[OM][Closed] Locked In, Out of Place

[The Quill]

28 February, 2026

Some people just don’t listen. You, of course, being some people, ignored both Headmistress Pryce’s announcement and the large “CLOSED” sign that had been placed on the Trophy Hall door.

The corridor outside is quiet in the way corridors only ever are during a lock-in night; distant laughter from somewhere else, footsteps fading toward more interesting destinations.

The Trophy Hall greets you with the lingering scent of smoke. The room is dimmer than usual; only some of the sconces are lit, casting uneven blue light across the long chamber. Blue. Odd.

It is immediately clear that something happened here.

Several of the display cases bear spiderweb cracks that ripple outward across their panes, not shattered through but fractured as if struck by a sudden force from within. One cabinet door hangs ajar, its hinge warped and partially melted. The velvet runner across the central dais is scorched along one edge, the fabric darkened and crisp where flames must have licked across it.

On the stone floor near the center of the room lies a wide, round mark, blackened and faintly iridescent at the edges, discolored in a way that suggests intense magic compressed into a single point before dispersing.

Looking up, soot stains radiate across the ceiling beams, and the chandelier suspended above is cracked in two.

Nothing is missing, perse (at least that puts the rumor of the House Cup being stolen to rest), but nearly everything has some sort of damage to it. Whatever occurred here was powerful enough to leave its mark on glass, metal, and stone, yet precise enough to stop short of devastation.

TWO Penwick Students can enter the Trophy Hall; first-come, first-served. Please review the OM Rules before participating.

This thread takes place almost immediately after dinner. You should not create another thread taking place during the Lock-In until the next moderated post is made (it will become apparent why at that point). Afterwards, you are free to "branch" into other threads if you so desire.

If you choose to investigate something in the room, the act of investigation will be rolled for using d20 + your character’s intelligence.

You’re at liberty to try a different action based on the text above, but whether this will be fruitful remains unseen.

[Scarlett Evans]

February 28th, 2026

This school was different. Scarlett thus far had kept her head down, costing through day by day, mainly observing rather than participating within the walls of Penwick. During her time at Hogwarts she took on many responsibilities and rather enjoyed it, however here she was on a mission, nothing more nor less. Education was important, obviously, but what brought her here was her only drive for being here. It wasn't because of any family move, or best friend; it was just one single sign, one small moment that pulled Scarlett to transfer, and due to that, she just started her year here simply watching.

When the announcement of the Lock-In met her ears, the newly sorted Modron figured it was time she stepped out of her passive existence, and participate, make friends, and make memories. This could be the chance to prove herself within the school, earn trust from professors and prefects, and support her personal investigation. At least that's what she had hoped; lord only knew that nothing was going to be found out if Scarlett never took the chance to make connections at all.

Once the instructions were laid out, Scarlett observed the headmistress returning to her supper and fell into the crowd as she left to enjoy the lock-in. Melding into a crowd was her specialty; she had an innate gift of disappearing, so she chose with no need of a wand flick. It came naturally to her. Head down, moving as a shadow in a large body of fellow students, and no one could tell she was ever there.

Glancing over her shoulder, she was able to move away from the larger crowd and down the corridors in the direction of the Trophy Hall. Her hands kept at her side, head held up and she emanated the type of confidence that could pivot if a professor came about claiming her unawareness that she was heading out of bounds. Yes, deny unless proven guilty was going to be her strategy, but with every added step she took, with so far no other soul within sight, Miss Evans felt more than confident she could merely take a peek, and maybe get some answers before anyone would know she was gone.

Closing in to the entrance of the Hall, the dim blue light danced along her face. Bringing out the piercing blue within her own eye colour, to anyone on the outside, it might as though seem like her eyes were at home within the faint glow. Leaning along the pillar of the entrance, Scarlett ever so slightly leaned her head in, much like a younger sibling leaning into their elders room claiming no entrance due to the fact their feet have not yet crossed any barrier, this is the stance she took. She had not entered she was just looking, there was no rule against that? Right? Well her memory of the instructions at this point became rather foggy, but Scarlett believed enough that she was not guilty so long as she did not step foot within the hall.

