WEEK 5

[whimsicalism]

Five deaths in one week. With the end of the last trial, you've lost eleven people in total. There's only ten people in the twisted wonderland of the Castle. Even if the new area is cheerful something seems just a little bit off. The arcade has gained a new arcade machine and the ghosts in the graveyard seem to have returned to their mechanical routines. Your powers, too, seem to be gone once more. It seems Halloween has ended for good now as your fifth week in this strange building continues.

Just when will this game end...?

Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday

[Welcome to Week 5! Don't forget to submit your memory losses and your weekly AC here. The Alices can be found in their audience hall. However, the Queen can be found roaming the castle this week! Just put 'Alice' in the headline and she might pay your character a visit. As always, don't forget to turn in threads for fabulous prizes.]

Comments

Investigation and Open

[octopups]

[Investigation]

[After Alice's meeting and the envelops, Amdi goes off to be alone. He hasn't been to the new area yet, so for lack of any particular destination he goes there.]

[He ends up in the hall of mirrors, and for a moment he just stands in the entranceway totally fascinated. Silvered mirrors are rare and expensive on Tinesword and these are the biggest he's ever seen.]

[He walks a couple members in and looks around. What's he see?]

[What's that in the mirror?]

[Eventually, though, he can simply be found laying in a clump in the mirror hall, staring into one particular mirror. Eight little human kids sit staring back, five boys and three girls, all around 7 or 8 years old, all of them brown-skinned and black haired. He still has the envelope with him.]

[If he hears someone come into the maze he won't leave, but he will turn a couple of heads to look around.]

Who's there?

[whimsicalism]

[There are many strange sights in the mirrors. Such as seeing himself as eight incredibly tall Tines instead.

Though... there is something amiss among the odd mirrors. He might see something moving in one of the mirrors, though just one.]

[octopups]

[Oh hey, that's kinda neat! Amdi's going to trot a member up and examine the surface of mirror where he looks tall. He knows a little bit about optics, so he's expecting it to have an outward bend. Does it?]

[At the same time, another one of him catches the movement out of the corner of its eye and he snaps a couple of heads around to look in that direction, and then (perhaps a little more cautiously) walk a couple of members toward that mirror too. If it's too far away from the tall-making mirror, he'll reluctantly string himself out a bit.]

[whimsicalism]

[While most of the mirrors don't have bends, this one does. Luckily this seems to be a purely optical illusion.

It's a bit away from the fun house mirror but there definitely is some movement now that he's seen it. It looks like a small human.]

[octopups]

[Amdi barely has time feel reassured by the fact that not all weird things in the castle are magic, before the other sight percolates all the way through his mind and he realizes: someone else is in here.]

[He spooks and bunches up, pulling himself away from both mirrors towards the center of the hallway, but even in the little scramble he always keeps at least one member's gaze on the small human figure.]

H-hello??

[Now he's listening just as much as he's watching. Can he hear anything associated with this figure? Footsteps, breathing?]

[whimsicalism]

[The shadowy figure doesn't make a noise. The figure does jump a little at suddenly seeing him. It's as silent as a reflection, though at his greeting one hand raises up. It might not be a universal gesture, though.

Though... the figure begins to... count? At least, that's a potential interpretation of the figure turning slightly and touching their fingers.]

[octopups]

[Seeing something that makes zero noise is actually pretty freaky for tines. Even most of the weird space technology he's encountered emits some kind of ultrasonic hum. darnit right back to this magic stuff]

[He starts to creep a member towards the figure again, but all the rest of him are also sticking their heads up at various angles and watching wide-eyed from their nervous puppy pile. The hand raising in greeting actually seems to calm him a little, though, he's seen Jefri and Ravna do that.]

[Is there anything in particular he can discern about this child's appearance? Boy, girl, etc? Do they look anything like anyone he knows?]

[whimsicalism]

[They look fairly small compared to the other children though details of the face and clothing are indistinct. From the general outline it does look like they're wearing some kind of dress; fortunately it's not as frilly as the Alices.

The figure pauses, turning around and around for a bit before disappearing for a few brief moments. Then they're back with what looks like some paper and a pen. It looks like the writing isn't blurred.

They hold it up then realizing it might be backwards turn it around.]

y r you in my mirrer

[octopups]

[Amdi had never actually seen dresses or skirts before coming here, but between Oriko and Manaka and Dark Dream and the Alices he has gotten the impression that they're a girl thing, so he assumes this is a very young human girl.]

[He watches her walk away from the... glass? His member near the mirror examines closer. Can he see himself or any thing else on his side in this "mirror", or is it more like he's looking through a window into another room?]

[When the figure comes back, it takes him a sec to read the words but through castle magic after squinting at it for a moment he finally parses it and his heads prick up in startled confusion staring at her.]

What? You're... you're in my mirror!

[A moment after he speaks it occurs to him that maybe she can't hear him either, so a couple more members walk up to the glass and breath on it to fog it up, while another writes with its nose:]

my mirror

[Fortunately, he remembers to write it backwards so that someone on the other side of the glass can read it. Unfortunately the only human language Amdi knows is Far Future Space Norwegian, so while the letters are clearly latin-adjacent, it probably looks kinda like:]

mʏſt spœʏl

[whimsicalism]

[It actually appears like nothing is reflected in this mirror. It's far more like a window and he can see what looks like a spacious bedroom in the background. It's not like the bedrooms in the suites, though, it's far too big. Like the child it seems whatever magic is projecting this image is blurring it.

They pause then scrawl a response. Like before, their writing is large and messy.]

no my mirrer! >:(

[octopups]

[Okay Amdi just gonna assume this is some kind of window now. He strings a few members a little way down the hall in either direction to see if there's a nearby bend or anything else that would theoretically constrain the size of this other "room", but since he already knows that castle geometry is a dirty cheater he's not gonna look that hard. Fourth spacial dimension and all that.]

[Two of Amdi are still in front of the "mirror", so one breathes and the other writes:]

window?

[whimsicalism]

[Nope. None here but yeah, castle geometry is weird and cheats.

The mirror child stops and touches their side of the mirror. Then leans in -- unfortunately this doesn't make them seem clearer -- then:]

y can i c your room its not a window!!

[octopups]

[Even Amdi knows that most other kids don't know about theoretical topology so he just writes:]

magic?

[The rest of him come back, all clumped in front of the mirrorwindow now. A moment later he writes:]

who you?
im amdi

[whimsicalism]

molly

[octopups]

hi molly

where you

[whimsicalism]

my room

[octopups]

[Ok fair. He fogs up a larger area than usual to write more.]

where do you live?

[whimsicalism]

greenfield

but i dont think my house is there anymore :(

[octopups]

[Well that's ominous.]

oh no :(

what happen?

[whimsicalism]

:(

cant leave room. too snowy outside window

dont know where papa is

[octopups]

[!!! Amdi is visibly alarmed by this news. His first thought was that she was like them, trapped in a place like the Castle, but this...]

how long??

[whimsicalism]

[The figure shakes their head.]

dont know was sleeping until now

[octopups]

[Well that at least sounds familiar.]

i woke up too

new place tho

have food?

[Amdi has gleaned a little bit about seige warfare from the messages he translated between Steel and Ravna, so he knows food and water is important if you're stuck someplace.]

[whimsicalism]

dont know will looks. sleepy though

[octopups]

ok rest

will come back