As they all crowd into the dorm lounge downstairs, dressed in their costumes, there is an air of excitement and buzz as everyone looks around, evaluating everyone else. Obviously the Pub Treasure Hunt event appealed to most of the competitors and friends. York have fielded 3 teams: The Clue team of 6, the Staff team of Mr Harding, Miss Beech, Ben (physio) and his local girlfriend Tina and they are including Ross (Levon's roommate) and Beech, Ross's girlfriend Tina in with them. The third group of 5 includes Guy, Sam, Geoff, Janine & Penny.
Most of those gathered, including the teams from other universities, have themed costumes. My Harding's group are all pirates and it is noticeable that he has his arm around Miss Beeech. Guy's group are all superheroes. He is Incredible Hulk, Sam and Geoff are Spiderman and Captain America and the two girls as Scarlet Witch and Mystique. Looks like they have invested in both costumes and make-up.
There are three teams from Newcastle: 60s hippies, military and wild west. Three teams from Teeside: Religious (monks & nuns), Medical and Star Wars.
Hilary is in the room waiting along with Newcastle's rep Tom and Teeside's Becky. Hilary takes the lead.
"Great to see so many of you and brilliant costumes guys! Lovely to see you entering into the spirit of the event. Now this is how it all works. Each team will complete their team card with the Team name, its members and what university you are from. Once we have those, you will each get a sealed envelope which will contain a cryptic clue to the pub you have to go to and a map of the city centre to find your way around. Each of you will have a different start point. When you arrive at your pub, look for 2 people dressed in black and white, they should be obvious. They will give each team a forfeit to perform, the rest of the team will be required to drink a half pint, short or equivalent. Once you have met the criteria, you will get another sealed envelope to your next destination. Once you have all 9 clues, make your way back here. This is not a race. Points will be awarded for forfeits, costumes etc and a winner will be declared. Now let's get organised and then go and have fun!"
Whilst Hilary has been talking, Tom and Becky have been handing out cards to the teams.
She leaned in to Levon, nodding. "Almost two years and I'm still learning how the British use English. I'm guessing that we grew up with just one definition."
Em looks at her friends. "Well if we don't do it, we are definitely forfeiting the clue." It is a game, it should not be too bad. Something silly. What's the worse that could happen?
Having clarified that Levon would undoubtedly be picked on as the big American, Skye decided to move forward with Ian's charge.
“Indeed, let’s smoke them….if you got them darlings.” She purred through deep red lips starting to take after her iconic character, Miss Scarlet, from the classic movie Clue. Dressed to perfection, she exuded an air of allure and sophistication.
Her dress, a vibrant scarlet shade, hugged her figure gracefully, accentuating her slender frame. The knee-length, form-fitting design boasted a daringly low neckline, adorned with a black lace trim that added a touch of elegance and intrigue. The fabric itself was satin, lending a luxurious sheen to her ensemble as she moved through the room with a confident sway. Completing her look, the young woman wore elbow-length gloves, their rich black color contrasting strikingly against the fiery hue of her dress. The gloves were meticulously tailored, allowing her to maintain a sense of poise while adding a subtle hint of seduction.
Her raven-black hair was styled in an alluring updo, with loose tendrils framing her Korean features. She and Em had fun playing with that hair-style and trying something different for Skye. A matching scarlet feathered fascinator perched atop her head, adding a playful touch to her overall appearance.
In true Miss Scarlet fashion, she donned a pair of high-heeled pumps, their glossy finish completing her chic ensemble. With every step, her confident stride echoed throughout the room, captivating the attention of those around her.
"Remember kids, drinks are on me tonight until we start winning them."
[OOC: I changed the look of the dress from the movie - but easy to readjust.]
He is wearing a dark dinner jacket over a simple white collared shirt. He did not get a full suit, and just has dark jeans and his normal running shoes. His accessories are a pair of small round professor-like glasses that sits low on the bridge of his nose, and a dark brown (empty) smokers pipe that he occasionally pops into his mouth. Henri purposely messed up his hair a bit more than usual to give himself a more crazy-professor look.
Coming up beside Miranda he gives her a friendly poke just below her ribs and says with a wink, "Ohh, love your dress."
After listening to Hilary, Levon asks the same question that was on the tip of his tongue too about what a forfeit is. With that cleared up he is ready to go.
Dressed in a rather eclectic outfit of browns and brocade, with a fur stole and a feathery hat, Emma made a fun Mrs. Peacock. Moving to the others she smiled. "Group photos before... and after we win?"
"Mos def, girl!" Miss Scarlet was a party girl apparently as Skye laughed with her friends and pulled out her iPhone from the little purse. She started snapping some random shots.
"Come on now. Everyone together. Levon - you have the long arms. Take the selfie."
He gives a big smile for the picture in just being happy for having a fun time with some great friends.
After the photo, he says, "I thought this would be more of race in getting everything done first, but I guess not. Seems the point scoring is going to be more subjective." He shrugs his shoulders at that and is anxious to know where they will be going to start from.
Levon He felt ridiculous wearing a mustard colored jacket and a weird hat they told him was a pith helmet and a scarf they called an ascot but when they gave him that fake beard and sideburn he laughed and went along with it.
He took out his phone as his friends squeezed in around him and said "Cheerio chaps, SMILE!" in his most fake British accent as he began to click away.
She had really missed this bunch of friends. Things had gotten so tense and stressful that she'd started to crack. But now - she could simply be silly and mug for the camera along with them.
The Wild West team and the Military team are pretending to shoot each other. Two of them, one from each team fall the the floor clutching chests with expressions of agony on their faces, then spoiled by laughing.
