The Drowned Palace Group 11

MOD POST - GROUP 11

@Kaitlyn Connor would burst into the room, and the door would open for her, but as soon as she entered, it would close, seemingly on its own, melding itself into the walls. Why the crew had decided to lock themselves in a room, well, maybe it was just a part of the oddities of Hogwarts.

@Rafal Devereux would go off on his own, sorting out the puzzle with astounding speed. As he spoke the words, the siren song cut out of its mid part, and it seemed to quickly fast-forward to the end of the song. However, simply speaking the words had no further affect.

@Linda Ramirez and @Quentin Gagné seemed to have forgotten where they were, or maybe they were just too focused on figuring out the riddle to say anything.

Nothing of interest had happened in the last few minutes; if the crew didn't hurry it up, the treasure would stay where it was by the end of the night. And so the song (and voice) kept going, almost taunting. It looked like, at least for now, the "siren" had no plans of entertaining any sort of break for the crew. Then again, it could just as well be a "recorded" song on a loop.

They were on the right track, certainly, but nothing had happened? Perhaps a bit more teamwork would help? Maybe the siren wanted something more. After all, "everything is awesome when you're part of a team." Otherwise, unfortunately, it would seem their time would soon be through.

Interacting with: Reducio @Quentin Gagné, @Linda Ramirez, @Rafal Devereux

Notes: Reducio Speech: #3CB371 Thoughts: italics

Kaitlyn smiled shyly at the younger boy. “It’s nice to meet you, too, Rafal,” she replied. While she was, indeed, a prefect for Slytherin, she was also not entirely familiar with everyone’s names from Slytherin. Her shyness and social anxiety certainly did not help, unfortunately! As much as she loved being polite, now was not the time to do so. After all, they were in an escape room, themed as The Drowned Palace.

Her head tilted to the side as Rafal attempted to solve the riddle. Or, more accurately, solved the riddle in its entirety. Her blue eyes danced around the room, trying to see if anything had changed after he solved the riddle. Unfortunately … no … nothing visible changed. The song fast-forwarded to the end; otherwise, nothing else. She frowned briefly at that. Simply solving the riddle wouldn’t help, it appeared. Were they missing something else? That is very likely.

Could it be something in the room? ‘Wait, the song reacted when Rafal spoke the words … but then restarted right afterward, and nothing else happened,’ Kaitlyn thought with her brow furrowed. It sounded like that might have an impact. ‘Oh … I think I have an idea …’

Kaitlyn waited for the song to loop back to the beginning. Softly, she began to sing the answer to the puzzle. “Fail the search, your time is through. The treasure stays, and so do you,” she sang, matching the melody of the song.

Word Count:

Reducio

Note: 245 words

Action: Singing the answer to the riddle.

MOD POST - GROUP 11

@Kaitlyn Connor was the one to chant the words in the same tune the siren was singing that haunting loop melody. 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.

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.

Interacting with: Reducio the group

Notes: Reducio Speech: #3CB371 Thoughts: italics

As soon as the words of the song left her lips, Kaitlyn heard the music continue and end on the last syllable. At least that appeared to help! Her eyes grew wide as the room transformed around her and her companions … and brighter, too! The room appeared very intricate, which was a good touch. In addition to the brightness, numerous extra items could be seen around the room. It would certainly take her a considerable amount of time to review everything, which would be unfortunate. The whole point of an escape room was to solve the puzzles quickly. Hopefully, this would be the case as well.

The young third-year gingerly glanced around the room, trying to take in the entire sight, before choosing to do something. There were just so many shells, and books, and water-themed items, and paintings! The paintings themselves looked very important. The sheer number of shells looked potentially significant. Not to mention, the painting of the woman, whose eyes were staring right at her, was … unnerving. Kaitlyn could feel her cheeks flush in its presence. It was a silly thought, certainly. The woman wasn’t specifically looking at her for any particular reason … she assumed.

Unable to break herself from the spell of the paintings, Kaitlyn glided toward the paintings to investigate.

Word Count:

Reducio

Note: 218 words

Action: Investigate the paintings.

MOD POST - GROUP 11

@Kaitlyn Connor found the paintings interesting enough to give them a closer glance. They were all quite fascinating, old oil paintings that seemed to be brand new and ages old at the same time. Their frames were gilded, intricit designs of waves crashing into each other and dancing along the border. In particular, the siren painting was quite intriguing, though it seemed to await something, or maybe it was just how the pieces of art were arranged.

As her gaze passed over the woman in the painting, she would find that the woman was certainly looking directly at her, awkwardly meeting eye contact, unblinking in every was, purposely not looking at anything in the room. However, every so often, she would quickly glance behind her, as if worried, before quickly looking back and, if catching someone watching, nervously glance down before recomposing herself and resuming her creepy, constant eye contact. There was certainly nothing of relevance that she knew. And yet there was something odd about the painting. All the other paintings were securely bolted to the wall, but she seemed to be almost loose, hanging by a single nail on the top, and the sides of her frame seemed just a bit worn.