the clock tower

[groundrules]

Happy Hallow-elevator! The clock tower event lasts between 22 October and 8 November. ICly, the tower incursion stretches around a week, and you’re welcome to have your character investigate something else, if they finish early!

THE CLOCK TOWER

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ALL IS AS ALL WAS| TRIAL & NO ERRORS | THE TOWER

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ALL IS AS ALL WAS

Play it cool, as Serthica’s customs officers pore over your passport papers, before grudgingly allowing you overground. Minaras, you hear, is hunting a delinquent.

Both it and Eidris fare well, with no sign of the damage that preceded the Unwinding. Locals no longer behave eerily, dragons and clockwork droids roam freely, and everyone hates taxes.

Yet perfect strangers insist they know you. Your assigned address leads to a different house. The roads, buildings and architecture look ‘lived in,’ but changed.

No one remembers the Unwinding.

■ Burlap mannequins sometimes watch from mirrors, windows and reflecting surfaces.

■ You might hear shifting and scratching in Eidris walls.

■ Minaras has doubled its bounty for a man not unlike Leonard McCoy.

■ Black fungal spores are found on the increasingly voluminous experiment vials, specimens and supplies thrown out by Minaras medical facilities.

■ Frail and confused, Ellethia survivor Zenobius finally awakens. A short thread is up for RNG grabs.

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TRIALS & NO ERRORS

The guard troops that Eidris and Minaras assign to the Neutral Zone now protect King Thivar and High Councillor Arabella during the annual Sanctuary Reckoning trials. Both adjudicate cases that violate the ceasefire.

Prolonging the trials buys time for your companions in the clock tower.

■ Create a distraction — flood the judgement hall rooms? Fire? Illusions?

■ Pose as trial participants: perhaps you are of Eidris, and you caught this wicked Minaraian raiding your home? Mayhap this wretched man of Eidris stole your girlfriend? Wait, you’re a Minaraian who wants to kill King Thivar?

■ …organise breakouts, if Thivar or Arabella have your jailed. You are first imprisoned in makeshift Sanctuary cells — all but poorly locked, glorified closets. Get a trial sentence!

■ Thivar and Arabella treat the trials as a box-ticking exercise.

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THE TOWER

As Eidris and Minaras play court, you can infiltrate the Neutral Zone clock tower of Vassarizhia.

■ Only token security remains. The door is unlocked.

■ Karsa supplies paper talismans that must be burned in the watch fire at the tower’s top level.

■ Each burned talisman amplifies the reveal spell that Karsa activates. Link a finished burning thread by 8 November to help the cause.

■ A November mod post will describe how much of Serthica’s ‘undeath’ characters can see.

■ Placing Magnus’ dragon eye before the tower’s telescope will allow characters to always see Serthica’s undeath, moving forward.

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✘ ELEVATOR ETIQUETTE

Imperfect stillness dominates Vassarizhia: your footsteps do not click, words die in your mouth. The tower’s rickety gear slither silently. Your heartbeat aligns with the clock’s tick… tock.
You have the growing, gnarly certainty that you have invaded something ancient and alive.

The tower’s entryway level is large, deserted, stacked with gears. At its core is a dilapidated open elevator shaft.

A large sign says to find and pull the floor lever, if elevators stop.

■ There are two elevators. Each narrow lift can hold up to four people, crammed. The upper half of the carriage is chain-link fence, while the floors contain hatches that sometimes open mid-travel for 30 seconds. Hold on to ceiling-bound leather straps.

■ The ropes holding the elevators are thick, but tattered.

■ The elevator’s creaking squeals can awaken swarms of 1m-tall bats and bat wyverns. They rattle the lift, but ultimately withdraw.

■ The elevator can stop at as many levels as you want (or none!).

■ Beyond the second level, you feel intensely paranoid and see your companions as the persons you most hate/fear for five to 10 minutes. Reaching the top, you are tempted to cut the lift ropes of those who follow. (The ropes and elevators recover, after crashing to the bottom. )

■ On each floor, as you exit the elevator, a nearby wall shows a different scratched instruction, signed by DAVID.

LEVEL I: THE LABYRINTH| LEVEL II: THE ANCESTOR | LEVEL III: TAG! YOU’RE IT
LEVEL IV: THE ROOM WHERE NOTHING HAPPENS | LEVEL V: IT’S RAINING (AGAIN)

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LEVEL I: THE LABYRINTH
CONTENT WARNING: MINOTAUR, BODY HORROR

Step into a jail maze, flooded to knee level. Confusing corridors narrow, widen and contort, while wall torches dim.

Intermittent howling reveals you’re not alone. Hiding, you see child-like chalk drawings of forest animals on walls — and a great minotaur. Keep silent.

■ David S P’s wall scrawl says, IT RUNS IN THE FAMILY.

■ Collect some of the many discarded daggers or axes. Rope bundles float in water — use them to paralyse your captive or briefly force them under your control.

■ Don’t linger in one place: rotting, bodiless hands surface to restrain you.