Leven takes a couple of selfie photos of their team posing for the camera phone.
Henri and Skye notice the guy they had spotted in the afternoon at the gym. He and his look alike are in the medical team.
There is a lot of excited chatter in the room. Tom arrives with their envelope and presents it with a flourish and a wink to Emma. [See PM]
Hilary calls out above the chatter.
"OK! Any questions before we start the ball rolling?"
She opens the envelope, blinks, and then smiles. Em had looked over a listing of various pubs nearby, and the envelope clearly referred to one of them. "I know exactly where to go..." Emma says, getting the quickest route on her phone.
She hands over the envelope to share amongst the others.
Inebriated bird
And then holds up her phone with the Drunken Duck route on it. "Ready everyone?"
"Oui, allons-y!" he accidentally exclaims in his native language when he is overly excited. Since Emma says she knows the way he will follow along walking beside Miranda.
The group set off for the Drunken Duck getting looks from many people as they pass but not overt curiosity as this is a University City and the locals are used to seeing different things on a regular basis. There are three guys sitting on the edge in the back of a white van, obviously some kind of contractors in their white overalls. They are drinking mugs of steaming tea. The group are toasted with a 'mugs raised' action and wolf whistles follow them down the road.
Durham city centre is a busy place, families, lots of students - some walking, some on cycles, traffic, cats, an occasional dog, movement everywhere. There are also lots of displays of flowers. Some in baskets hanging from lamp posts, small roundabouts covered in them, window boxes.. seems like the whole community is conspiring to win a 'Britain in Bloom' competition.
They reach the pub and find it a lot more modern than they were expecting. A juke box is banging out rock songs, despite the early hour plenty of folk are sitting around enjoying shouted conversation, music and watching others.
The two organisers are obvious. Two girls both dressed as dominoes seated in easy view of the door.
Emma pauses just inside the door. "So are we going to have designated drinkers for the evening, and the same with who pays the forfeit, or are we all going to take a turn?"
Not wanting to get too wasted in case he has any chance of being alone with Miranda later tonight, he replies, "I say we all share drinks and these forfeits equally."
Em nods. "Sounds good to me, if everyone else agrees? But let's see what the first forfeit is before we commit to a plan of action?" With that she moves over and asks the two what they might need to do to get the next clue.
"We thought you might be our first team. Nice costumes by the way. Cluedo I assume?"
The other girl chips in.
"Give us your card so we can mark your forfeit."
Once received, she continues.
"Right you need to act like animals. The more varied you are and the best interpretations, the higher the score. You can all join in but then you all need to drink. Or you can split your efforts."
They both grin, ready to watch. The other patrons are also paying attention and nudging each other.
"Indeed it is, a nod to the classic movie in fact." Emma got into her role as Mrs. Peacock, looking distressed and sounding more than a tad bit shrill. "Who cares? That guy doesn't matter. Let him stay locked up for another half an hour, the police will be here by then and there are two dead bodies in the study!!"
With a jaunty smile, Em turned away from the event members and looked at her friends, wondering who might be in on this with her. Still, acting, this was her bailiwick. "Right. Animals. Guys, shall we try to do one or two of us per forfeit, so we are not all completely sloshed in record time?" A clear head would help them win.
This was so not what he was about but he wasn't going to let his friends down. But for a black man, this was a game which he needed to play within constraints. His ancestors weren't considered human by the original laws in the United States. They were 3/5 human, not worthy of a vote, considered cattle by slavers. Certain animals were definitely out but he decided on one.
"Gribbit! Gribbit, gribbit" he answered while crouching down and starting to hop like a frog. No, he didn't wait for approval from the others. He just did it.
He stepped forward, lifting one arm up to his face and let out a sound that was vaguely like that of an elephant. He 'lumbered' around, continuing to make his sound and flop his trunk.
After Levon jumping in - what else was there to do? It wasn’t quite what she expected, having dressed to the nines as Ms. Scarlet, but Skye had a thought to let her inner feline emerge. With a languid stretch, she arched her back, her body undulating under the silky fabric of her dress. A low a purr-like sound escaped her throat as she gracefully prowled the bar. Her fingers rose lightly and she bared her nails with a flourish and a low growling snarl. Playing to a few of the patrons - and the judging girls - she threw in an occasional meow if they were cute. She ended her performance with a gentle lick of the back of her hand.
“I think I should started with that drink.” She whispered in an aside to Em.
Miranda takes a glance at Henri but it looks like he is not planning on doing one. She decides to follow Skye's lead. She gets down on her hands and knees and barks at the cat, starting to give chase, but pausing to cock one leg before continuing.
OOC: I was going to do one, but thought we were dividing up the pubs, with some doing the forfeit/drinking? With so many involved Em will hold off until the next one. No need for them all to get sloshed before they can figure out the next clues.
She couldn't help but giggle at Miranda's playing along - but tried not to break character. She gave the new girl a big hug and pulled she and Em to the bar.
"What now?" Before she got the bartender's attention, Skye asked. "Pints, shots, wine and water? How many of these do we need to do to win?"
He nods and heads over to the bar and buys whatever is on tap, and walks back to the group. He will try to finish his beer as quickly as possible so that they can move on to the next pub.
OOC: Thanks gypsy! Sorry doing grandparent/family time. They just bought a new vacation home and there helping them buy stuff and get it set up. But still having fun
Emma looks at the list of drinks that were offered and then nodded, ordering a dark stout.
