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Hello, everyone!
*ahem* Good.... Evening, at least for us.
We have decided to revive our dragon ski lodge. Unfortunately, we cannot locate the original thread, so we have decided to repost it. Once this pops up, we will repost all the members of the ski lodge, and all the installments of the story.
You collapse on your bed after getting home from school, tossing your backpack in the corner of your room. Just as you're getting comfortable, someone yells for you to go and get the mail. You run outside and look in the mailbox. Surprisingly, there is only one letter, and it's addressed to you. You open the envelope and read:
CBer,
You have been generously invited to the one and only Skywater fortress, former school of sky and sea dragons alike, but, since the dragons moved out, we have been using it as our home. Unfortunately, us being the only two dragons here, we have become lonely, and decided to invite ten CBers to stay with us for a while. You are one of the lucky few.
During your stay, you will enjoy many of the different hobbies of our former students, including sports, crafting, and much more. There will also be an amount of free time every day, during which you can do virtually anything you want. We will review the rules once you are all here, and rules include punishments for breaking them, we are sorry to say.
Did we hear you wondering how you are going to participate in dragon hobbies, when you are not a dragon yourself? We spent a lot of time contemplating that. In order to enable you to participate, we are giving you a way to become a dragon for your visit! All you have to do is fill out the form below, and a coat of dragon scales will appear in front of you. Put them on, and you will be instantly transformed into your chosen dragon form and transported to the Skywater fortress in the same moment!
You are allowed to bring two companions for free, but if you want to bring three there will be a fee of twenty dollars to pay for lodging.
Here is the attendance form. AEs and CAPTCHAs must fill it out as well.
Name:
CBer/AE/CAPTCHA:
Age:
Gender/pronouns:
Requested dragon appearance (appearance must include breed name, and we request that you have gills or other implements for underwater breathing):
Describe your personality in five words:
Favorite food:
Favorite subject in school:
Fears:
Likes:
Dislikes:
Favorite book:
Favorite movie:
Luggage:
Salutations, Vansix and Lila
Just a tiny bit confused and mostly excited, you run back to your room and find a pen. Just as you finish filling out the form, it shimmers and implodes in your hands, replaced by a glittering cape of dragon scales. You drape it over your shoulders, and just as the letter said, you transform, and the world swirls to black as you're transported to Skywater fortress.
P.S. You do not have to fill out the form again.
P.P.S. You are welcome to guess our SI, if you wish.
submitted by Vansix and Lila, age Classified, Skywater fortress
(January 6, 2020 - 8:17 pm)
(January 6, 2020 - 8:17 pm)
Day three pt. three
Joan snickered as one of her tablemates recounted a (rather embarressing) story about their sister. Suddenly the dining hall door burst open, and Porcelain Dragon stumbled in.
“Vansix! Lila!” she called. “Sage is dead!”
What?
A chorus of voices broke out, most of them dismayed, some terrified.
“Sage?” cried Luna-Starr. “Who would kill her? Why?”
“We don't know!” hissed Rhaksha. “Right now they’re just randomly killing people, for all we know!”
“But who is it?” chimed Leo. “If we knew who it was we could--”
“I think it’s Porcelain,” interrupted Agent Winter.
“Why would you think it’s me?” retorted the other CBer.
“You were the last person in!” Agent cried. “You just suddenly burst in yelling ‘Sage is dead!’ It’s kind of obvious!”
“Well maybe it’s you! You were so quick to put the blame on me!”
“That’s no defense!”
“All right, all right!” Vansix pushed through the throng of dragons to the two quarrelling CBers. “Hush, HUSH!” The fighting slowly dissipated, and Agent and Porcelain backed away from each other.
“Quarreling and placing blame won’t help anyone!” Vansix hissed. “There is a murderer in Skywater, that much is clear. But we need to find out who it is without simply throwing almost unfounded accusations around! I'm inclined to handcuff you two together for the rest of the day!” Lila came over and growled menacingly, first in Agent Winter’s face, then in Porcelain’s, the latter almost comical as Porcelain was much taller.
“You know,” Vansix growled musingly, “handcuffing you together for the rest of the day isn’t a very bad idea.”
