The Red Queen's Labyrinth Group 8

Action: Slowly finding grip on wand
Well this may or may not be a train wreak. I thought. I was fighting the urge to turn that snail by my shoe into a teapot. Yes at this point I had gone mad. It's official. "Well, what are you guys waiting for? A formal invitation? Let's go!" Angel said. She seemed like she was on her last straw today. And honestly I was too. Then I remembered that my 5th grade teacher used to say what Angel said, and I got a bit homesick at the thought. “…You done?”Because if that was your contribution, I’d rather the silence.” Tes said. I resisted the urge to put a mimblewimble charm on her. I slowly found my grip on my wand inside my sweater pocket. Calm down. Don't add fuel to the fire. “Learn to listen to your elders, sweetie.” Laurie repeated. “Act like one first.” I bit my tongue. "The incantation is Mimblewimble." I muttered to myself. “While we do that, do y’all want to play a game? I’ve got cards. And possibly some dice” I smiled and tilted my head . It couldn't hurt. We were not getting anywhere with this fighting. "Sure what the heck why not?" I said turning to the tall boy. "Hey what's your names guys? You're the only ones I don't know yet." Angel said, tilting her head. I hoped she would be able to coax a response out of them. I looked at the boy's jacket. It was basically made out of pockets. I swore though in the back of my mind that if Tes opened her fat mouth again to say something rude. I would cast mimblewimble on her.

Code by Fawkes Chaos

Banner & Signature by Tes Cadell

WC: 512/200 Interactions: JadaDidoTesTinaLaurieAngelFelix Date: 13/04/2026 Time: late afternoon/early evening Reducio Abilites: Charmer Stats: Stamina: 8 Evasion: 7 Strength: 3 Wisdom: 7 ArcPower: 6 Accuracy: 4

Laurie had decided to make her empathetic side shown, moving to comfort Dido who looked more than mildly surprised by the action. Jada shot Laurie a look of pity, at least her action hadn't gone in vain, Dido seemed to relax a little in the girl's arms. Maybe she wouldn't be as bad as... oh... nope, never mind she's crying. Oh well, at least it wasn't her fault.

Their path lay before them, seemingly waiting for their decision. "Well, what are you guys waiting for? A formal invitation? Let's go!" Angel said, taking the words right out of her mouth. All this arguing and debating was pointless. Laurie and Tes, we all knew they wouldn't stop. Especially because Laurie seemed so determined that she knew better.

Jada stayed silent as their strange little group began moving along the path, instead keeping her eyes trained on the gnomes. If one of those filthy things so much as brushes against me, I'm screaming. Gnomes were grimy little creatures. Their stubby little hands and legs seemed to appear both everywhere and nowhere at once.

Felix spoke up: “While we do that, do y’all want to play a game? I’ve got cards. And possibly some dice.” No offense to Felix but, seriously? Maybe this was his attempt at trying to lighten the mood but she didn't feel like now was really the time for card games.
"They might come in handy later but I don't think we should use them now." she replied instead. Afterall they didn't really have any surface to play on other than the dirty floor.

Outfit: Reducio https://i.postimg.cc/8khLLHFT/image.png

Signature:

Mentions: Reducio @Felix Hawthorne@Tes Cadell@Laurie Holmes@Dido Bleaklane@Tina Carille@Angel Dayes

“spoilsport” Felix sighed and put the cards away, back into his pockets. Sure, they probably needed to be more focused on the task at hand. However, she was still a spoilsport, and he was bored (well, not really, but a little).

He turned back to the other girl, the one who’d just spoken. It was a bit of a random time to ask for names, but at least she was polite. “My name’s Felix. You’re Angel, right?”
He was fairly certain he had the right name for her, but might as well check that, before they got too much farther into the event.

Perhaps they should’ve done introductions when they first got in here, but it seemed like a few of them already knew each other anyway. And besides, they’d surely figure them all out over time. Especially with the amount of chatting everyone was up too.
There was only one other person he didn’t know the name of (the one who’d been arguing with Tes), but he wasn’t about to ask at the moment.

