etrayalogs | MISSION 002

Entry tags:

MISSION 002

WHO: Everyone!
WHEN: May 3rd-28th
WHERE: Within the Labyrinth
WHAT: The second Mission
NOTES\WARNINGS: Potential death, violence, injury. Please add additional warnings as needed within threads.

⏵ into the labyrinth ⏴

Aurora's announced time for the mission was correct: four days after, as she had promised, the door to the Labyrinth opens, connected to Etraya's atmospheric bubble by its entrance point. Characters are directed to come to the entrance on May 3rd, and warned that they may want to bring medical supplies, weaponry, and any important artifacts along with them. She warns that large vehicles will not fit within the limited space available, and smaller ones may be difficult to remove, thus advises those to stay behind. Aurora also offers to watch over any companion animals and keep them safe while competitors complete the Labyrinth.

They are given a short amount of time outside of the entrance to speak with one another, to plan and organize themselves, before they are ushered into it in groups of two to four. Once passed the entrance, they'll find that they are unable to turn around and exit out of it: a barrier keeps them from going back into the city proper, and as soon as they are far enough forward, the walls around them shift, closing them in, moving in complex patterns meant to separate them and bring them together.

Characters with extraordinary abilities may find some of them inaccessible: super strength may be downgraded to closer to ordinary strength, magic may prove to be less predictable than it should be, and regardless of how strong, fast, or clever characters are: passing over the Labyrinth walls or destroying them proves to be impossible. While one may be able to run through the pathways at superhuman speeds, the pathways compensate for it by running them in circles, refusing to allow them to make any progress on their own.

⏵ pathways collide ⏴

Junctures of the Labyrinth often present competitors with choices, some that may have consequences: a left turn down a darker path may prove to be harmless, whereas the well-lit path may be full of traps intent on slowing them down: a trip wire that activates a swinging massive axe, or arrows that shoot straight out of the wall as soon as one gets close enough.

Other junctures may present characters with choices that have consequences: they can choose the shortest pathway, but at great personal risk to themselves or their partner (ie, you can go this way, but your arm isn’t going with you) or they can choose the lengthy pathway full of traps and trials they’ll have to surpass to get to the end.

⏵ balancing act ⏴

The pathway opens up into a massive space, but it's not one with an easy path out: instead, competitors will find an obstacle course that will not let them continue forward until they complete it. Many of the tasks involve things that one cannot do on their own: they must walk across multiple wooden boards balanced precariously on a tall beam, but to ensure it's balanced, there must be one person on both sides of the boards and make sure that they're walking on the board in just the right space to ensure their weight doesn't cause it to sink too far on the opposite side. If a smaller child is on one end, they may want to stand significantly further away from the beam than the larger person on the other half.

⏵ help! i'm bleeding! ⏴

A large garden area spawns off of a pathway. The peaceful chirping of birds can be heard among blooming cherry blossom trees, and it all seems utterly peaceful and calm. An area one might wish to take a breather in, enjoy the sunshine reflecting from above, and get a good nap in. Or would, except a companion bot whose abdomen is covered in ketchup appears to be struggling across the ground, crying out for help. They state they are bleeding profusely and require immediate medical attention, otherwise, they will die.

The companion bot also carries a bag of medical supplies and MREs, which player characters are welcome to utilize. The pathway out of this open space will not open until after the companion bot no longer states they are dying. Whether it's because they're "dead", or because those who came across them offered "medical attention" and patched them up until they've stated they're good and no longer need assistance - well, both will technically suffice.

⏵ choice is an illusion ⏴

After walking down an additional pathway, characters will find themselves trapped within a glass box. In front of them is a pedestal with two buttons: one red, and one green, as well as a tablet above it displaying the image of another group of characters. The tablet states hindering them will help you. You may either choose to make the second group's time through the maze more difficult, or hinder your progress by pressing the green button and helping the other group forward.

Characters are given two minutes to decide which path to take; the timer, on the tablet, counts down regardless of any attempt to break or hack it.

