The Game - Gathering the players [Team Dawn, closed]

[Evarette Karmine]

Evarette started at the sudden approach of a new player...or, what she assumed to be a new player. The man strolled forcibly by, with hardly a passing glance, uttering something about how the rest of them should go in, less they turn to stone. Eva wrinkled her nose after him, indigo depths flitting from Ivar to the gate..."Well, can't win the game from out here, can we?" ...and with a shrug, Ivar strode after the hurried stranger, the gentle plodding of Ivar's hooves reverberating in her wake. Auburn brows were soon drawn into an expression of consternation as Evarette took in her new surroundings. Buildings, some crumbling in a state of shabby disrepair, other bearing curious markers and signs. It was as though she'd entered another world entirely, were meaning lay subtly hidden between suggestive phrases. The architecture struck her as vaguely familiar, and it was with a start Eva recognized the similarities between the castle and the Watchtower she'd stumbled across in the Sea of Grass. Vanator's face surfaced in the back of her mind, but Eva's thoughts of him were arrested by what lay near the entrance to the keep. A heart. A beating heart. Evarette eyed it suspiciously, reading the inscription twice before turning to the elegant woman who'd spoken...How out of place everything was! The woman's gown dazzled Eva...she'd never seen the like of it before. Such satine and lace, the color alone was something rich to her eyes. What was more, she seemed to move with such ethereal grace...and yet vaguely, it reminded Eva of the fluidity of the hunting cats back home. Deadly grace, her thoughts provided, and she spared a glance towards the heart once again...it was clear by her expression she was loathe to touch the thing.

[Jaeden Kincade]

He remained paused at the entrance, his gaze shifting between the beating heart and the inscription that came with it for a long moment. He looked to the door after, seeing no immediate way of opening it, but he soon dismissed any further thought of it until it could be inspected a little closer. The others soon stepped just beyond the portcullis, Karona being the first, he found himself shaking his head at her initial comment. "I'm not sure that's such a grand idea without first inspecting the entire area first," Jaeden suggested before taking a couple steps further into the courtyard. His gaze then dropped to the ground of the courtyard. Instinctively, he began scanning the grounds for tracks. Clues perhaps of previous tenants or visitors to this castle before them. If a initial trail could be picked up, it could give some vague clues in the long run, or at possibly an idea of something else that may lurk within the castle itself. Small, slow steps were then taken as he inched further beyond the portcullis, occasionally raising his head to look out for what might actually be in front of him this time. He had the bad habit of accidentally bumping into things on occasion when he tracked, and he was sure he didn't want to do that here. The "Opportunity" and "Question" shops caught his attention almost immediately when he looked up on one occasion, but for the time being he would search the grounds themselves. "Please do yell to get my attention should anything begin clawing it's way up from under the earth behind me," Jaeden requested out to the rest of the group. Occasionally, Jaeden would crouch and reach down to the ground, running his fingers slightly over an area before him. He wasn't an expert tracker by any means, but he did want to more thoroughly check whether what he saw in the ground was a track left by someone or something taking a step, or just a natural divot left in the ground my natural process of the earth itself. Standing back up strait, Jaeden then reached to the buckle at his waist. A quick flick of his thumb unfastened the buckle to his large backpack, letting it hang more idly by along his shoulders rather than the whole of his back. It made carrying such weight a little more awkward, but he wanted to be able to drop the pack at a moments notice in the event he needed to move around more easily.

[Danica]

((Sorry guys next one will be better. Been busy))

“I don’t think you should point out what everyone else knows as well as yourself,” Danica replied, not really even looking at Alistair but staring up at the castle rising into the sky. “I’m Danica,” She said lightly, since everyone else had seemingly already exchanged greetings. Altari nickered softly at Ivar and Danica smiled at him, making friends already. She ran her hands over the archway as the other spoke, more interested in the architecture at the moment rather than the conversation going on. Once everyone was telling each other about their skills she started to listen.

“Well maybe we should all try to stay innocent but pick two or three people we want to be the innocents. That way others can work on protecting them without losing innocent status?” Danica wasn’t good at this sort of thing but she didn’t want to lose either. Anything contributed was something, even if it was just another idea to cross off the list of things that wouldn’t work. She shrugged and turned to face the group, leaning against the archway. Altari trotted over to her. She wanted to leave him behind, in case anything happened she wanted him to be okay. He was a smart horse, he’d survive.

