[Global Plot] Round Two, Fight!

[Niv]

“I have not heard of dis Adasha but dey are Immortal yes?” Niv raised her eyebrow and looked through her memory banks to see if the name sounded familiar but nothing came up. When it came to immortals, Niv only knew of the ones residing over nature and the changing seasons. She hadn’t received nor cared to learn about any others. Ilinis seemed nice so the god that chose him as a champion was likely a just one, at least she could hope.

“Is she nice?” Niv popped her head out of the hedge but avoided eye contact until she received her answer.

Niv looked back at her scroll as Tei’Serin’s writing appeared and it sounded like she was in a grim situation. The Tunawa didn’t have any idea just how grim but the merging of the teams sounded like a last hope for the Sev’ryn. There was no word form patrick but for Tei’s sake Niv held her tablet up to show that she was on the side of the merging of teams. She was still a little weary of Ilinis but for now he seemed like a decent person.

“I will sit wid you and we will share. No need to toss deh tiles.” Niv stated as she stuffed her tablet in her bag for safe keeping and made her way down to the ground. She didn’t want to show weakness and did her best to act strong despite the pain in her side. If Ilinis was observant enough he might notice that she put more weight on one side and that she had a large golden scab on the side of her torso just above the glittering ring on her waist.

“Frogs also not a problem.” Niv shook her head casually but shot a quick fearful glance at the fire before correcting herself. She was still a few good feet from him but couldn’t find the courage to get much closer. There was already plenty of voices in her head telling her to run back to safety but she ignored them, she needed to find a peaceful solution for both her and her teammates.

“I’m already sure I know what dey riddle is, but we soon be on same side right, so not matter what tile we have.” Niv shared her logic with a faint smile. There was still doubts in her mind but she truly hoped they could all work together. Maybe this scary horn lady could make another artifact so everyone could be happy. Niv remembered when her father would make a sculpture and pretend there was only one to make everyone want his work more but the sculpture always had a twin. Niv hoped this was the case with this mysterious trinket they were all fighting for.

Art credit to koyamori

[Ilinis]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/5F6mhTC.jpg[/img]

121st of Vhalar, 717

Ilinis nodded. “Aye, she is an Immortal. She is the most ensorcelling thing I have ever witnessed,” he reached into his coat and produced the flower she had gifted him,” She gave me this, telling me to gift it to someone. I believe she meant you.”

The creature remained a few feet away from Ilinis. It was of no surprise. To be of such a small stature, there must be many dangers in the world. It would be a cautious approach, and considering the situation they were in, all the more so. He sheathed his throwing knife and walked over to where the podium had housed the tile. The fire of the ring was hotter than he had originally thought. He studied the ring, searching for a way to put out the fire without burning himself. He could wait for it to burn out, but that would take too long – and he wasn’t certain if the fire was natural. Based on what he knew, it was very likely that it was not natural and would continue to burn. He needed a way to extinguish the flame; he didn’t need them here, if he understood what was happening.

From what he had learned in his travels, fire required air to live. So if he could remove the source of air for the fire, it would go out. There was no water about, that would be too easy. It would have to be dirt. As the creature continued to speak, Ilinis felt sadness in his chest. She was so kind. What cruel fate had made them meet this day?

Ilinis kicked at the alight pole that held the flaming hoop aloft. It shifted in the ground slightly. Yes, this would work. Knock it over. Smother it in dirt. Perfect. He kicked at it again. He hadn’t expected the flames to suddenly expand. They licked over the cloth of his pants. He grimaced and kicked harder. The weakened wood of the pole broke, sending the flaming hoop tumbling into the hedge to his left, but away from the creature and the dead end. Curiously, the leaves of the hedge smoldered for a second, but didn’t catch alight. He grimaced and patted at his pants leg, putting out the beginnings of a terrible time. His flesh stung by his shin. He didn’t think the burn was bad, but then again, he had never been made aflame.

