mango 🍑 stay your pretty eyes on course
August 22nd, 2022 5:52:09pm
2,926 Posts |
Be sure to read the previous chapters for more information on prizes and how the Quest works!
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Chapter I
Chapter II
Chapter III
Chapter IV
Chapter V
Ghosts wander the moor. They appear at all hours, wafting through the grasses or wading along the loch’s shore. Some move slowly, mournfully, while others flit and gambol about like children. Guests and staff alike observe them with no small mixture of awe and fear, theories passed around and childhood stories reminisced.
The sky remains dark, drowned in the heaviest of clouds, and the storm unleashes its fury in fits of rain and booming thunder that last a few hours at a time. According to the Archmage’s instruction, the rain heralds danger. When those first few drops land on panes of glass, every soul in Cairnhart Castle freezes. Hearts jump, pulses race, and then one brave soul moves. They walk to the door and push it close, throw the bolt. From that point until the rain stops, you are locked in place. Alone or with others, guests or staff, in your own room, or in the library or conservatory or dining hall - it matters not. The storm brings the castle to a terrified halt.
For hours, there is little else to do but stand at the windows and watch the ghosts wail and wander.
Such as now. You and a handful of other guests had been discussing theories about this exact phenomenon when the ominous rumble of thunder heralded the now habitual lockdown routine. It is only when he moves to stand at the window, back to the room as he watches the rain hiss across Loch Assynt, that you notice Detective MacLeod.
There’s tension in his shoulders, something many of you have become uncomfortably familiar with in recent days: the strain of fear.
Someone, very quietly, asks him if he knows much about the monster they’re hiding from.
Malcolm tenses at the voice, hunching into himself. A flash of lightning reveals the twist of discomfort on his face, the furrow of his brow. His gaze never shifts from the loch.
“‘Twas a fae story when we were bairns,” he says softly, voice barely above a whisper. “The monster o’ the loch.”
You’d heard many a children’s story over the past two days, tales of old hags and scorned women and mournful mothers. Omens of death, warnings of harm, tales to teach young ones safe habits. They’d ceased to be simply yarns to entertain. Far too many had been told with the intensity of truth.
The detective’s was no different.
“Tread nought upon the sodden moor
lest Harrow catch ye scent.
For though this keep be thick hard stone,
his claws these walls have wrent.
If shadow falls 'pon seething waves
and thunder shatters sky,
then know ye well that Harrow hunts
and clinging death is nigh.”
Gooseflesh ripples down your arms at the haunting verse, punctuated with the doomful nell of thunder.
“But ye cannae see a mere fae story with yer own two eyes.” Detective MacLeod stood stock still, as if trapped in the fear from his youth. His fists were clenched tight. Then he slowly, jerkily, lifted a hand to point out the window.
“I was twelve, standing righ’ there, when I watched it take my father… A monster from the deep that wears human skin.”
He choked on the next word, spat with such venom and a deep, well-nursed terror.
“Harrow.” 
Welcome back to the 2022 edition of my Epic Quest - Darkwater!
Be sure to read the rulebook!
Here’s how the Epic Quest works: I will host an activity each month that plays into the story being told. You’ll earn small prizes for each activity you complete - like points, HPD, or cash shop items. You’ll also earn XP points, and the player with the most XP points at the end of the year - December 2022 - will win the grand prize:
1. A fully coded tabbed layout from me featuring a graphic themed after this year’s quest and
2. Matching animal CSS and
3. A 1-year upgrade
The runner-up will receive:
1. A custom coding slot for simple layout (scrolls or expandables) and
2. A 6-month upgrade
Participate in the Epic Quest activity every month of the year, and you’ll earn a special prize:
1. An official HP achievement and
2. A store pair with 100k points
If you haven't joined yet but would like to, check out the sign-up thread to create your mage! You must have a mage created before you can participate in the activities.
If you have any questions about the quest, prizes, or how it works, don’t hesitate to message me!
The time has come to start believing in ghost stories, for the monsters that lurk in the shadows are proving to be very real indeed.
HERE THERE BE MONSTERSTime to brush up on your knowledge of Scottish ghosts and beasties! Detective Malcolm MacLeod has hidden descriptions of monsters around HP. Your job is to find all seven of them and record their locations. Once you’ve found them, message me the list!
You’ll receive a crossword puzzle. Use the descriptions you found to look up what each monster is. The descriptions include where each answer goes in the crossword. Once done, send me a screenshot of your completed puzzle!
PRIZES:
1 XP for each monster description found
3 XP for completing the crossword puzzle & 10k points on an animal
BONUS: Send me your guess as to what kind of monster Harrow is! You get one shot, which earns you 1 XP. If you’re correct, you’ll earn 2 XP instead!
You have until 11:59 pm HP time on Monday August 29th to send in your completed puzzles! ATTENTION PLEASEI would like to remind everyone that unless explicitly stated, players should be completing these activities alone. It is against the rules to ask for answers in all cases EXCEPT when teams are assigned and the acitivities need to be completed together.
If you are approached by another player for answers or hints, please ask them to message me instead. You may also choose not to reply, and/or send me a message to let me know.
Asking for answers and/or providing them (even hints) can result in loss of prizes or XP. Repeated offense may result in expulsion from the Epic Quest.
Let's try to keep this game as fair as possible!
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🐈~Broken Vow~❄️
