CICTF Iguana vs. Armadillo

Banner by Skylar Astor

After her first official Quidditch game at Hogwarts, which ended well for the Gryffindors, Laasya was more keen on finding more sports to play. So, during a visit to Castelobruxo, the young lion was eager to participate in a game called capture the flag. She hoped that it would be pretty fun even though it already seemed interesting just like the rest of the school. She decided to sign up unknown of what would come next.


So, on the day of the game, she got herself ready and left the maloca that she shared with Denise. She made her way to the area where they would play the game, which was a patch of very dense rainforest. The weather was lovely and warm but that did nothing to deal with the butterflies in the young lion's stomach. She reached the spot and saw her fellow teammates. Out of them, she recognized, Julia, Zephyr and Harumi. Their team name was the iguanas which were probably a common animal in South America. The name of the other team was the Armadillos. Both teams consisted of mostly first years, and a second year here and there. "Good luck!" She whispered to her teammates. She then went into position, ready to do her task. 

STATS
sta-8, eva-8, str-4, wis-7, arc-2, acc-7

This event is part of the Castelobruxo International Capture the Flag event
26TH OF JUNE, 2026 IN THE JUNGLE ARENA

MODERATION — ROUND ONE.

After the Castelobruxo headmaster took each student and their respective teams down onto the field, Meiyu rose from the seat she rested on in the high tower nearby which granted a birds-eye view of each zone and their respective player. It had been fairly easy to identify each student, curtsey of the binoculars that had been left for her. Amidst the warmth mid-June brought, it was though the jungle had a mind of it's own, each zone contorting with different obstacles aimed to challenge the students throughout the game. Zone one brought a mist that made it difficult to see, zone two became infested with Capuchin Monkeys, zone three nested an anaconda that slithered towards students aiming to escape and zone four brought a horrid heatwave.

The group consisting of iguana's had left two behind, fortunately bypassing the mist which began to cloud the air above them. One student, @Harumi Everdane, spent time setting up a trap in their home base, her endeavours failed by the looks of it, the mist contributing nothing in her attempt. The other student who remained, @Veda Lunar, manoeuvring through the zone, seeking to locate the armadillo's flag, failing in her attempts — likely accredited to the mist or sheer lack of braincells in the child. "Does she really think the other team is that dumb and would make it easy for them?" Meiyu giggled as she monitored the team through her binoculars, observing every minuscule movement.

Remaining iguana's manoeuvred through the jungle, finding themselves in zone two, where the Capuchin Monkeys began their reign on terror — seeking to violate anyone who was in their way. Most made it through unscathed, all but @Julia Evans and @Cirrus Mooney, who each had their wands respectively taken from them with the monkeys scurrying away as though they were rodents at Hogwarts.

As Meiyu moved, her binoculars followed, the sight before her causing a small gasp to part her lips in sheer disbelief. The armadillo clan were as useless as their animal counterpart. Each student remained in their respective zone, frozen, few had began movements, yet it served no fruit to the action-seeker that had been Meiyu. Discontent by the lack of action, Meiyu scoffed at the sheer idiocy displaced by the team who had little to no desire to win the game — if that had been the case, why embark to Castelobruxo for the event?

"What a bunch of losers." She commented, namely to herself.

TEAM IGUANA @Harumi Everdane @Zephyr Deakin @Skylar Astor @Julia Evans @Rose Pearce @Cirrus Mooney @Laasya Manjunath @Veda Lunar

TEAM ARMADILLO @Emi Sato @Elwyn Ambrose @Kira Orlova @Nick Jameson @Olivia Belle Sato @Malakai Shibue @Cinder Blaze @Ethan Lee

HOW TO PLAY

The game ends when either team successfully retrieved the other teams flag to their base. Team Iguana will be starting the game in Zone 1 and Team Armadillo will be in Zone 4 at the opposite end of the arena. There will be at most 10 rounds, each requiring a post of 200+ words. Please make sure you include your character's stats in your post.

During the first round only, each team must state which zone their flag is hidden in to the thread moderator. You may chose to hide the flag in any of the 4 zones. The flag remains in that zone unless successfully discovered or moved through gameplay mechanics. Do not reveal in game where the flag is located.

Each round, everyone in the team must make at least one action from the Capture the Flag actions list, unless they are unable to act due to a status effect or restriction. These actions are zone dependent. The team scores points by making successful flag actions or interceptive actions towards a flag carrier. Please note that players may only move between adjacent zones and cannot skip zones while travelling.

