Cardinal had been out on patrol when she noticed something in the alleyway. It was a strange little wooden die with opalescent looking marbling in it six sided. She decided it was a strange thing to leave and didn't want any poor animals' choking on it so she picked it up. However, she wasn't expecting to end up in some weird space.
It was dark here, and she could see the outline of the board with the spaces numbered. Otherwise there was no telling where she was, almost like she was trapped in some weird game simulator where everything but the path was pitch black. She couldn't tell if she was going to fall off the side or not if she tried to walk off the board.
She supposed the only thing she could do -- was play the game. Even though she didn't like how heavy the air felt or how the odd gold writing on the squares looked.
Space 0:
tab You have arrived here; nothing happens until you roll your die.
Space 1:
tab 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.
Space 2:
tab Something pale and ghostly slams into your back; you don’t see it, but it feels like it’s trying to push you forward–or to the side, or off the path. Thankfully, the magical glass walls stop you from going too far, but this is jarring–and might hurt.
Space 3:
tab A strange fog rolls in once you land here. You lose sight of nearly everything, including the game board. If you want to roll, you’re going to have to get close to the ground to even see where you’re supposed to go next. Hopefully nothing sneaks up behind you.
Space 4:
tab 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.
Space 5:
tab 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.
Space 6:
tab You hear a shrill, humming noise; it sounds almost like something is firing past you–and sometimes, you even feel a sharp burst of air, like something has just missed you. Maybe, even, it does get a slice out of you. Sharp, bladelike threads seem to string up around you; you’d best be careful not to get cut on any of them between now and your next dice roll.
Space 7:
tab Something is twitching and flapping above you, and while you might be minding your own business, something is a little too invested in what you’re doing. You can’t see them, but you suddenly hear shrill, high pierced noises that are disorienting and confusing. They can bring about dizziness and pain and can cause vertigo if you’re stuck in them for too long.
Space 8:
tab Something slithers across your foot, so fast that you might have thought you imagined it. Except, a few seconds later, it happens again. And then, again. Snakes keep moving across your space. If you move, they see you–and they might bite. Some of them hiss, some are capable of spraying a poisonous liquid that can cause itchiness or burning.
Space 9:
tab 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.
Space 10:
tab 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.
Space 11:
tab You hear a frantic flapping above you, but that’s all the warning you get before a hoard of bats descend. They scratch and slap and screech, but you avoid getting bitten. For now. You’ve invaded their space and they seem keen to defend it. You can try to fight them, but the only way to escape them is to roll again.
Space 12:
tab The smell of smoke is in the air. You can’t see what’s burning, but you can hear distant screams, and–carnival music? It feels like people are running past you, and the air fills with panic and alarm–but there’s nowhere for you to go, and the smoke is so thick. You’d better roll quickly so you can get out of here.
Space 13:
tab At first, the square is quiet. Nothing seems amiss. It’s unnerving in how safe it seems. But then, it only takes a few seconds before you understand why. It’s just taken a moment for them to get to you. The patter of tiny feet is rapidly approaching. There’s no light to see them, but there’s a reflection in their beady eyes. Rats. Thousands of them. Chittering, frothing in the mouth. These are strangely grotesque, mutated abominations. They’re running at you like they haven’t got a fear in the world–only, hungry. And rage. If they get to you, they’ll eat you alive. The ground is trembling with their weight. You’d better roll quickly if you don’t wind up a meal.
Space 14:
tab The ground is sticky. You land on this and immediately dip, as though you’ve stepped on a trampoline. Close inspection reveals that you are standing on an intricately woven web–and your shoes are stuck. And something is skittering just on the horizon.
Space 15:
tab Bats. Maybe you missed them attacking earlier, but they’re back again, and angrier than ever. Instead of just screeching or scratching, they’re swooping down and biting now–and the effects are instantaneous. The little teeth are sharp and painful, but once bitten you might feel agitated and prone to violence, and you might feel perpetually cold and hungry with no relief in sight. The effects might last when you leave the square–or they might linger for a few hours or days after you get out of here.
Space 16:
tab 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.
Space 17:
tab Something howls in the distance. It’s loud and echoes with such ferocity it seems to shake you. On the other side of you–another howl. Closer. This one is loud enough to hurt your ears. The ground trembles with the force of something charging at you. A growl, a snarl. Yellow eyes staring you down. There’s not just one monster out there–there’s several, and they’re all coming for you.
Space 18:
tab You smell something poison, something noxious. You pass through a haze of strange, green gas as you enter the square, but it fades after a few seconds. You feel cold. You feel empty. You start to decay. Maybe a part of you knows it’s an illusion, but in that split second when your body feels like it might go limp and when you look at your hand and see skin melting. You see bone. You’d best roll the dice so you don’t wind up a skeleton prop for the next player.
