Places to Chat
Chatterbox: Inkwell
ROCK PAPER SCISSORS You glare at your co-worker, who is laughing at your expression. “Come on, it was just a game of rock paper scissors!” he says, still laughing. “But if you LOSE, you have to take the other person's WORK!” you growl. Your co-worker starts laughing again. “Oh well. Go sort those books in section three,” he says, giggling. You glare at him again and stomp off. Stupid extra work… you think, slamming books onto the shelf. But eventually your rage is tamed and you find yourself at ease with your job working at your local library.
Dear letter recipient, Oh, hello there! So nice of you to open this! I am Queen Agabba of Northern Gravelah, but technically I'm the ruler of all Gravelah… Oh, you might be thinking-what is Gravelah? Why, Gravelah is one of the three kingdoms! We are bordered by Tailett Papero and Scissoni. Recently the three kingdoms broke out into war for control of the land. I hear you are a CBer? (Yes, even we in a different world know about the CB.) We also know that the CB is formed of some very intelligent, amazingly resourceful people! We would be delighted if you came to stay with us for a while-a break from your job and annoying co-workers! You would help us strategize (And fight if you wish) and win the war. Of course, there’ll still be some fun involved-Gravelah is home to Gravel Mountain, which, despite its name, is perfect for rock climbing and camping. If you would like to come, please fill out the form attached. Hope to see you soon! ~Queen Agabba of Northern Gravelah PS-My assistant will send a portal. PPS-sorry for any messes in your house. We were racing the Scissoni people and the Tailett Papero people to invite you!
You shrug. It’ll be a nice break-but how did they know about your co-worker? You look around at the mess in your house and decide to go. So you pull out the form, grab a pen and fill it in.
NAME: APPROXIMATE AGE: SPECIAL TALENTS: APPEARANCE:
You finish filling out the form and the second you take your pen off the paper/stone, a whirling, stony gray portal appears in front of you. Suddenly, with a pop, your battered suitcase lands next to you. You shrug (for like the fiftieth time) and grab your suitcase, then jump in. This is going to be one heck of an adventure.
An hour later, you leave the library, tightening your scarf, bracing yourself against the cold November wind. You slog down the sidewalk, your boots crunching bits of dirty snow. Finally you make it to your street. Weird… why is there a bunch of gravel on the sidewalk? You wonder, hopping over a rather large piece of gravel that's in front of your mailbox. In fact, gravel is in a wiggly trail going up to your front door. You shrug, blaming the construction workers down the street, and get out your key. Stepping inside your house, you’re shocked to find that there's gravel scattered on the furniture, scissors wedged in the couch, and… toilet paper wound around everything?!? What in the world happened? You sit down on the couch, then leap up again as a scissor blade cuts into your leg. While going into the kitchen to get a band-aid, you spot something on the counter. It seems to be a gray envelope. You pick it up and open it. Inside is a flat, thin rock that's engraved with curly writing. You start to read…
GENDER/PRONOUNS:
PERSONALITY:
LUGGAGE:
COMPANIONS (TWO MAXIMUM):
PERCENTILE CHANCE OF HAVING MAGIC:
IF OVER 50% MAGIC CHANCE, WHAT TYPE?:
Please fill out a form for your companions as well. Again, hope to see you soon!
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Yes. This is a ski lodge. Two companions maximum (EG-one AE, one CAPTCHA or two AEs, one AE, one CAPTCHA, two CAPCTHAs… etc.) Feel free to guess who I am.
And I know it sounds silly-a ski lodge based on rock paper scissors? Oh no. Ski lodges are murder mysteries, and Ive been studying. Be prepared. Note-this is going to be a shortish ski lodge, as I am preoccupied with other things--but when the idea struck, it stuck, and now I have to finish my duty as the narrator and write out your deaths. Have a nice day.
submitted by Queen Agabba, North Gravelah
(June 23, 2020 - 11:44 am)
(June 23, 2020 - 11:44 am)
Okay, here are my notes so far. They are written in a deep blue faux leather notebook which I keep with me AT ALL TIMES.
Alive:
PygmyOwl (me, going with Dolphin and Shaow)
Abcde (my AE, going with Dolphin and Shaow)
Luminescence
Blaze (Luminescence's AE)
Kiwi (Luminescence's CAPTCHA)
Tomru (HOO's CAPTCHA(E), partner-less)
NoOneKnows (Amina)
Zahava (NOK's CAPTCHA)
Alex
Arithmancy Jig (goes by Arithmancy, is Cosme Nadia)
Galadriel (Is Strawberri)
Emekittycon Kitten
Dolphin (going with Abcde and I)
Shaow (Going with Abcde and I)
Zahava Shira
Dead:
HeroesOfOlympus
Suspects:
Luminescence (submitted by herself)
Other Notes:
Arithmancy has a pocket knife (potential weapon?)