The pair of organisers confer quietly, mark the groups card with a 5 on the first row and hand it back with another envelope. Once opened it reveals the following:
Skye had actually taken an order of water to start the night, realizing that she had to compete tomorrow. The young sportswoman would have something to drink if she had too - but best to be smart about it. Tomorrow she'd celebrate!
Ironically, Skye the next clue immediately...sorta. "The Big Brown Jug!" She blurted out and then laughed. "Pound your drinks, mates!"
He finishes his beer too quickly, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand while unintentionally letting out a small burp. Since Emma knew exactly where this pub was he asks her, "So which way?"
They head out in the balmy early evening and using their map, locate the next pub. The streets are not yet busy and their destination is quite close. As they head in, they walk straight into an argument. There are 3 young doctors in white coats with stethoscopes and a young nurse. It is the Medical team from Teeside. One of the 'Doctors' is arguing with what must one of the two organisers, two guys one in black with a black mask and the other the same but in white. The Doctor is the same guy they had seen in the gym earlier and his friend who had also been there was talking to him urgently in a low voice. He shrugs him off turning back to the lad in black.
"I will not drink alcohol. It is against my religion."
"You don't have to but the choice is either forfeit or alcoholic drink. Them's the rules pal!" He prods the Doctor in the shoulder who straightens up, assuming a martial arts stance.
Watching the growing argument between the two, he looks to Levon and Skye to see if they are going to intervene because Henri is by no stretch of his imagination going to stick his nose into this.
"You entered a pub crawl competition and drinking is..." She shook her head, disregarded the pair, and moved to the organizers drawing attention and hopefully diffusing the situation. "While they sort out, what Forfeit would you like us to pay?"
Em had a really good point, but the protesting doctor was taking a hard line stance. As Emma moved to speak with the organizers and diffuse the situation, Skye followed along with her - acting as a prepared blocker in case there was retaliation. She gave a flick of the hand that she hoped Levon would catch in support.
"Yes, dears." Skye continued to play up the Ms. Scarlet role. "Something less droll than play-acting animals like the last pub." She winked at the black mask.
Levon He saw Skye's hand signal but was already moving forward. The doctor that didn't want to drink shouldn't have to and Levon couldn't give a crap if they forfeited anything. He still didn't get the meaning of the phrase. While he knew that winning or losing wouldn't impact his life in any way, he was competitive. He wasn't concerned about anyone's feelings.
"I say, good man," he began in his horribly fake British accent. "If the doctor here doesn't want to drink, then so be it. Let him stand aside so that we may be attended to."
The organiser in white can see that things are getting complicated with the possibility of everything going pear-shaped. Something needs to give.
"I think we can just deduct a point and let the Medics move one."
He nudges his fellow official. "Come on mate." The organiser in black is still glaring at the Doctor who nods to Levon.
"Accepted."
The situation diffuses rapidly and the medical team leave. Once gone. the organisers turn to you, the guy wearing white speaks.
"Sorry about that. Don't let it spoil your evening. Nice costumes by the way! OK, your forfeit is to recite a poem or rhyme. Or, of course to take a drink."
She smiles. A poem. Brill! There was an example that she could think of, of a particular poetic form, and something she doubted the other groups would mimic. "Points for the unexpected type of poem I hope? Here goes, with a classic Japanese poetic flair..."
"Haiku's are silly. "They don't even have to rhyme. "Refrigerator."
Haikus were an odd poetic form, hopefully this would be a nice change for the organizers.
He knew some poetry, much of it vulgar, but his immediate reaction was to dig into his past and so start rapping and out came some Eminem ...
Quote
"His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy There's vomit on his sweater already, mom's spaghetti He's nervous, but on the surface, he looks calm and ready To drop bombs, but he keeps on forgetting What he wrote down, the whole crowd goes so loud He opens his mouth, but the words won't come out He's chokin', how? Everybody's jokin' now The clock's run out, time's up, over, blaow Snap back to reality, ope, there goes gravity Ope, there goes Rabbit, he choked, he's so mad But he won't give up that easy, no, he won't have it He knows his whole back's to these ropes, it don't matter He's dope, he knows that, but he's broke, he's so stagnant He knows when he goes back to this mobile home, that's when it's Back to the lab again, yo, this old rhapsody Better go capture this moment and hope it don't pass him."
He secretly smiles once the Doctors have left and get a point deducted for their recalcitrant attitude. He lets out a laugh at Emma's poem, and adds "That was funny." Levon's rap was not exactly poetry to him, but it sounded cool.
Turning his attention back to the organizers, Henri figures he should try to recite a poem since he drank at the last pub.
"Ok, I remember one from my mother's memorial service." Henri still has all of his mother and fathers funeral documents, photos and service. On the back of the order of service was a poem that he remembers easily and translates it.
"Tomorrow, at dawn, when the countryside turns white, I leave. You see, I know you are waiting for me. I will go through the forest, I will go across the mountains. I cannot stay away from you any longer.
I will walk with my eyes fixed on my thoughts, Without seeing anything outside, without hearing any noise, Alone, unknown, back bent, hands crossed, Sad, and the day for me will be like night.
I will not watch the gold of the falling evening, Nor the sails in the distance descending towards Harfleur, And when I arrive, I'll put on your grave A bouquet of green holly and flowering heather."
Each of the poems get a smattering of applause from the others in the pub. They were wising up that there was some sort of event on, their atttention having been drawn by the argument a few minutes ago.
Miranda smiles softly at Henri.
"That was sad.. but good. I guess that I should get a drink this time so that we spread the alcohol around."
She heads to the bar and buys a schnaps as it takes little effort to down it. But she brings it back to the organisers so they can check her off the list. Just Ian and Skye to go now.