“Okay well I’m Danica, as I said. My skills are mostly invested in the equine but I can tell some plants apart, not really helpful, and the rest are mostly survival which also won’t be helpful.” She gave a small shrug.

When she finished addressing the other she heard a distinct noise, the sound of a drawbridge lowering. She turned and watched it settle into place. She followed the rest into the castle and let her eyes wander as she looked around, drinking it all in. She stayed out of the conversation mostly even when the new player arrived. She stayed close to the group and half-listened, half-looked. Her eye was caught by the rhythmic movement of something and she followed the group to look at it.

“You want us to touch the beating heart?” Danica made a face. A glance at Evarette told her the woman thought the same thing of the idea.

[Karona Isenbach]

OOC: No offense meant, just acting according to character. ^^ In the tense atmosphere surrounding the game's domain, it was a fitness test. Everything that one had in his or her arsenal had to be shown out and dished for the benefit of the group. Yet while the mercurial Karona had none of these intentions in mind, the curiosity that enveloped the origins of the giant wheel of fate they were running then sullied her mood somewhat. It was definitely not a good time to grate on her nerves, something which everyone around her, particularly the two Drykas women, were beginning to provoke. Apparently both were conceding of their uselessness to the team; this Karona somewhat appreciated, for it was a fact that she had seen from the onset of the run. An instant revulsion towards them swelled up within her, and while her features did not rigorously demonstrate her distaste, each one of her fingers tingled with the desire to burn them with the torturous thoughts and punishments she could inflict. Strangely she held back her urges, wanting to see what use they could provide in the long run. The moment the mysterious lady in flowing crimson heard the protesting question from the Drykas girl named Danica however, she froze in her little show in the center of the courtyard, letting her lithely raised arms descend slowly to her sides. There she stood like a regally garbed statue for a few seconds, with only the wind pushing her fine clothes into movement. Her lips were, likewise, frozen in place, a smile indented into them. A quick alien turn from her head revealed that her eyes were no longer so amused. The golden flashes from each radiant orb burned with incredible fury, and she stared hard at both Danica and Evarette with a terrifying, almost murderous glare. Coupling this with a brilliant yet animalistic grin from her gave the facial gesture a very sadistic and troubling appearance. "Please do cease your protestations, dear little girls. Do as you are told." she whispered in a voice that was almost sickeningly sweet, sharply contrasting with her half-hidden rage. Her lace-covered fingers shook with an apparent desire to touch something of theirs, and she eyed their horses with a pleasured disdain. In the end she resorted to clasping them to her face instead, laughing pompously and jadedly at the situation they were in. Finally revolving her eyes at the others around her like an inspecting menace, she took hold of the linings of her dress and curtsied politely once more. "Very well, the heart shall be left alone. For now." she declared, moving over towards the smallest one in the group, the hooded figure called Devandre. She gently soothed her fingers over his low shoulders, the tiny half Dhani-Symenestra dwarfed by her ideal womanly height. She secretly wondered what good such a small man would be in such a deadly venture, but nonetheless she took quick note of the bow and pack of arrows that he carried with him. "Oooh. You are an archer, good sir?" she inquired, a hint of more supple tactics lining her voice. Her fingers started to play at his locks, seemingly amused at how small and compact he is. She completely ignored the others, not caring if they were observing her odd movements and demeanor carefully or not.

