29 Jun 2021, 23:25
Team 2, Clue 3
WHEN: June 20, 2021
Team #2
@Calanthe Choi
@Gia Adelard
@Haley Rose
@Alan Vanes
Once again, Vanes lead team three to a swift resolution to their second riddle. Caution had been taken not to make the riddles too complex, but now there crept a wonder that perhaps they'd been taken too far in the other direction. Granted, perhaps Evelynn should not have been surprised with how swiftly Vanes had solved the riddle. He was older, wiser, and all that. Plus, beneath that unassuming exterior, he had a rather sharp mind with a penchant for picking apart details and applying reason to the abstract. It was a skill that served him well in an advisory capacity; one that many students, including herself, had made use of over the years. It seemed the rest of the team was in agreement. No sooner had an answer to the riddle been suggested than the others provided their ascent.
Their feet soon followed, pattering away up the stairs from the dungeons, soles clapping along the stone back up to the fifth floor where the Transfiguration classroom was located. The view that greeted them might have been a bit unexpected. Unlike the first two riddles, there was no envelop awaiting them there. Instead, there stood a table just beyond the doorway. Draped in a dainty crocheted white table cloth, it was arranged as though someone where expecting company for tea. Four little tea cups sat around the perimeter upon their matching saucers, silver teaspoons resting over their tops. They were empty. At the centre, there sat a teapot, squat and a bit knobbled not at all to the style of the rest of the teacups. Upon its surface were what appeared to be swirls painted upon it, like script that had been pulled and distorted out of shape to leave it unreadable.
Next to it rested a folded card, placed upon its edges like a placeholder. It read:Team #2 — Clue #3Where those with questions held in longing
Can find a place of true belonging
A sense we most oft take for granted
In but a few is truly planted
OOC InformationReducioHow does the game work?
We spent a lot of time to create individual paths for every team. The goal of every team is to reach the final location and the team that gets there first wins. But as simply looking who posts there first would hardly be fair, we have thought of another way to determine, which team was the quickest (I will come to that in a second). I will supply every team with one clue at a time. Once you solved it, I will give you the next. You might find that some are easier than others, but I have given some difficult clues to every team, I don't doubt that there will be struggles at a certain point. In that case, you may ask for hints. For the sake of fairness, the Slytherins will have to ask Evelynn, the Gryffindors have to ask Opeila.
We will post a new thread for every single clue. Once those threads are up, you will have to post 700 words- as a team, multiple people together or one single person, I don't care- that include the solution of the riddle. The solution of the riddle is not always a location. You'll need to tell us the solution to the riddle we gave you- just saying a location that could as well be a good guess is not enough.
How is the time calculated?
We only count the time that you guys needed to figure out the riddle. The time between you solving one clue and us giving you the next, as well as the time between you asking for a hint and us replying will be substracted. Differences in timezones or a busy afternoon of a mod are not supposed to be the reason for a team to lose. But to motivate you to try your best with the clue before you ask us for hints, there is a penalty. For every hint you ask for, there will be 12 hours added to your total time as well as another 200 words to write after we give you the hint.
Also please write into every post what team you are in and your wordcount. Otherwise the calculations may take longer than necessary.
Enjoy and good luck!
30 Jun 2021, 08:54
Team 2, Clue 3
Team 2 | Clue 3
@Gia Adelard @Calanthe Choi @Alan VanesHaley ran as fast as she could, trying not to knock down any of the other students on the way to her destination. Here and there it almost came to a coalition, where she apologised each time with a quick "Omg, I'm sorry." and continued running up the stairs. It was almost like a slalom marathon, but what wouldn't you do to win. She took two flights of stairs at a time on the way up and by the second floor she noticed she was running out of breath. Damn, I really need to train my cardio, she made a mental note and ignored the burning in her lungs and thighs. After all, there were only three more to go. Now it was time to go for it.
Finally back on the fifth floor, she almost fell through the classroom door and continued to gasp as quietly as she could. They were right in their guess. Here was their next clue and it was different from the ones before. Here was not just a simple envelope, there was also a table set up with a white tablecloth. Haley took in the whole set as she held the door open for the rest of the team. Her eyebrows drew together, what did that mean? She took a step closer and examined the tea cups on the table.
A crazy tea party, immediately Haley had to think of the Mad Hatter, the Cheshireand Alice in Wonderland and chuckled quietly to herself. Well, it wasn't going to be that. The cups were all empty and there was a teapot in the middle of the table, which she didn't give attention to at first. Her eyes fell on a folded card, which she took between her hands and opened.
She began to read the text. Not once, not twice, three times in all. She held the card out to her team partner and started pacing back and forth around the table. The first two clues were relatively easy, but here she stumbled a little. Questions held in longing. If she wanted an answer, she would go to the library, but that was not it. One would not find a place of true belonging there. But a few is truly planted, this was not about plants, she was sure. She had to think of some kind of gift or skill that many assumed but few really possessed. She continued to think, what would fit in this combination?
She now took a seat at the table and picked up one of the empty cups and looked into it. No clue. Why was she so lost? She was sure the answer was right in front of her, but she was missing something. She leaned back in the chair and put the cup down again, gazing silently around the room for a moment. Her eyes fell on Alan and his cat, she had forgotten for a brief moment that she was not here alone. But it seemed he was also thinking and so she remained silent.
She now looked at the teapot standing in the middle of the table and noticed something on the surface. It looked as if there had been a message there, which was now illegible. It took a brief moment for it to 'click' in Haley's mind. She turned her head frantically to Alan, "Divination!" she called to him and stood up from her seat.
That would explain why she didn't think of it straight away. The subject wasn't taught until the third grade and she hadn't had any touch points with it within the school until now. Suddenly it all seemed to make sense and she let her thoughts run wild out loud. "So, this whole tea set here and the swirled message in the teapot reminds you of Tessomancy, right?" she didn't wait for an answer but kept talking. "Can find a place of true belonging, that could mean some kind of prophecy, couldn't it?" she paused as she continued to pace back and forth across the room. "People always assume that they are know-it-alls and have an answer for everything, but the true art of divination has only been given to a few." She found it difficult to explain her thought processes but hoped Alan would understand.
"I am sure it is divination. Let's get to the North Tower quickly." She just urged her team partner and was already ready to run through the castle again and solve the next riddle.Word Count:752
The only one who fear death are those with regrets