Peering her head around the room, she could barely see the carnage, the light being so dim, and the damage being so subtle, but it was there. The cracks on the glass, the soot on the ceiling. She saw it all. 'what happened here' she thought to herself. suddenly a pit fell in her stomach. maybe it was the smell of smoke that invaded her nostrils, or it could be the fear of getting caught. but whatever it was, Scarlett found herself frozen at the edge of the hall, practically holding her breath at the sight that lay before her.

[Finnegan Connor]

The thing about Grindle Snips was that she had no concept of privacy whatsoever. You could be minding your own business threatening to transfigure a ratty Mercator first-year into its proper species when she would show up out of nowhere. Typical.

It was her head that came up through the floor first, startling the first-year so much that he tucked tail and ran. Finnegan sighed, lowered his wand arm and used his free hand to quickly slick his hair back for what little good it would do.

"Hello Finnegan," said Grindle sweetly as the rest of her came up slowly through the carpet.

"Grindle..." he said flatly. "You're interrupting." He tried to look past her at the mop of bobbing blonde hair running down the length of the hallway. Jinxing someone while their back was turned wasn't honorable, but boy did he really want to jinx this particularly first year.

Following his gaze, Grindle lazily turned her head, her ghostly hair drifting after her like seaweed. It never ceased to be strange to be able to see both the back and the front of someone's head at the same time.

"If you're bullying first-years I'll report you to-"

Finnegan snorted loudly. "I wasn't bullying anyone. It was the other way around, the little runt was lecturing me." Grindle continued to drift upward until she hovered a little above him, which was just unfair considering he was actually taller than her. His gaze fell down to her slack hand in which she held a pair of scissors, then he looked back up again. "He was blathering about the rules out of nowhere, can you imagine? Getting accosted by a first-year? It's offensive, it is. They're very irritating if you ask me, they're very loud and annoying but small, so you keep tripping over them and they're clueless about everything, but I was never that obnoxious, or that tiny, I-"

He stopped there because he recognised the look Grindle was giving him all too well.

"No." He said, taking a step back. It wasn't hard to guess what she was thinking. "I'm not letting you touch my hair."

Grindle cocked her head to the side, eyeing him skeptically. "It doesn't need touching, it needs cutting."

Finnegan raised his wand arm again, though he struggled to think of any spell that would get rid of her. She was already dead after all.

"It's a disaster," Grindle sighed dramatically as she hovered around him, as though she hadn't already taken the measure of him several times over in the past few weeks. "I could make you look marvellous if you'd just-"

"But I am marvellous."

"You are a catastrophe," Grindle countered hotly, her spectral scissors giving a sharp snip-snip that sounded not entirely unlike bones snapping. "Like you've been dragged through a hedge."

"That's just rude," Finnegan huffed, blowing a lock of dark hair from his eye. Admittedly, it was starting to get in the way and if he'd still been playing Quidditch he might have cared a bit more about the strands getting in his eyes. "It's a look and besides, it's not my fault you haven't kept up with trends since you died in the Middle Ages."

"The 1890s were hardly the Middle Ages, you little hooligan!" Grindle shrieked. Her hair swooped upward in a violent, frizzed wave, mirroring her indignation. "The late Victorian era was the pinnacle of hair-dressing! We had discipline! We had structure! We didn't walk around looking like our heads had been used as mops!"

She lunged forward, scissors raised, snip-snip-sniping the air. Finnegan was glad he already had his wand out.

"Fumos!"

A jet of thick, suffocating grey smoke erupted from the tip of his wand and billowed outward with surprising force, filling the narrow corridor in a heartbeat. That was plenty time to spin on his heel, duck low, and swerve around a heavy suit of armor before darting up the nearest staircase. He only stopped when Grindle's shrieking had faded away into nothingness.

Breathing hard, he came to a halt in a hallway and looked around. It was a bit harder to make out the exact location in the half-gloom, but a faint blueish glow coming from further down the corridor provided just enough light for him to recognize he was on the first floor.

Thinking it unwise to stay still, Grindle was rather stubborn after all, he briskly walked down the corridor wondering if perhaps it would be safest just to return to the dormitories. Almost subconsciously, he was drawn toward the light spilling out of one of the rooms onto the corridor. As he approached, two thoughts struck him at once. First, that this was the trophy hall which the Headmistress had mentioned to be off-limits for the night. Secondly, more notably, that someone was already there.

And not just anyone.

