Group #17

[Guest]

He could tell the ladies were clearly willing to take risks and chances with their own lives. Perhaps that was what made them good students. Strong witches. He wasn't going to care and he needed them to work together. He turned his horse to go around the mountain with a nod to the young ladies. He had to admit, they were proving their worth so far on this mission. He was shocked though at how little they interacted with everyone as a whole. Women always seemed to be such chatty, gossiping things, and yet, here they were, more silent than a quiet dog.

He had received an owl letter from Constance on the way to the mountain and thus he responded while they were going around the mountain.

  

[Hogsmeade Trail]

EVENT ANNOUNCER - ROUND 4
After a restful night, your group decides to take the easier mountain route. It's slow going due to having to weave in and out of the thick forest. You're forced to leave your horses behind because they are unable to fit between the close-knit trunks. Hopefully, they'll be able to find their way home again. By mid afternoon, you find a small stream and are able to fill your canteens. As you continue to travel in a southward direction, you notice that the mountain is getting steeper and steeper - apparently, the only way to tackle this mountain is to go upwards. You climb higher and higher. By the end of the day, there is a thick layer of snow all around you. The temperature has dropped unexpectedly quickly and just as the sun has disappeared behind the mountain, you are forced to make a quick decision before you all freeze to death. You can camp for the night where you are and hope to keep sheltered from the elements, or you can try and find a cave that will not only offer shelter, but warmth. The trouble is, you'll have to look for it in the dark.

What do you think is best?
a. Camp here
b. Search for a cave

OOC DIRECTIONS
1. Make a decision

Round 5 begins June 1st

  

[Siobhan Blotts]

Sibby thought about it. The better option was finding a cave. Always. so she decided to vote for that.
"If we find a cave, we will be safe from what's outside. We will be warmer and will not get frosbites. Anyone against it?"

  

[Hogsmeade Trail]

EVENT ANNOUNCER - ROUND 5
It is near midnight and a thick layer of snow is all around you. However, you are able to find a cave for shelter. You spend the night protected from the biting wind and manage to evade frostbite - but just barely. You continue traveling up the mountain for the next week and a half.

On May 31st, you run into a group that has dwindled down to just two, Claudius Lestrange and Euphemia Turnbull. You allow them to join your group.

On the evening of June 1st, just as you settle inside another cave and build a small campfire for warmth, you hear distant roaring. Do you go back out into the cold to find the cause of the roar or do you head farther back into the cave so that you're more difficult to find?

Round 6 begins June 4th

  

[Claudius Lestrange]

Claude wondered daily, perhaps hourly why the ministry had sent them all out into the wilderness like this. While he wasn't exactly used to conditions like this, he was vastly more prepared that some of his group members. After his entire group, including himself, had been laid up with mild food poisoning for a week and half of his group was sent home, he had been secretly glad it was just himself and Effie left. It was highly inappropriate for the two of them to be out alone together in the woods, but Claude was enjoying himself immensely. With just the two of them to make decisions it was much easier and Effie was easy company. They chatted amiably, speaking of different things they had read, this and that, nothing of great importance.

However as they started to get higher in elevation the weather made turns for the worse and they were unprepared for the cold and snow. Claude had given Effie his only jacket to guard against the cold, but he knew they wouldn't make it much longer. Fortunately, or unfortunately, he wasn't able to decide quite yet, they met up with another group, huddle in a cave and found some relief from the cold. They joined the group for lack of a better choice. The two of them could not just continue on the way they were.

As the settled in for the night, Claude trying to make sure Effie was at least comfortable on some level, when a distant roar out in the wilderness reached his ears. It sent and unexpected shiver down his spine. "Yes, I quite agree, we may want to move back in the cave a bit, so that our fire is not visible from the entrance. I can set up some protective enchantments to help." He offered. At least his training for the ministry was a positive addition to his arsenal of knowledge.

  

[Euphemia Turnbull]

• Effie had now wished she had dressed far more appropriately for the journey than she had. Claude, the man she had some emotional tie with since the Lestrange Solar Eclipse Party, had given her his only jacket. Food poisoning had also not been the best experience for her, having grown sick and weak, Euphemia felt incompetent at this point in their journey. They had wasted so much time being sick, she was sure that she and Claude were far behind the other groups. Not to mention, they had to be the only pair, the only ones stuck alone in the cold. But soon the two had found another group and eventually coalesced with them.
  
  Inside the cave, Euphemia had gotten as close as was possible to the fire to warm her up. She felt old. The cold sunk straight through to her bones and she was struggling to keep warm. Claude was a great companion and after merging with the other group, she still found herself talking to Claude and hanging onto their amicable bond. Her stuttering had improved to almost nothing when they were alone on the trail, but now with people it had worsened. Shivering, she heard the roar and gooseflesh covered her skin.
  
