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 Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2025 12:41 pm
Quote: Destiny City is a large place, with a large population. It’s not uncommon to find a lost item here or there. Maybe a keychain, an earring, a book. But, a six sided die? That’s different. While traveling through Destiny City, you find a strange little object. It looks like old, stained wood, but something shiny in it catches your eye. How could you resist picking it up? But then, maybe you've found one of these dice before. Maybe you remember the Gameboard, already.
That's okay.
Even if you know better than to pick it up, all you have to do is look at it, and it's ensnared you. Again.It looks like a normal die in terms of shape, and each side has a gilded number, one through six, carved into it. The most interesting part of it all is that the dice seems to be made of old, stained wood with fossilized opal throughout the whole piece. Something about it called to you, and now that it has your attention, a harsh wind slams into you. Darkness falls all around you–and then, slowly, a path illuminates. It’s black all around you; there’s no light, but you can see clearly marked spaces. A line of squares unwind in front of you, each clearly marked. You can’t see anything around you, can’t feel anything else–just the gameboard. And the die. Whether its in your hand or on the ground where you left it, it's there with you. Even if you don’t recognize the game, you don’t really need instructions to know how to play–you have a die, and you have a path. In the distance, you can barely make out a dark wooden platform at the end of the path, but it seems to have the same fossilized opal inlay as the die–and pretty golden symbols along the rim. You can’t step out of your square. Trying to leave the gameboard results in you walking to an invisible barrier and it feels like slamming into a glass wall. You cannot leave your space–unless the die says you can. If you want to get out of here, you’re going to have to roll your way there–but it isn’t so easy. Strange gold markings differ from one square to the next. There’s no telling what they mean–you’re going to have to land on them to find out. Though, judging by the tension in the air, it’s probably not going to be anything good.
As the Dark Mirror Senshi picked up the die and turned it over in his hands to inspect it, admiring the stained wood and fossilized opal with gilded numbers, he felt a sudden wind slam into him, knocking the air from his lungs, and immediately thought he was under attack. Which, he realized later, in a way, he was.
Everything went dark and at first he thought he had gotten knocked out, but then, slowly, a path began to light up before him. Everywhere else around him remained pitch black except for the illuminated path. Furthermore, the path was broken up into squares - squares like on a game board.
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Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2025 12:50 pm
Quote: Space 0:You have arrived here; nothing happens until you roll your die.
As he squinted into the darkness ahead, the senshi thought he saw the pathway end at a dark, wooden platform with fossilized opal inlay - the same material that the die he had found was made of. Just like the gold numbers on the die, there were gold symbols on the edge of the platform too, it looked like. Perhaps he was supposed to get there in order to escape this strange place - which meant he had to travel the entire path.
This scenario reminded him of the story called Jumanji with a cursed game board and he didn't like the ominous feeling it was giving him; nor the tension in the air. The path looked innocent enough, but Sinope knew looks could be deceiving and he had no doubt something would happen when he landed on the marked squares. They shone with their own strange, gold markings too, after all. Still, with no other obvious options, Sinope knelt down and attempted to roll the six-sided die, careful to see what number it landed on.
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Kitomyx rolled 1 6-sided dice:
1
Total: 1 (1-6)
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Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2025 12:55 pm
Quote: Space 1:You feel eyes upon you, and hear a faint chuckling, like you’re the butt of someone’s joke. It sets a bad mood for the rest of this game; you’re already being judged–and, it looks like a long road ahead.
Games, though, generally had rules and were not unfair, so Sinope wasn't discouraged. He didn't mind being judged; not when he was determined to play the game well and beat whoever was chuckling at him at their own game. It reminded him of tricksters that liked to play games with others. All he had to do to win this game, though, it seemed, was to survive long enough to get to the wooden platform at the end of the path. He still had a long way to go, but some progress was better than none.
Trying to remain an optimist, Sinope counted the number of squares ahead of him that made up the path to the platform at the end. 20 squares, including the one he was standing on just then. That wasn't so bad. He could make it. In fact, if anything, this felt like a chance to prove himself.
"Bring it on," he muttered with a grin and rolled the die again.
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Kitomyx rolled 1 6-sided dice:
4
Total: 4 (1-6)
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Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2025 1:03 pm
Quote: Space 5:A dog barks, fierce and frightening. You can hear its growl and the hackles stand up on the back of your neck. You can practically feel spittle on you. It’s close. And it’s big. And it’s angry. If this beastly dog could reach you, no doubt it would try to tear you to shreds.
