ROUND 3 INTRO LOG

[foundationmods]

Welcome to The Island. The Witch extends her greetings to you on this fine day, and is pleased to finally begin the game. Please, take a seat.

Though this game may be more difficult than originally expected, there are high hopes placed upon you. Fight well against what awaits you in order to reach a truly sparkling end.

The difficulty level is challenging, but also depends on you. Think deeply on your moves as you play.

You wake with a start - even if you don't remember falling asleep in the first place - and find yourself standing on the dock of what looks like an island. There's a noise behind you - and if you turn to look, you'll see a plain white boat taking off and leaving you all behind, not stopping for a second if you try to flag them down or scream at them.

It doesn't look like you can swim to shore, either - there's nothing but sea in all directions, and something tells you trying to swim out will end up badly. However, a small dip, if you were so inclined, would be fine. It's not like the weather is bad for it - it feels like it's summer, despite it having been firmly springish at the Foundation.

...Speaking of, what happened? The last thing you remember is being...wherever you were, and then seeing a yellow bird come towards you. Perhaps it was in the corner of your eye, or landed on your shoulder...regardless, all of you saw the bird before you were whisked away to this strange island.

Is it a new SCP? Something like this isn't outside the realm of their abilities, after all.

And there's something else. Your abilities are blocked, beyond those natural to your body. Try as you might, you just can't use any of your more supernatural or superhuman skills - though all of your physical abilities are intact, of course.

There is also a...letter? on your person, as if it was there all along - in your pocket or in your hand. It is...a remarkably plain envelope, and even the letter itself is plain parchment.

It reads:

'To the players in this game,

First and foremost, let me begin with an apology: for many of you, this is not a good time to bring you here, and forcing you to play in this game instead of asking nicely is quite rude of me. For that, you have my apologies.

However, as you will soon find out, this game is quite necessary. I hand-picked all of you because I felt you were the best for this task, strange circumstances notwithstanding, and I am sure you will excel beyond even my expectations. Please give me some consideration and play this game to your best efforts. Success will be greatly rewarded.

I will be watching, and I will intervene if needed. But I think all of you are up to this task. I am in your debt for this.

- The Witch of ██████████'

...hm.

If you decide to head up the path, you'll find Goat....men? waiting for you near the doors to the mansion. Despite their bright red eyes, they merely bow politely and wordlessly bring you into the mansion, showing you your rooms and then stating that they will prepare food for you or anything else you should need whenever you want, in surprisingly deep voices.

As they leave, you can't help but wonder...

Where are you now?

Round Calendar!
Vote for investigation times for the round

Comments

[cryosurgeon]

[The jump from Foundation lab to island is startling, but Erhard takes it remarkably well, only blinking a few times in the sun before raising a hand to shield his eyes from the bright light. Bright, and warm, and the doctor's analytical brain immediately kicks in to examine his surroundings. Both medicine and dealing with SCPs mean staying on one's toes and observing everything.

Sudden apparent transport means either teleportation, hallucination, or illusion. Crouching down, he feels the ground beneath his feet. It seems real and solid enough, though that doesn't entirely discount illusions or other mental trickery. He starts running through his mental catalogue of fitting SCPs, though he of course remains open to the distinct possibility of new candidates. All of this, however, means he's not focused on speaking to anyone around him unless approached. People could be instances, after all. They often are.]

[fullbodied]

Find anything?

[she has no fear in approaching anyone, on the other hand. Especially since they're all trapped together.]

[cryosurgeon]

Hm?

[Erhard looks up, revealing startling crimson eyes with dark bags under them. His gaze is cool and calm, his voice a low sort of murmur.]

No, nothing yet. All of this definitely feels real, though that doesn't eliminate the possibility that it's some sort of SCP-manufactured construct.

[He tilts his head slightly, sizing her up.]

New agent?

[fullbodied]

Nah, I've been around for a bit.

[she's pulled off her jacket right now, but she's not a lab person. she's definitely way too stylish and casual for that.]

Ann Takamaki.

Anyway, none of what you just said sounds good.

[cryosurgeon]

CR... ah, Doctor Erhard Muller.

[Visual, auditory, olfactory, and tactile senses all seem normal. Further investigation is necessary. If they’re inside an SCP, this won’t be a quick investigation. He straightens and nods to Ann.]

It’s not, Agent Takamaki. Are you injured in any way? Any odd symptoms?

[fullbodied]

[agent. right. he's totally into the org structure, huh? She rests a hand on her hip and flips her hair over her shoulder.]

All good here, no injuries or funny side effects that I can tell, besides not being able to use my powers anymore.

[cryosurgeon]

[This one is Mr. Professional, Ann. He barely knows what down time is.]

Good. Though I admit I hadn’t thought of testing my own powers I’m loathe to injure myself to try them, however. We don’t know what pathogens could be in this environment, open wounds are a risk.

[She seems a bit young for an agent, though Erhard has seen a few that are younger.]

Do you remember a bird?

