In this world, Magic is Everything. All people, all races, are granted with the power to perform mystical and magical feats via grimories, mystical tomes granted to each and every child on their 15th birthday. Those blessed by the mana can have their names written down in legend.
Shattered Grimoires is the work of the mind(s) of Ardere & Shattered Grimoire's staff. All characters and content are copyright their creators, and may not be replicated without their creators' permission. Black Clover is owned by Yuki Tabata and published by Viz Shonen Jump. All images belong to their original owners. The theme you are currently viewing was made by Eliza of ElizaCodes exclusively for Shattered Grimoires.
With the pumpkin carving competition behind him, as well as a fair amount of zombies slain under his name, Gawain made an attempt at finding the guy he was supposed to be doing this “Locked in” thing with. As he had no idea whatever the hell it meant or what it entailed, he had imagined it best to just go into it blind and hear how it worked once he got there. This was in and of itself rather contrary to his nature, as he was never the type to go into anything blind. Then again, this was by no means a combat situation, it was a place where people went to either hang out with friends, make new friends or just play the game.. whatever the game was. For the time being, the boy imagined he would just play along for however long as the game remained fun for.
When he arrived at a large mansion, the first thing he wondered was who had built this place here. As someone who frequented the forsaken region and Hage in particular a good bit, he would have known if there had always been a building such as this one here. Aside from the place he was about to inherit, most people wouldn’t build their luxurious mansions in the poorest region of the country, mostly because it would get them a lot of side-eyes and maybe even poor treatment. It was just your average class battle stuff, not something Gawain really bothered himself with.
Upon getting closer, a pair of nobles ventured from the porch to where he was standing, seemingly looking him over to see whether or not he was a contender to take part in their little game. Handing him a card, he looked it over for a bit and tried to make sense of it, and failing miserably at doing so. Spotting the confusion in his expression, the two explained what the game was like, and what they were supposed to be doing inside. As it turned out, the use of magic was prohibited, which made getting out somewhat more difficult for sure. Claiming that everyone who entered did so with a certain task given to them as per the cards, the main goal would be to escape unscathed, thus winning the game. However, there was some kind of creature inside that was out to ‘kill’ them.
Should someone get killed, they were to be taken out of the building unharmed, though the game would for them have ended. Depending on the amount of contestants, the game could be made considerably harder or easier depending on how they played the game. But anything beyond that point was wasted on his ears. The way he heard it, the goal was quite simple. Get in, evade or defeat the monster inside and get out through the exit, thus winning the game. Whether he did it by working alongside others or by working against people didn’t matter, as long as he made his way out before anyone else did. And more importantly, didn’t get ‘killed’ by the resident monster prowling about its halls and rooms.
Post by Kenja Ravencrest on Oct 19, 2023 17:34:26 GMT -5
Kenja made his way to the final event of the night, his curiosity piqued by the sight of a large, luxurious mansion in Hage Village. He had already encountered another mansion earlier, leading him to wonder if these structures were indeed illusions or some other magic at work. Inside the mansion, he was met by a noble couple who welcomed him and explained the rules and the story behind the event. They presented him with a card, which he accepted with a nod. The prohibition of magic within the mansion intrigued him, and he listened attentively to their instructions. Each person would receive a specialization to accompany their assigned role, and the absence of magic meant relying on their wits and resourcefulness to navigate the challenges within the mansion. Kenja absorbed the information, and looked at his card and what his specialization would be. The presence of a hidden threat that could choose to kill, use, or transform participants added an extra layer of intrigue to the game.
Kenja noticed the knight he had encountered earlier during the Zombie Games. It seemed that he had arrived ahead of him, and the sight of the familiar face raised questions about how many others might join the event. The Spirit Festival had drawn a diverse crowd, and Kenja couldn't help but wonder who else might participate. Walking up to him he'd give him a nod and a wolfen growl.
