EVENT ★ LABYRINTH III: THE ESCAPE

[futurologists]

LABYRINTH III The correct passageway to the inner ring of the maze is hidden behind a thick wall of vines. After cutting through the plants, the structure of the maze is noticeably different: the overgrown plants continue creeping up the walls, but the walls are no longer brick and stone, composed instead of some sort of blue metal with holes and divots carved elaborately into the surface. From some holes gush forth pure, clean water; from others, acidic liquid. The air is cool and crisp, the plants creating a lush, dim environment lit by eerie blue lights spread throughout this section. The lizards, rats, and other monstrous creatures seem to be absent from this area of the maze, replaced instead by rhinoceros-sized beetles. The beetles each have a single horn protruding from the head, and their hard carapaces make them difficult to kill -- a better method might be to simply climb somewhere high and wait for the beetle to get bored. But unlike the other monsters encountered in the maze, the beetles seem to have something else on their mind beyond wanton violence: they can sometimes be found rolling massive balls of dung throughout the corridors of the labyrinth. (This might explain why the plants are so lush closer to the center.) There is little time to explore this section of the labyrinth before there's a flicker of light all around and more ALASTAIR recruits suddenly appear, most dressed in a freshly pressed uniform and carrying extra food and supplies. They have been told that the cloaking surrounding Asterion Labyrinth is so strong and complex that Oska was only able to send in a handful of recruits at once for a relief effort. In order to leave, they'll have to locate the escape mechanism that lies deep within the labyrinth; the remaining Asterion Prison correctional officers know its general location, but not precisely what it entails. All they know is that it will require technological cunning to operate and that it's heavily guarded. After five days, the portal room is found. THE PORTAL ROOM The center of the labyrinth is a large, circular room with a raised platform in the middle. On this platform rests a circle of computer consoles surrounding another platform, on which sits an empty circular frame 2.5m (8') in diameter. This is the dormant portal, and it is now Audentes's task to turn it on and find their way back to Oska. Because the portal is not made for interdimensional travel, it must be overclocked, which will cause it to burn out and explode once it is used. In order to override the safety protocols in place to prevent such dangerous tampering, the control panels must be unlocked -- and unfortunately, the locks are all complicated puzzles, ranging from the numerical to sliding pieces into place to complete a pattern. There are many of these puzzled scattered around the portal room, and once they are all unlocked, it's a simple matter of flipping the power override switches. Ignore the dangerous humming sound and the way the frame suddenly fills with violent purple energy. That's probably normal. The new recruits have the correct coordinates to locate Oska, which has temporarily lowered its cloaking shield to allow Audentes to return. So there is a bit of a time crunch. Adding more to the difficulty of the situation is the presence of a monster lumbering around the circular portal room. Six meters (20') high, the beast is best described as a minotaur, but perhaps not in the traditional sense: while it resembles a bipedal bull, it is an amalgamation of flesh and machine with its body covered in pistons and glowing lights. One of its hands is an enormous axe and it belches fire and acid. Despite its head resembling an herbivore, the piles of desiccated bones scattered throughout the portal room tell a different story. Upon seeing the group, the minotaur charges. Mavahari, the Zymandis recruit, rushes to meet it with her sword drawn. Inmates and correctional officers do their best to fight it as well, but something becomes quickly apparent: it cannot be harmed by projectile weapons. The machinery of the beast keeps it protected from most attacks, though electricity will stun it and acid will corrode its metal. But in order to injure the minotaur, it must be stabbed between the metal plates where its vulnerable flesh remains. During the battle, the minotaur fights viciously and without regard for its own safety. The first casualty comes early: the minotaur swings its axe toward Mavahari, who is pushed out of the way by George. The axe connects with him solidly, sending him flying into the wall with a shuddering impact. George lies there still, but there's no time to mourn. The beast continues its rampage. Once the minotaur is defeated, you'll have to quickly decide what to do with the correctional officers and inmates who have followed Audentes through the Asterion Labyrinth. The overclocked portal won't hold forever, and the longer Oska leaves its cloak down, the better chance they have of being found by their enemies. OOC NOTES This log will last for six IC days: five days for exploration and one day at the center of the maze. We have also recently altered the calendar this month, so make sure you review it! IMPORTANT: Participation in the solution poll is mandatory for August AC. Failure to participate will result in an automatic strike. The only exception is for those who are exempt from August AC. The poll will close on 11 August 23:59 UTC. If you have any questions about the labyrinth that aren't answered here, please direct them to the Leramzen dossier. 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

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[cutlery]

[ Sebastian collects himself as all of the other recruits do the same. This isn’t the ideal situation, he has to admit, but it could be worse, he supposes. Some of the things that Ciel had tasked him with were certainly more unpleasant and more impossible than this. Though even so, it does feel a bit at odds with him. It’s strange for a demon to help with a rescue mission, isn’t it?

