The Drowned Palace Group 4

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date: 4th october 2025 ──location: drowned palace dialogue: #588F45───word count: 729 mentioned: @Violence Bloodthorn, @Maisie Gemmell, @Esme Hestridge, @Percival Rocier, @Milica Vranekova

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Three words. That was all that their efforts amounted to. A sense of dread crept over Cecilia when she realised that they were no closer to leaving this place. No, it was far worse than that; she was no closer to escaping Esme Hestridge. What she hoped would be a thrilling adventure had quickly turned into a makeshift prison. She was doomed. A deep sigh escaped her lips as she ran her fingers through her auburn curls. There had to be some spell she could cast. Think Cecilia. Running through a list of spells quickly proved to be futile as useless incantations plagued her thoughts. Ah yes, incendio seemed like a marvellous idea – because setting the algae ablaze was exactly what they wanted. Useless, utterly useless. Then a sharp whistle interrupted her spiralling thoughts. Her head immediately snapped around, half expecting to find a boiling kettle. Instead, she saw Maisie standing there, rouge on her cheeks as steam puffed out of her ears. Cecilia blinked, trying her best to conceal her shock. However, her eyebrows arched ever so slightly at the sight. That was when the realisation struck her. Judging by her attempt to cast revelio, the girl was at least in her second year like Violence. She likely was more proficient with magic than most of them or at the very least more knowledgeable – unless little miss prodigy in the corner over there had any hidden talents. For a split second, Cecilia glanced at Esme. Her lips curled slightly as the snide remark slipped into her mind. Hah, I doubt it. Turning her attention back to Maisie, she bit her tongue as she fought against the urge to comment. Though the idea amused her, it felt too cruel given her state. “Casting revelio was clever, Maisie,” she smiled at the girl, glossing over the incident as though she had seen nothing. “I hear that second time’s the charm when it comes to casting,” encouraging Maisie as she made her second attempt. Her gaze then fixed onto Violence, whose lumos had failed to light. Though Cecilia knew that her confidence would not falter so easily, she still offered her friend a few words of encouragement. “You've got this, Vi,” she said gently before flashing her a warm smile. Though her words were genuine, they did not stem purely from compassion but rather her sheer desperation to escape confinement with Esme Hestridge. Trust her luck to be rotten enough that she found herself loitering in the darkness with her, of all people. As though their encounters weren’t already a form of torture. Cecilia would not have been surprised if their family had orchestrated this arrangement, too. In fact, she would have been more shocked if they did not – her grandmother could be annoyingly persuasive like that. Her gaze then drifted over to Percival, who was now captivated by the pale blonde witch. Even Cecilia knew that she would be lying if she denied how alluring Esme was. Still, the sight of the boy gawking over her nearly made her erupt with laughter. She immediately slapped her hand over her mouth, stifling her laugh as she forced herself to turn away. Then a sense of urgency washed over her. Now was not the time to indulge in such foolishness. She diverted her gaze back to the algae. It was clear that simply attempting to read it wouldn’t do, and if she could not wield her wand, then she may as well find another use for her hands. It was likely a bad idea, but in her eyes, this was better than having no ideas. “Milica,” she said in a low voice before locking eyes with her. “I’m going to try something. I suggest you step back,” she advised the girl. Though it was highly unlikely that there was anything deadly in the room – save for Esme and Milica – Cecilia could think of many ways this could go wrong. For all she knew, the algae could numb her. Or it could permanently stick to her hands and leave her trapped there. Maybe it would explode once she touched it. Even with all that in mind, she decided that her idea was a well-calculated risk. She slowly stretched her palm out towards the algae and ran her fingers over it. Silently, she hoped that she could feel the patterns and decipher them.

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──trunk: gillyweed, antidote to common poisons, antidote to uncommon poisons

──stats: stamina 5・evasion 8・strength 4・wisdom 6・arcane power 6・accuracy 6

──action: feeling the algae──

It seemed the group was out of luck. Out of the two spells the group tried to cast, two failed miserably. After each failed spell, the girl's feeling of disdain for the others grew stronger. "Stupid.." Milica whispered underneath her breath, ignoring the fact that she herself was possibly the least talented witch in the room.

The girl who attempted to cast Revelio, whom she gathered is called Maisie, looked like she wanted to disappear. Her face had gone red and steam even appeared to be coming out of her ears. The situation turned even more awkward when the perpetually scared boy started talking to her. Dumb move on his side, but she had to give him kudos for daring to speak up for once.

As expected, he was also useless. It wouldn't surprise her if by the time they got out, all he could remember was the way the light radiated by the algae showed off Esme's luscious hair. Esme.. Milica wasn't sure what to think of her. She was absolutely alluring, for sure. Still, the girl felt some tension between her and her roommate. If there's one thing she doesn't want to associate herself with, it's petty quarrels. Therefore, she decided there and then that she would absolutely stay out of this.

