Vampire Bats In The Belfry

[etcircenses]

Who| Those who dare stop the ringing
What| The bells, bells, bells, bells, bells...
Where| The catacombs.
When| Monday and on...
Warnings/Notes| Possible violence. Please warn for more in headers. Please see the sign ups for this event here.

In the depths of the catacombs with the rot and the rats, one tunnel leads on. Axes swing down from the walls and stones crumble upon those who are too slow. Bats take bites out of Tributes and the Rats also. Poisonous spiders slip down from the ceiling and some tunnels split off into pitfalls of water.

Eventually after so long walking further down into the dark, some small bit of natural light peeks through for those who've made it through. Light from above illuminates a spiralling staircase. Up the stairs is a new room, one which Tributes would not have been able to reach before. Out of the dark they can now see the stone door that had blocked the way before. The windows are high and barred but the bells sway even higher behind the bars of a locked jail.

Within the room several things have been scattered:

-A locked chest on the first side with a carved in mockingjay, jabberjay, and eagle with wings all spread. Each bird can be pressed, but only a specific pattern will open it and only at set time-- the completion of the puzzle.

-A basin and several soaked pieces of clothing within. Underneath this clothing is a red dot.

-A grate full of water with holes big enough to allow an arm through; inside is a key kept afloat by a bob though just too far to reach.

-Several barrels, one marked with a red dot. On lifting the lid, torn pages of Hamlet with numbers written in the top corners can be found. Only small parts of it are not blackened by ink or mould.

-Twelve ropes in six sections on the other side of the jail. Each rope must be pulled a set number of times. When done correctly, the bells will quiet. From it a paper featuring the letters 'E', 'J', and 'M' will fall.

The Hamlet pages show the following:

1. GHOST I am thy father's spirit, Doom'd for a certain term to walk the night And for the day confined to fast in fires Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature Are burnt and purged away. But that I am forbid To tell the secrets of my prison-house, I could a tale unfold whose lightest word Would harrow up thy soul, freeze thy young blood, Make thy two eyes, like stars, start from their spheres, Thy knotted and combinèd locks to part, And each particular hair to stand on end, Like quills upon the fretful porpentine. But this eternal blazon must not be To ears of flesh and blood. -Act 1 Scene 2

2. HAMLET The spirit that I have seen May be the devil: and the devil hath power To assume a pleasing shape; yea, and perhaps, Out of my weakness and my melancholy, As he is very potent with such spirits, Abuses me to damn me. I'll have grounds More relative than this. The play's the thing Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King. -Act 2 Scene 2 3. HAMLET O good Horatio, I’ll take the ghost’s word for a thousand pound. Didst perceive? -Act 3 Scene 2 4. GHOST Mark me. HAMLET I will. -Act 1 Scene 5

5. HAMLET That skull had a tongue in it, and could sing once. -Act 5 Scene 1 6. GHOST If thou hast any sound or use of voice, Speak to me. If there be any good thing to be done That may to thee do ease and grace to me, Speak to me. If thou art privy to thy country’s fate, Which happily foreknowing may avoid, Oh, speak! Or if thou hast uphoarded in thy life Extorted treasure in the womb of earth, For which, they say, you spirits oft walk in death, Speak of it. Stay and speak! -Act 1 Scene 1

Tributes will need to use their wit to solve the puzzle. Not only that, but they will need to do so while fighting their way through the bats that fly in and out through the windows, biting at them as they go. However, once the bells cease ringing, so too do the bats immediately settle. Not only that but they will find within that chest a ton of in-arena treasures such as food rations, water, a med-kit, and ear-plugs. Multiple rooms just like this exist in the catacombs where they hadn't before which means multiple people can take a shot at the puzzle though whether they succeed is down to their perspicacity and, of course, their luck.

Comments

[wizardplease]

It hadn't sat well with him to leave Nitou to go off and try and stop that blasted ringing while he huddled somewhere and tried to let it all pass, and so he didn't. In a way. While his rival insisted on taking the path to the catacombs that seemed most likely to pay off, Haruto swore he'd scout elsewhere. And he did, before he needed to stop and catch his breath and pull himself back together.