■ Bad news, if you swallow water when the minotaur or dead hands try to drown you: your skin stretches and bursts, while your bones pop and extend. You mutate into a half human, half woodland creature, all bloodlust. ( Inspiration, anyone? ) Your companions should still recognise you; between hazy memories and constant pain, you might struggle to remember them and even attack.

■ Morphed characters can (painfully) return to normal within minutes of re-entering the elevator.

■ A smaller and distressed three-headed minotaur also roams the labyrinth. Two of its heads sob, while the third urges you to hide with it when brother approaches. It tries to throttle you with a noose to make brother happy, if you follow. David did say.

■ The minotaur and its sibling have poor sight. They cannot enter a corridor where you’ve drawn or laid down a line.

■ Pull the lever, and a straight corridor leads you to the elevator.

TOP | LEVEL II | LEVEL III | LEVEL IV | LEVEL V

LEVEL II: THE ANCESTOR
CONTENT WARNING: GIANT SKELETON, BLOOD DRINKING

Here, only barren stone and thin rivulets of fresh water pouring from wall fountains with sharp-tipped ornaments — your spilled blood quickly infects the basins. Knives, pins and bowls have been abandoned nearby.

High pressure and vertigo overwhelm you. Follow a rhythmic heaving to where the upper half of an enormous skeleton — the Ancestor — has broken through a wall. White, silk thread fetters it. Dried blood rims its cracked mouth. Before it, the stone floor has been tarnished, up to a 5m radius.

The Ancestor appears dormant, a crown of iron thorns on its head. It clutches the lever tightly in its right hand. Above it, an engraving urges, SPILL WINE FOR YOUR ANCESTOR.

■ David S P’s elevator scrawl says, WATER TO WINE.

■ Dally staring and you feel dizzy, nauseous, depressed and compelled to share your close-death encounters. Before you know it, you are stepping into the Ancestor’s radius…

■ …where it plunges for you, if you don’t bear a filled cup. The silk ropes keep the Ancestor from reaching beyond 5m.

■ Two carvings under his fists read HONOUR THY FATHER and DISHONOUR THY MOTHER.

■ Quickly distract the Ancestor from crumbling his captives, tearing their arms or attempting to eat them.

■ The Ancestor is instinct-driven, consumed by thirst. It cannot see or smell, and only remembers taste. Sounds divert it.

■ Improvise: there is no actual wine here. Infuse water, spill blood, or vocally pretend you are delivering wine, and the Ancestor might spare you.

■ If sated, the Ancestor releases the lever.

TOP | LEVEL I | LEVEL III | LEVEL IV | LEVEL V

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LEVEL III: TAG! YOU’RE IT
CONTENT WARNING: SCARECROW, SKINNED CREATURES

Enjoy pitch dark, dread and bile spreading in your gut. Take a candle from near the elevator and roam through small, unlocked rooms that feature tattered beds, strips of tanning leather and blood or wax spilled on the floor.

■ David S P’s wall scrawl says, O CATCHES IT.

■ Ahead, you see candle-bearing mannequins that dance a hora to the same song played by Jim Kirk’s music box: “Up the mountain, in the grove, hand in hand to Ke-Waihu, fresh harvest’s a treasure trove, each fall we feast anew.”

■ The creatures are patched abominations of wax, skinned flesh and burlap. In the middle of the hora is a wiry scarecrow, eyes blazing with candle fire as it points a large cleaver. In certain lights, the scarecrow’s face briefly contorts into that of your mother. It wears priestly robes that Arc III survivors may recognise from the House of Ravens.

■ As the dance finishes, you notice the lever in the middle of the circle, where flame spells out TAKE THEM, NOT ME. The game begins.

■ The abominations run, gleefully manic and screaming TAAAA~AAAAAG. YOU’RE IT! The scarecrow unflinchingly cuts them down while pursuing you. Hide in the abandoned rooms, or risk snuffing your candle to avoid detection.

■ Some abominations slap you, hold you, or alert the scarecrow. Others offer shelter. A few peel off wax skins from their limbs — showing black fungi beneath. They murmur, IT NEVER GOES AWAY.

■ Parchment strips fall from the scarecrow’s sleeves, reading, HAPPY NAME DAY, MOTHER KNOWS BEST, THE SIN RAN DEEPER THAN SKIN, IF YOU CAN BEAR IT, IT’S A GAME.

■ Bless David: draw the scarecrow into a drawn or makeshift circle to trap it.

■ Intense, paralysing fear arrests you, if the scarecrow catches you. The wax abominations chant, TAKE THEM, NOT ME. One might even take pity and move your numbed mouth to utter the words. Say them — and the scarecrow lands deep cuts on your arms, then pursues your companion.

■ If you betray someone, the abominations take the appearance of your worst version: whether physically mutated, with a temper that amplifies your worst features, or both.

TOP | LEVEL I | LEVEL II | LEVEL IV | LEVEL V

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LEVEL IV: THE ROOM WHERE NOTHING HAPPENS
CONTENT WARNING: MANIPULATION, MENTAL COERCION

You enter a quiet room. The lever sits on a table, beside rope and a dagger. As you approach, your surroundings transform: perhaps your dearest dead appear to warmly welcome you. Crowds of your doubters celebrate your success. Or you are in a calm oasis, where nothing hurts.