The only person she hadn't acknowledged yet was Violence, the girl who tried to cast Lumos. She somehow seemed friendly with Percival. How she had ever accomplished that, Milica wouldn't know, but she didn't exactly care enough to find out either.

When it came to the puzzle itself, Milica honestly didn't know what to do. Revelio seemed to be a good bet, but in the meantime, she wanted to look around for other clues. Apparently she wasn't the only one who thought so, as her impulsive roommate told her to step back. Knowing better than to second guess her intentions, she did so immediately. For some reason, Cecilia thought it would be a good idea to.. feel the algae? Was Milica seeing this correctly?

She held in a laugh when she realized how ridiculous this was. "Really, Cecilia?" A devious thought entered her mind when she realized that if her roommate could touch it, so could she. In response to her roommate's action, Milica took a big step forward and put her hand towards the algae as well. Next, she took a little piece of the letter 's' in the word 'search' and flicked it towards the other wall, where the algae formed strange patterns, sort of like filling in a hangman. She was unsure, but part of it may have accidentally ended up in Esme's perfect-looking hair as well. Milica quickly defended herself before the other girl could say anything about it. "You were in my way," she grumbled, before watching if the algae did anything special.

Hoping she had sensed the tension between the two correctly, Milica looked over to Cecilia and gave her a knowing smirk. Remind her, what did she say about staying out of quarrels again?

Action: Flicking a little piece of the algae from the wall that formed words towards the direction of the other wall, sort of like filling in a hangman, and watching if it does anything special

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Information Mentions: @Maisie Gemmell @Violence Bloodthorn @Percival Rocier @Esme Hestridge @Cecilia Merrick Stats: sta ◦ 4 | eva ◦ 7 | str ◦ 8 | wis ◦ 2 | arc ◦ 1 | acc ◦ 8 Abilities: Dhampir (year 1) Notes: None

=chibi made by @Eunaria Kabukimono

MOD POST - GROUP 4

@Maisie Gemmell would cast a well-timed second revelio; maybe the second time was working a charm? And so it did. The algae seemed to grow brighter and sharper, allowing her to read the words blending into the foliage.

your xxxxxxxxx treasure xxx Fail xxxxxxxxxxxx stays xxxxxx do xxxxxxx the xxxxxxxxxx The and xxxxxxxxxxxxx search, xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx through xxxxxx is xxxxxxxxxxx so xxx timexxx you

The words were scrambled, they needed to be rearranged, though that was much easier task now that they could actually see them properly too. As for the rest...
@Cecilia Merrick would find that the algae were not harmful by any means. If anything, they just felt damp, and slightly slimey to touch. Maybe because of how humid they needed the environment to be in order to thrive, or maybe because they are plants that naturally were found in a lake.

As for @Milica Vranekova, flicking the algae did little to disturb it. If anything the surrounding ones moved a bit to cover the letters again as if that in on itself was the most "problem" her actions caused. From what it looked, the algae had no means to "harm" them per se anyway. After all, it was just enchanted plants.

action: trying to decode the first line, "Fail the search," stats: sta~6 𓍼 eva~6 𓍼 str~2 𓍼 wis~7 𓍼 arc~2 𓍼 acc~9 abilities: prodigal potions learner~y1 𓍼 charmer~y2 notes: open for interactions

"Thanks," she said to both the red-head and the girl with the terrifying given name who'd complimented her on her casting as the words emerged swiftly. "Should have been sooner really," she trailed off, considering how this was yet another high pressure situation where her casting had been anything but flawless. At least this time, nothing had been set on fire.

And yet, there seemed to be a different kind of fire in this room and it had nothing to do with her steam...

"...I suggest you step back."
"...You were in my way."
“...I truly am so glad that you have finally found someone on par with your…intellect. Must have been difficult, considering your rather unique, ah, disposition.”

It was a horrible soup of pretentious speech from people who clearly couldn't do so much as get along enough to get out of her. Whether any of it was well intended seemed to wash over her as it just mixed together in the haze of whatever remained of her cold, creating a new din in the room (as if the steam wasn't enough). Meanwhile, the normally helpful Percy was doing his best to be completely useless, ogling Esme. All this time Maisie had tried so, so hard to just exist in her own little corner—her and her steam—not bothering anyone, but the rudeness in this room was driving her mad (as if embarrassment also wasn't enough). "Would you all please just shut up!?" she finally said louder this time, her common Glaswegian accent thick, as the steam seemed too to grow in intensity. "I need to think," she added softly.

