Challenge 2: SEANCE

The larks, still bravely singing, fly scarce heard amid the guns below.

Newspapers had a way of viewing the goings-on around Salem through a tinted glass. In this time of red vs blue, whether interstate, intrastate, or international, division could only be printed in black and white. For the sworn defenders of the crime-ridden Salem, the news could only describe them with dark tones.

A week had passed since the death of Jacob. Or was it years? The two seemed interchangeable in the midst of change. Dr. Bees was making headlines for his killing blow and his blow money. It seems that with the start of an anti-crime initiative, crime rates were increasing and breaking the law became more attractive to the general public.

With options slim and the chances of crime being stopped slimmer, Samuel Lawson was placed between a rock and a hard place. However, he had not lost faith in SKOOL...not even close. A single death does not determine a war, let alone a battle.

Raised as a military brat by an indifferent father and absent mother, Lawson was used to looking ahead while experiencing struggle. One casualty meant nothing to him, and a thousand more wouldn't make him bat an eye...a quality that could be a coping mechanism or a downfall for a man.

Nevertheless, the police force continued on as it always had; answering calls for emergencies, buying donuts for discounts, and completing speeding ticket quotas. The media had a way of exaggerating reality, but nothing seemed to break the focus of the establishment.

Well, until one morning.

Koksa was a mess after the death of Jacob. She had always felt little for him, but she felt awful for her lack of reciprocation for his passion for her. The Russian agent entered her office silently that Tuesday morning when a single ring filled the empty noise of the room. It was strange for a call to occur this early in the day, but she ran to answer it regardless.

"Privyet?"

"Do not make any quick movements."

Koksa's eyes enlarged as she slowly scanned the room. "Who is this?"

"That is not important. What is important is that I have an offer for your so-called..."SKOOL"."

"Offer?"

"We have valuable information that may help you track down the one who killed your associate. However, this will come at a price."

"What price this cost?"

"You have 24 hours to meet with our operative, GHOST, and give him $25,000 IN CASH. I don't want any funny business. In return, we will complete our end of the deal. Coordinates have been placed on your desk. Send one officer. If you send backup or fail to show up, we will give the Mafia even better intel. Thanks for your time."

The man behind the line hung up, leaving Koksa to stare at the blank wall in front of her. After a moment of complete shock, she frantically dialed the number of her boss.

This was about to be a long day.

----

Welcome back everybody! It's time to continue on with another exciting week of SOS! This time, you will need to be able to coordinate and debate with your team in order to complete the challenge. Due to the need for a group effort in order to deliver a message, we call it "Seance".

HOW IT WORKS

Teams will be given a 15x15 grid similar to the one below (we may or may not use this one) :

Like Team Endurance, teams will be split up into different chatrooms and given the opportunity to complete the challenge among themselves.

After being given a starting location such as "A-5" or "G-8", a team work together to move from their starting location to the location of an invisible "ghost", which is another point on the grid. 

Each movement counts as a turn. Teams will have to decide among themselves what path they wish to take and one player must act as the speaker for the rest of the group. This person will not be the designated winner of the idol, however; we just want to have a way to determine what a team's final decision is.

Instead of using a turn to make a movement, a team can use up a turn to receive a clue from one of the hosts. A clue may be information such as "look to the right", "you are closer now", or "you're far away". Your team must move the turn after getting a clue.

HOW TO WIN

The team that manages to get to the ghost in the least amount of turns wins the challenge. Cam, Mat, and I are going to be spectating the performance of contestants in this challenge to determine the best players of the teams. I would advise emulating leadership qualities or proposing strategic reasoning in order to prove you are were a worthy part of your team's effort!

IN THE EVENT OF A TIE:

If there is a tie, we will do a second round of the challenge. That's about it. We doubt this will occur, but it might.

TWIST:

Please stay after the challenge for the first twist of the season. More information will be given once we declare a winning team. Information regarding the idol and elimination will be discussed after the challenge.

TIME:

We have not received any comments about availability this week, so we will hold this challenge on Friday, June 12, 2015 at 5 PST. We are hoping to hold all future challenges at 3 PST by default unless there needs to be a schedule change.

Please let us know if you are unable to be here at that time, or if you are available that day.

Thanks for taking the time to read this post, and I hope to see you there on game day.

-Matt