║ ║

║ ║

Interacting with/Mentioning: @Open For Interactions	Word Count: 230/200	Outfit: A summery golden yellow dress and blue leggings.

║ ║ ║ ║

I scowled at myself for coming to this camp. I could have stayed home and not payed attention to the stupid wizarding nonsence. Judging about how my last visit to somewhere in London went, I really must have been stupid. But, here I am, and I guess I'm going to be doing a scavenger hunt. "Okay....this has to be the scoreboard, it's the only one that fits!" I hurried across the field to the scoreboard and saw three piles-just as the riddle described. But which one to choose? All these people watching...I guess I could do the...stick? I sighed and grabbed it, putting it into my backpack and wondering why I got myself into this mess. As I looked around, I saw a lot of different faces, most of them thankfully not looking at me. But of course, my mind could only really think of the fact that most had their wands out or even one person with a broom! I was a bit disgusted. Magic, I decided, was really quite terrible. All it does it cause problems! I shook my head, and as to not seem weird, took out my wand as well. It was a nice wand, but I did not like it at all. As I thought all of this, I looked around the scoreboard for the next clue. I just wanted to get this over with. Action: Going to the scoreboard and choosing a stick.

║ ║ ║ ║

SCAVENGER HUNT | Round 1
- July 30, 2024 -

LETTERS, letters, letters. Not too long ago — just over three weeks now, actually, at the start of July — Septimus had celebrated his eleventh birthday by opening the official owl-borne letter welcoming him to Hogwarts. It was funny to think that something as simple as that piece of paper had caused such a stir in his everyday routine. Suddenly, he had become the focus of his entire family's attention. He was whisked off on school shopping sprees with his mother one day and sat down for conversations with his father about whether he really truly wanted to go to Hogwarts (because, of course, there would always be a place for another Merrill boy at Ilvermorny) the next. His older siblings had sent their best from America, promising to treat him properly the next time they were all together. He'd even gotten messages from those aunts and uncles and grandparents whom he only ever saw at holidays congratulating him on the milestone. What's come over these people? the boy had wondered, even as he basked in their praise for the short time before other matters needed noticing. The Merrills were a loving family, yes, but most days Septimus felt their love from a great distance. Yet it only took one letter for him to join them, however briefly, at their level — to make him feel like one of them.

If he'd known, he would've tried to turn eleven much sooner.

Septimus thought about his Hogwarts acceptance letter as he glanced between the massive scoreboard looming over the London Quidditch Stadium and the slip of parchment clutched in his right hand. The early sun reflected off the snow all around him; he threw up his free hand to shield his eyes and then rubbed them a bit, finding them still bleary from sleep. Since discovering this new letter at the end of his bed upon waking up, Septimus hadn't had any time to waste on things like morning leisure. He'd shrugged off his blankets, grabbed the envelope, and read the words embossed on the outside with wide-eyed enthusiasm: scavenger hunt. That had piqued his curiosity for sure. He'd ripped the envelope open and scanned the riddle waiting within, his mind racing to match the cryptic clues with anything he'd seen during the last month at camp. When he thought he had a decent answer, he'd gotten dressed, brushed his teeth, and combed his fingers through his hair, every step done so quickly that surely none of it had been done right. Then, slipping out of his tent to find other students already on their way to the scoreboard, he'd joined the approach. The hunt was on.

It was primarily the word advertisements that had led him to the scoreboard. He'd been to the stadium before to watch Quidditch matches with his mother's side of the family; he remembered the slogans scribbled in gold across the bottom of the board. In fact, it looked like a Gladrags advertisement was still clinging to life in the corner. You could hardly get a bigger or better place to pitch your products or services to a crowd. How many galleons does it take to put something up there? Septimus thought idly. Maybe Quidditch fans would see the name of the Merrill family business on that scoreboard one day — if they ever broke into the English market, like his father was always talking about.

But for now, it was what was under the scoreboard that was important. A table piled with sticks, quills, and candles invited scavenger hunters to choose the right answer (or the wrong one). How were they supposed to know the difference? The answer was surely obscured within the last lines of the riddle: take something you'd find on the edge of school grounds. Septimus checked the parchment again to make sure he'd remembered it correctly. He'd never actually been to Hogwarts, which could mean trouble. But he knew that there were other campers — future first-years like him — who hadn't been either, and it would be massively unfair to them to design a clue that only the older students would understand. He was sure he could work this out through common sense.

