Fork in the Road

“I can’t believe you talked me into this,” Lysa grimaced, tossing and turning in the lumpy bed.

“Here, take this,” Adele said, handing her a moderate sleeping potion.

The woman quickly gulped it down and fell right asleep. Lysa had been Adelaine’s nursemaid since the girl was at least four, but now she was more of a supervisor/friend. This made it easy to talk her into coming to Hogsmeade for a couple of nights, although Adele had to agree: the beds were awful. Straw beds covered in sheets; was this what commoners had to go through every night?

“I’m off, then,” Adele whispered, though her roommate was snoring already.

Dressed in her hunting clothes (minus the skirt; she wore breeches instead) Adelaine tiptoed out of the room and down the stairs. The main floor of the inn was completely empty, so she had no problems leaving. It was pitch black outside, with only the stars and moon to light the way. The air was warm, and Hogsmeade was sleeping. Adele made her way along the cobblestone street, wand in her pocket, and cautiously waited outside the forest. They should be here any minute, she told herself.

“Adele!” she heard Seamus whisper-shout.

He and Asher peered out from behind a large tree. She grinned and ran over, hugging them both. It had been nearly a month since school let out, and they’d both grown a little taller and seemed older. Had Seamus always been that handsome? Adele had grown too, though not in height. A month with her family had pushed her into a rebellious stage. It wasn’t hard to tell; it was in her walk, and she wasn’t so terribly serious anymore.

“Let’s go!” Adele smiled, leading the way.

Once they got to the cave, she literally ran into Marigold and squeezed her tight. It was a happy reunion for everyone, actually; you could tell they’d all been apart for a while.  

“Alrigh’, so let’s get goin’, aye?” Seamus suggested, ready for adventure.

“After you, Adele,” Asher said, gesturing toward the cave.

Nodding, Adelaine marched onward, wand lit. The treasures that were once in the cave opening were all gone, probably with Deirdre. As they trekked on, Adele found her bearings and walked a little quicker. She navigated them easily the rest of the way, and when she came to the stream she was relieved to see no sirens or kappas. They’d reached the “fork in the road”, so to speak.

“How about a trip down memory lane?” Gavin said sarcastically, pointing to the treacherous tunnel on the left that lead to Deirdre’s grotto.

“No thanks,” Adele smirked, turning right and leading them down the lit stone passage.

(OOC: Marigold's merc gear.Add a hood and a small cape.)

Marigold gladly let Adele lead. Marigold stopped as she hit an invisible wall. She pulled out her wand and walked to the wall, feeling it around.

"Looking for something?" Asher asked. Marigold felt a nick in the smooth stone and tapped it with her wand. An ancient rune appeared and vanished, causing the tunnel to be lit with torches. She smiled. She didn't think the tunnel was all that threatening anymore.

"How'd you know that was there?" Peyton asked. Marigold just shrugged.

"I've missed you. Norwich wasn't the same without you," Asher whispered to her. Marigold blushed and looked down at the ground. The necklace around her neck grew heavy.

"Aww. That's so...." Marigold started.

"Woah! Look at this! We're rich!" Gavin exclaimed, coming to a large circular room.....with crystals in the wall. Asher ran up to them and looked around. Marigold gazed at the room in awe. Crystals in every color were embedded in the walls, just ready for them to take. Of course, Marigold was a bit wary. It seemed too good to be true. Something was off. It's like she could sense it. Her mind tingled when Asher approached a multi colored crystal. It was spelled.

"No! Asher! Don't!" her and Seamus yelled in unison. But, Asher pulled at it and the room started shaking violently. Tiny pebbles and dust fell from the ceiling.

"Back to the tunnel! Go!" Peyton said, as they started running back. Marigold was first and watched as everyone safely made it in the tunnel again as the room collasped on itself.

"Well, what do we do now?" Gavin asked, pulling on the pile of rocks in front of them. Marigold sat on the ground and put her back against the wall. They couldn't leave. They wanted to explore. Marigold noticed for the first time words on the wall. Or, on this one section of the wall.

