Maze A.S-A-C.D.W-S Group 6 Closed

Arc who was waist deep in the sand would look around at the spiders and for any escape. He would find no escape but realized that as the spiders crawled, they caused no shadow nor prints on the sand. A few of the spiders began crawling up his torso, arc would not feel the tickle of their needle like likes but rather a cooling sensation like alcohol rubbed into skin.

Raine’s arm would sink into the sand but with pull, (D20+7=25) her hand would come free.

It took the dark-haired boy a few seconds to realize that the spiders cast no shadows and left no prints on the sand. He tried to be as calm as possible, but the kid still grimaced as the spiders finally reached him. He let the spiders crawled onto him, but to his surprise, only felt a cooling sensation on his skin.

“Girls, these are all just illusions!” Arc shouted to Summer and Raine.

Unfortunately, those few seconds sank him even further and the pale boy was already chest-deep now. He tried to reach the rope Raine had thrown to him, but it also made him sink faster into the ‘sand’. Arc didn't have much time now.

“I don’t think I...I can go back up." His calm facade started faltering as the sand was reaching his neck. "I’m gonna...keep going and see where it takes me, I’m sorry to,” he tried to finish, but the sand had gobbled him completely with the rope grasped by his right hand.

And just like that, the boy was nowhere to be seen.

Raine barely heard Arc's shout over the roar in her ears. In her panicked state, she couldn't focus on anything except pulling her arm out of the sand and worry about the spiders quickly crawling toward her. Giving her arm one final hard pull, the young Gryffindor was able to pull her arm free and she gave a toothy grin as she flexed her fingers. But her joy at freeing her arm was short lived as she realized that not only was she still sinking, but that Arc was quickly sinking faster than before.

"Arc!" she cried and she tried to reach for her friend again, but she could reach him with her shorter arms.

So close and yet too damn far! That didn't stop her from trying though. The spiders started to climb onto her robes as she sunk further, and a strange sensation came over her as she tried to get to her friend. As the spiders climbed onto her hand, they felt cool and did not feel scratchy or hairy on her skin. What the...?

Raine remembered Arc's words and forced herself to take a breath.

Calm yourself, Raine. Think logically. Arc just said these are illusions. And the spiders aren't biting and don't feel like spiders at all. Maybe they're just like the butterfly from earlier that flew through Summer's hand? And...if the sand is sucking us in...maybe we should just...let it?

Just as she finished her thought, she turned to see Arc's face and see that his calm expression changed into a panicked one as the sand reached his neck. The girl's eyes widened fearfully as she watched the sand engulf her best friend and the makeshift rope she had tossed at him with him. It must have slipped from the tree in their struggle. "Arc! No!"

Illusion or not, Raine couldn't help but let her panic take control of her again briefly. The sand was now reaching her own shoulders and she could understand why Arc's face changed. It's almost like falling into a pool or going into the ocean, going under the water, and not finding your footing at the bottom to push yourself back up to the top. This sand was no different. As a matter of fact, the sand...or wherever her feet were dangling, felt as if she was kicking at air. It was a strange sensation and though she couldn't see where her feet were at, it seemed as if that was what her lower body was floating in.

Illusions, Raine. This is an illusion. Just relax. Take a deep breath and relax.

Taking a deep breath, Raine held it to calm her rapidly beating heart, then released it and closed her eyes. Swiftly, the sand began to pull her down and fill in over her mouth, then her ears, and finally over her head. All sound was drowned out. The unbearable heat from before disappeared, and though her eyes were closed, she knew that her world was engulfed in darkness and that the sun was no longer beating harshly onto her back.

All she felt was weightlessness.

The sand would swallow Arc. Shortly after, raine would willing let the sand take her. Somehow, Summer would remain motionless of no assistance at all.

Arc would land first, onto a slimy and mushy surface. The first thing that would hit him was the stench, a very strong familiar smell... the smell of pumpkin. It was completely dark and he would barely be able to stand before the ceiling, the same slimy and mushy surface, would hit his head. If she were to feel around, the walls would have the same texture and this area, wherever it was extremely small. Was it possible that she was inside a gigantic pumpkin? A couple of seconds later, something hard would fall on him, ouch, Raine. There was barely much space in this small dark interior. Should they feel around all they would feel would be the wet flesh of pumpkin and there would be no exit of any sorts. They were trap.

The sand swallowed Arc whole. He landed onto a slimy and mushy surface. And the smell. Was that…pumpkin? It was completely dark and the place was very cramped up. Were they really inside a giant pumpkin? Before he could finish his train of thought, something, or someone, would fall on him, hard. It was Raine. With the two of them, there would be barely any space left to breath. They needed to get out of there. And Arc knew just the spell to light up the place and showed hidden areas.

“Verdimillious,” chanted the dark-haired boy with a forward slash.

If his spell succeeded, it would light up the room with a green light and revealed hidden objects or doors.

Raine felt weightlessness as she was pulled through the illusion down into the darkness below...and then gravity decided it was going to be a jerk and rapidly pull her toward the ground. Opening her eyes, the Gryffindor let out a short, high pitched, squeak as her body fell through the air. She thought she would land on the hard ground, but thankfully she landed on something rather soft, but the wind was still knocked out of her. Coughing a bit, she sat up and groaned.

"Woah. That was close. Good thing this pillow was here," she said, feeling around underneath her. Feeling the 'pillow' beneath her, she felt it start to move and squeak once more when it responded with a groan and she quickly stood up. "I'm sorry, Arc. Are you alright?"

Not waiting for much of an answer, as he seemed distracted anyway, Raine began to move around, only she found it difficult with whatever they were standing in. Then the smell hit her. "Are we...is this a pumpkin we're in? Who the hell thinks up these crazy things?"

