CYCLE 5

A LEAP OF FAITH

In The Pit

A licking Litten and taunting Grookey keep the Cofagrigus distracted as Finnegan Fjord and Big Bee vault down into the pit, eager to take on the mantle of literal tomb raiders at the first opportunity.

As they land, their feet crunch on bone. A shower of ancient dust bursts up from the ground, filling the air with a cloud of rising ash. Shards of shattered craniums slice into Big Bee's hands like eggshells, digging beneath his fingernails. The time it takes to get his bearings costs him the treasure, and precious seconds.

Big Bee is in jeopardy.

One dusty, arm-length femur seems to have survived your trip down. If he wishes, Big Bee might collect this Bone of Breaking.

Finn tracks down the glinting thing that had attracted his attention from above, locating it around the neck of a crumbling skeleton. It appears to be an amulet, its edges inscribed with unsettling, evil-looking hieroglyphics. As you take it, a tooltip flashes up cheerfully. It reads one word: curse.

Upon closer examination, you notice it also has a USB plug.

Four Becomes Five

Kath Ulu snaps the gold finger back into place, and the temple shakes.

A low groan rises from the walls of the room as a ripple of power washes out from the head priest's now-intact body. Kath and her Pokemon are rocked as if caught in an earthquake, the ground trembling beneath their feet. The power of a finger had transformed darts, vials, and cobblestones to solid gold. What would a whole hand do?

Metal coats every nonliving surface like a layer of ice, transforming the entire interior of the room to gold. And it doesn't stop there-- the power rushes, races from stone to stone of the temple, flying up the path with the rolling boulder, paving the canals. The ceiling shakes as the previous dungeon floors are transmuted as well. Layer by layer, a new El Dorado is forged with a single click.

Finnegan Fjord and Big Bee feel the change from inside the pit as the stone interior becomes slippery as a slide. They struggle to pull themselves back up the soft, pliable walls, but Kath's Bulbasaur is able to keep the Cofagrigus at bay long enough for their Pokemon to help them.

The temple shakes, cascades, converts.

Run.

Tile Puzzle

inari jumps across the tiles, correctly decoding the instructions. Unfortunately, he forgets to encode his entry in return.

I - N -

From the very first letter, spikes burst up from beneath the tile, throwing Inari completely off balance. N seems like a safe harbor, but with his next vowel the spike trap activates again. Inari may want to rethink his realistic pain threshold settings as he makes it to the other side feeling the full brunt of his error, pain and shock radiating from very real stab wounds.

Inari is in jeopardy.

As the trap withdraws, you can see the stakes have turned to stone.

Much like Allotta Bambooga, manish starts off on the wrong foot before he even sees the nine-letter word (ONTORNUMO) carved at his feet. Perhaps by discarding the puzzle altogether, both players are able to dance and pivot their way to the other side without hesitation even as wooden stakes threaten to impale them at every turn.

While the puzzle does not punish Allotta's Meowth for not entering her full display name, neither does it reward her: the tiny alcove on the far side remains empty, its secret safely sealed.

Lucky Guy follows the example set by inari, perhaps hoping to confirm his first theory before making a second attempt. Spikes punish the Gardener for his mistake as sharpened sticks burst from the second tile he steps on, piercing past fabric and skin with a terrible ripping sound. Hopefully the stabbing pain is enough of a wake-up-call. Curiously enough, despite physical contact, they do not turn to gold.

Lucky is in jeopardy.

Attempting to change his answer halfway through allows Lucky to reach the far side with no further injuries, but as he crosses the threshold, the puzzle changes. Before the Gardener can re-trace his steps, the tiles flip themselves over one by one, revealing the pits of spikes below. Strangely, the letters turned to gold do not flip, leaving a scattered golden path from one side of the tiled passage to the other.

Thirty Seconds

Finnegan Fjord, Big Bee and Kath Ulu cross the rope bridge, feet ringing hollowly on the wood. Marble texture sweeps across it, starting from far away and washing across the boards beneath your feet. The sound of footfalls changes from hollow thunks to stony slaps as the entire structure petrifies before your eyes.

Behind you, the wave of gold continues to expand, sending tremors through the temple.

You arrive at the modified tile puzzle. Fourteen different individual letters gleam with burnished gold, surrounded by deadly moats of waiting spikes. You can see other players on the far side decorated with blood and splinters, symbols of their perilous crossing.

