(no subject)

[opening_act]

Who: Exael, others
When: Day 5, Afternoon
Where: The Arena.
What: Game 3

[ Another day, another blast of the trumpets, another game.

Exael is there this time, in her human guise, standing in the center of the arena, and in the center of a giant circular mirror with a clock face painted on, that has been installed in the floor beneath her.

Both of the painted hands are currently pointed towards XII

Exael raises both her arms with a flourish and calls out as people enter: ]

Come one, come all! Take your positions, for soon the curtains will rise on our next act!

[[ OOC: If you have IRC, please join #raqia on the Lunarnet server ]]

Comments

MINGLE

[opening_act]

Re: MINGLE

[patchedwork]

[ looking around the arena. . . ]

The clock strikes noon, huh.

Re: MINGLE

[paintwithallthecolors]

Hello, Exael.

Re: MINGLE

[foreveralawn]

W...What p-positions...

Re: MINGLE

[blankasfreshlyfallen]

[Well. He's not trying to break your teeth in immediately. So that's something?]

Lemme guess. More hoops to jump through.

Re: MINGLE

[icy_princess]

[Clearly startled by the this new person, piecing enough together to be worried]

What positions...?

[Looks concerned at the clock face, looks at her teammates confused]

[icantblieveitsnotdeadpool]

[Enters the arena and looks around.]

Well, I missed the last one, so I'm curious to see what will happen this time.

III - AFTERNOON

[fallenature]

[ suddenly, the lights cut out, leaving the stadium in total blackness— momentarily.

As their vision begins to adjust to the darkness, an ambient low light reveals four doors around the edges of the mirrored clock. One is at the XII, one at III; VI, and IX. Beyond the edges of the clock, everything remains dark, but the light spilling over the edge makes it clear-- you aren't where you were before, the rest of the ground is gone and beyond the rim is only a sudden drop.

The painted clock hands have changed, to show it is now 3'oclock.

Exael is nowhere to be seen. ]

Re: III - AFTERNOON

[foreveralawn]

[GRABBING FOR THE NEAREST PERSON]

Ahh!

Re: III - AFTERNOON

[friend_request]

[ . . . ]

Hello?

Re: III - AFTERNOON

[patchedwork]

. . . well this is something now, isn't it.

[ he's feeling his way through to the III door ]

Re: III - AFTERNOON

[blankasfreshlyfallen]

— the hell?

[He reaches for the knife under his overcoat when the lights go, stays frozen until his eyes have begun to adjust.]

III - III - THE GARDEN

[fallenature]

[ The door opens easily. It swings into a garden that definitely didn't exist on the other side of it. The sky above is a clear blue, and it's warm in the afternoon sun. Well tended flower beds are resplendent with brightly colored blooms, and trees shade the paths.

in the center of the garden, however, there is one plot where the dirt is recently tilled but nothing has been planted— yet.

There's also the sound of songbirds in a more distant part of the garden. If you seek them out, you'll find them, and several other animals in cages, secluded in a lush bower. ]

Re: III - III - THE GARDEN

[patchedwork]

[ pause for appreciation of the sky thank ]


. . . . .man. We're really missing out.

III - IX - THE DINING HALL

[fallenature]

[ The door swings open to an opulent dining hall, with large windows letting the afternoon sun stream in to reflect off the grand gold furnishings.

A long table meant to seat as many twenty runs the length of the hall, and down at the far end, are three people you've never seen before-- in uniforms like yours, but in navy and gold, and their symbol is an eye.

It looks like they're conversing amongst themselves, about to sit down to an afternoon meal. ]

Re: III - IX - THE DINING HALL

[blankasfreshlyfallen]

[Makes it into the room before he stops cold and does a double-take.]

Christ! Where've you guys been hiding?

We thought there were just the twelve of us.

III - VI - THE STUDY

[fallenature]

[ The door swings open to a study, windows curtained but not heavily, letting some light filter through. A lamp shines on a desk, and bookshelves here are full of many old musty volumes. An jar of ink, pen, and some half-written notes and blank sheets of paper litter the desk, and a cat naps on a plush armchair. On the wall, a calendar has Thursday, August 22nd circled. ]

Re: III - VI - THE STUDY

[impolicy]

. . . hnn. . .