Space 19:
tab You’re so close! Almost at the end! But the space you’re standing on shifts and shakes and seems to crumble beneath you. You have to hold on; there’s nowhere to fall but down into the deep abyss. If you manage to hang on for long enough, you find some invisible purchase and can pull yourself back up, but it’s quite the ordeal. Make sure you don’t get cut on falling spaces! The ground restores itself once you roll again.
Space 20:
tab 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.
tab You have arrived here; nothing happens until you roll your die.
Space 1:
tab 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.
Space 2:
tab Something pale and ghostly slams into your back; you don’t see it, but it feels like it’s trying to push you forward–or to the side, or off the path. Thankfully, the magical glass walls stop you from going too far, but this is jarring–and might hurt.
Space 3:
tab A strange fog rolls in once you land here. You lose sight of nearly everything, including the game board. If you want to roll, you’re going to have to get close to the ground to even see where you’re supposed to go next. Hopefully nothing sneaks up behind you.
Space 4:
tab 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.
Space 5:
tab 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.
Space 6:
tab You hear a shrill, humming noise; it sounds almost like something is firing past you–and sometimes, you even feel a sharp burst of air, like something has just missed you. Maybe, even, it does get a slice out of you. Sharp, bladelike threads seem to string up around you; you’d best be careful not to get cut on any of them between now and your next dice roll.
Space 7:
tab Something is twitching and flapping above you, and while you might be minding your own business, something is a little too invested in what you’re doing. You can’t see them, but you suddenly hear shrill, high pierced noises that are disorienting and confusing. They can bring about dizziness and pain and can cause vertigo if you’re stuck in them for too long.
Space 8:
tab Something slithers across your foot, so fast that you might have thought you imagined it. Except, a few seconds later, it happens again. And then, again. Snakes keep moving across your space. If you move, they see you–and they might bite. Some of them hiss, some are capable of spraying a poisonous liquid that can cause itchiness or burning.
Space 9:
tab 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.
Space 10:
tab 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.
Space 11:
tab You hear a frantic flapping above you, but that’s all the warning you get before a hoard of bats descend. They scratch and slap and screech, but you avoid getting bitten. For now. You’ve invaded their space and they seem keen to defend it. You can try to fight them, but the only way to escape them is to roll again.
Space 12:
tab The smell of smoke is in the air. You can’t see what’s burning, but you can hear distant screams, and–carnival music? It feels like people are running past you, and the air fills with panic and alarm–but there’s nowhere for you to go, and the smoke is so thick. You’d better roll quickly so you can get out of here.
Space 13:
tab At first, the square is quiet. Nothing seems amiss. It’s unnerving in how safe it seems. But then, it only takes a few seconds before you understand why. It’s just taken a moment for them to get to you. The patter of tiny feet is rapidly approaching. There’s no light to see them, but there’s a reflection in their beady eyes. Rats. Thousands of them. Chittering, frothing in the mouth. These are strangely grotesque, mutated abominations. They’re running at you like they haven’t got a fear in the world–only, hungry. And rage. If they get to you, they’ll eat you alive. The ground is trembling with their weight. You’d better roll quickly if you don’t wind up a meal.
Space 14:
tab The ground is sticky. You land on this and immediately dip, as though you’ve stepped on a trampoline. Close inspection reveals that you are standing on an intricately woven web–and your shoes are stuck. And something is skittering just on the horizon.
Space 15:
tab Bats. Maybe you missed them attacking earlier, but they’re back again, and angrier than ever. Instead of just screeching or scratching, they’re swooping down and biting now–and the effects are instantaneous. The little teeth are sharp and painful, but once bitten you might feel agitated and prone to violence, and you might feel perpetually cold and hungry with no relief in sight. The effects might last when you leave the square–or they might linger for a few hours or days after you get out of here.
Space 16:
tab 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.
Space 17:
tab Something howls in the distance. It’s loud and echoes with such ferocity it seems to shake you. On the other side of you–another howl. Closer. This one is loud enough to hurt your ears. The ground trembles with the force of something charging at you. A growl, a snarl. Yellow eyes staring you down. There’s not just one monster out there–there’s several, and they’re all coming for you.
Space 18:
tab You smell something poison, something noxious. You pass through a haze of strange, green gas as you enter the square, but it fades after a few seconds. You feel cold. You feel empty. You start to decay. Maybe a part of you knows it’s an illusion, but in that split second when your body feels like it might go limp and when you look at your hand and see skin melting. You see bone. You’d best roll the dice so you don’t wind up a skeleton prop for the next player.
Space 19:
tab You’re so close! Almost at the end! But the space you’re standing on shifts and shakes and seems to crumble beneath you. You have to hold on; there’s nowhere to fall but down into the deep abyss. If you manage to hang on for long enough, you find some invisible purchase and can pull yourself back up, but it’s quite the ordeal. Make sure you don’t get cut on falling spaces! The ground restores itself once you roll again.
Space 20:
tab 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.
