Ruin's Dawn: Conquering Hive

[Ralgar Warborn]

As the group adventured the place they were in got stranger and stranger, Ralgar looking to Nir'wei as he glanced around. Understanding the people around him made this mission far easier, yet as the stranger they had healed started to ask them to appeal to it, Nir'wei and Balthazar shared their opinion on that sentiment. Ralgar almost wished he could go back to knowing nothing. This was out of his comfort zone, even more so than it had been when he was in Scaltoth with Nir'wei the season prior. Immortals, strange mazes, illusions - it was all similar. But something about this was far more sinister. No induks being saved, no end goal other than to see what was on the other side, no real knowledge of what they were actually doing here.

All of it felt off.

That feeling only grew more, however, when Elisabeth spoke of the room with a cell. At first the Mortalborn looked around and thought little of the place, but quickly Elisabeth explained why she thought this room was catered to her. The tribal man looked around as she told of a cell she had been held in, Ralgar deciding not to ask questions about why or where she was imprisoned right now. Instead, he glanced to all of the others for a moment, before Nir'wei decided to take the door on the left. Ralgar looked to Elisabeth for a moment.

"Whatever this place is, we leave it behind us. You're stronger than this place" he said simply, nodding his head before following Nir'wei through the left door. There was little reason in particular for the door to be left, but from what Balthazar had explained it wouldn't seem to matter much. So long as they kept moving, however they had to do it, Ralgar considered it a win for himself and the team. So, club in hand, the man followed close behind the others and made sure to stick with them as they walked through the door to whichever illusion would come next.

~~Haltunga~~ Common~~

[Fate]

Ambience

[googlefont=PangolinThe Explorer listened to what Balthazar and Nir’Wei said about him speaking to his mistress and there was a moment of sanity in his eyes. None of them could really tell what was going on behind those eyes but something deep was occurring as they trudged across the prison. The man barely glanced at it until he heard Elizabeth explaining about how hard it was for her and how it was a traumatic event. He also seemed surprised that these people were angry very angry at the Labyrinth.

He continued to walk with them, and then slowly said. “You are different.” He turned away from the group and walked towards the sound of the meowing. He paused and knelt down and move some of the junk that piles up in prisons picked up the kitten. He walked back quickly and carefully holding the kitten. He looked at it and the two touched noses and seemed to cuddle even as they took the door to the left. They found themselves once again in another part of the hall of bones with its macabre décor.

It was only a short while before they came to a circular intersection. As they entered it they found themselves in a rotunda type room. Besides the one they had just walked through there were three out exits. In between each of the entrance was what appeared to be a long bone that stretch well into the air. As the group would look up they would realize that the domed room was composed of four giant skeletons reaching upwards towards and formed the dome itself. Each of there arms reaching upwards to so that their hands clasped in the middle of the dome.

The floor was a mosaic pattern and upon closer looking they would see that it was made from different color river stones turned sideways making a pattern. In the middle was a riddle.

“Gifts are what binds the world together. Now choose your gift.”

After reading these words. The giant skeletons above them seemed to shift. The one in the middle became a motherly figure clothed in flesh and garments, but around her waist appeared belt with these words. “To the Center.” The one on the right turned into a hunter, and standing in the arch way Nir’Wei could see his wolves again, and they could see him in the center, one her belt was the words. “To Hunt your Foes.”

The one left was dressed as a scholar and his belt said. “To your own self discovery.”

The mad explorer laughed from his spot where the cat sat. “I have talked with her, but as always she gives you a choice.” His eyes gleamed. “She has sensed two wishes. One is to hunt those who destroyed my writings, and one is to go to the center of the Labyrinth where everyone tries to reach. If you enter the hunt you will be join them on their exploration. If you go to the center you can surprise them but how knows how long they will take to get there. She does sense that something is occurring, and so leaves it up to you to choose where and how you want to hunt them.” He looked at the last tunnel. “Or you can continue on as before and find out more about yourself.” Then the kitten jumped down and walked around each of their feet rubbing itself against them. It then walked towards back towards the entrance they had come through and began to sniff what appeared to be some kind of nest. Had been built into the openings between two gigantic figures. Inside the nest appeared to be some kind of fly eggs. The kitten after sniffing it turned its back and continued its exploration of the rooms and its figures.

