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    Your Elvenar Team

Absolutely Nothing Unusual or Suspicious Happening Here

Who is the best mastermind with the best plot to execute The Great Heist?


  • Total voters
    19
  • Poll closed .

muffy.

Chef - Scroll-Keeper - Chandelier Swinger - EAA
You are right. And you said it was a Fairy recipe. Looks like the Get Out of Jail Free Cake is an Elfin recipe.

Besides the fact that there is Absolutely Nothing Unusual or Suspicious Happening Here, you were also smart enough to turn your heist into an inside job, so I don't think you need them either.

And now we illustrate the following passages from @The Fairy's plot:

"I will also need a hacker to help the spire ghost getting into @helya's room. I have picked @muffy. as hacker, I am sure she will find it fun deactivating the security system with her jager bombs!"

...and...

"@helya will need a perfect cover though when we replace the magic accomplish button, so I have hired @crackie to make shenanigans to claim @helya's attention while the replacing takes place. To help with her shenanigans @crackie has bought her fire phoenix... I am not sure what @crackie and her fire phoenix are planning to do, but I am sure they will be able to attract @helya's attention for quite a while..."

muffy-hacking-security-cam.jpg

Well, there is nothing @muffy. can't solve by pouring some Jagermeister on it. I've also ordered my Fire Phoenix to set fire (heh, fire...yeah, fire...) to something that would escalate chaos and shenanigans the fastest, because I'm all about efficiency. Hmmmm...it seems like the security cameras are already watching a lot of people from this thread. @MaidenFair is noticeably absent because nobody suspects a philologist to be up to no good. There's also a lot of things burning and on fire, but I'm sure everything is fine. I wonder if @helya regrets signing off on fire around here.
Lmao … totally
Outstanding!! And hellya fire fire !!!;)
 

crackie

Chef, Scroll-Keeper, Buddy's #1 Fan
You can see in the security cam that someone has turned on the Helya Signal. Somebody is calling for help in the midst of this brouhaha!

Don’t worry @MaidenFair, I haven’t forgotten about you. Just because you’re not being watched doesn’t mean you’ll escape the Artist Corner thread that easily ;)
 

crackie

Chef, Scroll-Keeper, Buddy's #1 Fan
I've been trying to just skip past this thread in a sort of "If I don't see it I don't have to acknowledge it" way, but not you're @helyaing me and sending off the Helya bat signal which makes that plan trickier.
I didn't say we turned on the Helya Signal. The security camera caught that *someone* is calling for help. Everything is fine here. There's Absolutely Nothing Unusual or Suspicious Happening Here. Feel free to check back in later, but I'm sure the existing fires will put themselves out and nothing new will start burning. My Fire Phoenix is not loose or anything.

p.s. It also looks like they're done renovating the Banshee House after the last party.
 

muffy.

Chef - Scroll-Keeper - Chandelier Swinger - EAA
Fire, fire ….she keeps mentioning fire …. I’m thinkin …..FIREBALL !!!

But I could never cheat on jager like that …. nope not me …I’m devoted lol
19E7E3FD-1F9D-46CF-B6E1-CB3B11759BBF.gif
 

The Fairy

Scroll-Keeper, Buddy Fan Club Member
I've been trying to just skip past this thread in a sort of "If I don't see it I don't have to acknowledge it" way, but not you're @helyaing me and sending off the Helya bat signal which makes that plan trickier.
But @helya, nothing unusual or suspicious is happening here... hands Helya a piece of chocolate mana cake... btw. I could use your help with something...
 

crackie

Chef, Scroll-Keeper, Buddy's #1 Fan
What is the philological origins of the word WHODUNNIT?

philological-rabbit-hole.png

From my plot...
"While helya wears many hats and can do many things, the study of literature and of disciplines relevant to literature or to language as used in literature is not likely in her wheelhouse so she would need to consult...A PHILOLOGIST! <dun dun dunnnnn...> But the only philologist in town is Maidenfair and she will be on our team! Maidenfair is going to keep helya VERY busy down the wrong rabbit hole of obscure words and weird archaic language usage, while amply supplied with snacks of course."