He quickly moved over to the still-on-fire hoop and began to kick dirt onto it. His thoughts turned inward as he did so. Being lit on fire…it would feel like that, but so much worse. He had only felt the beginning like of the flame, and already it stung. While he had lied earlier that the flower was intended for the girl, right now he truly wanted her to have it. At least, she could find some beauty and joy before she…Famula forgive him. How cruel of an Immortal was Ymidden to put her here against the champions of Edasha? The least he could do is setup a small memorial to the creature in his house, so that someone would remember her for being brave until the end. He was certain she had a family – hopefully Ymidden would tell them what happened to her. That she had been brave until the end. That it wasn’t an act of violence for no reason.

The dirt extinguished the flame. He sighed, and glanced once more at the creature. “You are right. No need to exchange tiles when we’ll be allies soon.“

The words hurt more each time he said them. He sat the flower on the podium and moved a foot or two away to give the creature space – enough that it would still be within arm’s reach, but, hopefully enough that she would be comfortable.

If Niv went to reach for the flower, she would find Ilinis attempting to backhand her into the hedge of the dead end. He was uncertain how quick she was, and if she was fast enough, she would like dodge it – unless she continued to hold the cumbersome flower. Yet his face would show no glee in the act, he was, down to his core, sorry. It was something that must be done.

[Niv]

“Ensorcelling?” Niv replied with a pinched prow and a mouth that hung a gape “Dats a good ting right?” Ilinis had certainly made it sound good but Niv wanted to be sure.

Her eyes sprang open in wonder at the sudden appearance of the flower Ilinis wished to give her.
“Oh no no you keep it!” Niv waved her hands about to politely dismiss the gift. “She couldn’t have meant me you should give your flower to a girl who you love.” Despite turning down his offer the corners of her mouth couldn’t stop themselves from turning up into a smile at the kind offer. She lost a bit of the tension in her body and found herself moving towards him. Niv knew this Edisi was unlikely to know the significance behind a boy giving a flower to a tunawa girl, so it was endearing sentiment.

She was surprised even more when he went to such great lengths to get rid of the flame. An enemy of fire was an ally in Niv’s mind with out a doubt, if only she knew what was to come.

“Oh the fire bite you!” Niv frowned as she pointed to the burn Ilinus had just received while trying to stop the fire for her. “We need to get you some cool water for dat.” There wasn’t any treatment for a burn to a Tunawa but she could at least be of assistance with helping the mans burn. The problem was that there was still no water to be found but maybe her wish would come soon this time. She closed her eyes and thought of cool spring water filling a bowl. The way the water felt and the way it rippled when she put her finger into it all were considered.

“The maze can grant wishes if you dink hard enough but only sometimes” Niv explained after she opened her eyes “I brought the frogs and bugs here and I just wished for water for your bite.” She offered another smile to the blue stranger and moved a little bit closer. “Anything to help a friend.”

“Can I see dis flower.” Niv waked over and outstretched her hands to receive the immortals gift, only to examine it. It wasn’t every trial she got to see a flower grown by an Immortal. She was not prepared at all for the betrayal that came next and while she was normally quite agile she wasn’t with her injuries. The slap made direct contact and Niv flew directly into the hedge where the entrance once was.

Art credit to koyamori

[Noth]

It was difficult not to feel at least some semblance of guilt creep into his heart as he stared down at the limp figure before him. The woman had clearly trusted that he would not so suddenly betray her after he had gone through the motions of peace, and the honeyed words he had spoken had clearly performed admirably in calming her. He had managed to approach her to a reasonable enough degree, and then, when it seemed as though he would simply toss away his chance at martial victory, he had plucked it from the disposal place and enacted another violent act.

It was not as if though the entire process had not been planned meticulously by the hybrid, nor that he felt as though any piece of the scheme was unnecessary; he required victory to fulfill his purpose for the world, and he recognized that that outweighed any potential reparations he would need to pay in the future for his wickedness. Nevertheless, as crimson eyes gazed down upon the waifish figure, he wondered. He did not consider the worth of his actions; those were as set in stone as her hair, but he did question whether he realistically needed to slay her in order to facilitate victory. There was always the opportunity to simply plunder her catatonic form of its valuables, steal away whatever he needed to take, and then leave her to the fates… but he had sworn long ago that it was dangerous to leave loose ends, and to always cut them when possible lest they return to snap vengeful fangs into one’s neck.

