The staircase going up from the storage hall is a long one, with several switchbacks. It ends at a closed door which pulls open to reveal a room full of old, piled up and broken furniture. "Oh!" Eve says. "I know this room! It's in the north hall. We just have to get past all the garbage.." On the far side of the room is another door, presumably leading to the North Hall.
"Is thus stuff also haunted?" Aviri asks as he looks for somewhere to put down his crate o' tea.
"Dunno," Eve says. "It's always been too tangled a mess to bother with."
Indeed, there's no 'path' through the room, except over the junk or via moving it out of the way.
"Does every castle have so much stuff heaped everywhere?" Lin asks, sniffing a cushion with an errant chair leg protruding from it.
Aviri carefully sets his crate down on a busted chair and starts moving things out of the way of the exit.
"I haven't been in a lot of castles," Eve admits. The furniture is caked in dust, so Lin gets some up her nose with the sniff.
Trilup attempts to climb over things, only to have them shift under her until she returns to the others. "Maybe we can go under?" she suggests.
Some of the damage looks water related, so the furniture may have been put her after part of the castle flooded. A few of the chair legs sticking about can even be broken off.
Lin sneezes, raising a cloud of dust which causes her to caugh and sneeze more as she retreats. Not her finest moment. She wraps her scarf over her mouth and nose then, not even trying to find a path, starts climbing over and through the furniture disaster.
The magical walking trunk, 'Waddles' does not get very far trying to follow its owner, and causes an avalanche of footrests that nearly buries Lin.
Aviri flinches at each of Lin's sneezes, chuckling. "Very stealthy of you, Lin," he says, pushing an obstacle forcefully into a bank of ... other obstacles.
Lin wrestles her way free of the mess of footrests until she's back on top. "Hey, Waddles, kin ya stay put until we're on the other side an then push through?" She asks the enchanted trunk.
"Or just ... stay on this side," Aviri mutters, glancing warily at the trunk as he abandons his attempts to clear a path. He starts carefully leapfrogging over the mess, putting the tea-set ahead and crawling to catch up before repeating the process.
"I'm not good at climbing," Eve mews, and tugs on chairs until something gives. Amazingly this works for the feline, clearing a space.. but causing the surrounding masses to shift and make things harder for the others. Waddles doesn't really seem to follow directions well either, and keeps marching in place trying to get to Lin.
Linyala barks in dismay as the velveteen footrest beneath her shifts unexpectedly, nearly throwing her. "Alright, let's regroup. We're all workin' against each other here." She chirps, "Me an 'Viri kin climb fine but The Duchess an' Waddles are landlocked. Maybe we kin just clear enough of a path fer us to go through in a line?"
Aviri keeps working his way toward the door. "I'll start clearing from this end," he says.
"Maybe we could all keep close to Eve?" Trilup suggests, doing just that herself. "She's lucky."
Lin makes her way back to Eve and starts helping to clear the path. "Sounds like a plan!" She chirps.
Aviri finally reaches the far side, trying to find the floor with his feet. "I'll work from this end," he insists.
It's noisy work, and apparently this attracts attention. "Do you need any help, young marthter?" Ysnor says from right behind Aviri, who hadn't heard so much as a shuffling foot prior to that.
"Augh!" Aviri cries, half-jumping out of his skin. When he see's it Ysnor he manages to calm down. "Oh, it's you! Er ... yes, if you wouldn't mind! The Duchess is trapped back there, and we need a path dug out."
"Y'allright over there?" Lin calls out across the scrap heap. "It'll take a couple minutes to rescue you!"
"Nithe choithe of panth, by the way," Ysnor tells the Lapi, and then starts helping to move things. The room isn't that big, so the main issue if finding places to pile the moved stuff. For Eve's side, it's much easier - they just toss everything behind them and move on. It still takes about ten minutes before everyone can leave the room.
When the path is made, Aviri is quick to retreat out the door, nervously looking back at Lin and her demon-chest. He manages to thank Ysnor, though his words are more than harrowed.
