EVENT ★ LABYRINTH II

[futurologists]

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.

Comments

[scarletcast]

[ 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. ]

[conqueress]

[ 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. ]

[scarletcast]

[ 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. ]

[conqueress]

[ 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. ]

[scarletcast]

[ 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. ]

[conqueress]

[ 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. ]

[scarletcast]

[ 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. ]

[conqueress]

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.

[scarletcast]

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.

[conqueress]

Faces? [ She sounds astonished. (She is astonished.) ] I am no mummer.

[ The idea is even more foreign to her after so long schooling her face into masks: to hide her anger, to hide her fear, to hide her hatred and sorrow; even her joy. But if she can school her face to hide, surely she can as well school it to show. Every grimace she'd made in the privacy of her own council had been freedom.

Dany thinks of the fifth time she had received Hizdahr zo Loraq in her presence. He'd worn his red-black hair well-oiled and styled into great, sweeping wings. The memory is enough to make her small nose wrinkle, the space between her brows furrow, and her mouth turn into a little arc in dramatic distaste. ]

For my lord husband, [ she explains sweetly. That should bring a giggle, as well. ]

[scarletcast]

[ Wanda sees him in Dany's mind, fully formed, an utter spectacle. Does he think he might fly, with those wings? She giggles. ]

You are good at this.

[ Making her laugh. Everything with Daenerys falls into place so simply, it is as though the threads of their lives was meant to become entwined. Wanda does not believe in fate. But she believes she has more in common with Dany that is apparent to them both. ]

I think I can remove the poison.

[conqueress]

With your mind?

[ It is a guess, based upon how Wanda had described her powers to the network. Gently, she reaches up to tuck a strand of damp hair from her face. ]

Try, [ she urges, ] and I shall fetch you a face for Xaro Xhoan Daxos, as well.

[ His, too, is a face Dany remembers well. Wanda will see the jewels in his hooked nose, the tear running down his pale skin. He wept at my refusal, yet it was the dancers he would have sooner persuaded that night. She had thrown an apricot at him, and her lips thin in displeasure, eyes narrowing skeptically, one corner of her mouth quirking in amusement at the falsehood. ]

How many times can a prince who wishes for the company of men weep for my hand?

[scarletcast]

Yes.

[ Wanda and Anakin make it sound so simple, but it the same simplicity that offers certainty. Wanda moves her free hand over the wound, and she thinks hard of the poison being gone from her body. About moving it back in her bloodstream and out. The water colours dark as it mixes. ]

[ The effort drains her, and she curls her hand in Dany's damp clothes, as though reaching for the only safe place in a hurricane. The image of this new stranger makes her giggle weakly. ]

I could not tell you, like I cannot tell you much now. But I promise to make you laugh.

[ Like they had done, with innocence, at the museum. This labyrinth is not forever. ]