Cordelia, Whispers of the Shells by Coral Ocean, and Crossing the Trenches by Dolphina Wave. "No way these nonsenses are people's names," Sere shook her head in disbelief. "They must be related to another riddle, something in this room." This deduction grew partly from her refusal to believe that the strange combination of words were actually refered to some existances.
She tried to grab everyone's attention. "Do these books have anything to do with the paintings? I mean, except for that one." Sere glanced at that painting, and the woman in it seemed to glanced back at her. There were five paintings -besides that one- equaling the five books she could see on the shelf. "Should we sort these books according to the paintings? Or maybe the other way around?" @Tatiana Contraire @Evony Senoj @Aisling Doyle
Sere thought about something else to do, "Or should we repair these books first?" She took out her wand and prepared herself to cast another spell.Action : Casting Paper Mending Charm - Papyrus Reparo at the damaged book pages.
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)