Grinning to himself, Finnegan tip-toed forward, halting just a few paces behind the lone girl and cleared his throat. "Ten points from House Modron, Ms. Evans," he said in his best mock voice. He knew very well what stern and disappointed Professors sounded like. "Can't you read?" He dipped his chin toward the sign on the door.

Dropping his act just as quickly, he came up beside Scarlett to see what she had been gawking at. He didn't really know her, but being in the same year and house they had been in classes together often enough that no introductions were needed. Squinting he looked at the destruction and the scorch marks, then flashed a lopsided smile at Scarlett. "You never told me you were this good at a Reductor Curse, that's a little scary honestly." Then he frowned. "What d'you reckon happened here?"

[The Quill]

28 February, 2026
@Scarlett Evans @Finnegan Connor

Two students now, lingering at the entrance to the hall. Neither had yet crossed the threshold of the door, perhaps a cause of timidity, or fear of being caught, or even heeding the warnings given earlier. A wise choice by each of them.

But not a choice that was theirs alone.

As Finn approached, a loud pop resonated as a large crack appeared in the floor at the center of the room, stretching toward the door.

A moment would pass, just enough time for Scarlett to respond or acknowledge her housemate Finn.

And then... A tone. A sound, emanating from somewhere inside the Trophy Hall. Thin. High. Like a bug flying around your ear.

Another tone joined, just lower than the first, creating a dissonance akin to nails on glass.

The sound built, slowly, carefully, never rising in volume, only in complexity. More tones layered in, weaving together into something that almost resembled music, though not in any way that is pleasant.

Before either student would be able to react beyond a few words, they both felt a tension in their body. A tightening around the midsection, the shoulders, the arms, the distinct sensation of something wrapping, something taking hold, like an invisible cord drawing taut.

Resisting the Pull - Spirit DC 20

Scarlett - 15 Failure

Finn - 27 Success

Scarlett's body and mind gave way. The tension drew tighter, the angle of her stance shifting just enough that her balance tipped forward, her foot sliding across the threshold before there was time to correct it.

Then a pull, a sharp tug, dragging her further into the room, and then the tension vanished, letting Scarlett fall to the ground.

Behind her, the same tension had closed around Finnegan. For a moment, it takes hold in exactly the same way, his weight shifting, his stance beginning to tip forward, about to be pulled into the hall...

And then it gave way, "unraveling" from his torso. By willpower alone, he had resisted whatever was trying to force him in.

Scarlett has been pulled into the room. If she tries to leave, she will be pulled back again.
The sound is immensely irritating, but not loud, and you can still have a conversation above the noise. If Finn enters the room, the sound will stop.

If you choose to investigate something in the room, the act of investigation will be rolled for using d20 + your character’s intelligence.

You’re at liberty to try a different action based on the text above, but whether this will be fruitful remains unseen.

[Scarlett Evans]

February 28th, 2026

Seconds had passed, or perhaps it was minutes? At the very least some amount of time had come and gone as Scarlett lingered on the cusp of the entrance, then a voice from behind nearly threw her into the room, "Ten points from House Modron, Ms. Evans,"
For many, the feeling would be mutual, you're alone, for as far as you know, letting yourself get lost in thought. Than any sort of noise, or person coming up invading that space of peace and thoughts so deep a person may not recall what they were thinking about, and its like being snapped awake, sudden, unpleasant, and any action taken by such individual disturbed in this manor is no fault of their own but clearly the fault of the one who broke into their serenity unannounced.

Scarlett was so deeply entranced by the hall before her that the comment felt like the call to battle, and her reaction was the same she had had all her life, when brothers would appear out of nowhere just to startle her. Her hand balled in a fist, and without the chance to stop it, her arm was thrown in the direction of the sudden voice. She may have made contact, whether she did or didn't, Scarlett had no idea; she was acting out of impulse.
A small shriek left her lips and before she knew who stood beside her," I am terribly sorry, I just heard a noise and-" she was beginning to figure out a reason for breaking the rules, but once she saw who really stood behind her she couldn't help but shove his shoulder, "that's not funny!" Her voice cracked as she attempted to resemble a composed individual rather than a frightened child.

"Can't you read?" His question flopped out into the space. What sort of question was that?
"Well, obviously! just didn't see the sign till I got closer." If there was one thing Scarlett was good at, it was finding obscure loopholes to justify any sort of rule-breaking bind she found herself in.