He replayed their brief and terrible conversation in his predatory head, taking careful note of the words that had been spoken. He had not at any point lied to her about what he would do, had never declared that he had no intention of striking her, though his non-verbal gesticulations must certainly have led her to conclude that for herself. He had made it seem that she might somehow become his ally, but common sense should truly have dictated that he had nothing of the sort in mind. It was true that he had not initiated the first attack, but that was more a fluke than a failure to communicate. Had she not stricken first, he would simply have shot her through the heart while she strode along.

Her name was Tei’serin, he considered as he knelt down beside her exhausted and, he assumed, concussed figure. She might have been dead if not for the gentle flutter of her chest as she breathed, or the slight part of her lips as she whispered one final sentence to the world. He leaned forward somewhat, listening to it as it left her body, recognizing that he would likely be the last entity to ever hear her voice. It was entirely too melancholic, thought the twilight hybrid as he arose from his kneeling position, he had slain others in battle, had wounded them brutally in ways that most mortals probably never considered. He had brained one of Faldrun’s zealots with his mace in much the same way as he had now attempted to slay Tei’serin. He had stripped away the meat from the face of one of the warrior women of Augiery. He had jammed arrows through jugulars, snapped necks, broken bones, choked with intestines, rent apart flesh, and murdered others in shameful displays of predatory prowess. Some of them had been out of anger, others out of necessity, some out of duty, and some out of whatever black ichor flowed through his veins that dared refer to itself as ‘mercy’.

“In the end, that is all any of us can do, Tei’serin.” He spoke down to her with a grim tone, any anger he had felt over the previous battle having dissipated.

She seemed so pitiful, so weak and pathetic, and it made him wrathful once more, not at her, but at the godlings who deemed it reasonable to send their puppets to die. Who cared so little for their servants that they did not even listen to their words as they departed.

He lifted a talon above her throat, and once more painted it in the smooth and silky liquid that he had come to know as the blood of the innocent. With a sigh, he would glare down at the mangled muscle, and growl quietly to himself at the indignity. He threw his pack towards the farthest wall, and set upon it like a wolf to a wounded hare, tearing out its contents as though they were the guts of some prey beast until finally he settled upon the scroll which they had been told would grant them advice.

He reached a feathered finger downwards to his wet talon, placing the scroll upon his knee, and with far more force than necessary, he drafted his message in that familiar crimson.

“Are you satisfied?”

[Ilinis]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/5F6mhTC.jpg[/img]

121st of Vhalar, 717

Ilinis' hand struck the little creature hard, and he was surprised. For a creature of her stature he had expected her to be extremely agile, but he had made solid contact and send her flying into the hedge. Then he noticed his hand felt sticky. Sap? If she was made of wood, was her blood sap? Had she already been wounded? He didn't have time to dwell more on it. Even if she was injured, he had no idea of what abilities this creature had. He quickly pulled a throwing knife, and then threw it into the hedge, attempting to corral the creature the center. He quickly drew another and attempted the same.

He wasn't certain how this was supposed to go, but based on what the creature had said about the maze granting wishes if one thought hard enough, and the words on the scroll, he had an idea. He needed fire to burst forth from the hedge. It would come into being at the forefront of the hedge, where the creature could pass to and fro. Then it would burn inward, trapping her in the branches until it consumed her -- the flame licking at her wooden flesh at first before it grew hand and swallowed her whole. He shouted while drawing another knife. "I am asking for fire, Game Keeper! She is cornered! End her suffering!"

