not a creature was stirring | round iii

[The Elves]

Astri and Xiah have been eliminated from this quest.
 
Astri, for the next two real life weeks you will have evergreen needles instead of fur for your coat. Be careful who you hug. You’ll shed the pine needles throughout the next two weeks until you are more or less your normal shade of green, though you’ll always have a few random pine needles.
 
Xiah, for the next two real life weeks you will sneeze red and green glitter. A lot. It will be kind of unpleasant, because you really aren’t supposed to sneeze glitter. And after being human twice, your horse nose is going to extra sensitive for those two weeks. There will be a lot of sneezes. After two weeks, you’ll pretty much sort yourself out, but everyone once in a while your nose might leak a little glitter here and there.
 
Both of these defects are non-genetic. 

If you are helping the Grinch....

ENOUGH!

The voice is impossibly loud, coming from somewhere overhead though you cannot see the source. Everything around you stops, almost frozen in mid-step; some tumble to the ground, others pause in the middle of grappling, some just simply put their feet down and look toward the sky.

You hear the reindeer first, the jingling of bells so quiet and pleasant, especially compared to the sounds of war only a few moments before. But now, all you hear are the bells and the breathing of those around you. Then, they come into view. Dasher and Dancer, Prancer and Vixen. You know all their names without thinking twice about it. 

Then you see the red sleigh, the pot bellied Santa with his rosy cheeks. He cracks the reins on his reindeer and they slow, hovering in the air above you. The Grinch makes his appearance now, climbing up onto the rooftop to better face Santa. “Come now Grinch, it’s not the presents you want.” The Grinch’s mouth curls into that sickly grin, and he twitches a finger slightly. The demons start, but Santa just laughs, a rumbling “No no no,” and the demons stop just as quickly. 

“You’ll have to come get me.” He says, his voice jolly though his eyes are hard and angry. He calls down to the humans trying to save Christmas and to his elves then, the Grinch already descending from the roof and collecting his own minions. 

Santa is already talking to his elves and his human helpers. Fools. In the end, the Grinch would win. Santa was playing right into his hands. The Grinch hits the snow and the minions come running, dragging you with them. There are new things to do. They aren’t just ransacking Christmas anymore. 

“We have to get to the North Pole before Santa, steal whatever magic from that place we can. I cannot send you, but I will give you some aid, and the demons will travel with you.” The antlers on your head glow for a moment, some magic restored to them. “Now go,” the Grinch hisses, before he disappears on his own journey North.  

If you are fighting the Grinch....

ENOUGH!

The voice is impossibly loud, coming from somewhere overhead though you cannot see the source. Everything around you stops, almost frozen in mid-step; some tumble to the ground, others pause in the middle of grappling, some just simply put their feet down and look toward the sky.

You hear the reindeer first, the jingling of bells so quiet and pleasant, especially compared to the sounds of war only a few moments before. But now, all you hear are the bells and the breathing of those around you. Then, they come into view. Dasher and Dancer, Prancer and Vixen. You know all their names without thinking twice about it. 

Then you see the red sleigh, the pot bellied Santa with his rosy cheeks. He cracks the reins on his reindeer and they slow, hovering in the air above you. The Grinch makes his appearance now, climbing up onto the rooftop to better face Santa. “Come now Grinch, it’s not the presents you want.” The Grinch’s mouth curls into that sickly grin, and he twitches a finger slightly. The demons start, but Santa just laughs, a rumbling “No no no,” and the demons stop just as quickly. 

“You’ll have to come get me.” He says, his voice jolly though his eyes are hard and angry. He calls down to the humans trying to save Christmas and to his elves then, the Grinch already descending from the roof and collecting his own minions. 

“I wish I could send you straight to the North Pole, but my magic is weak this far from home. The elves will help you as much as they can, and I’ve given them all the magic I can spare. Good luck, and thank you for saving Christmas.”

Santa snaps his reins again, starting with the all too familiar “On Dasher, on Dancer,” his voice fading as his sleigh heads northward. The elves are already clambering, pushing you to run. The Grinch is still rallying his army, and you might be able to get ahead. 

• You have to travel to the North Pole. You have the ability to transport, but not directly there. You must stop in two locations on your way to the North Pole, and will not be able to simply teleport immediately again. You’ll need a few minutes to “recharge”.
• You can choose where you start and what locations you teleport to, but they must be real places. Look at a map, and make sure you describe where you end up. 
• After your second location, you should teleport to the North Pole, and end up outside Santa's workshop.
• The demons/elves will accompany you on your journey, and you can power play them at will.
• Remember, there is a war going on over Christmas. You will encounter more issues on your journey. The closer you get to the North Pole, the more magical the world becomes, which means yes, you can run into mythical creatures.
• You have limited dark or light magic this round. You will be able to perform four acts of magic, and they can be more powerful in nature than the previous round. You can blow things up, light them on fire, freeze them, etc. You cannot shape shift, manipulate the weather, etc.

 
You have until Saturday, December 12th at 10am EST to reply. PM or post on the OOC board with questions.