Having had a more than bit of Shakespeare in her studies, Skye was fairly well-versed in poetry and enjoyed hearing the different takes by her friends. Henri's made her a bit misty and so she decided to let a bit of heart out. Clearing her voice, she recited Miss Emily Dickinson:
Wild nights - Wild nights! Were I with thee Wild nights should be Our luxury!
Futile - the winds - To a Heart in port - Done with the Compass - Done with the Chart!
Rowing in Eden - Ah - the Sea! Might I but moor - tonight - In thee!
He steps forward, clearing his throat and glances over at Emma for a moment before starting to recite.
She walks in beauty, like the night Of cloudless climes and starry skies; And all that’s best of dark and bright Meet in her aspect and her eyes; Thus mellowed to that tender light Which heaven to gaudy day denies.
One shade the more, one ray the less, Had half impaired the nameless grace Which waves in every raven tress, Or softly lightens o’er her face; Where thoughts serenely sweet express, How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.
And on that cheek, and o’er that brow, So soft, so calm, yet eloquent, The smiles that win, the tints that glow, But tell of days in goodness spent, A mind at peace with all below, A heart whose love is innocent!
Emma looks a bit startled, at first by Ian's glance her way. and then by Miranda's comment. Ian had never hinted anything about a romantic feeling towards her. But he was cute. Who knew what the future might hold. As the applause begins she gives him a smile and claps as loudly as anyone.
He will join clapping his hands with the crowd for each one of them that recites a poem. The diversity of their poems is surprising, and he hopes that will help in getting a better score from their two judges.
Commenting in general he says, "So, drinks down, poems out of the way. I wonder what's next?"
With the next clue in hand he replies, "Thank you sir!" Opening it, he shows it to the others and says, "Here Emma..." She has been their master of directions and will let her figure out where they need to go.
Emma looks at it and then the others. "It sounds like the Dunn Cow Inn. Which should be... that way, I think." She points in the direction that she believes it is in, and consults her phone just in case. "Yup, that way!"
"Okay - I get to drink in this next place!" There was an excitement in what they were doing. And even with the match tomorrow, Skye felt she could let loose a little. "Kick ass super friends!" She giggled as they headed up the row.
Levon He was content to let Emma lead the way. Half these clues were said in a language that was different from the English he grew up speaking. Elevator is a lift. Truck is a lorry. Bathroom is a loo. Maybe Dunn means brown. He didn't care. This was fun and he was eager to move forward.
"Word sistah!" he said to Skye. "I could go for a cold one."
Henri considers himself a better than average dancer and with some liquid encouragement in him, he says confidently, "I'm up for dancing. Long as it has a good beat to it."
It is not long before they arrive at the Dun Cow. They see the Medics team further along the street having just left. It looks likely that they all had a different start point but are following the same route. Makes sense as the pubs don't seem to be too far apart. The inn is full of character and historic charm, cosy but quite busy. Obviously popular. Off to one side of the main room sit a young lad and his pig tailed girlfriend, both dressed in black and white mime costumes, complete with white lips and gloves. They are grinning.
Enjoying the close company with Miranda as they walk to the Dun Cow, he pulls the card out from his pocket to give to the two mimes that are quickly giving him an uneasy feeling with how they are grinning. "Here it is. Ahh, so what's so funny tonight?"
"I'm out!" She laughed and headed straight for the bar. Oh, Skye loved to sing - but knew she was terrible...unless she was drunk. She shouted back, "Levon - use your talents here _and_ I'll by you a cold one!"
Skye reflected on how the two had met - at a bar where Levon was performing a short set. She had fallen a bit hard for him then. She sighed. She liked where they were at as friends. "No reason to fuck that up..." for...well enough said, Skye finished the thought.
Learning to be an audio engineer is a far cry from having the ability to sing without any of his voice AI synthesizer tools, so he simply says, "Leave me out of it. I'll have another drink."
He gives Miranda a considering look and says to her, "Well, if Levon is on guitar, you might convince me to do drums, but only if you're part of the band too."
She is obviously not sure and her eyes search out Emma's to see if she likes the idea.
There are no instruments around but from the nods to Miranda's earlier suggestion, it seems you are expected to play act, maybe even throwing in some improvised sound.
She had retreated to the bar and ordered a rye on the rocks and a water back. It was fun to see the gang from afar. They really were all great together, and the little lover connections were starting to fall in place. This was her last year. She was curious where they would all end up - including herself.
The drink arrived and she paid laid out the dosh...or was it sausage and mash -- she was still learning the idioms. Sipping the burning liquor, Skye took a look around as her friends lined up their "gig".
He opens his phone to look for some older top ten pop/dance titles from the brits while waiting to see what Miranda and Emma decide. Two big bands come to mind like the classics from the Beatles or Queen. There is also more from the pop and dance genre like: David Bowie, Pet Shop Boys, Robert Palmer, Fine Young Cannibals.
Henri looks up and scans the crowd trying to judge the average age. That should have a big impact on the judges by appealing to the crowd too.
Emma nods, thoughtfully. "A duet sounds good. Wish we had time to plan something but I do like L:iving on a Prayer. Sounds like a wonderful choice>" She grinned at her friend.
OOC: Sorry guys, have not been feeling the best the last couple of days and dropped the ball here.
Miranda looks around. "So Emma and I an vocals, Henri on drums, Levon on guitar, Skye is our 'groupie'. Ian do you fancy keyboard?"
