Tomb of No Return Doom Crew

@Cyrus Darsel | @Howard White | @Johannes Sauer

The cider was mediocre, the last member of their pest removal party existed on the vaguest edges of her recognition, and soon enough the old man led them back out into the storm on hobbling steps. Bridget doubted they would be paid anywhere near enough to be out in this weather, and doubly doubted that any rodents would be unwise enough to go for a late night swim, but she was here now. The job was the job.

Or perhaps not. Her vague suspicions sharpened all too late with the slamming seal of their one way out, and she felt more ridiculous than scared when nothing immediately jumped out to kill them. Ending up sealed in a tomb, really? She and Howard would have quite the story to tell Koko if -- when -- they made it out of here. Howard let off a string of expletives, Cyrus muttered a very American bruh, and she allowed herself a quiet, "Well, shit." At least she wasn't in the Hogwarts dungeons with shadow creatures trying to kill her.

No time was wasted investigating, naturally, because maybe the old man preferred his murder with a slight delay for drama, or something. The wall writing Howard read out was odd. Had they stumbled upon some sort of cult? Or more accurately, were they being sacrificed to one? She wrinkled her nose at the thought of dying to someone who referred to themselves as Mastermind. She did disagree with Cyrus, though. They seemed only just past their sacrificing prime, if at all, at least based on her knowledge of... horror tropes. Which were debatably relevant, but would certainly have been useful five minutes ago.

She watched Cyrus' careful moth investigation and its results: iotas shimmering in the air disturbed by its wings, proof of a transfiguration. A transfigured dart, maybe? Based on the message, she doubted the competence of Mastermind's henchman, but untransfiguration was incredibly basic. She unsheathed her wand and incanted the much-practiced, "Reparifarge." If it reversed form and fell to the ground as a dart, she'd shrug and pick it up, rolling its weight between her fingers. "Watch out," she would warn, ensuring the path was clear before lining up a throw at the orb.

Actions:
1. Cast Reparifarge on the moth
2. If the moth turns into the dart, throw the dart at the orb

Potions: Erumpent Potion, Bruise Removal Paste, Weakness Potion

Banner Credit: Prat Pass

threading as Johannes Sauer

outfit reference

speaking in english unless specified

Given the tin roof's structural integrity, Cyrus's burger had probably been cooked on matchsticks in an outdoor kitchen. It was practically goop on a plate, and no amount of polite rejection could obscure Johannes' complete side-eye at the mere sight of it. What had they gotten themselves into? This was why he was here: to provide the correct response to a weird situation, even as his friend (who'd probably been all buddy-buddy with everyone he'd probably ever laid eyes on ever) took it all in stride.

A chronically neglected, optimistic part of Johannes had hoped that things would get less dodgy the longer they stuck it out. And yes, maybe that was wishful thinking (he at least acknowledged it) and exactly the naivety that got people murdered and made front page news, but most wizarding situations weren't the most logically reliable, anyway. When it came to magic, there came a certain tolerance for bullshit that obscured most knee-jerk attempts at self-preservation. Once they were out of the tavern and let loose to do their own thing, maybe the ice would break, and he'd feel more settled in his skin.

Yet the further their group travelled, the stronger that sick taste of dread seemed to follow. It was the oddest, most familiar unknown he'd felt since arriving in London. He still couldn't put his finger on it, couldn't even try to puzzle through it while wading over flooded asphalt. There was something off here, and not just the creeping fog or shifting angel figures in the close distance. Trekking through dirt roads turned mud, the rain slicking cold and miserable over the overgrown cemetery, Johannes stuck close as they finally entered the mausoleum.

Between one step and the next, they were no longer under the open sky but a covered archway, surrounded not by dense foliage but a clean, lit central monument. For a place supposedly infested, it seemed strangely well-kept in comparison to the rest of the graveyard, and far too imposing to justify supposed neglect. Odd.

Suddenly, from behind them came a great crash of rubble and rattling chains—alarmed, Johannes turned to warn their employer to stand back, but it was too late. Both passage and pensioner had already vanished behind a wash of rubble turned plain stone, traitorous as any tipster.

“I can't believe it, that rat bastard!” The old man’s sweaty urgency made more sense now than at any other time. It’d be on sight the next time he saw that sleazy geriatric, and no amount of pathetic wet coughing could stop him from wrangling real answers out of their situation… Fuck, he was just making a joke earlier, but this truly was like a video game, complete with the abandoned notes scattered for them to find. Johannes pressed a hand flat against the collapsed entryway, but just as it looked, they were well and solidly— “Sealed in, you’re right, fuck.”