He stood there panting for a moment, waiting to see what would happen, and his thoughts raced. There was a part of him that was disgusted with himself for what he had done to her. She had been so kind. So generous. She had worried about him when he had been singed by the flames -- she had tried to heal him. She had accepted his gift, and he had betrayed her with it. She had called him friend. Never before had he hated himself so greatly in the pursuit of knowledge. His mind tried to reason with his emotions. He had no idea if she were going to betray him in the same manner. He had no idea what she was capable of. The game mistresses' offer of peace could be another test. There may not have ever been an actual possibility of peace.

Yes. It was necessary. He had only done what he needed to. It was just another job. She was an obstacle that had to be removed. She would be honored, but she shouldn't have contested the champions of Edasha without knowing she could face harm. He hardened his mind, putting his emotions to a halt.

With a cold look on his face, he shouted once more. "Burn her!"

[Hart]

"Speaking in Rakahi"
"Speaking in Common"

It ended as quickly as it had begun. The Aukari had some sort of plan, and he threw something towards them, Hart didn't know what, but the one who'd shot him was already gone and it left Hart to blink past the white flash of light...

"Wait. Breathe," the Aukari warned him, and Hart took a slightly deeper breath, nodding his head and trying to clear his eyes of spots. He took another deeper breath, though it hurt.

"I'm okay," he said, though it was obvious he wasn't okay. He was shot.

He didn't know a lot about medicine. But he thought with rest and care he should be fine.

Their friend, however, was looking more woozy by the trill, though he was trying valiantly to go on.

The man had ended up behind the Aukari with his back to the hedge wall. Now he took out his flask and took a swig. Hart didn't make a move when the man cheers'd them, only watched and waited. Please forfeit, he thought, but the other refused to give in, readying himself as if to run or attack.

No.

Hart didn't want this but he stepped forward regardless. He glanced at the Aukari and shook his head slightly, as if to warn not to fire. The other man looked ready to shoot and Hart stepped again, this time directly between the Aukari and the wounded man.

"No," he said, even as their opposition leaned forward as if to spring. As he did he seemed to lose his balance, and Hart made one final step towards him.

He had only meant to get in the way but he ended up trying to catch the man as he fell bonelessly forward. He managed to slow him enough that he didn't fall face-first onto his wounded shoulder.

Hart turned the man to his back and let him lay.

Kneeling beside their fallen foe, the seaborn curled in slightly. It was an acknowledgement of his pain, though he still kept himself between the Aukari and the man on the ground. He took a deep breath, wincing at the ache as he did. Then another. He could tell that the other was unconscious, but it seemed he was stable. He was breathing even and deep. Almost like he was asleep.

After making sure the man wasn't about to take a turn for the worse, Hart turned towards the Aukari and solemnly said, "He didn't surrender his claim." The crowned woman had made it seem like they had two options-- kill one another or all succeed in peace. This man hadn't surrendered, he hadn't wanted peace, and now it was too late. He couldn't yield if he was unconscious.

It was a problem.

"We can't hurt him now," he said, "He's defenseless." They were not going to murder someone in cold blood. "But I don't know if the maze will let us move on."

Frowning, he patted through the man's pockets, trying to locate his echo scroll and to check if he had any tiles. He thought about trying to tend the man's wounds but decided he wasn't qualified. He didn't want to make things worse. He left the man as is.

If the Aukari wanted anything Hart had collected from their enemy, Hart would silently hand it over.

Then, "Maze," he said, just in case the crowned woman was listening. Hart carefully stood as he spoke. "He's defeated. Let us go." He put his hand to his shoulder once more, though would take it away should the Aukari want to look at it.

The wound was bleeding but not fiercely. If he was going to bleed out he thought he might have already. There was no telltale sign of pulsing blood which would have indicated such a thing. But it hurt to move his arm too much, hurt to breathe a little especially on deeper breaths, and because of that he thought the bolt might have hit a rib or two higher up.

He couldn't be sure but once more he said, "I'm okay."

