A Trail of Shinies

[Liou]

You've reached the end of a row of houses and turned into a less well-lit street. It's a long, darkened stretch with a car park. You keep your eyes peeled for the next lights and decorations that might beckon trick-or-treaters.

The flicker is so small that you nearly miss it. The tiny twinkle, upon closer look, is winking from the inside of a skull. Something else glimmers near it. You pick up a chocolate coin, a cold, heavy, oddly realistic one. A few more are scattered on the ground, on the path leading up to the house. These decorations are so lazy that it's almost like they didn't really want anyone to notice them.

That's not a house at all, though. It's the old swimming pool. You thought it had been closed for years. More lights seem to be flickering lazily inside, so it must have reopened for the night. You decide to follow the trail of definitely chocolate coins.

The entrance of the pool smells chlorinated and feels heated as it should, and the floor is slightly damp in places, as it should be. Behind the front desk is a very bored-looking, muscular woman. She looks up from a waterlogged fashion magazine and frowns at you, then shrugs.

"They didn't give me a list but if you found your way here, I guess you're supposed to be here."

She grabs a skeleton arm and uses it to reach over the desk for the coin you're still holding. As she stretches, a large, finned tail splashes out of a basin and peeks out from behind the desk, tilting to keep her balance. She checks your coin and gives a nod. She pilfers a torn, already-used swimming pool card from somewhere on the desk, slams a stamp haphazardly onto it and chucks it at you with the skeleton arm.

"Enjoy the party and all."

There are entrances to various locker rooms on the sides of the hall, but the door that leads straight to the pool itself behind the desk is open, and the mermaid certainly doesn't seem to care if you go through there. A few translucent lights appear above your head, drift across the room and vanish through that opening, bobbing in midair like jellyfish.

1) Go through locker room
2) Head to main pool
3) Head to kiddy pool and lazy river
4) Head to jacuzzi

5) Head to slides

6) Head to deep diving pool

[Gelquie]

The corporeal-but-formless-ghost-of-former-Gelquie approaches the pool with caution, but stares in awe at the mermaid before them all during her routine, barely managing to catch the swimming pool card.

"...So, I know I'm in costume, and shouldn't look into the future like this, but I haven't met a lot of mermaids," they say with mild intrigue. "I know a few myself; maybe you know each other?"

While waiting for the mermaid's possible reply, the being looks around at the possible places to go, as well as the lights bobbing through. They stare transfixed, having not seen any place like this before. They knew they should probably change into a swimsuit, but... well, they're ghost-like anyway. They'd manage. They figured they'd start easy, and so after whatever the mermaid said next, they prepared themselves to go to the slides (5).

[June Scarlet]

A girl says, "Thanks," to the Mermaid.

She decides to head to the kiddy pool and lazy river, as she's not really dressed for swimming. Before she heads that way, she takes off her brown boots, so she can at least wade through the water when she gets there.

[Liou]

Gelquie The mermaid blinks up from her magazine and takes a moment to register what you said. "I 'unno, if you want to mingle, see if you know anybody in there." She waves over her shoulder.

The floor around the indoor pool is tiled in a pattern designed to look like natural stone. The basins are surrounded by curving hedges of tropical plants. The plants seem unpruned and have dropped leaves everywhere, but seem to be thriving in spite of lack of care.

There are slides! A twisting, partly-covered serpentine slide, and a pair of vertiginous straight slides. More importantly, there is no queue whatsoever anywhere in sight. The slides are yours, and yours only.
You found a large swim ring! In... decent condition. It might help on the slides.

* Go down a slide!
* Sit near the bottom of the slides.
* Check out one of the other pools.



June Scarlet Near the kiddy pool is a splash area with an entire array of water features, jets, trees, pretty mushrooms, a rainbow. It's a good thing all of those are off and none are currently spraying you with water.
Oh no! Right as you walk past it, a stream of water bursts out of a nozzle and goes straight for your perfectly dry costume!

"Boo! Aha! Nearly got you there!"

The water has stopped an inch from you and a burbling voice is speaking from it. The water leans back and shapes itself into a snakey face with large, glistening eyes. A forked tongue of water flickers mockingly at you, spraying just a few droplets.