  Quietly listening to Claude's voice which managed to hold a warm resonance to it, Effie nodded occasionally in agreement. "T-that's the b-best option," she whispered, teeth chattering to make her stutter far worse in the cold. She pulled Claude's jacket tightly around her body and smiled weakly. "I c-c-can c-c-contr-r-ibute t-to t-that," she admitted. "I kn-know a f-few p-p-prot-t-tective ch-charms."

  

[Guest]

The trip had been long, but without very much difficulty, despite that the ladies seemed intent on being hard and strong young ladies. Their individualism was somehow strange to him, but he understood that the world was changing and eventually, women would not be very different from men. He did not like the thought of being on equal ground with a woman, but he wouldn't have much choice if society decided otherwise. It was already happening within the ministry and soon it would happen elsewhere.

As they turned around the mountain, the temperature dropped significantly and the weather became harsher for them. The horses seemed to handle it well which was a testament to their trainers. He had paid them well and made sure they enjoyed the horses he purchased for them. The group itself seemed to be able to handle much on their own and as they entered a cave, they proved to find themselves in much needed protection despite that his magical tents provided environmental protection.

Euphemia was a strange little girl and Claudius was a very good man he knew from work at the Ministry. A strong wizard with an aptitude for mischief and curses. As the two joined the group, he wholehearted greeted them and nodded, "Welcome, Claudius...m'lady." Once they were more comfortable with each other, they came across another situation within another cave that had Kenneth worried. He liked danger, but he didn't like dying.

"I agree with Claudius. Ladies, you should head further into the cave. We will work on protection enchantments and charms then join you within. Do take care of the horses and yourselves. I would not wish to see harm upon any of you." He nodded and wasn't going to give them much choice in the matter as he stepped up to the entrance to begin putting up the charms.

  

[Calumina Sheehan]

Cally smiled at the new comers, despite her shivering. She hadn't been prepared for mountains and wilderness, if anything she thought she'd be boiling alive. "Ye-Yes the-the ca-cave sounds love-lovely." She spoke, her teeth chattering to the point where her words came out stuttering.

  

[Hogsmeade Trail]

EVENT ANNOUNCER - ROUND 6
Your group has chosen to head farther back into the cave. After putting the protective spells around the mouth of it, the men rejoin the women further inside. Stalactites and stalagmites have formed, with icy patches on the floor as well. It's difficult to maneuver, but most are able to do so.

However, Calumina looses her footing on a thick sheet of ice and tumbles forward. She gains momentum as the cave floor begins to drop into a steep hill. Kenneth reaches for her in order to help her and slips. Their bodies run into each other painfully before they disappear from view - off of a cliff that nobody had seen - their screams echoing throughout the cave as they fall, bounce against a protruding ledge and then another, and then finally hit the cave floor far below. It is then and only then, that they are silent.

The Ministry is sent for immediately. It takes several days, but their bodies are extracted and returned to Hogsmeade. The rest of the group is given fresh blankets and cloaks, but are left to finish the expedition.

The morning of June 4th, a large shadow flies overhead. You duck inside some shrubbery and get a good view of what just flew over you. Just around the corner from where you stand, is a dragon's nest. Smooth scaled and copper in color, the Peruvian Vipertooth is only fifteen feet long (five meters) and has venomous fangs. The Peruvian Vipertooth is not native to England - someone must have brought them here long ago, perhaps as illegal pets or for breeding. Either way, she has been turned loose into the wild and now you must suffer the consequences. She enters the cave, having not noticed your group, and curls up alongside an unmistakable dragon egg.

If you move carefully, you might be able to avoid her noticing and continue on your journey. However, the price of a dragon egg - an exotic dragon egg no less - is extremely tempting. Do you try to cleverly steal the egg or avoid the dragon entirely?

Round 7 begins June 7th

  

[Euphemia Turnbull]

• No, no, no; this could not be happening, not again. Euphemia felt scared. Two party members fell to their death and not one of the surviving members could be held accountable as to save them as they plummeted. Her body froze. Her heart skipped a beat and time slowed down. Shaking her head, Effie turned around and grabbed onto Claudius Lestrange's shirt. She knew him at the very least. She knew it was improper to do such a thing, but by Merlin's white beard Effie was sick, scared, and sad. Her stomach was in knots. How could these people, that had welcomed both she and Claude without any complaint, die in such a cruel and sickening way.
  
  Euphemia was only glad she could not hear their bones crunch, but their screams haunted her ears and her dreams every night. On June 4th, the shadow of a dragon followed the trio. As the trio examined the dragon, she could not distinguish what kind it was. It was foreign to her. It was nothing she had ever seen in a book on the magical creatures of any of Britain's territories. Effie's hands grew clammy and she shook her head ferociously. "N-n-no!" she protested in a hushed, forced whisper. "W-w-we m-must g-go away f-from the d-d-drag-g-on!" Effie's voice was shaky in a way unlike before. Her stutter was always present, but her weak tone made her feel cowardly. She did not want anyone else dying. Dragons were dangerous. She was not going to get involved in this manner of stupidity.
  