[Devandre]

Devandre walked through the portcullis and into the grassy courtyard of the castle. Directly in front of him were a tower and the other castle wall. The courtyard revealed that the castle wasn’t as large as it looked to be from the outside, but it didn’t bother him it was still a magnificent building to behold. Exploring further he approached the tall central tower. Not minding the others argument over the heart on the pedestal, he gently pushes on the door to test it. Devandre talked to himself as he turned his gaze to the heart, examining it closer he mutters to himself. “How quaint, I wonder if I can get one of thessse to decorate my humble adobe?” Devandre’s curiosity overrides his thought of future outcomes as he gently picks up the beating heart in his hand, looking for a mean to unlock the method to this beating heart. To his surprise he could feel the heart’s warmth travel to through his gauntlets. “Remarkable it’s warm as well.” It dawned on Devandre that the heart must be genuine, “Wicked” He soon feels a sensation as the women that got away from his original vision approached him from the behind. Perfect he thought to himself. “Hello fair skin, that iss a very good guess. What gave it away?” He said passively and sarcastic, not quite knowing how to react to the women playing with his hair. “Hmm if you like it that much why don’t you get a little closer and block the other’ss view seductress.” He said this as he reaches for the loose arrow on his back in the other hand was the beating heart. “I will stop you until you sstop me, a shame I kind of wanted to rip out the pedestal and keep this as memorabilia from ancient times.” He brings the very sharp and poisonous end of the tip of the arrow to the heart, turning to look at the tall gangly-armed Symenestra in the eyes for the first time. His now yellowed slitted eyes narrowing in on her face, “Should I do it?” He asks the Symenestra questioningly, smiling a little as he lets someone else for the first time make a decision for him. He studied her face for a bit, before saying. "How about I start the arrow going through the heart surely that will give me full penalty. Then you push it completely in and take the heart for yourself like you have taken mine."

[Karona Isenbach]

Hearing how receptive the little mixed-blood was to her smallest showings of attraction made the blood flowing in the dark lady's veins dance. This came out surging from her lips in the form of a melodious laugh, drawing a fan out from within her dress to shield it in a shy manner as it went. "Hmmm? Oho. You flatter me, dear sir. How very charming." her eyes rolled playfully as she let out a sigh, each finger still curling around the locks of his hair as he threatened to poke the artifice with an arrow. Drawing back a little she bent down in front of him, looking at the beating heart with a sinner's flare wracking her golden pupils. Her hand reached out in earnest, hovering in a teasing manner right above Devandre's face. Her ruby lips smiled evilly as her slender fingers drew closer to the tip of his nose, some chilling power growing more intense with every covered inch. In her eyes could clearly be seen the madness that obviously graced her every action, her flesh's obsessive tinging to draw upon her rich curses trying savagely to inundate her. When her index finger was a mere hair's breadth away from his skin, it slowly descended towards his throat, making an invisible trail down to his chest, his abdomen, all the way down to where it surely would pleasure him to be touched. The rhythmic movements of her hands seemed to cup the place around his thighs in full, her palms sliding up and down in coy movements in front of it without actually resting upon it. The elaborate Glassbeak feather fan played around his eyes, her own golden ones beautifully shining through the filmy ornamentations. "I think..." she began in a sultry, throaty voice, a smile curving her delectable lips like a fruit begging to be picked, "...you shouldn't poke your pointy things into innocent people's hearts, darling." With this she brought her still-suspended fingers to gently touch the heart. Even through Devandre's steel gauntlets he would have probably felt something strange about the eviscerated organ he was holding. While it had been odorless before, it now fumed with a stench which would have made the hardiest of men bawl over in fright. Smirking at her handiwork, the crimson lady stood back up to her full height and grinned at the small man below her. "Now you can poke it all you want, for innocence once there... Has now been lost. Do take it to the black door once you're finished playing with it." Her eyes once again grew hard and crystalline. Directed towards Alistair and the two Drykas women she had admonished earlier, the smile etched across her mouth straightened to a more serious one. "My dears, would you please go and explore the buildings over there?" her left arm raised towards the direction, her index finger propping up in pointing. "Draw something of use there for this team to cherish you for." Her gaze, which shone against the dinginess of the castle, resonated with her commanding aura, and her wraith-like movements froze perfectly once more. She stood there in front of Devandre like an ancient stone sentinel, the fan still in her gingerly fingers staying raised to the direction she was sending them to.

