[KAI-UN]

[detentionroom]

[When you open your eyes, you find yourself lying on the sandy shores of a beach. It's dark, with the moon and stars hanging brightly in the sky above (wasn't it daytime back at school. . . ?). In front of you is the entrance to a water-logged sea cave, flanked by two torches that burn brightly in your homeroom's colors, casting an almost ethereal glow into the water lapping at the rocky opening. The louder voice from earlier echoes distantly around you.]

Hell yeah! A good ol' fashioned test of courage!! The rules of the game are simple: make it to the very end before time runs out. If you do, maybe I'll give ya somethin' nice to take back home with ya!

But if you don't– well. I ain't responsible for what happens!

[With those instructions, you are left to your own devices. The beach is small, and the water level seems to be slowly rising around you]

[There is nowhere else to go but into the gaping maw of danger.]

Comments

[REACTION SHOTS]

[detentionroom]

[I'm givin' you like 30 minutes for your reaction shots. Let me know if your characters decide not to enter the cave!]

[inexorableiron]

Urgathoa's fucking asscheek...

[Hate it. Hate teleportation. Hate this itchy tracksuit. Hate the sand where sand was not meant to be.

Hamn drags himself to his feet, sliding a little in the loose sand. He looks sharply in each direction, then looks down at the tattoo on his left hand and sighs. And then swears, in goblin]

So we're fucked in all directions, huh? Fucking figures.

[parttimesoldier]

I don't even want to know what's in there...

[Grimacing as she glances at the cave.]

[bowtiedbones]

What—!? Where are we!

[scrambling to her feet and away from the water. she’s turning in circles and staring around wild-eyed, completely thrown by their new surroundings]

Is this place real?

[parttimesoldier]

Feels pretty real.

[Likewise moving away from the water.]

[inexorableiron]

Real annoying, sure.

[ROUND ONE]

[detentionroom]

[The right path slopes downward, illuminated by small, bright red torches affixed to the rocky walls. Water sloshes at your feet as you walk; even more of it drip drip drips around you from a leaky, cracked ceiling]

[The louder of the two voices suddenly springs to life again, amused]

Hey, if this is a real test of courage, then I've gotta tell you a ghost story to go along with it, right? Somethin' real creepy about the caves themselves! Heh. . . all right.

[the voice continues even as you descend]

Once upon a time, there was this little girl! Real adventurous spirit, right? She'd do anything you dared her to do in a fuckin' heartbeat! There was nothin' in the world that scared her. Well, as you can imagine, one day her friends dared her to explore this waterlogged cave system. That shit was supposed to be haunted! Filled with the spirits of cave divers and the like who lost their lives flyin' a li'l too close to the sun.

Hah, but you know how brave people are! They don't care about somethin' as silly as their lives, do they?

[The voice fades with a small snicker, and just in time, too. It seems you have reached your first checkpoint]

[FIRST CHECKPOINT]

[detentionroom]

[You have reached what appears to be a dead end. . . of sorts! Presumably the path continues down, but there is a gate made out of bamboo shoots keeping you from traversing any farther. Etched in the rock above the gate are the words: FACE THAT WHICH FRIGHTENS YOU MOST. KEEP GOING]

[To unlock the gate, one character from the team must agree to face that which scares them the most. They will be given no indication of what that is, nor how said fear will manifest]

[But hey! If facing one's fears is a bit too much, you could always examine the loose rubble next to the gate, or turn back. YOU MAY ONLY CHOOSE ONE OF THESE THREE OPTIONS]

[DECISION]

[detentionroom]

[please comment here with your decision! if taking the fear bullet, please tell me which character is volunteering!]

[RESULTS]

[sevenhorrorsmods]

[The bamboo gate blocking your descent suddenly whooshes up into the rocky ceiling, leaving your path free and clear. Well! Better keep going!]

[First Checkpoint: The Discussion]

[inexorableiron]

... Gate's probably gonna be the fucking fastest, but also the shittiest. Lady dudes?

[parttimesoldier]

Time's of the essence, isn't it? It'd make the most sense, but...

[Yeah, shitty is probably right.]

No idea how bad it might get in there.

[inexorableiron]

Shit though, "what frightens us most?" Could be fucking anything.

[ROUND 2]

[sevenhorrorsmods]

[Is it just you, or is the water level rising as you walk. . .? It was up to your ankles, but now it seems to slosh at about mid-thigh. Hm. Concerning!]

[You know who is not concerned? The louder voice, which speaks again as you continue diving further into darkness.]

So that brave little girl did exactly what you'd expect her to do! She grabbed herself a flashlight, some rope, and some hiking boots, and marched her butt out to the beach in the dead of night! And honestly? The first leg of the trip wasn't that bad. It's about what you'd expect from a damp-ass cave: lots of rocks, and lots of wet.