“But a little extreme,” Lila interrupted. “I reccommend you two just stay together for the rest of the day. I’ll notify the assistants to keep an eye on you, so you can't sneak away from each other.”
The twosome nodded sullenly.
“Good.” Vansix headed off, and Lila retreated to the back of the room, probably shaken by yet another death on only the third day.
“You know,” murmured Kitten, as Agent and Porcelain Dragon walked away, “if Porcelain is the murderer, we’ll know by the end of the day, since if Agent Winter dies it will’ve had to have been Porcelain.”
“True,” mused Sybill.
A little farther away, almost too far to hear the others speaking, the murderer stood next to another angry dragon and smiled. Their plan was working out perfectly.
~~~
Dead: Barnswallow, Vivian, Sage
Suspects: Luna-Starr, TheaterGirl, Nihil, Joan B. of Arc
(January 17, 2020 - 2:24 pm)
Day four pt. One
Kitten, Nyx, Nihil, Leo, Sybill, Rhaksha and Agent Winter had all gathered in room 14, to discuss the murderer.
“Well, it couldn't be Porcelain Dragon now, could it?” asked Leo. “Agent Winter wasn’t killed while they were paired up yesterday.”
“Yeah, but neither was anyone else,” Agent muttered darkly. “It could still be her, since she couldn’t have killed anyone else without me seeing.”
“I don't like to suspect my own CBer,” said Nihil. “But it’s a little difficult to argue with that.”
“But it couldn't be Porcelain!” Nyx exclaimed. Everyone looked at her.
“Well?” asked Kitten. “Do you have a reason it couldn't be her?”
“Well….” Nyx seemed at a loss for words. “It's… Porcelain.”
“Exactly.” Rhaksha stood up. “She’s kind of… quiet, isn’t she? Doesn't talk a whole lot? Really the only time I noticed her the center of attention was on the first day, when she poked herself in the eye with some… bacon.” She smirked, and then seemed to instantly regret it.
“Rhaksha’s right,” Sybill murmured. “I hate to say it, but I think logic beats loyalty in this one, Nyx.”
The CBer sat back and folded her arms comically, as if she had forgotten she was a dragon. It was also interesting to see her glaring defiantly at the other dragons who, except for Sybill, all seemed slightly larger.
“Well I don't think it's Porcelain,” Nyx huffed stubbornly. “I’ll prove it to you.”
“Or die trying,” Nihil murmured to Rhaksha as Nyx walked away.
~~~
Dead: Barswallow, Vivian, Sage
Suspects: Luna-Starr, TheaterGirl, Nihil, Joan B. of Arc
(January 18, 2020 - 12:31 pm)
I like where this is going. Keep up the good work!
(January 18, 2020 - 5:22 pm)
(January 18, 2020 - 5:29 pm)
I'd like to redo the sheets of my AE Rhaksha, since I changed her and she is now Niko and male.
Name: Niko
CBer/AE/CAPTCHA: AE
Age: 17
Gender/pronouns: Male, he/him
Requested dragon appearance: Very large, black with zigzag white markings all over, large hourglass-shaped white mark on chest, claws and teeth are white, wings are black with white along the bones, eyes are black with white snakelike pupils.
Describe your personality in five words: Warrior, trustworthy, loyal, cautious, good sport.
Favorite food: Pomegranets.
Favorite subject in school: English
Fears: Anything more powerful than him.
Likes: His friend Nihil, his siblings, annihilating enemies.
Dislikes: Bossiness, bullies, enemies, being trapped.
Favorite book: Survivors.
Favorite movie: Lord of the Rings.
Luggage: Assorted weapons, water.
(January 26, 2020 - 1:20 pm)
Oh, thank you SSW! Glad you like it! Oh, and we've finally finished Day Four Part Three!
Day four pt. Two
“Gah!” Agent Winter ducked sharply as yet another dodgeball whistled over her head. Today, Vansix and Lila had decided that instead of going outside, they could pick between playing dodgeball or reading, writing, or basically anything else that didn't involve electronics. Agent had chosen dodgeball, the same as everyone else. Even Kitten, who would have preferred reading, and Luna-Starr, who insisted she had something better to do, had been roped into the game, and within a few minutes were flinging dodgeballs up into the air, and slapping them across the room with a wing or a tail with as much enthusiasm as anyone else.