Trilup bounds out on all fours, and Waddles trundles dutifully after Linyala and Eve. The kitten spreads her arms and yawns once they're out of the room. The outer wall of the hall is glass. All of it! The grounds to the north of the keep glow in spots, thanks to some of the mutant plants growing wild out there. It isn't enough to illuminate much this late at night though.
Lin frowns at Aviri but hangs around the back of the group so he can put a little distance between himself and her new toy. She presses her face against the wall to get a better look outside and oohs at the view.
"This used to all be underwater," Eve says. "With glowy monster fish looking in through the windows!"
Aviri trots toward the garden. "'M assuming we're going to sleep, now?" he asks, too anxious to feel fatigued.
Lin whistles then grins. "I'm gonna have ta see if we kin convince the wingnuts to make somethin' like that back in Stonebarrow. We've got all kinds of cool fish too!"
"Like an aquarium, but.. you're inside it with the air and the water is outside it?" Eve asks. "We should get some sleep. I'm pretty tired after all those stairs."
"A few more stairs yet, Duchess," Aviri notes as he enters the garden. "Er ... could 'Waddles' stay ... down here?"
"And the monsters and the statue toss and the massages." Lin ticks off on her fingers then looks startled at Aviri. "Um, sure?" She concedes, "If it'll make ya feel better. But it's comin' with us when we go."
Waddles follows along after Lin still, even as they get to the stairs leading up to the bedroom level. "How you gonna make him stay?" Trilup asks Lin.
Ever the pragmatist, Lin holds up a hand towards Waddles and says, "Waddles, stay. I'll be back down later."
Aviri watches this intently, shaking slightly, from about halfway up the stairs.
When Lin stop, the trunk settles down to the floor.
Lin beams and turns around to head up the stairs. "Magical thingummies, I've got this." She churrs to herself on her way up.
Once Lin gets a few feet away, Waddles gets up and follows her again.
Aviri bounds up another couple stairs. "Lin, it's following!"
"If you feed a stray they'll follow you," Trilup warns.
Lin hears the chittering of the chest's little feet and her shoulders slump. She turns around, goes back down the stairs, stares at the chest for a few seconds then says, "You were talkin' earlier. Do I have jam an' whatnot. An' ya know who people are, askin' my name. So how come ya can't just wait at the bottom of the stairs? Please?"
The trunk doesn't reply. But it does sit still for the chiding.
"Okay, that's better." Lin says evenly, "Yer kinda wiggin' Aviri an' he's already highstrung enough ta hang laundry on. I'm not gonna just leave ya here though, yer my awesome walkin' box! If I'm not back in a day, then ye kin come look fer me. But I'll be back down in the morning and maybe we kin find you some jam then. Sound good?"
Waddles still doesn't reply, it just sits there like a trunk.
Lin takes a deep breath and starts walking up the stairs again.
The trunk gets up and starts to follow..
Trilup barks, but that doesn't seem to intimidate Waddles. "How does it know to follow you?" she asks Lin.
"Well, it kinda zapped me when I unlocked it with-..." Lin fishes around in her pocket and pulls out the amber key that she found in a jam jar. "Maybe this?" She steps down and sets the key on top of the chest then takes a couple steps back.
Once again the Lapi retreats, now at the top of the stairs, clutching the railing tightly.
This time the chest remains immobile at the foot of the stairs.
"Ha!" Lin chirps and does a little victory dance. She retrieves the key and sets it on top of one of the handrails. "Now to see if you still like me. Open up?"
Without the key in hand (or on her person), Waddles doesn't respond to the command.
"Well, that solves that. An' that also answers my question of if I could lock the key in the chest until I came back for it." Lin chirps, "Though it doesn't feel right, leavin it there like that. Eve, do you have somewhere safe I can leave Waddles?"
"Like a closet?" Eve asks. "I've got lots of other trunks in my closet.."
"Perfect! An do you have a piece of cord or summat so I kin make a more necklacey thing outta this instead of just keepin' it in my pocket all the time where it could bounce out?" Lin takes the key off of the handrail and sits on the edge of Waddles.