"Puzzle one: What 5-letter word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it?" Marigold asked aloud.

(OOC: first puzzle revealed! solve to open the hidden door and move to the next puzzle.)

“Honestly, can’t we ever just have a normal magical adventure?” Gavin asked drily, staring at the wall.

“Makes ye wonder who goes t’rough ta trouble o’ puttin’ this stuff together,” Seamus muttered, kicking at the pile of rocks.

Adelaine paid them no mind as they complained; she was focused on the question. It was a trick question, she knew. Unlike riddles, which were no problem for her, this would be more difficult to sort out.

“Shorter,” Peyton piped up, leaning casually against the tunnel wall.

“I know, but what is the answer?” Adele asked, shaking her head.

“The answer,” Peyton smiled, putting a hand on her shoulder, “is shorter.”

“Blimey!” Asher exclaimed, watching the wall.

The question slowly disappeared, and the word “CLEVER” carved itself into the stone. A torch further down the tunnel suddenly lit up. The friends looked at one another and nodded, journeying on. It was a short walk before they came to the next puzzle.

"Woah," Asher said. Marigold looked up from their conversation. There was an island lifted up on a platform, connected to each of the cave wall by stone bridges. Marigold cautiously looked over the side and couldn't see the bottom. But, she could definitely hear the water.

Marigold gulped. She never admitted this to anyone, nor would she really want to. She couldn't swim. She could float, but she never learned to swim. She worked in a mansion since the age of five; there was no time to learn. She stepped away from the edge and made a mental note to stick towards the middle of the bridge.

They walked over the bridge and stepped onto the island. There was a harpsichord in the middle, with sheet music on the stand. There was a Latin inscription above it. Marigold felt Asher's eyes on her as she worked to decode it.

"Play cadentes cantu aut mortem. Eek. Not very friendly. It says, 'Play the song or fall to your death'," Marigold translated. The group grimaced.

"How would we fall to our death? This is very stable," Gavin asked, approaching the harpsichord. He strummed a note and part of the bridge fell, cutting them off from the way they came. They all glared at Gavin.

"Rule #1: Unless you know how to play it, don't touch the harpsichord,"she said, looking over the sheet music, even though she didn't have a clue on how to read music. It was like a foreign language to her.

"Yes ma'am," Gavin muttered. Marigold didn't know if that was a joke or not, but either way, she tensed up. Marigold was far younger than him and he just called her "ma'am". Had she really changed that much? Sure, maybe she was a bit more confident and maybe she was a bit more mature. But, she didn't think the title of "ma'am" applied to her. She brushed it off.

"So, who's good with music?" Peyton asked.

(OOC: Second puzzle revealed! Think of that scene from the Goonies with the piano.)

((OOC: Don’t know the Goonies. A psaltery is like an ancient harp but not as big, I think you hold it.))

Adelaine stared up at the island in awe. Who knew that a cave could be so vast? The wonders of magic, she thought with a smile. Being Adele, she was so focused on the psaltery that she nearly tumbled right off the bridge. Seamus held her hand the rest of the way, and she felt herself blush.

“Oi, Gavin,” Seamus grumbled, punching the Ravenclaw in the shoulder. “How bout ye don’ touch anythin’ from now on?”

“This is just a game someone made,” Gavin said, unconvincingly. “We can’t take it so seriously, surely it’s not really a matter of life or death.”

“Adele, you can play,” Ash insisted, ignoring them.

Adele blinked. “What makes you think I can?” she asked.

“You’re a noblewoman,” he said simply, shrugging. “Isn’t that something you learn to do from birth?”

With a sigh, Adelaine nodded and cautiously approached the instrument. She hadn’t played in a year, since she’d been away at Hogwarts. But her mother always told her it was like riding a horse; you never lose it. Adele wasn’t so sure.

“Our lives are in your hands,” Gavin nodded with a smile. “No pressure.”