It would seem the contents of the room also drew her fellow housemate too, at least she wasn't the only one. At this point, if they were caught, at least not being alone would make it easier to share blame, rather than being the only soul that ignored the rules.

"You never told me you were this good at a Reductor Curse, that's a little scary, honestly."

Her nerves had calmed down a little. At least Scarlett had seen this boy in many classes, though she hardly knew him; she recognized him, and that was enough to lower her guard.
"Though I'll take the compliment, this is how I found the space. Guess curiosity got the best of me, but I didn't think something this bad had occurred."

Her attention flew back inside the room, and a tone began to sound. The source of which was coming from the centre of the room. Scarlett looked back at the Modron boy to see if it scared him, but in doing so, she might have let her own emotions slip, letting an uneasy look strike across her own face.

Then a second noise, and this brought some pain to Scarlett's ears, her hands cupping over them, seeking any sort of protection from a nails on glass-like sound. The worst possible noise to endure.

More and more sounds grew in the room, it was almost like the beginning of an orchestra, when all the instruments tune at the same time, not loud per-say, but not pleasant to listen to with so many different tones and layers. Scarlett slowly drew back her hands and once again faced towards the entrance, attempting to locate the source of the added sounds.
A tightness began to form around the girl's waist, 'Stop it!" her first reaction to the boy standing next to her as if he was grabbing her stomach, but when the pressure continued with no release, she turned sharply, "I said stop..." only to see Finn was nowhere close enough to be the reason for the pressure. Then she could feel it around her arms, like something was indeed taking hold of her, but there was nothing within view other than her housemate.

Feeling the pressure build, she could feel her body tilting in the room, but she was powerless to do anything. As if her soul were extracted from her body, she found she had no control over her limbs, her mind had gone blank, and all she could do was watch herself being pulled inside the hall.
Falling to the floor, the pressure finally ceased, but whatever had a hold of her had taken her far past the threshold. Looking back, she saw Finn remained at the doorway. It would seem he had his own fight with, whatever that was.

"what on earth was that?" Hoping the boy had any sort of explanation.

Getting up, she peered around the room, and still didn't see anything. Slowly, she started making her way back to the entrance, as if sneaking out of the house while her parents slept. Well, whatever the force was, when Scarlett got within inches of leaving, she was pulled right back in.

"Okay...." unsure if this was directed to the thing in the room, or to Finn, who still lingered in the doorway. "It's a charm, right? A professor didn't want whatever was in here to be out in the school?" She tried reasoning with some sort of logic. In her mind, if a professor set this up, then clearly whatever pulled her wasn't scary; why would a professor put something scary in the school?

This thought might have given her more false hope than she maybe should have. Knowing she was unable to leave, she took the time to observe her surroundings. There must be something here that she isn't seeing? Plus, if she saw it, she wouldn't be scared of it, like the monster that lingers under your bed as a younger child. Seeing it takes away the fear factor because the discovery is it's just an old sweater bunched up.... clearly it was the same principle in the hall of trophies.

Looking back at Finn, the thought had crossed her mind to send him for help.... but what good would that do? A year in detention? expulsion? No, this was no time to get the adults; she was capable enough to figure a way out. "I'm just gonna take a look around, maybe there is a weak spot, or a secret exit?" She had no idea if such a thing existed, but it seemed logical enough. Pulling out her wand, she began to search the space where she could.

She searches the room.

[Finnegan Connor]

Sniggering, Finnegan stumbled back a pace. "No?" Despite his best efforts to stiffle his laughter the dimples on his cheeks betrayed his glee. She must've been totally lost in thought for him to get this much of a reaction out of her, and no wonder. The odd, soft glow eminating from the trophy hall was mesmerizing, luring any remotely curious mind toward it no matter the warnings or the danger. All things considered he was lucky that she wasn't the culprit of the damage caused. If she had been and he'd truly startled her, she might've blown him to bits.

Stepping forward again, Finnegan absent-mindedly rubbed his arm where she had hit him (a small price to pay for the effect he'd had on her) and peered into the trophy room. The air smelled faintly acrid and smokey like the lingering smell of a fireplace that had just gone out.