■ David S P’s wall scrawl says, THIS DREAM IS A NIGHTMARE.

■ Whatever your deepest wishes, the room’s vivid illusions provide. With time, your beautiful dreams deteriorate into horror. Sometimes, you hear whispers of, Make a wish.

■ The room increasingly drains your life force. Within half an hour, you have gaunt flesh, brittle bones and a hunched back. Or you might feel compelled to harm yourself, clawing your arms and face, or pulling your hair out.

■ The damage comes undone minutes after reaching the elevator.

■ The room focuses on one person: if someone joins you, they see fainter echoes of what the room shows you, but they are not enthralled. They must coax or drag you away.

■ If you are under the room’s influence, it forces you to make any later intruders stay.

TOP | LEVEL I | LEVEL II | LEVEL III | LEVEL V

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LEVEL V: IT’S RAINING (AGAIN)
CONTENT WARNING: PLAGUE, THE CHILD

At the tower’s open-sky top, fire crackles from a small stone pit, shielded by a familiar, immovable blood-spattered white umbrella. Nearby, discover an immense rusted telescope and other discarded astronomy tools.

You trip on rain-battered yellowed bones at every step. One skeletal hand holds a watch piece, engraved for Mr. David Sebastian Pumpkins.

■ David S P’s has only scrawled his signature.

■ You might reach the flame easily, or be overwhelmed by sickness, black fungal spores blooming on your fingers, while you cough blood and experience intense fever. The symptoms wane once you reach the fire.

■ Burn paper talismans and link finished threads to help Karsa’s spell.

■ The child with a fox mask from the Unwinding could appear. Sign up for one of three short threads, which must finalise by 3 November.

NOTES

■ Some of the bigger plot clues have been emphasised, to help navigate through the horror details.

■ You can hit up some NPCs during the trials.

■ Check out plotting posts for last-minute team-ups.

■ Back to the top.

QUESTIONS

Comments

level three;

[thedreamer]

[ Recent memories of being chased and forced into closed rooms during the Unwinding make this entire experience feel dreadfully familiar, though only up to a point. At least then, there was a pattern he could work out, a puzzle he could unravel. There's an element of that same riddle style game in this particular level of the tower as well, but he's more rattled than he'd care to admit after seeing the face of a ghost long dead now; his mother, her features wrenched from the deepest recesses of his mind without his consent. She was safe in his memory, now just projected onto the face of a clearly unstable creature.

Despite his growing alarm and by equal measure, his deep and growing curiosities, the Doctor is quick to run when he's suddenly being chased - that's familiar, at least - and notices someone being attacked as he turns the corner. Naturally, he picks up speed to close the gap between them, to help. Though, he's being grabbed before he can do any real helping at all, and he's both pleased and worried to be greeted by a familiar face. Quiet for a moment, just until it seems the creatures have moved beyond their room, the Doctor turns to her with a breathless, somewhat half-hearted smile. ]

Not the way I hoped to see you again, admittedly. Are you okay?

[clavesregni]

[Caitlyn's relief at a quiet moment and a friendly face is undercut by a sudden raking of what sound like fingernails - claws? bits of metal? - against the wood of the door. She thought the creatures had passed, but it sounds like something is still out there. She grimaces, bracing her back against the door. But she also gives the Doctor a nod, not wanting him to worry about her. It's been a long, grueling trek to get this far into the tower, but she's hardly going to let on how anxious she is.]

I'm okay.

[She's not okay. A bizarre abomination who borrowed her mother's face is stalking them and they're trapped in a room with sheets of what she hopes are animal hide hanging from the ceiling and suspicious dark stains on the floor. The flickering candlelight serves less to illuminate the room and more to simply make it eerier.]

Can you see any other way out?

[She speaks as quietly as possible, though there's no doubt in her mind that whatever's on the other side of the door already knows they're here. But perhaps there's a way to sneak around behind it.]

[thedreamer]

[ He may be gradually growing a bit concerned, though he doesn't think it's nearly as dire as it could be. True, they're being chased by strange creatures and an even more horrifying scarecrow wielding a rather sharp blade. It wouldn't be his first or even second choice for an adventure, admittedly, but they'll find a way out of this, he's sure. All isn't lost. Yet. ]

Yes, I absolutely believe you.

[ About being okay. But no bother, really, he knows and understands what those words really mean. He uses them frequently himself. ]

We're both very okay. Well, we will be. When we get out of this room with its...[ He moves closer to the floor, kneeling down close, enough to catch a whiff of a scent. ] ...yes, that does appear to be blood on the floor. Not to alarm you. [ Too late, probably. ] No, really, don't worry! It's meant to make us scared, try to throw us off. We'll sort our way out. Just another mind game.

[ What's hunting them is just on the other side of the door, yes, but hasn't broken through yet, and so as the Doctor speaks, he's moving about, examining everything in the room, pushing duvets off of the worn beds, checking under the beds, looking at corners, trying to find a way that leads to another room or passage. Finally, as he's touching various wall panels, he feels one move, making a creaking sound. ]

A passageway to another room! Oh, I love secret hiding places. Particularly when we're being chased by an unstable fellow with a very sharp blade.