[Devandre]

“Hum her her” He chuckled strangely. “Charming? I have never been called that before.” He was about to start to pierce the heart when the Symenestra’s movements distracted him; she crouched at eye level with him. “Well you look even better down here.” He smiled before noticing her fingers draw close to his nose. He fallowed the hand’s movements down as it past his neck, slowly moving down his chest and lower. He wasn’t sure what she was doing but knew at the time he would of welcomed the touches. “I shouldn’t poke pointy things into innocents heart hmm?” He asked questioningly, his eyes fallowed her hand as it gently touched the beating heart. “I would never do such a thing to innocents that would be a waste I’d rather corr…” He stopped mid sentence as he feels the heart’s beats change only a little. As he observed further, true foulness travel through the heart, crawling across the surface like the night does to the land. A foul putrid smell greets his nose as he drops the heart onto the pedestal where it originated, not wanting to have such a stench stain his armor. He looked up at the smirking Symenestra with a look of curiosity. He listened to her speak of piercing the now soiled and tainted heart, it’s innocence lost. It was then a satisfyingly creepy feeling crawled up his spine. The touch he would have been open to receive could have killed him, a close brush with certain casualty. “I like how you think Symenestra. My name is Devandre by the way. How did you make that contact poison?” He talked to the symenestra as she gave orders. He tapped the heart with the arrow tip, "Did you stop it?" He took a few steps back deciding to have a little target practice with the putrid smelling heart. Moving to the left a good distance away he draws his bow arming it so that when the arrow hits the heart the arrow will be stopped by the door. The base of the arrow was placed onto the string as his ring and index finger drew the string back. The bow's draw is a heavy one at around 50 lbs it packs a wallop. Once he has taken aim the fingers released the arrow firing it and following it with yellowed eyes as it quickly closes it's distance to the heart. The arrow had struck the heart and traveled into the door like he intended. "I hope Symenestra you are not offended if I say, I want to keep that here instead of taking it back to my home."

[Alistair deGrey]

The large courtyard was littered with squat buildings. deGrey's teammates, for the most part, were gathered around the central keep's door, peering at what a pulsating object. Jaeden Kincade was away from the group though, investigating the ground. Towering before the team was the keep itself, its masonry new and pristine as the walls that enclosed them. Alistair smoothed down his cotton tunic and readjusted his belt, tucking away the slack. I suppose I should have asked Karrin to come in today... This complex seemed as if it may take a large portion of his next, well, three days apparently. He searched for a place to hook his cane to his pack, and upon finding none elected to carry the contraption. deGrey noticed a bit of motion out of the corner of his eye, and looked up to see the Dhani man releasing his bow string. The arrow pierced the throbbing heart, and pinned it against the keep's door. Ah, damnation. I do hope they have not wrecked something.

Alistair decided there was nothing he could do to help with the situation near the door, and began to peruse the facades of the various buildings. He examined each, determining their functions as best he could. Blacksmith, church, hovel, tanner, question shop? deGrey's eyes snagged on a large building just north of the portcullis. The sign simply read, "Question Shop". Nearby was a smaller structure that informed him it was an "Opportunity shop". Alistair was curious, and began walking over to the Question shop, carefully eying the area where the rest of his team was assembled, hoping against all odds nothing calamitous would occur. deGrey turned his head back to the structures before him, "Question Shop", the sign refused to yield more information. Alistair sighed, and pushed open the door.

[Tarot]

First day, 12th bell and 15 chimes

Jaeden - courtyard Jaeden's exploration of the courtyard left him with mixed feelings. On the one hand, this place was made to mimic a pre-Valterrian castle, down to the smallest details. Had he been a more scholarly person, Jaeden would have noticed the historical accuracy in the engineering and architecture employed. On the other hand, though, the venue looked brand new, much like a perfect replica of something that had once been but was no more. Now that the man was giving them his full attention, he could perceive... something coming from the very rocks and walls. They were still humming with energy. In a way, the castle itself was breathing, waiting and watching. And there was a strain, an effort it was making in order to maintain the spectacular venue that had been formed overnight. Somehow it felt like the three-day limit placed on the Game wasn't just an arbitrary component of the rules. It was probably as long as the castle could physically hold itself together.

