This is one of six threads for the Summer Camp 2024 Scavenger Hunt. To view the starting post and the rest of the threads, click here.

The Goal Hoops

Glimmering golden and fifty feet tall, it's a tough feat to find a more impressive sight than the Goal Hoops of the London Quidditch Stadium. The eyes of the audience can often be found glued to this point, or to its matching area on the other side of the pitch, as Chasers attempt to throw Quaffles through the hoops, Keepers try to block them, Beaters take down opponents (or the occasional ally) with Bludgers, and Seekers hover high above, trying to find the other golden thing. No matter, though - these golden hoops are much taller, much bigger, and much prettier than any old Snitch, as many a Chaser would agree.

However, no one is scoring on the Goal Hoops right now, and instead, a singular wooden table can be found down at the base of the center hoop. Three piles sit upon the table - a pile of rubies, a pile of coal, and a pile of buttons. Which will you choose, when you make it to the Hoops?

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CLICK THE REDUCIO FOR A REMINDER OF THE SCAVENGER HUNT RULES:

Reducio

• Anyone can join the scavenger hunt, but in order to be eligible to win, you must complete all six riddles before the moderation deadline.
• Each player may only join with ONE character (e.g. you may not join with both your Hogwarts character and your iNPC).
• Each riddle has a deadline of 1 week before moderation will occur and the next riddle will be announced. If you miss the deadline, you are welcome to continue posting and following with the Hunt, but that riddle will not count towards your total score even if you get it right (since the answer will have been announced via moderation).
• When posting in the scavenger hunt, please follow all standard H.io rules, including post word minimum of 200 words.
• Each round, you will be given a riddle that will lead you to one of the 6 locations in the Scavenger Hunt as well as describe an item that you need to pick up at that location. Each location will have 3 previously described options. You will then post in the location you believe to be correct (preferably a description of your character arriving), and you will include in this post which of the items you pick up.
• You will receive points for choosing the correct location, and you will receive points for choosing the correct item. Note that you cannot choose the correct item if you choose the wrong location because each location has different items. You only get one post per round, so you cannot change your answer or edit it once posted.
• If you accidentally choose the wrong location in one round, no worries! The next riddle will still appear in your location during moderation even if you picked the wrong location, so you can get back into it and try to get the rest right.
• Items that are picked up are solely for the use of the scavenger hunt and you will not actually receive these items in-game or out-of-game. All "items" will be "returned" at the end of the hunt and you do not get to keep them in-game.
• No hints or help will be given from the moderation team. Do not ask us for hints or help, because you will not get them. Also, please do not share the answers or just copy what other users are doing. It's every user for themselves - and if you copy someone, they could be wrong and then you don't get points either!
• Any cheating, in-character or out-of-character, will result in your immediate disqualification from the hunt. We want this to be a fair and fun game for everyone. This includes any magical violence, physical violence, purposeful dissemination of incorrect answers, etc.
• Moderation will occur once a week, every Sunday, but times may differ week to week due to the moderator's availability. As such, you are strongly encouraged to not wait until the last minute to post your choice of location and item because you may miss the moderation deadline if you do so.
• This event will take place for seven weeks OOC - six weeks of the Hunt and then a final, currently secret portion in the last location. IC, it all takes place on the same day!

You do not need to sign up for this event. You are simply free to join.
The event will begin, OOC, on JUNE 30 and end on AUGUST 18. Moderation will occur every SUNDAY.
However, the event takes place, IC, on JULY 30.

MAKE SURE YOU DON'T POST IN THIS THREAD UNTIL YOU BELIEVE THAT THE GOAL HOOPS ARE THE ANSWER TO THE CURRENT RIDDLE! WHEN YOU DO, MAKE SURE YOU CHOOSE ONE OF THE THREE ITEMS: RUBIES, COAL, OR BUTTONS!

wc: 229/200

Rachel approached the magnificent golden Goal Hoops, her heart pounding with awe and apprehension. Fifty feet in the air, the towering hoops glimmered in the sunlight, casting long shadows across the pitch. She still didn’t fully grasp the premise behind Quidditch. From overhearing conversations, it sounded somewhat similar to Muggle sports like basketball or football, but the addition of flying brooms added an entirely new dimension.