Waiting around at the front door with the two nobles, it took a while before the first individual arrived that seemed to want in on the fun. Even though he had gotten an assigned purpose and goal, he still had very little of a clue as to what it meant, or what this whole game really was about. But judging by the guy in the wolf suit being the only other contender here, Gawain was uncertain as to whether it would be best if they started right now or if they should wait and see if there were yet another player around that wanted in as well. Part of him wanted to just get straight into it, though he also didn’t want to make this easy on anyone, least of all himself. In that sense, it might have been a better idea to just wait for another person.
But that was when he figured that even if they went inside together, the creature inside counted as a third already. That, and since the front door would be open regardless, if someone did arrive a bit later, they’d be able to hop on in. Aside from the wolf boy, there were a few more people who didn’t seem all that special or threatening, though looks could be deceiving. He himself was proof of that much being true. And so, he turned his attention towards the small group that seemed just about ready to get involved with this small event.
“What do you say, wanna just head on in and see how it goes?”
Just dropping the question out there since there wasn’t any point in just lingering, some of the people that had gathered were nodding in agreement. Doing a quick head count, two women, one man, the wolf boy and himself made for a group of five people, not including the monster that awaited them somewhere inside. With that many people all going in through the same door and venturing into the first room, it seemed likely that the monster wouldn’t just be there waiting for them straight away. No, that wouldn’t be clever, it’d just make for one big panicky mess. It would likely be deeper inside of the building, waiting for people to run in without thinking just to get killed and taken out of the game. Believing it best to keep his role in the game to himself, all of the other contestants were currently his foes.
Everyone here wanted to win, and none of them would benefit in any way from letting others succeed along with them, or in the worst case scenario, pull them down with them when they made a mistake. Waiting for the wolf boy to state his intentions so everyone would have been given a chance to voice their opinions, Gawain was ready to get on in there and win this thing.
Post by Kenja Ravencrest on Oct 20, 2023 20:18:09 GMT -5
Kenja stood upright, breaking his immersion into the role of a werewolf as he nodded in agreement with the other participants. He was ready to play his assigned role and explore the mysterious mansion, but he had no intention of removing his costume; it was an integral part of the festival. As the group entered the grand mansion, they found themselves in a lavish foyer. The room exuded wealth with its high vaulted ceilings, crystal chandeliers, and ornate decor. A grand marble staircase curved elegantly, leading to an upper level shrouded in shadows. In the center of the room, a large, antique grandfather clock stood as a sentinel, its pendulum swinging with slow, deliberate motions, creating a soft and eerie ticking sound that filled the room and rang in the ears. Portraits of unknown figures in elaborate dresses adorned the walls, their eyes seeming to follow the participants' every move. Other than the clock and decorations, nothing seemed to be in the room, not even furniture. The air in the room held a certain stillness, making each sound—footsteps, whispers, or the gentle rustle of clothing—echo with an eerie resonance. Kenja, maintaining his secret role, observed the room with a clinical eye, even in this odd setting. He was keenly aware that in a place like this, appearances could be deceiving, and there might be hidden clues or traps waiting to be discovered. Some of the participants, uncertain about what lay ahead, shared apprehensive glances as they ventured deeper into the mansion, where the secrets of the game awaited.
Tick...Tock...Tick...Tock...In shadows deep, the clock does chime, Tick-tock, a haunting, rhythmic rhyme. With every tick, a secret's veil, Revealing dread, as time grows frail.
And just like that, as the final vote came in, the wolf boy, the two women and the man made their way inside. Truth be told, he had no idea what any of their names were at this point, aside from the one named Kenja. And as it were, he didn’t really care. They were all here to compete with one another, only aiding others when it worked out in their favor. So if it came down to having to step over someone else to win, it was all the better if they did not know one another by name, just in case any of them enjoyed holding on to grudges over lost games. Being the last of the five to actually head into the place, he looked over at the noble pair who just stood there smiling and waving, waiting for them all to head on in so they might close and lock the door behind them. Admittedly, it wasn’t the nicest view, as it felt like being walked in to the slaughter. Though maybe that was just his imagination.