Both Nir’Wei and Balthazar’s fire Dirri whispered to them and they indead could sense fire down the tunnel of the hunt, and the wolves were picking up the sent of others.



[/googlefont]

Info & Rules

• Due to the time-sensitive nature of this, I can not hold out for people to post. If you miss a round, there will (I'm afraid) be consequences. Please Communicate with me if something comes up for the week. There will still be consequence but different. Please post by Tuesday August 3 by 7:00 am Mountain Standard Time.
• This style of event moderation - with objectives etc - was created by a wonderful moderator named Crimson.

[Elisabeth Black]

Arc 721, 35 Saun

Elisabeth nodded as Balthazar touched her arm and the group moved forward together. She wouldn’t allow the maze to get into her mind, although saying that and following through were two entirely different things. Ralgar’s words brought a bit of a smile. Sometimes in the face of adversity, one needed a simple reminder, and he had provided it.

The other woman was being quiet, which wasn’t an uncommon reaction to the situation. She seemed to be the type to only speak when she had something important to say, which Elisabeth understood.

She listened to Nir’wei speak to the man, and she agreed with many of his points. However, she acknowledged that he was much more knowledgeable about such things than she was. Her points of view only came from the experiences she brought to the table, so to speak, and what she could see with her own eyes.

Forward was the only way through.

Elisabeth was not angry at the Labyrinth. In a way, it was doing what it was designed to do. It had a purpose that it was fulfilling. It remained to be seen how she felt about the man and his ‘Mistress’, but it wasn’t looking good thus far. As always, she remained hopeful that they could complete their mission without violence, but one always needed to be prepared for the eventuality.

The man found the kitten that had been meowing, picked it up and carried it out of the room with them, back to the disorienting maze of bone, and before long, a large domed room with words written on the floor.

“Gifts are what binds the world together. Now choose your gift.”

When Elisabeth thought of ‘gifts’, her mind always leapt to Saoire, but she doubted Saoire had anything to do with this place. As her eyes shifted through the ‘choices’, she sighed. Life was full of choices but in the past few seasons, Elisabeth had come to realize that apparent choices weren’t always the ones given. The man explanation of the choices only made that notion clearer in her head, and her decision was an easy one. Perhaps not the popular choice – that remained to be seen – but a choice regardless.

Elisabeth gently knelt when the kitten came to her, petting the creature gently if it would allow her to, speaking her thoughts to the others, but looking towards the kitten. “Self-discovery is a wondrous thing - on one’s own time. We aren’t and there are a great many people that could be hurt if we stop and indulge. We were brought here for a purpose, and we need to fulfill that purpose. Only one of those doors will take us to that goal in a timely manner. Faldrun's minions are the common denominator, and issue - for both us and the Labyrinth.

The door to the center of the maze would get them where they needed to go, but the matter still stood that the others possibly would never arrive and nothing said the artifacts were in the center. To solve the problem, they needed to go directly to the source. It was the elegant solution.

Following the kitten to the nest, Elisabeth curiously gazed within, curious as to what had made such a thing. Her curiosity, unfortunately, would have to wait.

“The Hunt seems to be the logical choice."

OOC Note about Elisabeth's Necklace

Elisabeth is wearing her heirloom necklace. This necklace has its own moderator (Basilisk). Please check in with him as the necklace has been known to have odd reactions to things like magic...