"We've got lots of string.. oh, you probably want something waterproof right?" Eve asks. "I'm sure Oops and Uh-oh can find something."
Aviri's ears twitch as he watches, eyes fixated on the chest.
"Ah, my two favourite phrases." Lin chortles, "What kinda lovin' parent gives their kids names like that? But, yes please. Waterproof would be great!"
"In the morning though," Eve says, eyelids drooping.
"You say it 'zapped' you?" Aviri asks, his eyes suddenly flicking to Linyala.
"Okay," Lin nods, "Just show me to the closet and we'll put Waddles to bed."
"Zapzap," Trilup says, and makes poking motions at the air with her finger.
"Are you okay with it being in my closet, Aviri?" Eve asks the high-strung Lapi.
Aviri jumps at the question. "Oh ... uh ... depends," he says, wringing his hands against the railing. "Closet is down there?"
"You know.. my closet?" Eve asks. "Where we got our pirate stuff and all your earrings?"
"Oh ... right." Aviri takes a few breaths, looking around. "There's ... another room? For me, then?" He starts side-stepping away from the top of that staircase.
"Not that's made up.. we're having a sleepover, remember?" Eve reminds. "You're wearing one of my pairs of pajama bottoms.."
Aviri nods quickly, gulping. "Er ... I'll ... try," he says.
Linyala yawns, her lips pull back, her ears flatten, and her tongue curls.. "Why not just let Waddles stay in one of the rooms that isn't made up?" She asks, "Then Aviri won't have to be within spitting distance, an' Waddles won't go anywhere."
"Oh.. I wouldn't trust those closets," Eve says, clutching her hands together against her chest. "Ysnor keeps things in them. Things."
Lin shrugs, "Waddles terrified a talking sword that was used by a necromancer, it'll be fine. An' we can just leave waddles inside the door instead of in a closet. I just don't think it's a great idea leavin it somewhere people could trip on it an' knock the key off to who knows where."
"Oh, right.. I just figured it'd be more comfortable in a closet," Eve says, and goes to open the door of the room next to her own.
Lin walks in, waits for Waddles to follow her in, then puts the key on top of its lid. "Alright, that was un-necessilily complicated." She chirps, "Let's get some sleep an' tackle that puzzle box tomorrow, eh?"
Aviri moves well clear of the path from Waddles to the door, and had the air of someone who might bolt at any moment. "Thanks, Duchess...." he mutters sheepishly. "And Lin..."
"Time for bed! After we put the pirate stuff away. Don't forget your tea stuff, Aviri," Eve says, leading the way to her bedroom.
"Hey, don't worry 'bout it." Lin chirps, giving Aviri a pat on the shoulder, "I'm a sneak, not a jerk, no matter what my evil clone would have ya think." She follows Eve into the dressing room, starting to unbutton her pirate garb.
"R-right," Aviri says, side-stepping a bit around the walls, keeping clear of the room that now contained Waddles, before darting down the stairs to retrieve the crate of tea. He returns a few moments later, setting the box down in a corner of Eve's room and entering the changing-room, still shaking a bit though getting better as he starts pulling off his ear-rings.
Things aren't exactly put away in an orderly fashion - which they weren't in when they put them on originally anyway. Trilup is the fastest, since she left her clothes and stuff down in the fairy-cavern. Then it's just getting into the bed (which is huge, and the occupants are small, so it doesn't exactly feel crowded) and turning out the lamps. The castle makes noises, but none of them sound like lots of pitter-pattering wooden feet at least.
After a few minutes of peace and quiet, Lin starts snoring lightly.
Aviri takes his position at the farthest part of the bed from the door, curling up atop the mattress. He didn't expect to actually get any sleep, so intent he was on listening for that box, but after his adrenaline wore out ... he wasn't even awake long enough to hear Lin snoring.
Titanians make big breakfasts, mostly consisting of stuff that's been grilled or fried, except for the waffles and fruit. Although some of the fruit is strange. Well, most of it, since no matter what it looks like, on the inside it's like a blood orange. This doesn't keep Eve from putting some on her waffles. "Did everyone get enough sleep?" she asks, as Gnarr daintily serves tea.