Pressing the green button will drop several squishmallows into the glass box. Inside one of them is a key that unlocks the roof of the glass box. Pressing the red button, while it promises to hinder the other group, actually. . . causes a toxic yellow gas to flood the glass box. The gas will burn the lungs of those who breathe it in, but it also begins slowly melting the glass box. This gas will make breathing difficult for the next 24 hours, but will not kill those who inhale it. Healing factors will not offset the gas.

⏵ who deserves the knife? ⏴

A group of two characters will walk through one corridor and find themselves strapped to two chairs, the backs of which are leaning against each other. In front of the both of them are drills, slowly approaching their chests. They cannot go sideways but can push forward and backward. They can push backward and get themselves further away from the threat of injury - forcing the person behind them to suffer but allowing themselves to escape - or they can push into the drill and free the person they're with. Alternatively, they can choose not to push either way, potentially sacrificing them both.

Three options, but they are left with minimal time to decide as the drill continues to press closer. If they choose to go out together, they'll find that as the drills press against their chest - they simply stop. Minimal blood will be spilled, and they will have all the time they need to figure out how to squirm out of their bindings.

⏵ the Siren waits for thee ⏴
A seemingly harmless pathway turns into much more trouble than it's worth. A few steps through a corridor, and suddenly competitors will find the floor falling out from under them, revealing a body of water and - no solid ground on either side of it. There are the walls, but they lack any good climbing holds. Within the water are numerous Sirens - beautiful androgynous creatures that sing soft songs meant to entice others into following them deep into the water. While they may look beautiful, their mouths are full of razor-sharp teeth, and their intentions certainly aren't innocent. However, the Sirens can only touch competitors once they have initiated touch first. They will do their best to encourage this: holding out their hands, crying out for help, pretending to drown, or trying to coax them into coming in close enough for a kiss. As long as they remain on the path, they're harmless. But the moment they reach out for the Sirens... getting away from them will not be easy. Their tails are powerful, built for moving swiftly throughout the water and dragging others along with them. They bite hard and will dig their teeth deep into flesh to discourage struggling.

If one gets captured by them? They're lunch. Or worse yet: if they get bitten but manage to escape, they may find themselves becoming a bit.. scaley around the neck, eyes shifting color to a too-soft green, and an almost impossible-to-resist urge to take a bite out of their friends.

This effect will continue until May 28th regardless of when the character reaches the end of the Labyrinth. After May 28th, they will find that their scales slowly begin to shed, their eyes begin to turn back to their normal shade, and any other new features slowly turn back to how they were before they were infected.

⏵ don't forget your ball of twine ⏴

The Labyrinth is large, and there are many challenges around each corner. There may be space for breaks in between monsters, challenges, riddles, places to sit and recuperate between battles and mind games. It's not all chaos and challenges meant to test one's strength of will.

⏵ NOTES ⏴
May's mission is completing a massive Labyrinth. All characters must enter the Labyrinth; whether or not they participate once they're inside is up to them, but no one will be permitted to stay behind in the city.

The duo who completes the Labyrinth first will be allowed to assist in choosing the next mission. Sign-ups for this are here. We will contact the chosen characters on May 13th.

This mission will cover the time between May 3rd and May 28th. After May 28th, any characters who have not yet exited the Labyrinth will be gathered by the companion bots and brought back into the city. The companion bots will be aiming for nonviolent intervention. If more is needed, please let us know here.

The first to exit will be returning to the city on May 15th.

There will be powercapping during this mission, but the extent of which is fully up to players. We want the Labyrinth to be challenging but don't want to hinder gameplay too much. If you have any questions relating to this or want assistance coming up with ways to powercap your character, please feel free to ask us here. We will be largely leaving this up to player discretion.

Food is scarce within the Labyrinth, but not impossible to find. There are chests (or maybe they're mimics?) strewn throughout with various useful items. One might have a sword, another might have a fresh chicken nugget Happy Meal from McDonalds. Or an entire birthday cake, candles included.

Large vehicles will not fit in the Labyrinth and must be left behind in the city.

Numerous challenges are throughout the Labyrinth. You are welcome to make your own, but we will also provide several you may utilize! Please feel free to throw down wildcards, or your own challenges into your prompts! The limitation is that characters must remain themselves throughout the challenges. There are no mirror replicas, nothing within the Labyrinth will affect their personalities or core values. It’s meant to challenge, not change them.