"Don't worry, I'll spare your outfit. Hold on, I'll get you something to make up for the surprise!"

The water snake slithers back into its pipe. The whole thing wobbles for a moment, followed by the entire installation, and you could swear the wobbling can be heard from a much more distant place. After a minute, the snake's head pops back out and laboriously pulls something else out of the nozzle, inch by inch. With one final tug, the water snake drops it at your feet. You got

A Tree-Patterned Shower Curtain

It looks like it was ripped from someone's bathroom and pulled through a series of tubes.
Hope no one was in the bathroom when that happened.

* Check out the other water features.
* Check out the lazy river.
* Check out another pool.

[June Scarlet]

The costumed girl picks up the Tree-Patterned Shower Curtain, "Thank you, it's lovely. I've been drawing a lot of trees myself this month, I guess I'm getting known for them now or something."

She tries to fold the shower curtain neatly, but it's a bit big for one person to manage. She drapes it over one shoulder instead.

"It was a fun surprise, thanks again. I suppose I'll go check out the other water features now, see if there's a place to wade, or someone to help me fold this shower curtain."

[Liou]

June Scarlet In the middle of the water jets and the child-sized rope bridges reminiscent of a lair for tiny pirates, you find a little house. It easily draws your attention due to the bubbles that keep drifting up from it. The squeaks and honks are helping too.
As you come closer, a horselike head pops out of the house, and then the rest of a horse.
Uh oh. It looks like one of those water horses, the bad ones that bite your hand and lure you into water. It's got seaweed in its mane and all.

This one trots out playfully. It's tiny. It's just a little kelpie foal. In its mouth, it's holding a rubber duck and waving it wildly from side to side, which is the source of the constant squeaking.
The kelpie foal skips up to you, tosses the ducky at your feet and runs around the play area expectantly, hopping over the water features like an obstacle course and ready to catch the toy.

[downrightdude]

Snaw heads to the main pool, certain that being a stunning Mermaid Princess will aid with the swimming. And there could be treasure lying at the bottom of the pool, which could make Snaw richer than all astronauts!

Jumping into the pool, Snaw is pleased to see the mermaid tail had taken shape, thus allowing Snaw to swim swiftly towards the deeper end. If there was any treasure or other shiny things to find, Snaw was going to claim them to take over the world!

[June Scarlet]

The costumed girl picks up the rubber ducky hesitantly. Kelpies are dangerous, but this one is pretty cute.

She ends up throwing the ducky as far as she can, and then walking the opposite direction, towards the lazy river. Wouldn't want to stick around for the parents to show up.

She glances back, though, to see if the foal caught the toy.

[Gelquie]

The being looks around them. It doesn't seem to be in the best of care, but maybe that was just their aesthetic? After all, at least one mermaid was here in this place, and she did mention a party. So perhaps everything was good to go?

Besides, they were used to conditions like these. And to them, it all looked quite pretty.

They examine the slides for a time, seeing where they go, in case of any dead ends. Then they take the swim ring and go up to one of the straight slides. Truthfully, the serpentine one held their attention more, but one must test with a simpler slide first.

[Liou]

downrightdude
The most stunning of mermaid princesses soars sparklefully above the pool and plummets right into a net! The offending tangle bursts from the pool and suddenly closes, leaving Snaw's majesty to dangle most unceremoniously.
Below this egregious indignity, in lieu of treasure, a few plastic chairs and a plastic table float atop the pool along with inflatable pool animals. On these furnishings sit a gaggle of weathered, bejeweled skeletons, with a game of cards between them and a pile of shinies abandoned mid-count.

"Yarr, our nets have caught the little varmint! This be a shindig of the private sort, trespasser."

"Not sure, Dembones," says a second skeleton. "Nobody be findin' this place without th' right map. What say ye, princess? Have an invite?"

However shall Snaw convince these scallywags that the magnificent princess is meant to be here?



June Scarlet
The kelpie foal runs off after the ducky! When it comes back and doesn't find you, it drops the duck and waits dolefully.

What's left of the lazy river drifts slowly through its meanders. So. Slowly.
An inflatable raft floats past you, holding up a limp skeleton. It looks like it could have been drifting there for ages, on this neverending river - oh, no, the skeleton is stirring.