Krav maga might have been useless on the beast if it simply decided to bite whatever limb he tried to strike out at it with. There wouldn't have been any space or way to run from it, either, since the square seemed to prevent him from moving unless he rolled his die.
Shuddering at the thought of what the dog probably could have been capable of doing to him, Sinope quickly reached to roll the die again in the hopes of moving on before the canine could reach him.
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Kitomyx rolled ` 6-sided dice:
Total: 0 (0-0)
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Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2025 6:05 am
((EDIT: 1/14/2026 - Finally edited in the response to the prompt.))
Unfortunately for Sinope, despite reaching for the die, he missed it. While he struggled to feel around for it, he couldn't help glancing around between his glances at the ground, wondering if he would be able to catch a glimpse of the creature - probably a canine - that was so viciously barking at him before he caught a glimpse of the die he was feeling for.
Stories of dogs such as the Hound of the Baskervilles or grims or hellhounds or grytrashes started filling his head from his memories. Dogs that foretold death and destruction. He didn't want to stick around long enough to have to see any of those; not when they were such bad omens even symbolically.
Ah-ha! There it was; it had landed in the corner. Lowering himself slowly, as if any sudden movement might have triggered the barking dog to actually attack, the Dark Mirror Senshi eventually managed to grasp the die, pick it up, and actually roll this time.
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Kitomyx rolled 1 6-sided dice:
4
Total: 4 (1-6)
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Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2025 6:10 am
Quote: Space 9:The smell of saltwater fills the air, and you can hear the water lapping against the shore. You hear boards creaking, and bells in the distance. And then, a song. Haunting. Ghostly, and calling you. For a second, you fall in love. And then, water fills your lungs. You’re choking, you can’t breathe. The song is loud and seems to caress you, even as a wet chill gathers in your square. Scaly hands reach for you, you gently caressing, and try to lure you into an endless sleep.
As soon as the scent of saltwater reached his nose and the noises of creaking boards, bells, and lapping water reached his ears, Sinope knew he was in trouble. He felt almost as if the square he was standing on was adrift at sea when the sound of a haunting song began to reach for him like tendrils of music that chilled him with fear, causing him to shiver. Sirens. What he must have been hearing had to be siren song.
Then, worse, he felt the grasp of an emotion that felt like love, transforming his fear to horror even as it began to be smothered with his new feelings of infatuation. He didn't want to be in love; he never had. And he had read enough stories, especially ones about sailors at sea, to be aware that what he was feeling - love or not - would lead him to his doom if he didn't do something about it quickly. He had to resist.
Lulling him into a false sense of security like a warm, heavy blanket, Sinope felt like scaly hands were pulling him down underneath comfortable covers - only as soon as his head dipped below those covers, his lungs began to feel like they were filling with saltwater and he was choking on it, unable to breathe. Panic caused him to struggle even as the scaly hands continued to try to soothe and caress him like they were trying to assure him everything was alright. But he knew better.
Feeling around for the die, Sinope was just about to reach his limit lacking air when his fingers closed over the tiny object and he tossed it in order to be able to leave that dreaded space on the gameboard.
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Kitomyx rolled 1 6-sided dice:
5
Total: 5 (1-6)
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Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2025 6:13 am
Quote: Space 14:The ground is sticky. You land on this and immediately dip, as though you’ve stepped on a trampoline. Close inspection reveals that you are standing on an intricately woven web–and your shoes are stuck. And something is skittering just on the horizon.
With an immense gasp for air, Sinope managed to make it to the 14th space after rolling a five and collapsed onto it, choking, sputtering, and coughing up water. He was soaked to the bone, but at least whatever he had landed on was...springy?
The senshi's eyes widened as he wiped off and wrung out what excess water he could from his person and examined the ground on which he had thrown himself. It was sticky and difficult to move around on. Since he had thrown himself onto the space after having fled the ninth one, almost his whole body was stuck to what appeared to be a very intricately woven web.
Looking up slowly, he though he saw something skitter out the corner of his eye and swallowed hard. If there were was a giant spider around, he needed to roll the die and try to get free of the sticky space before it reached him. Luckily he still had one of his hands closed around the precious die, so he lifted his arm just enough to be able to drop it and hope it didn't get too stuck on the webbing, too.
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Kitomyx rolled 1 6-sided dice:
3
Total: 3 (1-6)
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Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2025 6:15 am
Quote: Space 17:Something howls in the distance. It’s loud and echoes with such ferocity it seems to shake you. On the other side of you–another howl. Closer. This one is loud enough to hurt your ears. The ground trembles with the force of something charging at you. A growl, a snarl. Yellow eyes staring you down. There’s not just one monster out there–there’s several, and they’re all coming for you.
