The Red Queen's Labyrinth Group 7

Banner made by Veda Lunar! Thank you!

Landon grinned at Zach’s comment about dying in fancy dress. “Let’s hope that we don’t die this time. It’s been close a few times,” he said with a smirk. He wasn’t happy with how close he had been to death one of the times, but there was still part of him that was hopeful and trusting about Hogwarts never truly doing anything that would kill the students… maybe too trusting, but still.

He flushed softly as Zach told him that he looked nice. “Thank you, Harper chose it for me,” he said. “I’m hopeless at fashion, but she would be appalled at the fact that we are wearing this for the maze task instead of just dancing,” he said, laughing. “You look great too,” he said, smiling softly.

Landon introduced them to the others and smiled at each of them. “Nice to meet you all,” he said. He wasn’t as shy as he used to be, so he wasn’t afraid to meet new people.

Landon puzzled over the riddle that explained what they were supposed to do. To him, he wasn’t sure which path was the right one. It sounded like maybe the one with the gnomes, but he decided to follow the group. Landon wasn’t the best at leading people; he tended to be a follower in a lot of ways.

The different mushrooms and stuff were beautiful and colorful, and Landon walked beside Zach as they entered the first path. They were soon enveloped with mist that became too thick to walk through or see. Landon coughed, hearing Zach’s scream and looking around nervously before turning and running back the way they came. He hoped. It was hard to see where he was going.

He frowned back at the path when they exited, seeing that there was something telling them that they had been going the wrong way. “Oops,” he said. He wondered if he should have spoken up before they had gone into the first path. He heard Zach laughing and catching his breath and turned to grin at him. “You are such a troublemaker,” he teased playfully.

Landon listened as Veda mentioned that they should go down the second path and nodded in agreement. “Yeah, the clue said something about locals, and there seems to be a lot of ‘people’ (this he said with air quotes) in the path?” he observed. He looked at Zach. “I think… we should go with the gnome path,” he said, a little nervous that he would make the wrong decision, but wanting to see if that choice was the right one.

Action: Going to Path 2
Outfit: Same as in banner.
@Zach Zaphiere; @Sabrina Lyons; @Natasha Jones; @Veda Lunar
TRUNK
STA 9 | EVA 10 | STR 6 | WIS 7 | ARC 6 | ACC 15
Wandmaker | Keeper's Catch | Impartial
Inventory: Wand

'Well, we don't expect to attend our own funerals, so we don't need to be wearing restrictive nice-wear. Right, Natasha? (@Natasha Jones)' she jokingly added to the small exchange. She herself was sporting a combo of a graphic tee and shorts, opting to change into her evening dress after the morning adventure. The mention of potions made her gasp with excitement, hands reaching for her satchal, 'Ain't no way, me too! What do you have? I have like every potion I know how to make in here,' she patted her satchal, the muffled clings of bottles confirming her claim. (@Zach Zaphiere)

After the introduction and idle chat has concluded, the debate on where to go next began.
'It sure does look fun. Plus, if we are to take the riddle literally, it's the closest to a jungle out of all our options. As for the knowing local..,' she hummed, deliberately not looking at the little folks dancing through the middle path,' well, I have straight O's in herbology, maybe that'll help,' she conluded with a shrug. It wasn't the most solid of arguments, but it'd do.

Once they were all agreed and on their way into the first path, Sabrina stayed at the front of the group, admiring the beauty of the magical nature. She was just about to pat a big mushroom when it let out a yellow puff of smoke. Brows raised, she noticed multiple plants doing the same, filling the area with a colorful haze.

'Mission abort, mission abort!' she yelped, shielding her head with her bag as she ran out of the sufficating corridor. Out and shaking the colorful powder out of her hair, Sabrina couldn't help but join in on the laughter. 'That sure was.. something. Wow.' Despite the positive attitude she has adopted for the time being, a slither of frustration crept into the raven's mind. It felt unfair to have them choose a path, only to rush them out of it seconds later. An illusion of choice. Not pausing to ponder on this idea, she listened in to the next decision making, her frown deepening the more it became clear what path they'll be trying out next.

