Puzzle Castle

*Hardy is still looking for a new base of operations. So he sends a group of his captive adventurers to Faldir Castle, a place reportedly filled with magical booby traps. The only help he can offer is his little friend and scout Pip. To succeed our adventurers will have to face down the traps and dance like nobody’s watching.*

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## Puzzle Castle

###### ***Locations:***

Hardy Town (Eternity), Faldir Castle (Reality)

###### ***Notable Moments:***

Nonconsensual levitation, Blind trust, Ratatouille dancing, Yellow googly eyes, +1 Hardy Mallet, "MRW," Pull the leaver, The Sigil

***Episode Synopsis:***

It’s a rainy day in Hardy Town, which makes it perfect for Hardy to call a town meeting. Raidan starts his day patrolling the outskirts of the town, then once assured all is well, heads home to get cleaned up for the town meeting. Fin is cataloguing the books in his bookstore; Zelphira is going over her notes in her room in the Tavern, then wanders out, grabbing some fresh baked bread (thanks, Rei!) and heads to the meeting as well. Hesti finishes tidying up at her home and prepares herself some delicious sandwiches before making her own way to the meeting.

First to arrive at the meeting is Hesti, soaking wet because she forgot an umbrella. She sees Denis putting out chairs for "all" the attendees and sits right up front, on an already rain soaked chair. Zelphira is next to show up and sits with Hesti in the chairs at the front.

Raidan arrives and finds some cover near the back, and takes a protective position overlooking the assembly. Fin is the last of the adventurers to arrive, using a branch from his tree house as an umbrella. When he gets to the front he recognizes Denis and offers him some cover, but the Orc doesn't seem phased by the rain. Denis explains that Hardy is playing in the forge with his action figures, including one named "Nobody" and one that is a glittery unicorn called "Nightwind." Fin spots Raidan and gives him a wave as he sits with Hesti and Zel at the front.

Denis disappears for a moment, before reappearing with a very large umbrella held over a small black cat. Hardy's paws are getting muddy, most of the chairs are empty...he is complaining about it all...to which Denis replies "You booked a Town Hall meeting, in the rain, with maybe 20 minutes notice...you get what you get." Once Zel helps to spot Pip's hat (and Pip materializes underneath it), Hardy is ready to start. Hardy Town needs a new outpost, but when Pip is sent by himself, he gets distracted by the first shiny thing he sees...so this crew gets to go with him. Since no other adventurers showed, only these four will get the reward of piles and piles of Hardy Credits, upon completion of the quest. They will travel to Faldir Castle, near Alnwick. Raidan, knowing that the entire area is incredibly dangerous with contained magic - so far - but going inside is insanely risky. Once Pip spills the beans that there are chests full of gold there, Hesti tries to negotiate with Hardy, with Raidan providing "encouragement." Hardy insists they go, take no more than 3 gold coins each, and keep track of Pip. Raidan points out that Pip won't trip any of the death traps inside, as he is so small and spectral. Pip says he knows where ALL the death traps are; he found them one time but got scared and ran away. Fin wisely asks what made him afraid, to which Pip answered "big yellow eyes." Raidan still thinks this is a very bad idea, but will protect the group the best he can as they clear Faldir of the magic (and gold). Raidan, sword and shield at the ready, crosses through the portal first; followed closely by Fin, Zel, Pip and Hesti. Expecting rain, they are surprised to find sun but a palpable staleness, and the landscape is dwarfed by a large castle perched on a cliff. Looking behind them, they see a road leading down the hill, the remains of a Tree of Eternity, and the city of Alnwick. Already inside the open castle walls, Raidan asks if anyone can detect any magic, and unfortunately for the group, they can't even tell which direction the wind is blowing. They have to rely on Pip for now...and when asked how to proceed, he says to walk through the massive front doors. Like *through* them, without opening them. Since they can't do that, Fin decides to knock on the door...but as he approaches and knocks, it gets darker...and the door he *didn't* knock on, slowly creaks open. Raidan enters first, shield at the ready. He notices an all stone interior, now covered in dust with nothing disturbing it; no one has been here for a long time. Looking up, he sees a night sky, as opposed to the daylight he just entered from. He see a stone, spiral staircase straight ahead, probably leading to the tower; to the left a long hallway, and to the right, two large wooden doors. They all feel a heavy presence inside. Fin notices that the night sky inside matches nothing of what he's seen in the Kingdom of QuelDoras, and tells the group so. Zel is unbothered, but Hesti can sense a delineation between outside the doors, and inside...some great magic still exists. As she enters last, the door closes itself behind her.

