epidemiology | EVENT ★ LABYRINTH II

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EVENT ★ LABYRINTH II

DEEPER

Following the marked path near the lake leads Audentes (and George) further into the maze, closer to the goal found at the center. Some other inmates (including Zymandis agent Mavahari) and correctional officers follow along, having picked up on the organized manner of Audentes and figuring it’s their best bet on getting out of here alive.

Unlike the dry stone and sand in the outer ring of the maze, this next section is overflowing with flora. Jungle vines cling to the walls to the point where seeing the stone underneath is a difficult task; trees sprout from between cracked tiles, bearing alien-looking fruit; branches and brambles cross certain parts of the maze, and will need to be hacked through unless you want to find another way around.

Water is more plentiful now as well, since obviously the plants need it to flourish. For the first time since setting foot in the labyrinth, a rain begins to fall, drizzling and gentle. This can be a respite or an annoyance, depending on how you look at it: while it’s soothing and can make collection of fresh, clean water easier, walking around in wet clothes is probably not that pleasant.

Your fellow ALASTAIR recruit George has inexplicably struck up a friendship with the Zymandis agent Mavahari, and they can often be found exploring the maze together, with Mavahari helping him due to his broken arm. They seem to be getting along well enough, but maybe checking in with George is in order.

Otherwise, survival is the name of the game; though the center of the labyrinth is closer, it’s impossible to tell how close, and how long to expect to be here. Collecting water is simple enough, but food is growing scarce. The tree fruits may be a good solution, but it seems as though some have unfortunate reactions to them, ranging from stomach cramps to rashes to fever and temporary blindness.

But an allergic reaction may just be the least of your worries.

LOVE ME LIKE A REPTILE

The monsters seen so infrequently in the outer ring of the maze are now a common nuisance. Giant insects and rats scurry about, hungry for whatever flesh they can find, but they’re easily defeated, particularly if encountered as a group. But with new terrain comes new, adaptive animals, and the labyrinth is no different.

Lizards are now the main threat: enormous and camouflaged, they stalk their prey and take their time, looking for the perfect opportunity to ambush. The lizards are three-headed, with each head containing fangs dripping with venom, capable of rendering its victims paralyzed within five seconds flat. Their blood is also poisonous, capable of burning through metal, not to mention flesh.

If a head is severed, the lizard will retreat back into the jungle, presumably to nurse its wounds but possibly to grow another head -- no lizard will ever be encountered with less than three heads, so it’s possible they have regenerative abilities. The best way to defeat one is to remove all three heads at once, or simply kill it in whatever way possible. The lizards are quick and mean, but not invincible.

Now more than ever, it’s important to take care in exploring the maze. Stray too far from the group or try to make it alone, and you might not survive.

OOC NOTES

Once again, we have a plotting post here and search requests for the next ring of the maze.

Please note: during the labyrinth event, all drops are ICly delayed. What this means is that characters who drop will be handwaved to still be around on auto-pilot until connection with Oska is resumed, at which point they will be transferred to a different team as usual.

If you have any questions about the labyrinth that aren't answered here, please direct them to the Leramzen dossier. If you have questions for any NPCs, please direct them there as well!

Questions about the game in general should be directed to the FAQ and you may submit mission ideas or player plots at any time.

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[ I'm just now getting back into the game after my own series of unfortunate events, so for now, what follows will be closed prompts.

However, please do PM to discuss if you want to do something! I'm very open to writing you a prompt, or getting a wildcard from you. Here are some vague ideas, but feel free to go off-book. ]

[ Before moving into the next ring of the maze, Dany had filled a bottle of water and cleansed herself as best she could in the lake: a luxury that had been left to her in neither the Red Waste nor the Dothraki Sea. Her arms are growing thinner as they pass into deeper terrain, her belly rumbling. The rations she had collected dwindle to almost nothing, though she's been careful to nibble and conserve, as she had once when she was a little girl uncertain of when her next meal would come.

When the first drizzle comes, she does not trouble to cover herself, instead stopping beneath a tree that seems to bear ripened fruit. The very sight of it makes her hungry, but she doesn't reach for any of the shining red skins yet, pausing to sink against the base of the trunk, the silver braid she wears growing damp with the rain. Her ankle troubles her still, and she is very weary. Thankfully, the rain seems to signal a stop in their hike.

When a familiar presence makes himself known, her heart jolts slightly, and she turns to regard him with mist collecting on her face and lashes. ]

Ahad. Have you brought me wheatgrass?