He knew from the stories of his mother's time at Hogwarts, which had become much more frequent since he'd received his acceptance letter, that the castle was next to an ominous swathe of woods that none of the students were allowed to enter. If this forbidden forest sat on the edge of the grounds, then... he was surely looking for sticks, wasn't he? Sticks came from trees, and trees came from forests. It seemed like the only logical answer. He supposed it could've been quills — maybe Hogwarts students had a habit of tossing their broken quills out the window — but to get that idea to make sense required an intense bout of mental gymnastics. Sticks felt safe. He'd go with sticks.

Septimus took a stick roughly the length of his forearm off the top of the pile and stepped back. Stifling a yawn, he began to spin the stick through the air like an oversized magic wand and waited to receive the next riddle. This was shaping up to be one of the most interesting mornings he'd had in a long time.

ACTION: entering the Scoreboard area and choosing a stick

Round Tracker: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Five, six, pick up sticks.

Cyrus didn't know much about Quidditch stadiums. He hated flying, he was a duellist and he didn't understand Quidditch that much. So when he saw the first riddle, asking where advertisements were, he had been very confused. What was the point for advertisements at a Quidditch game if the audience were meant to focus on the players?

Then it hit him. The audience would have to look somewhere they could all see while still paying attention to the game. So... not the concessions stand. Dang it. The spot that made the most sense had to be the centre field, the goalposts or the scoreboard, and, well, Cyrus didn't want to go to the goalposts. He had a broom with him, but had no intention to use it.

He also had no desire to go to centre field. So... scoreboard it was.

He arrived among many others. He had never been the smartest, so he was unbothered by this fact. He came with the masses, blending in for once in all but his height. His brow furrowed while his eyes narrowed as he gazed at the children around him. Finally, his vision zoomed in on the piles.

Oh.

He'd been to Hogwarts plenty of times, and the school definitely had sticks, quills and candles. But... the riddle had specified 'grounds'.

Cyrus hurried towards the piles and picked up a stick. He felt almost as if he was holding his wand, but he wasn't, since his wand was in his pocket. Did his wand count as a stick? It was a stick, after all, just a magic stick. His magic stick, he decided fondly.

This stick was normal. Mundane. And that made him wonder what would go wrong, what excitement the scavenger hunt would hold.



Setting: 30 July 2024
Interactions: n/a, but open!
Statistics, abilities and inventory:

Action: Cyrus picks up a stick from the pile.

EmmaLee woke up that morning to her cat Minx kneading her stomach. There was a distinct crackle sound of paper as the cat kneaded, as well, and it took a moment for the girl to realize that there was a golden letter under the paws. She sat up in her sleeping bag, prompting Minx to roll off of her rather dramatically and take refuge at her feet, her mission of waking her owner completed.

EmmaLee yawned and opened the letter to reveal an invitation to join the scavenger hunt and the first clue. While she didn't know too much about Quidditch, she did know that the scoreboard showed advertisements on it as well as the scores, so that was a pretty easy clue.

"Shall we have an adventure, Minx?" EmmaLee asked with a stretch. The cat cocked its head and mewed and EmmaLee wiggled out of her sleeping bag and got dressed in a long-sleeved, dark blue dress and brown hiking boots. The white animal trotted out behind her as she left her makeshift tent and walked out into the greater area of her group tent.

She looked around at everyone who was still asleep. It would be fun to do this with the others, but she didn't want to wake anyone and bother them with it. Maybe they could team up later on if they met up in the same place, she couldn't imagine that the riddles would be too hard. As her eyes scanned over the sleeping bags, they landed on Stephen's empty one. Ah, he must be out for his morning run.

Her heart leapt in her chest in the now familiar way it always did when her mind wandered to Stephen or whenever she looked at him and she almost physically shoved the mental image of him running out of her mind as she turned to exit the tent. She'd resigned herself to the idea that, while she had decided to lay her feelings aside and not risk messing up what little normalcy they had gotten back to, that particular sensation was not going to go away any time soon, and she sighed and yawned at the same time as she opened the tent flap and stepped outside, letter in hand.

EmmaLee made her way over to the scoreboard, with Minx trotting behind and intermittently pouncing on a snow pile, poking her blue eyes out as she perfectly concealed herself in each white mound before bursting out in a little snow flurry to continue following her girl. When EmmaLee got to the scoreboard, the three piles mentioned in the riddle were proudly displayed underneath the board on a simple little table: sticks, quills, and candles. It was pretty clear what item could be found on the edge of the school grounds, so she picked up a stick and looked around at the others gathered there who had already chosen their item and were meandering around and waiting for the confirmation of their choice and the next clue.