So...where is the gold? In the basement, where the big googley eyes are. Where to start? Raidan is the first to see a door in the floor, and Hesti sees that the entire floor is made to move, given the proper circumstances. In addition, while there are torches lit throughout; three torches...one per passageway...are not. Zel casts a fireball instantly, and while she lights a torch, it instantly snuffs itself out. Raidan suggests lighting all three at once. He, Hesti and Zel do, and for a split second, feel the floor beneath them start to move until the torches are snuffed out, again. Pip tells the crew that in addition to these three unlit torches, there are 3 additional ones: one at the end of the hallway, one at the top of the stairs, and one on the other side of the wooden doors. Zel squares up at the hallway, and launches a fireball down it while lighting the torch near her. As soon as she does it, the hallways lengthens...and as far as her fireball flies, the hallway is longer. It extinguishes before reaching the torch. Fin decides to climb the spiral staircase and scan the area from above...but as he climbs, the stairs seems to lengthen as well. Being a halfling, the stairs lengthening is a major issue. Zel decides to use her telekinesis to lift Fin up, but doesn't actually warn him first. He reaches the top torch, grabs hold, and he asks for Zel to stop the spell. Hanging from the top torch, he can see it is identical to the ones on the main floor, but he further sees a blue dust inside the cup...it is clearly magical. Fin grabs a handful, and tries to show the others. Hesti checks the torch near her, and sees the same blue dust. She recognizes it as arcane dust, used by mages and wizards, and knows the torches are somehow linked. Fin ignites small fire in his hand, carefully holds it up to the torch, and is surprised to see a blue flame catch and take hold. At the same time, the torch at the bottom of the staircase jumps to life and both torches remain lit. Zel tells Fin to let go; she'll use her telekinesis again to bring him down. As he does, Raidan runs forward to catch him (just in case the spell doesn't work) and Pip, on Raidan's shoulder, does the same. But Zel's spell works well, and the staircase turns into flat walls. They're not going up there again! Other groans and grinding sounds are heard from the castle, as more shifting is taking place and the building is coming alive. As Zel moves to look down the hallway, the second torch again seems to shoot miles away. Raidan suggests they all look away, and uses the reflection on the inside of his shield to look at the torch: it's right there. So Zel pulls her very pointy hat down over her eyes, (Pip pulls his hat down, too) and Raidan guides Zel down the hallway via the reflection. It's actually just a few steps down before Zel can feel the torch with her hand. She gently lobs a fireball into the torch, and simultaneously, the torch in the hallway and the corresponding one in the chamber light and remain lit. Zel skips back down the hallway, which now doesn't move. One set of torches remaining, but there are doors between the two.

Hesti pulls the doors open, to find a large ballroom with overturned tables and chairs. As the crew heads over, Pip warns Raidan that there is something in the room...it never bothered him, but it might bother them now. As they enter the room, they don't see much, but Pip suddenly tells Raidan, "Oh there it is! Right there! Do you see it?!" Raidan looks behind him, where Pip is pointing, but sees nothing. Pip explains they look like sparkly people, dancing. Do they need to perform a dance off? Pip tries to move Raidan directly in front of one of them, but still Raidan sees nothing. As Raidan tries to remember how to perform the foxtrot, Hesti and Zel make their way to the other torch. Unlike all the others, this torch has red powder inside. As Raidan tries to follow Pip's directions, the powder is slowly turning from red to purple, but not yet blue. "Raidan, keep dancing!" Hesti pulls out her bat to keep a beat, Fin starts mimicking Raidan's dance moves...and for an instant, Zel sees a flash of a previous time with hundreds of dancers, all wearing very pointy hats. Zel also sees the powder has turned blue, so she lights it quickly. For just a moment, the entire crew sees what Zel saw...and then the last chamber torch lights.

The castle is awakening, with the main chamber shifting into stairs headed down to a large stone door. "That's where the googley yellow eyes are," says Pip. Zel starts skipping down, but Fin advises caution. They stage at the stone door: Raiden with shield and sword ready, Fin behind with his mage's staff poked out underneath Raidan's shield, Hesti with her bat from Brainz Tavern ready and casting a barrier spell, and Zel ready to cast fireballs... The door swings open to find a darkened hallway with a large statue at the end of it. Zel sees it is wearing a pointy hat, and she wonders if it went to Grandview University, too. Almost imperceptibly, the stone eyes of the statue begin to glow yellow. Then it takes a lumbering step forward! Then another! Its stone hands raise and start to glow; it is readying magic to use against them! Fin, recognizing it as a golem, fires an archane projectile which creates cracks all over it. They can see a pulsing blue light under the surface. Hesti re-casts the barrier spell, but also sees more chambers to the sides of the golem with chests in them. The golem fires at the team, hitting Raidan and Fin. Zel hits the golem with another arcane projectile, hitting it in the shoulder. Raidan strengthens himself while Fin fades away from sight..perhaps a sneak attack? Hesti starts beating the floor with her bat, strengthening the group's resolve. The golem hits back, now aiming only at Raidan, but the barrier and his shield hold. Zel throws another arcane projectile, hitting it center mass. More dust and rock fall away, with the pulsing blue energy becoming more visible. Raidan encourages everyone, and Fin flanks the golem and throws a massive arcane projectile right into the open chest, exploding almost all of the stone away and only leaving the magic. Hesti steps up to bat and does her best "Happy Gilmore" strike, and extinguishes the golem and its magic altogether. Relieved, they all head down the hallway, seeing four wooden chests and many, many more statues. However, they are caked in dust, and appear to all be wearing Grandview uniforms. Zel \*doesn't\* remember that these are all guardian statues whose job it was to protect the University. Should have paid more attention in Magical History class! They also find a table with some chairs, and a large lever built into the wall in the up position. Fin notices a note on the table which reads: "Thanks for the tip, I like the gold" followed by "MRW"...and a small paw print next to it. The adventurers ponder this, but pick up the chests and find them very light. One chest has four gold pieces in it, the rest empty. Raidan stares at the lever, and decides to pull it. More grinding, shifting, movement...the entire castle has come to life. The basement chamber expands up and out. The statues shake off their dust as they take up positions along the exterior walls. They find themselves back in the open area where they had begun. Pip loves the shiny gold coins they found, but warns them to hide them from Hardy so they won't be taxed. Everyone wisely slips them into pockets. Zel finally remembers that Faldir Castle is an old wizard's property that was abandoned but protected by magic. Investigating the inside, all the torches are lit, the rooms are in order, and there are many, many more of them. This will make an excellent base for Hardy!

As they all split off to find their favorite rooms, the center of the main chamber starts to glow green, and a portal appears. It blinks out in a second, but a sigil blooms in its place. There is now a permanent link between Eternity and Reality, at Faldir Castle.