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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

( there's a difference between stupidity and not seeing why he should give her the satisfaction of talking about things that aren't quite her business. he sighs. )

I've not the slightest, I don't have much sway over her schedule. ( total lie, but not even Graham realizes to what extent. ) Even if she were to join us, I doubt that's what you're trying to inquire about.

( she might as well just be out with it, and he can assess the damage of the question and decide how much he intends to answer once she actually asks it, instead of beating around the bush. )

She did seem an independent sort of woman.

[See Sieglinde. See Sieglinde attempt delicacy at such a sensitive matter. See Sieglinde fail.

With a small sigh, she kicks her heels a bit and raises her chin, as if such a momentous topic as this was mere small talk.]

I simply did not realize you had a lover in that sense.

( Sieglinde, you don't even know the half of it. calling Emma an "independent woman" is almost putting it delicately, he'd be amused if he wasn't a.) heartless and b.) really not inclined to have this conversation.

he sighs, though let it be known that despite the fact he doesn't want to talk about this, he still hands Sieglinde a makeshift platter of woven leaves, set with cooked fish and berries. if she's going to make them have this conversation, she's got to eat, too. )

She's my partner. I don't think I need to be any more explicit than that. ( he is not telling you about his sex life, Sieg... don't take it personally, though, he pretty much only talks about that with the lady involved. )

[At least she takes the offered berries and fish with a murmured thanks, puffing air at them to cool them down before she just... stuffs them in her mouth. She's quite while chewing at least, if that's a strategy you want to go with.]

Is it a practice of your world to be so tight lipped with your affairs?

[So maybe she feels left out, heartless or not...]

If I were courting someone I expect you should know about it. We have known each other quite some time, after all.

It's not an affair.

( that is implicit in having a third party unbeknownst, and there was no such thing between him and Emma. it riles his stomach a little to even think about, because it reminds him of Regina, and that's never someone he wants to be reminded of. Regina certainly had made it seem as if it was infidelity, but it wasn't. it was impossible to betray someone he'd never chosen to be with in the first place.

as for whether it is practice to be quiet about such things... well, he doesn't suppose he really knows one way or another. he's never really been a part of a proper relationship; he'd been expected to stay silent with Regina, but he'd chosen to keep what was between him and Emma to himself. he's not sure what to make of that reality.

he is pretty sure he would rather not know about Sieglinde courting someone, but that's neither here nor there. )

We have. I didn't hide it from you maliciously, Sieglinde. I love her, I've loved her since before you ever met her. That's all there is to know.

[Without meaning to offend or even realizing how it could have, Sieglinde can only blink and give a sort of shrug to acknowledge that she won't use such a word to describe it in the future if he wishes.

(Wow, Graham, how could you not want to know who she picks to be the future father of her children?)

But she's struck somewhat dumb by the word "love" used by Graham of all people, for even though she knows that the organ itself is hardly necessary for emotion, which she attributes more physically to the brain, she has still placed her ear to his chest and heard the absence of heartbeat.]

... I did not realize it was so serious as that.

[Love.]

( maybe he'd be willing to meet the men in her life once she's old enough to actually wed them... in 20 or so years god willing

the idea that a heartless man could love someone was hard for him to fathom, too, though Graham had the clarity of years to sort it out. Regina had promised him that he would never truly feel anything without it, though it wasn't so simple as that. he felt things, if distantly, like echoes in an empty space.

and love was the sort of thing that invaded even the deepest of caverns, pervaded and took over. sounded rather insidious when put that way, but it was more enjoyable in execution. )

It is. ( a complicated and serious implication, considering he's still heartless and still incapable of going back to the world they share. still, now that they were being honest about it, he can't imagine going back to his silence. )

[It's not the thing to ask a man with no heart. But Sieglinde cannot help herself- not simply because she has rarely spoken with someone who claimed to be in love, not like this, romantically and truly, but also because... the scientist in her was curious, and wanted to jot the observation down later once it was more polite to do so.]

What is... that like? Love?

[She's never imagined it for herself, not really, has no daydreams to base her opinion on- just stories she has read in books. Fairytales.]

( what is it like, to be in love? it's a complicated thing to explain, which explains his silence. though she might see it as disinclination to answer, that isn't it. no, it's more that he's chewing over what he wants to say, wants to give what he feels justice, even though he's never been gifted with words. )

It's like the warmth of sunshine when all you've ever known is darkness. It's like color when all you've ever seen is tones of gray. It's the other half to something you didn't realize you were missing. It's never being alone again, even if they're a mile away.

( he hopes that makes sense. perhaps it will not, to someone who has yet to experience what he has. )

[She waits with baited breath, already thinking that perhaps she has asked a stupid question, but she can't take it back now, small feet awkwardly rubbing against each other beneath her skirts, waiting for his answer.

But in the end, it's not something that really makes sense to her. Not really. It did sound quite nice... but though her life had been made of lies, had been revealed as a poisonous farce... even if she'd been tricked into it... she had known the warmth of sunshine, and the colors of the world... she'd thought.

It seems too serious, too personal a thing that he's put in to words for her for her not to understand it, though, and she curls in one herself slightly, searching for something to say.]

And how do you feel when they kiss you?

[She might be blushing, just. Ignore that.]

( SIEGLINDE PLEASE

they've been friends for ... well, years now, though his fondness for her does come with familiarity of her quirks. her curiosity about things beyond her age being one of them, and fascination with more intimate acts has been something even he would be hard pressed to miss.

perhaps it's the romantic in her that asks, perhaps it is the girl that is infatuated with the idea of affection. perhaps it's a little less innocent. either way, it is a path he won't venture far with her. )

I feel closer to whole. ( a significant thing, when most of his existence is more about what he's lacking. with that though, he shakes is head. ) That's all I care to say. ( topic closed... sorry Sieg. )

[Closer to whole.

Another answer she can't really make sense of. She has kissed her share of boys now, (two, she's... kissed two), but both times... well, she'd certainly felt titillated, a surge of excitement, flattered, and a bit like she'd swallowed a net full of butterflies, but. Certainly nothing so earth-moving as that.

So perhaps she hasn't been in love yet. Well- she'd known that.]

... I see.

[As annoyed as she is that he doesn't seem willing to talk about it, a person she's finally found who claims to be in love... at least he'd made dinner.

So she returns her attention to the food.]

( food is a better place to put their focus. Graham is almost relieved, if a heartless man can be such, that she lets the conversation fall and sets to eating instead.

still, perhaps even despite himself, he can't help but offer one last thought. )

You'll know when you find it, Sieglinde. Even I knew. ( and they both know how remarkable it is for him to feel anything with any sort of depth. )

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EVENT ★ LABYRINTH II

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