She twirled the stick in her hand and watched as Minx explored the area, pondering what on earth she would need a stick for. Usually, scavenger hunts had some kind of goal in mind in gathering the various materials, whether it was to bring together similar items for something educational or for a surprise or to build something with the items or whatever else.

As she pondered, she saw a swift movement from the corner of her eye. Turning, she saw the admirable, in more ways than one, her infuriating brain whispered, Stephen Schwartz himself come around the corner. "Ah, Stephen!" She called, running over to try and catch him. Thankfully, he slowed his pace to a stop and turned to her when she called. EmmaLee was definitely quick, but she was sure that Stephen's legs would always be longer than hers and he would, therefore, always be faster if he wanted to be.

"Do you want to do this scavenger 'unt with me?" She asked, holding up the letter and the stick with a smile. Seeing him in all his real life, early morning athletic glory made her avert her eyes, though, to look off at a tree past his shoulder as her heart raced again. "It seems like it'll be fun." She said, willing her cheeks to not turn noticeably red as the annoyingly familiar heat rose into them.

ACTION:
Picking a stick.

________—_______

July 30th, 2024

Wrapped up in a thick jacket and a scarf that covered most of his face, Pyxis climbed the stairs to the base of the scoreboard with exasperated huffs. His footfalls were heavy, resembling tantrum-like stomps, and leaving deep imprints of his boots in the snow that had been magicked there. The boy thought he was getting used to this deplorable ‘summer’ weather, but having to hike from the warmth of his bed to the scoreboard had him rethinking everything. The second he saw the envelope at the foot of his bed, he knew he wanted to participate. Anything embossed in gold is worth it. But the chilly weather threatened to see him quit halfway.

Still, he was already close enough to the base of the scoreboard and could just make out a gathering of students. The riddle had initially stumped him for a second. Pyxis had never been to a Quidditch match outside of Hogwarts, but he and his parents were regulars at cricket and football matches. And those stadiums were rife with advertising. Promotions appeared wherever he turned. At the entrance, posted up near the concessions, on the signs handed out to support the teams, even on the blasted boundary line at Lord’s Cricket Ground. The modern muggle couldn’t escape advertising. He only needed one glimpse at the scoreboard to see the faded Gladrags promo though, so up the stairs he went.

Finally reaching the top of the stairs, Pyxis observed the three mounds. The riddle asked for something on the edge of school grounds. Thinking about Hogwarts specifically, the school grounds were mostly grassy and met the Forbidden Forest on one side. One would definitely find sticks there. But why specifically school grounds? Another clue about grounds or forests would point to sticks naturally so did the addition of school mean that quills were the right answer? And the riddle didn’t specify that Hogwarts is the school being referenced, so is the riddle implying that every school has sticks on the edge of their grounds? That doesn’t sound right.

Yet, his palm closed around a stick as he pulled it from the pile and stepped back. All his thoughts could be negated by the mere fact that quills would very rarely be found at the edge of school grounds. Pyxis wasn’t too confident with his choice, but sticks simply made more sense to him.

Action: Picking up a stick.

Banner was made by the great Pericles Dralt

RPing as Zophyr Qethnis from Uagadou

Genderfluid, pronouns at the moment: she/her

☽ Kirundi | French | English | Swahili | Arabic | Tswana | Xhosa ☾

Date: July 30 2024 Time: ~9:00

Interacting with: Tone Bakugo @Kim Sato Mentioning: X

Zophyr hadn't been expecting anything for summer camp - not in the way that she was expecting nothing, but in the way that she didn't dare expect anything, because whatever there was was bound to surprise her. And in that she was correct. Already quite a bit had happened over the last two weeks, and today she had woken up (early as usual, to go explore and observe) to find an envelope containing clues for a scavenger hunt at the foot of her bed.

Needless to say, all thoughts of exploration and observation were temporarily ignored, because this was much more interesting. A scavenger hunt, huh? Zophyr couldn't wait to get started.

"Where the advertisements show" was the clue in the envelope, part of a whole riddle Zophyr only skimmed over because she was too excited. The first thing she thought of was the big oval around the quidditch pitch, a wall separating the spectators from the players, because she'd often seen ads there before, for the sponsors of players. But there didn't seem to be anything waiting for her there, so she began to look further. As it turned out, her original want to explore was getting fulfilled, actually.