(In keeping with Artist Corner traditions, if you post in the thread, you are now potentially subject to become part of ensuing visual shenanigans.)
 

crackie

Chef, Scroll-Keeper, Buddy's #1 Fan
Last week for entries to plot against the Community Manager and win a custom signature in the process! After that, we might not get a CM with a sense of humor to plot against again and then it’ll be all work scribbling in scrolls of knowledge all day and no play. So sad! I also won’t be making signatures by request after the contest because I will be too busy emotionally eating ice cream out of the tub to be creative. You have a pretty good shot at winning because The Fairy is currently winning by default as I can’t win my own contest. I mean, where else can you threaten young owls at the post office or have a philologist kidnap someone, but the Artist Corner?
 

MaidenFair

Chef - Head Philologist
So, my plan is based on the most basic tenet of all magic: misdirection. What better way to put helya off her guard than to make her believe the Magic Accomplish button is safe by having someone try to cleverly steal it and fail?

I can't think of a better ringleader than crackie, who is up for all the shenanigans and chaos anyone can handle. Once she got the idea into her head to take the button, she grabbed the first 9 people she saw and said "Bring me that button! No, no, I don't know how, that's your problem!" (Because of course, you get better chaos when you don't start with a plan.) When, however, it was discovered that hardly anyone of this hastily assembled crew could understand each other and Google Translate wasn't prepared to handle the varied and esoteric languages in use, I was pulled from my nice warm library to translate. (Ever tried to translate Old Phoenician on the fly? What a rush!) Once everyone could understand each other, we got along much faster and a real plan was formed. Ronan the Builder is tasked with getting the blueprints for HQ, an easy job, since he's a member of the Guild of Architects. SoggyShorts agrees to be our hacker because he figures he can do some side coding once he's in the system and fix some issues that have been bothering him. He hacks the security cameras so that we can see what the Magic Accomplish button looks like. Armed with this knowledge, Zaphiel goes to work on creating an imitation so good that it cannot be distinguished from the real one (except that pressing it doesn't do anything). Crackie also creates a button out of papier mache and string. No one is quite sure why. With this groundwork having been done, we move to...

Phase One: Throw helya a party! This is perfectly believable, because who wouldn't want to throw helya a party for being such a wonderful CM? I send out the invitations in my prettiest calligraphy (which is overly elaborate to hide the fact from crackie that I've also written them in Ancient Woodelvish because I was bored). Amazingly, everyone figures out when and where to come anyway, and the party (which we are conveniently throwing in HQ) gets into full swing when the Storm Phoenix shows up to get the beats pounding and the lights strobing. Sir Squirrel is dominating the dance floor with his best moves, and appears to be wearing crackie's faux button as a hat, while the Blossom Mage is chatting at the punch table. At a prearranged time, Blossom starts covertly using her Blossom Winds to provoke sneezing fits in whomever is nearest to Sir Squirrel at the time. After one complaint too many, Astram is summoned and insists that Sir Squirrel will have to leave. Barchanni offers to accompany him and they are unceremoniously hurried out into the hallway. Helya is starting to suspect that this party is a little odd, because Astram isn't usually that stern, and everyone is acting weird anyway. Instead of leaving, however, Barchanni leads Sir Squirrel to the nearest ventilation duct, gives him a boost, and remains in the hallway as a lookout. Sir Squirrel, armed with Ronan's blueprints, navigates the ventilation system to the Control Room and climbs down to where the shiny button is waiting. Removing his hat, he waits for the signal from Storm to replace the real button. Back at the party, Storm waits until a suitable crescendo in the music and trips the fuse box by electrifying all the lights at once. As HQ goes dark for just a few seconds before the backup generator comes on, helya knows instinctively that something is wrong and hurries to the Control Room, nearly colliding with Barchanni in the hallway, who gives a half-hearted meow in the direction of the ventilation system which doubles her suspicions. She arrives just in time to see Sir Squirrel finish replacing the button with his hat and preparing to reenter the ventilation system. Dun dun dun DUN!