[ Maybe they can sneak from room to room this way and circle back to where the lever was. ]

[clavesregni]

[Caitlyn nods, agreeing that they're both definitely okay. If the color drains out of her face at the confirmation that the stain on the floor is blood, well, she's still okay. She's seen blood before. She's seen blood before.

She closes her eyes, pressing her back harder against the door lest whatever's on the other side try to break in, trying very diligently not to remember the dead bodies she's seen too vividly. Her eyes open again when he says he's found a passageway, and she almost steps away from the door when--

There's a sudden abrupt jolt. Caitlyn's nearly knocked off her feet before she catches herself and slams her back against the door, straining to keep it shut as it continues to shudder against its hinges.]

Can you pull one of the beds over to block it? [she says urgently.]

[thedreamer]

[ Oh, right, yes, there's the matter of the unstable door; never mind the passageway at the moment. He does get distracted so easily, particularly in times of duress, when his mind is always leaping ahead to the next thought, and the next, and the next. He'd been halfway through planning out a way to draw the scarecrow into a circle, when here they are, still trapped in this room. It takes someone like Caitlyn to help refocus him at times. ]

Right! Sorry!

[ He does move quickly, pulling and then shoving the bed quickly up against the door, holding it there with all his weight. It seems to be about as stable as it can be for now. ]

Go up ahead, through the passageway, I'll hold it here just to be sure.

[ His body can withstand injury a bit better than others, should the monster on the other side break through. ]

[clavesregni]

[The door shakes violenty, the clawing sound on the other side growing louder, so loud that Caitlyn can barely hear the Doctor over it, though possibly that's in her head, the fear she's feeling and the pounding of her heart in her ears drowning out everything else happening around her. But just as she's sure the door's about to give way, the bed's there, blocking it off.

She makes a break for the passageway, only to skid to a halt when she realizes the Doctor's not right behind her.

Without a moment's hesitation, she turns back.]

Doctor, come on.

[She tugs at his arm, trying to pull him after her. She won't leave him to the monster outside the door. She's got no idea what his capabilities are, how well he can fight or what magical powers he may have, but even if he were the most powerful person in the world, able to defeat the monster handily, she wouldn't leave him. She wouldn't be able to live with herself knowing she'd abandoned someone to danger.]

[thedreamer]

[ He'd just as soon stay here, distract the creature trying to break through. It's a reasonable plan of action, he thinks, but she's grabbing his arm and they don't have time for protests at the moment. Really, everyone worries about him far too much. He's more worried about her, about everyone else around him. ]

Yes, yes, alright, coming, promise.

[ No time to argue, to assure her he's fine. He won't risk any harm to her in delaying this further, but he does follow behind to make sure the monster hasn't caught up to them and made a grab for her. When they slip through the passageway into another room and there's a moment of reprieve, he tugs on her sleeve lightly just to grab her attention. The fear she's feeling isn't lost on him, and though he's equally concerned, he feels perhaps a bit better equipped to at least attempt reassurance. ]

Being afraid right now is going to make us run fast and be very clever, and we'll have a grand story to tell later when we make it out of here. Now - that thing on the wall - O Catches It. A circle. We'll have to draw it into a circle if we've any hope of reaching the lever. Which we do! There's always hope.

[clavesregni]

[The next room provides a welcome moment of quiet, though with how loudly her heart is beating, it doesn't feel as quiet as it is.

It's so much easier to focus on thinking through a problem than on the fact that they're being hunted by a murderous scarecrow. Problem-solving is calming, the rational progression of ideas from query to solution a reassurance that there's nothing she can't figure out, if she puts her mind to it.

So she tamps down the fear, forcing herself to concentrate. Perhaps the Doctor is right, that the fear makes her more clever. But there's no sense panicking. If she panics they die.]

We have to come up with a plan, then. We'll need to draw a circle.

[But what can they use to draw a circle? She glances around, the two obvious solutions coming to her: candlewax or, if they can retrieve her rifle, gunpowder. Neither solution is ideal; the candles are melting too slowly to produce enough wax, and even if they can get to the rifle, there likely won't be sufficient powder in the bullets.]

Perhaps a makeshift one will suffice. [There are beds in this room too. She strides over to one, and, trying very hard not to think about the stains, pulls the bedsheet off.] We could fashion a circle out of this.

[thedreamer]

See, clever? Told you. Brilliant, you are. [ Though he'd rather not think about where the blood came from, he's less unsettled about it. It's just a reminder that he wants no more blood spilled tonight, and he'll do whatever it takes to get Caitlyn out of here safely.

While she works on the bedsheet, he moves closer to the door, pressing his ear up against it, gauging how far away the monster is now. They've bought themselves a bit of time, at least. Now he goes to Caitlyn's side again, helping with the bedsheet. ]

After we get out of this, we really ought to take it up with management, how poorly designed this whole tower is. Could have been a bit of spooky fun, they go to the extreme instead. When we make it back to the lift, I don't even think we'll win a prize, do you? Could have done with one of those giant stuffed dinosaurs, if I'm being honest. Or a balloon! A big, bright red one.