[Nir'wei]

Their time in the prison chamber was short-lived, with only a cat to really show for it, and the next room was no less eerie in construction. What strange creatures had lived, to leave skeletons so large and in such an arrangement? It seemed, from the ways they moved without prompting, that they were just more aptly-shaped constructions of the Labyrinth itself. It certainly seemed to have a thing for skeletons and bones.

And pissing about, even when it was supposedly in mortal peril.

"I thought you said there was only one path," Nir'wei said, reciting the first advice the same man had given, as he now offered no less than three different choices for them to make in order to carry out their duties. "Considering how much you've tried to test our minds thus far, I can't help but wonder now if this is just another test." He tapped a finger to his temple. "That's the consequence of you and your Mistress messing about with us already. Now, I have to second-guess everything you do." They'd have to sacrifice efficiency for certainty. He looked to each of the three paths before them, feeling the senses of Grey and the wolves on the other side of the Hunt, and Gaddwin's sense of distinct flame down that path in particular. "Going down the path of the Hunt will allow us to hunt those that attacked this place," he wondered aloud, to the tune of Elisabeth's observations, "and by wiping out the invaders, you'll be safe, the Labyrinth will remain standing, and Raskalarn gets what she wants. Unless it's the wrong path. The ones down that path are not the ones at the center, which are the ones attacking your Mistress, and the ones we've been sent here to stop. Killing them allows them to escape with the artefact, the mission fails, the Labyrinth is doomed, and we kill some useless grunts. The path to the center, you say is the path to the center, except you also said that the Labyrinth is a test to help discover who we are. Self-discovery. There's only one path, just as there is one path to self-discovery. So why have the other paths at all."

Spread out like this, an argument could be made for any of the paths, and all three at once. Bollocks to this. "Your gifts are graciously accepted. All of them." With that, Greyhide, Cold, Myrth, Squeak, and Kin all turned away from the portal and began to stalk towards the scents of fire. The five of them, one Alpha, two Betas and two Omega Velduris Wolves would make the perfect strike team against whatever stood in their way. They entered the Path of the Hunter.

Sovar, Castile, Vabina and Gaddwin manifested and joined together before beginning their journey to the center. Acting as his Conduit made Sovar, the Velduris Wolf granted by Karem herself almost a secondary Alpha. Castile, despite being an Omega, was a seasoned combatant and survivalist. Vabina, the Rharnian Zephyrus, towered over the rest of them, and Gaddwin the FireForged spirit rode between her ears. Whatever happened when they reached the other side, he knew they would be able to assess the situation and summon the rest to the position. If worst came to worst, the three of them together made up arguably the most dangerous of his arsenal. Vabina's heavy support alone would tear through whatever waited for them. Sovar's quick thinking and assessments would do the rest. They entered the Path of the Mother.

Archailist and Sage, the floating squirrel Ose'bori and strange amorphic mass of energy that decided to take the form of a black hound with several purple eyes dotting its face - the enigmatic cores of his being, took the final path. He chose them not on their martial prowess, but their ability to accurately understand himself, most of all... which was strange, in itself, since they all made up himself. But still. They took the Path of the Scholar.

Nir'wei, himself, remained behind with a single spirit left to his name. Cyshe floated in the palm of his hand as he watched all three groups enter their respective tunnels in unison. Then he turned to follow Elisabeth and crouch down at the nest built near the entrance. Fly eggs? What was so interesting about them? He didn't know, but he reached out and scooped a few up in his fingers to examine them more closely, while Cyshe examined the room and the cat for other signs of clues. It was clear, simply from the fact the cat existed in this strange labyrinth of the mind, that it was no ordinary animal. "Your Mistress exists as a labyrinth to test those that enter it, to discover their true natures, yes?" he asked rhetorically, not looking up from his examination. "It failed at its job. This is who I truly am. The man who refuses to play your damn games. Who refuses to conform to your choices. Go ahead, what's your next challenge going to be? Ten different options? A hundred?" He clearly didn't really expect an answer, but he'd laugh if he got one, no matter the answer. "None of it matters. Know why?"