Agent Winter had found that launching the dodgeballs efficiently was much harder than anticipated, as had many others, but a select few including Porcelain Dragon, Sybill, and Nyx had found a talent for it. And Porcelain, accompanied by Nyx, was mercilessly flinging dodgeballs at Agent with abandon. They clearly hadn't forgiven her for accusing Porcelain of being the murderer. And she didn't expect them to.
“Porcelain Dragon!” cried Lila, from the edge of the room where she and Vansix were supervising the game. “Please, no head shots! We don’t want anyone to get hurt!” In response, Lila got a particularly powerfully thrown dodgeball right in the chest.
“Five minute’s warning!” Vansix called. “Dodgeballs in the bin!”
The CBers and companions reluctantly began to throw the dodgeballs in the general direction of their bins, but most of them were still flying into eachother’s backs.
“I'm not kidding!” At Vansix’s second cry, tinted with annoyance, they finally started to actually put the dodgeballs away.
“All right, now we can-- hey!” Lila ducked a rubber ball that one of the CBers had been hiding behind their backs. “Put that away! There. Now as I was saying, now we can head to dinner.” There was a chorus of groans, as everyone’s heart rate was up, and they weren’t really looking forward to trying to sit relatively still at the dinner tables.
“Don't worry,” consoled Lila. “So long as there are no unfortunate incidents or broken rules, tonight light’s out will be pushed back, everyone will meet in this room, and we will have a… what is it? What do you call it?” Vansix murmured something to her, and she called out, “A slumber party!” There was a chorus of excited yells, and shouts, and everyone surged towards the dining hall. Niko looked a little put off, as he had heard before that slumber parties were generally for girls, but Nyx swiftly put him at ease by assuring him that Vansix and Lila probably wouldn’t put in all girly activities.
(February 20, 2020 - 5:56 pm)
TOP please!
(February 20, 2020 - 5:58 pm)
TOP please!
(February 20, 2020 - 7:10 pm)
Day four pt. Three
According to Vansix and Lila’s directions, TheaterGirl and Luna-Starr went up to their room to retrieve all the hammock pillow, throw pillows, and any other kinds of pillows that they had stashed up there, same as the rest of the vacationers. Lila, in searching for pillows for an activity, had found that almost every room had stolen anything even remotely related to a pillow, for various purposes.
Once they got back to the gym (claws full of pillows, with some tied to their backs), where the dodgeball game had been held earlier, they found that they were the last to return. It seemed that the entireity of Skywater had been stripped of all it's pillows, and they were not piled in the center of the room, with Vansix and Lila perched atop the stack.
“Attention, CBers and companions!” Lila called as TheaterGirl added her pillows to the pile. “Welcome to the slumber party!”
“Whoooo!!” Various cries of excitement echoed around the room, amplified by the high ceiling.
<Whats> <thee> <first> <acti><vity!?> yelled a tinny voice from the back. It sounded like Nikai, Nyx’s CAPTCHA. Upon further reflection, TheaterGirl decided it had to be her, since she was the only CAPTCHA at the ski lodge, and no AE or CBer that she had heard of would take the pains to sound like a CAPTCHA if they didn't need to.
“Glad you asked!” Lila slid down the pillow mountain, Vansix close behind. “I’ll give you a hint.” She gripped the nearest pillow in her claws and in turn flung it at the nearest body, which happened to be Nihil. “PILLOW FIGHT!!!”
“That’s not a hint!” Nihil cried indigantly, but she was easily drowned out by the roar of stomping feet as the CBrs stampeded the pile and began launching pillows at one another, miraculosly not ripping any in the process. Even Niko and Nihil soon gave in, and made quite a formidable team as they threw pillows with devastating aim and power, from a slightly safer (though not by much) perch halfway up the pillows, though they were soon tossed off as Leo, Porcelain Dragon, Joan B. of Arc, and Luna-Starr stormed their post and batted them with pillows until they tumbled down the pile.
Meanwhile, the murderer threw pillows and chased CBers with as much outer enthusiasm as anyone else, but inwardly they concentrated on concealing a sharp knife, and when they followed the strike force up the mountain to attack Nihil and Niko, they made their move.
