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!
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Comments

[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.

[beguiledcard]

[ He gives a grim kind of smile. ]

Same age as me. I've been studying every day and I'm doing well just to stay among the top of the class in certain areas.

[ Now he's folding his arms over his chest, expression thoughtful and calm. ]

Everyone's different. [ soft 'heh' ] But, I can agree that people are difficult to understand, in general.

[cryosurgeon]

Do you actually put out the effort for it, though? I never bothered, I always kept to myself. I didn't feel as if I was missing anything.

[What does "loneliness" really feel like?]

[beguiledcard]

[ He tilts his head to the side a bit, and then... glances away... ]

... Not really.

[ There's a brief moment of awkwardness... ]

I didn't outright push people away, but I... guess I kind of settled?

[cryosurgeon]

I suppose you could say the same about me, in a sense. I didn't welcome people who tried to approach me, but it's not as if I invited them to try, either. A young woman I met earlier said I should try to be more open, as if it's easy to change who I am.