Looking around the interior, the large staircase leading to the next floor seemed like the kind of thing one might expect from a nobleman’s mansion. Truth be told, he had only seen a few of those up close and even fewer of them from the inside, though that hardly mattered. From what he could see based off of the lighting, the upper portion of the room at the top of the stairs was quite dark, making it the perfect place for the monster in the building to be hiding. For obvious reasons, Gawain didn’t feel outright compelled to be the first to begin moving around inside of this place, though there were others that seemed less prone to caution. The unknown man began wandering about at the base of the clock, while the two women moved up the stairs together, likely being less bothered by being on their own as they seemed to move like a unit.
That said, they also treated this very much like a game, which was honestly something he should be doing himself at this point. Up until now, he acted as though there was an actual monster in here that could put him down, though it was more than likely just going to be yet another person wearing a costume. Taking a deep breath, it was time to focus on winning this game, and using the gifts he had been given. Knowing that magic would not work nor be allowed in here, he focused on the one thing that just might help in giving him an edge: his Ki. Since his ki allowed him to heighten his senses to inhuman levels, his perception changed by quite a lot, though it also still took quite a lot of focus to maintain. So as he went around the room, he watched the paintings from a reasonable distance, finding that the people who had portraits made of them seemed to follow him across the room with his eyes. Creepy.
Keeping accurate track of the rest of the room, as well as the other people inside of it, the clock itself hadn’t escaped his notice. Whenever it sounded, it could be felt seemingly throughout the whole building, meaning it was likely of some sort of significance. Hell, even the portraits might have some significance at this point, as it seemed like an odd thing to put all of these things into an otherwise empty room when there was nothing else to it but furniture. Seeing as how he could still accurately feel the women at the top of the staircase, part of him believed that the lack of proper lighting was just there to dissuade people from trying to move along through there. It was a clever ploy, but if the women were able to just move around unhindered, that meant the same could be said for him. And so, he too began ascending the stairs while keeping a close eye on his surroundings.
If something was to happen within this space, he’d know about it, and he’d plan accordingly.
Post by Kenja Ravencrest on Oct 22, 2023 10:35:06 GMT -5
Kenja surveyed the room with a cautious yet analytical gaze. As he moved toward the grand staircase, he noticed the others taking various routes within the mansion. The two women head in the same direction in order to ascend the stairs, while the unknown man explores the area around the clock. As he reached the base of the staircase, a sudden change in the environment caught Kenja's attention. The grand chandelier overhead began to flicker erratically, casting eerie shadows across the room. Then, with a loud crack, the chandelier plummeted from the ceiling. Kenja would push the two women out of the way as they scattered to avoid the massive falling fixture. In the midst of the chaos, Kenja began helping the others to their feet checking for injuries, and asking doctor-like questions. The women exchanged worried glances as they stood together beside the shattered chandelier. The initial shock of the incident had subsided, and the realization of their predicament had set in. They were trapped in a dark, foreboding mansion, unsure of what they were up against. The unknown man who had been exploring by the clock now stepped forward. "Well, that certainly wasn't part of the plan," he said, his voice trembling slightly. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm starting to think we're in for a bit more than just a game." The two women agreed with a nod, their confidence shaken by the chandelier incident. In the dim light of the mansion, their unease was palpable.
Kenja stepped forward, trying to regain some semblance of control over the situation. "We should stick together for now," he suggested, his mind working through the possibilities. "If there is indeed a traitor among us, we need to figure that out before anything else. Did anyone see anyone cast a spell? Who was out of sight of whom? I could see the two women before me and I saw you by the clock but not your actions. I also lost sight of the Knight over there."
The sinister tick-tock of a nearby grandfather clock served as a constant reminder that time was ticking. Tick..Tock...Tick...Tock...
