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Post by Bee on Dec 21, 2008 22:32:27 GMT -5
The voice, when it replied, sounded offended by the implication that her letter was somehow deficient. Thalia wondered what exactly the girl's letter said; Thalia hadn't thought hers was a load of hogwash at all, so either she just a remarkably credulous person with too much experience with Corvies or the mouse-faced girl's note said something very different.
She listened attentively to their hostess.
"There is, you will find, nothing pertaining to hogwash in your letter. I pride myself on flawless accuracy and consistency. It is my nature. I brought you both here to perform a mutually advantageous venture. You two bright young girls will participate in a series of experimental tests for me; in return, you, Miss Thalia, will gain the invaluable scientific experience you crave and you, Miss Senka, will get the information you desire. I see nothing hogwash about that."
Well, you couldn't say fairer than that. Thalia looked at her new partner and gave a friendly smile. "Only one way to find out, eh?"
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Dark
Five of Diamonds
Bladed Hare
You are not prepared.
Posts: 2,105
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Post by Dark on Dec 27, 2008 2:10:43 GMT -5
Senka didn’t find herself particularly pleased with the situation, but the freakishly-colored girl did have a point: there really was only one way to find out, and that would mean cooperating with the disembodied voice of the Madam—no matter how much it rubbed Senka’s fur the wrong way—until such a time that Senka got to the bottom of the entire affair. And there was something going on here.
Senka glanced at her impromptu companion, nodding absently, “I don’t suppose I have a choice.” Honestly, though, she couldn’t understand how the girl could look so thrilled about an unknown entity with (more than likely) sinister intentions. Corvies. Unless the girl was more involved than Senka had first thought, but if she was then the girl was a very good actor. Or Senka wasn’t as good reading people as she had thought; an unpleasant notion.
She cocked her head and spoke to the room at large, “What would you have us do?”
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Post by Bee on Dec 27, 2008 4:14:36 GMT -5
Senka did not appear to be too enthusiastic about the proceedings; Thalia wondered again exactly what kind of amazing information Madame Van Echovald must have to get her to stick around despite her reservations.
The good madam answered the Corvie girl's question promptly: "The first test is merely one to assess your problem-solving skills and perseverance. There is a room connected to this one that can be accessed via the far door on your left. Inside you will find a number of large storage boxes and hidden hideaways, all accessed by enchanted circles. They are fixed to send you to different locations. You need to figure out the sequence that will land you into the box with a small silver key."
A puzzle! Thalia loved puzzles. "Anything else we should know?" she asked. In her experience, Corvie matters were never as simple as they seemed. "Any hidden pits of lava, spike traps, exploding chewtoys?"
There was a short silence. "Lava is very difficult to import; you'll have to make due with a couple of uncomfortably small spaces."
"Right then. Senka! Let's go."
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Dark
Five of Diamonds
Bladed Hare
You are not prepared.
Posts: 2,105
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Post by Dark on Dec 29, 2008 19:42:37 GMT -5
Exploding chewtoys? Senka followed Thalia reluctantly to the indicated door, peering in through the glass viewing window before pushing the door open. When nothing immediately leapt out to attack them, she sidled cautiously into the room.
It looked like a fairly standard warehouse--boxes, crates, and catwalks--except for the glowing circles randomly placed about the room and that the catwalks didn't connect to anything--they were little isolated islands suspended 20 feet above groundlevel, each with its own glowing circle.
Senka considered the Madam's "enchanted circles" uneasily; she didn't particularly care for unfamiliar magic, and didn't care to think of any possible consequences that might come from coming in contact with it. She eased in for a closer look. Only one way to find out.
She walked into the circle.
For one disorienting second she thought that something had gone horrible wrong, and then she was on one of the catwalks, looking down at Thalia.
"Hey!"
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Post by Bee on Dec 29, 2008 20:14:11 GMT -5
Thalia glanced up to where her new friend had been teleported, smiled, and waved. Thalia wasn't so much worried about the high places, for the time being. She could fly. Not well, mind, but enough to get her from place to place. For about five minutes. Well, maybe she should be a bit more worried; she was a general failure at flight. She thought maybe having actual wings would help, but that would likely just make her more of a mess. She didn't need any extra appendages.
She frowned thoughtfully. They would need to keep careful track of sequences. The pad Senka had stepped on led to that particular catwalk. Duly noted. She debated for a moment whether to follow her friend to keep track of everything or take a different track.
They may as well take advantage of the fact that there were two of them; if Senka was in an enclosed space with the next jump, she wouldn't be able to see where in the room she was situated. "Senka, why don't you keep following the pads. If you land in a box, make a lot of noise. I'll try to see if there's...a method to the madness, I guess."