The gnomes on the path were still doing their odd little song. Meanwhile, Jada appeared to be entirely focused on staying away from them, staying silent and staring the creatures down.

Group 8 enters the labyrinth in bright spirits. The members managed to quickly communicate and introduce themselves to each other despite some members not being familiar with one another. In pondering about the path they should choose, there was some initial hesitation. This even manifested in Dido Bleaklane's decision to cast the Levitation Charm on one of the dancing gnomes, who yelped and huffed in the girl's grasp! In the end, with the help of Tina Carille, the group decided to embark on the SECOND PATH.

For players who chose to brave the SECOND PATH, they would find themselves rewarded! Players who walked down the path would be excitedly crowded and shuffled along the path by the dancing garden gnomes present. Despite their excited gibberish, the gnomes would soon prove to be the “knowing locals” that the riddle hinted at. Without trouble or hurdles, the group would find themselves in overly friendly, but safe hands. By the end of the path, the gnome that Dido brought along would break free and scamper away with a jolly huff. The peaceful passage through the breezy, grassy path with the cheery gnomes would eventually lead them to the second obstacle in the labyrinth…

Mod rolls:

1. Dido Bleaklane casts the Levitation Charm: [d20=13]+7=20 > 9 [SUCCESS]

Moderator's note: Please note that for this obstacle, we needed all members of the group to indicate the same action (the chosen path). I took the second path because it was the most common action, but in the future, please take note!

At the end of the correct path lay the next obstacle for our brave challengers. Before them stood a door buried deep in neat, jade hedges. The air smelled of fragrant roses, and there was nothing around other than roses, hedges, and that mysterious door. If players were to try and twist its shimmering rose-gold handle, they would find it locked. A keyhole could be found beneath the handle. It was unusually small, smaller than most keyholes. To the right of the door, between a trimmed hedge and a stone wall, players would find a table. Resting on the table was a silver key, the metal glinting in the sunlight.

Above the door, a wooden, heart-shaped sign swings with the following riddle:

A key that’s right but far too tall,
Will never fit a door so small!
Shrink the problem, not the door...
Then the key may be used once more.

Oh dear, such a predicament. Perhaps this will be a job for those wands!

OOC Instructions

Reducio

Rules

Congratulations, your group has made it to the second obstacle! Please note the following rules for this obstacle:

1. Similar to before, moderation will occur once a week, if at least HALF of the members in the group posted an action.
   • If one or no members post an action that round, moderation will happen only the next week to give more time for members to post. This is for the sake of game progression.
   • If there are any special circumstances (eg, members are ill), please owl us. We will consider making exceptions on a case-by-case basis.
2. Each participant is allowed one moderated action per round. Please include your abilities and stats in your post.
3. Please specify your character's action(s) in your post (as an OOC note).
   • This includes moderated actions, which are actions that require dice rolls to determine their outcome, like casting a spell.
4. Please follow all usual HIO rules.
   • This includes 200 IC word requirements.
5. Wave those wands and good luck, challengers. Have fun!

ROUND 2 SPECIAL INSTRUCTION:
As hinted above, a spell should successfully be cast in order to pass on to the next stage. Procedure will go as follows:

1. The moderator will moderate the actions by order of whoever posted first.
   Moderation notes will be left for each player.
2. If the obstacle is successfully passed before the moderation of some of the later posters’ actions, we will disregard the other actions and automatically let the group pass.

Group 8

1. @Jada Blake
2. @Tina Carille
3. @Tes Cadell
4. @Angel Dayes
5. @Felix Hawthorne
6. @Laurie Holmes
7. @Dido Bleaklane

