Space 0: You have arrived here; nothing happens until you roll your die.
Iðavöllr blinked as she stared at her surroundings, as her eyes slowly took in the darkness that appeared to be surrounding her.
"Athene?" She said as she called out into the darkness, the last thing she remembered being reaching down and picking up the curious object that had sat innocuously on the sidewalk, so as to take a closer look at it.
An object that had turned out to be a die.
"Athene?!" She called out again, as she heard her cousin's voice finally call back and saw him come into view.
And a part of her couldn't help but think that it was unfair that this had happened on tonight of all nights, given that it was the first time that she had ever been out on patrol with her little cousin.
"Do you have any idea of where we might be?" Because as much as Iðavöllr disliked it, Athene had much more experience of being powered than she did.
Athene shook his head "I.. Er no" he admitted quietly as he looked down at the strange die in his own hands, before looking back up at the sound of his cousin’s startled gasp.
"What's…" He started, but that was as far as he managed to get before he caught sight of what had caught his cousin’s eye–
Or more specifically the line of squares that appeared to be unfolding in front of them, the squares even with all the blackness that seemed to be surrounding both Iðavöllr and himself.
He could make out some sort of platform at the line of squares' end - or at least what appeared to be some sort of platform.
It was his cousin that spotted the fact that the inlay at the end seemed to match the fossilised opal on the dice that they had found, but he had been the one to had quietly muse that maybe the dice might be what was connected to the whole place.
He hadn't been expecting his cousin to roll the die in her hands or for some sort of strange force to propel her forward.
His feet had automatically tried to follow after her, only for Athene to feel like he had somehow managed to end up walking into a glass wall.
He bit his lip, but it looked like he had no choice - if he wanted to move forward then he was going to have to roll the strange die - and he very much wanted to move forward because there was no way that he was going to leave Iðavöllr to all of this on her own.
Athene raised the die and rolled.
Quote:
Dice #1 Iðavöllr = and Dice #2 = Athene
litian rolled 2 6-sided dice:
1, 4Total: 5 (2-12)
Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2022 4:43 am
Quote:
Space 1: You feel eyes upon you, and hear a faint chuckling, like you’re the butt of someone’s joke. It sets a bad mood for the rest of this game; you’re already being judged–and, it looks like a long road ahead.
After Athene mentioned that the dice that the two of them had coincidentally found whilst out on patrol together was perhaps somehow linked to the place, Iðavöllr had found herself studying the die in her hand for a few moments before idly rolling it–
Her cousin's theory had been as good a theory as any - and given that she had a die in her hands it had kind of made sense for her to roll it.
She wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but it wasn't for a strange force to suddenly push at her, sending her stumbling inexorably forwards with a yelp, until she managed to recover enough to get her feet under her and started walking.
The strange force still continued to push her forwards however, until it suddenly didn't, suddenly evaporating as if it had never been.
Although it didn't seem like she had managed to end up that far, the square close enough for her to still see Athene as he raised his own hand and rolled.
"That thing pushes" she called back in warning, hoping that given that she was close enough to her cousin to see him that he was in turn close enough to hear her warning, only to see him shoved several 'spaces' ahead.
It didn't seem fair - she had actually seen him pushed past her, had reached out to try and grab at him, but it had been futile and Iðavöllr had been left on her square alone.
No, not quite alone, because it felt like something was most definitely staring at her even if she couldn't see the source - and Iðavöllr could hear the same something laughing as if she was the butt of some sort of cosmic joke that she wasn't privy to–
And it was with a little annoyance that she raised her hand to roll again, because it seemed obvious - at least to her that she was going to have to roll the die again if she was going to make any progress at all in this place.
Well okay maybe the weird barrier that she had slammed against had been a little instrumental in said conclusion, as had the something that had started up laughing again - but a conclusion was a conclusion and Iðavöllr was sticking to it–
Even so, a part of her couldn't help but hope that next time around she would end up a little further than what appeared to be the next space over.
Quote:
Space 4: Something smells rotten. You can’t see very far into the darkness, but if you squint closely a dark form seems to be dragging itself along the ground. Sometimes you see a pale hand almost close enough to grab you–or, maybe something does grab you. It’s cold, and frightening, and it’s trying to drag you out of bounds.
