Ilvermorny

After classes on the first day of school had finished, Layla decided it would be a good time to go for a walk and see the grounds. It was so different from Hogwarts. She found herself actually missing the forest, even though most students avoided it - forests were peaceful.

It was after around half an hour of walking that she realised she should have brought someone with her, so she knew where she was going. The grounds seemed bigger than she thought! It was as she was thinking of turning back that something caught her eye. An odd looking very old tower that she didn't remember anyone mentioning to her.

"Huh...how strange..." she said quietly to herself as she got closer to the tower.

The closer to the tower one gets, the colder the air gets. With as cool as the weather is to begin with, frost begins to show on the tips of leaves and Layla's breath starts to become visible in the air. She hasn't been here long enough to hear the stories and she never experienced the First Night camping trip of the first years. And so she wanders closer.

Somewhere nearby, an owl, unseen, perches in a tree and watches.

It really gets cold quickly around here...

Layla rubbed her arms through her jacket, which wasn't doing a great job at keeping her warm. Still, though, she moved closer to the tower, curious now as it seemed so old. Like Hogwarts old. Or perhaps even Headmistress McGonagall old.

I won't stay long, it's gonna be a cold night she thought to herself as the shadow of the tower began to loom over her.

D2 after school Cunning+Perception average diff: 3eA+2eD 2 successes

The owl flaps through the air, landing a bit closer - though refusing to land on the tower itself. It tilts its head, watching.

Seeing the owl, though, brings something else to Layla's mind - it's quiet. Perhaps too quiet - at some point, the sound of animals in the trees around Layla had disappeared, leaving no sound except the crunch of her footsteps on the soil beneath. Even the distant noises of the school grounds seem to have faded away.

It's eerie, being in total silence. The longer she ponders on it, the more it unnerves Layla and, strangely, she begins to feel like someone might be watching her.

That's...weird.

Layla turned around, looking all around her. She was jumpy and paranoid at the best of times, but this all made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

"Hello?" she asked, trying to see who was watching. "Is there someone there?"

The woods are quiet aside from a slight echo of Layla's words. The feeling of being watched does not fade.

The owl sits quietly in a tree twenty from the tower and does not make a sound, merely tilting its head in curiosity.

Layla watched the owl for a few long moments, rubbing her arms as a shiver went down her spine.

Maybe it's someone...from the tower? Who could be living in there though?

Quietly, she kept moving closer to the tower, looking up for any windows. It was starting to creep her out though, and she drew her wand, but kept it hidden in her sleeve for now.

The owl continues to stare as Layla walked around the tower. It's a small building, barely large enough to considered a tower; the only apparent way in is the shadowed doorway raised from the ground by a shattered set of steps. It should be possible to find your way over the broken stonework to get to the door to the only way in - but it's also, it seems, the only way out.

I'm sure a quick peek inside wouldn't hurt....

Mentally deciding not to do more than peek in, Layla went round to the doorway and taking a deep calming breath went to peek inside....although going past those stones was causing some stumbling.

D2 after school easy climb roll: 2eA+1eD 0 successes, 1 advantage

The stones slide slightly underneath Layla's feet, tumbling and nearly tripping her up - luckily, she caught herself and didn't find herself with a twisted ankle.

Perhaps luckier, the slide of stones made an easier set of steps to climb - with no risk, Layla was able to hop up to the shadowed doorway. It was colder here than ever before and each breath came as a cold fog from her mouth. Here, so close to the door, it seemed like the eyes were burning in to her, like someone was right behind her, watching her. Dare she peek in?

OOC Mechanics: Should Layla continue on and peek in, roll Willpower + Discipline with a Hard difficulty.

Layla had seen fear that was far worse than some broken doorway. She entered the doorway, looking in.

D2 after school dare to peek? Willpower+Discipline hard diff: 2eA+2eP+3eD 4 successes, 4 threat, 1 Triumph

It takes Layla a few moments to build up the nerve to actually look into the tower; after all, the wizarding community knows of many, many things that go bump in the night (and sometimes in broad daylight). When she finally decides to go for it, her heart pounding, she steps into the darkness - and promptly finds herself in a small, dark room lit only by what little light comes in from the doorway. It is cold in here and, in the little light that comes in, something white seems to fall from the ceiling - almost like it's snowing only in the tower. The cold of the uneven stone floor can be felt even through the shoes Layla wears on her feet.