Her brown eyes fluttered shut as she tried to do just that. In the moment, the only thing that came out clearly, of all things, was Violence's voice: "Fail the search." Maisie looked up at the letters she'd managed to pull out of the algae. She reread the whole poem a few times, muttering. Until she could finish that line: "Fail the search, your time is through." She repeated it in her head a few times to make sure. Then, she just had to hope they could stop squabbling long enough for someone else to pick up the thread.

Outfit

Reducio

Stats & Abilities
Stamina: 7 | Evasion: 9 | Strength: 2 | Wisdom: 8 | Arcane Power: 5 | Accuracy: 9
Muggle Condition | Perfectionist

Open to interactions!

Action: Continuing to suggest an answer to the riddle.

The second Esme turned to face him, Percival froze. Perhaps somewhere deep within him, he had hoped she might not have noticed, but her unblinking stare made him realize that he had been caught.

He swallowed hard as a result and shifted his weight slightly as if that might make him look less awkward. The longer she stared, the harder it was to think straight. When she stepped closer and spoke, his mouth opened automatically, but no sound came out. “I—I, uh…” he started, but his voice cracked halfway through, “No, I wasn’t… I mean, I didn’t need—”

It was useless to even try at this point. His words tangled and fell apart faster than he could form them in his mind. All while she looked perfectly calm and sure of herself. He took a half step back and nervously looked from one side to another, as if he hoped there was some magical escape out of this whole situation.

Luckily, Maisie's voice cut through the haze within his mind.

"Would you all please just shut up!?

It did startle him, and she sure seemed pissed off, but it also helped him snap from his trance. Even the silence that followed was a relief to him, as long as it meant he no longer had to focus on the death-glaring witch behind him. Still, he glanced back at Esme once, then quickly turned toward Maisie instead. “R-right,” he said after taking a breath, “Yeah, we should, um… focus....”

Maisie had already gone back to the wall and seemed to piece together the first part of their puzzle. Percival, however, just rubbed the back of his neck, trying to push past the embarrassment still burning in his cheeks. He knelt down beside one of the glowing lines of algae, pretending to study it even though his mind was racing and none of the words were sticking at all.

What was happening to him? Had Esme cursed him somehow? He... really just needed a moment to think and shake off the nerves to be useful.

Reducio

Actions: Being awkward.

Statistics
Stamina: 7
Evasion: 9
Strength: 0
Wisdom: 6
Arcane Power: 3
Accuracy: 10

@Maisie Gemmell@Esme Hestridge

Milica could feel the bitterness radiating off of Esme's words as she spoke them. She couldn't care less about the aggrieved girl though, and her only reaction to her insults was an arrogant scoff. Who did she think she is, speaking of Cecilia and her in such a rude manner?

After scanning the room and looking towards Esme's direction once more, she noticed Percival losing horribly to her in a staring contest. How one person can be so nervous all the time, she didn't know, but she didn't feel bad for him either. Besides, she didn't care enough to find out what his problem was: she would have to talk to him for that, which she absolutely refused. She had already lost too many braincells speaking to him in the Slytherin Common Room. On top of that, she had to be careful. What if incompetence was infectious?

The girl was suddenly snapped out of her thoughts when she heard a shout coming from another direction: "Would you all please just shut up!?"

Her head snapped around immediately, now looking at the girl who had failed to cast Revelio earlier. Color her impressed. Maisie hadn't done a lot of talking yet, and now she effectively got at least her and Percival to shut up. "Nice one", she responded, interested in seeing this new side to the girl shine through. This was high praise coming from her. Milica was never one to give compliments away for free.

Finally looking over at the letters again, Milica noticed that her flick of the algae didn't do much. The algae simply grew back to the spot where she took it. It didn't matter though: apparently, Maisie had tried to cast Revelio again, succeeding this time. She smirked as some words started revealing themselves to the group, the algae glowing brighter. Clearly, Milica wasn't the first to notice, as she heard the girl of whom she remembered her name to be Violence trying to decipher the first part. 'Violence'.. did she remember that correctly? There was nothing wrong with her memory, but who would name their child Violence? She desperately wanted to meet her parents: they must be hilarious people. While she herself was still lost in thought, Maisie finished decoding the second part. All together, they now had: 'Fail the search, your time is through.'

This sounded like a perfectly logical outcome if you asked her. It seemed at least not everyone in her group was inept. Motivated by the successes of her teammates, Milica decided that she would try to work out the next part, but she desperately failed at it. The stays treasure? And so the treasure? Stays and so? Come on Milica, don't make a fool of yourself. Finally!

"the treasure stays!", Milica stated perhaps a tad too enthusiastically. She immediately recaptured herself afterwards: arrogant, stoic look back on her face. Being 'happy' was totally out of character for her. She didn't want others to think she could feel positively about things. Still, she couldn't help but be proud of herself for solving one part of the puzzle.