With the dropping of the chandelier, Gawain remained mostly unbothered when it fell to the floor. From the looks of it, it was likely yet another prop, just like how the whole of the building itself had likely been set up in very little time. Likely also through magical means, as no one was going to keep a manor such as this one within the forsaken realm to languish and deteriorate. At the top of the stairs, he found that the two women had been spooked quite a bit by the noise caused by glass shattering against the tile floor. From what he could tell, none of them seemed to have moved enough to where they could just drop the whole chandelier without him noticing. To him, this meant that something somewhere had triggered it to fall, maybe by using some kind of contraptions hidden throughout the building itself.
Or maybe it was the monster dwelling within the building that had been responsible, though he hadn’t registered any additional presences, which honestly bothered him quite a bit. He wouldn’t lie to himself and claim that through the means of Ki, he would be able to sense just about anything, because he quite honestly couldn’t do that. Not yet at least. For as much as he had been trained in it, there were still plenty of other avenues for him to explore and branch out into before he could truly say his extrasensory defenses worked as a perfect tool for detection. Though there was a bit of distance between everyone, the words spoken throughout the room were fairly audible, even though some words were muffled by the half-cries of the two women who were nearly scared half to death by the chandelier.
Continuing to work on his own, he began feeling at some of the doors on the level at the top of the staircase, finding that most of them were closed. Even as he began feeling them up, he heard how the man at the clock and the wolf boy were having talks of sticking together, as well as pinning blame on the women and Gawain. Claiming he hadn’t been able to actually see them in the shadows of the unlit room, the fact that the lights going out obscured the whole place in shadows worked both with and against everyone in the room. That said though, it was clear that the game had now truly begun, what with talk of traitors and people being blamed for this apparent act. Smirking a bit at the notion, Gawain figured he’d want to try something as he remained out of sight. Taking the card he had been given out of his pocket, he folded it and folded it until it was nice, thin and at the same time thick.
Sliding it into one of the locked doors, he began fiddling around with it, trying to get a feeling of whether there might have been a key on the other side. Pushing and prodding until he heard something light falling on the other side of the door, he poked about a few more times. And then, with a subtle flick of the wrist, the door unlocked, pushing open and revealing another dark room on the other side, as well as a key on the floor. Attempting to pick up the key, his ki had already been active when he began fiddling away at the door, finding that this room was also quite empty. Instead of chandeliers and other such things, this room however had seemingly been lit with candles, casting an eerie light across the space. Not about to fall for the antics of the other people in the room that were trying to pin the blame for the chandelier on him, he’d leave the four of them behind as he used the key to once again lock the door and bar entry to the room.
Putting the key into his pocket, there was no telling when or where he might be able to make use of it again, though the chances were that this was by itself a one time deal. After all, if every room within the place could be opened with the same key, that would make the first person to claim it the undisputed winner. And that would quite obviously be a bit lame. For now, and hopefully for the rest of the game, the four of them would get to fight out who had done what while he would do what he did best. At least now he could try to leave the ticking of that damned clock behind.
Post by Kenja Ravencrest on Oct 22, 2023 17:48:02 GMT -5
As the group continued to converse, the clock's ticking filled the room. With every tick, it seemed to grow louder and more unsettling. A constant reminder of the time they had left in this eerie mansion, the dread mounted with each passing second. The conversation was cut short when the clock struck 9 p.m., and in an instant, all the lights in the mansion flickered and died. Darkness swallowed them whole. But the true terror came with the resounding tock that echoed throughout the mansion. It was a sound that sent harmless shockwaves down their spines. When the lights returned, Kenja found himself in a new room, separated from the two women and the man he had been with moments before. The room he now stood in was peculiar, with an assortment of odd objects that seemed to offer cryptic clues. At the center of the room was an antique desk covered with papers and peculiar sketches. The walls were adorned with unsettling portraits, and in the corner of the room, a grandfather clock marked the time with a sinister tick-tock. "Great, another clock," Kenja thought to himself. Kenja couldn't help but feel that the room held a secret, one that might offer insight into the nature of the mansion and the game they were now entangled in. The clues were obscure, and piecing them together would be a challenge. He decided to examine the desk, flipping through the papers and scrutinizing the sketches, hoping to uncover hidden truths in this enigmatic room. Kenja pored over the papers and his eyes were drawn to a series of sketches that depicted various medical instruments and anatomical drawings. The sketches included detailed depictions of surgical tools, diagrams of human organs, and anatomical studies. Some appeared to be typical medical illustrations, but others seemed to venture into the realm of the grotesque. It was clear that the room's previous occupant had an obsession with medical knowledge, and these sketches hinted at a fascination with the human body's inner workings. The room's eerie ambiance, the disturbing artwork, and the strange nature of the game they were playing all combined to create a growing sense of unease that he could see would affect someone less stoic than himself. Still, he was enjoying himself.