He’s considering that idly as he prepares when Connor speaks to him, and he looks over curiously at first, but it shifts into a small smile and a laugh. ]

Ah, well…

[ He starts a bit sheepishly, but it comes with a nod. ]

Once before, yes, though it was quite a while ago, admittedly.

[ Centuries ago, technically, but he doesn’t need to know that detail, does he? ]

[sadgay]

[He makes a note to himself that sarcasm doesn't work so well when you're surrounded by whackos who have likely run the full gamut of crazy situations he jokes about precisely because they seem so wild to him. He had thought his life was messed up, but what he has gone through might as well be another Tuesday for some of these guys.

Connor looks the stranger over and estimates him to be of roughly the same age as himself. Which is why his brow creases in bemusement.]

What, when you were like twelve?

[cutlery]

[ Look!! It's a little hard to respond to sarcasm when you're bound to tell the truth. That, and Sebastian probably would have just told the truth regardless. He finds being honest in the face of sarcasm a little more fun. After all, the response gets him to laugh, and he shakes his head. ]

Hardly. Though perhaps a "while ago" is relative, now that you mention it...

[ A few years, a few centuries, same thing, right? ]

But even so, I admittedly do not know how useful it may be. It depends on the sort of "prison," and even then... It was a bit more organized effort than this. There was more time to prepare, essentially.

[sadgay]

Yeah, this is basically the equivalent of getting pushed off the dock by your uncle so you can learn how to swim. Or, you know, develop a debilitating case of hydrophobia. Anyway...

[At present they have reached the intersection of three differing paths, which presents five new directions to go. The anemic blue lights that dot the labyrinth make it hard to see too far down any path, not to mention the curves each snakes along. He looks to the other man.]

Now what?

[cutlery]

[ The colorful comparison at least draws a small laugh out of Sebastian, though it still definitely tilts towards the side of being polite. Yet even so, the smile stays on his face, so clearly he does find some humor in it. ]

That is quite true… After all, I truly doubt anyone would have any experience with this sort of thing. Even knowing of a prison is not quite the same as one that King Minos may have constructed.

[ It probably does make it an effective prison, he must admit, but a rather complicated one. He decides he doesn’t mind that too terribly as they approach the intersection. If it were straightforward, it would be easily solved, and while there’s satisfaction in that, he’s also one to naturally prefer a challenge. The more impossible, the better, because the more accomplished he’ll feel when it’s finished. As they face their paths, Sebastian takes a look at each, though from what he can tell, there’s not really any one that’s better than the other, so he shrugs. ]

Well, there is the classic way to solve a maze, I suppose… Shall we go left or right?

[sadgay]

[Connor doesn't necessarily mind a challenge: it's just that he prefers said challenge to be in the form of a cute guy, or even an interesting case at the clinic. Elaborate labyrinths filled to the brim with creepy giant insects, on the other hand, ranks high on the list of shit he didn't sign up for, and he would rather the path be straightforward.

He looks down each path, all of which seem equally terrible to him, before pointing to the one that curves slightly to the left.]

Why the hell not?

[And with this enthusiasm mustered (the sarcastic imitation of enthusiasm), he starts down the chosen path.]

You seem awfully calm about this whole thing, by the way. Are you waiting for our Ariadne to show up?

[See, he can sling around crusty old mythology references too.]

[cutlery]

[ Sebastian nods agreeably as their path is picked, because without a particular preference or knowledge of with path may be more efficient, he’s happy enough to follow. Putting decisions to other people is something almost in his nature, after all. Though he’s under no illusions that this will be an easy task, since if it were, they wouldn’t have been needed, would they? So he keeps his eyes and ears sharp as they walk, though he arrogantly assumes that there’s nothing here that would be able to actually surprise him.

At the question, he chuckles and ducks his head a bit sheepishly as he nods, but he wears a wry smile. ]

Well, that would be quite helpful, would it not? A ball of thread could be of use in this situation…

[ Though Sebastian also assumes it wouldn’t actually be necessary. His memory being as sharp as it is, he thinks he’d be able to remember if they were to accidentally double back. ]

Though I suppose my calm could simply be attributed to focus, if I were to guess? It is… strange, certainly, but my master does occasionally demand eccentric things of me. [ He shrugs as he looks around ] Not quite as bad as this, mind you, so I suppose I should be grateful he is not quite this bad.