Walking onto the pitch was intimidating. She couldn’t imagine feeling anything less than an ant amidst the grand scale of the stadium. The hoops soared above her, and the stands stretched even higher, a testament to the sport’s thrilling nature.

She shook off the feeling and approached the wooden table at the base of the center hoop. On the table, three distinct piles awaited her decision: rubies, coal, and buttons. She thought back to the riddle and remembered that it described day-to-day things that often come with strings. The items before her each have their unique qualities. However, the words of the riddle rang in her ears and pointed her towards the buttons. They were commonplace, practical, and often found sewn onto various clothing items.

She carefully picked up one of the buttons from the pile. It was plain yet sturdy, a perfect representation of something used daily. Holding it, she looked around to see if other students would make the same selection.

Action: picking up a button.
Sta: 7 | Ev: 5 | Str: 5 | Wis: 6 | Arc: 6| Acc: 6
No Abilities

Golden fireworks soon set off. Ah, so I was right. Phew then. I go ahead and head back to the stand, and surely enough, the scrolls were pilled up there. Damn, no congratulatory sweets? Aw..

I sigh as I open up the scroll and read its contents.



Neck is covered... so the scarf was the right choice, nice.

Scoring points, huh? Hm, definitely the main play area, perhaps around hoops, Oh! Right! The Goal Hoops!

In a moment of Eureka, I rush happily towards the Goal Hoops. This was the place were three majestic and tall goal hoops were stationed. I remember watching them in their glory during the innumerous matches that has taken place in this stadium. The way my dad would ask to me to have my eyes on the quaffles, but when it got going around too fast, I would just stick my eyes towards these hoops.

As I reached the hoops, I could see another table laid out in front, There were, once again, three piles: Rubies, Coal and Buttons.

I unflur the scroll yet again and re-read it. Somethins small, dainty and used daily... buttons!
Gosh, this was thankfully a little easy to guess. I calmly head towards the table and pickup a button.
It truly was nothing but a very simple and plain brown button. I smile content and wait aside, for the next riddle and hopefully the fireworks too.

Action: Picked up a button

As they were on their way to the Concession Stand, EmmaLee chuckled as Stephen immediately connected the stand to food. For a moment, she wondered if she should just bring snacks with her whenever she was expecting to spend time with the older boy. Come to think of it, they could avoid the fact that either the drinks or the food was always spiked with some sort of potion at every Hogwarts ball. Thankfully, both of them had avoided ingesting any of the laced items. Well, EmmaLee had. It was possible that Stephen had accidentally ingested something to make him act silly at the balls he had attended without her and he hadn't told her about it.

"Popcorn does sound nice right about now, now that you mention it," EmmaLee commented, just now recognizing that she had completely skipped breakfast in her excitement to get to the first riddle location. Not that she ever ate a lot of breakfast, but with all of this walking around she really should have. Note to self: eat before activities; bring snacks anyway for the bottomless pit.

As EmmaLee and Stephen approached the first darkened concession stand, Stephen's disappointment was visible on his face, and probably hers as well, now that she was aware of her hunger, at the lack of snacks. "Well, we can probably grab something for lunch from the food area on the way to the next clue." She said reassuringly as Stephen explained that there were probably more concession stands to see. That being said, if this one didn't have any food, the others surely wouldn't either.

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As Stephen chose his scarf, EmmaLee held hers and thumbed the line between the yellow half and the blue half thoughtfully. Sometimes she wondered if she should talk to her parents about transferring to Ilvermorny again as she had, admittedly, demanded to do when she first received her Hogwarts letter. She loved Hogwarts now and Hufflepuff, but it seemed the more she tried to make lasting friendships, the more she found them coming from Ilvermorny. Though she'd kind of picked the scarf on a whim, it seemed a little too suited to her, and she tried not to connect it to her and Stephen's relationship, as well. Don't go making things into things they aren't.