DEADLINE: 1 week from time of posting

Figuring things out
The gnomes were really friendly! Just as I predicted. Of course I don't think any of us spoke gnomeish? So we just followed its lead. As we went down the path, the smell of sweet roses met my nose. Then we arrived at a door. It was the only thing that wasn't a rose bush for miles. The moment I looked at the door I knew that it was locked. I observed the door for even longer. I saw that there was an itsy tiny little keyhole. "There's a keyhole. Did you guys see?" I asked. Hoping that Tes wouldn't say, "oh yeah we aren't blind" or something along those lines. I didn't want to be the person who fell victim to Tes's mouth. I looked around and spotted a table with a LARGE key on it. The key was almost too big for the table! Let alone the tiny keyhole. A key that’s right but far too tall, Will never fit a door so small! Shrink the problem, not the door...Then the key may be used once more." Another riddle! I thought to myself. "I'm guessing we need to shrink the key. I'm not guessing I'm sure. The spell's Reducio I believe. Now we can't use Engrogio on the keyhole because it says,"Solve the problem not the door" so we have to make the key smaller. I'm actually quite surprised that it's this easy." I said, I believed that I knew the Charm. I looked around at the group. Wondering if anyone agreed.

<sub>After walking we went through the second path another obstacle was placed. Angel didn't talk much. She kept walking a bit too focused. Stopping in her tracks, she looked over to Felix, who introduced himself. Angel simply nodded as she slightly smiled. Right now it seemed like Angel sided way in her quiet side, she's an ambivert after all. The wind was getting fainter and going down further the rabbit hole big mazes like checkered floors and dizzying walls that follow strange patterns. Looking over at the others it seems like it was getting harder as the path was getting dimmer. Angel used to go into dark places for week so her eyes adjusted quickly. Everyone seemed chilled, was it her or just them?

Ahead after brisk walking she scanned the riddle. A key that's right but too tall, never fit a door so small, shrink the problem not the key, then it can be used once more. It intrigued her. Reducio was the right spell. Ignoring the rest she was very earnest about riddles. Once again she looked over to the others, leaving them behind wasn't good, but she was fast. Bitterly she straightened up and her head was much astute. Dhampirs never really had a excellent time with casting spells, so her Lumos lasted for a good 20 minutes at best. Someone who was not a magical menace had a better time. Angel did had a hard time trying spells but she was better off then the others she gave credit to that.

"If anyone here can cast reducio, it will benefit us greatly."Angel said with a low tone.

Voice echoed through the laided paths with huge tasks and rough drafts of dry air. Angel was getting restless wanting to get ahead but she hold back. Now Lumos really was inefficient, too dark for it to be used. It wasn't really hard to get by but the dim lights helped atleast.</sub>

Daydreaming/ Being impatiant
"If anyone here can cast reducio, it will benefit us greatly.” Angel said. I bit my lip, hoping not to seem like a know it all. I quietly said,”I can cast reducio, I taught it to myself.” I said just loud enough so people could hear. I pretended to have great interest in the roses by the bush. Hoping that they would just talk amongst themselves. They were quiet for a bit. Most likely a record for Tes or Laurie, take that back, Laurie isn't that bad and Jada's pretty quiet. I did another quick analysis of the group. Angel= Peacemaker. Made sense because she was breaking up the fights. Tes was...Well Tes, Jada was quiet, same with Felix. Laurie was being Laurie. Dido, well everyone was chill. Dido seemed very nice and I wanted to make friends with her. For the most part, everyone was civil for now. I closed my eyes and let myself day dream about summer camp. Music, dancing, best friends you know for a few weeks then never see them again. I shook myself back to reality, hoping no one saw my daydreaming. No one can see the perfectionist daydream. I made a promise in the Abandoned Toilets the other day. That I was not going to let my guard down, I wasn't going to let anyone see myself not perfect. I stood straighter. "Does anyone else here know how to cast Reducio? I asked, "If we work together we'll have a higher success rate. And are we going to cast this spell? We have to if we want to win." I said, trying not to sound too impatient. We've been here for a good 90 seconds and I was already pushing to go. What is wrong with me?

Code by Fawkes Chaos

Banner & Signature by Tes Cadell

WC: 250ish/200 Interactions: JadaDidoTesTinaLaurieAngelFelix Date: 13/04/2026 Time: late afternoon/early evening Reducio Abilites: Charmer Stats: Stamina: 8 Evasion: 7 Strength: 3 Wisdom: 7 ArcPower: 6 Accuracy: 4

They'd reached the end of the path. Now before them stood a tall Jade door. How pretty. And how expensive. Though she guessed it wasn't necessarily real, it could just have been enchanted to look that way.