Aviri looks almost embarrased at Eve's question. "Very well, thank you," he says, gathering some waffles and sniffing at the fruit suspiciously before applying them liberally to his plate. "Much better than the last few days, certainly!"
"You have a very fluffy bed, and yes." Lin chirps around a mouthful of waffle, some of the fruit juice is dribbling down her chin too and staining the fur red. She swallows and takes a big bite of a piece of fruit so more juice gets on her face. "Rawh, I'm the Warder, cahm into my office and mahrvahl at mai fake torture tools!" She growls, holding up her hands like spooky claws.
"Well, the inn was nice and dry," Trilup says.
"Dry, sure," Aviri says, beginning to eat. He's careful to chew and swallow before talking again. "But it was an inn, not a castle with ... very nice bed."
"It's really fluffy and warm," Eve says. "Even though the coverlet is like, a hundred years old! Especially because the floor gets really cold. So.. when has it been a day for the magic box? It 'sun goes down and comes back up' or like actually a whole day from the time it was last used?"
Aviri shrugs and looks up toward the balcony. "The box didn't come with an instruction manual," he explains. "Silv?"
"It's a sun sets, sun rises dealy. We've done it in the evening one day then the morning the next before an' it acted normally, I think." Lin chirps.
"Yeah, I think that's right," Silv replies ghostily.
"Oh goody!" Eve chirps. "We just need someplace to do it where nothing will go weird."
"Preferably in a less-open space," Aviri says, looking around the garden. "In case gravity stops being down again."
"Maybe the play room then," Eve says. "It's pretty empty."
"But what if it grows huge or starts shooting big chunks of ice everywhere?" Lin asks, drumming up some discussion as a distraction so she can sneak a second helping of those unidentifiable fried things and douse them in fruit juice.
"There's a door?" Eve suggests.
"I don't think the box can actually hurt us," Aviri says. "It seems to be illusionary ... or at least long-term harmless. Even when you turned soup ... you're still here."
"I might not be though. What if it replaced me with a clone to spy on you and give it scarrier ideas of what to do next?" Lin offers as she crunches on a fried thing.
Trilup gives Lin a look. "Then maybe I'm a clone too! Sent to stop you! By tickling!" she claims.
"We both know you're not a clone, Lin," Aviri says. "And I'm fairly sure Trilup's not one, either." He eats more waffle and looks to Eve. "The Play-room, then?"
"You have a point there, I'm too good looking to be a clone." Lin chirps, "An' Tril, I've known you were a clone ever since we had our twins made. Before that, you had a little dark spot on the left side of your face an' now it's on the right!" Lin pokes Trilup's cheek acusingly, then looks at her finger, then back at Trilup's cheek. "Ah, t'was a bit of dirt."
"Most of the stuff had to be moved out," Eve notes. "Jynx was gonna use it for something.. I think for record keeping?" She sips her tea, and says, "Anyway, it's pretty empty now."
"Ahh, that was a good one, Lin," Trilup says, chuckling nervously at the joke.
Lin uses Trilup's momentary distraction to get in a surprise tickle attack.
The younger otter squeals and falls out of her chair!
"An' that is why clones will never get the better of me." Lin claims sagely.
Aviri chuckles, watching this with bemusement as he finishes eating.
Eve giggles at the antics. "Wow, you must never get bored, Aviri!" she says.
"Oh, I long for the days when bordom was a problem that could plague me!" The Lapi laughs outright.
Gnarr's wife Butterlump starts to clean up the leftovers, and eve wonders, "What should I wear? Probably my play clothes," she decides. Which is convenient since she's already wearing them. "I suppose I should have Ysnor stay outside, but close to the door in case we need help again?"
"Good plan." Lin chirps, "Unless this last one hits the whole castle at once or something."
"That'd be a rather odd feature," Aviri notes, nodding his thanks to Butterlump.