'Maybe we can go down the middle? The gnome said not to go alone, and the second path has a party going on' (@Veda Lunar)

'You spoke to one of the gnomes?' Sabrina asked with genuine interest. Despite her own passing struggles with group settings, she was oblivious to the nervousness lingering behind each word uttered by the hufflepuff. The inquirie was her only contribution to the discussion before heaving a resignated sigh.

¨“I think… we should go with the gnome path,” (@Landon Matthews)

'I wish I could disagree,' she clenched and unclenched her fists in mental preparation for what was to come. Taking a deep breath, inspired by Vera's claim, she approached one of the dancing couples, crouching down beside them and tapping on one of pair's shoulder, 'Pardon the interruption - Hello, my name is Sabrina, could you please help us find a way out?'

Items on person: wand, the enchanted satchal, potions, chocolate bar, sticky caramel, generic pet treat, gillyweed, chamomile, aloe vera

Stats: Stamina: 7 | Evasion: 5 | Strength: 7 | Wisdom: 9 | ArcPower: 6 | Accuracy: 6
Ability: Fearless
Trunk

Narrowly avoiding a colourful fate by the hands of mischievous fungi in the first path, Group 7 was once again at the start of the first obstacle. Clearly a fun-loving group, who began laughing at their error in judgement and ordeal before they even fully caught their breaths, discussions began again. Veda Lunar's quiet but skillful deduction of the riddle was boosted by her group's seconding of her suggestion, and with that, Group 7 decided to embark on the SECOND PATH.

Sabrina Lyon's attempt to talk to a pair of gnomes would be met with both of them blowing a raspberry at her. Fortunately, it seemed to only be a part of their playful nature as they ran forward to usher the players in with gleeful noises. For our 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, guiding through all the loops and turns with ease. Without trouble or hurdles, the group would find themselves in overly friendly, but safe hands. The peaceful passage through the breezy, grassy path with the cheery gnomes would eventually lead them to the second obstacle in the labyrinth…

Obstacle 2

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 3 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 7

1. @Zach Zaphiere
2. @Landon Matthews
3. @Veda Lunar
4. @Natasha Jones
5. @Sabrina Lyons

DEADLINE: 1 week from time of posting

This cool banner was made by Novalie Moon

Zach listened to the others' reasoning. He didn't add anything except for some nodding. "I agree," he said without thinking. Then he walked down to the middle path with the rest of the group. Zach also saw Brie (@Sabrina Lyons) talking to one of the gnomes, and he couldn't help but judge the mischievous action of the gnomes. "I don't like them," Zach whispered to Landon, "I mean, the gnomes. I don't know why. They might be evil." He kept lowering and lowering his voice, hoping the mini creature didn't hear him. Of course, it was just a baseless accusation.

Zach held Landon's hand when they were following the gnomes. "Beware," he said to Landon. Zach couldn't trust the mini creatures yet, judging by their path choice, but the boy kept following them along with the rest of the team. They eventually arrived in a more peaceful spot.

In front of them, a door was beneath the hedges of roses. "Another door," he said. He also noticed another riddle in a heart-shaped sign. Personally, Zach didn't like the design and chose not to read the letters written there. He released his hand from Landon's to look around.

Zach judged everything. Perhaps there's a way to pass this without reading the ugly sign, he thought. Then another thing came to his mind. Destruction. He looked at his group mate to see if any of them had the same idea as him. His gaze fell on Brie, the second oldest eagle of the group. He gave her a smirk before pulling out his wand. He pointed the wand at the hedges and cast the doom.

"Incendio Duo!"