He smiled softly to himself. "I know who I am. But this test proves that you never did."

[Balthazar Black]

35 Saun, 721

Progress was progress, no matter what they faced as they moved through it. Balthazar was prepared to move into another chamber tailored to one of their band but found no such thing as they passed from another hall of bones into a more round room with much larger skeletons used in its design. The decor was impressive but Balthazar wasn't sure that thinking about how it had all come to this place would get them anywhere they needed to be. There were three exits now. More choices and more opportunities to divide the group from one another. It could have been a trick. When Balthazar noticed the pattern on the floor he moved a little to try and get a better sense of what the design was supposed to look like but only ended up finding the words written.

His brow furrowed. Gifts are what bind the world together. Now choose your gift. Did the labyrinth just... speak to them? Then the figures began to morph and Balthazar's hand's briefly balled into fists before relaxing. The skeletons took on different, distinct forms with labeled belts and the Explorer spoke with the same general sense of madness he always seemed to speak with. They had a choice- of course they did, it seemed the labyrinth thrived on making people choose things. Balthazar considered two of the options presented. Going to the center and going to their enemy. Self discovery would only stall them. The enemy had entered first and they were moving forward. Unless they knew the enemy was delayed as well, they couldn't ignore shortcuts.

Balthazar found it more difficult to decide between hunting their enemy and going to the center than he thought he would. If they went to the center they could set up a trap for their enemy and they'd be able to secure whatever it was everyone was looking for in the center of the Labyrinth. Yet it also meant giving their enemy more time to move through the trials of the labyrinth and possibly grow stronger. If they went on the hunt they could strike first. They'd have the element of surprise and they'd probably be able to hit hard enough to defeat them in one swoop... but then they'd still be in a portion of the labyrinth and forced to find a way forward. Balthazar thought back to what Raskalarn had said to them to try and find some sort of guidance. Faldrun's minions were using one of her creator's artifacts to gather ambient power. So if the minions continued to progress while the group sat at the center preparing a trap, the minions would continue to amass the power their leaders wanted.

Elisabeth said she thought the hunt was the only logical choice but Balthazar didn't speak up quite yet. He kept thinking because none of it felt right. While Nir'wei dressed down the Explorer, Balthazar listened and watched the figured outlining each path. It was one thing to think the general thought that the counselor had a lot of spirits at his disposal. It was another thing entirely to see so many brought to action so quickly. He sent them down each path. Some to hunt, some seeking the center, and others moving to explore the path of the scholar. Nir'wei himself remained behind and boasted to the Explorer that he knew who he was and he refused to play the labyrinth's games. Balthazar had to admit, it was impressive. The most he'd considered was going down the path of the hunt and sending Fuego to the center. Yet, despite Nir'wei going down each path, the group itself was still standing in the rotunda with a decision to be made.

Balthazar looked towards Elisabeth who'd already voiced her opinion. She wanted to go through the path to the hunt. He nodded his head towards it to see if she was thinking the same thing that he was. She was over with the cat though and didn't seem to notice him the moment he looked to her though so his eyes shifted to Ralgar and Tor'ree. Like him, they had yet to say anything about which path they thought was worth pursuing so Balthazar went to them.

"Should the effort with the spirits not work out, what path's would you two consider? I agree with Elisabeth. I think the hunt is the best way to stop Faldrun's minions from gathering more ambient power." He spoke quietly but loud enough that they'd hear him. He didn't necessarily want the Explorer to hear him though. "But I also agree with Nir'wei. The logic of this place is skewed."

[Ralgar Warborn]

As Ralgar kept eyes on the strange explorer that had joined their party, he held his club tight in his grip. Something about the stranger seemed off, though this entire situation was a little unusual compared to the life he was used to living. Even with the group around him, all clearly competent, the Deathkissed felt uncomfortable. This strange man, who had been nearly killed by the maze they were in, seemed to know an awful lot about it. Even if the attackers had truly burned him, why was he here? What did he do, what did he want? Was any of what he said true?

