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Calendula held her head up high and listened to the ringing sound in the darkness. The dead held no terror for her, and as such, lantern still gripped in her teeth, she stepped forward to investigate the ringing.

Miyako stood apart from the rest, thin tail swishing back and forth much like a content cat. The forest was not scary and the ringing only made her curious of what made the sound. She followed behind the older mare to see what it was with a small smile on her lips.

The mare protected her lantern and remained watching the forest for a time until a stronger gust of wind silenced the flickering lanterns. Clouds moving over the moon, light now but a flicker of stray moonbeams making their way to the ground.

As the light changed the mare turned to those with her “Oh dear! They both went out!” The mare cried rushing over, one seemingly warmer than the rest, the mare watched as shadows creeped closer. Light from the single lantern wasn't enough to ward the mass of spirits drifting toward the group. The Mare held out her lantern “try and relight yours from mine!” she spoke in a urgent tone glancing back at the shadows.

"I will try and keep the spirits at bay as best I can by appeasing them with a game." the mare winked.

How close you guys got to 15 indicates the kind of dice you guys get to roll!

Berri Roll a d4 and get over 2.
Silver Roll a d6 and get over 3 to Relight your Lanturns!

Not another sound was herd the ringing became quieter, the darker colored mare paused as some of the group went ahead, “You three should wait, some of the most dangerous things could be hiding under the simplest of sounds.” she spoke a soft warning. The three continued, as she raised her lantern she led the remaining through the bush cautiously. They saw it first, taking the brush path, a harder moving around.

A skeleton, bipedal and huge in stature, of a giant maybe stood upon the road as the ringing silenced appearing out of seemingly nowhere, out of the forest, of mist.
A Gashadokuro stood before them. The Starving skeleton watched as the three humans walked before it making a grab for them with its massive hand, too interested in the three to notice immediately the other group. Besides they were closer.

The darker red mare looked surprised "It's rare to see that creature." her voice was a whisper. "We need to avoid it."

You Three! Kesmi, Shadica, Twitch! Run for your Lives! Else The Gashadokuro is going to bite you heads off! Roll a d20 and get 15 or Above to Survive and see if it catches you!!

Geyser, Dawns, Hoshi, Apple You have 3 Choices

1. Hide! And Wait for it to loose interest and vanish
2. Try and get past it while it's distracted with the other 3
3. Try and Help the other 3 loose the Starving Skeleton

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Choose wisely, for not everything is as it seems... Seriously we love you all <3

You all have until 10:00 p.m. PST on 11/02/13 to post your response!
Note: There may be small stat bonuses for those of you who RP!

Edit's this in for relevancy

Thana stepped closer to the mare's lantern. While the dark was not what she enjoyed, it was a time to enjoy other things...Asking the spirits of her fallen family, she tired to relight her lantern.

try to slip past while it's busy with the others.

*rolls* Light, lantern!!

Lets see what happens. xD

I'm out. good luck guys.

The lighter mare smiled in delight as one of the lanterns regained its protective fire. The second, however, was trouble some. For a moment, the new light pushed back the creeping, encroaching darkness but only just for that moment. The mare's smile faded and she looked to the other two urgently, a note of panic in her voice. She had not wanted to have to play this game tonight...

"Run!" she exclaimed, leading the way down the open path. As you move to catch up with her, you see the darkness matching speed.

"The letter game," she started, "We have to play the letter game! I'll give the name of an animal, you give me the name of an animal that starts with the last letter! Oh, um, um...Horse!"

As you run, you realize you've hit a cross roads. At the corner stands a stallion, unbelievably tall, in formal dress in a top hat and cane. He tips his head to you as you run by and you notice the mare gets a little more pale in the moonlight but you have to keep moving as the shadows give you no time to question.



Berri and Silver: Though one lantern is lit, it is not enough to protect the both of you! It's time to play the letter game.

The mare gave you "horse". You now have to give us an animal that starts with the letter "E". For example, if you gave us "echidna" the next animal the mare would have to give you would have to start with an "A". Feel free to message us if you have any questions.

Both of you need to roll a d20. If either one you rolls a 10 or above, your game has delighted the spirits enough to give you chance to pause and Silver a chance to relight her lantern once again.

Silver: If either you or Berri rolls above a 10, you may post a second time to try and relight your lantern. Roll a d6 and get a 3 or better and you are safe, but be warned, if this roll does not pan out well, it will only get harder from here...

Berri: You are safe...for now. Wonder who that stallion was...



A horrible crunching noise echoed through the forest as the three were swept off of their feet and rushed to meet their end. The rescue attempt was most sadly in vain.

The skeleton opened it's gaping maw in rage as it was assaulted by the tiny stars and it moved to swat them away, hoping to scoop them up and continue its feast.

The darker mare sighed and rushed forward, pulling a paper talisman from her sleeve with her teeth and, after uttering a prayer, hurling it as best she could at the monster.

The Gashadokuro seemed paralyzed at first, throwing its skull back as if it were screaming in pain before it fell apart, a pile of innocuous bones on the ground, a final tinkle of a bell the last noise heard.

"I do not have many of those left," she stated once she was sure it would not move again. "We have to keep moving...I am not sure this will subdue it for long..."



Geyser and Apple: Your valiance has paid off and the mare has managed to rescue you from this encounter. Selflessness is something to be rewarded.

Hoshi: Now that it is safe, Miyako rejoins the group. She escaped unscathed, lucky girl.

The dark mare quickly leads you down the path, only to be stopped as a huge tree trunk has has fallen over. There is a shimenawa rope wrapped around it and it is almost as if you hear a faint, wisp of a cry.

Your guide remarks that the skeleton must have knocked this tree down and seems saddened.

Do you investigate the tree or simply go around? After all, the last sound you heard lead to fatalities...

Dawns: As you try to slip past, you fall a bit off of the beaten path. There, in a clearing, you notice a beautiful jewel encrusted box. Atop it sits a single, fat crow. It watches you, head tilted and lets out a single caw. In the moonlight, you can see that it has a forked tongue.

Despite this, the crow hops down from the box, and bows to you, as if gesturing that you should take it.

Do you take the box and open it or ignore this unusual crow and its gift?



I apologize for the sporadic nature of the game, guys! Life decided it was a good time for me to get so sick I was unable to get out of bed. You have until 5 PM PST tomorrow to answer but once again, if you all answer more quickly, you will get an answer sooner than that.

Kesmi, Shadi, and Twitch: Sorry for the bad luck. Unfortunately, this is your last stop on the CYOA express, but thank you for playing! We sincerely hope you had fun. <3