Rolling her eyes, Adele sat on the stool and picked up the harp; the tension was wild. She had a feeling they’d all held their breath for a moment in unison, waiting for something awful to happen. But nothing did. Adelaine took this as a good sign, and read the sheet music before her.

“Here goes nothing,” she muttered nervously.

Strumming the first note was all it took for her to get back in the groove of things. The composition was beautiful and calming, and seemed to make the chamber glow. Once she plucked the last chord, the torches on the other side of the room lit up. With a cheer, they all high fived and crossed the bridge.

((OOC: what is the glass pillar supposed to be?))

Adele watched Marigold step into the chamber with a mixture of relief and fear. Relief that it wasn’t her and Seamus, and fear that they would hit the wrong switch. She stood with the others at the wall, a wooden panel covered in switches and buttons.

“Okay, there are several options here,” Peyton began, thinking hard. “Only one is the correct one, and the poem implied that there are trick ones as well.”

“This is dangerous, we should have just turned back,” Gavin moaned.

“Aye, an’ we could’ve if ye hadn’t destroyed ta bridge,” Seamus grumbled.

“Boys!” Adelaine shouted angrily. “Shut it and let’s focus on saving our friends!”

They all nodded, blushing with the shame of being yelled at by a first year girl. Studying the panel, Peyton decided they had no choice but to just guess. He reached out and pushed a button. Rocks piled and blocked the way they’d come through.

“Bloody hell,” Gavin muttered, stepping up to the panel. He flipped a switch and waited a moment. “Nothing happened.”

“Let’s try again, then,” Adele grimaced, pushing a button. All the torches in the room sputtered out. She whipped out her wand. “Lumos. Seamus, you try.”

With Adele’s wand lighting up the board, Seamus stepped up and flipped a switch. This was the worst one yet. A couple medium sized rocks fell into the doorway across the room that was their only way out. It was a sign of what was to come if they didn’t find the right switch soon.

“No!” Peyton yelped. “No, we have to be extra careful now, we can’t have that way barricaded too, we’ll never get out.”

(OOC: the glass pillar is the chamber)

Marigold felt the gas going to her head. She felt thoughts and secrets wanting to come rushing out. Ugh. This may end badly if I don't burst soon, she thought with dread.She tapped against the glass, sitting at the bottom of chamber, holding her breath.

"Marigold," Asher started, putting a hand on her shoulder. She was a bit claustrophobic. "Let's just say what comes to our mind. I can't stand the silence anymore," Marigold shrugged and nodded to him, telling him to start.

"I miss Hogwarts a lot," he commented.

"Me too," she agreed, the thoughts in her head buzzing less and less.

"I missed you," he blurted out. He covered his mouth and an intense blush rose to his cheeks. Marigold blushed too and decided to change the subject before any more feelings surfaced.

"Germany was fun. I attended lots of balls," she told him. He nodded and gazed off into the distance. The gas had stopped pouring in but it lingered in the chamber, like fog. Marigold coughed and covered her mouth.

"Tell me more about Germany," Asher said, passing her a water pouch to clear her throat. Marigold took a sip and passed it back.

"Well, I stayed with Alys and Louis and it was lots of fun. But, it was also a lot of studying. The wedding was fabulous. I really want to go back," Marigold admitted. She mentally kicked herself. That's the last thing he wants to hear, she thought. But, Asher just smiled. If he was offended, he didn't show it.

"Well, good. I'm happy for you,"he said. Marigold had a burning question on her mind. She was dying to ask it. The truth gas wasn't helping. She couldn't hold it back anymore.

"Asher, why didn't you respond to my letters?" Marigold asked. Asher sighed and scratched his head. It was an awkward situation.

"Honestly, I didn't have the time. It was nonstop work and child care the whole time you were gone. I would get up at dawn and work until dusk and then take care of my brothers. It was stressful. I hope you understand," Asher said cautiously. Marigold nodded and shot him a smile. She really couldn't be mad at him.