It was when canons started to go off that he started to worry. They could just be a death somewhere else in the arena. That could be it. But he needed to know for sure that his friend was alright... so he hauled his aching, limping, addled self back the way he came. And at the end of this difficult walk was something that he absolutely did not want to see.

"...Chimera!" Nitou must be dead. And now this monster's out. Without even thinking about what he's doing, Haruto brings his sword about and readies himself for a fight.

It's a moment after he does this that he realizes that the enormous Phantom has only half-emerged from the underground.

[infinitemayonnaise]

"The Ring-Bearing Wizard." Oh, Chimera knew that tiny human, all right. He wriggles some more in the doorway, trying to get unstuck. The sight of the sword doesn't seem to bother the monster, who is more concerned with the fact that his giant monster butt remains stuck in a stone doorway that is now groaning with the strain. "Why don't you let that Dragon of yours out so I can have a little snack?"

Apparently, he is not too concerned about the size of his butt that he would pass up such a wonderful meal.

[wizardplease]

It's not very comforting, that Chimera is stuck halfway in and halfway out. It might not stay that way long, and.... and Nitou can't be dead, can he? Maybe he found a way to let the thing out? He'd done it by destroying his belt, right? He grips his sword tighter and tries to steady himself.

But before he can demand to know if Nitou's alright, Chimera is asking that. He grimaces, narrows his eyes, and blurts out an indigant "...No!" And then there's a little vague sword-swinging in the oversized Phantom's direction. "There are bigger things going on than just your appetite!"

`I would LIKE to see him TRY and devour me....`

"...also, Dragon thinks that you couldn't actually do it."

[infinitemayonnaise]

"I don't know," Chimera says, wriggling against that doorway some more, "my appetite's pretty big."

The big monster laughs at that second comment. "Dragon's an overconfident fool." Which is a fine overconfident thing to say. "That will make eating him all the more satisfying." Is he supposed to be worried about that sword-swinging? He's not at all worried about that sword-swinging.

[wizardplease]

"So's your rear." You have to joke, or you might get upset. There will be time for being upset later, when he is not staring down a hungry phantom and not entirely sure that his friend is dead. Another waggle of the sword is given.

"So where's Nitou? What happened?" He has to know for sure. He won't be able to stand it if he doesn't know for sure. And once he knows that, then... well, he'll figure it out from there.

[infinitemayonnaise]

"This door's just small." Is the monster offended at the joke? He sure sounds it--perhaps there's a reason he and Nitou have gotten along so well. Sort of. Kind of. Look, Chimera waited a while before eating Nitou, that counts for something.

"Kosuke Nitou bit off more than he could chew and became overwhelmed by bats." Chimera pauses. "And I was hungry at that point."

[wizardplease]

Even if it is stupid to offend something that large and dangerous, there's a certain feeling of spiteful satisfaction in doing it. There, Nitou. He struck a blow for you. Even if you're gone now.

"...okay." And he takes several steps back, slowly lowering his sword. Knowing that for sure, even knowing that death isn't really death in here, it's not spurring him on to more violence. It's making him feel lonely and tired. And if there's no Nitou to save, is he really needed here? "...I don't know how much magic there is for you to eat, but I don't have any of it. Go hunt somewhere else."

[infinitemayonnaise]

Chimera continues wriggling, trying to get at Haruto. The door groans, but the monster just doesn't budge. "You've still got that Dragon. There's something." He glances back into the corridors. "And there are lots of innocents down there. You wouldn't let a creature like me go for them, would you?"

So he knows enough about Haruto and hope and Dragon to know that he might have a chance of trying to draw Dragon out here.

Even if he can't get out of this doorway.

...look, there's a reason he and Nitou get along relatively well, some obvious unhealthy issues in the relationship aside.

[wizardplease]

Oh no. That oversized mismatched monster is not putting him between a rock and a hard place like that. So Haruto is not even going to dignify that threat with a response. Instead he strides back in, lifts his sword, and swings it so that he's smacking Chimera across the nose with the flat of it.

