Partners In Peril: Klarion and Cat

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[Whether willing or just, there comes a magical shove to force you and someone else through the door leading down into the earth.]

[The passageway is cold, but at least it's well lit. Albeit with flames of blue fire.]

[It goes down, down, down, until you reach the first part....]

Comments

RULES

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SPECIAL ABILITIES ARE OFF. If a regular human isn't capable of it, neither is your character.

There is one takeback. Your characters will be progressing through rooms in this trial. One character may decide to go back however far they wish ONCE. So they could be all the way at the end and choose to go back to the beginning, or just back one room, but they can only make this decision one time. The characters will understand this fact.

Injury and death are possibilities.

Direct questions to trials-b so we can avoid bogging down the general chat.

ROOM ONE

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[There is a door to proceed to the first room and on it is an inscription:
A fall not so dangerous from height,
But rather in footing.
Is there a way for stability?]

[You find yourself in a cave, on top of a ledge. Upon which you can see a solid stone door at the far end of the cavern. On the floor of the ledge is a message. ’You can only choose to go back once.’]

[The height of the ledge itself does not seem particularly dangerous, it’s only roughly as tall as a two story building. With a bit of care, it’d be possible to climb down without any harm.]

[The harm comes from the sea of spikes.]

[From the very front of the ledge to some distance away, there are tall spikes, packed together. There are, however, spots in the spikes where there’s enough room to put one foot. If someone was incredibly careful, it would be possible to maneuver through the spikes, even stand in places. Though one slight misstep could easily mean getting cut or poked with the spikes. Making a jump for those spots would take a miracle to not end up with a worse injury.]

[There are also two metal scissor gates along the wall, one past the spikes at ground level. The other is at the end of the ledge, and it seems to have a lift of sorts inside.]

[There is a sign. OCCUPANCY: 1]

DISCUSSION

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Re: DISCUSSION

[wontforbidtherain]

I think... one of us can use the elevator, and one of us will have to walk through the spikes.

[also, frowns -- Cat is normally a lot more cold-tolerant than a typical human]

QUESTIONS POST SOLUTION

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These questions are to be answered OOCly about your character’s emotional/mental state, not what they would necessarily say or believe ICly. So if they tell themselves they're happy and are ignoring feelings of anger, the answer is anger.

How does your character feel about their partner?
How does your character feel about the solution to the challenge?
How is your character feeling right now?

Re: QUESTIONS POST SOLUTION

[wontforbidtherain]

How does your character feel about their partner? Slightly positive. Concerned and worried because someone who is both young in terms of 'amnesiac' and general attitude is not what she wants in a trial that sends out danger signals. He's holding up well, so it is generally positive.
How does your character feel about the solution to the challenge? Very positively. Slightly annoyed that her clever loophole didn't work, but more directed at the situation than herself or her partner. A bit chagrinned that she cut up her skirt and forgot to warn Klarion about it, but, hey, bandages. Pleased that the idea worked with minimal injury on either part.
How is your character feeling right now? Some pain, some worry, a lot of determination. Also annoyed at having to guide a kid through, but not at Klarion. More than a bit angry at the game-runner.

room one

[tobluerafters]

re: partner - mostly positive feelings at this point. He doesn't know her, she's a little quiet, but this isn't really the kind of place to talk. She's strong, and that's cool.

re: solution - he's miffed there wasn't a way to do it completely safely, but what they chose to do seemed to be the best course of action. Overall, he's pretty glad they made it through without either of them impaled. Can't argue with being alive.

re: current feelings - Mostly good. He feels safe-ish in cave-like areas, so he isn't weirded out by the ambiance. He isn't in pain and only had a little bit of a thrill in the first room, so he's still raring to go. He's excited to see what else might present itself to them.

ROOM TWO

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[Another inscription on the door:
'Nothing is zero.
First one’s free.
What’s the price for two?']

[You have stepped further into the cave, and it seems to be almost a foyer of sorts. You can see old tapestries, torn, of alicorns circle around a sun or a moon, and half decayed carpeting. There are two crumbling Pegasus statues that can be seen on either side of a doorway glowing with red magic. On one side of each Pegasus is also a switch.]

[There is also a painting on the wall.]

DISCUSSION

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Re: DISCUSSION

[wontforbidtherain]

[not touching the magic; between this and the orrery in the lobby, definitely an astronomical theme ]

The picture seems to suggest that the green magic will let only one of us through, but the yellow will let both of us through but... we'll be unhappy somehow.

[not helpful, magic room].

QUESTIONS POST SOLUTION

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How does your character feel about their partner?
How does your character feel about the solution to the challenge?
How is your character feeling right now?

Re: QUESTIONS POST SOLUTION

[tobluerafters]

re: partner - Still mostly positive thoughts. He hasn't had any reason to not trust her at this point. They both seem to be looking for the best way through without putting the other at greater risk, which is nice. She also allowed herself to go through the door first, which means she probably isn't going to push him into danger at any point; another positive.

re: solution - another unfair solution. He doesn't understand why one or both have to feel pain just to get through things and it's starting to frustrate him a little. At least the solution was "simple" enough, but he probably should have tried something else first.

re: current feelings - annoyed at getting zapped. Pained, but still able to continue on without much issue after it fades. Whereas he was kind of excited before, he's starting to lose that in favor of annoyance. Hopefully things stay interesting...