She is feeling comfortable with this group now, happy to make suggestions. Turning to Emma, she quickly murmurs the lyrics so they are ready and then takes her position with Emma at the front, pretend mike held to her mouth.
NOTE:
Once upon a time, not so long ago Tommy used to work on the docks, union's been on strike He's down on his luck, it's tough, so tough Gina works the diner all day, working for her man She brings home her pay, for love, mmm, for love
She says, "We've gotta hold on to what we've got It doesn't make a difference if we make it or not We've got each other and that's a lot for love We'll give it a shot"
Whoa, we're half way there Whoa oh, livin' on a prayer Take my hand, we'll make it, I swear Whoa oh, livin' on a prayer
Henri can't believe he is going to play in a air band in front of a bunch of strangers. Quickly he plucks out his ear buds and unobtrusively finds the song on Spotify to quickly play just to have the main beat in his head. Then with a silly grin he looks to the rest of his players and does a fake three tap to signal the start of the song. He will try his best to keep the main song beat going without breaking out laughing as the whole thing.
As Emma strikes a pose she thought ABBA would have been a fun choice too, but everyone was more likely to know Livin' on a Prayer. As the others got into position, she waited for others to start the music and got ready to dive into the duet.
As Miranda began singing, Emma waited to jump in on the Gina part.
"Gina works the diner all day, working for her man She brings home her pay, for love, mmm, for love She says, "We've gotta hold on to what we've got It doesn't make a difference if we make it or not."
Her voice was firm with a wishful edge, hoping for a better life.
Then as they reach the chorus, Miranda joins in, trying to add some power into her voice, though it is louder with two of them singing. She tries to play off Emma, hoping it looks like they do this often.
Levon took off his jacket and hopped on stage with the gals and started playing his air guitar and anyone that knew the notes could see that his fingers were precisely like those as Richie Sambora, the guitarist that helped make the song famous. While he didn't look like Sambora, Levon had seen the video of Bon Jovi playing over and over. His hands moved up and down the guitar struts exactly as they would if he were playing the song on his guitar. What might have surprised the audience most was how he mouthed the guitar notes that he was playing.
The song is not overly complex as far as he can tell with the drums carrying the main beat while the bass, guitar, and synthesizers provide most of the songs flair. With that in mind, Henri will keep his air drumming pretty basic with little variances to strike a high symbol once in a while. With not being a drummer his timing is more than likely going to be out of sync with parts of the song.
[ooc: it will not be this good shown in this video ]
He went to the keyboard and cracked his knuckles, then started to tickle the ivories. While he had been drilled in the classics, he could play jazz or modern as it used to bother his father which was always a good thing for a rebellious teenager.
The improv band and the lively tune are popular with the patrons, who join in the chorus and clap along the the verses. Even Miranda raises her game as the audience give her confidence.
"Whoa, we're half way there Whoa oh, livin' on a prayer Take my hand, we'll make it, I swear Whoa oh, livin' on a prayer"
While he was full of nervous laughter at the start, seeing how the crowd is participating Henri will sing along too for the last chorus before he simply stops playing the drums and ends up clapping in praise to the true singers in their group.
She surveyed the scene - and took out her phone to record her friends singing and being silly. Skye set down her drink and moved closer. Everyone was having such a great. She panned the room, and started humming herself. **Oh. That's a bad sign! Next stop is singing!** Skye thought and giggled, before joining in loudly off-key:
As the song finishes, there is spontaneous applause from the locals who obviously enjoyed it. The two judges applaud too, silently in mime style. the pig-tailed girl smiles and holds out their card, marked with an 8! The boy bows and with a flourish produces an envelope. Inside is the clue.
He is happy to see their score of 8, hoping that a higher number is better than a low one. Emma is the master of knowing where to go with these clues so he asks, "Which pub is next Emma?"
Emma looks at the clue, and then shakes her head. "Honestly I am not sure. There are a few that might fit. Three Bridges, The Stonebridge and maybe The Bishop's Mill might fit the water/fish theme, but if it's something fishy, or rotten, in the state of Denmark, it would have to be The Shakespeare." She looks at the others. "That last one would be my choice, but it could go in a different direction."
If they take the clue literally then either of the pubs with 'bridge' in their name would be his guess, but that is still not enough to narrow down the choice to one pub.
"I think you're right Emma. It's got to be The Shakespeare."
Hopefully the rest will agree and they can get going.
She leaned in and nodded with Miranda. "It has to be Sardines. They are stinky, but tasty. How tricky is that to add it so tiny." Skye would have gotten more suspicious, based upon the Scooby Doo adventures, but the shot of whisky and singing had relaxed her to just have fun.
It is not too far. They get many glances and a lot of smiles from people they pass. Being a University city, the locals are used to see strangely dressed students, charity events and the like, and so are not surprised.
Once they arrive, they can see why it is called 'Tin of Sardines'. It is quite small with tables outside the venue. Sitting at one of them are three girls, all looking similar. Hair is in pig tails on each side of the head, each are dressed in what might be pyjamas, black with white polka dots.
All three wave in unison. Holding out a hand one of the three takes your card. Another says..
"We need you to choose 4 of your team and to form two human wheelbarrows. Then you need to race each other along the opposite pavement from one flag to the other."
He looks where the race is going to be, shakes his head, and comments, "Not a great idea racing on pavement if you ask me." Slightly drunk people doing a wheelbarrow race could very well end up with someone slipping and easily scrapping skin open on the hard pavement. "You have a first aid kit around if anyone hurts themselves?"
