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 Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2014 7:25 pm
"So, what, then?" said Gale, mostly to Quinn, since it had been his suggestion in the first place; he was squinting at the numbers."Do we just flip all of them around so it's like...999801 instead?"
Puzzles had never been his strong suit before, Gale peering in the darkness at the others for help.
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Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2014 7:42 pm
Otto said nothing. He wasn't even sure he wanted this puzzle to be solved.
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Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2014 7:47 pm
Upon the verbal prompt the numbers changed:
There were words below it.
Horizontal, vertical, and then diagonal.
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Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2014 8:24 pm
Shiloh was with Otto on this one, his mouth shut for once. He remembered his last poor attempt at solving a puzzle very well, and though this one didn't seem to involve bombs or trains (yet), he was willing to admit when where there were others more capable of doing the job. He hovered near Lucky and Quinn, peering at the puzzle because although he managed to stop his mouth, his curiosity entirely was another story.
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Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2014 10:48 pm
Lucky had spent the initial foray into the darkness surprisingly calmly. If it wasn't for how Otto immediately began talking to and responding to empty space somewhere to the left of everyone that was actually making noise, Lucky might even have congratulated him. This was a new and improved Caelius they were talking about. As it was, he had to contend with Quinn practically climbing on top of him when the mystery darkness gave way to a sea of eyeballs. He blinked, then pulled his hands over his eyes and took that opportunity to shut out everything but the noise, which reached a crescendo before giving way to tinnitus and muffled arguing and the distinct sound of impatient shifting from foot to foot. It took several minutes before he had regained his sanity enough to venture a glance between his fingers. Oh. Just a puzzle. " L-liczba kwadratowa," he commented aloud as he counted with a few vague hand gestures. Noticing Shiloh had gotten extremely close again, he made to ward the death hunter off with a series of attempts to draw a shape in midair. "They are numbers of, ah - square numbers. 1, 4, 9, you know." They probably didn't. Lucky chose not to believe he was in that sort of company while assisting with what could only be described as a death-puzzle."But, ah, vhat is this," he reached out to tap the 36, then an empty space in the grid several squares down diagonally, "not doing here?"
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Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2014 1:04 pm
Lucky was close but at this point he would never succeed. As he focused on the puzzle below, and at that missing grid triangle, he could almost hear a voice coming from within.
"Use the force," said Lucky's Mark muse, "I use the Force and I like, could solve the answer no problem."
There was a longer pause.
"Are you kidding me," continued Lucky's Mark muse, incredulous, "I could do this in my sleep, seriously, just multiply the two numbers by thirty-six and you get four times four times thirty-six, so five-hundred and seventy-six, and then you do it again, and get, fourteen-thousand and ummm carry the two, umm fourteen-thousand and four-hundred." For a muse, Mark's presence behind Lucky sure was overbearing.
Immediately, the red runes changed, forming circular patterns that extended outwards in concentric patterns. A small dais was raised from the center, and on that dais was a sealed box.
"Hang on," said not Lucky's Mark muse right behind Lucky, "don't touch anything. I specifically came here to check that like, you weren't touching anything." He pulled out a fear scanner and approached the box. Slowly, just slowly, he turned around. "Heyyyy um... Otto, can I borrow you for a second."
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Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2014 1:29 pm
Otto's eyes were rolling into the back of his head. Mark's horrendously condescending attitude was always a treat. A bitter, unbathed treat. Otto crossed his arms, letting the geeky Star Wars nerd do the work for them. Otto was not a brainy guy. Math was not his forte. His posture stiffened once Mark turned to him, glaring behind his new favourite sunglasses. He took a few tentative steps closer to Mark, completely on guard and suspicious of what he wanted from him. "What?" He asked cautiously. See? Not touching anything, so no touchy him. No touchy.
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Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2014 1:46 pm
Mark slowly extracted the box with a pair of pliers, pushing it close to Otto. There were red runes scribbled all over the box. "Can you read this?"
He looked tense.
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Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2014 1:47 pm
Otto winced, his body language defensive. "What, the runes?" He asked, looking closer to read what it might say.
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Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2014 1:49 pm
As Otto reached closer, the runes reformed themselves.
Sacrifice your life, and others shall obtain great power.
"So," the Death assistant urged, "What-what does it say?"
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Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2014 1:53 pm
Otto went pale. "Um... it says Sacrifice your life, and others shall obtain great power..." He answered honestly, worriedly taking a step back and away from Mark. "Tch... w-what power is even worth someone's life...." Power was corrupt, evil. Not worth giving his life for. Right?