[ There he goes, trying to lift the mood a little, but probably just sounding...well, weird, per the usual with him. ]

[clavesregni]

[Caitlyn begins knotting the bedsheets together, gladly accepting the Doctor's help as she arranges them into a loose circular shape. Her hands are shaking from a terror that feels almost as though it's coming from outside her own mind, as if it's being imposed on her rather than something she's truly feeling, but it affects her just the same. Her movements, though, are neat and precise. Corners tucked, knots pulled tight. One of the stains is disconcertingly damp, but after a moment of hesitation, she frowns at it as though it's done her a personal wrong and grabs it, knuckles turning white as she arranges the sheet just so. Perhaps it's her imagination, but she can almost feel the blood oozing out of the sheet between her fingers.

She swallows the bile rising in the back of her throat. She is not going to throw up.

She recognizes what the Doctor's trying to do: cheer her up, take her mind off their likely impending deaths. Her muscles are so tense she can barely manage a smile, but she does. Just for him, really, to let him know she'll be alright. As long as she has a task to focus on, something to think through, she knows she can work through the fear.]

Somehow, I doubt they've got a comments box.

[The sheets are arranged into a circle, and she leans back, surveying their handiwork before looking back up to him.]

Now we just need to lure it in here.

[thedreamer]

And I'll be the bait. Before you protest, just listen to me for a moment. [ His voice is commanding, but not harsh; he carries an air of someone who knows exactly what needs to happen next and he won't accept anything different. He needs to sell her something that's...a bit of a lie, and so he adopts his usual method of unwavering confidence, even in the face of uncertainty. ]

I'm a Time Lord. Alien with two hearts, respiratory bypass system. If I'm injured badly, I can heal myself. [ This may or may not be a lie. This world they're in now has had strange and unpredictable impacts on his abilities so he can't be entirely sure he'd even be able to heal himself. ] If I die, I have a little trick up my sleeve called regeneration. [ This is most definitely a lie. While he knows he's granted a new regeneration cycle in his future, that hasn't happened yet. He can and likely would die, and anyone who knows him well would catch him in that, but for now, it's just him and Caitlyn. She doesn't need to know and she doesn't need to go risking herself any further. ]

My point - I'll be the shield and I will get you out of this, Caitlyn, I promise. I don't know what happens from here, but you're going to be safe. [ He didn't miss the way her hands shook, so he spares a moment to reach for hers now, briefly squeezing them. ]

Trust me. Please. This is what I do.

[ And he is not losing anyone else. ]

If you go back through the passageway and shut the door, I'll find it in the hallway, lead it in here.

[clavesregni]

[Caitlyn is about to protest before he cuts her off. It's all very logical, what he's saying. She doesn't know what a Time Lord is, and she's very curious to ask what he means by 'alien.' But if it's true that he has the ability to heal himself, it's perfectly rational that he should be the one putting himself in danger.

But 'perfectly rational' and 'right' aren't always the same thing, and Caitlyn's not going to let the Doctor risk his life while she hides in another room being of no use to anyone.

She squeezes his hands back before dropping them, clenching her fists down by her sides instead as she directs her most determined frown at him.]

I'm going with you.

[thedreamer]

Of course you are, but why. Why do you have to be so- [ No one ever listens to him.

This is nothing new, and yet, he's never learned to accept or cope with that reality. If something happens to her, he'll never forgive himself, but he can't stop her coming, he knows.

Excuse him for a moment, though, while he closes his eyes briefly in frustration, steps back, spins around just once and then holds his hands up towards the ceiling in a gesture that says, Why. Why does this always happen. Then he lets out a soft sigh and smiles, briefly. ]

-so human-y. [ He comes closer, resting his hands gently on her shoulders. ] Against all good sense and rational thought, you won't let me go anywhere alone because that's who you are - someone I'm very glad to know, and will be glad to know better when we're out of here.

Okay! Well, then, I've never generally been opposed to wasting time when we don't have any, but this is a unique situation obviously. We'll go out through this door and lead it on a bit of a chase, circle back around here. Disorient it, possibly, both of us going in a different direction?

[clavesregni]

[Caitlyn is momentarily taken aback by the Doctor's physicality. She'd anticipated an argument, perhaps, or even for him to try to push her into the passageway. She hadn't expected him to start spinning around, or the surprisingly kind speech. And she's fully ready to argue back that she can handle this, that she can make her own decisions, until he places his hands on her shoulders and... agrees.

She's not entirely sure how to react to that. It's an odd sort of excited feeling, despite the horrific danger they're in, welling up in the pit of her stomach, churning around with the fear to create some new emotion. A friend who is willing to face down that horrific danger, who'll respect that she's not too weak or frail or too much of a child to face it down with him? That's really all she could ask for.

And she'd like to get to know him better, as well. When a scarecrow isn't trying to murder them.

She nods eagerly.]

Yes, I recall the corridor-- [It's not a guarantee that the door to this room leads to the corridor she's thinking of. It's dark out there, easy to get turned around, and she was running. The passageway between rooms may not have led where she thought it did. She speaks with conviction anyway.] It branches just by this door. You go left, I'll go right.