Phase Two: All the conspirators who attended the party (with the exception of Astram) have been rounded up, thanks to everyone acting suspiciously, and helya is giving everyone a stern talking to, hampered somewhat by the fact that crackie will only answer in limericks. The real button has been replaced, Sir Squirrel is being sent to live with the Woodelves for a while, who promise to faithfully guard him, and helya decides that although her clever instincts foiled the plot this time, a little more security at HQ wouldn't hurt. She accordingly tasks Astram with finding a suitable guard and then goes to check on her snack stash, with the sneaking suspicion that something else may be afoot. Astram promptly goes out and hires Bud Sorceress, who, using her spell of Leaden Arms, avoids the usual patdown at security and sneaks the real counterfeit button into HQ on her first shift. With Soggy remotely controlling the cameras, it's an easy task for her to replace the button unseen and throw the real one into the trash in the breakroom. Trash doesn't go through any sort of security, so when it's thrown out by the janitor the next morning, it's an easy task for crackie to stroll to the rear of the building, retrieve it, and walk away whistling.

Phase Three: Astram has to keep a close watch on bug reports, complaints, and helya-signals at HQ, and intercept anything that might require the use of the Magic Accomplish button and reroute it to crackie, who can use the button to preserve our cover from the safety of her new lair (which happens to be my house, since it's so far out in the country. Never should have given her my address; it's so hard to study in peace with all the shenanigans that happen here now!). After all, if helya never needs to press the button again, she'll never know it's been replaced, and she won't go looking for something she doesn't know is missing in the first place! ...at least that's what we hope. :eek:

Ringleader - @crackie, who else!
Hacker - @SoggyShorts
Counterfeiter - Grand Sorcerer Zaphiel, who can duplicate the MA button with a variation of his spell for golems
Philologist- I guess that's me! Pretty sure I wasn't a part of the original plan, until crackie realised that most of the team members couldn't communicate with each other. I mean, do Phoenixes and squirrels speak the same language? Highly unlikely.
Lookout - Barchanni, obviously. Born for the role.
Architect - Ronan the Builder
Gymnast - @Sir Squirrel, sorry buddy, you're gonna have to take the fall for this one. The only one small enough to fit into the ventilation, and agile enough to crawl around the probable booby traps in the Control Room.
Electrician - Storm Phoenix, ready to disrupt the power at a moment's notice with his lightning, also doubles as a rockin' DJ for the party
Inside Man - Astram, can get people where they need to be and intercept calls for help before helya sees them
Distraction at party - Blossom Mage, with her allergic winds
Muscle - Bud Sorceress, hired by helya to guard button


ETA: got this in with an hour and ten minutes to spare before the deadline by my clock. ;)
 

crackie

Chef, Scroll-Keeper, Buddy's #1 Fan
Alright, alright, alright! The deadline for entries have passed and it’s time to vote on the best scheme! Thank you, @MaidenFair and @The Fairy for playing. I have been thoroughly entertained. It was a difficult challenge already having to come up with 11 characters before philologists had to get involved. You have both done a spectacular job, although apparently I was the only one not smart enough to turn this into an inside job! One of you recruited @helya and the other picked @Astram, but I failed to see this clever angle! Perhaps my instincts are too ingrained in circumventing authority to think I can convince them to turn to my side.

Voting is now enabled and winner will be determined in a week. Any 3 of us can receive votes for best plot for The Great Heist, but obviously only Maidenfair or The Fairy will get a signature, as determined by whichever of you receive the higher vote. helya’s vote is worth 5. I’m glad we got this shenanigan in before she removed her CM crown and I hope she has been as entertained as we were by this creative exercise. Feel free to share your thoughts as to the strengths and weaknesses of our plots.

and reroute it to crackie, who can use the button to preserve our cover from the safety of her new lair (which happens to be my house, since it's so far out in the country. Never should have given her my address; it's so hard to study in peace with all the shenanigans that happen here now!).
Your story is excellent and had me laughing. At least you seem to be learning quicker than my real life friends. Someone once let me stay at her apartment unchaperoned. Shenanigans ensued. Here is a small glimpse and you can use your imagination as to what the rest of her apartment might have looked like by the time I left.
D2408A8F-B1C6-44B5-ADB2-CF484E9CEA09.jpg