Next to the door, there was a small silver key along with another note:

A key that’s right but far too tall,
Will never fit a door so small!
Shrink the problem, not the door...
Then the key may be used once more.

Honestly, could these creators be any more creative. Obviously they were to shrink the key to fit the lock. Shrink the problem, not the door... It literally couldn't be clearer. The easiest way to do things? Magic. Of course, they would need to use reducio in order to achieve the goal.

During the Easter break, she'd flipped through her charms book out of boredom and decided to test out a few of the more interesting spells. Reducio had been one of them. Naturally, Tina had to show herself off, "I can cast reducio, I taught it to myself.” Yeah, so did I, you see me making a big deal of it? she thought to herself. When Tina asked, "Does anyone else here know how to cast Reducio?" It was all she could do not to say it out loud. Instead, she simply replied "Yeah, I can too.”. Though she may not have said much, she certainly believed her face would convey the rest of the message. "Want me to go first? Unless Felix or you,” she gestured at the second year, "want to. It seems like you'd have the most experience.”

Outfit: Reducio https://i.postimg.cc/8khLLHFT/image.png

Signature:

Mentions: Reducio @Felix Hawthorne@Tes Cadell@Laurie Holmes@Dido Bleaklane@Tina Carille@Angel Dayes

Felix just shrugged. “I mean, I can, but if you or Tina wanna do it, then don’t let me stop you. Maybe do rock-paper-scissors or something if you can’t decide.” he figured they might as well test it first. If they needed more people to cast it later, or if it didn’t work, he could always step in. He just wasn’t too eager to be the first one to go.

It seemed almost too easy to pass this obstacle, if all they needed was reducio. It hadn’t even been that hard to figure out that they needed reducio in the first place, it was practically written straight out. Literally “shrink the key”.

Maybe it was actually that easy (since it was just meant to be a fun event, after all), but he still thought it was a bit suspicious.

Anyway, Tina and seem in a mood to show off at the moment, so maybe he’d just let her try it.
He couldn’t remember what year Reducio was taught, but from her comment of “I taught it to myself”, it must have been a second year thing. Or just later in the year, maybe. Either way, enough of them could cast it, so it shouldn’t be a problem at all.

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Such stupid kids. Had no experience of the real world. When they passed successfully, Laurie almost, ALMOST, smiled. Being around that stupid 5 year old girl Tina, and that god forsaken parrot Dido did that to a person. Forget them, most if teg problem was Terrible Enzymic Stomach, and her cute little dog on a leash, Jada. It was pathetic honestly, seeing Jada have such a terrible role model.
She regretted that little act of empathy she showed to Miss Parrot. It just made the children think that she was one of them. Absolutely not, she valued social distancing and her digestive system.
While the others gazed at the hint, she already was clear in her mind in what to do. But no, she would let the others bicker first. It was kind of painful, honestly to watch them all laughing, like a sitcom whose director hired terrible actors. Terrible was an understatement, they were far worse.
She zoned out for a minute, her mind doing its usual job of preserving good lyrics for her new song. Not that anyone would hear it, it was just for her own satisfaction. Something about someone being left out. That was basically the theme to all of them at this point.
As she admired the set up and the sweet fragrance of the beautiful roses, she couldn’t help but thinking of Alice in Wonderland. She remembered how she used to run around with her aunt, pretending that she was the White Rabbit. Her eyes lit up, but the darkened as she realised that they both weren’t the same people anymore. They never could go back to that peaceful and non stressful atmosphere.
“I'm guessing we need to shrink the key.”
No shit Sherlock, what else would you do? Eat the key? At least it would open up her mind a little more.
“Maybe do rock-paper-scissors or something if you can’t decide.”
She played the song, Words by Boyzone in her head. “This world has lost its glory….”
Rock paper scissors in a labyrinth? Such a genius.
She sighed, and took out her wand.
“Watch and learn kids.”
She pointed at the key and spoke firmly, “Reducio!”
The key shrunk, the spell executed splendidly. Being a perfectionist had its charms.

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