Deaths that occur within the Labyrinth will last 24 hours. Please report these on our Death Tracker.

All new locations will appear after player characters have returned to the city. Feel free to note the differences from the May 3rd map, versus what characters will be returning to on May 15th.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Or you could just ask, and I could've said "oh, sure, that makes sense, go ahead" and let it happen?

( billy could get out of this any moment he wanted to. rope isn't enough to keep a witch captured. but his arm's resting slack next to tim's regardless; he's not pulling against it, not magicking himself out, just leaving it be. )

It'd be a very inefficient way of kidnapping someone anyway.

Oh, it's a terrible way to kidnap someone. If I was going to kidnap anyone, I'd lead with incapacitating them and restraints would be a combination of zipties and handcuffs.

[ He says this so agreeably, as if they're talking about the best way to make a sandwich. ]

Would you be so kind as to tackle the maze tethered to me, so we can determine if the maze is aggressively or incidentally separating teams?

I'll give you an early warning that incapacitating me is harder than it looks.

( not that he thinks tim would actually try for it - not with the way he's talking about potentially going for it. his reasoning is valid. most people probably would freak out. billy would have, if he couldn't get out of it in a few seconds. )

But, I'm good with this. ( idly swinging their arms between them, ) I keep losing people, too, and it's really inconvenient.

Who says you look easy to incapacitate?

[ Tim swings their hands a little higher, holding them at the apex for a few seconds. It’s only when he does so that the stars on the fabric stop shifting. A slow smile spreads across his face. It’s always a delight to see something new . He lets their arms fall back into the gentle swing. Maybe it’s playful, maybe it’s a stim. Either way, it doesn’t bother him. ]

That’s some costume you’ve got there. It says I do this all the time in a galaxy far, far away.

( he'd argue most people generally look at him and think, easy to bully, but billy does have the advantage of the suit that's clearly not normal, currently. which he wasn't thinking about, until tim raised their arms to get a better look at it. right. that bit. )

Fair. I wouldn't say I do it all the time, but I've done similar things more often than I would've liked. I usually play the role of support wizard though, so constantly getting separated from people is really not fun.

Even doing it some of the time might make you an expert around here. We have a limited talent pool. If we ever need to play baseball for the fate of a planet, I've got second base covered.

[ It's a great anecdote for moments like this, keep things friendly and light, and maybe to show off that he's on equal footing with the space wizard. ]

I love a good utility spec. If we're going to work together, we should probably have an idea of what we can do. I guess I'm a rogue multiclassing monk.

So, the opposite of me basically.

( or closeish. billy gives a nod of his head, and - starts forward. they're here, this guy's already tied to him, they may as well keep on going wherever it is they're going. )

I'm a witch. No spell slot limitations, but I've got. . . well, it's complicated? I'm finding I'm a lot more limited in here anyway.

Good party balance. Let's find a paladin and a cleric, and we're all set.

[ He follows along, but they barely make it three steps when the room rumbles around them. Tim tries to yank them back, because forward started it, but he backs into the wall that's sliding up along his back. It pulls his cape along with it, dropping it down on his head.

He pushes it aside as the sound keeps going, and Tim almost gets vertigo as the floor sinks and ceiling raises, but only in some areas until... oh no.

(But of course.)

A thick, glowing substances oozes onto the sunken areas of the floor and down the far wall. For a blink, it only surrounds the outline of the lower level, and then in no time it connects into a pool of lava. The lava seeping down the far wall is making slow progress.

The ledge they're on is as wide as a footpath. His motor cycle is safe, about 50 feet away. ]

Please tell me you invested in frost spells.

[ OOC: The map is completely negotiable.]

( well.

he definitely didn't see that coming. tim yanks them back, and billy goes along with his pulling like he's used to it - not that it does any good, given backwards is gone, and all they're left with is - lava, pillars, floors sinking, ceiling raising. suddenly it's hot, and they've been left with no way out that's any good. he's pretty sure the distance between here and the next pillar is about as tall as he is, and billy isn't terrible at jumping but he isn't great at it either. )

I have a feeling Iceman would be very, very uncomfortable if he'd been left here. ( or he'd be fine since billy knows he can freeze fire. how different would lava be? billy's already sweating, but he does have the advantage of magic.

he holds out a hand, opens his mouth. closes it, brows furrowing. )

Flying's out.