Action: Casting Incendio Duo to the Hedges. Fiery flame duo with Sabrina Lyons weee.
@Landon Matthews; @Sabrina Lyons; @Natasha Jones; @Veda Lunar
TRUNK
STA 8 | EVA 11 | STR 3 | WIS 12 | ARC 10 | ACC 12
Rapid Reviver | Blindvision | Healing Sage | Paragon of Health (Landon Matthews and Veda Lunar)
Inventory: Wand | Enchanted Satchel (containing potions)

Reducio

Outfit

Red Queen's Labyrinth

Location/Time Reducio Red Queen's Labyrinth's Riddle Two

Current Outfit Reducio Black silk short dress

Mentions Reducio @Zach Zaphiere | @Landon Matthews | @Natasha Jones | @Sabrina Lyons

Smiling, Veda gave herself a pretend pat on the back. "I did something! I spoke up!" she thought. She walked behind the group, following the gnomes cautiously. She heard Zach murmur to Landon, "They might be evil," and she stumbled slightly before righting herself. "Evil?" she thought, as she quickened her pace. "Best to get out of this section then." @Zach Zaphiere

They arrived at a door, put in the middle of the a hedge. "That seems dumb, she frowned, "You could just break through the hedge!" She inspected the key on the table, and quickly realized the problem. Finally, she read the sign and furrowed her brow. It seems so simple. "I could just use the unlocking charm," she thought, but then froze. "Was the riddle so simple that it was a trick? Could Alohomora do nothing? Would something go wrong?"

Taking a breath, Veda steeled herself. Hopefully the panic didn't show on her face. She pulled her wand out, and quickly waved it, saying, "Alohomora!" before backing up, flushing in embarrassment. Hopefully they didn't think she overstepped. That thought was quickly wiped as she heard Sabrina and Zach's words. She shrieked and stepped back, hoping the flames wouldn't reach her.

Word Count: 202/200

Action: Casting Alohomora on the locked door
TRUNK
STA 5 | EVA 7 | STR 5 | WIS 6 | ARC 5 | ACC 7
Metamorphmagus
Inventory: Wand | Potions

A huge smile donned Natasha's face as she was practically pushed through the second pathway by the wayy too cheerful gnomes. She bit back a laugh at the raspberries directed Sabrina's way and rolled her eyes slightly at Zach's proclamation that the gnomes were evil. Considering the looks some of the gnomes were giving him, she doubted that he'd succeeded in his endeavor to make sure they didn't hear him.
"Ignore him," she whispered to the one nearest to her. "He's just jealous he can't dance as well as y'all."

As they neared the end of a path, a strong, fragrant scent attacked her nostrils. She looked for the source of the smell and, seeing the roses adorning the area, muttered drily, "Well, that explains it."

Reading through the riddle, she couldn't help but scoff a little at the wording. It seemed infinitely easier than the first clue, which was a little sad, to be honest. 'Really? You call that a riddle? I answer harder ones each time I want to enter our common room for Merlin's sake,' "My thoughts exactly," she said, smiling at Sabrina.

Mentally going through the list of spells she knew, she realized that she didn't know anything that would be particularly helpful in this scenario. Suddenly, she realized that it was hardly likely that the key was made this big; it was far more likely that it was spelled. She watched as the others got ready to cast their spells, and deciding to take a chance, she raised her wand, pointed it towards the key, and cast, "Finite Incantatem."

Action: Casting Finite Incantatem
wc: 264
Outfit (no headphones)
@Zach Zaphiere @Landon Matthews @Veda Lunar @Sabrina Lyons
TRUNK
STA 5 | EVA 8 | STR 4 | WIS 6 | ARC 7 | ACC 5
Abilities: Prodigal Potions Learner
Inventory: Wand | Potions

Banner made by Veda Lunar! Thank you!

Landon smiled as Zach said that he didn't like the gnomes. "I don't think they are that bad," he said. "I mean, they seem mean-spirited, but I don't know about evil," he added. Landon was surprised when Zach took his hand, but he held Zach's hand and squeezed it gently to calm him down. "Just relax, I don't think they are going to hurt us," he said, but he laughed softly. He didn't mean to make fun of Zach, but the gnomes, while menacing, seemed harmless.

Landon saw the door and the key which was clearly too big for the door. He felt Zach dropping his hand and went to read the sign closely. He hadn't brought his reading glasses, so he had to concentrate hard on the words, but soon he figured out what it said. To him, it made perfect sense to just shrink the key. "I think..." Landon moved toward the key and pulled his wand out, waving it in the shape of a V and clearly stating the incantation, "Reducio!"