[ It is difficult not to giggle wearily, referring to what her diet had been in Terra Felis. At least they'd known wheatgrass had been safe to eat. ]

[ He'll tilt his head to the side, as if considering her words. ]

Was that a request? [ It's said in jest, but he likely could turn something into wheatgrass. At least he was unlikely to be harmed by any of the local plant life, since he refused food now. It wasn't necessary, and so many others needed it more. ]

I can likely find something unlikely to poison you.

Edited 2017-08-01 09:19 (UTC)

[ Tiresome and fraught with peril though the journey is, Dany remains observant and moves among the team as though it is her army, speaking to whomever she pleases. She has made alliances and forged bonds enough such that she will not come to harm, should the need for defense arise.

Afternoon comes, and she finds herself in the company of someone who is as close to a guard on a team of equals as she can hope to find. More than that, she has quickly grown fond of Wanda. The other woman is secretive and dry-witted, but quick to giggle and offer her companionship. Half the team is ahead of them, whilst the other half remains behind, and Dany is so thirsty that she fears she might soon grow delirious. They stop at a large pool, full of new rainwater, with the goal of quickly refreshing themselves before something else should chance to join them.

As yet, the woods around them are still. Dany splashes cold water onto her face gratefully, droplets sliding down past her orange jumpsuit and mingling with the sweat between her breasts. ]

Once I thought to settle in a city such as this, [ she confides, running fingers through her silver hair. Before they had entered the forest, the pavement and the trees sprouting out of it had reminded her of the dead city her survivors had named Vaes Tolorro. ] My people feared ghosts, but there was devilgrass growing between the ruins, and fertile earth beneath the paving stones. Given seed, we might have grown a garden to sustain us all.

[ Wet clothes and the thick smell of jungle around them is more welcoming than the immediate aftermath of the crash, but still, she's tired. Hunger comes as an afterthought — Wanda pushes it away, thinks more clearly about clean water and uninterrupted sleep. Afternoon comes, and she's glad that drifting through the others brought her to Dany. She squeezes her hand gently as hello and I'm glad you're safe, conserves both their words. They don't yet know what dangers lie in this part of the maze. ]

You would. [ She says it with a measure of fondness, and understanding. It's an ambitious project — work, patience, and most importantly foresight would turn it into something tangible. Wanda's most used to the day by day of survival. She rarely had the bandwidth for more than that. ] But these are not places to stay.

[ This place holds its own foreboding. ]

[ She is not wrong. This is a foreign place, haunted by foreign threats, and not meant to house anyone. If Dany had to guess at its purpose, she would presume it meant another prison, or some death sentence. ]

Our destination does not sound promising, [ she confesses. I do not trust our plans. I do not trust George or Mahavari. She wrings water out of her silver braid. ] Perhaps the center only holds some other trial, but we were left no choice but to keep walking.

[ Keep walking, she had told herself. If I look back, I am doomed. Her palm brushes her ear as she tucks away strands of silver, the cool touch of a gold earring kissing her warm skin. She holds it there, and longs for Drogon. Here she cannot even sense him.

But she can sense the sudden silence that falls around them well enough. Reaching out a hand, she seizes onto Wanda's wrist in warning, her spine growing impossibly still. ]

Edited 2017-07-23 06:50 (UTC)

[ Wanda nods, her mouth thinning, the frown lines pronounced on her face before they smooth over. The uncertainty resonates with her too deeply, and she's too tired to shut it away. They can't look or go back, the only way left is forward. ]

Something is coming.

[ Too tired, if she hears it before she senses it. She forces herself to stand, the hex energy already flaring around them. But it's a pathetic shield, she's not practiced playing defence. ]

Stay behind me.

[ Dany rises slowly and reaches for her stick, water streaming down her bared legs. They would make a poor meal for the giant rats here, but even a poor meal is better than none.

Her footsteps echo in the water as she moves to stand behind Wanda, her heart tense in her breast as the underbrush stirs. For an instant, all becomes still again, and the queen can hear the drum in her ears as the silence falls.

Then, catlike, something erupts from the vines with a loud hiss, leaves scattering and vines snapping, three vicious heads all baring teeth. It puts her in mind of the pictures she's seen of lizard lions in the children's tales, and would that she had brought the pitmaster's whip. ]

The fangs! [ she cries in warning. They are enormous, curved, cruel things. Dany's knuckles turn white where they clutch her stick. You are the blood of the dragon, and the dragon is not afraid. ]

[ She summons a shield — but it's instinct, not focus. Wanda screams as the fangs sink deep into her arm. She stumbles back, the creature still attached to her arm. Blood colours the water as she falls. ]

[ There is only one. That is the sole relief. ]

[ The heads descend on their quarry, serpentine and hungry.