Luminescence has a small silver dagger (potential weapon?)
Dolphin has a dagger (potential weapon?)
Shaow has a sword sharpener (but no sword, unless that is part of their survival kit)
Blaze is a hippocampus, which is a species that lacks opposable thumbs, as Luminescence pointed out. It is unlikely that Blaze would be able to hold the dagger.
Tomru seems suspiciously cute.
HOO took the top bunk, which, presumably, NOK wanted. Motive for murder? Probably not.
Someone was watching HOO from the hallway.
The killer's dagger was stolen. Therefore, we may possibly rule out
(July 7, 2020 - 3:48 pm)
»In my appearance it says I carry a salt steel sword... I hope it’s not Dolphin, that would be creepy...«
(July 7, 2020 - 7:50 pm)
Oh, I see that now. Sorry, Shaow, I was just looking at luggage and nothing else. I hope I didn't make any more mistakes.
(July 7, 2020 - 8:35 pm)
Yay, I finished! Pygmy, your notebook will be included next part.
To answer the question of why Queen A is a little (a lotta) more peppier, um, I dont know, it just happened. You could say yesterday she was frazzled. yeah, thats it...
Day Two, Part One
The CBers woke up lazily, a glance at the clock confirming the time-10:00. They had slept in. Inside the Granite Room, Zahava was licking NoOneKnows’s face energetically, bouncing around and rousing the whole room. Arithmancy glanced at Tomru, who was snoring rather loudly. Luminescence jumped off the top bunk, wincing slightly as she hit the ground (but landed on both feet) and reached out to pet Blaze. The occupants all woken, they decided to go greet the Marble Room. Changing out of PJs swiftly, the CBers in Granite Room wondered where HeroesOfOlympus was, but decided she was probably just in the bathroom.
Two minutes later, they were proven wrong. Out in the hallway, Arithmancy spotted the figure slumped against the stairs. Tomru was the first to scream.
In the Marble Room, Dolphin woke up rather abruptly. She was convinced she had heard a scream-there was another! Dolphin reached over and shook PygmyOwl’s arm, then, giving up, slapped the button on her clock and watched as PygmyOwl jumped up, clapping her hands over her ears. The other guests were also woken by the shrill screech of the clock, which brought Abcde crashing into Shaow as each AE ran to their CBer.
“Whatsgoinonhuh?” Emekittycon K mumbled, standing up. Dolphin slapped the button again and the room fell silent.
“I heard screams in the ha-” she started, but then the door flew open and Luminescence ran in.
“Its Heroes, come quick-” she panted, then burst into tears.
“What the heck is happening?!?” Alex shouted, standing on her bed.
“We just got up-we were going to go say good morning and-and then we saw Heroes-She’s dead!” Luminescence burst out. Sobs drifting into their room confirmed it. Without speaking, the guests rushed out into the hall. Their fears were confirmed with the sight of the bloody knife, her eyes unseeing, her face pale, cold as night. The CBers tried not to cry but a few found themselves wiping away tears as they stared at Tomru, who was screaming and crying, clutching to Zahava (the CAPTCHA).
Just then, the same skinny, almost bald man came upstairs. He faltered at the sight of Tomru, who was screaming really loudly now, and continued on. He approached Arithmancy, who was the best at holding back tears.
“Ahem, excuse me, ahem. I am the Queen’s advisor, Mr. Urherr Aheuh. It's Er-her Ah-ew-uh, don't mispronounce it. What is going on?” He said, his wide blue eyes staring straight at Arithmancy, who stared back.
“Uh, our friend is no more if you can't tell. What do you need?” Arithmancy’s voice was cold. For some reason she just didn't trust Mr. Aheuh. His stare was getting creepy.
“Ahem, ahem, I was told to bring you to breakfast. Also, I am sorry. The Queen will be alerted. Come down to the dining hall in five minutes.” and with that, Mr. Aheuh strode away, his black shoes clip-clopping on the marble floor. Arithmancy relayed the news and they all agreed that Mr. Aheuh was not a nice man, and they needed more time. Therefore, they decided to send a messenger to tell the queen this disturbing occurrence.
“Um, I’ll go… I just can't stare at her any longer…” NoOneKnows said softly, sniffling.
“I-I can go with you,” Emekittycon K said, and so the two set off, Em trying to comfort NOK.
Downstairs, in the dining room, Mr. Aheuh was speaking softly to Queen Agabba. She looked up when Em and NOK entered, then waved them over.
“Why are you alone, my darlings? Is there something wrong?” Clearly Mr. Aheuh hadn't told Queen Agabba what happened.
“Yes, something is wrong, HeroesOfOlympus is no more!” NoOneKnows cried, slumping down in the nearest chair. Queen Agabba looked shocked.