Slowly, he kept behind the group, placing himself as close to Nir'wei as possible. As they made their way forward and past the walls made of more bones, then entered the room of puzzles, Ralgar looked forward at the giant skeletal statues. The explorer they had saved started to laugh as Ralgar gripped his club tighter, his eyes intense as he stared at the stranger, debating just how valuable he would be to the team. Thus far, all it seemed to be was riddles and mysteries, secrets kept.

The riddle, it seemed, was deciding how to progress forward. Elisabeth spoke first and Ralgar paused, not sure what to say in that moment as he pondered. But there was only one real option, he thought. Until Nir'wei spoke and Balthazar followed, Ralgar pausing in his decision. If they had to make a choice, Ralgar would have agreed with Elisabeth. Perhaps he still did. It was hard to tell. "What if it ends with us trapped, not playing the game?" he asked with a small tone of concern, eyes glancing to the two men that seemed to have more experience than he did in situations like this one. He paused for a moment, before shaking his head and

"I stand by my allies. So I will not pick until they do" he said firmly, eyes facing the explorer as he placed his club into his hand, showing he was not here to play games. Then he turned to Elisabeth and gave her a small nod of reassurance, before speaking again. "But we stand together. All of us. If left with no choice, I pick what she has picked."

~~Haltunga~~ Common~~

[Tor'ree]

Tor’ree watched as the group made it into the next room. She looked around staying towards the edge curious to see what laid within. The woman was no fool to go into the middle and get trapped if something were to lay in wait for them. She jerked around hearing a voice come out of no where talking about how they had three choices. One to continue straight on a path of self discovery, second was a path to hunt those that threatened the labyrinth, and the last was the center of the room that would take them directly to the middle of all the insanity. It appeared that the crazy old man not only had lied to them, but also knew where their opponents were.

“Very funny how you suddenly know which way the fire starters went. I see no reason to trust someone who has lied to try and get what they want. Then pretend to give us options when it is clear no one will fall for it. Give me one good reason why you should be left alive,” Tor’ree growled at the crazy man.

She was in no mood to deal with his foolishness. The group was already strained having barely known each other. Or rather the woman did not know any of her companions while they seemed slightly familiar with each other. That was certainly not making her feel any better. When Nir picked all their options the woman stared at him like he was crazy. That was till all the animals appeared out of nowhere. Most of them were wolves causing her to look back at the man. He did not appear to be a Sev’ryn, yet familiars were the only spirit wolves she knew of. Well spirit animals in general rather than just wolves.

[Fate]

Ambience

The Explorer watched with interest as the group freaked out over their sudden options. He listened as each in there own way yelled at him. The man’s expression remained calm, though his eyes showed a broil of emotions behind them. Actually he appeared more calm now then he had all through the previous rooms. He looked from each as each took there turn to speak, but he remained quiet waiting for everyone to make there threats or voice their thoughts.

He waited and looked at Tor’ree and said. “I can’t keep you from killing me. So if it will make you feel better then act upon it.” His voice held a bit of irritation. “And since everyone one is determined to go through this half listening nothing I say will clearly save my life.” He tilted his head. “I have no clue were that” He pointed at the hunting path. “Will take you. From what I understand it will allow you to join the fire happy ones in their trip through the Labyrinth.” He looked at Nir’Wei and he spoke. “Yes I said there is one path, but as I warned you people’s perception will be different.” He paused, “In all frankness this is a situation I have never seen nor do I think she has. You asked me to talk to her, and this is how she can help. My Mistress is a Labyrinth, her very nature is to give people choices, because people’s choices is what determines who they are. So your choices make a straight path. So the question is do you want to hunt the others or ambush get ahead.” He glanced at the third tunnel. “She has given you the option to choose to keep discovering yourself, but obviously that isn’t a real option to you.”