"Bad?" He arched an eyebrow at Scarlett. Some of the trophies and prizes were rather gawdy and a few scorch marks could be considered an improvement. "I reckon someone just set off some Wildfire Whiz-bangs," he said with a shrug. "I thought I heard a pop when I came 'round, it's probably just-" But he never got around to offering his explanation because a thin and shrill tone had rudely interrupted him. Tearing his gaze from Scarlett, Finnegan's eyes darted around the trophy hall, trying to locate the source of the sound as it build and volume and complexity. More tones now joined it and it rose into a cacophonous noise that made him grit his teeth. Yet before he could cover his ears, he felt some invisible force wrap around him, a rope that snaked around his waist and arms and pulled him forward.

"Hey!-"

One glance in Scarlett's direction was enough to know this wasn't her doing. She too was being pulled into the room, he saw her tip forward, saw how she struggled before she fell, like someone had yanked her into the room. There was nothing he could do about it, staying upright was difficult enough and that bloody noise was still ringing in his ears. He felt the same pressure building, like a rope that was being pulled taut, but when the yank came, it was though the rope had snapped instead of managing to pull him in. Suddenly released, Finnegan stumbled backward and gasped for air.

"What on earth was that?"

His answer was plain in the bewildered look he gave her. "I don't- that felt weird." And not in a good way. After a steadying breath he returned to the threshold and lingered at the entrance, though this time half a step further back than before. Was it a charm? "It could be..." he answered, though he sounded unconvinced. "Not a particularly benign one if you ask me. More likely a jinx or a curse. You probably shouldn't be in there..."

Frowning he watched her walk back toward the doorway, then halting suddenly. What was she waiting for? Then it dawned on him that perhaps the same force that had been trying to pull them both in was now preventing her from getting out. Finnegan glanced over his shoulder, the thought of getting help made a nice little whooshing noise as it zipped past. He could not afford to land himself in detention, not when he needed every spare minute to keep up with the fifth-year curriculum. Looking back into the room his eyes landed on the wide blackened mark at the center of the room and the fissure that had cracked the floor.

"Looks like something has gotten out," he said, pointing toward the crack. For the first time his voice sounded serious and concerned. "I'd stay away from that if I were you." Hesitantly he pulled out his wand and pressed his lips together thoughtfully. "Maybe... uh, maybe stand aside, I'm a bit rubbish at charms and counter-charms."

Clearing his throat, Finnegan aimed his wand at the mark on the floor and incanted: "Finite Incantatem!"

Attempting to cast the general counter-spell Finite Incantatem. I'll let the Quill do the rolls. Observations made were based on the text of the previous Quill posts. I assumed I didn't have to roll for those?

@Scarlett Evans @The Quill

Note for @Scarlett Evans any spell on this list can be bought, unless a specific requirement is listed which your character doesn't yet meet. In the future there will be a spell shop, but for right now I have to assign spells by hand. If you want to use a spell, your character needs to have it. In this case, I'd say just use whatever spell you want in your post(s) and I'll add it to your character. The cost of the spell will be deducted from your character's available AT (advancement tokens). Because you picked the Versatile Origin you have 2000AT on Scarlett at the moment.

[The Quill]

28 February, 2026
@Scarlett Evans @Finnegan Connor

Teenagers often believe they are the first to arrive at an idea. They rarely are. And, while casting Finite Incantatem wasn't a terrible idea, surely he was not the first to think of the idea? If the Headmistress had been dealing with this for hours, she would have tried it already...

Regardless, Finn's spell failed to cast, his wand spitting out a pathetic spark seemingly in protest.

Scarlett, now in the trophy hall like it or not, began to look around the room.

Scarlett General Investigation: First Clue - Intelligence DC 15

Scarlett - 15 Success

Approaching the nearest glass trophy case, something caught her eye... Each trophy case's protective glass layer had been broken in a nearly identical way.

The glass was not just cracked as it had appeared to be further back. No, the spiderweb fractures formed a pattern, spreading outward in sharp, deliberate curved lines from the point of impact. Each line branched outward, forming a pattern, almost reminiscent of drawings that Runes & Ritual Magicks students carried with them.

The longer she looked at the case in front of her, the deeper the cracks seemed to form until -

Crash!

The glass case in front of Scarlett shattered into thousands of pieces that shot around the room.

