Star Trek: Starbase 777 - scavenger-hunt

Near the front of the carnival games was a big sign that said SCAVENGER HUNT, START HERE! And standing next to it was an older Trill man who had volunteered to help with the little game.

And the scavenger hunt leader was... Jirai! He'd been asked by some of the team that had put this little event together to man the scavenger hunt. And as a dutiful senior staff member and a dedicated OPS guy he knew he couldn't say no. And also, any opportunity to participate in community building was usually one he would take, regardless. He was holding a woven basket with small sheets of paper and fall foliage like straw and colorful leaves and teeny tiny pumpkins AND he was dressed like a scarecrow with denim overalls, a plaid button up shirt, straw sticking out of the ends of his clothes, and cute scarecrow makeup!

Dusting off his jacket and pretending that he hadn’t just been thrown across a tent by a mechanical targ, Ed spotted the sign, making his way over. “Love the costume.” He smiled, nodding towards the scarecrow getup.

"Thank you, young man. What's your name, and are you interested in participating in a little scavenger hunt?" He smiled, pulling a small paper out of his basket and offering it to Ed.

“Edgar. Castelo. Um— yeah, sure!” He nodded, accepting the paper, “Am I allowed to look, or is this for later-?”

Here for the scavenger hunt was Alizati! Upon arriving at the event, he suddenly realised he was dressed for a different party. The chief engineer had gone ahead and decked himself out in an outfit with black feathers and a feathery hat, mimicking a bird. "... I have misunderstood the meaning of 'scavenger hunt'. I am a vulture."

3

2

"Welcome to the Scavenger Hunt then, Edgar Castelo." Then a familiar face approached! "Well good thing you're not a crow, or I should be particularly frightening." Jirai chuckled. "Hello, Alizati. Good to see you outside of work! Would you like to join young Mister Castelo in the Hromi Harvest Festival Scavenger Hunt?" And he offered another paper from his basket to Alizati!

"Yes I am interested in joining, even if it is not birdwatching," Alizati took the paper and looked at it. "It is nice to see you too, Commander Sol. I must ask, will there be any scavengers?"

"I am sorry it is not birdwatching, Commander. But! You are actually aptly dressed. You and Mr. Castelo and everyone else who decides to participate will be the scavengers. You two are my first takers. On the sheets of paper you will find a riddle. There are four riddles total, but I have just now given you the first one. You read the riddle, solve the riddle, and then find an object that can represent the riddle's answer - an effigy of the item or a photograph of it on your PADD or something like that. You take your photo or acquire an item, and come back here. If the item or photo represent the correct answer, I will give you the next riddle. If it is incorrect, I will tell you to try again." He paused. "Do either of you have any questions so far?"

"I like to think I am good at riddles," Alizati stated with a nod. "Yes, I understand the explanation and I am ready."

"You are a very intelligent man. I look forward to how you interpret the riddles." He raised a thoughtful eyebrow. "Alright, Commander. Read your riddle and report back when you have found an object! See you soon, probably!"

Now it was up to Alizati and the others to find what they needed...!

Stepping back, Ed glanced through the paper he’d been given, re-reading it until he got the gist of his given hint, then looked up at Alizati, and back at the paper.

"The compliment is appreciated," Alizati looked at the paper and read the riddle aloud.

"Yes, go ahead. And don't be afraid to explore the entire environmental ring. Everything you need should be within the bounds of the festival." He smiled and stood back at attention, waiting for the next scavenger hunt participants to show.

Alizati read the paper aloud which said...

Welcome to the Hromi Harvest Festival. First, you must find me. I danced all summer in emerald pride, But now I fall and cannot hide. With every step, I sing my song — A brittle crunch, where feet belong.

Ellie walked excitedly over to the scavenger hunt area, she was a bit apprehensive about coming before, but hearing about solving a mystery enticed her in. Joining the group quietly she overheard one of them reading the supposed hint aloud. It seems she got in just before the bell rang shut. She mumbled a quiet 'sorry.' Listening to the riddle. Figuring it was a leaf, though that didn't make sense considering how imprecise it was, but she didn't want to interrupt anybody, just saying hello while they thought about it.