At the conclusion of each round, the zone state map will be updated to reflect all player locations. Players may only target characters who are in the same zone as them at the end of the previous round. If a target moves out of the zone during the following movement phase, the action automatically fails, with the exception of Flag Intercept and non-magical support actions that include a chase mechanic. When performing these actions, the player automatically follows the target into the destination zone as part of the interaction.

If the action fails while chasing, the pursuing player is left behind in the original zone while the target successfully gains distance.

Rules regarding roll resolution, action priority, and other game mechanics can be found HERE.

At least one member of the team must owl the entire teams' action list to @Meiyu Xiang before the posting deadline.

DEADLINE IS 120 HOURS (5 days) FROM THIS POST

ZONE MAP

ZONE 1	ZONE 2	ZONE 3	ZONE 4
Harumi Everdane [700/700 HP] Veda Lunar [500/500 HP]	Zephyr Deakin [500/500 HP] Skylar Astor [500/500 HP] Julia Evans [700/700 HP] Rose Pearce [400/400 HP] Cirrus Mooney [500/500 HP] Laasya Manjunath [800/800 HP]	Empty	Emi Sato [900/900 HP] Elwyn Ambrose [500/500 HP] Kira Orlova [500/500 HP] Nick Jameson [500/500 HP] Olivia Belle Sato [500/500 HP] Malakai Shibue [600/600 HP] Cinder Blaze [800/800 HP] Ethan Lee [600/600 HP]

ROUND 1 ROLLS

ZONE MODIFIERS
Zone 1: Mist | Zone 2: Capuchin Monkeys | Zone 3: Anaconda | Zone 4: Heatwave

TEAM IGUANA ROLLS

Reducio

ZONE MODIFIERS:
Zone 1: Mist [ACCURACY] — DC 15.
Harumi — [d20 : 18] + 5 = 23. Success.
Veda — [d20 : 9] + 7 = 16. Success.

Zone 2: Capuchin Monkeys [STRENGTH] — DC 13.
Zephyr — [d20 : 15] + 7 = 22. Success.
Skylar — [d20 : 10] + 4 = 14. Success.
Julia — [d20 : 5] + 5 = 10. Fail.
Cirrus — [d20 : 1] + 3 = 4. Critical fail.
Laasya — [d20 : 17] + 4 = 21. Success.
Rose — [d20 : 5] + 2 = 7. Fail.

Julia and Rose loses their wands and will spend the round looking for it forfeiting their round one action.

ACTIONS:
Harumi laying a trap. — WDC 16+2 (LC) = 18
[d20 : 7] + 7 = 14. Fail.

Veda spotting flag in zone 1. — WDC 16+2 (LC) = 18.
[d20 : 1] + 6 = 7. Fail.

The rest of team iguana successfully advance into zone 2.

TEAM ARMADILLO ROLLS

Reducio

All actions voided from team Armadillo as no actions were sent.
Those who have posted did not send respective actions either, so their entire team's actions have been nulled.

Made by amazing Skylar Astor

Zephyr listened to everyone's suggestion where to hide their flag. One thing was sure, they should hide it well. Harumi's suggestion definitely earned a chuckle from him. Expect her to come up with the funniest suggestion, even though she proposed it with a straight face. He didn't think it's allowed but in the spirit of being fair, he listened to her and the others until they all came up with a better option.

Now they're on their way to their base. Truth was, his nervousness was long gone and now replaced with excitement he couldn't contain. He was grinning like an idiot as they made their way to their base. His mind was already working double time to come up with good strategy they could apply during the game and was excited to discuss it with his teammates, who by the way, were all present and ready for war...I mean competition. They all have their game face on so he knew they were all going to take this seriously.

If there's one thing he learned while in Tenusa, was that do not underestimate the things that could happen inside a forest. They all learned it the hard way, especially when dealing with that nasty tree that endangered everyone's lives. Once at their base, Zephyr kept checking the perimeter, always alert. He also pulled his wand out, ready for anything. He had to wave his hand many times just to see where they were going because of the mist surrounding them. He almost tripped when he stepped on a big root which he missed due to the mist. "How are we supposed to see everything in here." He groaned, sounding exasperated. “Watch your step, there are massive roots in here.” The canopy was so dense he couldn’t even see the sunlight.