[thedreamer]

[ And here, the Doctor lies. The first rule, one of many, one that Caitlyn wouldn't know yet, so he can at least pull it off this time. They don't have time to argue, but she's too kind and brave for her own good. It's wasted on the likes of him, but then, he always seems to find himself surrounded by the very best of people. And he is tired, so tired, of losing them. He didn't lie about wanting to know her better - all of that was true - but where her fear will keep her moving cautiously (he hopes, he assumes), the Doctor possesses none of that fear presently. He'll be loud and boisterous, draw the scarecrow towards him. He can't be sure what Caitlyn is planning to do; they've agreed to lure it back here depending on who spots it first, and luring it back implies creating noise and a distraction. He'll just make sure he's louder and quicker.

It unsettles him to know that he'll look upon the face of his mother again, more than likely, and that there will be various other creatures being manipulated and twisted for the sake of someone's mind-game, but he doesn't fear what's beyond this door. Not today. He only fears losing his new friend, and so, the choice is a simple one: lie to her, with such practiced and polished ease, and lead the scarecrow towards him when he has a chance. ]

Got it. Back here in a moment, just in time for tea. [ A last jest to try and cut through the seriousness of the moment, a brief second to pause for a smile. He does position himself in front of her, though - not asking, just doing - to go out the door first. He's not stopping her from following him, though. Over his shoulder, he tells her - ] Clear for now. Tread carefully.

[ Caitlyn had been right about it branching. Even with their movements through the passageway, it opens out to the corridor and splits off as she said. The Doctor goes left just a few paces and then shouts out quite loudly. ]

Oh, well done, dear fellow, good show so far, though it's gone on a bit long for my liking. Boring, if I'm honest. The Doctor will see you now. Come out, come out, you beautiful, dreadful thing, come on out and get me. You love a bit of tag, don't you? That's your game. Let's go!

[ It doesn't take long before the hulking, dreadful creature comes barreling towards him, and then the Doctor begins to give chase, hoping Caitlyn thinks him mad enough to prefer keeping a distance between them. If nothing else, he can at least lead it away from her. ]

[clavesregni]

[Caitlyn takes the Doctor at his word, nodding along as he insists they'll be done in time for tea. Though she's not sure she could keep down even a cup of tea at the moment.

When he heads left, she breaks right, hoping to circle around and find the room where she'd dropped her gun. With it, she'd be far more capable of defending herself. The dark and twisting hallways of this place are hard to keep track of, but she's starting to piece together a decent mental map.

She moves quietly to begin with, hoping to avoid both the wax creatures and the scarecrow until she has a weapon in hand, but then she hears the Doctor shouting and realizes she hasn't got the time to move slowly. It's a quick rush to the correct room, bumping into more than one doorframe as she dodges around wax creatures grasping for her, but she finally finds the rifle where she left it on the floor and runs full tilt towards the sound of the Doctor's voice.

She finds herself behind the scarecrow as it runs towards the Doctor.

They're meant to lead it on a chase, come at it from different directions, aren't they? That was the Doctor's own plan.

The fear has ebbed now that she has her gun back. The calming rhythm of her breathing, the precision required to account for all of the nuances that could affect the bullet's trajectory, the need to keep her hands perfectly steady and her trigger finger loose until the shot comes, waiting for the correct moment, the cluttered racket of her thoughts dampened... The world is so much clearer when viewed down the barrel of a rifle.]

Scarecrow!

[It's the work of an instant to line up a shot that will hit the creature without also hitting the Doctor should the bullet go straight through. Which, indeed, it does. There's a burst of straw and burlap as the bullet pierces the scarecrow's chest before hitting the wall behind it.

The scarecrow turns towards her, completely unfazed by being shot right where its heart should be, but its attention clearly fixed on her now. Caitlyn takes off running.]

[thedreamer]

[ The sound of the gun firing draws a wince from the Doctor, not for any other reason than he loathes that deafening crack, the lingering acrid smell in the air, the knowledge of how swiftly such weapons can inflict destruction. He's known too much of guns in his life for someone who so desperately prefers never to use them.

A dark reminder flashes in his mind, though, for a moment. How often has his reluctance for weapons in turn made those around him play at offense in order to guard his safety? It's a thought that fades as quickly as it surfaces because they don't have time for his spiral of guilt. But, this should have been easy, the perfect plan, to lead the scarecrow away. Instead, Caitlyn had to attack regardless. Too many of his plans recently have failed in similarly grand fashion.