Evarette and Danica - talking As Karona had pointed out, the two amazons were not doing much for the team at the moment. In their defense, their respective horses did not seem entirely at ease in the castle. Both Ivar and Altari had grown increasingly nervous upon traversing the drawbridge, to the point where they needed their mistresses' calming words and attentions. "You feel responsible for them, don't you?" a sharp voice crossed both their minds at the same time. "They are here on your whim. Sensitive, and vulnerable. You are the weakest links. Perhaps you should just quit while you can..." The voice was gone as quickly as it came. Maybe Evarette and Danica were starting to realize what the Game was about, and the kind of psychological challenges it offered. It sure knew where to strike to undermine your certainties.

Devandre & Karona - with the heart The exchange between the half-breed and the evil Symenestra was interesting to say the least. It was said that like attracts like, and it was probably all too true in this case. In the end, what mattered was that Karona' Chaon power caused the heart to blacken and rot. It goes without saying that it stopped beating almost immediately. By the time Devandre pierced it with an arrow, the thing was already still and dead. The door to the keep opened with a short delay, giving the two of them a glimpse at a torch-lit corridor flanked by suits of armor. The Alahean coat of arms - a steel gauntlet reaching for a star - was featured on every shield. For the time being, Karona might have been more interested in the mark that had appeared on her hand. It was scarlet, and shaped into a drop of blood. The Game had its first Sinner. Devandre, having refrained from hitting the heart before it was dead, was spared the same fate... for this time, at least. Perhaps the Game had appreciated his manipulation of the Symenestra female.

Alistair - Question shop The Question shop was a smallish building consisting of just a single room built from the same stone as the rest of the castle. It was devoid of furniture save for a long wooden table spanning the entire length of the place. Upon the table were three large eggcups carrying eggs that were just as large. They could easily be Glassbeak eggs or even bigger. There were also a quill and an inkpot, as well as an ornate golden hammer. A plaque on the wall contained the rules governing this room. Question shop: usage 1) Write your question upon one of the eggs (for example, "Which ones of Alistair's teammates have been daydreaming of killing him?"). 2) Break the egg and receive the answer to your sin. 3) You must be Innocent when you break the egg to have your question answered.

Everyone A loud metallic noise could be heard. It came from the central tower, and any who just happened to look up would see that a small platform was slowly rising from its top. Upon this platform was a large white flag that billowed in the wind. There was a single piece of information written in blood red letters on both sides of the fabric, certainly visible to both teams. It read, "1 Sinner".

[Karona Isenbach]

Devandre's arrow flew straight and true to the rotting black organ like a swift ray of vengeance, pinning it against the stolid black doors of the main keep. Her closed eyes, shut in a serene display of her unearthly beauty, flew open just as the heavy sounds of the unlocking doors rung across the great courtyard. There she stood for a few more moments in eerie silence, as if she had been frozen along with the castle in the capsule of time that encased the place. Retracting from her statuesque position slowly, she felt something strange, something spine-tingling crawling up her nerves. Her sight trailing down and inspecting the sensation, Karona's scorching golden irises did not shield the satisfaction which she felt inside as she beheld the tiny imprint on the palm of her hand. The mark was beautifully etched like a tattoo, her most favorite color in the world gracing it smoothly in a teardrop fashion. Looking at Devandre, whose introduction she hasn't acknowledged yet, her fingers then clenched tightly into a furious ball, sadism lining the sides of her ruby lips as she giggled in a horrid twist of child-like innocence. "My name is Karona Isenbach, sweet Sir Devandre. A pleasure to make your acquaintance." she said between her teeth in a melodiously shrill hiss, her unblinking eyes roving back and forth between the smaller hybrid and the newly opened passageway to her right. "Shall we proceed?" Without waiting for an answer, she looked up to the white flag at the tower right above her, the proclamation written on it making her black heart swell with joy. "I am the first." she said to herself as her mercurial form drifted down the hall, her appraising eyes feasting on the exquisitely preserved suits of armor. On the shields was a rather famous ancient symbol of power, that magical star within reach of man's iron gauntlets not quite lost to her. The invisible magic that perpetrated the place filled her lungs with excitement as she bent down in front of one suit of armor to gaze at her own reflection against the bright flames of the torches. "I think... This game is not the work of just any man. Isn't that right, o great and ancient one of vanquished Alahea?" she whispered to herself, a cool laugh of anticipation for the unseen power's acknowledgment filling her mind with a terrible lust for acquisition.