They've all discussed their respective roles, where to go and what to do. He nodded his head at everyone and told them, "Be careful out there, support each other...and wands out everyone." He didn’t even realise how fast things started moving until the mist of Zone One was already behind him and the trees became thicker and taller. For his part, he was tasked to move to Zone 2, which was the zone connected to Zone 1. The first thing he noticed as he moved was the sound of water. It's getting louder the farther he went until he was greeted with a river. The current was strong and fast moving. He's getting a hard time seeing the path as fog covered some part of the area. All he could hear was the waterfall, it's hard to miss because it was so loud.

He was busy checking which way to go when he heard movement, his reaction was automatic after that. A monkey lunged for his sleeve and he quickly pushed it off with a firm shove. Not too aggressive but enough to shove it away the way he would deal with unpredictable animals back home. "The monkeys are aggressive!" He shouted at his group to give them a warning. Another came in from the side but he stepped back and blocked it using his forearm and used the momentum to shove it away again. Whatever is happening with the rest of the group, it was oblivious to him as he was busy dealing with the monkeys. They have to recover quickly before the other team intercepts them.

Action: As strategized.
Stat: Sta: 5, Eva: 5, Str: 7, Wis: 5, Arc: 8, Acc: 5
Special Ability: Calming Presence

As Veda scanned the forest, she could barely focus. Maybe a bit due to her anxiety, but mostly because of the fog. Most of her team moved forward to go to the next zone, but she had been assigned to stay and look for the flag, which she was VERY grateful for. At least for now, she didn't have to explore this vast jungle, although her current task wasn't that much better. She was supposed to be looking for the enemies flag, in her own teams starting zone. "That doesn't... make much sense," she thought originally, but she kept her mouth shut. "If it is here, don't we just win automatically?" she frowned silently. However, before she could get the nerve to speak, the action was decided on and they moved on to talk about the future, leaving Veda here, stuck blinking through the mist, squinting to see if she could spot a flash of color.

She had no luck, which she expected, and it didn't help that she heard rustling from every corner of the forest. "It's just the wind and the leaves. Just.. just the wind and the leaves," she murmured quietly, trying and failing to reassure herself. She knew deep down that they were still being watched by staff, and they wouldn't hurt them enough to kill the students, but that didn't stop the panic from clawing up her throat.

Veda forced herself to breathe. She made it this far, and she wouldn't give up now. Also, she would NOT be the reason her team failed. Therefore, she continued squinting till the end of the round and until her eyes were watering from the environment. At one point, she thought she saw something, and let out a quiet squeal. Until she noticed it was a flower. A fricking flower. Veda glanced around, hoping that Harumi wasn't distracted from making her trap.

Harumi decided with her team that she would stay behind to lay a trap in their base zone, they can't have silly intruders missing around here, so she stayed behind trying to makeshift a trap of sorts. Veda was also staying behind, but instead of laying traps, she's looking gor the opponents flag, it'd be silly if it's here, but taking chances is not an option.

She looked around to see if the other girl is still around, but all she saw were massive trees staring back at her, the trees didn't look like they could talk, which Harumi was thankful for, she wouldn't mind a conversation with a tree, but it's scary here and she's alone, so it's probably not the best time for a tree to become sentient.

Harumi started working on the trap, but her mind kept wandering to trees again, what would a conversation with a tree look like anyway? Maybe the tree will complain about the many birds that make nests in its branches? Or maybe it actually likes them? Or maybe the tree would be angry because humans eat their fruits? Each tree would be different probably, one with an outgoing personality, another who's just rude, another who's shy.

Thinking about trees didn't help with the trap at all, because next thing she knows, the trap is in pieces, Harumi sighed in frustration, she should pay more attention.

Mention: @Zephyr Deakin, @Harumi Everdane, @Veda Lunar, @Rose Pearce, @Julia Evans, @Laasya Manjunath, @Skylar Astor
WC: four hundred and something
OOC Notes: promise i’ll write better when i return home </3

-

The rainforest had seemed very peaceful at first. At first.

Cirrus was taking note of all the types of trees, wondering if they’d handle differently under her carving blade than the woods she’d scavenge from the grounds at Hogwarts. She had been paying such close attention to the winding roots beneath her feet, making sure she didn’t trip, as well the dense layers of foliage overhead with a sort of interest reserved for the most beautiful of sunsets. So much so, that she hadn't noticed the movement in the trees until it was already too late.

There was the sound of rustling leaves and trills, a blur of brown fur, and a sharp snap against her wrist. By the time she looked up, her wand had vanished.

Cirrus stood frozen for a heartbeat, blinking at her now empty hand before her eyes followed the unmistakable shape of a capuchin monkey scrambling effortlessly into the canopy. It waved its newest prize at Cirrus most tauntingly and laughed with a cheeky grin. She frowned a little and tilted her head at the creature.

