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

Pannacotta Fugo | OTA + Closed Prompts

[unholey]

i. dragonforce intensifies

[Within the deepest confines of the Asterion labyrinth, an epic battle of intense proportions rages on. Not between Audentes or any of the monsters roaming about, mind you. This is a very personal matter between two of the enormous beetles wandering the twisting corridors of the maze. They're fighting over a truly enormous ball of dung, which one beetle happened to be rolling down the hall when its opponent, tired of scratching futilely at the wall to try and get a pair of gangly teenagers that it chased up there, spotted an opportunity to make something good come out of this situation and steal it.

Fugo--(and Giorno, who is lightly snoring from where he's passed out in Fugo's lap; it's his turn to sleep and Fugo's turn to keep watch)--is completely uninvolved. He's just spectating, really, from his position wedged high up in one of the many crevices in the walls. He swings his legs back and forth and idly cards his fingers through Giorno's hair to carefully pull out some of the tangles as one beetle, no lie, somehow manages to flip the other over and send it flying. It lands with a tremendous crash, legs waving about in a daze while it picks itself up again, before it recovers and, undeterred, charges back towards the ball and its foe.

Neat.]

Did you know, [Fugo remarks, in his usual form of non-sequitor greeting to anyone else trying to avoid the fight by joining him up in the crevice,] that scientists on Earth discovered dung beetles used the stars to navigate? Specifically the Milky Way.

[What. No. That's bullshit. That can't be a real science fact. Why does he know that? What kind of nerd knows that.]

ii. professor layton intensifies

[After the minotaur--(he knew it was going to be a fucking robot, he just knew it)--has been stabbed, hacked at, and otherwise smashed into a pile of sparking rubbish, Fugo decides to make himself useful by taking a crack at one unlocking a control panel so they can get the hell out of here.

He expects to run into a password. Something requiring a keycard, maybe. Instead it's--]

Are you fucking kidding me. [Displayed on the monitor is ... there are no words for it. It's just sudoku. Space sudoku, helpfully translated by his magitek. Thanks, magitek.] Who has time for this? What if they actually needed access to this panel? Who builds security systems around puzzles?

[Fugo makes a sound of deep aggravation, laces his fingers together to irritably crack them, and... just gets at it. Because if anyone should have to deal with this stupid sudoku puzzle, it should at least be someone who can solve it sooner rather than later. God. What a shitty security system. Space jail is literally the worst.]

iii. wildcard me intensifies

[Are these foolish prompts not to your liking? Hit me up on plurk at relares and I'd be happy to work something more serious out for you! Or just hit me up with anything, I'm down for whatever.]

Closed Prompts

[unholey]