His focus was suddenly shattered by a blood-curdling scream that pierced the silence from another room in the mansion. Kenja rushed out of the room, following the sound of the scream, and found himself in a dimly lit corridor. There, he discovered one of the women lying lifeless on the floor, her body covered in blood. Upon closer inspection, he realized that this was no ordinary death but that her body was in fact dissected in the way depicted in the sketches in the previous room. He wagered the body at this point was merely an illusion, a gruesome trick meant to incite fear and paranoia. Soon, the other woman and the man arrived on the scene. Their accusing eyes bore into Kenja as he stood over the corpse. The tension in the air was palpable, as no one trusted anyone else in this macabre game. Kenja could sense the doubt and fear emanating from both the man and the remaining woman. it seemed they were really buying into everything and forgot this was just a game, that or they were incredible actors. At that moment, he couldn't help but wonder about the whereabouts of the knight, Gawain. It was unclear whether the knight had stumbled upon a similar illusion or if he was engaged in his own quest within this sinister mansion. The uncertainty weighed heavily on Kenja as he pondered how to navigate this nightmarish game and unmask the traitor in their midst. Would he also show up and cast doubt on Kenja? How was he going to talk his way out of this one?
Then suddenly, as if to remind everyone of its presence, the sound of the clock returned. Ticking on in everyone's minds.
Wandering through the dimly lit room filled with candles, the boy decided it was best to look around while he had the time. And by time, he meant that he had managed to branch off of the main room and the people that were left inside of it. Honestly, this was the kind of situation in which he functioned best, the moments in which he got to blaze his own trail without having to worry about anyone else. At first glance, the place was exactly as he had already established it would be, free of any presences aside from his own. This was good, as it meant he wouldn’t need to defend himself against anything that would try to put him out of the game, at least not just yet. More importantly, he could no longer hear the clock, leading him to believe that there had to be something worth mentioning here.
Looking to his side as he walked forward through the room, the flames on the candles began dancing, almost like they were met with an ever so slight amount of air. This was in and of itself somewhat peculiar, as he himself couldn’t feel any kind of breeze within the room, nor was he causing it himself. He couldn’t tap into his magic in here after all. Upon reaching the far end of the room, he spotted a peculiar altar that was also covered in candles, though all of them remained unlit for some reason or another. On top of the altar stood a peculiar statue, one that seemed black in nature, even when inside of this space that was so poorly lit it made everything look dark. Not really being into the occult or any kind of religious practices, the dark figurine resembled a hooded individual with multiple arms.
Believing there to be some significance to it, Gawain reached out to the statue, gripping it with his left hand and removing it from the altar. As soon as he did, the candles throughout the room went out while those on top of the altar were turned on, creating a localized source of light right in front of him. Then, he heard a deafening scream throughout every inch of the room, followed by everything fading to black. Believing for a second that he might have been grabbed by the creature without even knowing it, instead of being outside, Gawain found himself in an altogether different room from the one he had just found himself in before. Before he truly got a chance to re-evaluate himself within this new space, his eyes were drawn to a dead body on the floor. As his eyes widened at the sight, his other senses got kicked into overdrive, at which point he noticed something rather peculiar.