"It only seems to work on people close by," Trilup notes. "Or.. contained with it? I didn't melt, but I was outside the tub!"
"Thanks!" Lin says to Butterlump and saves an extra waffle for later under her hat.
Aviri scoots away from the table and stands, looking around the garden. "You wanna do it, Duchess?" he asks. Then, he tilts his head. "I mean, the ... box. Not ...."
"I did it last time," Eve points out. "Don't you all take turns?"
"Do we?" Aviri blinks, in thought. "Hey ... could I do this one?"
"Sure!" Lin exclaims. She runs back to their room to retrieve the box and her bag of notes.
Once Lin returns, Eve leads them to the play room, in the South Hall. It's not much of a room, being a basic square, with a single entry. There's some basic furniture.. a bench and a desk, and lots of dust and cobwebs. There are lamp sconces on the walls instead of the usual glowing fungus, and Eve has Ysnor light them.
Aviri looks around, a bit excited at the last lock. "Hopefully we won't destroy these," he says, sitting down on the bench, testing it's integrity.
Lin sets up the box and notes on the desk for Aviri.
Aviri scoots over to the desk and looks at the notes, picking up the box idly in the process. "Alright..." he says. "Everyone ready?"
Ysnor scoots outside.. and closes the door on them. "I think we're ready," Eve says.
The Lapi nods and begins fiddling with the dials.
Lin chuckles, "Like we can actually be ready. Go for it!"
It takes Aviri a few moments to get the hang of what can move in what directions--this being the first time he's actually interacted with the box--but soon he's methodically pushing bits around, trying to get things to line up.
No matter how many panels get slid, they never reveal an old symbol. One bit near the edge slides over, and there's a glowing orange circle under it. It pulses once, then lets out a blinding flash of light!
Aviri squeaks and drops the box, pushing away from the desk so hard the entire bench falls over, depositing the Lapi on his back.
Lin blinks rapidly and rubs her eyes.
"Ow," Trilup and Eve both complain, rubbing at their eyes. When everyone's vision clears.. there is a huge wooden cliff rising up in front of them. Although actually it's the overturned bench, as they all seem to be the size of one of Dr. Pike's little vest-wearing mice.
Aviri groans and pulls himself up. "That was unplea..." he starts to say, and then notices their sizes. "Oh. Everyone alright?"
Lin is standing perfectly still. "I'm fine." She chirps, "Is everyone else tiny or does it just look that way?" She asks.
"Or the room got really big," Aviri says.
"You have really squeaky voices," Trilup notes squeakily.
Some other noises come from behind the bench, where the box fell. Woody-creaky noises.
Lin barely resists the urge to start singing the hedgehog song with her new squeaky voice when she hears the creeking. She holds up her hand for everyone to be quiet then creeps towards the end of the bench and tries climbing it very quietly to get a better vantage point.
Aviri looks toward the bench suspiciously, and begins walking around it to see what was on the other side.
The box is on the other side. And it has feet now. Not little wooden doll feet either - these have talons on them. The orange circle has moved to the middle-top of the 'front', like some cyclopean eye. The box shudders, and opens a rather toothy mouth below it.
The Lapi squeaks--quite literally, now--and runs back toward Eve and Trilup. "Theboxisaliveit'sgonnaeatusrun!" he cries.
There are some squeaks, and Trilup and Eve scamper off in different directions. There isn't much in the way of cover though, beyond being on the opposite side of the bench.
The box-beast comes around the bench now, waggling a long wooden tongue and making a gronking noise. "Gronk!" It scuttles on its taloned toes.
Lin ducks down against the top edge of the bench and unwinds her rope belt. While everyone else is busy distracting the box, she ties the rope into a lassoo, shrugs, and casts it at the box.
Aviri slows when he reaches where Eve and Trilup had stood, watching them split. He turns to look at the bo, wanting to see who it chases.
The box shakes off the rope where it catches on a corner, and heads for Lin. "Gababablabba!" it complains as it lumbers.
"Lin, run!" Aviri shouts, taking off after the box.