“Oh-- oh no! No, Leo!” Luna-Starr stumbled sideways as Leo crumpled into her, revealing a dagger. On the now-dead CBer’s other side, Porcelain Dragon stumbled away, a look of confusion, then anger on her face, and scarlet blood on her talons.
~~~
Dead: Barswallow, Vivian, Sage, Leo
Suspects: Luna-Starr, TheaterGirl, Nihil, Joan B. of Arc
(February 21, 2020 - 4:34 pm)
Okay so it's not me.
I don't even know. It's not me, I'm being framed.
(February 22, 2020 - 1:55 am)
YEET this is up again!!! I was wondering if you would restart it, Vansix and Lila!
Also... are you Silent Shadow Walker? Or Secret Shadow Walker, whichever it is. You know who I'm talking about. Ik they just posted a few weeks ago, but that doesn't really rule them out.
(February 22, 2020 - 3:04 pm)
No, Nyx, we are not. Good guess though.
Day five pt. One
Nyx twisted in her hammock, awake in the early morning hours despite her fatigue after the rudly interrupted slumber party, and the murder of Leo. she was trying not to look at Agent Winter’s sleeping form near the door, since she had a sinking feeling that Agent might--possibly--be right about Porcelain Dragon.
Nyx rocked her head back and forth, causing the hammock in turn to rock, and slowly getting sleepier. She tried to huff, but it came out as something entirely different. She realized with a dull, sleepy sense of humor that she was purring, and thought it funny.
Then the murderer, who had snuck in through the door that had been left ajar, been hidden by Nyx’s stubborn determination not to look in that direction, and slid forward to rock her hammock and thus lull the exhausted CBer back to sleep, rose up. A sharp implement gleamed in their claws. Nyx slept on peacefully, unaware of the dark menace that hovered over her, but not for long.
Agent Winter woke some time later to discover a spear stabbed through Nyx’s heart and into the floor, blood soaking the dead CBer’s hammock, and the murderer long gone.
~~~
Dead: Barswallow, Vivian, Sage, Leo, Nyx
Suspects: Luna-Starr, TheaterGirl, Nihil, Joan B. of Arc
(February 23, 2020 - 3:36 pm)
*chokes* What? I'm dead? Aww.... Its a pretty mysterious and cool way to die, though, stabbed in my sleep? But STILL. Dead? Me? Niko, you must live on and discover the murderer in my absence.
Uh..... sure, whatever you say. *???*
OMG look at his faaaaaace!!!
(February 24, 2020 - 11:59 am)
Day five pt. Two
That morning, Sybill was woken--yet again-- by a scream. She, Nihil, and Joan B. of Arc rushed to the source, and found Agent Winter crouched over Nyx’s limp form, which she had managed to detangle from the hammock.
“Oh, no!” Joan cried. “Poor Nyx!”
Agent’s eyes were shiny with suppressed tears. “Go find Niko and Nikai,” she said, her voice thick. Joan and Nihil ran off. Sybill stayed by Agent, trying to comfort her, until the pair came back with Nyx’s companions, along with Porcelain Dragon and Kitten, who had been woken up as Joan burst into their rooms.
<NYXX!> Nikai wailed. <whyis> <myCBr> <dead!?> She buried her head in Porcelain(who she had come to trust since she was her only roommate)’s wing, and the CBer, surprised, stroked the small CAPTCHA’s back comfortingly.
“So…” murmured Sybill, watching Nikai. “Uh… I guess we can't really accuse Porcelain Dragon of anything while Nikai is hanging on her?”
Porcelain bristled. “IT WASN'T ME!” she roared.
“How do we even know that?” hissed Niko. Unlike his late CBer’s CAPTCHA, he had no connection to Porcelain except through Nihil.
Nikai sniffed. <porce><lain> <drgon> <wass> <tlkng> <tome> she choked out.
“Huh?” Niko cocked his head. “Speak a little clearer, Nikai.”
<SHEE> <WASS> <TALK><IING> <TOMEE!> Nikai roared, as loud as her little voice could go.
Niko stepped back. “Um… okay… Porcelain, do you know what she’s talkin about?”