OOC Mechanics: Layla suffers 2 Strain and the Disoriented condition. One Triumph was spent to ignore the Disoriented condition.

It's snowing in here? What on earth?

Layla kind of...stared, confused, as she looked in the room. It was very much not what she was expecting when she looked in. She couldn't see any people there though, so she decided it was safe enough to use a spell. She brought out her wand, and whispered "lumos", to try and light up the tip of her wand...which didn't light.

Thank god nobody is around to see me fail that!

"Lumos" she said again, and the wand lit up, lighting the room and everything around her as she stepped in.

D2 After schol Lumos! Charms roll no difficulty: 3eA 0 successes, 2 advantage


D2 After schol Lumos! Charms roll no difficulty (second cast): 3eA 3 successes, 1 advantage

The light flares to life in the small space. And a small space it is - with some crumbled stones scattered across an uneven floor. An empty tower? Is this all it is?

It's cold in here though... and the cold seems to mostly be coming from right behind Layla in small, rhythmic bursts from close behind her.

Well that's rather weird. I wonder if there's....

Her train of thought stopped as she realised where the cold was coming from. Slowly, she turned around, holding her wand up as she did so.

As Layla turns... there is nothing behind her but the light in the doorway perfectly frames a doe standing a distance away in the woods. It stares at Layla for a long moment then turns and leaps away into the woods.

Layla stared at the doe for a few long moments, watching it run away, then let out the breath she hadn't realised she was holding.

I must be imagining things. The mind does crazy things when you're paranoid.

She repeated her mental thought pattern a few times, as if trying to convince herself, before she turned back to the room and walked further in, using the light on her wand to look around. It couldn't just be this small weird room...could it?

The room is little more than a ten or fifteen foot circle of uneven stone, covered in a light white dusting. It's colder in here than most English winters and that feeling of being watched, like something is standing right behind her, haunts Layla the entire time as she examines the perimeter.

Layla made a short circuit around the strange small room, looking behind her every now and again to try and see what or who was looking at her...if there was anything at all. Layla was sure there was though!

Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there's nothing out there she couldn't help but think. If she was being watched though, and she wasn't sure if she was or not, then something must be in here...right?

Maybe a Revelio will show something?

She moved back to the doorway, so she could easily see and target the room, and pointed her wand in. Ending the lumos spell for the moment so she could cast a different spell.

"Revelio" she said quietly as she moved her wand, casting the spell.

D2 After school Revelio! Casting Transfiguration spell to reveal room (will add difficulty once I know what it is in separate roll): 2eA+2eP 3 successes, 2 advantage


Adding Difficulty Dice to Revelio: 2eD 3 failures, 1 threat


Total: 0 Successes, 1 Advantage

(GM - please roll any diff dice, or let me know what it is in another post so I can roll in the morning)

The spell fails to go off; the cold and slightest hint of someone staring at you from over your shoulderfear causes Layla to stammer, the wand to move not quite right. But the failure also steadies her and she takes a breath, calming herself.

OOC Mechanics: Layla Recovers 1 Strain.

And again Layla turned around, thinking she'd heard something, to find...nothing once again.

What's wrong with you? Literally jumping at shadows now?

Layla shook her head, and turned back to the room. She took a deep calming breath, steadied her wand, and tried once more.

"Revelio!"

D2 After school Revelio round 2! Casting Transfiguration spell to reveal room - average difficulty: 2eA+2eP+2eD 1 success, 2 advantage

The ability to actually cast the spell this time steadies Layla further - but the effects of the spell seem to do nothing to the small tower room. Nothing magically pops into view.

OOC Mechanics: Layla recovers 1 Strain.

And seeing nothing happening, Layla sighed. That was so anticlimatic!

"Maybe it is just a tower..then why the strange weather and strange feelings in here?" She said to herself, studying the room for a little longer in case she missed anything before looking up to the ceiling...or where she'd expect a ceiling to be, for signs of stairs or an old ladder. She hadn't got her hopes up though. Raising her wand to light up above her at the same time.

It looks like, once ago, you might have been able to reach the roof of the tower - a wooden hatch with rusting hinges sits in the ceiling far above Layla's reach. Whatever method was used to get up there, though, has long since vanished.

I wonder if anyone has ever climbed up there...

Layla was getting ready to give up. However, that annoying feeling of being watched was still there!!! She took a moment, then spun on the spot to face whatever was behind her with an "aha! Caught you!"

...It worked in the movies, right?