[fullbodied]

Uhhh, don't get the wrong idea. I didn't have to injure myself to test that! Seriously... [what kind of powers does he have?]

Anyway... I do. A bright yellow one-- it really stood out.

[cryosurgeon]

Someone would have to be injured to test my power. I can heal.

[No, he doesn't need to elaborate. The method doesn't matter, that he can do something even more incredible than what his surgical skills would allow is what's important.]

I saw the same bird. Perhaps it's the SCP we're supposed to evaluate. Though we'll need to find it first.

[beguiledcard]

[ While he's busy going through a mental catalogue, this one's going around listening in on conversations and studying his fellow kidnapping victims.

He pauses near the guy who looks vaguely similar to himself?? who's obviously deep in thought. There's a bit of hesitation, but... to be frank, the guy's worrying him a little??? ]

... How are you feeling?

[cryosurgeon]

I’m fine, as far as I can tell.

[Erhard focuses on the younger man, that serious and intense stare fixing on him, scrutinizing him for injury. The fact that he doesn’t blink might be a bit unnerving.]

You don’t appear injured. Are you an agent as well?

[beguiledcard]

[ Maybe a little bit, yeah.

But Akira does well to not look the role of Unnerved this time around. ]

Yeah... [ to both things; he specifically nods after the question, however ] Three weeks in. What about you?

[cryosurgeon]

About five months. I spent most of that in a laboratory setting, doing research. I'm better suited to that than field work.

[Namely he doesn't want to shoot anything or anyone. He nods at the younger man but doesn't offer his hand.]

Doctor Erhard Muller. And you are?

[beguiledcard]

What do you specialize in?

[ And that's okay; Akira won't be offering his, either, though he will nod. ]

I'm Akira Kurusu.

[cryosurgeon]

I'm a general surgeon, though I have some minor experience in virology.

[Those memories are more hazy, maybe because it wasn't his main field of study.]

I can provide first aid and some more advanced treatments if anyone here is hurt, depending on what equipment I can find. Hopefully it won't come to that.

[beguiledcard]

[ His eyebrows lift. ]

Impressive. You must be really smart.

[ Akira gives a nod at the last bit. ]

Yeah, agreed.

[cryosurgeon]

No, I studied every day, even as a child. There was nothing else that interested me. By sixteen I was performing surgery.

[There's no hint of arrogance, he says everything as if stating simple fact.]

Understanding people is far more difficult than medicine.

[chaoscontrol]

[Shadow hasn't seen this guy around at the Foundation, but he seems to have a level head on his shoulders]

I believe we are dealing with some sort of containment breach. Did you also see a bird?

[the creature seems serious -- he's also definitely an agent of the Foundation, wearing an orange button-down shirt with the Foundation's logo and a pair of matching orange pants]

[cryosurgeon]

[Erhard looks down at... some sort of anthropomorphic animal? Clearly intelligent, based on his(?) speech. He nods.]

Yes, it looked like a cockatiel, but yellow instead of white. Immediately afterwards, I found myself here.

[His brow pinches slightly into a frown.]

I thought the same thing. Our priority is identifying the source SCP itself and differentiating it from any potential instances. Then from there we can determine a threat level.

[chaoscontrol]

Yes, a golden yellow cockatiel. [he rubs his forehead, irritated.

His instincts were right about this guy. Good. He nods in agreement with the man's assessment] Affirmative. We should see if there are any discrepancies between our arrivals -- it could provide a clue. The current date is March 23rd, 2019 on the planet the Foundation refers to as "Earth Prime". I was in my quarters -- no missions assigned for today. [he removes the folded letter from his pocket, which is wrinkled like it had been crumpled] Did you also receive this?

[cryosurgeon]

No discrepancies in the date. I was in one of the Foundation labs, performing an experiment with my power when I appeared here.

[He takes an identical letter out of his pocket, glancing at both papers.]

These are also the same. The mention of a "game" is unsettling, especially if we've been forced into participating.

[chaoscontrol]

Your power. Are you also cut off from your supernatural abilities?

[Shadow takes his paper back and folds it back]

Our "host" seems apologetic, but that doesn't mean much. I have no interest in playing a 'game'.

[cryosurgeon]

Yes, though I didn't possess it before I joined the Foundation. I'm a surgeon, and my power is also related to healing.

[Erhard puts his note away, his head bowed as he thinks. At his sides, his fingers curl and uncurl repeatedly, some sort of tic.]

Neither do I. But if this is the work of an SCP, it might not realize it's causing a problem. Hopefully we can negotiate with this... "witch."

[chaoscontrol]

I see. So both native powers and those granted by 6350 are affected.

[he'd rather just punch the witch in the face, but sure. "Negotiate"]

We'll need to find them, first. [he turns back, looking up the path to the house] We should start there.

[cryosurgeon]

[Erhard also turns to look up the path.]

It seems the most logical place to begin. Should we investigate as a pair, or try to gather as many of the others as possible? I'm concerned about what could happen if we're too separated.