Avoid the glass - Agility DC 10

Scarlett - 26 Success

Scarlett was able to react quickly, backing away as a large fragment of glass whizzed by where her head was a moment ago.

The noise, that irritating, grating noise, was not growing louder, no... But it was getting more intense, almost burrowing into the pair's mind, making it harder to focus, harder to find a way out...

Scarlett has found the first of three clues! To what? All will be revealed in due time.

If you choose to investigate something in the room, the act of investigation will be rolled for using d20 + your character’s intelligence.

You’re at liberty to try a different action based on the text above, but whether this will be fruitful remains unseen.

[Scarlett Evans]

February 28th, 2026

"You probably shouldn't be in there..."

Well, that was made clear as day. Obviously, being pulled to the centre of a room that was previously made off-limits should not house a student at this current moment. But Scarlett was not always the best at following rules, so trespassing where she shouldn't have became somewhat of an occupational hazard. And now this boy was pulled right alongside her curiosity.

"I'll keep that in mind for next time we're told not to go somewhere." Her tone was light and somewhat joking, but it did have an underlying sting of why on earth would you ask that?

From where she stood looking around, she noticed just as the boy started to raise his wand, saying something about being rusty, but before Scarlett could do anything, the attempt was made... "wait---" no point trying to stop him, Scarlett braced herself, burrowing her head within the safety of her arms with a mere crack to peer through to see what sort of damage could occur, but it was nothing more than some spitting sparks falling out the tip of his wand. A smirk grew on her face whilst an idea had been planted in her head.


"Oh no..." she threw herself to the ground, rolling around and shaking as if struck by a horrible urge to break-dance with no capability. "It's too strong, I've been struck."

Unable to hold back the laughter any longer, she rose back to her feet, dusting herself off, making too light of her current situation. Perhaps it was due to her fear that she was abnormally rude or harsh. Perhaps deep down she felt her life may be in grave danger, and this was the only way to calm her own nerves.

She started to glance around the room when her attention was caught. The glass trophy cases were not simply cracked; they had what seemed to be spider-web-like markings or cracks, with very clear hit points. These patterns seemed familiar, like she may have seen them before, "hey!" She called back to the boy, "There is something about these crack marks on the glass here.... It's like they have been---" before she could finish her sentence, something in the moment shifted, it was like a 6th sense took over Scarlett's body, and the whole instance ran forward in slow-motion. The glass in front of her shattered, and she was lucky enough to dodge out of the worst of it, throwing herself back and landing hard on her behind.

The sound was now getting more intense. Scarlett could feel it burning deeper in her mind. "I didn't touch it, I swear!" Practically defending herself before an accusation was placed about her breaking the glass. "Can you hear this out there?" At this point, Scarlett was trying to get a feel for whether she was being cut off from the outside of the room, or if the sound she could hear in here was still heard out there. And if it were, maybe a professor could hear it too? Bad news if that were the case is getting in trouble, but at this point, seeing as how she was yanked into the room without her setting foot inside herself, made her feel she couldn't be blamed for being trapped. Hopefully, with the noise not too loud, it was just held within the hall and maybe just the entrance.

"You know," she started, almost unsure of the question she was about to ask, " only if you think it's a good idea, maybe you could come in and help me figure a way out?" She knew that she was in a very unsafe situation, but maybe having an extra pair of eyes would help her out, or even just an extra wand if things did become super dire, of course as she was saying it here tone was extremely meek and a 'whatever you think is best' sort of a tone, trying not to sound as scared as she may have been.

She picked up one of the big pieces to take a look at it, see if the pattern she saw was still there, or to see if there were any clues as to how the thing could have just shattered on its own.

She searches the bigger glass pieces on the floor.

[Finnegan Connor]

Pathetic. Four years at school and all he managed was a few sputtering sparks? At least June wasn't around to see him fail so horribly, though he doubted she would've mocked him the way Ms. Evans did. The way Scarlett writhed on the floor in mock-convulsion at his feeble wand-work made heat crawl up face. He gripped his wand tighter and for a brief moment thought about turning away and leaving her there.

Glancing over his shoulder he looked back int othe dark hall stretching behind him. Who could he turn to for help? A Prefect? Headmistress Pryce? A Professor? June? His knuckles were white-hot now. There wasn't any help he could get that wouldn't make all of this decidely worse. If they got caught now, losing the lock-in privileges would be the least of their worries.