[ No real need to guess what someone calling himself Iceman can do. ]

Along with Mr. Freeze, Captain Cold, Ice, Icicle, Icemaiden, Killer Frost, Crystal Frost, Frostbite... you know, the odds really are against two people being in the same room and nobody having ice powers.

[ He's still surveying the space. Back is out, yes, but there's at least three paths that he can see - that darn wall would block his view even if he stood on the far edge of the platform. ]

Grappling to the far wall is out. My gear's not rated for lava. Swinging from the ceiling is possible, but I don't feel great about trusting that the ceiling won't move or start to rain lava. Why would flying have been in? Can you fly yourself over? I'd feel better about swinging if I didn't have to carry you.

Mr. Freeze. ( at least captain cold and frostbite sound cool. unfortunately for them, they don't have anyone with ice powers - or at least not explicitly ice powers. billy's rules are - flexible, which is not very helpful right now either because, )

I'm a flyer, usually? I could carry us both across if I needed to, except my feet aren't coming off the ground so I don't think that's going to work out for us.

( with a glance over to the two closest pillars, the monkey bars just beyond those. if it wasn't for the very real looking lava, billy wouldn't be too worried about trying it. falling on his ass while trying to hero is just another tuesday activity, but falling into a pit of lava? really does not sound pleasant. )

I don't think I need you to carry me. I haven't done monkey bars in. . . years, but I'm not a completely physically useless dork. Usually.

( he doesn't sound too confident, but billy is walking up to the edge of the ledge they're on. )

Oh, it gets worse. His real name?

[ Tim grins broadly, trying to bolster the mood with humor. Yes, it looks bad, and he'd prefer the margin for error didn't equal lava, but dreading the finality of death isn't going to improve anyone's grip. ]

Is Victor Fries.

[ Said with the proper German accent, although Victor is American-born. Robin unhooks the grappling hook with his unbound hand and holds it up. ]

I know I just ruled this out, but I only have one grappling gun, and I'm not throwing it back to you. If we have to use this, I'm going to carry you and won't have time to ask permission first.

We should untie ourselves before we do this, unless you think that's why Aurora made the lava pit for us.

If it comes down to it? Permission granted. I've gotten lugged around enough to be used to it. Comes with the job, I guess.

( weird how kate's usually acting like a badass while billy is getting flung around like a sack of potatoes, except, well, it's not all that weird. kate is badass. billy feels a little more potato sack-ey most days. his eyes move down to where their arms are connected, then to the lava obstacle course that's been gifted to them. honestly? does feel a little pointed, because he hasn't seen one of these yet. but while billy is about thirty percent sure he can make that jump, that goes down to maybe five percent when also taking into mind he's physically attached to this guy. it's not that he doubts tim's ability to land it. it's that it's a lot harder for billy to try for it. )

It might be why the lava pit was put here, but doing the monkey bars three-handed after making two near impossible jumps sounds like a good way to get ourselves killed, and I'd rather not burn to death. ( so billy raises his hand, and the ropes wrapped around their wrist loosen and fall, as if they had never been tied to begin with. he does move a hand to grab onto it before it hits the ground to offer it over, because it feels a little more polite that way. )

In case you want it for later.

Support wizard.

[ Robin (Red Robin, he has to get used to that again) has barely managed to tsk after giving his own words back to him, when the rope falls off and drops away. He moves to grab it, but only grabs Wiccan's hand. Glove-to-glove doesn't make it feel less awkward.

(This is a terrible time to be thinking about Lady and the Tramp.)

He delicately fake coughs at the suggestion. ]

You want me to tie you up later?

[ (Active eruption in the floor. Get it together.)

Tim is eying the distance from their ledge to the first column on their left and backs up to the maze's wall. ]

Let me go first. I don't have any metahuman powers, so I'm not strong enough to jump with you, but I can help you from that side.

( billy walked his way straight into that one. he sees it now. robin coughs, and the tips of billy's ears flush a bright red. it doesn't help that robin grabbed onto his hand like that, even if he's pretty sure it was an accident. )

That's not what I meant. It's your rope, I don't know what else you need it for.