At the first reading of the gig, Skye immediately started figuring out who would make the best wheel based upon strength and weight -- figuring that the ratio made sense with her. But then she remembered what she and her fellow ladies were wearing -- and that would be perhaps a bit scandalous for these Brits! She also realized that she'd already had two...well, a shot and a half of whisky.
Fortunately, Henri was quick to not the dangers involved as well.
"Umm." Skye spoke up and address her friends. "Henri is right. This might be a wiser decision to take the drinks as a team...." she pointed out their costumes. Plus, she didn't seem to trust the three clown-girls. Maybe she shouldn't have had the whisky already - there was still a match in the morning.
Emma looks at her friends, a bit of a competitive streak in her. "I think it is possible to do this. They said we had to race each other, but not that we had to do it in a certain time. We can go slowly if you think that would help... Or," she turns to the judges, "You said we had to race from one flag to the other? Are those the only rules?"
"..I would say that 'race' by definition means fast. Seems that 2 of you are up for the challenge but you need another pair to form two wheelbarrows so you can race."
"Fine!" Skye didn't like to pull punches - or lose - and hated to be reminded of it even more. "I'm in too! Do the girls get extra points for stripping down to sleeker outfits? Or maybe the guys are on the bottom." She looked over at two of the judgy girls shaking their heads, and one considering it.
Hearing that they would get zero points would definitely put them behind the other teams, and he does not want to do that. Nodding to Miranda when she asks to team up, he figures if they do race at a moderate pace it should be okay. "Okay Miranda, let's do this!"
Henri takes a moment to think and then adds, "You know, usually the wheelbarrow falls apart when the person walking outpaces the person on their hands. We should see which one of us is the fastest on their hands first."
"Bonus points are always available if we are impressed."
With Skye, Emma, Levon, Miranda and Henri all willing, that is 2 and a half teams. It would be three if Ian joins in. Miranda and Henri start to practice as the others decide final placings.
Levon He thought of all the stupid things he could say in response to Skye's question. He liked her in ways he didn't think she liked him back. But being friends was more important than his natural desires so he suppressed the smug street thug answer and decided to let her decide. "Wherever you feel most comfortable. I don't mind being on top or the bottom. Why don't we practice and figure out what's the winning combo?"
Emma looked at Ian and then moved closer, her voice quiet enough for him to hear but not the others. "So what do you think? Practice or.... should we just go for it. It is the first team to get from one flag to the other and no rule saying that we all had to start at the same time to make it fair."
Practicing with Miranda, and Henri figures she is easily strong enough to hold half his weight since he is not an overly large man. With a grin he gets back on to his feet and looks at the rest and says, "We going to start this race now?"
At Henri's comment she grinned at Ian. "Just as well, I would have felt a... little... guilty about not being fair with the others. But, what can I say, I'm competitive."
The other two pairs were organizing fast, and Levon had that grin again. Skye looked down at her new outfit again and decided that she needed to compromise.
"I'll be on top. You aren't getting that easy a look... " She did wink knowing that the silliness of this and that they had shared sporting changing rooms, but she had gone all in on the scarlet satin theme. "I'm used to flipping you, using your own weight, but I think we can manage me holding up those thick legs across the street. Hand stand, now!"
Between the two of them they looked like a very long and tall wheelbarrow. "Dammit!" She realized that she still had the 4" Christian Louboutin knock-off heels on! She didn't have time to kick them of, as Em and Ian started off without warning. She put all her and Levon's weight on the balls of her feet - like a ballerina that could kick your ass - and barked instructions.
Ian and Emma might have started first but Henri & Miranda make a real effort and are catching up. Levon and Skye fall at the first hurdle as Skye's heel catches in a crack in the pavement and she has to drop Levon in order to catch herself from falling over.
The first two teams cross the flag line simultaneously in a head to head finish, to the applause from the three girls and echoing cries of 'exciting', 'close', 'so funny' as they watch in safety from the other side of the road.
As they tumbled and Levon pointed out the obvious right before they fell, Skye was caught between fightin', crying' and laughin'. She let Levon's legs fall and caught herself before she fell over and actually hurt herself seriously. She decided on the latter response as she offered a hand to her friend.
"Frack! I don't know....they look sexy...it's just that kinda week." She laughed and offered a hand to her big man friend. "I'm sorry."
Catching up to Ian and Emma, he give his all into trying to win the race, but it is too close from his perspective if they did cross the line first or not. Visibly flush with exertion, Henri pops up to his feet and hugs Miranda, taking her off her feet with an exuberant twirl and yelling, "We won!!" Stopping he sets Miranda back on her feet and turns to their judges asking in a slightly quieter voice, "Right?"
Emma laughed as they crossed the line together, two teams simultaneously. "Well, we could not have planned that better if we tired, well done everyone!"
"Congrats you all!" She made her way over to the winners, smiling, though just a little miffed at herself. "Perhaps I'll keep with the martial arts...though probably not in heels either!"
Levon "No apologies needed. I should have just told you to make believe you were holding my feet and ran over there on my hands. My fault. Heels usually make you look sexy," he snickered. "So lead us to Bishop's Mill!"
As they leave the Tin of Sardines, they spot another group approaching. It is the team of hippies from Newcastle. They receive some waves, peace signs and calls of 'Groovy' and such like. Maybe the Hippie team are fast or maybe their time has slowed. Certainly they have not spotted the 'Medical' team that was ahead of them previously.
Using their map, they head for the Bishop's Mill.
This is a very modern bar with a jazzy outside seating area, mainly for smokers. A few are there taking advatange. No sign of anyone wearing black and white though. So they head inside where they are met by a black and white cow, preumably with two people inside.