He pulled his wand back out of its sleeve-holster as one of their own paced the length of the room. Cyrus’s entirely unfunny but coping(?) responses rang louder than any failsafe, but he’d rather not have a random spell ricochet around the cramped space, especially when they had no idea who, or what, they were dealing with. The “Mastermind” title was a little on the nose, but straightforward... who's to say that a graveyard jaunt needed to have a distinguishing trait?

Gate into sand, pillar of salt... A puzzle, then, to keep them occupied until the main event, whatever that was. "No, an arrow wouldn’t do much; the dart's more like a key than anything; it's only here because whoever wrote that thing wanted to stop people from leaving things wide open." Obvious enough to be remembered, hidden enough not to be immediately found... The only strange thing at hand was the fluttering moth—transfigured, then, considering Cyrus’s sussing out? But even so, that still didn’t explain its attachment to only one wall when there were four others also lit up. “Why this torch, why this torch specifically?” Convenience? Obviousness, to put the key directly across from its lock?

Best-case scenario, the moth was the dart, or had the dart, or knew where it was. Worst case, taking too long would make the ceiling collapse in on them as well, and they’d be wizarding pancakes doomed to haunt the narrative until kingdom come. Or picking up the torch would set off an alarm that dragged them off to become sacrifices in place of someone else's competence... Both options were bad, but none so terrible as to leave something potentially important behind and accept their fate.

So fuck it. If anything, they could keep the torch for later emergencies, whether as a source of light and warmth to keep the creepies out or a physical weapon to put them down. Feeling more like a medieval hoarder than anything, Johannes looked briefly towards the group in case of some amount of defining approval or protest—if he found none, he’d aim to brandish the lit torch with his free hand. As his fellow prisoner cast upon the fluttering moth, hopefully closer than it was mounted to the wall, he could at least light the unknown way forward.

Action: Picking up the torch,
Potentially moving the group forward into the next room (free)

Potions: Revive Potion | Calming Draught | Jawbind Potion

An Impressive Witch Dazzles while the Darkness Envelopes

Now it was time for the League Two duelist, Bridget, to shine. She, after all, had a large repertoire of spells to lean on, having an exhaustive knowledge of magic (Wis 18) and the acute accuracy to back it up (Acc 19). The others in the room seemed to give her space as she stepped up, wand in hand, poised as a master caster. With an almost genius level perception of the magical world, she instantly knew that the iotas surrounding the moth were from a transfiguration spell. She appeared confident that both this moth was the dart they were instructed to find AND she was more than capable of casting a first year Transfiguration spell. Confidence, however, is easily mimicked but harder to pull off. Perhaps she was more scared of the her inescapable predicament then she let on, or perhaps she just didn’t really pay attention in classes as she ought to have, because what she thought was a well practiced incantation came off horrible slurred and lazy (ArcDC 5; 1d20+12=1; CRIT FAILURE). The spell came out of her wand in sputters and choked. The moth convulsed on the wall as if gripping to life itself before its body contorted horribly. But the time the mangled husk of an insect fluttered to the ground, one wing had survived twitching as if in excoriating pain(*) but the result left nothing left to the imagination — here was the sought after dart, even if the tail end of the dart had what appeared to be fuzzy furry antenna, the crooked wing notwithstanding.

Seemingly unfazed by this fantastical failure of magical prowess the last in the group was Johannes. He seemed transfixed by the torchlight, as if…well…he himself were a moth drawn towards the flame. Ignoring the scene beside him, he grabbed the torch and hoisted it off it’s mantle. After a tension fraught moment, nothing seemed to happen. However, just when the group thought they could relax and strong gust of wind howled through the adjoining corridor on the other side of the grated door. The blast of energy was so great that it blew out the torch leaving the group now in a room that was pitch black, unable to see even a hand in front of their face. With half the groups sight taken away from them the dank smell of sewage, mold, rust and decay became palpable (and the feeling that they just made things worse weighed heavy on their hearts all save for the overwhelming optimist Cyrus (Fearless). Howard and Johannes would be unimpeded by the darkness (blind vision), however, Howard seemed to specifically struggle more with the smell (keen smell).