( heroing things, he's assuming. and if they're going to continue forward with each other after they manage to pass the lava, he's assuming robin would want to retie them together. given his whole bit about being worried about getting separated. billy's not moving to shake tim's hand off, despite having plenty of an opening to. )

Be my guest. Platform's all yours.

[ He only realizes that he’s still holding the guy’s hand when Wiccan blushes. Tim lets go of his hand quickly, trying to have a measure of grace with the motion so it doesn’t feel like Wiccan has cooties.

He busies both hands with coiling up the rope to put it away in his belt. His brain calls up the first thing it can to explain the rope. ]

What about a bit of rope? You’ll want it if you haven’t got it.

[ Which only explains that he’s a nerd, but the truth is he uses it to tie up people.

(When they’ve been bad.)

The truth is not going to spare anyone a blush. He has to get himself off this platform. Then they can talk about imminent death instead.

Robin backs up for as much of a running start as he can get and lands the jump cleanly. It’s not far in terms of alleyways - he’s jumped wider gaps between buildings, but alleys don’t end in lava. He’d be more secure with a longer drop. Here, there’d be no time to fire his grappling gun if he missed. ]

It’s about five foot square. How confident are you? I can stand back to make room or kneel by the edge to one side to steady you.

[ More like to catch him or haul him up with a low center of gravity, but Tim doesn’t want to make him nervous. ]

Edited 2024-05-22 03:29 (UTC)

( the quote gets a laugh out of billy regardless. it goes on long enough to give tim time to make his jump, before billy's raising a hand to wipe the side of his palm against an eye. it's not that funny, but it is cute, and considering they're about to jump over lava which feels a little less stressful than climbing up mount doom but just as hot - billy could use the laugh. )

When we get out of here, I'll see what I can do to replicate some Elven rope for you. Not so you can tie me up, but for other rope purposes.

( whether or not it holds up as well as elven rope is debatable, but they can test that later. billy's own gear, his clothing, has always held up pretty well despite being made of magic. right now? he's taking a step back from the ledge, and eyeing the distance from where he's at to where he's going.

it's not a huge gap. but it's big enough to be wary. )

This is what I get for skipping phys ed, isn't it. God, I need to get back on that. I was trying so hard a couple years ago. ( then his depression era hit and he stayed inside for - long enough to be concerning. he's not out of shape, but he's not practice pull-ups to show off while waiting for the avengers to judge him fit either. he's run away from a bear without dying fit. )

Sixty percent? I'll probably be fine.

( and another step back, so he can - get a running start. )

[ Laughing’s a good sign, but all Sméagol jokes are being kept to inner monologue. (Nasty elves twisted it!) Given Gollum’s end, not appropriate for lava room.

Sixty percent is low enough for Tim to speak up. Being afraid of jumping (more specifically: of landing) is the surest way to bobble the takeoff. They can’t afford that. ]

Hey. Look at me, okay? I’m your target.

[ Tim is kneeling about a foot back from the ledge, weight balanced between one leg fully grounded and the other in a low crouch. He could drop the crouch in an instant and be flush to the ledge. ]

The jump is shorter than we’re tall, and you look fit.

[ And Tim is assuming that disabilities would’ve come up before the jumping began. There’s no rush - they can take the time for a peptalk. He’d rather be annoyingly reassuring in his coaching than coax someone into jumping over lava when he’s not ready. ]

The average person can make this jump, and the average person is sedentary. You could almost step across it. That’s how much you’ve got this on your own, and you’ve got me to play Samwise. You get anywhere near the target, and I will get you there. Just keep your eyes on me and that’s where you’ll aim.

You're being both way overly comforting, and also now if I do fumble it I'm going to feel terrible. ( this is what he gets for going through a depression fugue and not moving for a while. at least he's been chased down by bears, aliens, noh-varr heads on spider-droid bodies, the occasional terrible version of his friends, and way too many noh-varrs. especially the noh-varrs. and the bear.

he's fine. at least it's not a lava-bear. ) It's not the jump, it's the lava pit. Like I've seen people burn to death and it did not look fun, and there's nowhere near enough of a drop to pull some OP move out that I had no idea I could do at the last moment before I turn into a very burnt Billy-kabob.

