AMALTHEA

[soulping]

[You exit the parlor through a doorway in your team's color and find yourself in some kind of entry hall. Aside from the one behind you, there are four doors - one on each of the side walls, and two opposite the entrance - each with an image carved into it. They're a bit hard to make out, however, since only one torch on the far wall is lit, lending the place a gloomy atmosphere. What you can see is that the room, once richly decorated, is now a mess; the walls are covered in peeling, royal purple wallpaper, and great swaths of the ceiling are coated with sticky cobwebs. The floor is covered with large marble tiles, inlaid with some kind of swirling design in glittering gold - but sadly, it too is out of shape. The tiles seem to shift a bit under your weight, and some of them are even missing altogether.

If you try the doors you'll find that all of them are locked, and no amount of manhandling can get them to budge.]

[OOC: This game is a treasure hunt/dungeon crawl! Your characters will be exploring the rooms they pass through and facing different challenges in each one. Some rooms will be exploratory, others will have specific rules! The goal is just to reach the end. Teams will be scored on things like teamwork, cleverness, creativity, etc.

Skills are ON, but there will be penalties if you mess up Knut's castle. He lives here, you know!]

Comments

ROOM 3

[soulping]

[The last person dives through the door just as one final knife comes flying directly at their heads. It slams shut behind you, intercepting the projectile with a distinct thunk. Phew! Of course, now you're stuck in a pitch dark room, but such is life. If you shuffle around a bit you'll find that it's actually a narrow hallway, and after a minute of adjusting your eyes can make out a patch of light down the way. Be careful not to trip, but follow it and you'll soon emerge into the next room, your paws padding on the wooden floor-

Wait, what?

You look around at yourself and your teammates and realize that at some point in the darkness, your clothes have magically changed into some kind of bizarre costume. Bizarre, but appropriate: a glance back will reveal that the tunnel you came through is a mousehole, and you now stand in a truly MASSIVE room, surrounded by immensely tall pieces of furniture. The perspective might throw you off for a minute, but it appears to be a fairly ordinary looking living room...seen from the scale of a rat. Have you shrunk or has the building grown? There's no way of knowing.

On the plus side: you all look adorable.

You quickly realize that the wooden floor isn't actually a floor; you're on a tabletop overlooking the room. And right next to the mousehole is a large cage-]

Hey you! Are you crazy?! Get over here, quick!

[-inside of which is a white rat, who is frantically trying to get your attention.]

Re: ROOM 3

[unguilded]

[ looks down at his hands... ]

We're ... rats?

[ glancing over to the cage, attention easily captured! And heads over to it. ]

Hey-- what is it?

[codecmoment]

Aw, this is actually pretty cute.

[ Squeak squeak. ]

[menially]

Cute, huh...

[Too distracted over the fact that I LOOK LIKE A GIANT MOUSE WHAT THE HELL. He's hesitantly following behind Rook, glancing up warily at the giant furniture.]

...What in the world...

Re: ROOM 3

[soulping]

Careful, careful! You can't just go wandering around in the open like that, you know? Or else- [he shudders in horror] -she'll get you.

Re: ROOM 3

[unguilded]

She?

[ LOOKING ... AROUND THE ROOM. ]

Who?

[codecmoment]

... is there a cat.

[soulping]

You know it, man. Name's Angel but don't let that fool you. She's the most hideous, terrifying creature that ever walked this earth. You're better off just heading back while you can.

[unguilded]

A cat, of course.

But, we need to get you out of there too, in that case!

[codecmoment]

[ WELL, GREAT. Let's hope it turns out to be a stuffed animal in the end, but not rely on it being a big joke like before. ]

I'll try to undo the lock or... something.

[soulping]

No way, I'm safer in here! Plus, I've lived here longer than she has.

Hey, you guys ought to join me. I always wanted roommates.

[unguilded]

Join you? Uhh ... we sort of have somewhere else we need to go.

So you're a pet?

[codecmoment]

[ Fussing around, looking for exits. Large ajar doors. Perhaps enormous whiskers peeking out from behind furniture. ]

Let's hope you know good hiding places.

[soulping]

Sure am. The beloved family pet! Ah, but no one pays any attention to me since they got her. I haven't had a decent treat in ages! What I'd do for a piece of cheese...

[There's a closed door at the other end of the table- a human sized door, but it looks like you could reach the handle from the table.

And no sign of the hellbeast yet.]

[unguilded]

Eeh, really? Why do you want to stay, then, if nobody seems to care?

And ... [ looking at Otacon and Technic. ] we can get you cheese, if you want.

[soulping]

Well, it's my home...where else would I go?

[He perks up at the offer, beady eyes glinting eagerly.] Would you? It would be super dangerous, but I'd seriously owe you one!

[menially]

[Leans in to talk to Rook in a hushed voice.]

I'm not sure making offers so easily is a great idea, Rook...

[unguilded]

[ leaaaaaans back. ]

Not even to a rat? They are Knut's pets, in a way ... and we're probably supposed to help it since we chose the hard path for a reason. I'd feel bad if we just left him here.

[codecmoment]

[ Already off to try and find something to climb and possibly a refrigerator? A cheese plate left out somewhere? ]

[soulping]

The kitchen's that way. They've got all kinds of cheese in the fridge! [the rat points directly across the room, to an open doorway. Indeed, you can see a refrigerator through it. In order to do that, you have to get down from the desk and cross the room, passing a couch and an end table to the left and a TV and recliner to the right. It seems like a straight shot from here to there, but-]

But watch out for Angel! She's a monster, she won't even give you a chance to run.

[unguilded]

[ stares across. ]

One of us should go across on the floor while the other two stick to each side. [ points to the couch and the table, then to the TV and recliner. ] Not just to keep an eye out for the cat, but if we can climb onto the couch, the recliner, or make it onto anything else, we might find something that can be knocked down or used to distract the cat if it gets too close. At least so whoever's taking the center has time to get under or by somewhere safe.

[ dropping his voice again to address the teamies. ] If we can get the cage open, he could maybe help us... But if the cat appears, I don't want him to get hurt, either. Maybe we should at least find something to give him to break out of the cage if he changes his mind about staying later...

[codecmoment]

I'm fine going along out in the open. But if he's really adamant about staying inside, he might not actually make a good ally - in fact, he might just run off.

[unguilded]

True, but let's at least find something he can use to get out with, that he can keep hidden away in there. I want to at least give him ... the means to leave if he makes the choice to.

I'll take the left, then! I don't know if there's anything on the couch, but the table might have something on it.

[ peering over at the couch and table. Are there things on either of them that can be seen? ]

[soulping]

[On the end table, there's a lamp, a remote control, and a decorative bowl. On the couch are a few throw pillows. The place is pretty tidy, actually.]

[codecmoment]

[ Proceeding to run ahead on the open path, so they can hurry up and make SOME progress before the cat shows up. Still hoping the cat is... stuffed... or just gently licks them. ]