"Did something happen in Germany that you wanna talk about?" Asher asked. Marigold was itching to tell someone what happened, why she came home early. Asher seemed like the right person.

"Well, it's a long story," she started. Please open the chamber soon, she thought.

They were ten switches and buttons in, and nothing had been accomplished aside from the exit being halfway blocked with boulders.

“We’re getting nowhere!” Gavin yelled, kicking one of the stones.

“Not true, mate,” Peyton said, staring intently at the panel. “We’re narrowing down the options."

“Wha’s tat gonna help if we’re trapped in ‘ere anyway?” Seamus exclaimed, pacing.

Adele tapped her foot nervously, face pressed up against the glass. The truth gas made it foggy, so she couldn’t really tell what was going on. Hopefully Marigold wasn’t spilling too many secrets to Asher, or vice versa.

“Push that blue one,” she told Peyton.

With a rather ladylike squeak, Gavin stomped wildly on the ground. It took Adele a moment to realize why – hundreds of tiny spiders had been released.

“This is ridiculous!” she screamed, kicking at the bugs.

Adelaine squealed and pulled a small lever; it was the only one in the group, so it seemed like a good choice. Alas, it was not. Inside the glass chamber, a new gas slowly swirled through the air.

The chamber was so foggy and cloudy that they couldn’t tell what the new gas was. Obviously, any gas was not good; they needed to open the chamber. Adele screamed as a hand reached out from the fog and beat against the glass.

“Bloody hell!” Gavin shouted, jumping back.

“I tell ya, this is ta last adventure I go on fer a while,” Seamus grumbled, slamming down on a button.

It didn’t turn off the gas, but it did do one good thing: a crevasse opened on the ground and the spiders fell through. Gavin nearly stumbled in after them, but Peyton caught him at the last second. Seamus flipped another switch. More rocks tumbled into the exit.

“There are five left,” Peyton observed. “Shall we just flip them all?”

“No!” Adele said forcefully. “One of them could release toxic gas or something. Let’s just keep narrowing them down.”

Peyton nodded and flipped a switch. Adele was right; a thick, black gas poured quickly into the chamber.

“Flip another one, quickly!” Adelaine yelled.

Gavin flipped the middle switch and all the gases speedily cleared out through vents on the ceiling of the chamber.

“Oh, thank God,” Seamus sighed, sliding to the ground. “Flip all the others.”

Adelaine swiftly flipped the last three switches. All at once, the boulders rolled to the side, torches lit the exit, and the glass of the chamber disappeared.

((OOC: LOL when I glanced at the title, I thought it said F*** the Road))

Adelaine pulled Marigold and Asher both into a bear hug.

“Thank Merlin you’re both okay,” she sighed with relief.

“Honestly, I’d like to know what sort of twisted person made up this whole thing.”

“Oi, I’d rather not know,” Seamus muttered.

He reached out and yanked her arm, and she tumbled into the pool with a squeal. The place looked exactly like Deirdre’s cave, only far less creepy. Seamus splashed her and she sank under the water, swimming to the furthest wall. When she resurfaced, the boys were having a splash war. She noticed that Marigold was still standing at the edge.

“Aren’t you going to join us, Mari?” Adele asked.

She studied the crystal wall and a thought came to her.

“Marigold, we should carve a bit out of the wall and make necklaces,” she suggested with a smile.

Adele floated on her back, staring peacefully up at the ceiling. Suddenly, Seamus swam up underneath her and tipped her over, like a rowboat in a storm.

“Blast you, Seamus!” she exclaimed, choking a bit. With a laugh, she splashed him.

“Oi!” he shouted, water getting in his eyes.

Adelaine swam over to the edge of the pool where Marigold was handing out necklaces. She took hers with a smile and studied it. The little stones were dark brown, and the rectangular crystal in the middle was teal with an ‘A’ engraved into it.

“This string will break in no time, don’t you think?” Asher asked, tying his on.

“Use the string to chain spell,” Adele suggested, tapping hers with her wand. “Chorda ad Catena.”