Lin tries to hide again on her high ground at the top of the fallen bench. She quickly starts recoiling the lassoo for another throw. "Distract it, I have a plan!" She shouts back at Aviri.
Trilup has run around to the other side of the bench.. and back around, so she's behind the box now and panting heavily.
"Just run," Aviri calls as he approaches. "Hide. I'll keep it busy 'till the timer runs out!"
"Get on top of it!" Eve suggests from near the door. "It can't get you there, can it?"
For the moment, the top is where the combination dials seem to be.
"Oi! Boxy! This way! Come get the tasty bunny!" Aviri shouts at the box, trying to direct its attention away from the otters and kitten, bouncing on his feet, ready to sprint away the moment it starts toward him.
"That's what I'm trying to do if Aviri would distract it for long enough for me to get it hooked!" Lin shouts down to them. She winds up to throw the rope. "Bring it around between the legs of the bench!" She calls to Aviri.
The box rises up on its talons, and spins around like a homicidal ballet dancer. "Blah!" it says, and scutters after Aviri.
Aviri laughs with a mixture of delight and terror as he starts jogging away, doing his best to keep pace with the box, keep it interested as he leads it, at first, away from the bench, but he starts arcing back around on a path that would eventually take him to the far side of the bench.
Lin scoots to the right end of the bench and fastens the rope to the bench leg as Aviri leads the box around. She holds on tight and swings off the side of the bench towards the top of the rampaging box.
As Aviri runs, he checks over his shoulder to ensure the box is both following and not gaining too much. He seems to be rather enjoying himself, leading the box on. When he looks back to where he's running, he sees the legs of the bench too late. As he tries to jump, his feet catch the wood, sending him sprawling onto the ground.
"Balahbala!" the box blathers, gathering itself to pounce on the Lapi.
Lin's landing is hardly graceful but she manages to keep her balance and stay on all fours ontop of the moving box. She runs to the dials and hauls on the second last one, turning it until the orange circle faces forward.
The fallen Lapi curls up, closing his eyes and squeaks, knowing he couldn't get away in time, now, anyway.
The big wooden tongue is just about to snatch up Aviri.. but then there's a flash of orange light. The Lapi is sprawled across the bench, with Lin on top of him. Eve is opening the door, and Trilup is hiding behind the desk.
"Ha!" Lin barks, "I totally didn't think that was going to work!" She clambers off Aviri, staggers, and picks up the box.
Aviri loosk around, and beams at everyone. "I'm not dead! Is everyone else not dead?"
"I'm pretty sure I'm not dead," Trilup says.
The door is opened, and Ysnor peeks in. "Everything alright young marthterth? Done with your play-pretend?" he asks.
Lin whispers to Eve, "Does he believe in magic?"
"We're fine," Aviri says, picking himself up. "Apparently. But hey, we've got another symbol!"
Eve blinks at Lin. "We have singing statue-harps that play themselves. It's not a matter of believing at that point," she explains.
"I feel like I've run a mile," Trilup notes.
Lin shrugs, "He just doesn't seem to take this box stuff seriously. D'ya think he knows somethin?"
The Lapi puts the box up on the desk and rights the bench. "And everyone's fine," he says. "See, told you the box is harmless! Though, good work with the ... whatever you did, Lin." He pats her on the shoulder. "I'm sure it was impressive."
"He hasn't experienced any of it.. just seen us acting weird," Eve points out.
"You mean you didn't see?" Lin exclaims, shocked, "I was awesome! I tied my belt to the bench leg, swung off of it, an' stuck a landing right next to the dial just as it was runnin' ya down. I grabed it by the dial though and threw it to that circle fast as you kin blink! Yer tellin' me ya didn't see any of that?"
Aviri shakes his head. "Sorry, I tripped. And was beneath the box. It was gonna eat me! You think I'd keep my eyes open for that?"
"I'm sure it was great Lin," Trilup says.
Lin deflates like an untied balloon. "Oi, another of my briliant exploits that absolutely nobody saw or will ever talk about again." She throws her hands up in exasperation, then recalls her hat waffle and eats it.