The Explorer then sat down and folding his legs so that he was sitting cross legged he watched. He would let them do to him what they would he would fight it, but he was also done fighting with them verbally. He did for sure feel this was why it was important for one to seek the Labyrinth for themselves and not just be dropped off there.

Nir’Wei’s spirit companions spread out as directed and entered each of the tunnels. The path of the scholar path of the scholar opened up into almost forestry area in an area surrounded by green bushes. It was strangle quiet and the two spirits walked forward. Each feeling that the place should be more alive then it was with more noises.

The path of hunt open up actually to an underground swamp. This was an area where the wolves were happy about the water but the cover here was excellent. Their sharp noses and hearing told them very quickly that there were others in this room and that they were using fire quiet freely. The spread out in the way of a pack and moved slowly through the swamp keeping to the shadows. The could hear frustrated voices coming from farther along.

“I think this bloody maze is catching on.” The heard a snatch of conversation.

The last path, opened up into another hall of bones, very much like the first in its decoration style, but there were differences, the weird distances were gone and just ran forward and forward. Unlike the first time some of the wolves came in even the bones smelt old. Vabina glanced back and couldn’t see the rotunda they had just left, but he could see the smoldering blaze of the entrance room. The moved farther down and the communicated back that it was boring though at certain points they could smell the presences of there other companions as if they were there but unseen, and as they moved farther down the could also smell other people who were part of the group. The way was clear before them. The spirits would say boring and old. The path just continued it was hard to say what specifically was ahead as in made some turns but Nir’Wei could sense that it was like path that was progressively spiraling inwards towards the center.

Info & Rules

• Due to the time-sensitive nature of this, I can not hold out for people to post. If you miss a round, there will (I'm afraid) be consequences. Please Communicate with me if something comes up for the week. There will still be consequence but different. Please post by Tuesday August 3 by 7:00 am Mountain Standard Time.
• This style of event moderation - with objectives etc - was created by a wonderful moderator named Crimson.

[/quote]

[Nir'wei]

There was no denying or disguising the fact that Nir'wei was quite proud of his little moment, though he was also shocked that it'd actually worked. Considering nobody else had made a choice, well, he had to assume they were just as surprised. Still. They had shit to do, and they needed to get on with it. Eustace was frankly useless in that goal now. All he could do was complain that they were only listening to half of his mad ramblings and try to explain why the Labyrinth was utterly justified in its decision to mess around with them all and just make everything even more complicated than it had to be. Of course. Yes. Perfect sense. "Your Mistress is either very silly, or very dumb. Or both." He wasn't angry at it anymore, though, he just wanted to be out of it as quickly as possible, and he no longer cared for its wellbeing all that much - or about whatever works of Engleberg were still hanging around. They were more fascinated in just giving them answers to questions nobody cared about than their own lives, or the lives of others. It didn't matter if they didn't know any better, or it was just in their nature to do so, or they were incapable of doing anything else - it was stupid, and that was that.

"He's right, at least. The Path of the Hunt has enemies. In a swamp, though. Somewhere deep underground, it seems. I'm ambushing them now." He pointed to the Path of the Scholar. "A forest, of some sort. But that's probably for me only. Like Elisabeth's prison chambers... it's making something new for me, isn't it." He didn't care about the answer, if there was one, and pointed to the third path. "More bones. A long, stretching corridor... that seems to be sliding in and out of where it should be." That part he really couldn't make sense of, but the skewed logic of the Labyrinth didn't seem like it was going to reveal its truth any time soon. "But it seems to be the right direction, more or less. Unimpeded, winding, but heading towards the middle, one way or another." Nir'wei sighed when it seemed nothing would come of the fly eggs, and instead he sat cross-legged, much like Edward. "Pick your paths as you please. No matter which one you pick, I will use my spirits to maintain a channel of communication and as soon as I know which is the correct path, the other spirits will return to me and I will head to the artefact."