She remembers the pit; how small and frightened she'd looked as she'd seen her reflection in Drogon's eyes. She is not small today, and she had made Drogon bow before her. Filled with fury, Dany vaults the distance, water erupting about her ankles. ]

No! [ she cries, swinging the stick with all her might. It strikes the nearest head, and she nearly stumbles into the water in the wake of the force, her body swaying from the effort. But, seeing the middle head return, she gathers up the stick in an arc and swings again, this time aiming for them all. ] NO! Get AWAY!

[ Her arms ache from the effort, her ankle threatening to buckle. The head holding onto Wanda releases her, and Dany turns her stick, aiming straight for its open mouth. ]

[ Her voice is loud, the fear in them both ringing in Wanda's mind, the wound burns. She tries to breathe slowly, focus her power. ]

Go away!

[ Red flares once, dissolves. Then again. ]

AWAY!

[ This burst is true, the lizard screams as it disintegrates. ]

[ The scarlet energy flares, and in an instant, the creature is no more, only its cries left in the world to echo through the woods. Dany has only ever seen Ahad banish something entirely, as if it had never existed at all.

But there is no time to think upon the perils of sorcery now. Dany falls to her knees beside Wanda in the water, taking her rescuer's arm to examine the fang wounds. ]

Your wounds are deep. [ Her voice is surprisingly tender as she takes the other woman's hand in one of her own, the elbow in the other, as she guides the limb to submerge it in the water. ] You ought to lie still.

[ It is a command that comes with more certainty than she feels, but donning strength for someone else comes as naturally as breathing to her now. She thinks of summoning Sieglinde, Olivia, or Graham; someone who might possess the skill to better examine the bite. But she should not walk yet; of that much, Dany is certain. ]

Edited 2017-07-25 07:56 (UTC)

[ Her arm falls, hitting the water heavily, and Wanda murmurs something, focusing on the pressure of Dany's fingers instead of the heat of the wound. ]

I don't think I can move, [ she croaks. ]

[ She slides an arm about the other woman's back, supporting her. The other hand falls to hold hers, until their arms are both submerged. They are in a vulnerable position, and if her condition does not improve quickly, she will summon someone to remove Wanda from danger. ]

You need only breathe and speak for the nonce. [ Her tone is gentle, her hand squeezing Wanda's own, her mind already settled onto either Ahad or Loki. ] No further harm shall come to you, I promise you that.

[ Wanda has no strength now, so Dany must be her strength. It is an easy role to fall into; one that she has undertaken countless times for her people. ]

[ Her breathing slows, but steadies. Wanda bumps her head against Dany's shoulder. The world spins, but becomes clearer by the moment. There's still blood in the water, drifting away in ripples. ]

[ Everyone thinks of removing poison by sucking it out, but Wanda thinks of particles in the blood, and movement, and wonders if her mind can simply do this by itself. ]

My hero, [ she says, with a weak smile. ]

No hero. [ Dany kisses the top of her head. She remembers what had seemed a man beneath a blanket, and how when she had passed by, the shadow she'd seen had been only flies. No hero would have permitted such ruin to befall her people. ] Only a dragon.

[ Though her voice is gentle, Dany is listening: to Wanda's breathing, to the trees and undergrowth around them. She is watching, as well, for any signs of improvement; any movement in the limbs. ]

Remain awake, [ she insists. She is holding her upright now, violet eyes flitting over her right shoulder. It is only the wind, she decides. ] Tell me of something that makes you giggle.

They are the same.

[ Simply because something has teeth and claws, kills to survive and eats to live, does not make it less good than something that does not. Dany has her own species of gentleness, and Wanda can only imagine how hard she must have fought to keep it. ]

[ She giggles unexpectedly at the next statement, a sweet, clear sound quickly cut off with a grimace of pain as she tries to sit up, make it more comfortable for Dany. Her wounded arm has yet to cooperate fully as a limb, but her head is clearing with the force of her decision. I can take the venom out. I can do it. ]

[ Dany's right, she must stay awake. ]

Make faces at me. I will giggle.

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conqueress - 2017-07-29 08:32 (UTC) - Expand

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scarletcast - 2017-07-30 10:31 (UTC) - Expand

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conqueress - 2017-07-30 10:49 (UTC) - Expand

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scarletcast - 2017-07-30 10:56 (UTC) - Expand

[ Night falls, and their watch begins.

Dany knows that she would be best served sending a message to Ahad or Loki to find her, but first, she wishes to stop by a fire and rest her ankle. Daintily, she picks her way around vines by the light of a cookfire, the warm orange glow bringing her comfort long before she reaches the edges of the stranger's encampment. A glance at his form tells her he will serve well enough as a warrior, and the symbol upon his forehead marks him for a freed man.

