hot_mess_express ([personal profile] hot_mess_express) wrote in [community profile] auroraexpress2018-12-07 06:50 pm

The First Trial

Who: All Brave Heroes
When: Day 4, morning
Where: The Witch's House

[ Something is amiss.

The jungle goes still, unsettling in its silence. Not a leaf shudders and not a beast makes a sound, as if everything alive outside is holding its breath in dead… or anticipation?

All of the lights on the Aurora begin to flicker. And while at first it may seem as though it is simply the beginnings of another power outage, the notion is quickly chased by the entire train abruptly swaying and shuddering-- as if something seized hold of it and started shaking it from the outside.


Come hither, Heroes. Prove thy worth.



If you step outside you will see it. There, sitting just in sight of the train, is a place that most certainly had never been there before. Or had it always been there?

Based on the outside, it seems like a place that no one has lived in for quite some time. The wooden shutters on the windows are barely hanging, rotting from age. The stones that make up the house look weathered and are covered in moss. The roof is missing shingles, any plantlife around the building appears to be dead . . . and yet the chimney has smoke coming out of it.

The air around the house seems to waver and the darkness of the world seems to be drawn, to gather around its worn silhouette.

Likewise, whether by compulsion or sheer curiosity, you are also drawn towards the house.

Entering is simple enough. You need only go through the front door to enter your first Trial. As you enter a voice greets you from nowhere, ]



“Welcome, children. This is the real beginning of your journey. Let’s see how strong you truly are. Oh, but do be careful, and . . . “

[ There is a chuckle. ]

“Don’t die. ♥”

[ The house that you entered is no longer a house. Rather, it is a moonlit clearing, with vegetation surrounding reminiscent to the jungle you just left. Around you, you may hear the familiar sounds of the beasts. They wait for you. They wait for you to fall so that they may feast.

But the beasts are the least of your concerns. As soon as you enter this clearing you feel it-- a burning hot sensation, the world spinning around you, and a sick twisting feeling in your gut.

You know immediately. You are sick. You’ve been poisoned.

Lining the edges of the clearing are seven cauldrons, and around each of them a circle of flowers growing in seven different colors. At the center of the clearing is a similar circle, in the middle of which lies a book full of blank pages, a collection of feathered pens, and a knife of which the handle is inlaid with a beautiful earthy gemstone.

To each cauldron is pinned a piece of parchment that reads “antidote” before a list of ingredients scrawled in a muddled mess of handwritings.

You may want to read these parchments carefully. Your time is already running out. ]


Instructions and RulesQ&AIngredients and Turn-InWinners and ConsequencesEndgame

[personal profile] unperturbed 2018-12-08 05:03 am (UTC)(link)
It sounds very subjective.
bowtiedbones: (1)

[personal profile] bowtiedbones 2018-12-08 05:06 am (UTC)(link)
Most of my ingredient list is, except for um, blood. But "of the virtuous" is still kind of subjective.

[personal profile] unperturbed 2018-12-08 07:00 am (UTC)(link)
Kind of, yes. [lets out a breath. urgh.] ...Well, I'm sure most of us are decent people... perhaps you can just drip your own in and it will count?
bowtiedbones: (55)

[personal profile] bowtiedbones 2018-12-08 06:22 pm (UTC)(link)
I'll probably do that. I don't really want to ask anybody for their blood, and I'd be ticked at anyone who would say I'm not virtuous, so!

[personal profile] unperturbed 2018-12-08 11:06 pm (UTC)(link)
It would be a little "gross" to drink someone else's blood, anyway.

[on that note, maybe he can just use his own for "blood of an ally" too, since. surely he is his own biggest ally...]
bowtiedbones: (20)

[personal profile] bowtiedbones 2018-12-08 11:11 pm (UTC)(link)
Super gross! This whole thing is unsanitary as is. Did you see everyone needs blood, but there's only one knife to share?

[personal profile] unperturbed 2018-12-08 11:37 pm (UTC)(link)
............Oh dear.

Per...haps we can make due with our own claws and teeth.

[surely none of these decent people are walking around with kitchen knives shoved down their coats everywhere they go.]
bowtiedbones: (35)

[personal profile] bowtiedbones 2018-12-08 11:45 pm (UTC)(link)
[surely not!! examines her hands, checking out her nails. she could probably do a solid scratch with these.]

Like in TV, where people bite themselves for spells?

[personal profile] unperturbed 2018-12-08 11:50 pm (UTC)(link)
[Holds up his own claws nails, they are also pretty sharp.]

I'm not sure what "TV" is, but probably?
bowtiedbones: (43)

[personal profile] bowtiedbones 2018-12-08 11:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Like in plays, stories. People bite their thumbs to get blood. Which doesn't sound that convenient to me, but it looks dramatic.

[personal profile] unperturbed 2018-12-09 12:01 am (UTC)(link)
Ah.

...Let's prioritize convenience, today.

[honestly that just sounds extra messy and painful. surely they're not being judged on drama... right??]
bowtiedbones: (1)

[personal profile] bowtiedbones 2018-12-09 12:48 am (UTC)(link)
Let's. I need my thumb for things, and also my teeth aren't that sharp.

[personal profile] unperturbed 2018-12-09 03:21 am (UTC)(link)
Do let me know if you need any help.

[It turns out they already got blood for his so he is safe from having to slit his own hand open, but good luck over there.]
bowtiedbones: (60)

[personal profile] bowtiedbones 2018-12-09 03:40 am (UTC)(link)
If you happen to somehow have a nail file on you, that'd be great?

[personal profile] unperturbed 2018-12-09 03:46 am (UTC)(link)
No such luck, I'm afraid.
bowtiedbones: (20)

[personal profile] bowtiedbones 2018-12-09 03:49 am (UTC)(link)
Nothing to do but go for it then, I guess.

[rolling up her sleeve. heck thumbs, shoulders can bleed just fine.]