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Dark
Five of Diamonds
Bladed Hare
You are not prepared.
Posts: 2,105
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Post by Dark on Dec 30, 2008 16:45:39 GMT -5
Senka sighed; she didn't particularly like playing guniea pig, but it was the easiest way to keep track of sequences. They would have to be systematic about how they solved the damn puzzle, or it was liable to take hours, days even; it was a big warehouse.
The second ring on the catwalk transported her to another catwalk clear across the room; there were two additional rings, and she carefully weighed her options. The one she choose led her to a crate with nothing in it; she transported back.
"That one is a deadend."
She stepped into the second circle and found herself crammed in a short, long narrow crate. Fighting down panic, she pounded on the side, "Here, Thalia." She inched forward on her belly towards the glow of the second ring, touched it, and drew in a shaky breath as she found herself in the open air again. She was up on top of a giant pile of crates.
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Post by Bee on Dec 30, 2008 17:55:53 GMT -5
Thalia filed Senka's locations away in her brain and tried to piece together a pattern. Catwalk, catwalk, crate, top of crate. Here, there, everywhere. Bleh.
"Come now," said Madame Arborea, voice slightly grainy through the speakers and a little more amused than was probably necessary. "You're smart girls. I'll give you a helpful hint: it's in the small box way up in the left corner. Now get to it."
Thalia frowned. Senka jumped from pad to pad. Catwalk, northwest corner of the room, high. Catwalk, southwest corner of the room, low. Crate, southwest, low. The tops of the crates didn't seem to have any bearing on anything, like they were put there to make you think they mattered but they didn't. The crate they wanted was in was northeast, high. She frowned even more deeply.
"Senka, can you get back to the low catwalk in the southeast corner? I think you only need to backtrack once or twice. Then take the other pad on there...I think it will lead to a higher catwalk...and then that should lead to our crate...."
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Dark
Five of Diamonds
Bladed Hare
You are not prepared.
Posts: 2,105
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Post by Dark on Dec 31, 2008 2:13:34 GMT -5
Senka headed back the way she came--from the crate she was stuck in, to the catwalk in the southwest corner, and finally to the catwalk in the northwest corner. She was getting dizzy from the constant change in scenery, and was starting to develop a rather fierce dislike of enclosed spaces. Not that she would ever admit it to anyone.
She stepped onto the indicated pad and found herself higher up along the same wall on another catwalk; one more to go if Thalia was correct. She really hoped it was the last; she reached out a paw to touch the pad.
She fought down the initial swell of panic; she could see well enough from the glow of the pad, but she didn't like it. She could almost feel the walls closing in on her.
She shook the feeling off, peering around the tiny space. There. A glimmer of silver, tucked in the far corner. She grabbed it, and teleported back into the open.
"Got it."
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Post by Bee on Dec 31, 2008 14:05:15 GMT -5
Thalia grinned. "Sweet!"
She eyed the little key in Senka's paw. She wondered what it unlocked.
"You two hold onto that key for a little while," said Madame Arborea.
Thalia wondered where they were going to store it, seeing as neither of them had so much as a pouch, when she remembered that she was basically a walking, talking, thieving storage system. She snaked out a tendril of hair and gently lifted the key from Senka, winding it up securely in the thick, writhing mass.
The good madame told them that they could proceed to the next room. Through the door was another staircase, this one bronze and spiraling, that led down a dark, narrow channel that reminded Thalia of an empty well.
At the bottom there was an opening. Thalia poked it to make sure it wasn't a door. It was. She futzed about for the handle and opened it.
This room was entirely barren. The floors were concrete and cold. It took her a moment to see the dark red figures painted across the walls.
"It's a sequence of numbers. Please find the missing ones and then assemble them into the correct order. Remember that number."
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Dark
Five of Diamonds
Bladed Hare
You are not prepared.
Posts: 2,105
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Post by Dark on Feb 7, 2009 2:18:13 GMT -5
A sequence? That should be simple enough, though they'd need something to write on; she rummaged in her satchel for the notebook and graphite she was in the habit of carrying--you never knew when the urge to compose might strike. Flipping to a blank page she started jotting down numbers.
107. 157. 13. 79. 113. 17. 149. 199. 71.
She frowned, contemplative. It wasn't like any sort of sequence she had ever seen; it didn't make logical order, no matter how she rearranged them. What was the connection? After several failed attempts, Senka handed the notebook to Thalia, "Can you make any sense out of this?"
What sort of good would a sequence do them, besides? All of this was pointless, and Senka couldn't fathom a reason for any of it. Were they the entertainment for some eccentric Corvistowne, or was all of this really the machinations of a machine? It was mind-boggling to even consider.
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