In part because of Iðavöllr's warning and in part because he had seen it happen first hand with his cousin, Athene had at least had some idea of what to expect.
Some - but it hadn't made it any less disconcerting when he had found himself propelled forwards - and it had turned out that Iðavöllr had ended up not so very far from where they had started off, but Athene hadn't been able to slow down enough to join her, had found himself instead pushed even further forwards–
And into the most horrendous stench.
It was dark too, the darkness seeming to somehow amplify the smell.
Something skittered in the darkness, although mayhaps it was his imagination with the smell perhaps getting to him.
Athene rolled the dice, found himself once again being whisked off–
And it seemed like he had been just in time given that a pale hand chose that particular moment to rise up and out of the darkness and make a grab for him as the weird force pushed him onwards.
Space 5: A dog barks, fierce and frightening. You can hear its growl and the hackles stand up on the back of your neck. You can practically feel spittle on you. It’s close. And it’s big. And it’s angry. If this beastly dog could reach you, no doubt it would try to tear you to shreds.
Iðavöllr had landed on a space that was somewhat further than the previous one and little past one that had smelt downright awful and made her secretly glad that she hadn't landed on that particular one.
"Athene?" She called out to her cousin as she glanced warily around her current surroundings "Where are you?"
She had heard his voice call out in turn after a few moments, heard him mention something about a swamp and had about to call back to him again–
Well at least she had right up until the point where the howling had started up.
And it wasn't a miserable dog that needed comforting howl - sounded instead like it was more of a kill the intruder type of howl–
And she was right up and stuck in the thing's territory.
Iðavöllr backed away slowly, eyes glancing about warily as she tried to guess in which direction the howling was coming from.
Another howl - this one closer, much closer and Iðavöllr's tightened on the die in her hand because being a doggy snack was certainly not something that been part of her plans.
She let the die roll, a part of her grateful when the strange force pushed her onwards–
And just in time it seemed as Iðavöllr could have sworn that she saw something lunge towards where she had just been standing.
Quote:
Space 10: A swampy smell fills the air. You take a step, and you seem to sink into it. Mud creeps over your feet, and you sink rapidly. Ankle deep, knee deep. Whether or not you squirm and fight against it, you are sinking. The mud is crushing and painful, and if you sink too deep it steals the breath from your lungs. There’s nothing to grab onto; you have to roll your dice quickly before that too gets sucked into the muddy quicksand.
Athene took a step forwards into the new space that he had been pushed into and made a face as his boot immediately sank into something with a loud squelching noise.
At least it didn't smell as bad as the previous square though–
Or perhaps it was just that the previous space had smelt so awful that this particular space smelt almost okay by comparison.
He heard Iðavöllr call out to him and called back to let her know that he seemed to be in some sort of swamp, complete with buzzing flies as he took another step–
Only it seemed that this time around he had somehow misstepped as first one and then the other foot started to sink with an awful squelching sound as mud started to cover his boots.
Athene instinctively tried to squirm against it, panicking - but that only served to have him sink faster, the mud both crushing and painful.
Somehow, somehow he managed to roll the dice even as he sank down to his knees–
And he had never been more relieved when the weird force appeared to push him onwards and away from this particular space.
Space 9: The smell of saltwater fills the air, and you can hear the water lapping against the shore. You hear boards creaking, and bells in the distance. And then, a song. Haunting. Ghostly, and calling you. For a second, you fall in love. And then, water fills your lungs. You’re choking, you can’t breathe. The song is loud and seems to caress you, even as a wet chill gathers in your square. Scaly hands reach for you, you gently caressing, and try to lure you into an endless sleep.
Iðavöllr landed in the next space in a tumble, as the smell of salt water filled her nostrils - and for a moment she was unable to find in it her to even move, memories of that awful dog from the previous space's howls in her ears as it sunk in just what a lucky escape she had had.