DUNGEON RULES
(will add or subtract as rooms require - please read carefully at the beginning of each round)

1. In each room you are granted two actions per person per round.
2. You may perform a room action: search, open, talk (to any non-party member), door (interact).
3. You may perform a casting action of any spell that is in your trunk.
4. Some puzzles and enemies will need you to perform certain room actions and others will need you to cast before you can progress.
5. There is more than one way to explore this tomb. You may follow room instructions, if provided, or you may find your own way to cast your way through the tomb. The choice is yours and yours alone.
6. Unless noted in instructions, the walls cannot be messed with. If you could blast your way out of a dungeon then it wouldn’t be much of a dungeon.
7. You will have your chance to escape throughout this journey if you are coward enough to run.
8. The next round will be posted April 15th or after everyone has submitted their actions.

The Doom Crew

Reducio

@Cyrus Darsel, @Howard White, @Bridget Collins, @Johannes Sauer

(*) NOTE: Transfigured inanimate objects are not actually alive. No moths were hurt in the creation of this puzzle.

@Cyrus Darsel | @Bridget Collins | @Johannes Sauer | @Makaio Kāne

It became very clear to the group that there was no way to go back from here. The only way through this trap was forward. Howard made a mental note of the old man's name and appearance, seared their location into his mind and did his best to remember every detail of how this came to be. Most of this information was probably falsified, but one thing that could often not be hidden was your scent. Howard had a way of finding people and when he did there would be hell to pay. A sentiment that Johannes seemed to agree with. For now though they would need to rely on each other and get out of this mess.

Howard read the note to the group aloud and they all caught on quick that the moth was most likely the dart in transfigured form. Cyrus did his best to keep the mood light, but Howard wasn't much in the mood for fun and games. "Let's stay focused. I think it's gotta be that dart. Note says anything else will set off a trap." Johannes seemed to agree as well. Jokes aside Cyrus' revealing spell hit the nail on the head as the magical iotas started buzzing around the creature. "Nice, dude. That's gotta be it."

Howard stepped next to Bridget as she took aim. He trusted her wand more than anyone, but even the best duelist has a bad day. Didn't stop the grin from stretching across his face though when her spell fluttered like a first year. Not that he had any place to talk shit about someone's casting. The man could barely cast a proper Lumos. "Stupid magic. Try again."

However, Howard's encouragement wouldn't do them much good as when Johannes pull the torch from the wall a gust of wind almost strong enough to knock Howard over came blasting through the room. "This whole damn place is rigged!" He grunted through gutted teeth. "Stay put. I can see well in the dark." Howard could still clearly make out everything going on in the room, but they would need some light to continue. Long fingers rummaged through his satchel before producing a magical candle. Howard would light it before letting it float just above his head. They would hopefully be able to see enough with just a candle's light, but whatever horrid smell came creeping in after that gust of wind was almost enough to make Howard retch.

"Holy shit! That's freakin' awful. We gotta move!" Not only did they need to get out of this damn place, but he wouldn't last long with that smell bombarding his sensitive nostrils. His wand work was atrocious at the best of times, but what the hell, he gave it a shot. "Reparifarge!"

Potion Inventory:

1. Wit Shapening Potion
2. Vitamix Potion
3. Exstimulo Potion

Actions:

1. Lights magical candle (in trunk).
2. Cast Reparifarge on the moth.

Stats:
STA - 17 | EVA - 21 | STR - 17 | WIS - 1 | ARC - 0 | ACC - 21

Abilities:
Fangs, Claw & Bite | Martial Artist | Unsettling Aura | Blindvision | Keen Smell | Terrible Presence | Blood Resurrection

@Cyrus Darsel | @Howard White | @Johannes Sauer | @Makaio Kāne

There were easier spells than Reparifarge, but not many. To Bridget's quiet horror, she could feel the magic turn wrong as soon as she uttered the incantation, tripping and buckling through her wand and only barely reigned in from complete disaster. And she could try to explain it -- there wasn't a lot of Transfiguration in duelling, so she'd gotten rusty in the last year, this situation was teetering on incredibly stressful -- but the only thing more embarrassing than failing a first year spell as a professional duellist might be trying to excuse it. She eyed the half-transfigured moth-dart, resigning any attempt to throw it for its ruined aerodynamics, and took the subtlest, deepest breath she could. If she was really lucky, no one would have seen that (incredibly wishful thinking in such a tight space), but Howard's encouragement did sort of help before she could spiral about failing spells and getting them all killed in a sealed tomb.