Weaponless himself, the Doctor's instinct is to rely on a scientific calculation: as he takes off running after both the scarecrow and Caitlyn, the momentum involved in launching himself at the creature, given the weight and velocity of his own body, should be enough to fell the foul and malicious monster. Unfortunately, as fast as the Doctor can run, the scarecrow is eluding him and gaining on Caitlyn. What happens next, he can't be sure, but just as the scarecrow seems about to rapidly close the distance between itself and Caitlyn, the Doctor jumps and tackles it to the ground, trying to kick out at its cleaver simultaneously so it can't fly off directionless through the air and inflict any harm. (He hopes, he desperately hopes.) It's a tangle of gangly limbs and loose straw dislodged from the impact of hitting the ground. ]

You know, you are really quite a bother! [ Said with a huffed breath, eyes dark with a lack of mercy now as he clumsily pushes himself to his feet, wasting no time before he reaches for a candle, tossing it at the scarecrow's feet with the intent to set it ablaze and at least buy them a little more time. ]

[clavesregni]

[Caitlyn turns as the scarecrow begins to pursue her in earnest, making sure that it is coming for her and not the Doctor. She'll take another shot, if she needs to, but it quickly becomes clear that she should focus her attention on running.

As she rushes through the dark and twisting corridors, she does her best to make a mental map of the place, to remember where she needs to lead the scarecrow to get it back to the circle they've made, but she can't see well now that's she's lost her candle in favour of the gun and she's soon turned around.

A turn around the wrong corridor, and she finds herself running directly into the arms of a waiting wax creature. She tries to whip the gun up, but it's seized her by the arm with a strength to rival anything she's experienced. Another takes hold of her other arm, holding her in place, and it's all she can do not to drop the gun again. An unnatural terror grips her as she struggles to break free.

She can feel the scarecrow coming up behind her, cleaver brandished, when there's a sudden sound of an impact and it hits the floor, the Doctor on top of it, and the cleaver goes flying right through the belly of one of the creatures. Wax and a foul-smelling mould splatter across Caitlyn's side before the cleaver buries itself in the wall, vibrating with the force of the blow.]

Doctor!

[She tries to get away from the creatures, to dash around the scarecrow back to the Doctor, but one of them still has her in an iron grip, and as soon as she starts to move towards him she's yanked back.

The scarecrow lays still as the flames lick up its straw feet. And then it begins to lurch upright, its gaze still fixed on her. And no matter how hard she tries, she feels as though she can't move, pinned in place by fear. In the flickering light of the fire, the scarecrow's face once again twists and distorts to look like that of her mother.]

[thedreamer]

[ He'd questioned himself for a moment as the straw burned; he's seen this world twist other beings in unnatural ways, commanding life and death with something approaching disturbing frivolity. Mannequins brought to life, made to suffer, creatures twisted and turned and forced to carry out the whims of an unseen puppet master. The Doctor can only guess at all the strings being held here.

Any brief doubt he had about the scarecrow's possible sentience beyond base instinct and a commitment to mayhem and destruction is quickly banished when the creature begins to sit up again, intent on causing harm for the sake of it. As if the scarecrow itself isn't bad enough, one of the similarly unsettling creatures has a grip on Caitlyn and there's precious little time to make a break for it. ]

Caitlyn!

[ Calling out to her is a measure of assurance for himself and also for her, he hopes. That he's coming for her, that they'll soon be out of here. He carefully dodges the building flames and the scarecrow beginning to sit up, hurrying to Caitlyn's side, reaching for her and trying to pull her towards him, out of the grip of the creature. When it resists, the Doctor grabs another candle and shoves it into the creature's face. He can't afford doubt or mercy regarding the creature's possible sentience. There's no room here for second chances.

As the Doctor pulls Caitlyn closer, another wax creature comes around the corner behind them, chanting, Take them not me. ]

No, no, no. I've had quite enough of this! No one's taking anyone. We have to run, Caitlyn, just run. Just around the corner, I think, is the lever if we can reach it. Keep a hold of my hand. Can't risk being grabbed and separated.

[ Abandon their circle altogether, and hope the lever really is on the other side of this hallway? He doesn't know, and that unsettles him. But he's thinking as he goes, just reacting to the situation as it twists and turns. ]

[clavesregni]

[Caitlyn's paralyzed with fear, eyes fixed on her mother's face, stomach twisting in knots. She wishes desperately she could see her mother again, but this... this is wrong. It's not even a good facsimile of her mother, merely a shoddy reminder of the person Caitlyn's missing. She scowls.

The creature holding her begins to chant softly, Take them, not me, take them, not me, but Caitlyn's barely able to hear it as the scarecrow draws nearer and her scowl deepens, trying to hide the fact that she's never been more afraid in her life.

And then there's a hard tug on her arm. The Doctor. A flash of fire in the creature's face and suddenly she can move again, but more are coming. Her legs still feel stiff and frozen but she forces herself to stumble after him.]

You don't think it's worth trying to trap it? What about anyone who winds up in here after us? If we trap it, we might be able to find a way to destroy it, to stop it hurting anybody else.

[She's not letting go of his hand, regardless.]

[thedreamer]

I want everyone safe, but you're my priority for now.

[ Said in a rush of breath, a sense of urgency in his voice. He wouldn't forsake anyone who passes through here after them, but given everything he's seen this world do before, he doesn't know that trapping the scarecrow will really even help. As with the Unwinding, things seem to reset after others leave, so the game can begin again. Is it worth their time and effort? That he questions himself also unsettles him; this Tower has affected him more than he'd like to consider at the moment and he feels every bit his true age. Is he misjudging the situation? He runs, always, but not from danger, not unless what he's protecting is precious; in this case, any friend who happened to be with him. But her words give him pause, despite the lack of time they have for contemplation. ]

Okay - a moment. Think, think, think. [ ...As they're well on their way to being attacked again, an onslaught seemingly without end. Perhaps trapping the scarecrow will in turn stop the wax creatures? ] Up ahead, we turn right, it should wind us back around. If we see the lever first and there's an opportunity, we pull it. We can still try to trap it, we don't need to escape immediately. Our luck, hopefully, we find our room instead, with our clever little circle.