The Korean-American girl scrunched her nose. She hated riddles. Or more specifically, the little puzzles drove her crazy because there should always be more than one answer. But, she also had a wealth of literary references. Skye thought she'd read this one somewhere. **Where...think....**
"Is it..." She paused, doubting herself before blurting to her friends. "A candle?"
He was thinking on the first riddle that it might be a old style pencil, but Skye correctly guessed it to be a candle which also makes a lot of sense too.
The second riddle was tougher. Any number of silly questions could be posed that involved yourself prior to your birth. The answer to the riddle must be some sort of trick question, but Henri can not figure it out.
He smiled at Skye getting the first answer and then pondered the second. It had to be one that you could only answer "No" to which means that you would not be able to say the word "Yes".
The third riddle is easier than the second one for him, as it alludes to something intangible. A couple of answers come to mind and says to the cow, "Must be someone's pride or heart that is broken?"
She was having a blast with her friends, even with the silly questions. But did kinda feel bad for the "hosts".
"Thanks for mooooving us on." Yeah it was terrible, but Skye followed up. "What can I bring back to the cow team? Seriously, my treat. Thanks for the hard work tonight."
He laughs at Skye's bad joke nonetheless, and sighs when he hears that he has to get a drink for giving a wrong answer. Knowing that Emma also gave a wrong answer to save time he will ask, "Emma, I can grab you a drink from the bar too?"
"That's mooost generous of you. Mine's a pint of heavy."
"Cider for me" comes the muffled response as the back end wriggles so that the 'cow' parts company in the middle and a small girl with pigtails stands there smiling at them. The front lifts off his head.
"Can I have a small cider too please?" Miranda smiles at Henri. "Thirsty work all this riddling and racing!"
She looks over the drinks and gets a cider as well. Lifting the glass, she smiles at her friends. "To the best, to the brightest... to all of those who have a .... CLUE ... how to have fun!"
He returns with drinks with one for himself and joins in the toast raising his glass and saying "Salut!"
Henri finishes his pint a little too quickly, and is starting to get a pleasant buzz on his fourth drink of the night. He hopes he does not have to take too many more drinks if he is going to survive the rest of this pub challenge.
He asks the group with a flushed face, "How many more pubs do we have left?"
She grinned at the volunteer cows and grabbed drinks for them -- and a bartender's ginger ale for herself. She handed them over and then joined her friends. Oh! Skye loved Mina's bad pun and giggled with the rest of them. And then the cows said there were more.
"Sigh." Skye dramatically said aloud. "How the hell am I to balance a party and winning tomorrow?"
"Competing? Lord no. That is not to say I don't admire those that do. I think my athleticism is limited to the front end of a cow. And the name's Paul. Perhaps I'll come and watch you, assuming that would be welcome?"
"And I'm Amanda."
His companion chirps up.
"That's why we volunteered to help with the treasure hunt, supporting the athletes. But it is so hot in that costume!"
Amanda smiles at Paul before turning back to Emma and Levon.
"Well day off tomorrow though I think Hilary has some stuff planned. Said something about swimming and such. Then we have two knock out rounds next two days. A day of recovery, then finals. That right Paul?"
He nods.
"And I'm not going to give you the inside info on our team, wouldn't be loyal now would it? But Amir from Newcastle and Natalie from Teeside are the ones our guys are looking out for. Though two of you, Levon and Guy are rated pretty high."
She looks at the males to see if any are owning up to those names.
She shook Paul's hand and smiled at his flirty forwardness to ask if they could come watch. **That has to be a come on...He is cute though.* Skye thought. And then Amanda popped up. **But she's cuter...and hot...**
"Sure..you both can...Amanda." Skye barely got it out before Levon bust in. Was he jealous? **Oh, girl get over yourself.** Skye took another sip of her drink -- oh, she had ordered another whisky. Bad girl. Now she was thinking naughty thoughts about the locals as Emma and Levon chatted up to get information.
He didn't want to comment in reply to Paul, but he did. "I guess we'll find out," he simply quipped. "I'm that Levon dude and I'm better at riddles than that other stuff."
To any around that paid any attention, it was clear he was nursing his drink.
The weather is still lovely although the sun is starting to sink down in the sky. Still there should be 1-2 hours of daylight left. Buoyed by the exchange with Paul and Amanda, in addition to their good showing in the riddle solutions, spirits are high in the team. Across the road they spot the medical team, heading back the way they had just come. The mood there seems very different as they are walking in two distinct pairs with no conversation between them.
Levon "Steady girl. You're teetering! Am I gonna have to carry you and tuck you in again? I just don't wanna have to wait for you to finish praying to the porcelain throne."
He wasn't annoyed, just teasy. It wasn't the first time that Skye's been more than tipsy. He was used to her antics. It was his resolve to remain sober.
She stuck her tongue out petulantly at him. Then laughed. "I'll be good. Very good." She winked at the siblings as they headed off to the train station. It was fun to play Four Drink Amy sometimes.
It didn't take long for them to get to the next pub. She waved to the Medical Team just for spite, but felt lucky that she was with her friends. She would have to stick with water for the next few rounds though, she had to admit to herself.
Maybe they didn't see her but no-one returns Skye's wave. Then they disappeared around the corner and the Clue team were entering their next location. They are greeeted by three clowns in black and white outfits, two boys at the front and a girl at the back, though it is hard to see past all that white face paint and the large red noses. The girl at the back is holding a large bunch of baloons filled presumably with helium as they are floating.
The first boy grins.
"OK, you can have up to three baloons, each for a different person. Point for each that you burst with your bare hands. Who wants one?"
