The Fourth Trial

[hot_mess_express]

Who: Heroes
When: Day 9, Midday
Where: The Dragon's Tower


Come hither, Heroes. Prove thy worth.

The earth rumbles beneath your feet with a mighty roar. This time a crumbling stone tower looms above you, unscalable and unbreachable. At the top of the tower is a single window with a single light, beckoning. The only entrance at the base is an arched wooden door which creaks in protest when you open it.


Upon entering the tower you will find yourself in a large room with high walls constructed of dark, uneven brick stone. The ceiling is so high that you cannot see anything but darkness as torches lining the walls serve as the only source of light. The room itself is achingly cold. It’s reminiscent of a dungeon… or a treasure room.

But the only treasure to be found lies in the middle of the room; a small pile of seven bracelets, each one inlaid with a beautiful jewel corresponding to each team’s color. It may be fairly obvious, but just in case anyone is slow on the uptake:

“What is it that you treasure in this world? What are you willing to give up? Until you can decide that much, you will not be allowed to leave this room. It matters not to me if you rot in here.

However, I will tell you this much; should you decide who among you is most precious, only they may bear the weight of your altruism.”


Mingle | Pre-Game Rules | Hostages | Rooms | Endgame

Comments

[purrtagonist]

[a huff]

I haven't decided yet if that's a good or a bad thing.

[legis_vox]

Not much longer until we find out.

[purrtagonist]

I'm also not sure whether that's a good or a bad thing.

[he seems pretty calm on the outside, though he is holding his shoulders pretty tensely as he glances around the area]

[legis_vox]

[noting that, and taking a quiet step to cover his blind spots]

If it helps, I'm told these are mostly investigation and reasoning tests. Or at least they have been so far.

[purrtagonist]

[. . . a slow nod]

Randy-san described them as trials where we had to answer complex moral questions. "Right" answers would be rewarded, and whatever constituted the "right" answer was in the discretion of the runner.

[legis_vox]

I was told about that one, a murder mystery, and a scavenger's hunt for antidote ingredients.

[purrtagonist]

[ah]

[his brows furrow]

The latter implies the involvement of some kind of poison.

[legis_vox]

Apparently so. Nonfatal, as I've heard, but possibly unpleasant.

[purrtagonist]

[relaxes slightly, but. only slightly]

. . . hn.

Just. . . be careful. All right?

[legis_vox]

[...nods]

You, too.

[purrtagonist]

I'm always careful.

[. . . not true, but he sure is going to play his cards close to his chest until he figures out what is going on, here]

[legis_vox]

Then let's hope the pattern holds.

[purrtagonist]

[hhhha]

Let's hope nothing happens that forces me to break that pattern.

[legis_vox]

Let's hope.

[purrtagonist]

Even then, hope will only get us so far.

[legis_vox]

Then we'll have to rely on our strength for the rest. And each other's.

[purrtagonist]

[his mouth twitches and curves into a genuine smile, slightly lopsided]

That's the answer I was looking for.

[legis_vox]

[answering that smile with one of his own]

Seems like we're thinking along the same lines, then.

[purrtagonist]

Which makes us both about even on the cheese scale, I guess.

[legis_vox]

I can't deny it.