Re: QUESTIONS POST SOLUTION

[wontforbidtherain]

How does your character feel about their partner?
Pretty good. He's holding up well, and she's not having to carry him too much. Very concerned about the threats here and how he's taking it.
How does your character feel about the solution to the challenge?
Annoyed they didn't experiment more to see if they could beat it. She's worried that there are better solutions by being tricky, but she can't think of them, and her companion won't.
How is your character feeling right now?
Frustrated, and worried about what is coming. THings are escalating.

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[Another inscription, this time on the floor:
'Often those below look to those on high,
For those on high often have an easier time.
Though those below often find themselves blind,
To what they can see.']

[You get through the door and find yourself faced with another wall made of black glass, about three stories tall. There is a doorway and a staircase in front of you. Each has a panel of green light in front of them.]

[Engrave between the stairs and doorway is a simple message. GREEN: 1]

DISCUSSION

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Re: DISCUSSION

[wontforbidtherain]

[after recovering enough to focus on the new puzzle]

[frowning]

The inscription seems to suggest one of us needs to climb the stairs to see. But if we take the stairs, can we not take the door?

Choices Above

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[As Cat steps onto the top, she can see a wide, open area on top of the black glass. The door is on the other side, with stairs leading from inside the building right beside it.]

[Along the floor, everything is black save for a path of clear glass where she can see Klarion. For the most part. There are a few blank spaces, next to pedestals.]

[There will be a link sent to Cat's inbox.]

Choices Below

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[And probably predictably, as the glass door shuts behind Klarion, he suddenly has darkness cover his eyes, rendering him completely blind. His other senses, however, are fine. And now that he's inside, he can hear things.]

[There's a crackle of energy somewhere. The sloshing of water. And the room area is on the cold side.]

[Its probably fine.]

[And to help say where Klarion goes: A board]

Path Discussion

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QUESTIONS POST SOLUTION

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How does your character feel about their partner?
How does your character feel about the solution to the challenge?
How is your character feeling right now?

Is there any unconfronted conflict between your character and their partner? If yes, what is it and how do they feel about it?
On a scale of 0 to 10, from none to completely, how much does your character trust their partner right now?

Re: QUESTIONS POST SOLUTION

[wontforbidtherain]

How does your character feel about their partner? A bit resentful that she took most of the hits, though she also acknowledges that was her own damn fault. Mostly just relieved though that she does think the blows were minor given what happened when Klarion did try to jump a block.
How does your character feel about the solution to the challenge? Like she wants to feed the trap designer to sharks. She thinks she and Klarion did all right, but wished they'd talked about choices before they split so she'd not taken this one.
How is your character feeling right now? Tired, cold, in pain, and rather angry. She also wishes she was with her team, rather than a stranger.

Is there any unconfronted conflict between your character and their partner? If yes, what is it and how do they feel about it? Again, Cat feels a bit sulky, but is self aware that it is her problem, not Klarion's. Mostly a note that if they ever do this again, she wants to hash out under what circumstances one of them will take a blow for the other.
On a scale of 0 to 10, from none to completely, how much does your character trust their partner right now? 5. She doesn't have much of a feel for her trust in him, because she took charge and had him trust her.

Re: QUESTIONS POST SOLUTION

[tobluerafters]

re: partner: Honestly? He's thankful towards her but he doesn't know how to express it. This person knows nothing of him but has been so kind, and that seems... wrong to him? Incongruous with what he thought strangers should be like, and it's frustrating because he doesn't know why he thinks this way. It makes him feel a little strange, though. Like, conflicted.

re: solution - Again, SO UNFAIR, and SO MEAN!! He hates that there was no way around pain. They were forced into only taking a hit or carrying on, and while he knows it probably isn't supposed to be fair it doesn't make it less frustrating.

re: feeling right now - Stinging, cold pain on his palms is making him very irritable. And he's also not sure how he stands in his partner's eyes, which makes him a little nervous. He doesn't want to get hurt again but he feels he's going to have to if this keeps going this way, and he really hates it. He's pretty selfish, after all.

Conflict with Cat? Not really, but he doesn't know where he stands with her. After all of that pain, is she going to expect him to take some hits for her? Will she blame him for some of that pain, even though he didn't ask her to take the hits directly? He's just unsure.

And that uncertainty puts him at a 7 with trust towards her. Still high, because she's been so kind and helpful so far, but he isn't sure how that will last. They aren't friends, after all, but she hasn't led him astray yet. He's just nervous how things around going to be from here on out.

ROOM FOUR

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[One sentence is on the door to the final room. 'What in return did springtime ask?']

[You have made it past the labyrinth and found yourself in a large cavern. And it seems to be just that. A large cavern, with the only oddity being a few lines on the ground that seems to be dividing the area up into thirds. And at the far, far end, you can see a glimpse of light from the outside.]

[The cold you both suffer has been constant and despite that, somehow, the air seems to grow colder.]

[There is a wind starting to blow through the area, harsh and cutting, and there is ice starting to grow on the walls.]

Re: ROOM FOUR

[wontforbidtherain]

Let's hurry and leave. I want to go home.

[also going to glare at the riddle]

Re: ROOM FOUR

[tobluerafters]

Agreed. [He buries his hands under his armpits to try and keep them warm. He can't stop his teeth from chattering.]

Let's run!