"Hey, you. Were you bothering my Lady?"

Furrlicity paused from where he had been walking away from his previous interaction. A woman with a sword- no, some bladed spear?- glowered at him. Arms crossed, she looked more a brute than one of the Nobles gathered here. As he would soon find out, she wasn't; she continued before he could inquire further.

"Lady Pepper has been upset since she spoke with you. What did you say to her?"

It's meant as a thread. Furrlicity wonders where this lesser gets off on thinking she can order him around. Yet, he is amused by her short temper. He approaches, which makes her brow furrow. Perhaps his lack of fear unnerved her.

"I may answer if you answer me first. May I have you name?"

It slips from his lips in a careful selection of words between them. A spell woven into the air, a trap laid. She does not notice.

"Cherrin Pepsin, Retainer of House Pepper."

The trap snares. Furrlicity grins and it is wicked.

"You may call me King Purrfection, dear."

She shivers, glowers at him. He plucks a berry from his crown and drops into her willing palm. She grits her teeth and shakes her head minutely yet it still vanishes past her lips.

"I wish you a nice night, my lady."

MruBatKF1-4
ENGAGING #9
FAVOR: 0 | INFLUENCE: 5 | TIME: 55

Rubella stood back and watched, listened, and took in the scene before she moved at all from her position.

Her gaze glanced from the familiar statue of the Princess to the older statues. As far as she could tell, they represented a Warrior, a Scholar, and the King... What was the former King's name, again?

The lack of knowledge confounded her for a moment. She should have known, this was not something she would have ever forgotten. How the information escaped her blindsided her for a moment, and she offered a silent moment of respect for his passing. She'd have to encourage someone to slip and reveal his name to her, lest her ignorance be revealed.

"May His Majesty rest in peace, and may her Royal Highness's rule be long and fruitful."

Duke Yggy suddenly ran past the statue of the princess, only to cause Rubella to raise an eyebrow. What could cause such a commotion? Turning around, she witnessed a noble figure laying dead, a Noblewoman's eyes filled with tears. Immediately, her eyes narrowed. She had been warned that people would be trying to cause a problem, hadn't she? To not get in their way?

Wait, by who?

Her eyes narrowed further, these sudden lapses in memory were proving troublesome, but there was only one real logical answer. Duke Yggy was obviously not the culprit, such an answer was too easy. However, it did mean that the true killer was uncaught, roaming across the courtyard with none the wiser.

And quite frankly, Duchess Rubella could not see a reason for the motive. For another Noble to commit such a crime so publicly would be to be committing obvious treason, and a threat to the Princess' security and safety. For a lowly servant to commit such a crime of their own will, why she couldn't imagine it. It would mean death of the most heinous caliber.

There had to be something more, a ringleader, someone in charge, perhaps.

... Or perhaps this was a plan of the Princess's themself? Perhaps a cruel method to discover those truly wise enough to serve? Far be it for her to judge their motives, but until she learned the truth, caution was her friend, and information was her weapon. For if this was instead a threat to the Princess, they should be informed immediately.

And yet, here she stood, alone at the base of the statues. Perhaps there was some greater safety in numbers after all...

Wait, she didn't come here alone, did she? She swore she had her loyal butler with her, all of a sudden.

Duchess Rubella's lips pursed, these memory lapses were proving more and more frequent the more she thought about them, and it was growing irritating. Perhaps it would be best if she found at least positive company to make herself acquainted with, or at least make her appear less of a target all by herself. She'd have to wait for the right moment to act, gauge the situation to come, and appropriately respond.

Preferring those whom she could easily manipulate to those who seemed sure of themselves, she slipped across the courtyard over towards the presence of a certain nervous gentleman. "Excuse me, your grace," Rubella began, curtsying politely as she spoke with a false nervous tone to her voice. Eyes wide with subtle fear, just enough acting to sell the innocent girl facade. "Might I request your company?"

"Ahh, yes, greetings." The figure would turn to look down at her, seeing the young woman in distress. They appeared to be quite nervous themselves, albeit apparently from some kind of social anxiety despite being so well refined in appearance. Their eyes were glancing about, lips quivering ever so slightly. "Are- Are you quite alright?"

"Oh, yes, I shall be fine, thank you. I seem to have lost my butler, and I am so terribly lost without my head of staff. Would you perhaps stay with me until I can find him again? I am Duchess Rubella, of the Ruby Islands. I would be very grateful if you did." Her eyes widened a bit further, a classic puppy-dog look.

"I-" The man looked down at her, heart apparently softening for the young woman. "Yes, yes of course. I am Lord Juniper of Pinetreeland. I would be, er, happy to assist you. Can you describe what they looked like?"

Pinetreeland? Rubella blinked, their soft smile of humor from such a horrendous name hopefully being mistaken for a smile of appreciation.

... Then again, what exactly did her butler look like? Damn these memory lapses, she'd have to sit down and write exactly what she knew and what she didn't at some point to collect her thoughts. At least she'd give what she could remember, anyways. "He... was a fairly short man, but always prim and proper, and a suit to match. A gentleman to the core. I admit, I am surprised he did not grow up in your court, with you appearing such a refined gentleman as well."

Lord Juniper let out a fairly nervous chuckle, pushing up his monocle. "Well, If he is as gentlemanly as you say, we shall stumble across his path sooner or later, I suppose. Shall we take a look for this butler of yours? " He'd offer a polite hand down to the young duchess and Rubella took it eagerly.

"Yes, let's."

71a9GF181-4
ENGAGING #9
FAVOR: 1 | INFLUENCE: 5 | TIME: 59

THE PRECIPICE CROWN

3. DINNER IS SERVED

For the first time, the doors to the Dream Palace open.

The crisp, clear sound of brass cuts through the courtyard with all its merrymaking and treachery. A summons. You look up to see two pages with herald trumpets standing at the top of the Palace steps. A third page steps forward, reading off a scroll.

“Esteemed Guests of the Nobility
are now invited to the Banquet Hall
for a feast befitting of their station
prepared by the Serving Staff.”

The Nobles immediately begin climbing the steps to the palace, perhaps hoping the Princess herself will make an appearance at the royal feast. On the other hand, Servants are beckoned through a staff entrance with little fanfare, their thanks for excellent service a mere [tangent=Money can be exchanged for goods and services.]silver piece[/tangent] of the Dream Kingdom’s currency.

Servants must be seen, not heard, but the truth is that servants go better un-seen as well. Secret passages spiderweb out in all directions, leading to kitchens, hallways, stairs, lovers’ bowers, the [tangent=Two guards keep watch over this area. They can be overcome via either of the following methods:

• Influence 12
• Bribe: Silver Piece x3

Collaboration will be necessary to overcome this obstacle.]royal bedrooms[/tangent], and even [tangent=The catacombs are guarded by a Salamence with bad eyesight. It can be overcome via either of the following methods:

• Supereffective Pokemon x2
• Battle For Your Life x4

Collaboration will be necessary to overcome this obstacle.]the catacombs[/tangent] beneath the palace. Those with watchful eyes might see M00K:Claw slip away down one of these passageways.

Naturally, your delusion calls you to the Banquet Hall to wait hand and foot upon your betters.

But what if–

The Banquet Hall is marvelous. Twilight pennants hang from the rafters above a dining table that stretches the length of the hall. Mouthwatering scents rise from silver platters, where an assortment of exotic meats and vegetables have been prepared.

As the most influential Nobles at this gathering so far, Sarah Lee, orioncayge, and Furrlicity Purrfection will notice something strange about the dream-script when it appears this time, scrawling its way out word-by-word in your User Interface. A [tangent=

Influence Over Narrative

As you gain influence in the Dream Palace, you gain power over the dream.

Players with over 5 Influence may edit instances of the Princess's narration (anything in quote boxes with the italic text) once per cycle. You may add or switch one word for each Influence over 5 you have. The new sentence must make sense grammatically.

You may immediately RP as if changes have occurred. Describe the effect to its full glory. What you change will affect everyone in the dungeon.

You are going to change the world.]blinking text cursor[/tangent].

Everything on the tables looks absolutely delicious, except the cauliflower (which looks like feathers) and the hot wings (which look more like bat wings). As you dig in, Nobles may hear a few [tangent=Some say the King did not die quietly. Perhaps the Princess, freshly returned from her exile, had a hand in his early retirement. Others wonder whether someone more suitable— one of the old royal family, like the King's younger brother— might be more suitable for the throne instead. After all, this Kingdom has always had a King.

Of course, those who loudly expressed such opinions may already number among the dead.]rumors[/tangent] about the royal family. With drink in their systems, people seem eager to share their theories until a reverent hush suddenly sweeps through the hall. Awe. Excitement.

She's coming.

A voice rings out, indolent, dispassionate.

It seems I should welcome everyone.

Flanked by guards, a veiled figure descends, willowy and slender as a stalk of lavender, to take her seat at the front table. Three royal seats beside her are left empty as she settles, resting her chin in one hand.

That's all. Welcome.

A sound bubbles faintly in your ears. Distantly, as if from underwater, you can hear game music start up in the background.

SPOILER: Click to show

{BOSS BATTLE: <LEGENDARY POKEMON ARTICUNO>}

Through the veil, the Princess turns and meets your gaze with white, sightless eyes.

She does not smile. She does not linger.

She looks through you, as if you are so dull, so mundane, and so utterly transparent that a single word could send you running from her halls. Why try? Why bother? Why fight back? You have been controlled, displaced, manipulated, deprived of your Pokemon and powers, and even robbed of your sense of self. In this game of wills, you have already lost.

In fact, you are not even a player.

BANQUET HALL

[tangent=

ITEM ACQUIRED: POISON

Servants may poison a guest’s food or drink once per post (you may choose whether this is lethal or nonlethal). Successfully poisoning a guest collectively earns the Servants +1 INFLUENCE.

Players and Player Pokemon are immune to poison. If a poisoning attempt fails, that guest is confirmed to be a player’s Pokemon. In this way, illusions can be eliminated from the pool.

]POISON (SERVANT)[/tangent] | [tangent=

ENGAGING GUESTS

Nobles may engage a guest once per post, either in conversation or other thematic discourse.

Guests will increase or slander Nobles’ INFLUENCE depending on whether the guest’s Primary Pokemon Type is supereffective against a noble’s Trainer Subclass.

By interacting with guests at the ball, you may collectively be able to narrow down which Pokemon are which!

]ENGAGE (NOBLE)[/tangent]
Please post your actions on Discord!

INSTRUCTIONS

Tell us a story.

The game continues as before, but with the Princess watching, stakes are higher than ever.

Servants may leave the Banquet Hall to explore at the cost of Favor. Nobles may leave the Banquet Hall at the cost of Influence (-1 per post you're missing from the party).

Paste this code at the bottom of your post and add the result to TIME (starting at 0).
Remove the %.
[center][%roll range="1d4"][/center]

USER INTERFACE

OBJECTIVES:

• End the Endless Night
• Attend the Coronation
• Reclaim your Missing Pokemon
• [tangent=You may now RP anywhere you wish in the palace (Nobles will lose -1 Influence per post away from the Banquet Hall, but may earn Influence back). There are two special areas:
  
  ROYAL BEDROOMS
  Two guards keep watch over this area. They can be overcome via either of the following methods:
  
  • Influence 12
  • Bribe: Silver Piece x3
  
  CATACOMBS
  The catacombs are guarded by a Salamence with bad eyesight. It can be overcome via either of the following methods:
  • Supereffective Pokemon x2
  • Battle For Your Life x4
  ]Explore the Dream Palace[/tangent] new!

SCREEN PROMPTS:

• > BOSS BATTLE: <LEGENDARY POKEMON ARTICUNO>

ERRORS:

• If attempting to interact in any way with the Princess: <You won't.> (The player is rebuffed before beginning their action).
• If attempting to break, destroy, or damage any part of the Dream Palace: <Immortal Object> (The object is unaffected).
• If attempting to log out or pause the game: <Are you sure? You will not be able to rejoin the WORLD EVENT (ONGOING) again if you leave.> (Options: Yes/No)

STATISTICS
^{*Please track your character's current stats in your post.}

• [tangent=

  Mechanic #1: Favor

  Players may earn the Princess’s Favor by complying with the delusion. A player must obey all aspects of their delusion in a post to gain +1 Favor. This rule is absolute. Unbreakable, unbendable, and cold as ice.
  
  There is no compromise. Give in to the dream, and you will be rewarded.
  
  Rebel, and face the consequences.
  
  The effects of Favor are unknown.]FAVOR[/tangent] Sarah +1, Tuesday +1, Cleo +1, Ibis +1, Manish +1, Yggy +1, Orion +1, Ruby +1
• [tangent=

  Mechanic #2: Influence

  Players may earn Influence at the court by taking impactful actions. There are both mechanical and narrative aspects to Influence.
  
  NOBLES start with 5 Influence per player. This can be increased by ENGAGING with party guests (see above). Nobles will lose -1 Influence per post if they leave the current scene (i.e. Courtyard). They will also lose Influence for harming a guest or conducting themselves inappropriately (using the wrong fork, groping people, etc).
  
  SERVANTS start at 0 Influence. This is a collective total, not individual. The servants’ Influence can be increased by POISONING party guests.
  
  Players with over 5 Influence may (starting next cycle) begin to alter the Princess's Narrative, one word at a time. When you do, go ahead and RP the results. You are going to change the world.]INFLUENCE[/tangent]new! Sarah +1, Yggy -1, Tuesday +1, Orion +1, Furrlicity +2
• [tangent=

  Mechanic #3: Time

  Each cycle lasts one hour before the scene changes. To track time spent, please roll 1d4 at the bottom of your post and add it to the running total. When the time reaches 60, posting will stop and the thread will be temporarily locked, pending a mod update. Try to keep the pace lively while leaving room for other people to post too!
  
  If the time threshold hasn't been reached in six days, any Favor/Influence from the incomplete round will be discarded and the next scene will proceed.]TIME[/tangent] 0/60

NEXT CYCLE AT TIME:60 OR IN SIX DAYS

NOBLES: manish, Furrlicity Purrfection, orioncayge, Ruby, Sarah Lee, Yggy Br00ks

SERVANTS: Tuesday, ibis, diva, Valentine, Lucky Guy, Cleo

SPOILER: Click to show

{DELUSIONS (COLLAPSED)}

	NOBLE	SERVANT
You are not yourself. You are Duke/Duchess <name> of <name.> You want to impress the Princess tonight. Perhaps she’ll favor you. Perhaps she’ll choose you. The others want to hurt her. You would never hurt her. You would never hurt her. Forget that other voice. That person is beneath you.			You are a servant. You are happy to serve. This is your place. You do not ask questions. You do not speak unless spoken to. You were born to cater to your betters. You love this job, servant. This is your life. Forget that other voice. It’s just trying to distract you.

[tangent=

Mechanic #1: Favor

Players may earn the Princess’s Favor by complying with the delusion. A player must obey all aspects of their delusion in a post to gain +1 Favor. This rule is absolute. Unbreakable, unbendable, and cold as ice.

There is no compromise. Give in to the dream, and you will be rewarded.

Rebel, and face the consequences.

The effects of Favor are unknown.

]ABOUT: DELUSIONS[/tangent]

The Dream Castle shook with Furrlicity Purrfection's presence. With the sheer force of will that his station commanded.

Dark pillars of ice coiled and boughed like faithful servants as the HALL became a FOREST. Autumnal light caught the Noonlight finery that hung from every surface.

"Quite warm in here, don't you think?" asked Crawmon Copperriddle, the knight seated beside them. Like Focus he was wearing full plate armor. He speared a sliver of red meat and slipped it through a gap in his visor.

Focus Richtung, clad in her lavender plate, nodded politely as she disassembled and devoured her own meal. Meat first, then the bones. "I'd rather roast alive in this steel than freeze without it."

"Strange. I don't feel the heat at all," Sarah said. She felt herself start to sweat, but not from the meagre sunlight. This wasn't true heat. This was just a beam of autumn cast on an otherwise frosty table. A spreading warmth that clashed with the chill of the palace.

This isn't what the Princess wants, Sarah thought, a forkful of cauliflower halfway to her mouth. This is her coronation! She bit into the roasted vegetable. It tasted fowl.

A little voice slunk through the web of misplaced thoughts and allegiances in her head. It sidestepped the promise to Claw, and ducked between the icy chains that bound Sarah to the Princess' will. It doesn't have to be her coronation.

Sarah scraped the plate with her knife, hands shaking as she took another bite. What has she done to earn the crown? Nothing! Sarah bit down on her dagger and tasted metal. Dagger? Her food was gone. Her cutlery replaced with a dueling saber and a parrying knife.

Sarah took a deep, shuddering breath. Cold air filled her chest, and she breathed out a roiling cloud of steam. The world was changing for the better. Conflict was a thousand times better than cauliflower!

Manipulation isn't power, whispered that warm voice in her brain. You can't chat your way into a crown, or win it by peer approval. The only trial the matters is a trial by FIRE.

Sarah stood up from the table, cutlery heavy in her hands.

The Dueling Hall is marvelous. Noonlight pennants hang from the rafters above a dining table that stretches the length of the forest. Mouthwatering scents rise from silver platters, where an assortment of exotic meats and vegetables have been prepared.

The tables sunk into the ground, the food platters stretching to create long, silver dueling strips still covered in what remained of their extravagant dinner. Crawmon Copperriddle stood at the far end of the piste, dual axes gripped in his mailed fists. He kicked some hot wings out of the way and advanced on Sarah. "Forgive me, Duchess, but I'm here to win favor, not friends."

Sarah gripped her sword and dagger so hard that they sizzled. But they didn't melt. Nothing could be broken in this palace. Not yet.

She dropped into a fighting stance, sword held low and parrying dagger at the ready. He hacked at her with his axes and she danced backwards down the platter, grinning. "The only thing I won't forgive is a halfhearted fight, Copperriddle."

Black feathers budded on Sarah's shoulders. The banner of her allegiance to Birchwild, long buried and struggling to bloom.

"What a great weight off my shoulders," Crawmon said, sarcasm ringing inside his helmet. He swiped at the air between them, forcing her back.

She ducked a high swing and struck Crawmon's wrist with her offhand dagger, sending him off-balance. He spun to follow her but she slid behind him like his own shadow, circling and slashing up his back with her sword. Her blades skittered along Crawmon's armor like eagle talons grasping at a tortoise.

"Those little blades aren't made for cutting armor, Duchess."

Sarah backed off, tapping her UI. Her weapons disappeared. A heartbeat later a sword-length feather materialized in her hands. Flames streaked along the edge on the weapon, and Crawmon recoiled. "Enough cloak and dagger. Enough muffled words and cuffed poison. Give me flame! Give me blade! Give me battle!" Sarah lashed out with the blade, forcing Crawmon to meet the blade with both axes. Fire licked his gauntlets, and he hissed in pain. She stepped in and kicked Crawmon in the back of the knee, sending him to the ground.

Fire roared in her ears, drowning out any final remnants of the Princess' voice. Her black feather cloak unfurled, rolling down her back like a cloud of war smoke.

Sarah looked around for her next opponent. "Royalty don't feast. They fight!"

q6b8qXWV1d4

SPOILER: Click to show

{Guest List}
1: Lady Ann d'Mooka
6: Lady Richtung, Marchioness of Schneeland - BRAIXEN
11: Crawmon Copperriddle - ENGAGE
18: Earl Slamson of Breakcourt
19: Count Cleft of Willowbank
20: Viscount Twain of Willowbank
21: Viscount Buckle of Willowbank - Cryogonal
22: Count Hedgemon of Greentuft

FAVOR: 2 | INFLUENCE: 6 | TIME: 10