[ She's right, they can't forego the attempt. He's nearly lost so many in this Tower already, he's letting his fear of further loss cloud his judgment. ]

[clavesregni]

[The Doctor certainly means well, but Caitlyn hears his words through the ears of someone whose always been seen as weak and soft and in need of protection. Her whole life she's been kept secure in her gilded cage, told time and again that her job, her hobbies, her passions were too dangerous. Her parents have meddled in her career, her best friend's all but told her to give up on what she truly wants, all in the name of her safety. She's never felt that she deserved to be the priority, and she's certainly never wanted to be, not when it means being treated like she's some delicate flower who needs to be coddled lest she break.]

I don't need to be your priority, Doctor. I can take care of myself.

[She still turns right when he does, because it's a good plan, and she's not going to balk at a good plan simply because of her pride.

When they arrive at an intersection and she spots the lever down one path, however, she finally does move to pull her hand away from his.]

You go for the lever. I'll circle around and try to lure it away from you and towards the circle.

[She doubts he'll agree to that. But they haven't got too much time to argue, as the wax creatures are following them, and she can hear the scarecrow following after. Whatever they're going to do, they have to do it fast.]

[thedreamer]

Do you know how many times I've heard that and lost someone? You're brave and strong, I know, I know, and you just have to do this and nothing I say is going to change your mind. I've heard it all before, over and over and I am so tired of-

[ The Doctor rubs a quick hand over his face, annoyed and yet drained of the will to argue further. He'd already led with the fact that he can heal in ways she can't, and that hadn't done anything to sway her. It's a futile exercise, the two of them trying to save the other. They have to split up now, they really have no choice, though for the Doctor, the obvious choice as to who should lead the scarecrow away is him. Yet, they're wasting time, precious seconds they simply can't spare to lose.

He'd tried it his way already, tried leading the thing away from her and it hadn't worked. ]

Fine! [ A huff of breath, a clipped sigh, his voice raised a bit; not at her, but a frustration and weariness with the situation that's unraveled so terribly. This should have been easier. Has he made it worse? Worries for another day, when they get out of here. ]

Fine. I trust you, but I want it noted for the record I think you're being ridiculous right now. [ In a certain definition of the word, at least. He doesn't trust easily, in many ways, and this is the first time he's ever seen Caitlyn in a dire situation, but despite her fear, she's determined. She isn't letting her fear stop her, and she's so brave, they always are, the people around him. So brave and so fragile and he just hopes that trusting her this time isn't folly.

He trusts her belief in herself, her need, perhaps, to do this. He doesn't know what lies ahead for them in this world, what's beyond this clocktower of horrors, and Serthica and where their journey takes them next, but they all have to trust each other because they're all they have. If she knows that he believes in her, equally, maybe it will make her stronger, too. ]

I'll go for the lever, circle round the other side. I'll hear you, call for me, don't hesitate, don't be foolish. Just run, Caitlyn, run fast and don't look back.

[clavesregni]

[It's clear that the Doctor's done things like this before, and it's clear he's lost people doing it. But Caitlyn's not going to let that stop her. She has to prove herself, she has to prove that she can do this. So she waits resolutely while he huffs and hems and haws until he agrees.

When he finally relents, she gives him a single, curt nod. She doesn't take his trust lightly, and she's going to show him that it's not misplaced. Though when he calls her ridiculous, she can't help a very deadpan, unamused look.]

I will.

[Heart hammering in her throat but her grip on her rifle still loose and easy - everything is so much easier with the gun in her hand - she looks back to where the scarecrow is coming up behind them. One clean shot through its throat - no real harm done, of course, just a burst of straw that doesn't even slow it down - and its attention is fully fixed on her. She waits a long moment, a terrifyingly long moment, to allow the scarecrow to catch up a bit, to make sure it's following her, before she takes off down the corridor towards the room with the circle.]

[thedreamer]

[ He thinks again about the rifle, how much he loathes weapons but equally, how much he loathes anyone being forced to carry such things. He's also more than familiar with the type of ease some people seem to have with them, the way Caitlyn does now, the way River does. It's served Caitlyn well, he understands, and while he is perhaps not quite as averse to them as he was with his previous face, he'd still always prefer avoiding them at all.

That bang rings out, though, and he watches with no small amount of dread as the scarecrow turns its sights on her again, following her closely. It takes everything in his power not to chase after her - more than she could possibly know - but he does what he said he would this time, and he goes to the lever, pulling it to ensure they at least have a way out of here.

He wastes no time in following the corridor around the other side, running as fast as he can, dodging the wax creatures as he goes, listening for Caitlyn and hoping she's made it back to the room with the circle. ]