Choose your path through the spikes to the far side. You may repeat letters when you make your entry, but the player who makes the shortest, sensical phrase using all 14 gold letters will receive a prize. Optionally, inari, manish and Lucky Guy may also re-attempt this puzzle.

The gold tiles you're looking for were transformed by players (or their pkmn) with that ability.

It is recommended to closely re-read the entires from last cycle to confirm which letters you're working with!

pre-qualify: Normal-Type, Solve The Puzzle (14 Letters)
d20 requirement: 11+

In the corner of your vision, the timer hits 00:30. The screams of apes grow louder as Infernape vault down from the ceiling, flaming and feral. Roots burst from the temple walls in showers of earth, aiming to ensnare you as you run. Dodging grasping fingers and writhing patches of floor, you descend deeper, the passage walls narrowing as you near the exit.

Something roars ahead of you. It sounds like a waterfall.

The way ahead grows dark, slopes down, banks sharply right, then opens to a rushing curtain of water.

You stand at the edge of the temple, which terminates at a sheer cliff into a jungle ravine. Water pours from overhead in a powerful deluge, crashing and foaming where it meets the river below. It's a hundred-foot drop. The pain of whiting out here would be immense, smashed between two watery hands like a puny mosquito.

You are one step from escaping the temple.

...It's just off a cliff.

Will you take a leap of faith?

pre-qualify: Flying Pokemon
d20 requirement 11+

The following players are in jeopardy and will be eaten by apes in excruciating detail on their next failure.

Allotta Bambooga - Kath Ulu - Big Bee - inari - Lucky Guy

Remember, you may choose to sacrifice a pokemon to cover your escape in lieu of rolling. This must be decided before rolls are made.

This is the Last Cycle of the Dungeon.

GOLD FINGER: Kath Ulu Allotta Bambooga Lucky Guy

MARBLE EYE: manish Finnegan Fjord Big Bee inari

C U R S E

"Should've known," Finn groans, taking a much-needed moment to catch his breath. He wasn't out of shape in real life by any means, but a temple run would leave anyone a little winded, especially when you had to account for dragging marble Pokémon around.

Finn's seen enough movies. He doesn't wear the amulet, instead noting the USB plug and pocketing it for later.

Then the floor starts shaking. The walls. The temple moves.

"Oh for the love of-"

He turns, runs.

When they reach the puzzle full of golden letters, he hops carefully across, forced to repeat a few letters for the sake of keeping his balance. He's definitely not winning any prizes for being succinct, but he doesn't make any missteps at least.

OC(C)ULT G(O)A(T)S (S)IN K(IN)D(L)Y

Then the waterfall.

The end.

Finn shakes his head, smirks, and LEAPS.

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"Whoa, a puzzle - I love these, man," Bulby said as he arrived at the Tile Puzzle.

"Awesome," Kath said.

"Love that for you," Grookey echoed.

"I wonder... is it the... hmm..." Bulby scratched his head as he worked very hard.

A few minutes passed. The room turned gold around him. He was in the zone. The BULBY zone. The puzzle solving zone.

Slowly he inputted his answer, an answer he came to from years of living in a canopy with frustratingly small parasites.

BURLY DANG TICKS!

Bulby smiled. His job was done.

But was it a short, sensical sentence? It doesn't matter, because Kath and Grookey had already run away.

"Aw, man," Bulby said, as he was sacrificed.

Kath and Grookey finally made it to the end of the temple. Her only loot was a GOBLET, and was it worth it? Probably not!

"Ah!" Kath shouted as she reached the cliff - the terrifying waterfall and the sharp, sheer drop.

"Baby, we are so screwed," said Grookey as the hooting of the Infernapes grew closer by the second.

"Wait," Kath said. "What's that?"

And there it was. Just in the barest nick of time, Kath spotted a root that hung out of the side of the cliff. It lead to a series of roots that could act as a STAIRCASE down the cliff!

The only problem was - it was just too far to jump.

"Amazing! We're gonna make it!"

"Alright, you'll have to throw me, that's the only way I'll make the jump," said Kath.

"You got it, baby!" Grookey said. He used all of his primal strength to launch Kath through the air.

With gardener precision, she landed deftly on the root, SAFE and OUT OF THE TEMPLE. She looked down. Her safety was all but guaranteed. Then she looked back to Grookey.

"Wait, who's gonna toss me?" Grookey asked.

"Thanks, idiot!" Kath yelled back, and ran.

Grookey turned back to the Infernapes, who were charging into the room by the dozens.

"Baby, is it too late to talk this out?" He asked the Infernapes as he was sacrificed.