She did sort of hope someone else could pick up where she left off. Apparently, unscrambling words was not her specialty. It wouldn't do to look dumb in front of this group of people.

Action: Trying to decode the third part: 'The treasure stays'

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Information Mentions: @Maisie Gemmell @Violence Bloodthorn @Percival Rocier @Esme Hestridge @Cecilia Merrick Stats: sta ◦ 4 | eva ◦ 7 | str ◦ 8 | wis ◦ 2 | arc ◦ 1 | acc ◦ 8 Abilities: Dhampir (year 1) Notes: None

=chibi made by @Eunaria Kabukimono

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date: 4th october 2025 ──location: drowned palace dialogue: #588F45───word count: 524 mentioned: @Violence Bloodthorn, @Maisie Gemmell, @Esme Hestridge, @Percival Rocier, @Milica Vranekova

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Upon hearing her comment, Cecilia quickly turned around, ready to retort to Esme’s chiding. Instead, she was met with a startling sight. She raised her eyebrows as her gaze fixed on the algae that landed on the girl. Then shock was quickly replaced with delight. Her mouth twitched into a smile that she tried to bite back every time it began. “Brilliant shot, Milica,” she remarked with a grin and glanced at the dark-haired girl before turning back to the pearl blonde witch. Immediately, she slapped her hand over her mouth in an attempt to stifle a laugh. Try as she might, Cecilia could not hold back her laughter. “I would have never chosen green for you, Miss Hestridge. Though I must admit, this is quite the look on you,” she giggled while clutching her stomach. If she were to laugh any harder, she would likely fall over. She then paused as the girl spoke. Her grin then stretched wider. “Are you jealous? Do not fret, my dearest confidante, I’m sure you will find someone who can appreciate your humour — or lack thereof,” her grin stretched wider as mischief gleamed in her eyes. Feeling satisfied with her taunts, Cecilia began turning away, but quickly spun back around when Esme muttered something under her breath. “What?” she snapped. “What did you say?” She narrowed her eyes. The language sounded unfamiliar. Cecilia could not quite place the accent, but had a sneaking suspicion that the girl had muttered something in a foreign language. Before she could say anything else, her thoughts were interrupted by a loud voice. Her attention quickly shifted to Maisie, whose plea clearly indicated how fed up with their antics she was. Rightfully so. Glancing at the steam puffing out her ears, Cecilia realised that she could not blame her. Though she fell silent, an amused smile still played on her lips for a moment. However, any witty remark on the tip of her tongue quickly slipped her mind. Cecilia was mesmerised by the growing algae. Unsurprisingly, Maisie’s spell had worked. “I knew you were brilliant,” she exclaimed while clapping her hands together. “Say, what exactly drew you to this event?” Her gaze still fixed on the algae as she asked the girl. Part of her was curious as to why she was so determined to tackle the challenge in such a state. The other part was rather impressed. Cecilia would have preferred to cosy up by the fire with a mug of hot chocolate. Her focus then shifted solely to the algae and she pursued her lips while carefully studying the words. Evidently, they were scrambled and the other three girls had deciphered the first three phrases. Cecilia snapped her fingers when she figured out the final phrase. “And so do you!” She exclaimed in unison with Esme, briefly feeling giddy about her realisation. This victory was short lived for her smile was quickly replaced with a look of disgust and furrowed brows. Turning away with a huff, Cecilia fixed her gaze on the wall and cast her mind back to when they first entered the room. It can’t be, a hint of doubt slipped into her thoughts, prompting her to narrow her eyes slightly as an idea began to form in her mind. Cecilia then listened to the song more intently, noting the long pause at the end. Indeed, it sounded as though it was waiting for a response. When the voice finished singing the last line, Cecilia softly sang in a similar tune: “Fail the search, your time is through. The treasure stays and so do you.”

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──trunk: gillyweed, antidote to common poisons, antidote to uncommon poisons

──stats: stamina 5・evasion 8・strength 4・wisdom 6・arcane power 6・accuracy 6

──action: singing the words after the voice stops singing ──

MOD POST - GROUP 4

@Violence Bloodthorn seemed to have gotten the first line right (or part of it), as it seemed the song almost stopped a bit when she uttered those words. Or maybe it was the usual pause in between the looping.

As the situation seemed to get a bit heated in the room with @Maisie Gemmell needing at least some silence to work through the continuation, she managed to keep the line going by adding the few words that followed. Yet the song continued on and on either encouraging them or on the contrary taunting them. The algae meanwhile, were silently keeping @Percival Rocier company while the rest tried to figure out the continuation of the song.

With @Milica Vranekova's addition of the second line, and with @Cecilia Merrick doing the honors of singing it in full, 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.

Note and mentions: