Chapter 04: Act III

[storyevents]

A MIDSUMMER ROSE: ACT III—

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As everyone is taken from the second Act into the third and final Act of this story, they will all share the same visions of how the story has proceeded thus far:

Bonny Rose and Puck met and proceeded to blame each other for the donkey curse, but eventually took a moment to realize they needed to work together in order to brew the cure, with Bonny Rose protecting Puck while he gathered ingredients and brewed the potion. (All while bickering and swearing as only fantasy-Scottish redheads can.)

After freeing the town, Bonny Rose was in a much better mood and got along considerably better with her new traveling companion Nick Bottom, developing an amiable friendship until the two were separated by distracting swarms of butterflies and will-o-wisps.

Titania found Nick in the forest and he followed her willingly to her castle, with the queen demonstrating her considerable might defending her new paramour against a serpentine creature. The two indulged in a steamy bath and soothing Titania's wounds.

Surprisingly, Oberon and Carabosse had a scintillating past as lovers and partners on the battlefield, until Carabosse fell too deep into dark magic and Oberon began to fall for Titania. The two of them had a tense but surprisingly civil conversation about the past, the curse and her kidnapping plans, and Titania's mothering skills, and Carabosse promised to alter the curse and divulged that it can be broken with True Love, romantic or platonic.

Oberon managed to coax a particularly sharp Titania to their room, and eventually managed to break the curse on her.

Titania apologized to Nick for her behavior while under the love potions' effects. He accepted her apology, and the two agreed to part ways and for Nick to be left alone from now on.

Meanwhile, Bonny Rose and Tam Lin met in the forest, and the two normally outgoing youths were so stricken with each other that they became shy. They bonded over their shared feelings of being trapped in certain roles, and Tam Lin managed to charm her by introducing her to a wolf pup and taking her on a ride through the forest.

After the lovebirds parted ways, Tam Lin went to Puck for romantic advice. This was a mistake, as apparently fairy romance is much more complicated than Tam Lin thought, all he wanted was to know how to ask out a girl.

Carabosse managed to lure Tam Lin away with a handsome male visage before revealing her true form, offering Tam Lin a chance to join her dark forces. He refused, and she unleashed the (altered) curse on him.

When they awaken, the Aspects will find themselves in the middle of a desolate looking fortress, everything battered and filled with debris. A few bones and broken pieces of armor can be found scattered about, dark clouds constantly looming overhead—and along with the occasional cawing of crows, the loud roars of dragons can be heard followed by large, dark shadows as they fly overhead.

This is the fortress where Tam Lin is held captive and Bonny Rose must rescue him from. Once again those who must fulfil their role will find a path illuminated for them by glowing mushrooms and lead to different doors through which they must pass through before appearing in their designated scene setting. The rest will be tasked to try and clean out the fortress while protecting their safe location as well as helping the dragons roosting in the many towers overhead.

The Aspects will also discover that while they no longer are in their fairy forms, they can turn into something else—dragons.

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§ instructions.

The third Act is underway! This is the designated log for all Main Scenes. Others are free to create their own toplevels for the Sub Quests, which are detailed below. Each Main Scene has their own unique toplevel and those cast into the roles are to thread their scene under each. All scene instructions are provided in the toplevels.

Fairy forms are no longer at play, but everyone will now have a dragon form they can transform into. It's mostly by their own will, but a few may have some accidents as they get used to it. These transformations can be either partial or full. IMPORTANT! Characters cannot transform into dragons while doing scenes. Only those playing Tam Lin and Bonny Rose in Scene 6 will be able to use their given dragon form to use.

Finally, just to be clear, characters who are in Main Scenes are not immediately dropped in to their location and will have to follow the glowing path of mushrooms to a designated door and then return. Threading all of that isn't necessary, but it's to help give a better idea that characters can take a break between scenes or wait a bit to help with other things like the Sub Quests.

Feel free to refer to the Game Notes for more detailed info as well as ask questions or clarifications.

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§ sub quests.

Everyone is free to participate in the Sub Quests. There are no specific top levels, so you're free to incorporate them however you wish in your own top level.

¶ I. Dungeon Sweep. Another Act, another place to clear out to make it hospitable during their stay.

• Safe Zone. The safe zone in this location is a central outdoor plaza, which may not seem all that safe, but that's where they end up. Flowers from Tam Lin's forest can be found sprouting around the area and like before, the pollen can be used to help erect magical barriers to prevent enemies from entering. There are also small storehouses, barracks, and a kitchen nearby that can be used.
  
  
• Haunted Armor. Aside from the monsters, there is an army of haunted armor patrolling the halls and walls of the fortress, and some will even try to break into the safe zone. Although mostly armor, they are formidable foes, each one carrying the spirit of a strong, powerful knight of ancient times. Even if one were to hack off parts of the armor, they will still be able to move and even reattach themselves. The only way to completely destroy them is by piercing through the center of the chest piece where a stone core rests inside.
  
  
• Disabling Traps. There are numerous traps within the fortress, ranging from classic spikes from the walls to sudden pitfalls to revolving walls and even a rolling boulder. When venturing through the fortress, take care not to set them off because where there's on trap, there are sure to be more.

¶ I. Dragon Egg Hunt. Many dragons can be seen flying overhead, but they don't really bother the characters all that much. If anything they seem to be focused on dealing with some other problems, and those who venture up to the other towers will discover the reason why—as well as why they're able to transform into dragons.

• Egg Thief. There are several dragon nests scattered about the towers, but there are these harpies that keep trying to steal them and fly away with them. Chase after them and return the eggs to earn the dragons' favor.
  
  
• Protect the Eggs. One would think a dragon wouldn't have trouble protecting its roost, but when it comes to smaller threats such as small basilisks and other large snakes, their large size becomes a disadvantage, especially if they don't want to accidentally crush their own brood. Help fend off these threats to earn the dragons' favor.
  
  
• Egg Hunt. Now some of these eggs are on the move. Whether taken by something else and hidden somewhere, rolled off on their own, or on their way to hatching with their little legs or wings already breaking through, they need to be found and returned to their nest before something truly terrible happens.

¶ IV. Wildcard. Make up your own prompt!

Comments

Kaiba | Santa Claus

[blue_ice]

dungeon: traps

Kaiba was relieved to have his human form back. The fae and equine forms had both been difficult to work with. But of course they were stuck once again in a dangerous setting. He hauled his sack of toys over his shoulder and set off down the hall, flashlight in hand.

That creaking sound sure was ominous.

"Who's there?"

Protect the eggs

Kaiba's mood improved considerably when he heard about the dragons. An opportunity to see the majestic beasts up close...he was ready for this. He could be found patrolling the outer rims of the nesting grounds, metal baseball bat in hand. Every so often, he'd look back at the nest.

"They're magnificent..."

[blazeoflife]

[Junpei, FINALLY AWAKE AND FREE from his enchanted coma, decided to do some investigating of his own; he was super curious about what the dragons looked like.]

Oh-- Hey, Kaiba-san!

[Looks like Kaiba got up there first, and-- wait a sec. Was that a...?]

How's the nest going? And--where did you get that baseball bat from?

[Junpei was looking at both the eggs and the bat with interest.]

[blue_ice]

It's to defend the nest from intruders. I summoned it with my power.

[ He holds up Santa's sack of presents ]

No intruders so far, but I'm keeping my eyes open.

[blazeoflife]

Ooohh... right, right, you can summon toys! And a baseball bat counts...

[Junpei's really admiring that bat a lot. It looks really good quality... how would it feel to swing it?]

Huh... so are you able to summon like, toys from our time, or just limited to ye olden days?

[blue_ice]

Any toy that I would know should be fine, but I believe there's a technology limit. I haven't been able to summon anything powered by electricity, even the things I personally invented and know inside and out.

[blazeoflife]

That makes sense, considering. Battery operated toys probably don't mix well with all this fairy tale stuff.

[He thought for a moment, tilting his head from one side to the other.]

...Can it summon nerf guns?

[blue_ice]

...Let's find out.

[ Kaiba plunges his hand into Santa's bag of toys and withdraws a big neon green nerf gun, fully loaded. He passes it over for inspection. ]

My brother loved these for some reason.

[blazeoflife]

Aw man, that's so cool!

[Junpei is totally taking it and looking it over. Yeah, it looked really authentic too!]

Hey, hey, what about making some stuffed dragons for the babies when they hatch? You know, somethin' to play with?

[Like how Koromaru liked his squeaky toys!]

[blue_ice]

As human children play with baby dolls? I suppose I can see the logic.

[ Okay. He can do this. He takes a deep breath, concentrates...and summons an utterly adorable, silvery-blue dragon with big blue eyes---made with tough material, to withstand tiny claws and teeth. He holds it up and smiles at it before slipping into his neutral expression. ]

How's this?

[blazeoflife]

...Awww man, that's super cute! I'm sure they'll love it.

[ But-- he noticed that expression, Kaiba. Seeing you smile seemed already like a rare sight to Junpei... ignoring the charm arrow thing. ]

...You have a soft spot for these little dudes, huh?

Protect the Eggs

[gobetween]

"They really are, aren't they?"

The voice came from behind and down, the speaker this orange and pink thing that was barely two feet tall. And currently had a pair of partially feathered webbed wings, not that Kaiba would probably know they weren't usually there.

Smiling, Gobo was looking up and off toward the sky. "I've never seen a dragon before this, though my friend Red claims to have. I didn't think I would've either, but man, I don't think I would've missed this for the world."

[blue_ice]

Kaiba looked for a while to find the speaker, eventually crouching to facilitate discussion.

"I've seen stunning art. Holograms. I'll admit, spirits...but never one that's truly alive. I never thought I'd be so fortunate."

Yet he was. "Can you see it from there?"

[gobetween]

"That's more than I've seen! I'd only heard about dragons before now, in stories the other Fraggles would read. And I don't know what a hologram is, but I bet it really doesn't compare to all of this."

He appreciated the crouching, really. Not something everyone did. "Kinda? Oh but that's alright, I'm just happy being here period. I feel better doing something, and that's what being around here is."

[blue_ice]

"It's...like a picture that floats in front of you. It seems real, but you can pass right through it. Almost like a ghost."

As much as he hates to use that word, it's the appropriate one.

"Yeah. Better than waiting for whatever's out there to come after us. You're ready, if this gets dicey?"

[gobetween]

He tried to picture it, and thanks to the ghost comparison was able to do so, at least somewhat. Wow, what an experience that must've been.

But, there was business at hand, no daydreaming.

"I'm ready, you can count on me."

[blue_ice]

"Right."

Kaiba turns to observe their surroundings, watching for the slightest sign of a trap. Nothing too suspicious yet...

"See anything?"

[gobetween]

Taking Kaiba's lead some, he looked around them as well, keeping his arms up some on guard.

"No, not yet..." But who knows when that would change? It'd been pretty bad today already...

Traps

[kawkaw]

Just as Kaiba would turn the corner to follow the creaking, an arm shot out to keep him from stepping any further.

"Careful..."

Meanwhile, though he was standing just a few feet away from Kaiba, Crane's attention is on the ground before them, a thoughtful expression on his face.

[blue_ice]

"---mmf."

He staggered back, throwing an arm against the wall to steady himself. Hopefully that wasn't a trigger for a trap.

He straightened his robe. "Where do you think the switch is?"

[kawkaw]

"I found one here," he said, pointing to a stone in the path that, to most, didn't look any different from the rest of the flooring. It was only by looking really closely that one might see that it was slightly disconnected from the rest of the walkway. "My real concern is that there might be other triggers."

[blue_ice]

"Ugh. You're right. We should trigger them before crossing, but with what..."

Kaiba reaches into Santa's bag and pulls out a bowling ball. He offers it. "I think this is heavy enough."

[kawkaw]

Though he gives the other man a surprised look, he decides it's better not to question where he had gotten that from. Carefully taking the bowling ball, he weighs it in his hands for a moment.

"Yeah, this should work."

Setting it on the ground, he then pushes the bowling ball forward. He has to be careful; too little force, and the ball won't make it all the way through. But too much force might have it passing over triggers without setting them off, despite its weight.

The bowling ball does hit the first trigger, which sends a flurry of arrows from one wall to the other. The arrows ricochet off the bowling ball, though, and it continues undeterred down the corridor.

[blue_ice]

Kaiba winces at the sight of that. That...could have been ugly.

"We need protection. But what..."

He reaches in again, ignoring his muscles groaning in protest, and produces a thick plastic sled, then another.

"We can use this as a shield. I'll go first, then..."

He creeps forward, all right for the first half..and then the ground below starts to crumble. He races and leaps, only to slip---and miss, barely clinging to the cliff.

"Ugh---can you make the jumps? The rest of the ground should be stable---"

He's trying to stay calm. It's not really working.

[kawkaw]

Crane doesn't get a chance to protest before Kaiba goes for it, and nearly darts forward himself when the ground crumbles. As the teen hangs on the ledge, he looks at the gap in the floor. In his current form, it was too wide for him to jump, and he wanted to conserve his remaining feathers just in case.

Glancing at the wall, he then gets an idea and takes several steps back. Then, with a running start, he jumps, landing on one of the arrows embedded into the wall. He uses it as a launching point before the arrow is dislodged completely, and leaps from arrow to arrow until he makes it to the other side.

He doesn't take a pause as he lands before crouching down and grabbing Kaiba's hands to help pull him up. "You all right?"

[blue_ice]

"Been better." Kaiba has the sense to look at least slightly embarrassed about how that went. But they got across, didn't they? Getting back might be an issue, but he's sure he'll figure something out.

He stops to think about his next move (for once) and withdraws a wooden baseball bat from the bag. It's...something to use, anyway.

"Finding usable walkways in all this is going to be the problem, to move people where they need to be."

He shines the light further down the path this time. "Want to go first?"