Three spaces wasn't much of a move, but it was enough to get away from the web and the threat of the spider that came with it, so Sinope wasn't about to complain. He tore free of the webbing that stuck to his body and clothes, still dripping wet with seawater from the siren space, certain he must have looked like a huge mess. He was cold, wet, shivering, and paranoid about what to expect next since each space, no matter which he landed on, seemed to threaten danger of some kind; some more hazardous or frightening than others.
Before he could catch his breath and wonder what the 17th space had in store for him, a howl sounded in the distance, causing him to start and tense. Its reverberation felt like it shook him to his very core. And as if that wasn't enough, another howl answered it on Sinope's other side, this time paining his ears with its volume. Just how close were these beasts? And how many of them were there?
He felt the ground beneath him shake just like he had been shaken, but this time it was with the repetative impact of the creatures - wolves? - charging in his direction rather than mere howls. It was followed by growling and snarling, but unlike on the fifth space where Sinope only heard animal sounds without seeing the sources themselves, this time, a pair of yellow eyes revealed themselves as they watched him. Then he noticed another pair. And another.
Determined not to give them a chance to chase him, hunt him, and corner him as a pack before ripping out his throat, Sinope picked up his die and rolled it in order to get to the next space.
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Kitomyx rolled 1 6-sided dice:
1
Total: 1 (1-6)
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Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2025 6:17 am
Quote: Space 18:You smell something poison, something noxious. You pass through a haze of strange, green gas as you enter the square, but it fades after a few seconds. You feel cold. You feel empty. You start to decay. Maybe a part of you knows it’s an illusion, but in that split second when your body feels like it might go limp and when you look at your hand and see skin melting. You see bone. You’d best roll the dice so you don’t wind up a skeleton prop for the next player.
The next space Sinope landed on was only one space beyond the previous as if the gameboard was trying to prolong his suffering for as much as possible. Still, he was just as grateful as he was to be free of the last space as he had been for most of the spaces before. He just couldn't bring himself to relax or even be too relieved because he knew something else would be soon to come; another obstacle or hardship for him to endure.
The first thing he noticed while on the 18th space was the smell. The odor was noxious; something poisonous. It happened as he entered the new square and passed through a hazy wall of green gas that had had to be the source of the poisonous smell. Initially after stepping through the haze, Sinope thought he might have started choking and dying, but the gas disappeared after a few seconds. It wasn't until the cold of being wet got even colder and he started feeling empty that he realized something more was seriously wrong.
His body started to feel weak, like his muscles would collapse any second and he wouldn't have been able to stand on his own. Looking down at his hand, he saw skin and flesh melting right off his bones and silent horror overtook him. Even if it might have just been an illusion, it was nightmarishly disturbing to witness. With a sudden rush of vigor, Sinope rolled the die still in his palm, eager to get off the board as soon as possible. He just had to roll a two or higher and then, hopefully, he would be free.
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Kitomyx rolled 1 6-sided dice:
6
Total: 6 (1-6)
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Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2025 6:19 am
Quote: Space 20:The end; once you have arrived here you are free to leave. You will see be basked in the glow of a beautiful, opalescent aura that will take you back home. If you arrived with a guest, you can leave without them or choose to stay until they make it to the end as well. When you arrive back in Destiny City, you may choose to keep the six sided die–if nothing else, it’s pretty! Though, it doesn’t seem to have any magical qualities, that might be for the best.
For a heart-stopping moment after rolling a six, Jack worried that he might have needed to roll exactly a two in order to reach the end space because he was exactly two spaces away from the last one. When he tried to go beyond his space to the dark wooden platform at the end of the gameboard path, however, he found he was able to make it there without any further problems or encountering any more obstacles.
Sinope silently rejoiced and exhaled a deep sigh of relief as his cold, wet, sticky form was basked in the glow of a beautiful aura that was as opalescent as the inlay of the platform on which he stood. Once it enveloped him, he found himself back in Destiny City where he had first seen the opalescent die in the first place.
He was still cold and wet with saltwater as well as sticky with what he assumed was spider webbing, so wherever he had been - whether a pocket dimension or some other strange place - had been relatively real and not a dream. He counted himself lucky to have made it out alive.
Staring at the six-sided die still in his hand, the Dark Mirror Senshi decided to keep it. After all, it had seen him through a lot and though it had gotten him into a great deal of trouble, it had just as much gotten him out of that same trouble, too. Thank goodness any magical properties it had originally possessed seemed to have dissipated completely.
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