EmmaLee was brought down from her thoughts when Stephen guided her away from the table, apparently, she had been standing there too long in thought and was probably in the way of others making their choice, and he mentioned looking for the next clue among the scarf. She nodded and slid her fingers nimbly from the line dividing the two colors, down the blue end and back over the line and down the yellow end, finding nothing but scarf in her search. "It seems to be simply a scarf." She said, smiling up at him.

In their adventure through the concession stands and EmmaLee getting lost in her thoughts, she had completely forgotten that she was acting as horse for her fair pet, Minx. When she abruptly looked up at the boy standing next to her, she pushed the cat with the back of her head and to prevent from falling down, the animal twisted and leaped gracefully from her shoulders instead, landing in a pile of snow and sending up a flurry of snowflakes. EmmaLee's hands with scarf flew to her mouth as she watched the animal land. "Oh no!" She said with a small giggle. "Are you okay, Minx?"

Minx responded by trotting over, winding herself through EmmaLee's legs, and trotting off to ladies' knows where, maybe the tent, but definitely out of sight. EmmaLee pulled the scarf and her hands down from her mouth and turned to Stephen once more. "I suppose she isn't as entertained by this adventure as we are." She said with another giggle, moving to put the scarf around her neck to match Stephen's.

As she finished tying it in a way that showed off both halves attractively, fireworks appeared in her sights once more. She smiled brightly as the scrolls of parchment containing the next clue appeared on the table and, in her excitement, she absentmindedly took Stephen's hand and dragged him back over to the table. "The next clue is here!" She said happily, dropping Stephen's hand to grab a scroll and unfurl it.

Once again she read it aloud and then silently... and then again silently, before wrinkling her nose and knitting her eyebrows together in thought. Was this a trick clue? "Why not attempt to play the field, and score a point or two?" Should they go to the field or the goalposts? Was the field even an option considering the whole camp was covering said field? It must be the goalposts then, yes? Because that's where you score.

Before EmmaLee could puzzle it out herself, Stephen, with his greater knowledge of quidditch in general, produced the answer. The Goal Posts, it is! As the pair headed off towards one set of goalposts, EmmaLee looked again at their clue and then to the set of goalposts on the other side of the stadium.

"Do you think they will have items at both ends.... or will we have to walk all the way to the other side if we pick the wrong one?" She asked, turning back to Stephen with a raised eyebrow. Not that she minded walking all across the stadium with Stephen multiple times today. Frankly, this was the most comfortable she had felt with him since her aunts had shown up for her birthday and made their announcement about their supposed relationship and EmmaLee had realized that they didn't have one, not the kind her aunts thought they had at least. At this point, it was good that Stephen was acting just as normal as ever. It made it easy for her to settle into their friendly normal, as well. She was fine with this. This was fine.

As they passed the food area on the way to one set of goal hoops, EmmaLee grabbed Stephen's hand again abruptly to make him stop walking. "Wait 'ere a moment." She instructed, before running off into the crowd of food-laden tables set up for lunch. She wandered through the tables for a bit, collecting some fruits, including strawberries and apples, about five sandwiches, and popcorn(!) before bringing her bounty over to her friend and offering him a bag of popcorn first and then a sandwich. "Ta-da!" She said with a small giggle. "I told you we could pick up lunch on the way." EmmaLee melted a little, well, things were almost normal, as Stephen gave a wide smile of his own and took the popcorn and sandwich from her before they continued on to the goal hoops.

As she and Stephen approached the table of stuff, EmmaLee stuffed the last bit of a sandwich in her mouth and scanned the clue once more while she chewed her piece. Which thing here comes with strings? "Buttons." She said abruptly after a moment of thought, to sew a button required string, thread.

"What do you think we're going to do with sticks, scarves, and buttons?" EmmaLee asked Stephen as she reached for a few. She had formed a theory on the way over to the goal hoops, though the buttons were admittedly throwing that theory off. Wouldn't they normally use coal? It would be nice to have some confirmation from her fellow hunter.

ACTION:
Picking some black buttons.