[Nauta F'mos Geey]

When Nauta saw Patrick's initial struggle against the poison, his instruction was clear. "No." His arrow was aimed right into the bulk of the man as he did which demonstrated the consequences to his opponent if he was not obeyed. However he was not that heartless and loosened up when he saw it was the arrow stuck in him which the man reached for. Allowing him to remove the projectile embedded in him was the decent thing to do. The drink was another issue entirely and the aukari was not going to allow that with another strongly worded demand of "no!" accompanied with his drawn bow.

But with the damage done, he never went through his threat and could only give one more warning. The last warning afforded to Patrick and it was clear. "Try anything else and die." If F'mos had been one of those commoners who bought their poisons from the market, he would not have cared but as a person learned in their use and creation, he knew just about anything could interfere with his deplorable creations. As a former guard as well, he also knew there was a difference between leniency and stupidity. He was not going to be a victim to the latter which gets guards killed most of the time. Unfortunately like the offer to surrender which the aukari extended, his opponent demonstrated the same foolishness as his rejection of when he chose not to heed Nauta's instructions. It was clear there was only one end to this.

And it was not going to be his.

If Hart had not taken the shot for him, Nauta would have ignored his ally. Like their stupidly resolute adversary the man wished to protect, he was a fool who did not think of the consequences. Such people were dangerous and if- when it came down to it, they had to be kept in check and if that proved impossible, eliminated. For a person who remained stubborn of his defeat and still wanted the fight, someone who even went as far as to disobey the aukari with another swig, Nauta's decision was made. His bow strained for maximum strength, Nauta only said "I warned you..." but before he could fire,

"Get out of the way Hart!" he said with much contempt for the man who stepped in as an obstruction.

As he could see Hart's injury, his weakness, Nauta decided to take his shot anyway especially because his opponent got back on his feet; after a declaration he was not going to go down without a fight too, the fool. The aukari extended himself to the side in an attempt to fire his arrow unhindered but it proved difficult and he missed by a mile and within moments, the man was held, protected by Hart. There was no way Nauta could fire another shot now and in a frustrated state which only increased as he listened to Hart's sickeningly naive thoughts on the matter, threw his weapon into the ground.

He was convinced "one day you're going to get yourself killed" and it was lucky the trial proved to not be that day for Hart. "I've put him to sleep, I even gave him the chance to surrender but he wanted to continue fighting. HE MADE HIS CHOICE!" he said in a raised voice which was very unaukari of him. Nauta was obviously flustered, his breathing ragged from this new development. "You want to leave a threat which can disappear and reappear anywhere, one who wants to harm us, alive? Fine. You're lucky he doesn't know jack about poisons or he'd know what was happening and treated himself before he bloofs behind us to use them on us but- he's your problem now!" Nauta said with finality. He was done with this entire debacle.

With only one last attempt to get Hart to change his mind by saying "I know men killed by crooks taking advantage of their goodness, they didn't know when some people didn't want help. You better pray to whatever Immortals you serve the same doesn't happen to you because of your weakness." If the man remained unconvinced, at the very least "strip him naked. Tie him up." He remembered Hart finding a rope during his search. Not even enough, "gag him, blindfold him and scatter his crap." If he could not slay the threat, at the very least they could delay him if he somehow woke before they collected all the tiles. Delay him a lot if he valued his own decency since "he'll have to waste time getting it all together.' Hopefully Patrick did care about his decency, at least a lot more than the life he had chosen to forfeit.

As for Nauta, he was too frustrated to care about Hart's injuries despite his earlier urgency to get the man treated. 'Let him mull on letting the threat which gave him that live, for another opportunity to finish the job' he thought. At least Hart got started with Nauta's suggestion, thank the Immortals. His patience with the man was stretched thin as is. With that he headed for the tile unless the maze still needed its pound of flesh to open up. He wanted to see the prize which had the bitch wanting them to murder each other for, for what should have been just another competition.

[Nymph]

REWARDS

The battle between Noth and Tei'serin had come to a brief pause as the two of them considered her offer. Since it had come to a stop, she turned her gaze to the other battles. In that unobserved moment, Noth revealed his role in this strange quest. The Mistress did not catch his lack of alignment with either team.