  Weak, Effie stuck out a hand trying to grab Claude's arm to steady her and to give her a sense of safety. Claude made her feel safe, and the two had grown close in their travels alone after Maggie and Jian Min had been forced to leave due to illness and injury. "P-please," she pleaded. "N-n-no d-d-drag-g-ons."

  

[Calliope Riley]

• The addition of two members of another group passed without incident, as by this time Calliope mostly kept to herself and the two that had joined seemed perfectly happy in each other's company.
  
  The loss of two group members came as an enormous shock. The younger Sheehan and Mr. Summerby, Calliope hadn't quite warmed to either, but watching, horror-struck as they slipped down into the icy, dark depths of the cave, she felt a pang of grief.
  
  By June fourth, she still hadn't recovered from the awful unfamiliar feeling. She couldn't sleep; the lack of comfort didn't help, but what was worst was imagining falling to her death every time she shut her eyes. She hadn't said anything much to the others, lost in her own head for most of the day, lost in a sort of all-encompassing terror for most of the night. Still, for once in her life, Calliope was not complaining.
  
  The muscles in her face all too tense to relax enough to speak, she just nodded numbly at Euphemia's exclamation. No dragons. That, she could agree with. She was, in absolutely no unfolding of events, going to get herself killed by dragons. No. She wanted to get home, and get home fast.

  

[Claudius Lestrange]

There had been nothing that he could do, despite all of his training, everything he had been prepared for, he couldn't get there fast enough, get his wand out to help them. One second they were there and the next they were gone. Claude felt useless and guilty, even though he knew he shouldn't.

He'd stuck unnaturally and inappropriately close to Effie since the loss of their group members, but he had resumed the role of the only male in his group yet again so he felt the need to look out for the three of them. They were all so young and fragile, especially after losing their group members like that. It certainly was worse off for the remaining Miss Sheehan. Claude was now fearing for the mental health of his girls in addition to their physical well-being. It was strange for him, being only twenty-two to be the oldest in his group, but he had never shied away from responsibility and these girls were his to keep track of and look after.

Grabbing Effie's elbow gently as she stammered out an strong opposition to dealing with dragons, he tried to steady her. She had been doing so well with the stuttering. "No, we won't be dealing with any dragons, let's move on." He assured them. Dealing with a dragons was no his specialty, he was no MacFusty after all and he'd rather just not deal with it at all if they could avoid it.

  

[Hogsmeade Trail]

EVENT ANNOUNCER - ROUND 7
Your group decides to stay inside the cave for the evening in an attempt to hide out from the dragon. The shelter keeps you warm and out of the biting wind. In the morning, you venture outside into the snow. Your group continues to head south. On the seventh of June, there's a rumbling noise - one quite unlike that of a creature. It sounds like something big and not quite right. It is then that you look upward to see that higher up on the mountain, something has caused an avalanche. The tumbling waves of the snow could easily crush you if it were to reach you. The only option is to outrun it, or risk it by burrowing into the already existing snow in an attempt to have it pass over you - but then you'll have to worry about digging yourselves back out as well.

Round 8 begins June 10th

  

[Calliope Riley]

• Trudging on uneventfully, Calliope kept to her own thoughts until an enormous rumbling accosted her ears. Please no more dragons, she prayed, glancing around frantically.
  
  It was almost worse. An avalanche. Not something she had ever thought she'd encounter first-hand. Nothing she'd ever wanted to. Calliope, for one, could only see one course of action, and this she demonstrated by leaping into directly. Quick, run!" She yelled, the first words she'd spoken in a while, and the only necessary ones. With that, off she sprinted, stumbling multiple times over the unfortunate terrain.

  

[Siobhan Blotts]

When Sib heard the noise, she didn't have to wonder twice about it. Something has caused an avalanche that went their way. She knew they have no chance of outrunning it. Especially with lady Browne among them.
"Alright, I know side-along apparition. I vote apparating to the nearest cave."

  

[Hogsmeade Trail]

EVENT ANNOUNCER ù ROUND 8
Your group chooses to try and outrun the avalanche. The trouble is, it's moving at twice the amount of speed that you can run. The outcome looks bleak. Luckily, you come upon a ledge the juts out from the mountain. It's a risk, but you squish under it in order for it to protect you from the crushing weight of the snow. Only minutes later, the wave pounds over the top of the ledge. It's dark and cold for several seconds, and then it's gone, leaving a fresh layer of two foot snow in its wake.

You continue down the side of the mountain, heading southwest because it's the only possible direction to currently travel. As you travel further downward, the mountains become more forest than snow. Eventually, it's simply forest. On June 10th, your group comes upon a trio of young women. Beautiful, angelic-like and entirely ethereal in appearance. The man in the group is immediately putty in their hands. They speak seductively and invite your group to come explore the forest with them. Claudius completely (and rather incoherently) agrees. It's left up to the women to make the real decision.

Round 9 begins June 13th