The rest--whether the fire shall serve as deterrent enough for the lizards, or whether this man is possessed of a heroic nature--remains a risk she is willing to accept. She stops before his fire so that he can see her: a queenly courtesy, before she invites herself to sit. Embers float through the air, illuminating strands of gold in otherwise silver hair, but they do not seem to touch her, or the stick she carries to lean upon. ]

How fares your watch?

[ She has no name for him, and no title. The glow from the flames seems to settle about her face as a cowl, revealing a keen gaze and a faint smile. ]

Quiet.

[ a dark head lifts to take in the new arrival. his is a solemn countenance, neither refusing her company or greeting her with any particular warmth. bruce does not begrudge anyone the fire, much less someone injured, but he must take care.

the reason for his quiet vigilance is easy to ascertain. once seated across, the shape beside him of a child underneath a blanket is unmistakeable. body turned to the wall, he pillows his head on his father's thigh. bruce's hand rests over him. his fingers occasionally card through hair as black as his. ]

Yes, [ she agrees, ] and it will remain that way henceforth, we may pray.

[ Undaunted by his short response, her gaze falls to the small body beside him, shielded as much in tenderness as in a blanket. She knows of only one man with a child here, and whilst their entrapment has seemed to span several moons, in truth she had made the father's acquaintance only weeks before.

Dany leans down to divest herself of her stick first, placing it among the vines, then daintily seats herself on the ground, using her hands to tuck back the tatters of what was once a billowing prison uniform. Shredded, at least, it serves her needs better. ]

I never thanked you, [ she tells him with a tone grown soft, for the sake of a child's sleep. For the sake of any creatures listening. She sits with a spine that is impossibly straight, her legs closer to the fire than most would find comfortable. ] You were kind to teach me your games.

[ Her smile remains faint, but her gaze is genuine. Hello, b.w. ]

Edited (werds) 2017-07-26 20:59 (UTC)

[ comprehension dawns quickly with a softening of his brow and an upward tilt to his mouth. ]

You did show me mercy when you had no reason to.… [ he dips his head in a playful show of humility. amusement crinkles the corners of his eyes.

"a young girl" his partner in isolation had referred to herself as. she had not lied. daria must be at least half his age, maybe a year or two younger. based on her writing, he had assumed her slightly older. much like damian, himself affecting a more formal speech pattern than a typical preteen, her manner belies her age. ]

How is it that you pronounce your name? Before it turns out I've been accidentally butchering it.

I did, [ comes a coy look, ] though young girls have been known to be fickle. I may still seek your crushing defeat.

[ His question prompts a smile. He is not the first to butcher her name, nor will he be the last. The nobles of Meereen have offered her so many obscene variations that in the end they gave up in favor of mhysa in the pit. ]

You shall not be the last, [ she tells him, ] yet you are the first to ask. [ She toes off her tattered shoes, so that her bare feet might absorb the fire as she gives the pronunciation. ] De-nair-iss. And what of your own?

De-nair-iss, [ he repeats. to his credit, the name gets through unscathed. bruce's smile widens. ] Good news: I wasn't too far off the mark.

You can call me Bruce. [ he enunciates his name: broos. his fingers curl through the boy's dark hair. ] And this is Damian. I just got him down so you'll have to wait for a proper introduction.

[ some of the levity is set aside with a tilt of his head. ]

Is someone with you?

Bruce, [ she repeats, folding her hands into her lap. Before the introduction of the database, she thinks, His network handle might have been as secretive as my own. ] I know you will forgive me. One day I will learn to build a fire, but that time is not yet come.

[ Not without Drogon. His curiosity as to her travel status is met with a direct gaze through the fire, and a more genuine smile than the other. ]

I am never truly alone. [ No longer. ] My friends are unobtrusive, but they are never far.

[ """Friends.""" She speaks with the utmost confidence, built over more than a year's worth of experience. Loki and Ahad would not fail her. ]

[ bruce acknowledges her with a nod. ]

You're welcome to stay the night. Rest, [ he references both her previous limp and the walking stick, ] is still the best treatment for a sprain.

[ reaching behind him, bruce grabs a formal man's jacket, long since broken in. he folds it into a square and slips it under damian's head even as he slips his leg out from under the boy's head. damian stirs; bruce soothes him.

on his feet, he picks up the last of the blankets he and damian found and takes it to daenerys. the single line on his forehead glows a soft blue. ]

Here. Don't fall asleep too close to the fire.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

EVENT ★ LABYRINTH II

daenerys targaryen ♛ semi-open.

ahad.

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bruce.

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