Event Annex - The Senate Room

[pumpkinhollow]

CRY HAVOC, AND LET SLIP THE DOGS OF WAR.

W

elcome, esteemed guests, to the Senate Room.

The rules of the game are simple. You have a word over your head that you cannot see, and the same word written on a piece of paper in an envelope that also contains a key. There is a door out of this room. Each key opens the door for only one person. You can see the words above others' heads, but you cannot say them, nor can you say any direct synonyms that might give it away too easily, nor can you spell the word or its synonyms. You must find other ways to describe it to allow the other person to guess. More abstract. Get creative with it.

If you believe you know the word, speak it aloud and open your envelope to retrieve your key. If you are correct, you can leave without incident. If you are wrong, your organs will immediately fail and you will die.

Here are the words each participant has been assigned. Players can use them to refer to other players' characters to help them guess, and you can use them to check your answers when you guess, but you can also OOCly know your answer provided you don't use it to ICly cheat. Good luck.

Agent Connecticut

Fickle

Agni Azimar

Traitor (there is an additional document contained in this envelope)

Aloy

Obstinate

Ancient Fuelweaver

Ruined

Anzu Menelikov

Deceitful

Artemy Burakh

Tainted

Capochin Bastone

Inadequate

Cassandra de Rolo

Cynical

Dahlia Leeds

Insatiable

Daisy Tonner

Merciless

Elias Coldwood

Discarded

Ethan Winters

Insufficient

Felix Gaeta

Imprudent

Hector Monaque

Covetous

Jonathan Sims

Hubristic

Lev/Lyubov Morgenshtern

Weak

Luo Binghe

Alone

Marik Ishtar

Megalomaniacal

Mr. Ant Tenna

Histrionic

Papyrus

Ineffectual

Sasavachi Chunome

Misanthropic

Shen Qingqiu

Pretentious

Simon

Selfish

Violet Vespertine

Cowardly

✦Return to Event ✦

Comments

Agni Azimar | OC (D&D, Curse of Strahd) | OTA

[for_i_have_none]

About thirty seconds into the guessing game, after looking carefully around at the words over everyone else, Azimar stands up at his place and slaps both palms down onto the table.

"It's not my nature that I need to understand here, sir," he announces, addressing the air above the table, "it's yours. The word over my own head is traitor." And without waiting for anyone else's reaction, he snatches up his envelope and rips it open.

Organ failure does not seem to be imminent, as he draws out the slip of paper inside, reads it, and ... notices the second piece of paper inside, much larger, carefully folded. He draws it out as well, unfolds it, and begins reading.

All expression, and all color, slowly drains from his face.

[thethirteenthchild]

Well, that can't be good. Not only does this mean the fellow tiefling is exactly Eligos's type to mess with, but also that there's something new to be worried about.

"...Something wrong?"

[for_i_have_none]

"Oh," he says in a kind of half-whisper, "I think there may be."

This said to the middle of the air, before turning round slit-pupiled golden eyes on her.

"This can't be right."

[thethirteenthchild]

Dahlia rises from her seat delicately, coming around the table to where Azimar is sitting. "May I see?"

[for_i_have_none]

"I ..."

With a look of helpless bewilderment, he offers her the letter.

[thethirteenthchild]

Dahlia takes it, and reads it over carefully. Furrows her brow. Reads it again. Then a third time.

Finally: "Well, that's interesting."

[for_i_have_none]

"Interesting," he repeats, and gives a tiny cracked laugh. "Yes, I suppose 'interesting' might cover it, if spread thin."

With sudden vehemence: "This is a jape, isn't it? A mockery? He can't -- this can't be serious."

[thethirteenthchild]

"I'm... afraid he's completely serious." Dahlia chews her lip. "Once we're out of here, I'll be happy to, ah, offer guidance at length. I'm... quite familiar with how all this works."

To demonstrate, she puts one hand over the right side of her face, and parts her middle and ring fingers. Where they part, her pale skin tone is replaced with rich sapphire blue from the V-shape of her fingers to her hairline, and brown eye turns an electric royal blue with black sclera with cat-like pupils of her own. Then her fingers close and her hand moves away, and her appearance is restored to "normal." A tiefling in disguise.

[graphomaniac]

Lev approaches Azimar cautiously, and sits down beside him. He's still blanched and visibly trembling, but a shade calmer than before.

"The letter," he murmurs. "The letter's, nu. Worse?"

[for_i_have_none]

"It's ... I think it must be a joke. A bad one. It must be."

He scrubs a hand through his hair, rubs at the base of one of his horns, and manages a faint and faltering ghost of his usual insouciance. "And one in execrable taste."

[mortifer]

On the periphery, Sasavachi watches the dramatic announcement unfold. Another letter? Another round to the games? Judging by the color draining from the man's face, it must be ill tidings indeed.

Carefully, he makes his way towards the horned man.

"No key?"

World's best comforter.

[for_i_have_none]

The man turns a look of brief incomprehension on him, as though he's speaking some other language.

"... No, there's a key," he says.

[mortifer]

The contents of the second letters bodes extremely ill, then. For a moment, Sasavachi's visible eye flicks over the horned man, as if visually patting him down. Suspicion crosses his face for a brief second, then smooths into an impassive expression.

"Then why your dismay?" --he must remember to sweeten his words, just a bit. "If I may ask."

[for_i_have_none]

On that visible once-over, he seems to regain a little of his composure -- or at least to tug it over his disquiet.

"Someone's seen fit to visit me with a prank, it seems," he says evenly, firmly folding and putting away the second letter. "I don't find it very amusing."

[mortifer]

Prank seems an odd word to describe something that'd cause such a severe reaction. That the letter folds, however, seems to ease some of the tension from Sasavachi's shoulders.

"Why not share it with us?" He folds his arms. "Perhaps there's a clue within."

[for_i_have_none]

Sharp and dry: "Yes, why not share a deeply personal and alarming message that's most likely a lie intended to cause trouble? I can't imagine."

[mortifer]

Sasavachi cannot help glancing at the word that remains over the man's head.

"You had no hesitation announcing you were a traitor," he answers, just as dry. "Such a label would cause just as much strife, I'd imagine."

[for_i_have_none]

He clicks his tongue in disapproval. "Oh, sir, I announced no such thing. You need to pay closer attention."

[mortifer]

Don't belittle him!

All puns aside, Sasavachi can tell the envelope won't be easily coaxed from this man. Not for the first time, he dearly wishes his more eloquent companions were here.

"Your word is untrue, then?"

[not_a_traitor]

In an instant, Gaeta's whole attention snaps to Azimar, unnerving in its intensity. He doesn't say anything yet -- not at the outburst, nor the stunned reaction to whatever was in his envelope.

(Sometimes, the best strategy is just to stay quiet and let the other person talk.)

[for_i_have_none]

Azimar's gaze, blank with shock, turns to Gaeta.

(And flicks upward, just for a moment, to take in the word there.)