But then, about an hour into her adventure, she stumbled across a dead end flanked by a pool of water.

[SECOND CHECKPOINT]

[sevenhorrorsmods]

[Which is. . . exactly what you are stumbling across, now! The path has seemingly ended, and a large pool of water ripples right in front of you. The hole is massive; looking down, you can't see beyond the first few inches of the surface. Everything beyond that is dark, dark, dark.]

[Etched onto a rock next to the pool are the words: FACE THAT WHICH FRIGHTENS YOU MOST. KEEP GOING. Similar to the gate before, two characters must agree to face whatever scares them most to drain the pool and keep going. But again, if you'd rather not. . . maybe you could just swim down there? Or you could always turn back. YOU MAY ONLY CHOOSE ONE OF THESE THREE OPTIONS]

[RESULTS]

[sevenhorrorsmods]

[the water in the pool slowly begins to drain away, revealing a dark, mossy, iron ladder affixed to the rocky sides. the water at your feet cascades into the newly created hole, too. Better start climbing!]

[Checkpoint 2: The Discussion Boogaloo]

[inexorableiron]

[inexorableiron]

[More like knee height, thanks for asking, but this is still an alarming amount of water]

Fuck, it's stupid dark down there.

[ROUND 3]

[sevenhorrorsmods]

[The water is at waist-level now. It makes it harder to walk; you're definitely moving more slowly than you were before. If you don't hurry up, then this entire cave will be. . .]

[. . .]

[. . . better not think about it as the voice continues its tale. Before you, the tunnel continues on, without an end in sight]

That girl! Brave– or stupid– as she was. . . do you know what she did? She jumped right into the water! Haha! Can you believe that shit??? You don't go swimming in caves unless you want a one-way ticket to drown town! Though for her, maybe that would've been preferable? Can't tell; I ain't no mind-reader. Either way. . .

She jumped into the pool and started swimmin' down. And down. And down! But as it turns out? She wasn't alone. There were other spirits swimmin' in that water with her. It was just one or two at first, but then they multiplied. And multiplied. And multiplied, until it felt like she was swimmin' through ghosts more'n water. And she could see it, too. The abject look of terror in their eyes. The way their faces were twisted and hollow and devoid of any life. And she could feel them. Feel 'em brushin' up against her, reaching for her, grabbing at her hair, her clothes, her flashlight, her lifeline, her very soul–

[the voice cuts off abruptly as you reach your third and final checkpoint]

[THIRD CHECKPOINT]

[sevenhorrorsmods]

[You have reached what looks to be another dead end; a wall of rocks, jagged and sharp, jutting out like spikes with the pointed ends aimed directly at you. A waterfall crashes across these formations from above. You can look up, but all you see is darkness. It's impossible to tell where that water is coming from.]

[Etched into one of the rocks is the following: FACE THAT WHICH FRIGHTENS YOU MOST. KEEP GOING. As before, at least one person must agree to face whatever scares them the most to open up a pathway to the exit. Or maybe you'd like to try climbing the jagged rocks?]

[As always, there is the option to turn back.]

[YOU MAY ONLY CHOOSE ONE OF THESE THREE OPTIONS]

[RESULTS]

[sevenhorrorsmods]

[The waterfall begins to slow, until it is nothing more than a slow drip that trickles from above. Hidden behind it was a slippery ladder, covered in moss and slime, nailed firmly to the rocky walls. It looks like you can climb up. Is that where the exit is. . .?]

[Ch3ckpoint Discussion]

[inexorableiron]

[Hamn is unavailable he just threw himself to his knees and is desperately trying to claw rocks off the ground

You know

Very Normally]

[parttimesoldier]

[So very normal.]

Woah, hey hey!

[Rushing over to him.]

Big guy, what's up??

[bowtiedbones]

[Eliza suddenly stumbles sideways, only avoiding falling down by slamming her shoulder into the wall instead. It must have bruised but she just slumps there, hugging herself and rubbing her face.]

Magus..? What are you doing?

[SUCCESS]

[sevenhorrorsmods]

[You climb for what seems like ages. By the time the louder voice speaks again, you're exhausted]

So that girl. . . what do you think happened to her? Think she was eaten up by the spirits of the cave? Or do you think she managed to escape and find her way back home? Heh! If you ever find out, lemme know, yeah? We're pals now, right? Ain't nothing like ~bonding~ through terrifying experiences, is there?

[and then suddenly. . . you see it. Light, streaming down on you from above. The ladder leads you to a hole in the ceiling, finally granting you sweet freedom from the nightmares of the underground. And when you reach it, when you climb out of this terrible damp cave and back onto the shores of the beach, gleaming with the morning sun as it is. . . you are taken back to the gymnasium]

[link tba]