"...Excuse me." The words left her mouth before she realised how ridiculous they sounded. She wanted to tell a literal monkey that it was being rude, as though irreverence wasn’t its disease. But she didn’t care, monkeys were a favourite animal of hers, she couldn’t find herself to be very mad, even if they weren’t quite like the Curious George television show she grew up with."Could I... have that back, please?" The monkey, unsurprisingly, offered no reply to her attempt at resolving the fued peacefully. It only laughed at her more before descending deeper into the greenery.

Cirrus let out the quietest sigh imaginable, watching it disappear amongst the leaves. Of all the things she had expected to encounter in an exotic, magical rainforest, being robbed by wildlife had not made the list.

She glanced toward the others who had moved up to the second zone with her, Julia and Rose, noticing how they’d suffered the very same fate.

"...At least I’m not the only one,” she murmured under her breath, mostly to reassure herself more than anything.

Yeah… not at all like Curious George…

For the moment, Cirrus would follow the mischievous creature throughout the zone in hopes of managing to snatch her wand back, or that it’d simply grow bored of its new stolen treasure, all while keeping a keen eye on her surroundings for any other fauna that may want to nab something else from her person. Or, even worse, members from the other team. She wouldn’t be able to defend herself very well without her wand.

But a wand also wasn’t exactly necessary to notice things.

-

Action: As Strategised
Stats: STAMINA: 5 | EVASION: 6 | STRENGTH: 3 | WISDOM: 8 | ARCANE | POWER: 7
ACCURACY:6

I had done nothing when the game started, which was awkward, to say the least. I was a quidditch player, who grew up around dragons! I should be looking for the thrill!
But, I had been too busy looking at the surroundings, something that was very embarrassing for me. So, now, I took my wand out of my pocket, and started coming up with a plan.
I glared briefly at the boy who told us that we needed to get moving.
"I think we are all aware of that fact, thank you."

I hoped that when we got moving, my eyepatch wouldn't get stuck on any branches. That would be the worst thing that could happen to me. Because then, my already scarred face would be subject to more scratches, which was not my idea of fun.
But, I pushed those thoughts out of my mind - they weren't helping anyone, least of all myself. The rainforest was really hot, even hotter than my home at the south of France. Much better than the russian school, where I thought I would die from the cold. So, I turned back around to the boy who had spoken before. He had green hair, that was honestly quite cool.
"So, what do you suggest then?"

@Elwyn Ambrose

Rose and her team were now moving to the next Zone they had to go as her team had strategized. She was not sure how to apprehend her surroundings. It was Tenusa like just more foggy and with a lot of plants everywhere. Therefore she had to be careful while walking not to break any branches or to damage any leafs or other plants otherwise this would lead the enemy of their way which was the last thing she and her teammates wanted to do.

The more they were walking in the zone the more nervous and anxious she was feeling. The fog was likely hiding the way and some visibility so she made sure to walk as close as she could from her teammates not to get lost anyhow. She also was on alert about anything happening and that could happen her head was less hurting but she had the feeling and sensation in her body when her brother got his first instance of magic.
But it could from her great help although hard to properly use because of the magical essence in the atmosphere and probably from some creatures. While being lost in her thoughts speaking of creatures Capuchin monkeys had just appeared in front of them coming from every side. Just when Zephyr was warning everyone they were rather aggressive Rose saw a quick shadow passing by her and something being suddenly missing in her hand. Her light green eyes shifted to her now empty hand which not so long time ago was still holding her wand. Then she shifted her gaze up to see the not so small creature waving at her and mocking her for having lost her wand that easily.

"Great...as if it were needed...." she muttered to herself annoyed and slightly angry for having letting her guard down or at least not paying attention enough. Skylar tried to help her but sadly came to late to prevent the incident to happen. Rose looked at her best friend and gave her a sad smile but she was feeling too annoyed to truly feel sad.
While looking around she noticed Cirrus and Julia were in the same situation as her. How were they supposed to defend themselves if needed? She also didn't want to become a burden to her team now. Well she could still be useful but in a limited way that she was now wandless. If she had this ability already she wouldn't be worrying but she would have to wait some years more. She just sighed trying to reassuring herself and that she would figure it out. However she still had to keep up with her team.

Stats: Stamina 4 | Evasion 6 | Strength 2 | Wisdom 9 | Arcane Power 7 | Accuracy 7

Ability: Sixth Sense

Action: As strategized