MISSION 002

[etrayamods]

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.

Comments

I

[godsbabydaddy]

[Honestly, he was reminded of some of the staff he'd had in the past, who tended to do their best not to draw his direct attention while going about their business. Even the flashes of green and claws didn't break the illusion.

He casually kept pace with the creature, whatever it was, hands tucked casually in the small of his back.]

You could come out, you know. Instead of scurrying in the shadows.

[stresstokens]

[ Busted. A little green head pokes out from around the corner. For as little as the stranger seemed intimidated by him creeping about, he looks even less intimidating once he's in full view; short, cheeks only now losing the baby fat of youth as he hurtles towards adulthood, with large ears that stick out prominently from either side of his head. ]

I could, [ he says slowly, a little suspiciously. He wasn't hiding from this man. Or, rather, he was hiding from a lot more than the man. ] But I'm not sure if I want to. Have you seen the monsters they've filled this place with?

[ He's not too scared of the monsters, but only if he has the ability to run and hide. Riz knows his strengths well, and those strengths mean that he's deadly in a dark alleyway, and practically defenseless in a sunny meadow. At a time like this, the shadows are precisely where he belongs. ]

[godsbabydaddy]

[Aw, he's adorable. Tianlang-Jun has to hold onto the urge to squish those cheeks. But a little small, so perhaps he could understand the hiding. Especially since he was reminded of Mobei's pet upon seeing him.]

Those things? I suppose they might be dangerous to some. They don't bother me that much.

[A monster would have to be truly fearsome to bother a demon like him.]

[stresstokens]

I wouldn't be all that worried about them if I wasn't separated from my party, but...

[ But here he is, on his own. He's a Rogue. And as much as it pains him to have to admit this particular shortcoming, he's small. He knows he's small. It's handy when it comes to sneaking around and hiding in cramped spaces, but it puts him at a distinct disadvantage in a fight, especially when he's much more bite-sized. Both literally and metaphorically.

He takes a moment to scrutinize the man in front of him, as though he'll be able to see how strong he is at just a glance. He's pretty big, Riz supposes, and carries himself with the sort of regality that reminds him of a high elf, but there are no other obvious indications of power. Which are meaningless, as Riz himself well knows; Principal Aguefort is one of the strongest beings alive, and he looks to be for all intents and purposes to be your run-of-the-mill old man. ]

Well, whatever. No helping us getting separated. You seem pretty confident, though -- how do you fight?

[godsbabydaddy]

[Really, Tianlang-Jun didn't have any experience with being small and disadvantaged, considering that even when he'd been young, he'd still been a very powerful kind of demon. That didn't mean he couldn't sympathize.]

More like yourself? [He could see how a small swarm of little creatures could be a force to face against. Safety in numbers and all that.]

This lord is confident. And how I fight depends on what I am fighting. That flying thing... Claws or a qi blast, most likely. If it was foolish enough to attack. Summon a beast to fight it for me if I'm busy.

[stresstokens]

[ Riz shakes his head. ] More not like me. That's kind of the point. We balance each other out.

[ Not as much now that they're missing half of their party, he'll admit, but the three of them together are still better-rounded than each one of them left on their own. Riz likes to think that he fulfills a specific purpose in the ecosystem that is their party, but he also happens to be the party member that's the least useful in a fight when left to his own devices.

The puzzles? He can get through those like nothing else. The big scary flying monsters? That's another story. ]

This lord, [ he repeats curiously, eyes scanning his new companion thoroughly. He'd been under the impression that he's human, but if he's got claws, that can't be the case. ] What's that mean? And what are you, anyway?

[ There's some irony, in a goblin asking someone much more human-shaped that question, but he bowls right into it nonetheless. ]

I know monks use qi, but you don't seem like a monk. No offense.

[godsbabydaddy]

[The very idea of him being a monk distracted him from anything else he might have said about the whole team thing. Because while, yes, he had lived with monks for a short while, he'd certainly never have been able to be one! So forgive him for laughing, leaning a hand on the other's shoulder for support. Sorry if he's heavy.]

My friend, I do believe the monks that I know would qi deviate at the idea of my trying to join their order!

The fact that they allowed a demon to recuperate in their monastery was enough of a strain on their instincts.

[stresstokens]

[ Riz's breath catches in his throat. ] Wait, you're a demon?

[ There's a hiccup in Riz's step as his head swivels to look at his new companion, nakedly surpirsed. ] But you look so... human. Is that just the form you've taken on?

[ It occurs to him that you shouldn't just ask people why they look human. But in this case, he'll afford himself some leeway; it wasn't so long ago that he'd been taken captive by a bunch of demons, and he'd had all too long to study their appearance, horned and winged and tremendously scary when you're just one small Goblin being tied to an altar.

No need to panic, he tells himself. Demonic though this guy may be, he hasn't shown any signs of aggression. Yet. ]

[godsbabydaddy]

[Tianlang-Jun made a show of stopping and looking down at Riz as though he'd never heard of any such thing before tossing a lock of hair with a put upon huff.]

Hardly. This lord looks as he always has. If humans aspire to imitate, that's their business.

[Of course, the little smirk completely belies any offense he projects to the question.]

But I understand. There are so many kinds of demons who are just too hideous to associate with.

[stresstokens]

I'm not sure if I'd call them hideous... [ Riz mumbles, a little half-heartedly in the way of someone who may or may not fully believe what he's saying, but feels obligated to say so anyway, all things considered.

(They were hideous. Vrocks were scary. ]

I, uh -- [ Should he even be saying this? Pomposity aside (and that's hardly a problem when his best friend is Fabian Aramais Seacaster), this guy at least seems pretty okay. ] I had a run-in with some demons, not too long ago. They all looked a little more like you, but only under a glamour, which is why I asked. Are you from the Abyssal plane, then?

[godsbabydaddy]

[If Riz wanted to be polite and not call them hideous, Tianlang-Jun was happy to do it for him. He'd called his own beloved nephew ugly, so he wasn't shy.]

Hm, I'm familiar with the Endless Abyss that lies between the human and demon realms, but not from there. Few Abyssal creatures leave there, to my knowledge.

[stresstokens]

[ Riz scratches at his cheek. ]

Different terminology, maybe? Where I'm from, the Abyssal Plane is where all demons are from. Like, that's what the demon realm itself is called.

[ The existence of a different sort of Abyss - Endless Abyss, which isn't creepy at all! - is new, and fascinating in its own way. ]

So you're from a different kind of demonic realm? Or an immigrant to the human realm? [ Is that a thing that can happen? Can demons just immigrate? Probably, he thinks. Gorthalax did, and he's a big-shot Devil. It's probably questionably illegal, but everything that demonic and devilish entities do are some level of illegal on the material plane. ]

[godsbabydaddy]

It's quite the coincidence, isn't it?

[From what he's heard, it's definitely creepy. And dangerous, and in most cases deadly. Not for beginners at all.]

I'm more of what my son-in-law calls a tourist? I believe that was the word? I did spend some time living in the human realm, but mostly I just visit to enjoy the entertainment now that I'm retired.