The body on the floor was there, though it seemed to not be there at the same time. Because of his Ki, he was always capable of getting a certain amount of readings out of something that existed, as well as a kind of odd vibe out of something not existing in the physical realm, which was how it allowed him to somewhat differentiate between reality and illusions. That, and even though his eyes told him that there was a body here, his brain told him that it couldn’t be here. This was because his Ki rejected the notion, and because this body belonged to one of the other contestants, being one of the two women that had gone on ahead as a pair. Since no contestants could be killed during a game, as they were said to just be teleported outside instead, this was more than likely just some kind of addition of the game intended to ruffle feathers.
Looking down at his hand, it seemed the statuette was still there, though it gave rise to the idea that he might have caused this to some degree. Maybe him taking the statue had caused him to get displaced, though maybe more people within the building had suffered the exact same issue. If true, this also meant that something the others did might cause him to get sent elsewhere as well. When he suddenly heard the ticking of the clock again, it made him wonder if maybe he had been too hasty to leave the initial room, as it seemed to be more than just a constant source of nuisance. Maybe there was something to do with the clock that would allow someone to get out, or maybe the key could be found within. For now though, this next room with the corpse in it would need to be checked out.
Letting his gaze wander around the room, his Ki keeping him on edge constantly as he did so, finding very little within the room that stood out as much as it had in the previous one. As it were, Gawain was still figuring out what mechanics had been used to teleport him from one portion of the building into the next, because magic and the like shouldn’t have been able to work within this place. Or maybe the magical restrictions that were put on this place didn’t affect certain individuals, more than likely keeping those that kept the place operational exempt from the rules. It was slightly frustrating as he couldn’t quite figure out what triggered these seemingly random teleportation issues. Regardless of that though, he would need to press on and do his best to get towards the exit before the creature in this place got to him.
What with him being on his own right now and not knowing where the others had gone, it seemed that the two women had been split up before one of them had gotten ‘killed’. This meant that the other woman was still in the game, or maybe she had been teleported into a room with someone else. There was a chance that she was on her own at this point, meaning it was now him being in one place, the woman being in another, and the wolf boy and the man being somewhere else together. They had seemingly made the decision to go as a team, which was smart, though it hadn’t done the woman that got knocked out of the game much good. With the statue still in his hand and the key in his pocket, the boy traversed the room that seemed like it had nothing inside of it. Moving towards the nearest door, it seemed that this place had been locked from the inside as the key was right there in his reach.
Turning the key and unlocking the door, he took it with him by putting it into the pocket opposite to the one where he held the other key, as he was starting to see a pattern within this building. For when he moved through the now open door, it seemed that he had once again reached the main room with the staircase and the large and annoying clock. This time around, he seemed to have been the only one in here, meaning everyone else must have either been taken to the room he had originally broken into, or the only one remaining room located under the staircase. Whatever the case, the positioning of all of the rooms meant that there was likely something to be done with the large clock. As it beat again, it seemed as though the entire place began shaking along with it. Not knowing whether it was counting down to another round of teleportation or was just saying they were taking too long figuring things out, Gawain decided to take a wager.
As he was about to make his way towards the staircase, he felt through the use of his Ki that there was something standing near the door he had pried open, the one that was on the opposite side of the room. A dark figure, wearing a hood and seemingly possessing multiple arms, just standing there in the dark as it watched what people were going to do next. When Gawain blinked, the creature was gone. Looking down at the statue in his hand, there was no coincidence here, the statue was an exact replica of the creature, a statue that had come from that very room. Not sure whether this meant he was now a prime target or had somehow managed to ensure a means of protection, the fact that his Ki could no longer register the creature anywhere close to him meant that it was now or never. Making his way down the stairs, Gawain closed in on the clock, which had just beat again so loud it made him somewhat dizzy.