Em scrutinizes the balloons looking for one that might be filled just a touch more than the others, or at the very least avoiding the ones that were not filled as much. "Oh I will take that lavender one," she says, indicating the one in question.
[OOC: Weeee I did it! 2024-03-20 21:36:27 Emma Balloon Popping Mina rolled d6 and got 5]
Emma
Whether it was the static, or the fact that her clutch was particularly forceful... the balloon exploded with a satisfying >POP<. "Well that is one down."
He gives a small pout to Miranda's for her laughing at him and says with a determined grin, "Ok let's try this together... You hold it like that at the end and I'll compress it like so."
Yet, it seems the pretty pink balloon evades his poor balloon popping technique even with Miranda's help.
"For the love of god, this is stupid! Skye? Ian? You want to try?"
"Is it cheating if I use my nails?" She flashed the fake nails she'd put on for the evening along with a wicked grin. "I can try as well, otherwise." She reached and pointed out a dark red balloon.
He watches the others make their attempt and selects a red balloon when it is his turn. Using both hands, he tries squeezing from the bottom up, hoping that pressure will help burst it but in the end is unsuccessful.
"Looks like we are heading back to the college!" Em was surprised, the pub crawl did not have as much alcohol involved as she had thought it might. Still, they had done a fine showing. Then she tossed a saucy wink at the boy with the balloons. "By the way, thanks for the compliment on my genes... yours are not that bad either."
He shrugs his shoulders at Levon's jibe, briefly feeling some chagrin about it Henri quickly decides not to let it get to him. Turning his frown to a smile Henri vaguely remembers some lines from a chorus from some old-timer song:
Now don't be sad Cause two out of three ain't bad Now don't be sad, cause two out of three ain't bad
Unconsciously humming the tune that is about to become an ear worm, his mood lightens up and will follow along heading back to the college grounds.
She had popped the balloon with her fingernails in satisfaction after a moment pressing and pulling it apart. No points, but that was fun. She grinned and flashed the scarlet tips. After Henri's turn, it all seemed to wrap up with Levon bellowing to marshaling them back to campus. Until Em started flirting with balloon boy. Skye hung back with her fashionista friend and then gently collected her by the arm as they cooed at each other.
"Now kids. There'll be time for that in a bit. Let's keep with the team for now." She giggled as they got a few steps away and at the back of their group. "Em! You naughty girl. Seems we're all on the prowl..."
The reply follows her out of the door. They consult their map and work out the quickest way back to the campus.
They are perhaps 5 - 10 minutes away when they hear sounds of an argument up ahead. First impressions is that it is not in English. Secondly that they cannot see anyone in the street but are then aware of an entranceway ahead and to their right. This is where the voices are coming from.
[OOC: Quick clarifications - male and/or female voices? You seem to indicate too far away to know the language - unless there is someone in our group that speaks it.]
He looks towards the large entranceway where the raised voices are coming from and says, "Don't understand what's being said, but sounds like someone is not happy."
Curiosity does take him to walk towards the entranceway to take a look and see what is up.
Emma looks at the others, and at Henri's departing backside. "Well... " She starts to follow along, pulling out her phone and flipping on the camera to record, just in case. She could use it to make a call, or if something was going wrong up ahead the footage might be useful.
She would have been happy to just pass along whatever fracas was happening, because she didn't hear a woman's voice and figured it was just some drunk local men. But, as her friends edged forward out of curiosity, her protective nature took hold again.
"Levon. Don't let them wander too far in." She spun him towards Henri, and nodded towards Em with her phone at the ready.
Levon He moved forward to follow Henri, not resisting Skye's nudge but spun around an extra time to say "I'm the one who's gonna get in trouble, you know!"
As Henri looks around the corner, his eyes interpret the scene as two doctors having a big argument, one likely to erupt into a fight. Then he realises that he recognises the two faces, those guys from the 'medical' team who are also on the pub treasure hunt. No sign of the others on the team though.
As Henri looks around the corner, Emma stands out of sight and extends her phone past the corner so that it could record whatever Henri is seeing. Hopefully they were just being silly, but truly it was worth it to be cautious... just in case.
After all, you can't make an omelet without breaking eggs, every cook will tell you that. But... Look what happened to the cook!
Recognizing the same two from the medical team, his curiosity is satisfied so he turns around and walks back to where Emma is standing while keeping out of sight of them too now. Henri did not understand a word that they were saying, so it makes little sense to get involved.
"It's just those two doctors from the medical team group. Both look like they're ready to hit each other. Might as well just stay out of it and get back to the campus."
Here he was going to just walk away, yet Henri realizes with Levon interjecting like that to them was probably the smartest thing to do. Henri hopes that since one of them took the time to stop arguing to answer Levon, then perhaps both will take a breath and realize physical violence is not an answer to whatever the disagreement is about.
"I only hear one of you," he says moving forward. He had seen the two doctors already and was trying to determine who said what. "Why don't you both come out here and tell me that?"
Levon "Hey, I know you! I'm Levon, what were your names again?" his New York City urban accent is thick as he flashes a big smile at them and takes a step closer.
As Levon steps forward, she steps back keeping the pain the line of video... and hits the button to start uploading the feed to the Cloud, making sure to get what was already recorded as well as what might come next uploaded as it happens.
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She didn't have time to kick them of, as Em and Ian started off without warning. She put all her and Levon's weight on the balls of her feet - like a ballerina that could kick your ass - and barked instructions. ![[Linked Image]](https://www.dreamlyrics.com/forums/gallery/725/full/18629.jpg)
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