Although she would have liked to look in on the fight between the three champions, her gaze was dragged to Ilinis and Niv. In their reprieve, Ilinis had asked for guidance. Her lips curled into a vicious smile upon her face where she stood, along, in the middle of the maze. Her response appeared on his hint scroll just after he asked his question. The magic of the scroll dissolved, leaving only blank paper in his hand. With the question answered, she moved on to view the final contestants.

It appeared that Nauta and Hart had been taken aback by Patrick's mage capabilities. Even the Mistress had not taken into account of mages within the labyrinth. Her magic, naturally, was stronger and the shrub kept him within the confines of the makeshift arena. The maze was reacting to Patrick's image. A vine unfurled one of the leaves folding and solidifying into glass. A small vial fell into Patrick's hands. He would find it empty as no such antidote existed. Humanity had not yet found a cure for Scarf Rot. The maze simply could not make something that did not exist. He was at their mercy.

Mercy that would not come for Team Ymiden.

Her vision blurred as she bounced between battles. Tei'serin fell first. What had appeared as a truce moments ago had turned into a bloody bludgeoning. Noth had taken his tile and slammed it into her head. Only the stone skin she generated kept her safe, but for moments. This practically immobilized her. The Avriel completed the deed by slitting her throat. Crimson streamed down her frame and her eyes dilated as life left her.

Tei'serin was gone.

Before her gaze was a blood message written on Noth's hint scroll. The blood on his scroll reacted to the magic within the parchment. His message morphed, pooling before responding to him. Her letter's matched his if not less sloppy.

For now. How does it feel to kill an unborn child?

There would be no further communication from her on his scroll. The hedge on either side of the their arena fell away. The wall closest to Tei'serin seemed to hum with power as vines reached forward. They curled around her ankles, sliding up her thighs and to her waist before dragging the defeated Champion into the hedge. It would be the last image Noth had of Tei'serin.

With only moments to spare, she turned her gaze to Ilinis and Niv. Niv had been polite and crafted a bowl of leaves that extended from the hedge. It was filled with cool water and set close to the flower and Niv only to be slapped forcefully in Ilinis' attack. The Tunawa was sent flying into the hedge where she was briefly stunned. Ilinis had asked how to kill a doll of wood, and the woman had provided the answer to the hint accordingly. The hedge was set afire. Tiny screams could be heard by all those still present within the maze given the massive amounts of pain that the young, innocent creature would have. It was sure to leave Ilinis having nightmares for seasons.

Once the fire had eaten that head section, only blacked branches and the ash of devoured leaves would remain. Inside the head, he would see the remains. The way that the hedge had caught her made her appear crucified, left to be eaten by fire. Niv was no more. Trills later, the leaves grew back to obscure her and remove her from the game entirely.

Patrick had been incapacitated while the fires ate Niv. Had the alcohol enhanced and sped up the effects of the drug? It was a depressant and often partakers found themselves sleeping. Face first in the ground, the two went to work stripping him of his items. By rights, she should permit the team to continue; however, he would sleep for some time. The Mistress cast judgement on Patrick. Naked and completely unaware, the hedge reacted in the same way that it had disposed of Tei'serin. Vines grasped his arms and curled around his neck and chest before dragging him aggressively into the hedge like some sort of plant-monster feasting upon its kill. Patrick had been removed from the game. His items, which would have been scattered about, seemed to fade and dissipate in a puff of smoke leaving only the tiles and scrolls.

Not that they would be of any help.

"Congratulations!" The Gamekeeper's voice echoed across the maze. "You have beaten the labyrinth by eliminating the other team."

As she spoke, the hedges seemed to fall into the ground to give each Champion a direct route to the center of the maze. Nauta, Noth, Ilinis, and Hart were permitted to join her with tiles and scrolls in hand. Hart and Noth were the only one with a hint scroll remaining as the Ilinis had used the one given to him by Nauta. Despite his use of his personal hint scroll, Noth had attained the hint scroll from Tei'serin after brutally murdering her.