[ moving over towards the window, to open the curtains more ]

IV - DUSK

[fallenature]

[ outside of the rooms you are in, you hear a loud ring, like that of a bell marking out the hours. Six'oclock. Strange though it is, it's as if you blinked, and three hours have passed in an instance. All at once the rooms have changed.

do you feel a little funny? ]

ERELIM

[fallenature]

[ you feel good, and somehow, stronger. also... maybe a little more irritable? your thorns, your defenses feel in fine form, and you feel prepared to tackle any weird shit, but also less likely to listen to others ]

VI - III - THE GARDEN

[fallenature]

[ the clock having swung to six, the sunlight in the garden is now a deep sunset red. As temperatures begin to cool with dusk, after all day in the heat the flowers and plants now seem to be dropping, wilted, and the bright color of the sky makes everything seem a dark silhouette. ]

the plot in the center of the garden has started to sprout. ]

Re: VI - III - THE GARDEN

[paintwithallthecolors]

[ I have a tarantula the size of a dinner plate on my shoulder

strangely unbothered, reaching up to stroke it with his two middle fingers ]

Where do we go now...?

VI - VI - THE STUDY

[fallenature]

[ The door swings open to the study. With the sun going down, and curtains closed one more, the room seems a bit dim, though the light from the lamp on the desk is steady. The room has gotten a little messier, more papers added to the desk.

The cat opens its eyes as you enter ]

Back again?

[dishonestliving]

...?

[she looks back behind her. hadn't--hadn't they already been in there?]

VI - IX - THE DINING HALL

[fallenature]

[ In the dying evening light the Dining Hall looks even more decadent, the gold furnishings burnished with rich red reflections of the last of the light. Almost to match, the table is now laden down with much much more than it was before, mountains of pastries and cakes, the roast in the center now half-eaten but surrounded by ribs and steaks and yet more meats. There's more than anyone would be able to eat, even if the table were entirely full

Violette is bouncing in her seat, alone, waiting for the rest of her team to return. ]

Re: VI - IX - THE DINING HALL

[blankasfreshlyfallen]

...hey, kid. Where'd everyone go?

IX - Nightfall

[fallenature]

[ again, you hear the clock chime. Nine times this time, 9'o clock at night.

god you feel awful. (unless you're Bucky, or Ophanim, in which case, you may simply feel annoyed with the cat) ]

ERELIM

[fallenature]

[ you're irritable, and don't want anyone to question you now, not with how terrible you feel. not that you'll show it. now is not the time to be showing weakness.

BASICALLY A RANK UP OF WHAT YOU WERE FEELING LAST TIME, go team ]

IX - III - THE GARDEN

[fallenature]

[ the garden is menacing by night. the branches of the trees are bare of leaves, leaving wooden skeletons stretching towards a dark sky. all the flowers in the plots are dead, withered away.

except for those planted in the center of the garden, which have now burst into full bloom. ]

Re: IX - III - THE GARDEN

[paintwithallthecolors]

[ but does the tarantula still fit on my shoulder

glancing at their surroundings... ]

IX - VI - THE STUDY

[fallenature]

[ the lamp on the desk is the only light left in the room, but even that's enough to see the room has been trashed. ink has spilled from the desk onto the floor, and the books have been pulled out from the shelves and strewn haphazardly across the floor.

the cat is sitting attentively on the chair ]

Your decision?

Re: IX - VI - THE STUDY

[foreveralawn]

...W-What do you want for the key?

IX - IX - THE DINING HALL

[fallenature]

[ the dining hall is dimly lit from chandeliers above, but this is a thankful little detail. what the light does reveal is sickening enough, and the overwhelming stench of rot confirms what your eyes see. the rich feast remains, has been added to, fresh tantalizing glazed fruits and meats are piled upon rotting remnants, the floor littered with scraps and bones.

and then, a macabre centerpiece, in the middle of the table is a human corpse. a young man in blue and gold. It looks like you've found Ivy. A gold key glints, in his clasped hands.

Violette is hunched over the table, feral and animalistic, her child's form warped to half-beast. With words that are less words but more wild growl, she warns ]

Get out get out get get out getoutgetoutOUTOUTOUT!!!

Re: IX - IX - THE DINING HALL

[blankasfreshlyfallen]

Jesus Christ. The hell happened here?!

[He's reaching under his overcoat for the knife there, though, jfc.]

THE CLOCK - MIDNIGHT

[fallenature]

[ the hands now point to midnight, and the last door stands, unopened. It's locked, but. . . with any luck, you have a key ]

Re: THE CLOCK - MIDNIGHT

[blankasfreshlyfallen]

[I sure do. Marching right the hell up and going to try the key so we can get out of here and find out if any of those plants help with MONSTER TEETH jfc.]

END GAME

[opening_act]

[ you wake up in the arena. your team symbol is just as it's always been, you don't feel particularly hungry or thirsty, or irritable, your teeth are fine, your powers and body are just as they've always been. there's no mirrored clock face beneath you, and Exael is nowhere to be seen.

but in the center of the arena, you might notice a small pile of mirror compacts, half of them marked with the Ophanim seal, and half with the Malakim seal. Memories. ]

Re: END GAME

[icantblieveitsnotdeadpool]

Okay, what the hell just happened?