( imagine if he misses after hearing the whole the average person can make this line. how embarrassing would that be? there's no need for any extra steps back, billy's pretty sure he already has the distance needed to leap.

so he takes a breath in and runs the few steps forward he's given himself, before leaping off the edge of their starting place.

there's a spark of what looks like it could be electricity, lightning, flitting around him harmlessly, as if it could potentially stop him from falling to his demise had that become a thing. instead, billy's foot manages to land on the pillar just fine.

it's his forward momentum that might have him falling straight off the other side of the pillar. )

[ Hell. Tim’s encouragement usually lands better, but he doesn’t know Wiccan aside from “Receptive to Nerdy references”.

He’ll do better on the next jump, and it’s enough anyway - Wiccan’s taking the jump. Lands it, too, and Tim’s seen enough landings to recognize that the guy won’t stick it. Doesn’t wait to see how many steps forward he needs - they don’t have much room to spare - or for the energy to dissipate. ]

Gotcha!

[ He throws both arms around Wiccan’s waist, one hand catching a fistful of cape, and yanks him straight down. ]

No ke-Billys today.

( at the very least, he overcompensated, instead of not being capable of making a jump an average person could make.

arms wrap around his waist and billy gets yanked back away from the edge. the pillar isn't that large, so when he falls backwards, he falls onto tim himself. it's - a little embarrassing, but it could be a lot worse. he could be in the lava pit. instead, he's half-sprawled over tim with arms wrapped around his waist and his heart pounding against his chest because that was close. )

- shit, sorry!

( give him a minute and he'll get up. he just - needs to calm himself down a bit first. )

[ He's well-braced for the impact that he knows is going to happen, and Wiccan's about his size: they're in no danger of toppling off. At the apology, Robin laughs and shakes his head. ]

Why are you apologizing? I'm the one who grabbed you.

[ Robin loosens his grip as he says that, but doesn't let the other teen go. He just jumped over his (first?) pit of lava. He can decide when he feels grounded enough to get up. ]

Anything twist on the landing? Er, besides everything when I pulled you down?

( for pretty much landing on top of tim, even if it wasn't intentional on his part. billy doesn't think it needs to be specified any, so he opts to leave it where it is. looks down to the arms around him, then starts carefully getting himself up to his feet. he doesn't reach to dislodge tim any, just - figures he'll move his arms when he feels like it. they've only got a small pillar to work with, and billy's slow with his attempt to get up to his feet. just in case. )

No, I'm good. It wasn't a terrible landing, just, you know, ( landed on his ass, which will recover a lot faster than his pride. at least he didn't undershoot the jump. )

I think we can say that any pillar landing is a good landing.

[ He lets go when Billy's about 1/3 of the way to his feet, and once he's safely on his feet, Tim stands up quickly. He takes up less space standing and already wants to move on. The room is warm, borderline hot, and they need to get this over with before either of them swelter or lose their nerve. (Although, hm. Not AS hot as a room full of lava should be.) ]

So, Mr. Wizard, something to think about while I get set up: is this room physical tricks, or magical ones? Can you sense anything?

[ And he takes the jump onto the next column like an elf. ]

( it is warm, but not so warm that billy feels like he's boiling in his skin. which - hadn't seemed weird, until robin had asked if this was physical, or magical. billy pauses long enough to look around them, scanning the lava with his eyes, eyes narrowing as he tries to see something that isn't really there but might be. )

Honestly? I'm not as trained in this as a lot of the other witches and sorcerers I've known are. But I can usually get a good feel for things, and I'm not feeling any magical influences here. It could also just be like. . . a different kind of magic than what I'm used to. Like, mine's called chaos magic usually, which I know I can feel out easily. But Stephen Strange relies on the Vishtani for his magic, which feels a lot different. Less chaos-y, more Eldritch-y.

( he's not staying back here for long - but he is reclassifying robin from samwise to legolas. quietly. to himself.

and taking the next leap after robin. he's significantly closer to dead center this time, after figuring out he was jumping too far the first time. billy stumbles a little less; it helps that he's focused more on how to describe magic than he is on the jump itself. nerves and all. )

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