Landon aimed it at the key but he didn't get to see if it worked because suddenly Zach and Sabrina were casting a fire spell and he had to jump back to make sure he didn't get burned if the spell worked. "Why... why in the world was your first instinct fire?" he asked incredulously.

Action: Attempting to cast Reducio!
Outfit: Same as in banner.
@Zach Zaphiere; @Sabrina Lyons; @Natasha Jones; @Veda Lunar
TRUNK
STA 9 | EVA 10 | STR 6 | WIS 7 | ARC 6 | ACC 15
Wandmaker | Keeper's Catch | Impartial
Inventory: Wand

The energy, creativity, and sheer chaos of Group 7 truly knew no bounds. Upon reaching the second obstacle, Zach Zaphiere seemed to have taken some personal offence to the design of the heart-shaped sign and forewent reading the riddle entirely. Instead, he decided to blow up the surrounding greenery with Incendio Duo! Ferocious flames burst from his wand, lighting the hedges on fire. If it weren't bad enough for these poor hedges, Sabrina Lyons decided to add fuel to the fire with her own casting of Incendio Duo, setting the hedges completely ablaze. As the flames ate away at the smoking mess, unfortunately, they would find a tough stone wall behind those hedges. If only the Red Queen had only leafy hedges for walls...

Brave and innovative, Veda Lunar decided to take a bet and unlock the locked door with Alohomora! In any other situation, the nervous girl would've been able to test out her decent idea. However, perhaps it was the flames sizzling beside her or the smoke in the air, but the spell fails horribly-- The door lock even clicked another time, as if rubbing salt to the wound...

Hardened by countless nights answering the Ravenclaw Common Room's entrance riddles, Natasha Jones cracked the riddle almost immediately and realised her focus should remain on the key. However, the choice of casting a good Finite Incantem seemed to bring no effect to the key.

Last up, despite difficulty in reading the loopy letters on the sign, Landon Matthews persevered through the bedlam happening around him and casted a well-timed Reducio onto the key!

Upon Landon Matthew's successful casting of Reducio, the golden key shrinks up, a glistening shine covering the key as it became just the right size. With the newly shrunken key, the players would find it a perfect fit into the door’s keyhole! The lock seemed to glow and hum, as if in approval at the players' success. Twisting the key, players would hear a click. In the blink of an eye, light glowed from the door as the material chipped away into dust, revealing a now-empty doorway.

Moderator's notes
Zach Zaphiere casts Incendio Duo (WDC 12)
[d20 : 12] + 12 = 24 > 12 [Success]
Sabrina Lyons casts Incendio Duo (WDC 12)
[d20 : 1] + 9 = 10 < 12 [Critical Fail]
Veda Lunar casts Alohomora (WDC 12)
[d20 : 1] + 6 = 7 < 12 [Critical Fail]
Natasha Jones casts Finite Incantem (WDC 9)
[d20 : 6] + 6 = 12 > 9 [Success]
Landon Matthews casts Reducio (WDC 12)
[d20 : 16] + 7 = 23 > 9 [Success]

Obstacle 2

With the newly shrunken key, the players would find it a perfect fit into the door’s keyhole! Twisting the key, players would hear a click. In the blink of an eye, light glowed from the door as the material chipped away into dust, revealing a now-empty doorway. Stepping past this doorway, players would be faced with an opulent yard fit for a queen.

In the centre of it was a huge, luxurious pool made of shiny marble and adorned with ruby gemstone statues. The water was a brilliant, shimmering teal in the pool, quite unlike regular water, and under the sunlight, the sight was almost blinding.

The pool would have been perfect for a summer party– If not for what seemed to be a death machine in the middle of it. A flat path of emerald grass connected one end of the pool to the other, and hanging atop it was what seemed to be an axe. Back and forth the axe swung over the centre of the path, blocking the path to the next obstacle! Thankfully, if any players squinted, they would realise the axe is almost akin to a soft pillow-version to the real deal.

Tighten those shoelaces and watch your step, challengers!