Well maybe it was a bit more than just a moment, maybe it was more like a few moments, but there was no one to see her - at least not that she could see–
And whilst she had been able to speak to Athene, it didn't seem like her cousin was landing on the same spaces as her and it was just as well as Iðavöllr wouldn't wish that dog on anyone.
Eventually she picked herself up, thoughts of her cousin having her open her mouth to call out to him - only Athene had spoken up first, had said something about being careful if she ended up on the swamp square–
And it had looked like he had been about to say something else, but then his voice had abruptly cut off.
She had started to call back to him, but then a song had started up.
Lilting, calling, boards creaking under her feet as they trod a path after haunting notes.
Thoughts fled, the song all, as caught up in its spell Iðavöllr followed, a stirring of warmth welling up in her heart - and then it was wet and water was closing in over her, the song still calling even as she started to cough–
And it was hazy, but she could dimly feel hands gently reach for her even as a small part of her mind screamed at her to do something, anything.
Had her hand raised?
It was hard to tell, but as a force tugged her forwards it seemed that perhaps the throw of her hand had been enough to cast the die–
And had been enough to whisk her away from the grasp of scaly hands.
Quote:
Space 16: As you step into your square, something cracks. At first, you can’t tell what it is, but as your full weight moves onto the square, the ground shifts beneath you. It’s cold, and it’s ice, and a hole falls underneath you, plunging you into frigid waters. There’s enough floating ice that you should still be able to roll the dice to get out of here, but you have to go quickly–you’re soaked, in chilly water, and something just swam by your feet.
"You need to be careful if you end up on the swamp square," Athene began as the strange force pushed him into yet another space "And…"
He had been about to warn Iðavöllr about the way that the mud had tried to suck him down and tell his cousin that she should try and roll her die as quickly as possible–
Because rolling the die had undoubtedly saved him and Athene dreaded to think of what would have happened if he hadn't managed to roll it when he had.
He hadn't had the chance to say anything further however, because he had barely managed to land on the new space proper before something started to crack.
The way that his boots had slid from under him on the ice that it turned out that this space appeared to be made up of hadn't helped either–
And whilst he had managed to avoid completely toppling over via some awkward and frantic hand windmilling, it seemed that it had been one (or even more than one) movement too many because because the ground had chosen that particular moment to shift and open up from under him sending him down into freezing cold waters with a yelp.
Somehow, somehow the die that he had dropped as he fell had managed to land on a nearby piece of floating ice–
And somehow he had managed to summon enough strength to eventually pull himself up on said piece of ice, without either sending the die tumbling or causing the piece of ice to break from under him.
He had been shivering when he had finally managed to scoop up the die, almost dropping it again from trembling fingers, but despite it all he had managed to roll it–
Which was just as well as it seemed like something had picked that moment to start swimming towards him and Athene was pretty certain that he did not want to meet whatever it was.
Space 10: A swampy smell fills the air. You take a step, and you seem to sink into it. Mud creeps over your feet, and you sink rapidly. Ankle deep, knee deep. Whether or not you squirm and fight against it, you are sinking. The mud is crushing and painful, and if you sink too deep it steals the breath from your lungs. There’s nothing to grab onto; you have to roll your dice quickly before that too gets sucked into the muddy quicksand.
Iðavöllr remembered Athene's warning just as the mysterious force that had so far been pushing her from space to space pushed her into the next space - unfortunately she was still coughing and feeling lightheaded from the previous space–
Not that it would made much difference. She had a feeling that the force would have pushed her in regardless.
She tumbled forward, her boots sinking downwards with a loud squelch, and then found to her horror that she kept sinking, mud and her heavy clothing more suited to the cold of her Wonder than to swamp mud dragging her ever downwards.
Was this what Athene was trying to warn her about? Before he had abruptly cut off?
The mud was crushing and painful, Iðavöllr sinking to her knees as she clutched at the die - and whilst she had no idea if rolling the die would even help here, it had saved her from the dog and had saved her from whatever had been lurking in the previous square too–
Besides Iðavöllr was not about to die, dragged down into swamp mud of all things - and it was bad enough that her clothes was all covered in both mud and stench.
Somehow, be it determination not to drown in swamp mud or be it something else, Iðavöllr managed to roll her die once again - and as the strange force once again pushed herself onwards, she had to hope that the next space was at least better than this–
And hopefully it would smell better too.