Interactions: @Mention | @Mention Mentions:

Date: July 30th Location: London Qudditch Stadium

Outfit: x

- Scavenger hunt -

When the fireworks and new riddles arrived, it had only confirmed Cass's suspicions that they were on the path to victory. What else could keep your neck warm but a scarf after all? The riddles mentions of points and fields had made them pick the goal hoops as the next place to claim their item. Points could only mean the hoops, unless they had a snitch location somewhere. The items however were slightly more confusing. A ruby, a chunk of coal and a button greeted their eyes.

Surely most families didn't have a use for rubies every day. For Cass they weren't an uncommon site to see, but the riddle had stated "often comes with strings". Unless they meant a necklace? Still, ruby necklaces were hardly day-to-day things. Cass mentally crossed the ruby out as an option. Coal was next to ponder, as its use in fireplaces could mean it would count as a day-to-day thing. Though it was hard to believe with the snow all around them, it was still summer. Fires weren't lit in summer, and either way coal wasn't the best way to start fires. No strings either, meaning that it couldn't be their answer.

That just left the button. Day-to-day fit it perfectly, as many clothes used buttons to fasten them. Strings could mean the thread that they were sewn on with. Plucking a button from the top of the pile, Cass bundled it and the stick inside the scarf. This scavenger hunt victory would be theirs in no time.

Action: grabbing a button

So far, Colby had gone to two different locations around the stadium. A third riddle had been given after some time of waiting for straddlers to figure out the location and what item to choose. It seems that Colby was on a roll if she was given the riddle for the next step. Then again, there wasn't validation as to how well she was doing. Nonetheless, she was having fun doing it.

The next one's location was an easy guess after reading play the field and then score a point or two. The only place to be able to score points would be on the actual field itself with the goal hoops. Colby excitedly ran from the concessions over to the goal hoops. She saw that she was definitely not the only one who thought it was an easy riddle. Just like the other locations, there were three piles of items.

Walking up towards them, there were three items to choose from: rubies, coal and buttons. Colby looked back at the riddle to see if there was a clue as to which one to choose. The word, small, comes to mind, but all of them are considered small items, so maybe that wasn't the word to follow. She kept scanning. String appeared next and Colby thought about how strings would be used with each object. She couldn't think of how it would work with rubies or coal, but in order for buttons to be on clothing, it needs to be sewn with string. Colby, already holding a scarf and stick, now grabbed a button. She looked at her items and wondered if they were truly random or supposed to be something. At the moment, she had no idea what. All there was to do now, was to wait for the next clue and keep going with the scavenger hunt.

ACTION: Enters the Goal Hoops area and chooses buttons as her item.
STATS: Stamina - 7 | Evasion - 5 | Strength - 6 | Wisdom - 4 | ArcPower - 4 | Accuracy - 4

SCAVENGER HUNT | Round 3
- July 30, 2024 -

WHEN the fireworks and the new batch of riddles appeared this time, Septimus was looping the scarf from the concessions booth around his neck. He didn't want it so tight that it would cause him to overheat — or worse, strangle him — while he was running from clue to clue, but if it was too loose, it would slide right off. He tugged the fringed ends of the scarf back and forth until it looked presentable, glanced at his reflection in one of the booth's windows, and quietly deemed it good enough. This judgment was made just in time for the boy to grab a scroll and head off on the next stage of the scavenger hunt.

It seemed like this game was more about solving the riddles correctly than solving them quickly, so Septimus probably didn't need to run around the stadium. It was more fun to go fast, though, especially since he and the other summer campers had the whole giant place to themselves. When they were playing a match here, it was impossible to move five feet without walking into someone; so, although Septimus had too much dignity to sprint through the stands like a madman, he was happy to take the opportunity to jog from here to there without having to say excuse me. Unfortunately, this did make it harder to read the next riddle when he opened the third of the mysterious scrolls. After watching the words bob up and down for a moment without processing a single one of them, Septimus steadied his hands and tried to figure out where he needed to go.