“Grand idea!” Gavin nodded, doing his.

The strings transformed into thin bronzy chains.

“Marigold, why don’t you get in?” Adele asked, fastening her necklace on.

The mood was rather somber as they climbed out of the pool. Peyton and Gavin were red in the face from shame and embarrassment at being so immature. Adele patted Marigold on the back and smiled.

“It’s not such a big deal, you know,” she said reassuringly as they all stood around.

“Aye, I didn’ know how ta swim till I was ten,” Seamus nodded vigorously.

“We could teach you this summer,” Gavin offered, trying to make up for humiliating her.

“Yeah, let us,” Asher suggested, smiling.

Once that conversation was over, the group stood there and looked around. There seemed to be an unspoken question in the room: do we dare to go back the way we came? What if they had to go through the whole thing again? Adele sat on a crystal boulder and played with her necklace while she studied the room. Then, something caught her eye.

“Over there!” she exclaimed, pointing to the far right corner of the pool. Just above the surface of the water, there seemed to be a line carved into the stone. Gavin jumped in and swam over to it. Once he was next to it, they saw that it was wider than a human.

“What is it, Gav?” Peyton asked, his voice echoing.

“It seems to be, um…” Gavin muttered, fumbling around the crystal. “I think it’s a door! Come over here, I think you open it and maybe, erm..”

They all swam over, Adele helping Marigold, and stood behind Gavin. He took out his wand and tapped the crystal, and it shoved through. He was right; there was a human-sized hole in the wall, just beneath the surface of the pool. The water started to drain and they were all swept up in it, sliding through the tunnel and screaming all the way.

((OOC: think of a water slide.))

Marigold only went down the slide once. She then sat on the side, watching everyone go multiple times. Adele had helped her over, but she just wasn't in the mood. She plated with her necklace and decided to play with the water.

"Aguamenti levo," she said, lifting a small ball of water into the air, controlling it with her wand. She changed it shape from a ball, to a square, to a triangle, to a pentagon, to a star, and finally to a heart. Then, she released the ball of water, letting fall back into the pool with a splash.

"Do you even want to learn?" Asher asked, plopping down beside her. He was referring to the swimming. Marigold sighed.

"Of course I do. I need to. But, not right now. Maybe later," she said. Asher nodded and they shared a smile.

"Did you learn anything new over the holiday?" he asked. She smiled.

"Lots. Here. This spell in pretty cool," she said. She used her Aguamenti Levo spell again and took a deep breath.

"Stellae apparere," she said, pointing at the ball. The water turned to a gas, which turned into the dark blue night sky with stars in it. Marigold slowly expanded the ball to show more sky. Asher watched with awe.

"Levare expansum," she tired. Nothing happened.

"Levare expansum," she tired again. The sky lifted to the ceiling and spread around the ceiling, showing them the night sky. Marigold laid on her back and watched her handy work.

"How did you do that? It's just like the Enchanted Ceiling at school," Asher said. Marigold smiled and felt like she was drained. She was tired. She felt her eyes getting heavy. She yawned and smiled. She had done this alot in her room, whenever she was lonely or scared. It was reassuring to know that the stars were watching over her.  

"Robert taught me. It's beautiful, isn't it?" she informed.

"Yes. It is," Asher replied. But, he wasn't looking at the sky. He was looking at her.

(OOC: had to add a tiny bit of romance.)

The water slide was a shorter ride than expected, but it ended in another little pool. This pool, however, was not made of crystal; it was just a regular stone grotto with torches lining the wall. Steps appeared next to the slide so they could go back up to the main pool.

“I wonder why this one’s normal,” Peyton said, kicking water up in the air.

“We must be in a different part of the cave,” Adele figured, looking around. Behind her, Gavin slid down the slide and straight into Seamus. They tumbled into her and they all went under.

“Warn someone, mate!” Seamus exclaimed when he resurfaced, splashing Gavin.

“Don’t stand in front of the bloody slide!” Gavin retorted, splashing him back.