Quote:
Space 20: (Athene) The end; once you have arrived here you are free to leave. You will see be basked in the glow of a beautiful, opalescent aura that will take you back home. If you arrived with a guest, you can leave without them or choose to stay until they make it to the end as well. When you arrive back in Destiny City, you may choose to keep the six sided die–if nothing else, it’s pretty! Though, it doesn’t seem to have any magical qualities, that might be for the best.
Given his experiences of the previous spaces so far, Athene had been trying to brace himself for wherever it was that the mysterious force was going to push him next.
He was really hoping that it wouldn't be the ice space or some such similar space and hoping even more that it wouldn't be the swamp space–
And so it was a little anticlimactic when he landed on the square and nothing happened, Athene’s eyes blinking beneath the lenses of his glasses that had miraculously managed to stay with him and in one piece.
There was a portal, its aura beautiful and opalescent - but Athene made no moves to try and investigate as yet–
Not when it became quickly clear that his cousin was not on the space with him - which suggested that she was likely still being pushed space to space.
"Iðavöllr?" He made it a question, eyes peering backwards as he tried to spot his cousin, biting his lip in anxiety as he heard a sharp yelp from further backwards.
"Iðavöllr? Are you okay?"
litian rolled 1 6-sided dice:
6Total: 6 (1-6)
Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2022 4:53 am
Quote:
Space 16: As you step into your square, something cracks. At first, you can’t tell what it is, but as your full weight moves onto the square, the ground shifts beneath you. It’s cold, and it’s ice, and a hole falls underneath you, plunging you into frigid waters. There’s enough floating ice that you should still be able to roll the dice to get out of here, but you have to go quickly–you’re soaked, in chilly water, and something just swam by your feet.
Iðavöllr had heard her cousin calling to her, but had been somewhat tied up - namely that the ice that she had landed on had cracked from under her sending her tumbling downwards into freezing cold water–
And whilst it was true that her outfit was normally better suited for the cold given the cold of her Wonder, it was also currently wet and smelly 'courtesy' of the swamp muck from the mud that had been trying to kill her.
Fortunately she had also landed close to more floating ice, enough so for her to pull herself up onto it - but it had taken Iðavöllr a while to get the presence of mind enough to call back to her cousin.
"I'm okay" she managed to get out through chattering teeth, "Just ended up getting dunked." Only to have him call back and ask her if she was in a place full of water and ice.
And it had seemed when she had eventually called back in the affirmative that he had been in this particular space - had told her that there was something in the water, but that the exit wasn't that far off.
Come to think of it, it did seem like something was moving towards her, ripples getting ever closer to the piece of ice that she was on - and Iðavöllr had no wish to find out if whatever was approaching was friendly, not given her experiences so far–
She was still shivering as she rolled the die and hoped that Athene would turn out to be right and that an end to all of this was finally in sight.
Space 20: (Iðavöllr) The end; once you have arrived here you are free to leave. You will see be basked in the glow of a beautiful, opalescent aura that will take you back home. If you arrived with a guest, you can leave without them or choose to stay until they make it to the end as well. When you arrive back in Destiny City, you may choose to keep the six sided die–if nothing else, it’s pretty! Though, it doesn’t seem to have any magical qualities, that might be for the best.
And it seemed like Athene had been correct as Iðavöllr found herself pushed into the very last space - the one that she had seen from the beginning, before she rolled her die and ended up getting dragged from square to square.
Athene was there as well, her cousin looking to be in one piece, albeit as wet and dripping as she was.
"I..." She started before giving up and hugging him, the relief that she was there - that they were both there too overwhelming for words.
But whilst she was relieved that the two of them had both managed to somehow make it to what appeared to be the end, Iðavöllr had been loathe to linger - because whilst this particular space looked safe she didn't particularly want to see if there was something unfriendly lingering somewhere around after all.
So she had let Athene go and instead held out her hand.
"Together?"
Athene nodded and took the offered hand "Together" he agreed–
And then the two of them stepped through the pretty looking portal and away.