Play the field... score a point... smaller, dainty things... Obviously, the next item he was looking for was somewhere on the quidditch pitch. Soon, Septimus began to hear snow crunch underfoot once more as he returned to the pitch from his voyage to the concessions booth. He saw a table set up right at centre field and slowed down to get a glimpse at the items stacked on top of it. Orange, yellow, and brown: those were vegetables! Hearty ones, too, potatoes and carrots. In Septimus's eyes, those didn't count as small or dainty at all. He shook his head and kept jogging towards the end of the pitch, where the golden goal posts loomed high overhead like beacons. Slowing to a stop undeneath the massive hoop in the centre, Septimus found himself distracted by the sheer size of the thing. He followed its height from the ground up, craning his neck to see where the post connected with the hoop against the big, empty sky overhead. Some legendary Quidditch players had scored points on this goal post, he'd bet. How many people got to see it up close? And now it was part of Hogwarts' scavenger hunt — awesome.

Eventually, he turned his attention to the (now familiar) wooden table that was waiting for him on the ground. While he'd briefly struggled to make a choice at the concessions booth, choosing between the rubies, buttons, and coal that were in front of him now was simpler. After all, the last line in the riddle had directed him to pick something which "often comes with strings," and he didn't think there was much room for confusion with that in mind. Septimus sifted through the pile of buttons until he found one he liked, then slipped it into one of his pockets and wondered if they'd just let him hold one of the rubies until it was time to move on.

ACTION: entering the Goal Hoops area and choosing a button

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

Made by Zach Zaphiere

Date	:	July 30th, 2024
Color code	:	Written|Thought|Said

Again, many students were seen gathered in front of the Consession. Actually, that was actually pretty easy to find out the correct answer to the second riddle. Another golden fireworks appeared along with scrolls of paper. That's obviously the third clue.

Sere took one and opened it. This is getting more and more interesting and Sere is starting to become an official Scavenger Hunt lovers. This girl reads the scroll, 'Now that your neck is covered and you feel stylish and new,' Sere touched the scarf around her neck, my choice is clearly correct this time. She continued with the next sentence, 'Why not attempt to play the field and score a point or two?'

Sere shrugged her shoulders, the answer is obviously that place. Her feet stepped towards the Goal Hoops, one of the ways for the players to score some points in Quidditch. Even though she herself is still having some hard times to understand how Quidditch worked as a whole, at least she knows the basics from one of the Flying lessons.

Some smaller-dainty things in riddle must be the three stacks on the wooden table under the hoops. 'Choose that which is most day-to-day and often comes with strings.' Her hand grabbed a button with no hesitation. Ah, right! I left some of my button-loose clothes in the dorm. I had to sew them up when I'm back to Hogwarts.

WC : 234/200
Action : Taking a button

There were some congratulatory fireworks at the concessions and the next riddle confirmed that Tristan's choice of scarf was indeed correct. At the appearance of the next riddle, Tristan was for the first time in this game torn between two locations. The riddle said they he should try to play the field and score some points which suggested it could either be the center field or goal hoops. With hesitancy he made his way towards the goal hoops because the center field technically was not where players scored points and was only where the game started. There was no other choice but to take his chances at this point and see where it would take him. After all, this was only but a fun game, not truly important in the scheme of things. It was only a fun game during summer camp. There were three items at the goal hoops, rubies, coals, and buttons. Buttons were definitely the most day-to-day but did they truly come with strings? They did come with thread in order to attach them to clothes but did that truly count as string? This was quite a hard riddle, Tristan thought. There was no other choice that was apparent to him as rubies were quite fancy and never came with strings and coal was quite rare in this day and age.

Action
Picking up Button

Abilities Perfectionist 1 & 2 Evasive Maneuvers || Muggle Condition English || Russian

Action Picked up a button (x 3) at the Goal Posts Interacting: @EmmaLee LeDames Open for Interactions

As the golden display of fireworks signaled, once again, the arrival of a bundle of newly visible clue scrolls, EmmaLee grabbed his hand and darted off almost like a heat seeking missile towards them, dragging him along with her. He gave absolutely no resistance, and though she could not see it as she was ahead of him and facing forward, he was smiling most contentedly. This felt good and relaxing and easy once again. This, whatever this was in the moment, felt better than the stomach churning upset he had been feeling for months on end when even the mere thought of her crossed his mind. Why it felt okay now and had not prior was still another mystery, but honestly, for a rare change, he decided to simply enjoy it and not to overthink it. Overthinking it had gotten him exactly nowhere, and maybe it had been the overthinking it that had been the problem. Maybe the lesson in the moment was to simply "be" in the moment.