Then a lifted torch caused a great, delayed whoosh, darkness and an unpleasant smell sweeping in. She froze, listening hard for anything else coming up the corridor that might try to kill them. Like this, she was a sitting duck. At least Howard was here with his enhanced senses and job-sharpened reflexes, not stuck blinking in a solid wall of darkness. While he dug around in his bag, she tried another theoretically very easy spell. Her muttered "Lumos" might be an unnecessary addition to the candle's glow, but Bridget had not been fond of the dark in a very long time.

She let Howard take over fixing the moth -- an atypical role reversal for them, but he would probably have more success than she did. Besides, she was fully in agreement: they needed to move, and tag-teaming it might save time. If he got the spell right, she would say, in a rush of air, "I've got it," and pass her wand to her off hand to try this dart-into-orb business and hopefully get them out of here.

Actions:
1. Cast Lumos
2. If the moth turns (fully) into the dart, throw the dart at the orb

Potions: Erumpent Potion, Bruise Removal Paste, Weakness Potion

Banner Credit: Prat Pass

threading as Johannes Sauer

outfit reference

speaking in english unless specified

Based on Johannes's (limited) experience in Minecraft dungeon-crawling, things in a room were there for a reason, and they might as well be used. Why else would their captors waste four real torches to light up a little room when they could have spent their terrible graveyard budget on just one magical one? Or just one, in general, if inflation made even that possibility impossible. He was diversifying things in picking it up while everyone fumbled over the moth-dart anyway, and any lack of protest on one's part was basically consent for all.

And yet, whatever brilliantly half-baked justification he’d convinced himself into, there still existed moments when you think yourself so incredibly clever and prepared that life pauses precisely to humble you. This was one of them. Johannes had just pulled the torch from its holster and towards himself when a cold blast of air shot through the room, the stale but otherwise inoffensive situation they'd found themselves abruptly shuttered in with the acrid waft of smoke and, somewhere beyond the grated door, rotting sewage.

Aha, that wasn't supposed to have happened. “Fuckin’… whoops. That was my bad, sorry, everyone.” Of course, the place was rigged! Things could never be simple when it came to his luck. There went his master plan. Goddamn it, London.

Already swallowing down a wave of embarrassment, his eyes half-adjusted to the pitch-black, Johannes took a peek over at the moth-dart. You'd think they'd know how to care for an animal by now, but fucking hell, what did she do to the poor thing? Leave it to him to be stuck with shitty spellcasters in a wizarding masoleum, for the twitching abomination seemed more like an omen of their imminent demise than any real insect or dart. He'd always been bad at divination, but he could see the inevitable quite clearly now:

Yeah, they were going to die in here.

‘Mastermind’ didn’t even need to show up—they were probably going to trip, fall and accidentally kill themselves in this hellhole. The idea might have been terrifying if not for Johannes' world-class fumble, but as it stood, he wouldn't be entirely surprised. Disappointed, yes, but not surprised.

Still, they couldn't just give up! It was a likely possibility, but also a sad one, and while Johannes didn't want to venture further into the waterlogged dumpsite any more than anyone, he needed to make up for things somehow. He couldn't just fuck things up and then not move to fix things when they only had a few hands to work with. The solution to a difficult situation wasn't Cyrus' incredibly in-character optimism but locking TF in. "Hold on, I can also still see. I'll help," Johannes offered, still staring down at the mangled moth, fully realising the irony of further intervention after putting them in the dark. "Properly this time, promise."

"Reparifarge!"

Action: Cast Reparifarge on the moth.
Help Cyrus find/open the door in the dark, if his condition succeeds.

Potions: Revive Potion | Calming Draught | Jawbind Potion

Our adventures, now drenched in darkness, find their footing and get to work for real this time but not without a false start as Howard fails to cast reparifarge. Like a dad who’s done with this shit, he choose to light up as he wheezes and squirms from the noxious gases flooding his sense. Lighting up a very handy magic candle, he lets it go and it floats around him, basking the room in soft yellow light. Apparently, though, the group is not happy with the romance and one after the other Bridget and Cyrus cast lumos and Lumos Duo. Cyrus, eager to impress his companions really goes for it with all the flourishes an artist can give his wand work. After nearly blinding the only two people who could see perfectly well, the group went about finishing the room puzzle. Johannes took his turn casting reparifarge on the mangled corpse of the moth and this time actually managed to prove magic was real. He did such a great job that the dart was honed to perfection and extra aerodynamic as Bridget, trying to forget recent past failures and traumas, picked up the dart and gave it to good throw at the orb. With a satisfying tink, the orb flickered and the gate holding our group back slid upwards to allow them passage into the next room.