Trying his best to keep his bearings, he looked upon the clock’s exterior, finding that the size of the thing allowed for it to have a total of three different locks, meaning three different keys. More than that, there was a space inside of it that could fit something of a reasonable size. Putting it all together then and there, it became clear that all of the keys it needed had to come from all of the three rooms aside from the main one they found themselves in, believing that statuette was the thing that had to be put inside of the clock in order to either finish the game or ensure safe passage outside. It was either that, or putting the thing inside of the clock was what would seal away the creature for the remainder of the game. Regardless of which of the options was the right one, Gawain popped the first two keys into their respective sockets before taking out the card that he had been given at the start of the game.
That was when a loud scream could be heard, one that likely belonged to the unknown man that had come into this place along with the rest of them. It was bloodcurdling, yet it was gone in an instant. Mere moments later, a body was flung from the floor above him, dropping to the ground like a sack of potatoes. When he looked up, Gawain saw the strange creature yet again, looking down on him, yet sending out an altogether different vibe this time around. From body language alone, it seemed that the creature was ready to do something about him next, as it wasn’t about to let him finish what it was that he was doing to the clock. Plopping the bent and contorted card inside of the last remaining socket, Gawain began poking around inside of it until he heard a click. For as it turned out, the role that had been assigned to him was that of a locksmith, which allowed him to get into locked spaces with it, as well as a bit of fidgeting.
Leaping down to the ground from the floor that it was on, the creature put up a bit of a sprint towards Gawain as the clock’s casing opened up, revealing the empty interior. While he could have tried to defend himself and risk losing, which was what every fiber in his body was screaming at him to do, his brain told him that the best thing to do now was to use the statuette. Instead of trying to break it over the creature’s head, the boy slammed the statue into the clock and slammed the casing shut. With a loud click, followed by an even louder resonating sounding of the clock as a cuckoo bird came out of the hole near the top of the clock’s face. As it came out, the resounding “coo-coo” came with a burst of light, causing the creature of shadow and everyone within the room to be enveloped in a light that seemed to banish it from this place. Once the light died down and Gawain could see again, he scanned the room, finding no trace of the creature any longer.
Feeling somewhat relieved that he had made the right choice, he was quite lucky that his bestowed gift had revolved around the breaking and opening of locks, otherwise his run of the game would have ended here and now. But as the cuckoo bird let out its final chime and returned to the interior of the clock, the young knight head a loud click behind him, coming from the direction of the same front door that had let them in in the first place. Looking over, he saw the two nobles waiting on the other side, waving at him and gesturing for him to come on over. From the looks of things, he had managed to brave the dangers of this place and beat what it had to throw at him. While some of it had been more circumstantial than others, the fact that he had managed to make his way through it first filled him with a sense of pride.
With his chest puffed up, Gawain marched out of the building through the front door, greeting the people that had set up this whole elaborate scheme, he looked back at the clock standing in the middle of the room one more time. As he did, he could swear that he saw a black swirling mass moving around inside of its glass casing, forming to make a fanged maw for but a moment before receding entirely into the clock itself. Shrugging his shoulders, he turned his attention towards the two, believing he at least owed them some kind words after he had gotten into this whole thing with such a cynical attitude to begin with.
“You did a great job setting up this game, it was pretty elaborate and spooky. That black shadowy creature was really quite something. I’m not sure how you made it do the things it did, but it was actually really scary. I hope you’ll be back next year with something even scarier!”
Shaking hands with the two nobles, Gawain made his way back towards the main festival grounds, as there was still one thing he believed he would need to do, which was the dressing competition. It was the only reason why he had come to this damned place wearing such a heavy suit of armor in the first place. Waving the two goodbye as he began to pick up the pace, he soon disappeared back into the crowd of people that had gathered for the festivities. With Gawain out of the picture, the two nobles looked at one another, one looking somewhat spooked after hearing what the boy had said, though hiding it long enough so the boy wouldn’t notice.
“What did he mean? Neither of us put on the suit yet. Do you think that clock with the odd figurine might have actually been cursed?”
“Nah, probably not. He most likely just imagined things because he was afraid… though we should make sure to get the others out.”