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Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2014 2:05 pm
"Actually," Mark corrected Otto, "It means sacrifice your-"
-He stopped halfway and then sighed. "Let-let's just go back. I'll hang onto this for now."
As Mark said the words 'go back' the room turned dim, a cold silence covering everything. Immediately, long crystals, black, glimmering with a strange white light from within, sprouted from the ground, at all angles, nearly impaling the Hunters trapped in this strange desolate space. They form jagged obstacles, they blocked off the exit, and they separated each and every Hunter.
At best there were muffled voices, but everyone was alone.
Silence again.
And then the crystals receded, forming a path different to each person. It lead to a doorway, each door was the same, but separate. Inside the door was a room, a white room, and inside the room was a table, and a cloaked figure sitting on the other side. He was enjoying a dessert, a creme brulee, perhaps.
"Please," the voice said, dryly, to each individually, to each separately, "I know why you are here. And the answer is he already took the weapon, so now there is only a box and a talisman. As you conveniently found the box, I am obligated to give you each a gift. So, one wish. You can have any wish, and I will grant it with the limits of my remaining capabilities. Go ahead, try me."
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Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2014 2:29 pm
Otto knew what it meant, he simply chose to ignore it. Unless the entire world depended on him dying, he wasn't going to--- Otto cursed as crystals ripped through the floor, separating him from everyone else. When it all died down, Otto cursed again, this time under his breath. Why did that happen? Because they took the box? Otto turned, following the path laid out for him. What he found didn't surprise him. He was fairly sure he knew who it was. He wondered though; how was he still around? Did he not die and get turned into an inanimate object? Otto took a few steps closer, his hand hovering instinctively over his chest. A wish? "Wishes are loaded." Otto grumbled at the sweets loving figure. "Nothin's free." He didn't trust him. He'd already gotten a favour from Death; another chance at living. And he was doing just that. He wouldn't ask for the dead to live again. He wouldn't ask to go back in time. No money, no power. He'd made a deal. Anything more would be asking for trouble, if he hadn't already made trouble already. He wanted fine print before he bothered with anything as wishful as a... well... wish. "I got everything I could hope for and more than I deserve as it is."
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Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2014 8:01 pm
Gale was under the impression that everyone should just stop touching things, and maybe all the crappy things that happened would stop happening and they could just live out their lives peacefully on the island.
<< What a nice little fantasy you have. >>
Yes, thank you.
Gale had a split second to say "Bloody hell, Otto" before the crystals sprang from the ground, and he gave a shout of surprise and fear, Gale stumbling backwards. He tried to swing Jinhai around, attempting to shoot, but he was more worried about not getting one of the crystals stabbing him than getting free.
Which was good, because he survived the arrival of the crystals, or whatever they were, but also bad because it was then that Gale noticed he was now separated from everyone else, a path winding outwards from his feet.
He followed it, of course, wary and cautious, his hands gripping the rifle tightly; but the room was rather unremarkable, save for the figure at the table and the dessert in front of him, which Gale eyed with some suspicion.
Everything about this whole scenario, in fact, seemed suspicious.
Immediately, of course, his mind went to Stormy, and then to his dead sister, and Gale swallowed hard, a frown worrying at the corners of his lips. "And what, ah...are the requirements, exactly, for such a wish?" he asked carefully, because he did not trust this situation in the slightest. "And what is the price to pay for it?"
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Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2014 8:22 pm
Of course, it was never actually so easy as just ‘going back’. Barely managing to avoid impalement by crystal, Shiloh looked around but everyone was gone, and calling out had only the effect of echoing his own voice back to him. Then the crystals were gone, leaving dimness behind their receding white light and Shiloh quickly hurried down the path that miraculously appeared in front of him, anxious to not spend more time in the dark. There was a door, and no way of knowing what was on the other wise, but a thin ribbon of light peeked through it’s edges and so Shiloh opened it anyway, assuming it preferable to whatever might be left out here, with the crystals and strange whispers of muffled voices. He had no idea what to expect on the other side and so should have had no expectations but he was still surprised when opening the door revealing a figure sitting calmly atop the only piece of furniture in the room, idly plucking at a dessert of some sort. It was only now, after repeated threats to his life, that Shiloh knew better than to just blurt out the first wish that came to mind, that he learned to be discerning, if only a little. If this figure knew why he was here, he wished he would tell him, because as far as missions went, he didn’t have a clue. “What weapon, who took it? There’s a talisman too? Where? Who are you?”
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