"As a team, you have collected all the tiles you need to answer the riddle," addressing them all once they arrived in the center, she also cast her hands out to each one slowly, manipulating the tiles from them. Noth had attained an 'A' on his own. He had found two 'D's' after looting Tei'serin's body and collecting the tile at the end of their battle. Hart had the difficult to find 'R'. Despite their battle, Nauta and Hart had not found any additional tiles on Patrick's body. Ilinis had collected two 'M's' on his own and found an 'E' and an 'A'. The necessary tiles floated towards the podium at her command while duplicates were left at the feet of their collectors.

D R E A M

The tiles stood completed on Team Edasha's podium. "I have ended this trial since the other team is unable to continue competing. You have on trial left to complete. Please, move forward."

The woman swept her right hand behind her and twisted so that she was pointing directly into a solid wall of the hedge. Like it had before, the maze presented a direct route to their next location. If any of them looked back, they would see the crowned woman watching them intently. There was no hint as to what happened to the defeated.
Once they reached the end of the corridor, they would find themselves in a squared "room" made of hedges. There were four pedestals in the center of this strange room. Upon each pedestal was a floating ring. Each ring was identical to the one she had originally presented to them. The pedestals had the numbers '1', '2', '3', and '4' on them.

"Again, congratulations on making it to this point. You shall each select a ring. Three of them are false replicas of the true relic. The fourth will permit the champion to move on to the next stage. In life, we all make choices..." She paused to let them evaluate their situation before continuing.

"...but in the end, our choices make us."

Global Plot: End Game

As explained above, Team Edasha ended up winning by completely knocking out the other team. Tei'serin was brutally beaten, Patrick was put to sleep, and Niv was obliterated by fire. Valiant efforts made by our knocked out team. We shall be picking up in a separate thread to wrap things up.

For Team Edasha and Noth: Congratulations Team Edasha and Noth. Given that the Mistress was under the impression that there were two teams and she initially thought Noth was a part of Edasha's team, Noth will also be moving on to the final stage of this maze.

We shall be going one more week to wrap this up. As you have been placed, you are now in a separate room. There are four identical halos. You will each be expected to pick one.

Only one is a winning halo. The other three are duds. The winning halo will be that character's ticket into the next thread. The winning halo has been pre-picked. Maltruism and Pegasus are aware of the pre-picked halo so that there is no favoritism.

Since Harpy had some real life issues come up, two groups are significantly behind the other groups. We will be allowing all players to pick up their normal plots and stories starting the 1st of Zi'da. The winner will be expected to be available the 1st of Cylus for a moderated thread with three other characters (picked from Pegasus, Maltruism, and Harpy's threads). They will be transported like they were in this thread so there is no travel time or obligation to get back and forth.

To be fair, this thread will be locked until Wednesday to ensure that everyone from Team Edasha and Noth have had the opportunity to reach this message and my post. I will reopen the thread on Wednesday. It will then be first come/first serve to get a halo. Last person to post will get what's left over, which may or may not be the winning Halo.

It has been an absolute pleasure running this thread for all of you. Many of you have already told me you have enjoyed this maze, and I hope the rest of you that have not voiced your opinion did as well.

Team Ymiden: I will be writing up an additional follow-up thread for the three of you. If you need to wrap anything up in this thread, please PM me and I will help you do so before the thread is unlocked on Wednesday. I have special mod abilities that will help me give you that opportunity.

[Hart]

"Speaking in Rakahi"
"Speaking in Common"

It was over. The Aukari insisted on delaying the fallen man and Hart didn't have it in him to argue. He had said nothing in his defense when his angry teammate had verbally berated him, and now he simply did as he was told, grim and worn and hurt and tired of it all.

He just wanted it done.

The maze reached out with clasping vines towards their wounded, bound, and unconscious foe, and Hart told it to stop once, twice, and finally again. But it wouldn't. There was nothing he could do and the maze dragged the man away. "Don't kill him," he said.

Before that, there had been the sound of screaming. He thought it was a woman; it sounded more like a child, a girl. Somewhere distant, there was the smell of smoke and fire and flame.