[sadgay]

[The stranger's unflappably pleasant demeanor is somewhat disconcerting to Connor, who wants little more than to sink to the ground and hold his head in his hands for a good long while. He won't do this, because that won't bring him any closer to the exit from this nightmare, but it remains an appealing alternative to dealing with such an ordeal.

He is tracing their surroundings with his eyes as if to memorize their route, although the landscape is monotonous enough that one segment of the labyrinth hardly seems any different from any other segment. The more Sebastian speaks, however, Connor finds himself eyeing him once again.]

You have a master? Wow, what year did you stumble out of?

[cutlery]

Ah, yes. We do seem to come from different eras…

[ That much was a bit obvious to him if only by how many of the new recruits like himself were dressed or even how they spoke. Some of them felt quite a bit older, from eras long past, but others, like Connor… Well, it was almost too casual to be from the highly formal Victorian society that he’s now familiar with. ]

1888, actually. Yourself?

sorry for the delay!

[sadgay]

[It is a look of incredulity that perches on his face and does not abate even as he gives his answer.]

2015 over here.

[There is something unsettling about seeing people from the past not in shades of sepia and black and white, but in living breathing color.]

So, uh, how about that telegraph, right? And Oscar Wilde? Pre-tty crazy stuff.

no worries! I was busy for a while myself so it's right on time

[cutlery]

[ There’s definitely a way his smile shifts just slightly that it reaches to his eyes that makes it immediately seem much more genuine. It’s clear that Sebastian is well mannered and has an air of quite neutral, unoffensive pleasantness about him, but clearly what Connor has said actually catches his interest. ]

My— That is indeed quite a bit in the future!

[ He’s immediately interested and wants to ask about it, but politely, he does answer Connor’s (joking, he thinks) questions first. He chuckles, and he even brings a gloved hand to his mouth as if to muffle the noise. ]

Well, they are quite fine. I send telegraphs on occasion, though I admit I have yet to read Mr. Wilde’s works. They are talked about quite a lot in the papers, but as such, they do not quite seem the sort of thing I should purchase for my master. He is a bit too young for them, at least assuming they are as scandalous as is implied.

[ He doubts it, honestly. But so long as Ciel doesn’t want to buy the magazines they’re in, he’s also somewhat limited on buying them. ]

Though, goodness, I hope you do not mind my asking… And perhaps even the question is too broad, but what is it like in your time?

[sadgay]

[He can put himself in Sebastian's shoes easily enough. He himself has been bewildered to learn that the people he meets here are from worlds inhabited by magic, from times marked by warfare with sword and bow and times marked by technology belonging to the depths of science fiction. For all that can change over the course of a decade, a century, a millennia, the past at least is a known entity in some capacity, but the future is a gaping blank space.]

For one thing, society has become way less rigidly structured. In most places, anyway. England, for one - that's where you're from, right? The accent gives it away.

[He briefly wonders how he should cover over one hundred years of development.]

Technology has advanced like crazy. You can do basically everything on the internet nowadays - talk with friends and family, watch videos, research whatever topic you want, book your vacation, banking, dating, etcetera, etcetera. Think of it as...a giant database of information and a giant communications network at the same time.

[cutlery]

[ To the first part, he chuckles, and he shrugs lightly. That’s not a question he can answer directly, so he just misleads slightly with the truth he tells. ]

Oh, I currently work in England, yes. I have worked all over, so I tend to pick up the accents of where I end up working, admittedly… But if it is not quite so formal, I certainly cannot complain for that.

[ Sebastian listens curiously, but as Connor continues to explain, the perfectly refined air about him starts to fade. There’s clearly wonder on his face instead, because once he starts to understand just what this “internet” is, he can also be captivated by the opportunity it presents. Sebastian is rather limited on imagination, since demons simply just aren’t as imaginative of creatures as humans, but this is different. ]

My… Pardon me if the comparison is a rudimentary one, but I am trying to relate it to something I know. It sounds much like an extremely vast library of sorts.

[sadgay]

[He has to admit, the way the stranger's face lights up is pretty cute, and despite the eerie landscape and overwhelming situation in which he finds himself trapped, Connor is, at least for the moment, put at ease.]

Yeah, of sorts. Except that instead of fitting inside a building, it can fit in the palm of your hand. I'd show you, but I don't have my phone with me. Service cut out a few galaxies back, and the battery's dying anyway.

[Twenty-first century problems...]