Evasion DC: 20

^{✥─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────✥}

OOC Instructions

Reducio

Rules

Congratulations, your group has made it to the third obstacle! (I enjoyed reading your posts so much, thanks for the joy.) Please note the following rules for this obstacle:

1. Moderation will happen if at least HALF of the members in the group have posted an action.
   • Due to moderators’ schedules, moderation may take 1-1.5 weeks.
   • 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.
   ROUND 3 SPECIAL INSTRUCTION:
   For this obstacle, your character will have to use the action of “run forward”. Spells are allowed, but at the expense of the "run forward" action.
   1. The moderator will roll an evasion difficulty check (Evasion DC 20).
   2. The moderator will moderate the actions by order of whoever posted first. Moderation notes will be left for each player.
   3. For this obstacle, ALL members need to pass this difficulty check to succeed.
      
      NOTE: Spells that hinder the axe's movement/lower its speed, such as Arresto Momentum, would help to LOWER the EDC down to 10 (with 1 successful casting). However, that would take up ONE action, meaning the character wouldn't be able to run across for that round.
   
   Group 7
   1. @Zach Zaphiere
   2. @Landon Matthews
   3. @Veda Lunar
   4. @Natasha Jones
   5. @Sabrina Lyons

DEADLINE: 1 week from time of posting

Sorry for the late moderation post, I'm currently ill ;;;

This cool banner was made by Novalie Moon

Zach was offended by Natasha's statement about his dance. "Huh? I dance good. Ask Landon. Right, Landon?" he teased the boy by shouldering him.

So the spell started to show its effect. The boy put on an evil grin when he saw the hedge burning. He saw the flame from his wand swallowing the leaves. Not to mention the flame from Brie's wand. He was happy that she had the same idea as him to burn the hedges. But his happiness didn't stay long "Oh, lame..." Zach pouted. There were stones that were hiding inside the hedge. "Why put hedges if they have stone inside?" he grumbled.

Each of them tried something to open the door. Veda tried to open it with Alohomora, but the effect wasn't in their favour. Natsha also tried to cast Finite Incantatem, but nothing happened. The last was Landon with his Reducio. The key became smaller and fit the keyhole. Zach nodded in approval. "If we can't open the door, I'm going to blow it," Zach said seriously. But the Fate decided that it wasn't the right time for him to do it, which pretty much disappointed the boy.

And so they entered the door one by one. In front of them was a vast yard with a big pool. But those didn't make Zach in awe. Above, there was a giant axe that swung here and there, trying to block the path in the middle. Interesting, Zach thought.

"So... What are we going to do with that thing?" he asked the rest of the group. He kept looking at the swinging axe. It somewhat irritated him. He looked at Veda. As timid as he saw the girl was, Zach knew that the girl might be clever and observant. But that wasn't enough. As an upperclassman, Zach wanted to push the girl to think out of the box. Perhaps something risky but still exciting. Then his remembered the exact word he had said earlier. He walked closer to the girl and said something, "Explosion might be good, don't you think?" He smirked. He patted the girl's shoulder. He also looked at Natasha. Since she was a Ravenclaw, Zach wasn't worried. Most Ravenclaws thought of the box, he believed. Brie was obviously like-minded. He gave both of them a grin before moving to the next person.

Landon is the calmest and level-headed person he has met lately. "I will show you something great. Something spectacular. Just wish I could pull this good," he also patted Landon's shoulder. Zach wanted Landon to see how great Zach was as a spellcaster.

And so he skipped closer to the water like a child with his chocolate ice cream. He did it quickly before anyone stopped him. He pointed his wand at the axe and cast the spell.

"REDUCTO!!!"

Action: Casting Reducto to the axe (kaphow!)
@Landon Matthews; @Sabrina Lyons; @Natasha Jones; @Veda Lunar
TRUNK
STA 8 | EVA 11 | STR 3 | WIS 12 | ARC 10 | ACC 12
Rapid Reviver | Blindvision | Healing Sage | Paragon of Health (Landon Matthews and Veda Lunar)
Inventory: Wand | Enchanted Satchel (containing potions)

Reducio

Outfit