And then he is running. Running as fast as his feverish, lame self can go, because better it burst free and try chewing on him than retreat and go chew on someone else.

[infinitemayonnaise]

"Get back here!" Chimera sucks in his monster gut and makes one final wriggle before popping out of the door. He falls on his face with the sudden force of it, but it's only for a moment. He gets back on his feet and starts tearing after Haruto, not realizing that the Gamemakers only intend for him to stick around for a limited period of time.

[wizardplease]

He's got a head start, but it doesn't mean much when something as large and powerful as Chimera is on the way. That said, Chimera is large. If he can get to the woods, the density of trees should give him something of an advantage. A small one. A small one that he'll take. And then maybe Chimera will do something sufficiently magical that a bolt from above will solve his problem. It worked like that, right?

The trees are in sight, he's getting there, he's almost there... and he is not sparing a moment to look back. A moment looking back and he might get gobbled up.

[infinitemayonnaise]

The density of trees definitely gives Haruto an advantage. If Chimera was having trouble with not fitting through a door, the trees are even worse. He's reaching a paw in to blindly swat at Haruto, hoping to scoop the wizard out.

[wizardplease]

All that swiping at trees makes noise, and Haruto doesn't need to turn around to see what's going on. He can hear it behind him, and he makes a grinning grimace of satisfaction that his plan worked. For now. He needs to rest a moment, though, because he can't go any further on that leg of his right now. Just for this moment here.

"Can't reach me? Can't make it?" Leaning on a tree trunk, he hobbles his way about and around to its other side, trying to put a bit more wood between him and the rampaging phantom. This... this is probably not going to end well for him, but hey. You've got to make a show of it, right?

[infinitemayonnaise]

"Get out here where I can get a better look at you..." No, Chimera can't get through, but he's still reaching a massive foreleg in there, looking for all the world like a giant cat trying to fish a mouse out of a hole.

[wizardplease]

"Come in here and see for yourself!" Not... not the best thing to encourage the big monster to do, but maybe if he keeps Chimera mad, it won't have time to think of anything smarter to do. Maybe he'll be like Nitou in that way? ....Oh wow, that's a suddenly painful thought. He's not going to think that thought anymore.

He puts a little more weight testingly on his bad leg, hisses, and leans back against the tree again. Just a moment or two more and he'll start running again. Honestly. Really. There's no choice.

[infinitemayonnaise]

Haruto's hope is spot on. Chimera's so annoyed, he's not thinking of doing anything like going around that patch of trees. He's still sitting there, trying to dig around in between the trees like a cat with a mouse cornered in a hole. And it's clear that he can't reach.

[wizardplease]

It's working? It's working, sort of. It gives him a few more seconds to rest and maybe, maybe build up the fortitude for the next bout of running for his life that's sure to come shortly. "What? Kitty's too big to come play?" More mocking can only make this better, right?

[infinitemayonnaise]

Chimera growls, and there is a crack as he manages to force his way through some of the trees. Looks like Kitty's just made himself a little wiggle room.

[wizardplease]

Shit. That crack does not indicate good things. The time for resting is done. It is now time to try and run again.

Haruto cannot run any longer, but to his credit, he can manage a staggering, grimacing limp, rather than just falling down on his face and preparing to die. Adrenaline is great stuff.

[infinitemayonnaise]

Chimera roars, satisfied that he's going to have his prey any moment, and then--

Poof!

The great beast vanishes in a cloud of smoke, the limited amount of time he had there after Nitou died all used up. It's your lucky day, Haruto.

[wizardplease]

Haruto dares not turn back around to see just how well his effort at limping away is going. In fact, that roar is encouraging him to try even harder. It's exerting effort that he couldn't spare, though, and he stumbles, catches himself on a tree, can't get his momentum back up...

...and then there's nothing? Nothing after him? No further roar, no gnashing Chimera teeth? He dares to look back, and sees that smoke dissipating. He immediately collapses to the ground in relief.

He'll... he'll get up eventually. Soon. Really.