“I think she’s talking about the conversation we had last night, since she couldn't sleep.”
“That doesn't really prove anything,” said Kitten, oblivious for the moment of Nikai’s furious glare. “The blood is relatively fresh, suggesting that the murderer killed her this morning, so-- GAH! OW, STOP IT!” Nikai had flown up into the CBer’s face, and was bonking her head madly into Kitten’s eyes.
“Nikai, get off of her!” Porcelain Dragon gently clasped her claws around the CAPTCHA’s body and set her on the ground. “Come on, Nikai, lets go… somewhere else. Lets wake up room 13, I think TheaterGirl and Luna-Starr are still asleep.”
They walked away down the hall, the CAPTCHA trotting quickly to keep up with Porcelain’s longer strides. Niko pointed halfheartedly after them.
“Shouldn't we… um…” He looked around. “Follow them, or something? So Porcelain Dragon can't hurt Nikai?”
“No…” Agent Winter murmured. “There’s really no point…” She too left the room, presumably to wander Skywater until someone came to get her. The other CBers and AEs also left eventully, unwilling to keep watching Nyx’s body as if it would suddenly come back to life. Sybill was last to leave, closing the door gently and leaving a note that Klirscales found later:
You may have to go on a little scavenger hunt, we’re all a little out of it this morning. Murder is a messy buisiness, don't you think? There’s been too much arguing and talon-pointing lately, and I think most of us just want a bit to regroup. --Sybill.
~~~
Dead: Barswallow, Vivian, Sage, Leo, Nyx
Suspects: Luna-Starr, TheaterGirl, Nihil, Joan B. of Arc
(February 24, 2020 - 1:52 pm)
Day five pt. Three
Nikai and Porcelain Dragon eventually made their way back to the dining room, finding the rest of the vacationers just finishing lunch.
“Well, look who decided to show up,” said Vansix. “Where were you? Slinky and Klirscales searched virtually the entirety of Skywater. We couldn't hold off lunch any longer.”
Nikai looked at Porcelain, who gave a subtle shake of her head without looking at her. The meaning was clear, to the CAPTCHA: Don't say anything. Let me talk. Unfortunately, there was one more person who saw the head shake.
The murderer cocked their head ever so slightly, wondering where it was that the twosome had gone, and why they didn't want to talk about it. Then they remembered a stern talk that Vansix had had with all of them on their second day at Skywater. The dragon had detailed all the locations of the places they weren't allowed to go, and decribed the signs on doors and hallways leading to those places, that told them to back off.
Porcelain Dragon and Nikai had been to one of those places. The murderer was sure of it.
“We were kind of… wandering around,” murmured Porcelain apoligetically. “We might have gone outside too. That’s probably why you couldn’t find us.”
Vansix paused, but seemed to accept this story. “Well, we have some lunch for you. Lila and I weren't planning to do another ‘everyone gets their favorite food’ day, but you all seemed like you needed to be cheered up a little, and this is the best we could think of on the spot.” He led the two back into the kitchen, and when they came out, Nikai wrestlig with a chunk of venison that was missing it’s plate, and Porcelain balancing a plate of regular food, but with a generous side of something Vansix hadn't known of until he looked it up, they found that Lila had led the rest of the group off to their rooms for down time.
<vansx> Nikai mumbled, her mouth full of venison. <agent> <wnter> <isall> <alone> <inher> <room>
Vansix consulted a rooming list. “Huh. You're right. In fact, it looks like room 18 is the only one that still has all it’s members. I’ll look into that with Lila later, maybe we can rearrange you so Agent doesn't have to sleep alone, and everyone can be part of a full room.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” said Porcelain. She still wasn't very happy about the others accusing her of murder, but she didn't like the idea of someone having to sleep alone.
“For now,” Vansix murmured, “why don't you two go join her in her room? You don't have to stay there for the rest of the vacation, but just for now.”
The twosome nodded, finishing their lunch, and headed to room 8 for down time.
~~~
Dead: Barswallow, Vivian, Sage, Leo, Nyx
Suspects: Luna-Starr, TheaterGirl, Nihil, Joan B. of Arc
(February 27, 2020 - 11:39 am)