What had they done?

He was told his team had won but this did not feel like winning. "Congratulations!" the crowned woman said, and Hart felt nothing but unsteady on his feet. The maze opened up and he trudged forward. Hart went towards the center, the Aukari not all that far from his side, and saw Ilinis approaching from another direction. And--

And the avriel.

Hart couldn't help but shudder. For a moment his feet refused to move him forward and he stuttered to a halt.

Then he took a breath, set his expression, and kept walking. "Congratulations," he said, flatly, to the one-winged man. He thought of the screaming and looked between Ilinis and the avriel with an equally flat gaze.

His tile, the 'R', was taken and added to the rest. They spelled dream. He'd known the answer from the start.

He went down the corridor not saying anything further to anyone.

After being given their final challenge, Hart took out his hint scroll and began to write.

Words appeared almost as soon as he had asked the question, and he had wanted the answer so he could choose whichever halo was not the correct one. As it was, he had as good a chance as any of becoming Edasha's final champion. Hart simply stepped forward and claimed the number closest to him. Number four.

Should it be the winning number, he would toss it on the ground.

[Nauta F'mos Geey]

Nauta had been looking over the spoils from their fallen opponent, still looking at the echo scroll they obtained as its fool owner was dragged into the maze. At least the maze solved that problem, which should have been over and done with no time wasted by Hart and his sentiments. However the scroll itself, the only item he thought was of any value for the team's objective did not give any useful information to be used as the game was soon declared over. 'Finally!' he thought, though he did not share his partner's concerns for the losers. As far as the aukari was concerned he was unlike the other who was "pathetic. You want to be the loser? Like him? Dead?!"

The only reason Hart had the luxury to even think of his fallen adversary was because he was the victor. If the man had been the one dragged into the maze instead of the other fool, that poor fool would have a completely different train of thought.

And while Nauta did not spare any further consideration for the headstrong idiot, he was alarmed by the screams he heard which he assumed was from the man's allies. He did not think Illinis would even have that in him. The aukari wondered for a moment if it was the woman or the shrub and he felt sick. His spirit weakened at that moment and with the stress of the fight with the mage, he could feel the natural aukari reaction building up in himself. If Hart was still watching, he would see a dagger being dosed by one of the poisons the aukari told the was to be used for the next fight. To satisfy his no kill rule. In the strangest of acts instead of being used on their opponents, the poisoned dagger was used on Nauta himself who cut himself with it before he put it away.

It was sweet relief and, he felt he had bought himself some more time for a proper recovery later on.

Or so he thought until he caught sight of Noth in all his dreadful glory which as Nauta knew of the crow, was bloody and murderous. 'Didn't she say the other team was eliminated?' Nauta thought to himself before he fell into worry. 'What the hell is Noth doing still up?' when every other member of the opposition had disappeared from sight. Expecting some sort of a fight from the scumbag, the aukari immediately started to dose his dagger with the rest of his Frostbite. He was not going to initiate hostilities especially when Hart was the most unreliable of teammates but, that did not mean he was going to let himself get caught at a disadvantage again like in his earlier encounter.

The screams made perfect sense now that he had a chance to think about it, Noth would be the only person capable of such wickedness. Highly suspicious of the criminal, Nauta stuck to the rear as the woman presented them with their prize with but one extra string attached. There were four of them and, three of them were fake. "We were nearly killed for fakes?! Are they even worth anything? What sort of a scam is this!" he asked. While it was all true to what he thought, he was also vocal about it to give Noth something to think about. After all, the aukari's suit would not provide the avriel any discernable features for him to figure out the aukari's true identity. It was his belief Noth would not be able to think anything was up unless the avriel started it himself.

And convinced once Nauta saw Hart being able to pick his prize unhindered by maze or avriel, the aukari quickly headed for the end of the corridor to claim his prize as well. The third. Right beside Hart. If Noth really did try to start anything, Nauta at least hoped Hart would be able to fulfill the one thing the man had demonstrated himself to be useful for.