“Guys, shut up for a second!” Adelaine yelled, motioning for everyone to be silent. “Do you hear that?”

“No, but I feel it,” Peyton muttered.

The surface of the pool started rippling, and there was a quiet ominous rumbling in the walls. Everyone immediately ran around, looking for an exit as the shaking grew and reverberated through the stone.

“It’s gonna cave!” Seamus shouted.

((OOC: Honeydukes cellar tunnel thing!))

Adele was the last one out of the tunnel, and she could just barely hear the cave collapse in the distance. That was a close one, she thought with a relieved sigh. A ridiculously close one. Perhaps they should hold off on any more adventures for a while. Who was she kidding, though? Trouble found them no matter what.

“Wow, how far did we walk?” Peyton wondered, looking around the cellar.

“Talk quieter, everyone,” Adelaine warned them, pointing to a rickety staircase that led up to a door. “The owners could come down at any second.”

“Right,” Gavin nodded, tapping his foot. “So what should we do?”

“Well, we’ll have ta sneak out, won’ we?” Seamus said, pointing out the obvious. “An’ there’s only one way out.”

Peyton and Asher crouched down by a sack of candy and sifted through it, pocketing a few things. Adelaine wasn’t sure why there were kegs of butterbeer in Honeydukes. Maybe the owners liked it. She figured it must have been a couple hours after midnight. Lysa probably knew she was gone by now. Adele took matters into her own hands and tiptoed up the staircase.

“What’re ye doin’?” Seamus blurted out.

Adelaine quickly motioned for him to shut up and pressed her ear up against the crack in the door. It was silent. Of course it is, you idiot, it’s two in the morning, she realized, rolling her eyes. The owners would be asleep.

“Let’s go,” she whispered, waving everyone over.

Adelaine watched sadly as Marigold Disapparated with the man. He looked familiar, but she couldn’t place him. It took her a minute to remember that he was in the hospital after the Great Duel Party (Arya was right, they could’ve picked a better name); he was related to Healer Alys somehow. As the rest of the gang sat on a nearby bench, Adele sighed.

“Hogwarts seems like so long ago,” she muttered. “Can you believe everything we went through last year?”

“Aye, but it was ta most interestin’ year I’ve ‘ad so far,” Seamus reminisced, smiling at her.

“Interesting isn’t the word I’d use,” she smirked back at him.

“Quit your flirting, you two,” Gavin laughed, elbowing Seamus. “Let’s take a moment to assess the night we just had. Interesting things don’t just happen to us at Hogwarts.”

“Tell me about it,” Peyton rolled his eyes. “Honestly, you kids will be the death of me.”

They all laughed, and eventually Asher joined in as well. Adelaine figured he was just sad about having to say goodbye to Marigold all over again.

“Boys, let’s get a move on,” Gavin said suddenly, standing and stretching. “By boys, I mean Peyton. C’mon, mate.”

Groaning, Peyton stood and yawned. Everyone exchanged hugs and went off in different directions. Seamus walked Adele back to the Hog’s Head and they chatted the whole way. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed him until he struck up a conversation about Quidditch and made some cheesy joke. It brought her back to the first time they’d really hung out, that day in Hogsmeade before their first adventure in the cave. ((OOC: I am just realizing the mirroring as I type this.)) The similarities between now and then made her grin.

“Well ye don’ have to grin about it, I didn’t know he had a monkey in there,” Seamus said.

“What?” she laughed, having missed his entire story. “Oh, right. Sorry. Well, here we are. The inn.”

“Right,” he frowned, staring at the sign.

Adele never liked to say goodbye; it was too final of a word. So instead, they just hugged tightly for what felt like an hour but was probably only fifteen seconds.

“See ya, m’lady,” he grinned, making a production of nobly bowing and kissing her hand.

“See ya, Digby,” she smiled and punched him lightly in the arm, before heading inside.

Only a month and a half to go before school. There was plenty of time for more ‘interesting’ adventures.