Pondering the riddle as best as he could, he glanced behind him at Ellie. “Oh, hey!” He greeted her, “If you wanna read it too, you can use my paper.”

Ellie looked back at Edgar. Recognizing his face despite only meeting shortly weeks ago. "Hello. That would be much appreciated." She nodded with a hearty smile, a bit uneasy on the edges of her lips, but it was still genuine. She looked over at the paper that the man had, and she found that what her ears picked up weren't too wrong. "Is it a leaf of some kind?" She asked Edgar. Cracking her head a few degrees in thought. Was that precise enough?

He pursed his lips, brow furrowed as he ran through what it could be. “Leaves make sense. It might be somewhere with lots of trees, right?”

Alizati looked thoughtfor for a moment and listened to the ideas of the others around him. "I think so too. Yes, we should explore the trees and see if there are any piles of leaves," He suggested.

“Alright.” He nodded along, but an idea popped into his head. “There’s more trees in the environmental ring than we can check in a few hours. Could there be a specific area this is hinting to?”

"Environmental ring makes sense, but we should start here. I would imagine the hayride or pumpkin patch would have leaves?" He offered, thinking it would be best to search around the festival area. "I expected birdwatching so I have these," He reached into his pocket to pull out a pair of binoculars.

There were indeed trees all around. Perhaps if they used Alizati’s binoculars they would be able to make out a giant pile of leaves over near the pumpkin patch. There was also a bunch of giggling and crunchy noises as people jumped into it, which they might have heard before they saw.

“Oooh. Okay— idea.” He held up a hand, as if he would be called on, “Could I borrow those?”

"Of course," Alizati took the binoculars from around his neck and handed it to the ensign. It was a little silly for an android to be carrying binoculars as he could just zoom in with his mechanical eyes.*

He swivelled where he stood, holding the binoculars up to his eyes. He overshot where he was looking, and wound up staring directly at Alizati’s very zoomed-in face, and almost jumped out of his skin, before turning the correct direction. “Leaves…” He muttered to himself, before announcing, “There’s leaf piles way over there almost taller than I am. You think those would be a good starting point?”

"Yes, I think that is a logical starting point," Alizati lifted his hands to make binocular-like shapes around his eyes as he zoomed in with his optical sensors. "We may head in that direction."

He grinned at the hand-binoculars, nodding. “Alright. You lead the way.”

It WAS a good starting point!

2

"Alright, follow me," Alizati started walking towards the pile of leaves. He walked carefully, making sure to check on his surroundings as one never knew when there were pumpkins or small vegetables rolling around on the ground.

He followed close on his heels, still clutching the binoculars, eyes peeled and ears open. “What do you think we’re looking for?”

"Perhaps there is a clue in the leaf pile?" He theorised as they approached the said pile of leaves. Alizati bent down and slowly combed his fingers through the autumn foliage, wondering if there could be anything unusual in there. Perhaps a strange object or PADD of some sort.

He crouched down beside Alizati, watching closely as the other scanned in the leaves. “Maybe we just… grab one and bring it back?” He suggested, reaching out to grab a stray leaf by the stem, twirling it between his fingers. (edited)

Ed was definitely onto something, there.

"Yes, I think that would be logical," Alizati watched as the other engineer picked up a leaf. He pulled out his PADD and took a picture of the pile. "Now I think we need to go back to the scavenger hunt people and show them?" Alizati thought aloud.

Holding up his leaf proudly, he nodded. “Alright. Step one is done!”

Now it was time to go back to Jirai. To speed this process up a little bit…

“Ah yes, you’ve solved the first riddle! The answer to it was crunchy leaf, because in the aptly named Terran Fall, deciduous trees’ leaves fall to the ground to preserve energy in the cooler months.” He nodded. “Here is the second riddle,” and he handed them a note that said -

I have no leaf, no root, no flower, Yet wield both poison and healing power. Neither plant, nor beast, nor tree — What strange and silent thing is me?

“No leaf, no roots… not a plant.” Ed murmured, “Poison and healing— like a medical tool? Strange and silent, not nature…”