After around a half hour of searching, it was in front of the scoreboard that she ended up - a big black board, very similar to the one she was so used to glancing over at during her games to see who was winning. At the moment, there was no score on it, nor was there anything else, but after a closer look, Gladrags Wizardwear was just barely noticeable in a corner. Aha! That seemed to be the kind of advertisement Zophyr was looking for. Though there was a table in front with some things, and that confused her. She read the clue from the envelope, entirely this time, and, grinning, picked up a stick. To be honest she had absolutely no idea what could be found on the edge of Hogwarts grounds, but a stick felt like a good guess.

What now? She had no idea, but before she could do anything about that, she spotted someone she had not seen in a long time. She wasn't even sure if it was him, actually. His hair had changed. But after approaching, it was clear this really was the boy she knew. "Tone?" He was at the top of the stairs with a broom in his hand. Zophyr's eyes lit up; she didn't know he did a broom sport, or at least if he'd mentioned it she hadn't remembered. "Woah, nice hair!" It matched hers now, funnily enough. "It's been forever. How are you?"

Action: picking up a stick from the pile

Ayumi huffs as she makes her way to the scoreboard, holding the sheet of riddles in her hands. The girl stops in front of the enormous screen, which is blank right now. She takes some time to reread the paper and the two verses on it, searching in her mind for any possibilities that she might be at the wrong place, but none of them is able to convince her to choose another location.

I must win this, Ayumi's eyes are filled with determination. Her parents will be so proud of her if she can get all the answers right, and she'll be bringing glory to the Faeri name. More or less, anyway, if solving a riddle counts as 'glory'.

She steadies herself, before casting her gaze at the bottom of the scoreboard, where several other students are bending over to inspect some piles of items on the ground. Ayumi heads closer to the large screen, and find three groups of items placed on the floor.

Long sticks are piled on top of each other haphazardly on the ground, beside which sits an elegant quill-holder, and - just as should be expected - a few dozen quills of different colors. Lastly, on the furthest side of the screen is a large candelabra, which holds fifteen or so white candles and another twenty orange.

Ayumi frowns as she inspects the sheet of riddles in her hands once more.

take something from the pile that
you'd find on the edge of school grounds

The sticks! It has to be the sticks! There is just no way she can find candles and quills at the outer edge of a school compound. Even though she has not yet been to Hogwarts, she knows at least that much from her common sense. So she suppresses her excitement at hopefully solving the riddle before heading over to the stick pile calmly.

Confident in her choice, Ayumi bends over to pick up one of the smoother sticks so that it will be easier on her hands, before heading towards the stadium stands so that she can find a seat somewhere. No one will notice, right?

Action: goes to the Scoreboard and picks up a stick

interacting with: Reducio @open to interaction!

outfit: Reducio casual summer robes

date: Reducio 30th July 2024

As Giselle found a small slip of paper with a strange-looking riddle on her hands, she felt a little confused. What on earth could it be? Still, this being her first time to go to summer camp, there were quite a lot of things that she was new to. Looking around, dazed, she thought that the riddle must mean something. Suddenly, a thought popped onto her head as she suddenly found out that the riddle made sense.

Well… I guess that this must be the scavenger hunt.

After reading the riddle for a few times, Giselle decided that the answer must be the scoreboard. She quickly ran towards it, only to see some other people standing in the absolute same spot, and there she felt that she had made the right choice. A magnificent scoreboard stood in front of her unmoving, which, as she guessed, should contain the quidditch scores on them. But instead of that, the scoreboard was blank, as a strange feeling trickled down Giselle’s stomach. She peered closer and closer to the board, only to see two words nestled at the top right corner - Gladrags Wizardwear. The name seemed quite familiar, and there she knew why. That was the name of a shop on hogsmeade.

She looked down at the riddle again, only to see that it had asked for an advertisement. Smiling to herself, she found out that the riddle asked her for a thing that could be found in the school grounds. What could it be…

After a few moments, Giselle saw a shark wooden table at the base of the scoreboard. Why hasn’t she noticed it before? Chuckling to herself, she saw a pile of wills, sticks and candles. After a moment of hesitation, she began to put two to two together.

A stick can always be seen at the school grounds… the other two are indoor materials… so… I’ll take the sticks.