Shaking her head in irritation, Raine felt around the edge of the cold, and somewhat slippery wall.


Raine turned her head at the sound of Arc speaking the spell and quickly turned away in case the spell actually worked. She didn't exactly wish to be blinded. Continuing to feel around the space, the young girl searched for a button or a switch. Even a damned latch. But it seemed as if they were truly trapped in the small space. There wasn't any sort of exit around. Frustrated, Raine removed her hand and smelled it. 'Definitely pumpkin,' she assured herself. She wasn't a fan of the vegetable (fruit?) and would always pass it along to her father when it was served for dinner at home, but what if...

"Hey, Arc? I know this is going to sound reckless and farfetched and just insane but...what if...we eat our way out of here? It's a pumpkin right? I know that the sand felt real but it was an illusion, right? But what if this is a real pumpkin that's just been enlarged for the sake of the maze? That makes it still a real, edible thing, right? Maybe we should just...have a snack?" and before she could talk herself out of it, Raine shoved her hand into the wall of the pumpkin, pulling out a chunk with her small hand, and shoved it into her mouth.

If it was indeed a real pumpkin, then it would taste sweet and...pumpkiny. If it wasn't...well then Raine just ate something that tasted quite horrible. Reckless Gryffindor indeed.

Arc (D20+14=17) would cast Verdimillous in such a small range, the red light shot from his wand would be slightly blinding. But nevertheless, producing lighting in the dark briefly before the sparks disperse. Yes, a pumpkin the would see, the orange flesh and walls dotted with seeds. The red sparks of the spell dispersed leaving them both in the dark.

Rains on the other hand would attempt to eat the pumpkin, her hand digging into the flesh as she tore a piece. (Strength D20+7=23) Raine would realise that she left a small hole. Light seeped from the hole which clearly meant that they weren’t underground. If she were to look into the hole, what she would not be able to see much but tall grass obstructing her view.

Arc’s spell would light up the ‘room’ they were in, showing a real interior of pumpkin, complete with its orange flesh and seeds-dotted walls. There was no sign of dark magic or illusions, meaning they were truly inside a giant pumpkin. Wait. That didn’t make any sense… And the light receded only to leave them in darkness. Very useful, Arc. Nicely done! Not.

Thankfully, Raine had a different idea and tried to…eat the pumpkin. What? Before Arc could do anything, the girl was already digging her hand on the flesh of the pumpkin without any precaution. When she tore it and started chewing at the so-called pumpkin, she left a small hole where light could seep through. Arc moved closer to her and peeked through the hole. He saw tall grasses obstructing his view. So, they were not underground!

The pale boy stepped back and readied the wand in his left hand again. “Step aside, Sage.” He didn’t have the same upper body strength as Raine, so he would never be able to do the same thing the cute girl did even if she gave him an hour digging through the pumpkin. But he had a strength of his own. “I would blast our way out of here.”

He aimed at the small hole Raine had created and intended to widen it enough for them to pass through. The dark-haired boy drew a flame symbol with his wand and chanted, “Incendio!” If he succeeded, they then would be able to go out of the pumpkin and move to the grassy field, if not… Then Raine would need to dig a hole with her own arm.

The Gryffindor wanted to gag and throw up what she just put in her mouth. She hated pumpkin when it was cooked. Now she was eating it raw. The only use for pumpkin in her opinion was for carving and putting a candle in during Halloween. But she knew that she couldn't give up now. They needed to get out of the pumpkin and if her eating that pumpkin was the only way out, so be it. She could throw up later if the urge raised itself again. Reaching out again, Raine ripped off another piece of the vegetable and brought it to her mouth...only to spit it back out. She couldn't do it. She couldn't force herself to put another handful into her mouth and swallow it. So she just tossed it onto the floor nearby. Reaching out again, she ripped another piece of flesh from the pumpkin and gave a cheer as a hole opened up.

It wasn't large, by any means, and looking through it she could only see the green of the tall grass in front of their orange cage. But it was an improvement. Arc even came over and looked through the hole too and then stepped back. Reaching out again, the Gryffindor pulled another piece of the pumpkin free, only to stop when Arc said,

“Step aside, Sage.”

Raine stepped back at her friend's order, wondering what he was planning to do with his wand. "Arc...what are you doing?"

"I would blast our way out of here.”

The girl blinked rapidly. She knew that burning the pumpkin would be the best way out of there. Pumpkins were quite flammable, after all...

Wait...

"Arc...I don't think that's such a great idea...don't you remember how we nearly burned down my dad's shed two years ago when we decided to put candles in our jack-o-lanterns and they started burning like crazy? Arc?"

But her words wouldn't reach the boy as he pointed his wand at the hole and made the wand movement for the fire-making spell saying,

“Incendio!”

.

If Raine were an anime character, she would have sweat dropped and cried rivers of tears as she was sure that if this spell connected with the wall of the pumpkin and set, they were surely going to die.

'I should have just kept ripping at the wall!' She cried internally. If Arc's fire spell failed...or damn near kills them, Raine would continue ripping the pumpkin wall away, even if she had to do it alone.

Arc had cast the fire making spell Incendio (con D20+14=26). The orange light of the spell shot by Raine (agi D20+6=21) who had, thankfully, in the enclosed area stood back far enough to avoid getting burnt. The spell hit the small hole in the wall of the pumpkin. If Arc hoped that the pumpkin walls were magically made of wax, he would be disappointed. It wasn’t long before the walls around the hole started turning brown with the flames and the hole effectively widening in size, but at the same time, the once lucious green grass on the other side catching fire. Thick fumes smoldered the ceiling of the pumpkin, and the exit Arc had created was still blazing with fire. How were they going to get out?