"Heeeey," it says, looking upside-down at you, with a huge yawn. "Hey! Can you reach the... the tray theeere?"
One of its bony hands lifts, with what seems like great effort, to point at the little bar in the center of the river. There is a tray of drinks and snacks, ready and waiting, right across the water. Not too far, really, if you can be bothered to stretch. "Have to deliver for... mermaid party..."

Off by the jacuzzi, a ladylike silhouette is leaning out and waving impatiently.



Gelquie
The ghost of former Gelquie very easily slides down the slide! Whee! It is a very slippery slide and you zoom down smoothly - until something jerks you back hard, nearly knocking the breath out of you. You are dangling over the water, being held by the swim ring and maybe also by the back of your outfit.
Twisting around a little, you might see that the slide has also twisted, and a very dragonlike mouth at the base of it has grabbed you before you could fall.

"Careful gnere!" says the conveniently slide-shaped concave serpent through a mouthful of swim ring. "The phool ish halfh empthy..."

The other half of the straight slide shudders awake and a second dragonlike head pops up. "Assuredly not! It is half full at the very least. And that swim ring is from my stash. Come, I shall set you in the better half of the pool."

There are now two serpent politely but firmly trying to tug you to their side.

"I have marvelous uplifting devices," says the second serpent.

"I keep treasures of the deep," rumbles the first serpent to grab you.

[June Scarlet]

"I guess I could help," she tells the skeleton. "I was tricked earlier, you know, so I'm a bit cautious, but I came here to try new things."

She sets down the shower curtain, and reaches over to grab the tray, careful not to lean too far over. "How deep is this river anyway? Maybe I could just wade across."

[Liou]

June Scarlet
The skeleton lets out a loud snore, already drifting away.
The kelpie foal, meanwhile, has sadly shuffled off to the river. It stands a respectful distance from you, giving you a sad, lonely side eye. It hops into the water, leaving the duck behind, and begins to swim across. Judging from how it leapt in, the water would reach more than waist height for you.

* Try to make kelpie fetch the tray for you
* Distract kelpie with duck again and just wade across

[June Scarlet]

"Oh, Hello again," she says to the Kelpie Foal. She notices that its always part of the way towards the tray. Getting an idea, she throws the rubber duck once more, this time aiming for the tray. She doesn't know how a Kelpie could get the tray for her, but it's worth a shot! Plus, she can't help feeling sorry for the poor thing.

[downrightdude]

*Liou

Using the power of a French manicure, Snaw rips through the net and soars gracefully toward the water. While swimming in circles around the pool, Snaw shouts, "Now you've done it, evil granola bars! Pitchi Pitchi Voice Live Start!"

There may not be any treasure around here, but Snaw is pleased to send a message of pain and destruction to these two pirate losers.

[Gelquie]

Oct 30, 2019 18:10:55 GMT -5 Liou said:

Gelquie
The ghost of former Gelquie very easily slides down the slide! Whee! It is a very slippery slide and you zoom down smoothly - until something jerks you back hard, nearly knocking the breath out of you. You are dangling over the water, being held by the swim ring and maybe also by the back of your outfit.
Twisting around a little, you might see that the slide has also twisted, and a very dragonlike mouth at the base of it has grabbed you before you could fall.

"Careful gnere!" says the conveniently slide-shaped concave serpent through a mouthful of swim ring. "The phool ish halfh empthy..."

The other half of the straight slide shudders awake and a second dragonlike head pops up. "Assuredly not! It is half full at the very least. And that swim ring is from my stash. Come, I shall set you in the better half of the pool."

There are now two serpent politely but firmly trying to tug you to their side.

"I have marvelous uplifting devices," says the second serpent.

"I keep treasures of the deep," rumbles the first serpent to grab you.

The being hangs there uncomfortably as they're tugged from either side, but nevertheless looks down at the pool below.

"Well, half empty, half full, or just half, I guess the real point is whether there's enough water to cushion me, right? Which I guess you're presuming there's not? In which case, I suppose I should thank you for saving me, so thank you."

They ponder a moment. "Hm. I'm rather curious. Can I see the devices first?"