When they got to the table, he reached for his scroll and began to read it. This he did not find a challenge at all. Clearly the field was the red herring and the spot to be was the Goal Posts. When he looked up, she was reading it yet again, and her brow was slightly furrowed. Before thinking, he blurted out loud enough for only her to hear him, "Goal Posts!". As soon as the words left his mouth he regretted having spoken them. He was not in the running for a win here; but she was, and she should have the fun of figuring them out first. He had only wanted to offer up his thoughts on the matter in cases of differing opinions as to the answer. Luckily, she didn't seem upset that he rained on her parade, so they started off to the goal posts. She did have a point, however, when questioning which end. Can't help you there, I'm afraid. The clue gives no hint one way or the other about that. Those are clearly closer to us, so I say we start there. If we are wrong, then we are just going to have to run to the other end and hope we get there in time. It'll be fine."

They had not been walking for too long before she tagged his hand and told him to wait for her there. He was a bit surprised at the command in her normally yielding voice, and he could not help but quip back at her, "Aye, aye, Captain!" as he jumped to attention and saluted her. She just giggled before quickly disappearing into the crowd, but it did not escape his notice that there were tables heavily laden with food in the direction she was headed. He looked up ahead to the goal posts, knowing that time was ticking, but his stomach was screaming at him to let her take all the time she needed to get some munchies. Priorities and all that.

Soon enough she emerged, smiling and carrying a bounty of goodies, not the least of which was a bag of popcorn. Delight washed over him and he licked his lips as she handed over the popcorn. "Oh, man. You are a lifesaver! You didn't happen to pick a roll of those up, did you?" and he laughed as he brought a few of the buttery, salted kernels up to his mouth. Not forgetting he had been brought up with manners, he offered EmmaLee the bag in case she wanted some as well. "Thank you, EmmaLee. Truly. I would have been fine without the food, but this will all go more smoothly from my perspective with it. You're a peach, you know that? Speaking of, did you happen to pick any of those up per chance?" and he laughed a little harder, teasing her. She was a peach though. She really was.

They walked along in silence, eating their sandwiches and popcorn, finishing up as they reached the goal posts. Luckily enough for them, it appears they had chosen wisely and EmmaLee scanned the clue again, deciding that buttons was the way to go. "I concur," he stated confidently as he leaned over the pile, happy to see a number of purple buttons in the mix. As EmmaLee had done, he too, took three, but in varying dark shades of purple. There were more than enough to support them each taking three, so he did not feel in the least bit bad about it.

"Speaking of thread, I have a little something I made for Minx the other night. I was going to give this to her after the scavenger hunt, but she clearly had her own agenda after being so carelessly tossed off your shoulder earlier," and his eyes twinkled with mirth as she puffed her cheeks and then pouted, gearing up to protest the falsity of his statement. "Tttsss! Tttsss!" he theatrically admonished as his index finger deftly moved with a good deal of precision to just in front of her lips and right beneath her nose. To his surprise, EmmaLee did remain shushed and allowed him to proceed. He reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a little piece of scrap fabric that was roughly mouse-shaped and handed it over to her. "I bought some cat-nip from a delightful Beauxbatons girl yesterday and whipped this up last night. Hope she likes it. If she keeps anyone awake in the tent playing with it in the middle of the night, blame Miles. In fact, that is a good rule of thumb. Always blame Miles," and he just grinned at her.

"As for what all of these things are for, I think -" and he all of a sudden started humming Frosty the Snowman. "The deal will be sealed if at some point we pick up a carrot. All I can say is that it is a good thing you picked us up some lunch before it got to that point or my "maybe-in-the-future-snowman", and maybe even yours, might have been missing their noses." Then he smirked and relieved her of the last sandwich, taking a hearty bite.

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@Simon Kincaid as Miles Thatcher