Now other friends have left my name and picture with their doormen and they’ve been explicitly instructed to never let me in under any circumstances if my friends are not home. :confused: City folks! At least you're offering me safe harbor in the country. :)

Someone also gave me this for XMAS last year. I have no idea why...it would assume I've been caught!
in-my-defense.png
 

crackie

Chef, Scroll-Keeper, Buddy's #1 Fan
A few years ago, my old boss asked me to help her digitize old family videos of her kids and convert them to DVDs for her as a side project. You'd think she'd know by now not to trust someone like me with a giant cache of precious home videos because I can now easily weaponize them for fodder to use against her. The convenience of having me around to do things often clouds their judgement. Anyway, there was a clip of her baby talking to her toddler and it started with her saying, "Ohhh yes...", somewhat happily and enthusiastically. I decided I need an easy way to replay her saying this for the future. So I bought a Staples Easy Button, but I jury rigged it to have her say "Ohhh yes" from the video instead when I push it. Now if I ask her if I could do something, even though I know her answer would be no, I'll just ask and immediately press the button to have her say yes before she can answer. Or if someone else proposes a good idea and you want to show support, oh yes to that too. Eventually, in all situations where we need our boss's approval, everyone says, "Ohhh yes" like her from the home video, even if they don't have an actual Oh Yes Button themselves. It was more like a Magic Approval Button than a Magic Accomplish Button though, since we'd still have to do the work. When I first read about the Magic Accomplish Button, I think a light bulb went off in my head and I thought...ohhh yes, my Oh Yes Button could use an upgrade to a Magic Accomplish Button. A Magic Accomplish Button is more useful to the underlings than the boss! :D

I don't work for this boss anymore, but I've given the Oh Yes Button to her kids to continue the torment and legacy.

(Don't forget to vote!)
 
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Darielle

Chef, Scroll-Keeper, and Buddy Fan Club Member
Sorry I didn't get to the party ... this has been an insane week. Have to catch up on the reading. :)
 

crackie

Chef, Scroll-Keeper, Buddy's #1 Fan
Sorry I didn't get to the party ... this has been an insane week. Have to catch up on the reading. :)
I’m sure a few of us would still love to read your version of The Great Heist if you ever feel compelled to write one for fun. @muffy. thinks the winner has to keep going with the story, but I’m not sure how that works unless the sequel turns into The Great Escape because all of our plans failed and now we’re all in jail.

Don’t forget to vote!
 

muffy.

Chef - Scroll-Keeper - Chandelier Swinger - EAA
I’m sure a few of us would still love to read your version of The Great Heist if you ever feel compelled to write one for fun. @muffy. thinks the winner has to keep going with the story, but I’m not sure how that works unless the sequel turns into The Great Escape because all of our plans failed and now we’re all in jail.

Don’t forget to vote!
It should continue !! I was lookin forward to the shenanigans !!
 

muffy.

Chef - Scroll-Keeper - Chandelier Swinger - EAA
Well I heard thru the grapevine that she did… but you didn’t hear that from me .
 

crackie

Chef, Scroll-Keeper, Buddy's #1 Fan
How you can you be sure that Helya didn't take the magic accomplish button with her when she left?
Mmmm...we can't be sure of anything, but that Helya doesn't come across as the type that would steal company property on the way out, unless @The Fairy knows something the rest of us don't and is why she can successfully recruit her to the plot. Howeverrrr, some of us are young and impressionable so we can just as well now play "What else did Helya take on her way out?" and start new rumors. Plot twist! The Great Heist is about Helya being the bandit! Who saw that coming??? It does make more sense now that you've mentioned it. It was all necco wafers and circus peanuts, and then suddenly a whole spread of Class A snacks were shared. Clearly we all fell for the diversion and were busy looking at what's on the table spread to feed our diabetic comas instead of keeping track of where Helya went.

(Edit: Don't forget to vote!)
 
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