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Ski Lodge: Vault of Magic
You open the door of your home and then shut it again, fumbling with the lock as you do so. It’s been a long day and you are eager to spend the rest of the time working heart and soul on your latest writing project, which happens to be a novel. It’s afternoon but not for much longer, and the sun has splashed every wall with bits of gold. You close the window blinds tightly, so you can concentrate without having to squint and shield your eyes from the sun.
You open your writing notebook…and almost drop it.
This is not your writing notebook.
The pages are beautifully crisp and browned, like they are centuries old—no, maybe millennia? Cursive that looks like it was written with a needle thin quill is scratched in purple-black ink on the paper, with evident flourishes on many of the letters, especially on the g’s and I’s. It appears to be a letter.
You groan a little. You have to admit that mysterious letters that look like they should be in a museum were intriguing, but what you really want to see is your novel. Nevertheless, you switch on a light (now that you’ve shut the blinds it’s too dark) and read it.
“Dear—”
You jump a little at the sight of your name in the letter, complete with your age, location, and various other SI’s you have posted under in parentheses.
“Aren’t you tired of living your life without truly experiencing magic, except for the little you can glean from the pages of books and your own imagination? Oh…by the way, I apologize for temporarily borrowing your notebook in order to deliver this message. Your writing is (mostly) unharmed, so please do not worry.”
You don’t like the sound of “mostly” and worry anyway.
“To summarize briefly, you entered a lottery in the past (and no, you were not conscious of entering it, I entered it for you, you’re very welcome) to stay at the Vault of Magic, (est. ∞ B.C. or B.C.E.) a secret cave that hides all the magic that otherwise is hidden from the rest of modern society. The lottery offers a pre-paid visit to the Vault, complete with free popcorn (within reason), a secret passage or two, a taste of adventure, and the occasional lesson in magic, as well as various other activities and games. You have been fortunate enough to be one of the CBers to win. You may bring along one companion, if you would like, either an AE or a Captcha, who must fill out a separate form to attend. There are 20 spots in total, including AE and Captcha spots. These will close once the Ski Lodge begins. Please fill out the form or forms attached below and burn promptly (Yes, you heard me right. Burn the entire notebook and remember that it will be unharmed. No tearing out the forms please).”
CBer name:
Pronouns:
Appearance:
Personality (min. 7 adj./words):
Favorite season:
Favorite fantasy book/series:
Activity suggestions:
Luggage:
Other details:
AE/Captcha name:
CBer:
Pronouns:
Appearance:
Personality (min. 7 adj.)
Luggage:
Way they talk if AE (ex. bold, italics):
Other details:
The forms are directly in the place where there used to be the beginning of your novel.
“Signed,
Illusion
Keeper of the Vault”
Before you can talk sense into yourself—that the whole letter is slightly disturbing, that your notebook will probably be somewhat charred after filling out the form, that the Keeper of the Vault seems to know more about you then you would like—you are fetching a pen and hurrying to tell your AE/Captcha about it.
You finish quickly, then something inside you flashes a sudden warning while you’re just a few inches from the fire and you pull away, startled.
And that’s when the fire (which is dying down into embers) lashes out of the fireplace, envelops your notebook (which burns…), and then suddenly vanishes, leaving nothing but a pile of ash.
***
This ski lodge will begin some time after all the spots are filled out. I’ve already outlined the basic plot and inserted variables for guests, but I may need to adjust these according to who signs up to align with personality traits and that will likely take a while. The ski lodge may or may not be a non-death ski lodge. I am still deciding on which will work best for the plot, and if I will be comfortable writing a typical, murder mystery ski lodge (yes, hopefully this doesn’t make me too easy to guess). If it does turn out to be a murder mystery, it will be non-graphic, with no gore.
Parts may take a while to come out, and the ski lodge may or may not end due to writer’s block, schedule difficulties, plot difficulties, and the like. This is why I’ve been delaying posting the ski lodge thread for a month or two, while I try to work out the kinks (I finally realized that I cannot figure out the plot until I know who the guests are, which is why this is being posted, although nervously). And I’ve never written a ski lodge before so if you’re signing up specifically for the mystery aspect, I can’t promise that I’ll be any good at it…
You have been warned.
submitted by Illusion, age timeless, the Vault
(July 20, 2023 - 6:09 pm)
(July 20, 2023 - 6:09 pm)
I love this introductory bit :D I'll join in the hopes that it will be a non-death ski lodge... if you decide to make it a usual ski lodge with deaths, however un-gory, would you mind removing my AE and I from the story before people start dying? No offense, I just don't want to be participating in the usual kind of ski lodge. And if it would be bothersome for you, and you need all twenty people to make the plot work or something like that, tell me and you can ignore these forms :)
CBer name: Amethyst
Pronouns: she/her
Appearance: Fairly tall, slender, with long wavy black hair (usually loose), hazel eyes, kind expression, semi-commanding air, wearing either a knee-length fitted green dress with a silver underskirt and silver boots, or a light green halter top, blue jeans, and ankle boots
Personality (min. 7 adj./words): Kind, preferring to be fashionable (though not if being fashionable means doing anything that I don't agree with), strong, will help anyone who needs it
Favorite season: All of them. But let's say spring?
Favorite fantasy book/series: The Chronicles of Narnia
Activity suggestions: Horseback riding (|In a Vault of Magic? Amethyst, aren't you ever going to be sensible??| All right fine, not in a Vault of Magic but anywhere else), reading, writing
Luggage: A few books, a water bottle, a flashlight, a notebook and pencil, and that's all.
Other details: I love the name Illusion :D
AE/Captcha name: Ibis
CBer: Amethyst
Pronouns: she/her
Appearance: Black hair, usually braided, brown eyes, tall, and usually wears a light blue cloak and a longish dark blue dress.
Personality (min. 7 adj.) Fun to be with, knows a lot, and understands other people very well. She likes being wtih her friends, but sometimes likes to go off by herself as well.
Luggage: A few of her favorite books, a sketchbook and pencils, and necessities
Way they talk if AE (ex. bold, italics): ~like this~ (it's the simplest way of explaining it)
Other details: Nothing really :)
(July 26, 2023 - 6:12 pm)
I'm 90% sure that this will be a non-death ski lodge, but there will still be guests disappearing without being injured/hurt in any way, as well as someone else in place of a murderer (not going to spoil that though, you'll just have to see), an element of danger and mystery, and the structure will be similar or the same. But no one will be seriously injured at all, although there is one part where a guest may be knocked out which I will try to omit if possible.
(July 27, 2023 - 12:46 pm)
Sounds great!!! I'm really looking forward to this :)
(July 29, 2023 - 9:06 pm)
I'm almost positive that there's at least one slot left, but I'm too lazy to count. If you have to leave me out, it's totally fine.
CBer name: OpalescentDragon or Opal for short
Pronouns: Um.... Oh boy. Let's try out they/them for this
Appearance: Slightly on the shorter side with very pale skin. Short, messy silvery blue hair and bright blue eyes that glow softly. Has round dark blue glasses. Wears oversized tshirts in light colors and cozy pants.
Personality (min. 7 adj./words): Introverted, creative, nervous, slighty chaotic, witty
Favorite season: Autumn! I'm so sick of summer
Favorite fantasy book/series: Oh geez, now this is a hard question. I really like WoF and Endling and Pages and Co.
Activity suggestions: Nothing super physical, since I most likely have EDS. Drawing, reading and writing definitely. I do really like swimming as well.
Luggage: Necessities, sketchbooks, my pencil case, a few books
Other details: Nothing else! :D
(July 31, 2023 - 8:10 pm)
A few updates:
1. There are four more slots (including AEs/Captchas)! If no one else wants to join, I will start. If you want to join after the ski lodge starts, I'm keeping the slots open.
2. The season question on the forms help me to decide which floor you will be staying in (each floor is carefully themed). If you want to stay on a different themed floor, please reply to this comment and I'll see if there is any space on the other floors.
3. I'm trying to include one activity suggestion from each CBer who signed up (Exception: I can't do capture the flag because I don't know how to play it...)
4. This is officially a non-death ski lodge, for those who may not know, and I'll start it once I'm done with the first part.
(August 4, 2023 - 4:01 pm)
(August 4, 2023 - 5:59 pm)
Thanks for letting us know! And yay, I won't die! :) Btw, could you be Zealatom or Lord Entropy?
BICWH
I'm assuming that means bye, see who (you) at the Vault of Magic! Excited for this to start!
(August 4, 2023 - 11:04 pm)
Hello there!
No, I am not Zealatom or Lord Entropy, but thank you for guessing! (And also thank you for supplying three different phrases of dialogue for your captcha, Feiya, to say in the story. I was wondering how I was going to have captcha dialogue...)
(August 5, 2023 - 12:57 pm)
Np! Lyric? And I suppose you could write what the captchas mean (or sounds/actions!), not what they're saying.
but if you want for saying too, rn Feiya is saying weimg
hmm... that seems like it SHOULD be a word, but... we Imessage?? That's a thing, right?
(August 7, 2023 - 7:35 pm)
...Oh dear, that was very fast...Yes, I am Lyric. Did you know that because I said I was trying to write a non-death ski lodge on the "Dear all CBers" thread a while ago?
(August 8, 2023 - 12:02 pm)
No, it's cuz I like reading old threads and stuff and then on Sine's non-death Ski Lodge (Jun 12, 2023), you said "Reserving! ... I might also try to create a non-death ski lodge but I'm still thinking about it." and you were still thinking about it here.
(August 8, 2023 - 4:26 pm)
Any room? I would love to try this out!
(August 13, 2023 - 7:51 am)
@Nyxie, yes there is room, but I'm almost finished with the first part (just adding finishing touches) so if you can fill out the form (or forms if you're bringing an AE/Captcha) in a few days, then I will include you in Day 2, part 1.
(August 13, 2023 - 12:09 pm)
After about weeks (no, more like months) of planning, this ski lodge (non-death for those who might not know) is finally starting!!! *squeals excitedly*
I hope you enjoy, and please let me know if if I unintentionally plagiarize other ski lodges OR if you would personally react differently to a certain situation in the story and I’ll make a note of that :D
Day 1, part 1: Late afternoon, almost sunset
Moon Wolf awoke from deep, midnight darkness to complete silence.
She was standing in a large, cheerful clearing inside a sunlit forest. The leaves were bright green and reminded her of polish on an apple—like they were too good to be true. Unblemished.
It was too perfect. It made her feel uneasy and delighted at the same time. And also dizzy, because it was late afternoon and the sun was temporarily blinding her.
“Where am I?” she asked aloud.
“At the Vault, which by the way is located in an unknown area of the universe. You forgot, didn't you?”
Moon Wolf twisted sharply, intending to say that she had indeed forgotten after floating around in darkness for an indefinite time, then regretted it when she slid on several of the too-bright leaves.
She wasn’t alone. There were sixteen others all standing in the clearing—a combination of CBers and AEs (as well as Feiya, who was tugging at a ball in her CBer’s jacket pocket).
In the center stood the girl who had spoken to her, whom Moon Wolf didn’t recognize. Her hair was a pale blond with strange gold streaks like they’d been dipped in gold. Over a spotless white dress she wore a large silver locket. Her eyes were blue, with a strange, misty quality to them as if she wasn’t in the present, but lost somewhere in the past.
She spoke in a combination of old fashioned and modern speech.
The girl sighed. “Oh well, it really can’t be helped if you forgot. Welcome to the Vault of Magic. I am Illusion and I will be overseeing you during your visit. Of course there isn’t anyone else to oversee you…”
Moon Wolf noticed her smile fade at this, but after a moment it reappeared and she concluded that she had imagined it.
“…so kindly stay out of trouble and don’t mess with any magic you aren’t supposed to be messing with, because that could be extremely deadly. Oh, and watch out for the leaves. They’re slippery. Any questions?”
Arum Lily made some sort of mischievous grin when she heard “stay out of trouble”. They were using their magical headphones, which were working extremely well thanks to all the magic lurking near the Vault, but somehow they had still heard most of what the keeper had said.
Illusion narrowed her eyes at Arum and was about to say something to her when Onyx raised their hand. “Are you the person who had the idea to send the form which came in Silver’s writing notebook and then got burned, which by the way was a really great way to collect forms? Yeah. Biggest mistake ever.” Fae were wearing mismatching earrings—one a dark blue rose and the other one an ice cream cone with a big smile face, as well as a plastic bead bracelet in random colors, and one plain silver ring.
“Onyx, please stop with the sarcasm,” Silver Crystal scolded. “I’m sorry about the misunderstanding. We’re thankful for this opportunity.” She smiled apologetically.
“I’m very glad that you—” Illusion started to say.
“~I HATE sarcasm!!!!” blurted Mira. “~My sister Lyre is sooooooooo sarcastic and she was like ‘yeah I’ll totally braid your hair,’ but she didn’t mean it and—wait, does anyone know if there are any strawberries here??? Rora didn’t tell me if there were any…what if there aren’t???~”
“I’m sure there will be strawberries,” Rora told her AE, laughing. “They’re sort of common.”
CelineBurning Bright raised her hand.
“Yes?”
“Do we get to do magic???” she asked, “Or at least see it?”
“Oh, of course! Isn’t that why you came?”
The CBers and AEs started chattering excitedly when they heard this.
“YOU BE EXCITED, DON’T SLEEP!” Feiya shouted over the commotion, running around in circles on the floor and sliding on the leaves in the process (oddly, she didn’t seem to mind them, or the fact that she was making everyone dizzy).
“Sleeping is considered a healthy habit,” Hawkstar informed them seriously. “So we really should sleep.”
“DON’T SLEEP,” Feiya repeated again, too excited to care (although it seemed to Moon Wolf that she was always excited).
“What kinds of magic?” WiLdSoNg asked, watching Feiya as if she felt tempted to run around in circles as well.
Illusion thought for a moment. “I believe we’ll be making potions, learning to take care of non-life-threatening magical creatures, experimenting with element magic…that kind of thing.”
“-That sounds really fun,-” Lyra murmured, evidently shy.
“It will be,” Illusion promised. She paused. “If there are no other questions, we shall continue to the Vault entrance.”
She vanished behind several trees, following some kind of invisible trail through the identical-looking trees (at least Moon Wolf didn’t see a trail). The CBers and AEs hurried to catch up, but kept on slipping on the leaves. Finally Moon Wolf remembered the rope she had packed and had everyone hold onto one side of it (except Feiya, who was too small and ended up standing on top of the rope and clutching it tightly).
“Almost there,” Illusion sang out, after about half an hour. “Just around this corner.”
The sun had started to set and splashed dazzling pinks and oranges and yellows all over the sky. It would be nightfall soon.
The group found themselves in a small grove of crepe myrtle trees which arched over a clear pond with the soft pink blossoms floating at the surface. The pond lapped at the edge of a very old and out of place wall made of rock and mortar, leaning against the side of a mountain. Round stepping stones directed the way to the wall, which had an equally round door in the center of it, with a miniature keyhole.
“This is the entrance to the Vault,” Illusion announced. She unclasped her locket and it opened with a muted click.
Moon Wolf gasped. Underneath the cover, tiny keys in every design and shape were fanned out in a circle. They were encased in plastic, but there was a hole that could be turned to let the keys slide out of the case. Illusion shook out a brass key with rounded teeth in the shape of a crepe myrtle tree.
“How are those not getting lost?” asked Opalescent Dragon, hovering worriedly by Illusion. “If you lose the locket you lose all the ke—”
“Oh, they won’t get lost,” Illusion interrupted (somewhat carelessly). “The case is tight, see, and the locket fastens very securely.” She thrust the bronze key into the little keyhole and turned sharply. There were several unpleasant grinding noises like the key was banging against whatever mechanical parts inside the keyhole, then the door opened grudgingly, revealing a gaping, black tunnel.
Quite literally a cave.
“There are electric lights further on, right?” Cloud Bunny lingered at the edge of the pond, nervously. “I’m um…afraid of the dark…”
“Some of the rooms change to make different layouts and appearances,” Illusion explained. “I don’t have control of it. But don’t worry, it’s just an illusion.”
Illusion, Moon Wolf realized. That’s her name. I wonder if it has to do with anything…?
“Don’t worry, you can have my flashlight,” Amethyst offered, flipping the switch to ON and handing it to Cloud Bunny.
“Thank you!” They grasped the handle, relieved.
After several minutes of walking a light appeared at the end of the tunnel, getting brighter and brighter every moment, until they finally emerged from the darkness into a plain, white room, with two white doors.
“I’ll dismiss you now so you can get to know your roommates,” Illusion said. “Be sure to come back for dinner once you’re rested, unless you happen to find one of those fairytale magic tablecloths or hand-mills that conjure food, or anything like that.”
“Those are actually real?” asked Pangolin.
“Of course,” Illusion answered somewhat distractedly, as she was fiddling with her locket to get another key. “So. There are four floors that are themed according to the seasons. I tried to give everyone their first choice.” She found the key, which was copper this time, with “Welcome!” carved in cursive, and opened one of the doors, revealing a hallway with two elevators and a green double door marked “Spring.” A chart was tacked onto the wall that said:
“1st floor (Spring): Silver Crystal, Onyx, WiLdSoNg, and Hawkstar
2nd floor (Summer): Celine, Feiya, Amethyst, and Ibis
3rd floor (Autumn): Pangolin, Arum Lily, Cloud Bunny, and Opalescent Dragon
4th floor (Winter): Moon Wolf, Lyra, Rora and Mira.”
“The hallway that leads to the dining room is inside that other door over there, whenever you’re ready,” Illusion told them, walking out of the door and shutting it.
***
Note: Moon Wolf’s AE is called Lyra, and Mira’s sister who is not in this story is called Lyre, but I mentioned her.
And to repeat the update I posted a while ago, if you want to try to change which floor you are on, this is one of your last chances. On Day 2, part 1 (which will happen after Day 1, part 2) I will not allow any more floor changes. Sometime before I post Day 1, part 2, I’ll post the interior design description of the various rooms, to help you decide.
(August 14, 2023 - 8:35 pm)
EEEKK!! THE FIRST PART IS OUT!! *squeals even more excitedly* This is absolutely PERFECT!! I love your writing style and Moon Wolf's observations (e.g. "although it seemed to Moon Wolf she was always excited... watching Feiya as if she felt tempted to run around in circles as well...") and you captured Feiya's essence perfectly! And mine too, I am always the only one in class raising my hand to ask a question even when it's completely unnecessary to raise my hand while everyone is talking out of turn bc this has been drilled into my head and become instinctive. And that is exactly the question I'd ask in this situation (MAGIC!!!)! With the exact wording (e.g. "...or at least...") and three question marks! DXNHY!! Feiya's so excited she's talking gibberish cuz she can't form the words to express! Or they're talking Feiya talk?
(August 15, 2023 - 12:09 pm)