In the Path of the Hunt, the five wolves slunk through the marshes. The water and mud made movement difficult, and stealth impossible; if not by sight or scent, the sound of every movement in the water was enough to confirm the numbers and locations of all the enemies in the area through their Enhanced Senses, and Sense of Prey worked to immediately pick out which among them was the most vulnerable... and therefore which could be left for last. As they spread out, each wolf slipped into the Beneath to mask their presence and move unhindered to take their positions. Nir'wei watched it unfold in real-time through their eyes, assessed the situation with the mind of a master strategist, and formed a plan. They began at the edges, picking off stragglers and pairs. Materialising in mid-pounce, jaws spread wide, to tear straight through the neck of a target for a killing blow. A second, a third, a fourth taken down at the exact same time, with a fifth on lookout in case someone else noticed and alerted the others. All with only the precision that a perfect mental link could form.

Even if they were spotted, they could shift in and out of the physical world at will, appearing only for the instant it would take to land a blow before disappearing again. Chaining together with each-other for double, even triple combinations to take down a target before moving from the next - leaving only the weakest in combat ability behind to be disposed of once the larger targets had been eliminated.

In the Path to the Center, Vabina and Castile dug their claws into the ground and broke into a solid sprint. Though the path occasionally threw curves and turns, the generally straight and narrow corridors of bones provided the perfect track to really break out into a full run - and though the path was long, they were fast. Both double-enhanced by Nir'weis physical training to improve their speed, among other things, they were a bit more than that, and Unshakeable to boot, left with a single objective in lack of any other stimulation; get to the center, no matter what might impede their path or distract them. In hindsight, it might have been better to offer someone a seat. Vabina could probably have carried them to the middle. Faster than they'd have been able to make it if they started that walk now.

In the forest at the Path of the Scholar, Archailist and Sage floated forwards slowly. "Don't suppose you can shapeshift yourself into a red hood and a picnic basket, could you?" the squirrel asked. Sage only gave a warbling growl that sounded like it came from three different voices at once.

"This brings back uncomfortable memories, you know," Nir'wei sighed as he closed his eyes and rested both palms on his knees. Cross-legged like that with Cyshe spinning slowly above his head like a water-formed halo, he looked almost serene. The turmoil of the three groups in his head and their efforts, watched and coordinated by him, was quite well hidden. "One way or another. Playing this game, refuse to play the game, it could all get us trapped. At least doing this, it's something unexpected... and for all the power this place holds, I don't think it knows us at all. Surprising it, throwing it off-guard... doing something unexpected and spontaneous might be the only way to avoid its plans for us, and reach what we're after." He paused. "The path to the middle goes around and around. They can sense us, all of us, as they go around. The same thing as what happened when we split in two. The same room. Different spaces. It's not the spirit world. It's not Emea. But this place keeps tricking the mind to mess with our minds." Stupid. Very, very stupid. But he fell for it, so he was even more stupid. "I bet what we're really looking for is right in front of our eyes. We just can't see it, because the Labyrinth doesn't want us to see it yet."

[Elisabeth Black]

Arc 721, 35 Saun

Well, shit.

A fine mess they were in and given the advice to ‘do’ and not ‘think’, well, she was already amazingly screwed. The labyrinth made no sense. None. Nada. Zilch. Zero….and that was the only thing that did make sense.

Chaos. They were in the middle of chaos.

Trying to make sense out of chaos wasn’t going to work. If the labyrinth was in their minds, and she had to assume that was the case considering the jail cell, it had five people to mess with, on purpose or accidentally, in any various number of ways. The advice they had been given was varying and confusing – much like fortune-teller nonsense, cold reading a person for a reaction.

The labyrinth wanted a reaction. Perhaps even needed a reaction.