Determined to win, Giselle confidently picked a stick up, and proud of her decision, she headed towards the stadium stands, waiting impatiently for the next riddle. You could do that, she told herself firmly.

𝄥𝄞════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════𝄇

Alliasta was very excited when she saw the treasure hunt letter. She immediately started getting dressed and then went out to solve the puzzle. As she understood, it would be a place where advertisements were shown. Alliasta thought. Ads. These are advertisements for the names of businesses she sees on the leaderboard when she comes to watch Quidditch.

Alliasta was happy. Maybe she was going to the wrong place, but even participating in this competition excited her and she was a girl who loved to have fun. When she got there she saw the scoreboard. Big and huge. Alliasta had come here a few times to watch Quidditch. She wouldn't take her eyes off the scoreboard. The excitement of the match and the enthusiasm of winning felt very nice and alive. But now the scoreboard was empty. She thought it might be for treasure hunt and didn't care too much.

Alliasta's eyes shifted to the table at the base of the scoreboard. When she got there she saw three heaps. Candles, quills and sticks. She immediately thought of the second part of the riddle: she should take one of the three piles. And this needs to be something she can find around the school grounds. It occurred to her that the most logical thing was a stick. So she's never seen candles or quills around the school grounds before.

Action:Picking up one stick

Interacting: Open!────── Outfit Reducio .║ .║ .║ ☽☾ .║ .║ .║ OOC notes Reducio Word count: 230-235

»»————-　❂　————-«« ˗ˏˋ 𓅰 ˎˊ˗ 𓅭 ˗ˏˋ 𓅰 ˎˊ˗ 𝔹𝕖𝕚𝕟𝕘 ℍ𝕒𝕡𝕡𝕪 ℕ𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝔾𝕠𝕖𝕤 𝕆𝕦𝕥 𝕆𝕗 𝕊𝕥𝕪𝕝𝕖 »»————-　❂　————-««

𝄥𝄞════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════𝄇

A buzz was in the air as Rachel opened her eyes from her designated spot in the large tent. The early morning sun peeked through the fabric, casting a warm glow around the space. As she sat up, her gaze fell on an elegant envelope balanced at the foot of her bed. Intrigued, she reached for it and saw the golden words embossed on the outside: "Scavenger Hunt."

Rachel's heart thumped with excitement. Carefully, she opened the envelope and pulled out the riddle inside. Reading it aloud to herself, she smiled at the challenge.

"Welcome to the hunt, my dears,
And allons-y - let's go!
Firstly, you're tasked with finding
Where the advertisements show.
Go now to this location,
And when there you see three mounds,
Take something from the pile that
You'd find on the edge of school grounds."

Rachel thought for a moment, trying to decipher the clue. "Where the advertisements show…” she had no idea where that would be. She had never been to a Quidditch pitch before. This was her first time at a location where wizards gathered. She hadn’t even made it to Hogwarts yet. She decided to think back to where she would find advertisements at a muddle football game. “Oh! The Scoreboard!" she exclaimed. She quickly dressed in warm winter clothes and set off towards the scoreboard, her mind racing.

The walk to the scoreboard was filled with the hustle and bustle of other students eagerly participating in the hunt. Rachel could feel the competitive spirit in the air. As she approached the towering structure, she marveled at its impressive size. Where she assumed the point totals and advertisements were supposed to be, there were only faint traces of former score scribbles and the hint of an advertisement from the wizarding world.

She suddenly remembered her purpose for being at the scoreboard in the first place, and she looked to the base of the scoreboard for what she was supposed to be looking for. A wooden table at the base of the scoreboard held three distinct piles: sticks, quills, and candles. Rachel thought back to the riddle, trying to match the items to the clue about taking something from the pile you'd find on the edge of the school grounds.

"The edge of school grounds... something simple, something that fits the environment," she whispered. "Quills and candles wouldn't usually be found outside, but sticks definitely would."

Before Rachel could pick up a stick, she noticed another girl approaching the scoreboard. The girl looked slightly confused but determined. She glanced at the wooden table, her eyes moving over the quills, sticks, and candles. After a moment of hesitation, the girl picked up a stick.

Rachel felt a sense of camaraderie forming. She stepped closer to the girl and smiled. “Great minds think alike,” she said, picking up a stick. “I’m Rachel, by the way.”

Action: picking up a stick
Interaction with @Giselle Lam
Sta: 7 | Ev: 5 | Str: 5 | Wis: 6 | Arc: 6| Acc: 6
No Abilities