Scarlett's voice cut through his darkening thoughts. His head whipped back around at her suggestion that he should enter the trophy hall too. "Are you daft?" It is hard to be angry at someone when they suggest something so outlandish that you're too confused or impressed by the sheer stupidity of what they're saying to think or feel much else. "Oh sure, I'll pop into the inescapable torture chamber with you. No thanks... you're mental, you are...you-"

The glass exploded. Shards flew everywhere. Scarlett leapt out of the way in the nick of time. "What the bloody hell..." There was real concern in his voice now, real worry that they were dealing with something evil, something that wanted to hurt them. The grating high-pitched noise of layered tones grew more intense, like a knife being slowly pressed into his eardrum. Finn raised both hands to his ears and grit his teeth, but it was no use. "Aaahhh," he hissed through his teeth. "Piss off!" Whatever or whoever was causing this, he wanted nothing to do with them. Why hadn't he just taken Grindle Snips up on her offer? The sound was like wood-boring beetles trying to dig and eat their way into his brain.

Squinting, he tried to focus on the center of the room through the hazy of blue light. The mark on the floor had a strange design, like some kind of spiderweb he thought, or maybe it was some kind of runic symbol. "What d'you think that is?" Finn asked of Scarlett, dipping his chin toward the mark. He still remained on the outside of the room, unwilling to enter, speaking a little louder now to be heard over the noise, still with both hands covering his ears. "Maybe you could try the revealing charm on it?"

@Scarlett Evans @Rhiannon Pryce

[The Quill]

28 February, 2026
@Scarlett Evans @Finnegan Connor

Bless her, Scarlett was trying to get help. Although her "ally" did make a good point, being inside the room didn't exactly seem all that appealing. Still, why Finn wasn't leaving was a true mystery. Stuck to the floor, perhaps. Whatever it was, something was compelling him to stay and "help".

Finn General Investigation: Third Clue - Intelligence DC 15

Finn - 10 Failure

He wasn't entirely useless to the situation, though, as he had picked up on the fact that the mark in the center certainly was something. And even though it was hard for him to perceive much from a distance, he was able to make out that the mark wasn't carved or etched into the stone at all, but resting on top of it. Ash, perhaps? Soot, or black chalk? Whatever it was, it was some sort of powdered substance, clearly disturbed by the crack in the ground.

Scarlett, crouched among the fallen shards, found that the pattern in the glass had not disappeared with the break. If anything, it was clearer now. The curved fracture lines continued seamlessly from one piece to the next, as though the glass had been following a single design before it gave way. When held at the right angle, several of the larger shards aligned just enough to suggest how the pattern once extended across the entire pane.

Scarlett Investigation: Second Clue - Intelligence DC 15

Scarlett - 19 Success

Examining the pieces closely, something caught her eye. Not in the glass itself, but its reflection. The longer she looked, the more she would see not her own face looking back at her... But Finn's. The reflection moved with her, and would only appear when she looked at the glass for a long period of time. It was difficult to focus on any one detail, the image bending and shifting with every slight movement of her hand. Everything felt just slightly off, or perhaps slightly more correct? Even the chandelier, caught at the very edge of the shard, was pristine, unbroken.

Resisting the Screech - Spirit DC 20

Scarlett - 19 Failure

Finn - 19 Failure

The noise was now no longer something that could be ignored or worked around, burrowing deeper into their mind before letting out a screech. It cut through thought, through speech, through any attempt to coordinate movement, forcing both of them to their knees for a moment to withstand it. The screech, which sounded scarily alike to a human screaming out in agony, faded away after a moment.

Whatever was happening was growing in intensity, and it was only a matter of time before that screech would come again...

You have now found 2 (2.5 I guess, but Finn's roll wasn't quite high enough to give you all the pieces of the last one) clues!

If Finn looks in the shards of glass, he will see Scarlett's reflection instead of his own.

The noise is now overwhelming. Until it stops, all actions are rolled at disadvantage. You can still get up and walk, but you were forced to the ground for a moment during the screech.

If you choose to investigate something in the room, the act of investigation will be rolled for using d20 + your character’s intelligence.

You’re at liberty to try a different action based on the text above, but whether this will be fruitful remains unseen.