“Really? Oh my, we must have a funeral, I am so so sorry!” Queen Agabba got up, her charcoal gray dress sweeping the ground as she took Em and NOK’s hands.
“Where did you find her, darlings?” she asked, hurrying up the staircase.
“Just-just there, in the hall…” Em said, pointing to where the rest of the guests were huddled around Heroes’s limp form.
“Oh, dearie me, I'm ever so sorry! Let us take away the body, we’ll have her buried in the gardens, is that alright?” Queen Agabba said, giving NOK a shoulder pat. Without waiting for an answer, she grabbed a small box and yelled into it,
“I NEED A SERVANT OR TWO, WE HAVE A BODY TO REMOVE.”
Out on the grounds, everyone started crying again. Gone was the cheery, eat-as-much-as-you-can CBers from last night. Their AEs were sniffling, gazing down at the pitifully small body being lowered into the hole.
Dirt was spread over her as the guests said some words, eventually going back up to the castle. They hadn't even stopped to admire the beauty of the gardens, (which no one knew were there) just walked up the gravel slope, letting the light rain soak their clothes and hide their tears. They had to escape the enormous oak that Heroes rested under, had to escape the sorrow.
But, they were living creatures after all, and living creatures had to eat. Washing their blotchy faces, each guest trekked downstairs, not looking up. NoOneKnows stayed inside for a while, clutching Zahava and whispering to her CAPTCHA.
“I should have known, invitations are always Ski Lodges, oh, why did we come?” she wailed, but eventually got up, clicked on Zahava’s leash, and went downstairs solemnly.
Queen Agabba was sitting at the head of the table, Mr. Aheuh next to her. The CBers all pulled their companions close, nibbling on pastries, toast, cereal, anything they fancied. Queen Agabba would occasionally try to make conversation but eventually gave up.
Thus, breakfast passes in that monotonous way, food being eaten, faces being wiped, sighs being emitted when Queen Agabba tried to talk.
“Okay, well, when everyone’s done, I have something to do for all of you!” Queen Agabba said cheerfully, trying to raise the spirit. There were some nods, but everyone had to admit an activity sounded fun. They ate a little faster.
-=-
ahem, there it is! Hope y'all like it and uh, next part will be coming soon.
(July 8, 2020 - 2:04 pm)
Good! Just a few notes I shold have added:
I have an awful time with tones, if it sounds cold it's normal.
As I have no friendly connections with any of those CBers, I would be more annoyed at the others' reactions (as in telling Tomru to 'shut the hell up, carrying on isn't gonna help, it was a SKI LODGE WHAT ELSE DID YOU EXPECT') than in the actual CBer's death.
And who came up with that crappy 'Person X is "no more"' euphemism for death?
Otherwise and despite, this is great.
(July 8, 2020 - 6:36 pm)
Okay, thanks. Sorry for any mistakes I may have made.
Also, I have no idea what the last statement
'And who came up with that crappy 'Person X is "no more"' euphemism for death?'
means xd
so yeah. Um. glad you thinks its good <3
(July 8, 2020 - 7:30 pm)
Queen A, this is awesome! I think you got my reaction perfectly. Also, now I'm not sure it's me, because if I was the killer, presumably I would know it's a ski lodge, and then I probably wouldn't burst into tears. But I don't know... it might still be me... *shivers in delight*
And I think Arithmancy/Cosme Nadia meant that it's kind of weird when people say "____ is no more," because they died, because there still there, they just... are dead... did that make any sense?
Anyways! Keep up the great work!
PS. @Heroes, is your solo write still going? If so, know we all are still reading it, although it's not super topped. If not, you might want to put something there, because Emekittycon k is going a little crazy with her topping duties...
(July 9, 2020 - 9:04 am)
I did start the next part but ive been super busy with this and NaNo...
Im really sorry and Ill try and post what I have soon
Thank you all for topping!
(July 9, 2020 - 10:51 am)
It's fine! I get that :) That's what I assumed, but I wasn't completely sure, so I just asked. I didn't mean to be rude or anything, so hopefully you didn't get that impression...
(July 9, 2020 - 12:35 pm)
Actually, it's not just Emekittycon K. A lot of people have been topping that thread.
(July 9, 2020 - 9:06 am)
sorry, next park is coming soon!
dont worry im writing away!
(July 10, 2020 - 12:59 pm)
(July 10, 2020 - 1:02 pm)
(July 10, 2020 - 1:05 pm)
Tippety tip TOP
(July 10, 2020 - 1:45 pm)
I'll post my notebook for this part later today.
This story is really good, Queen Agabba/HeroesOfOlympus. You're a great writer, and I'm proud of you for doing this, and NaNo, and your solo write. I'm doing a lot of writing projects at once right now, and I know it can be really draining.
(July 11, 2020 - 2:30 pm)