There was a short connecting corridor and, Johannes, fresh off a stellar example of Transfiguration magic, stepped on a loose stone in the hallway and…triggered the torches in the next room to light up. A trap that actually helped! But secret onlookers wished them to go to hell. He hoped this little inconvenience wasted their magical efforts and bought them one step closer to the final abyss. They enter the room and find the following room.

North side

A long wall length mirror.

West Side

An blank wall with torches flanking an open door.

East Side

A bare wall but the stone work is different than the rest of the tomb, it appears as if the stones can be moved.

South

Entrance into the room. Nothing of note other than the door you walk through.

Center

An empty table with a divot in its center as if something could be placed there.

Cyrus, following in Johannes’ footsteps, choose to inspect the blank wall on the west side of the room and, listening carefully, can just make out the unmistakeable noise of people talking on the other side. The wall is too thick to clearly make out what is being said but the muffle is loud enough to accurately discern that they are human or at least humanoid.

DUNGEON RULES
(will add or subtract as rooms require - please read carefully at the beginning of each round)

1. In each room you are granted two actions per person per round.
2. You may perform a room action: search, open, talk (to any non-party member), door (interact).
3. You may perform a casting action of any spell that is in your trunk.
4. Some puzzles and enemies will need you to perform certain room actions and others will need you to cast before you can progress.
5. There is more than one way to explore this tomb. You may follow room instructions, if provided, or you may find your own way to cast your way through the tomb. The choice is yours and yours alone.
6. Unless noted in instructions, the walls cannot be messed with. If you could blast your way out of a dungeon then it wouldn’t be much of a dungeon.
7. You will have your chance to escape throughout this journey if you are coward enough to run.
8. The next round will be posted April 22nd or after everyone has submitted their actions.

The Doom Crew

Reducio

@Cyrus Darsel, @Howard White, @Bridget Collins, @Johannes Sauer

@Cyrus Darsel | @Bridget Collins | @Johannes Sauer | @Makaio Kāne

"Stupid, bastard magic!" Howard hissed under his breath as his spell failed. The wizarding world was a beautiful, wonderful place that never ceased to amaze him, but by the gods was it frustrating to try and master the arcane. Focus, proper enunciation, correct wand movement. This was drilled into every students head during their time at Hogwarts. Why was it so easy for some then and not others? Oh, because they spent all their nerdy time in the library studying while Howard chased girls and felt angsty! He let out a long sigh and holstered his wand. "Someone else try please. I gotta get out of here." Another cough escaped him as he kept his stomach at bay.

Perhaps the others were a bit too eager though as wands starting lighting up all around him. His trusty magic candle would have done just fine! Howard threw an arm up to shield his eyes, but just before seeing the moth finally returned to its dart form and sent sailing towards the orb. "Finally, nice shot Bridget, thank you! Let's go." He encouraged his friend to stay on his heels as Howard followed Cyrus and Johannes into the corridor. Fortunately the loose stone did not trigger a booby trap that filled them full of poisoned darts, but simply lit up the next room.

Howard paused as the other two examined the western side, Cyrus claiming that he could hear voices on the other side of the wall. "I dunno, man. The note back there mentioned other people being down here before. They could still be dow here, they could also not be friendly. Don't go off on your own." Splitting up could be tempting. Explore more area, double back with your findings, but it just didn't feel right. "Here, uh, lemme take a sniff." Howard approached the western doorway and tilted his nose up in the air. Maybe he'd detect something human?

Then the table came into question. It did seem a bit off as it looked like it was missing a piece. "Yeah, seems like something used to sit in that divot. I'll look around." Howard stepped lightly around the room looking for anything that might fit that empty space.

Potion Inventory:

1. Wit Shapening Potion
2. Vitamix Potion
3. Exstimulo Potion

Actions:

1. Sniffs down the western doorway.
2. Searches the room.

Stats:
STA - 17 | EVA - 21 | STR - 17 | WIS - 1 | ARC - 0 | ACC - 21

Abilities:
Fangs, Claw & Bite | Martial Artist | Unsettling Aura | Blindvision | Keen Smell | Terrible Presence | Blood Resurrection