Elisabeth suspected that was Nir’wei’s thought as well, and in refusing to give it a reaction, he had created a new situation. Was he right? That was less clear to her, but it was an interesting viewpoint. She watched as his wolves manifested and were sent on their way. Truthfully, everything inside of her was screaming that she needed to follow them down the Path of the Hunt. That was where she wanted to go, but was it for the right reasons?

Inaction had already bitten her in the ass in a huge way not too long before, but was that coloring her decision? Hard to say. The young woman still felt directly confronting the minions was their best chance of solving the issue they had been sent to take care of, but Nir’wei and the others had some good points that she couldn’t dismiss. Her voice was only one, and they were a group.

Kneeling, she bent to examine the eggs with Nir’wei, eyes following the cat curiously. Something didn’t feel right, but she was unable to put words to what it was.

Balthazar’s mind was clawing down the same path as her’s, evidenced by his words. He was being even quieter than usual which piqued her curiosity a bit. Ralgar said even less, but again, he seemed as though he was thinking similar things. The other woman had a bit of a different take on things but also said few words.

Elisabeth didn’t freak out. Elisabeth didn’t yell – at anyone. Elisabeth didn’t threaten and she didn’t argue. What Elisabeth did do, was consider the situation. They were effectively in chaos, in a place that didn’t make sense, and whose rules seemed to change with the whims of whomever were spouting them, or...because the entity making the rules was being confused, causing the rules to constantly change.

Turning to The Explorer, she listened to his words, arching an eyebrow gently and using a soft, direct tone that she reserved for making sure the point she was trying to make to one was very, very clear. Yelling at someone in harsh tones, generally, got a person nowhere, and as such, Elisabeth had developed a tone that was just above a whisper. It tended to be effective.

“You’ve made assumptions. I’ve been listening to you this whole time.” Walking closer to him, she continued. “You say that self-discovery isn’t an option we are considering, but I would counter that we did consider it, and dismissed it. Why? Because self-discovery happens all the time. It’s embedded in every choice we make, or don’t make. We could take either other path and still, technically, discover things about ourselves. Why take a special path when it will happen regardless?”

Her tone never changed, looking at the man. “I understand that the Labyrinth is trying to do what is in it's nature to do. The Labyrinth isn’t designed for groups with varying experiences and perceptions, and that’s why things are like they are, isn’t it? It’s used to being able to focus on one person or a few people. It’s confused. It's dealing with not only us, but the other group as well.”

Returning her attention to the group, she gave The Explorer a final thought. “We are here to keep a lot of people from getting hurt. That’s who we are. That’s what happens if we fail. We could have just walked off, but we didn’t. That was the first choice we made.”

Nir’wei’s comments triggered something in her mind. She had been of a determined mind to follow the Path of the Hunt before, but there was a strained logic she was groping for, based on her own observations and Nir’wei’s thoughts. “There is no guarantee that if we separate, that we will be able to get back to each other.”

Trust your friends. That’s what they had been told. Elisabeth knew Balthazar’s mind – he would be resistant to splitting the group. Ralgar seemed to not wish to do that either. Elisabeth wasn’t sure about the other young woman opinions. “If we stay here with Nir’wei, together, we ensure that if he picks up on where the artifact is, we can get there, together. If we split, the odds go way down.”

The longer they debated the issue, the further away their goal got. Or did it?

The answer, possibly, had been in front of them the whole time.

The cat.

Elisabeth, you are so stupid sometimes.

Turning, she found the cat wandering through the nest with the eggs. Walking over to it, she knelt back down again and spoke. “You’ve been trying very hard to get my attention. I’m listening…”

Either she was right, or she was going to look very foolish. Wouldn’t be the first time in either case…

Glancing back at the group, she considered another thought. "What if we are already where we are supposed to be?"

OOC Note about Elisabeth's Necklace

Elisabeth is wearing her heirloom necklace. This necklace has its own moderator (Basilisk). Please check in with him as the necklace has been known to have odd reactions to things like magic...