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[center][sub]Time: 2:36 - The Forest[/sub][/center]

[hider=Lilie/Ben]

True to the direction’s words, the path to the next challenge must have been abandoned at some point. Where previous paths were relatively easy to maneuver, here the undergrowth was dense and the ground uneven. Directions were tucked away behind bushes and on the backside of trees. The trekk was slow but the pair would eventually reach a flat surface, noticeably more well groomed than the rest of the area, surrounded by dense trees. 

Inside the trees, the clearing was nearly empty. A bush of some sort, six feet tall and nearly just as wide, dominated the center and had been carefully trimmed into a perfect rectangle vertically. Four trees stood three paces away from each corner to the bush and five items lay on the ground between the closest trees, each one carved of marble: A tome open to a blank page, a scepter with a single ruby in the pommel, a hand mirror with petals engraved around the edge, a morningstar the size of a regular person’s arm, and a plain flat disk twice the size of a dinner plate.

On further inspection, two mable hands jutted out from the bush just past the wrist. A rolled up piece of parchment sealed with the Niola crest, once opened, read:

[color=deepskyblue]“History remembered not quite the same as that to those who lived its page. Chose your teacher and follow close, for some are fraught with dangerous truth.”[/color][/hider] 

[hider=Salem/Victor]

The mage twisted his wand while the vampire stepped back, sword at the ready. Green and purple wisps followed the tip of the wand before drifting down into the grass, seeping into the blades. The grass grew rapidly, until it reached Victor’s knees. 
[/hider]

[hider=Maddie/Amaris]

As Maddie guided Amaris to sit, her vision would return just in time for the world around them to change. Plush red and gold carpeting unravelled from beneath the table and the trees were replaced by slot machines, gambling tables, and other patrons. Lively music played and the sounds of jubilation and despair sounded equal loud as Luck took its fare. The mannequin in front of them turned into a man, spindly and greying. Gold framed pince nez glasses tinted a dark red covered his eyes but the man chuckled as he shuffled. The table had changed into a standard dealers table with the exception of the maroon color with 13 green rectangles. The formed two even rows of six with one at the right end placed evenly between them. An abacus hovered next to the dealer, with thirteen rows and four counters on each row.

[color=deepskyblue]“House choice I’m afraid, m’lady. No worries though! I expect a Countess of your stature comfortable playing with the lives of others.”[/color] The man chuckled, continuing to shuffle. [color=deepskyblue]“Take a gander at the Lay-Out while I get us set up. I’ll explain the rules in a moment.”[/color] He nodded his head at the green rectangles which had suddenly filled in with images. Each one had taken on the appearance of a vampire or a mage: The current head of the family (Except the Marivaldis. Ralmevik sat in that image rather than Salizar), the noble attending the school, and the partner of that noble in that order. The top row was Astorios and Eves, the bottom row Marivaldi and Sinnenodels, and the last card was Ryner.  

Interestingly enough, each of the Academy students looked as they did on the first night they stepped on Academy grounds but not Ryner or the Lords and Lady. The five of them looked younger, each one around the same age was the appropriate mage. They appeared happier and healthier. The images of the Lords, Lady, and Princess almost looked as if they were alive in the mortal sense. Their smiles were genuine and their postures incredibly informal despite the official outfits they were wearing. 

The dealer put the cards into the dealer box and gave the pair his undivided attention. [color=deepskyblue]“Tonight you play the Cards of Fate. Simply, I will give you a situation in which these depicted will be involved and you’ll have to come up with the outcome. Merely place however many chips you wish to bet on the appropriate faces and I will draw two cards. The first is the kill card. Picking the dead man loses you your bet. The second is the Fate card. Picking the lucky one is how you win. Each card has four copies in the deck and if I draw a duplicate, the round breaks even and no one wins. If none of your choices win or lose you the game, you take back your bets and we go again.”[/color] The man explained cheerily, going to draw a card only to slap his forehead with a gasp.

[color=deepskyblue]“But whatever are you going to gamble with? You still need chips, of course! Let me just take care of that!”[/color] With a snap, ten yellow chips appeared between Maddie and Amaris. The candle they claimed before appeared in a candle holder at the right side of the table. [color=deepskyblue] “Unfortunately, you have to pay for them somehow but if you win you get it back! And I’ll even throw in a special prize.”[/color] The dealer drew a card off the top of the box and with a flick of his fingers, sent it skittering across the table to stop at the candle. A Ralmevik card stared up at the ceiling and one of the counters on the abacus flew from the left to the right. The names of each vampire and mage marked which row was for which card and the top of the abacus now read “Coffin Driver”. 

[color=deepskyblue]“Now our first clue is this: With stars above and sand below, the midnight swell of rolling slow around the fire did these two dance as this one gave away a heart not theirs.”[/color] The dealer intoned, watching them as he did. [color=deepskyblue] “Place your bets carefully now.”[/color]
[/hider]