The Red Queen's Labyrinth Group 9

Date : 19 April 2026
Time : 10:10 A.M.

George checked his watch. Twenty minutes before it started. He took out his wand. "Verdimillious!", he said. Green sparks flew out of the end. He tried and retried it. It worked. His wand was working perfectly. He hoped his blue evening dress wasn't too loose. Something might eat it, and he did not want that.

He stared down ahead towards the three paths. The first path was strewn with fungi. Even in that situation, a fit of giggles rose up within him. Why did the fungi resemble a fruit cake? He looked down to the next path. But his instincts dragged his eyes to the third path. It was strewn with gold and gemstones. A piece of paper caught his eyes. He read it.

In weird calligraphy was written:

Before you lay a path split in three,
But only one will be a breeze!

Will you go down the first path where life's abundant,
And flourishing nature is the ruler incumbent?

Or prepare for a party,
For the company of critters on the second path is nothing short of hearty.

Opulence, oh, a dream of many.
On the third path where riches a-plenty await,
It is up to you to seize your fate.

One last advice.
Heed it, it shall suffice:
To brave the jungle
is to have a knowing local in the bundle.
To go without, you'd best have an out!

George contemplated that in his mind. To have a knowing local… you'd best have an out… did that mean the first path was danger? It probably did. Then only two paths remained. He began to pace around, thinking.

The second path, he now saw, was full of garden gnomes chittering. Or prepare for a party, for the company of critters on the second path is nothing short of hearty… opulence, oh, a dream of many.
on the third path where riches a-plenty await,
it is up to you to seize your fate!. That was it! The third path was probably a temptation trap for greedy ones! That left only one route.

The gnomes could work as a guide, or a knowing local. That's it! George clapped. He had cracked it at last! The second path had to be the correct one.

But then another thought hit him. What if they were using reverse psychology? What if the third path was made for people to think it was a trap and avoid it? Nah, he was probably overthinking. It couldn't be the third path, right?
George convinced himself. It is the second one. Now all he had to do was to wait for his companions to arrive at the scene.

@Lauren Wong
@Elowin Prankhurst
@Hazel Nelson

The Red Queen's Labyrinth

W/C. 438 DATE. 19/04/2026 OUTIFT. beepboop SONG.

✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩

@Hazel Nelson, @George Calder& @Elowin Prankhurst.INTERACTIONS Thoughts Speech.HEX Small Hall .LOCATION xx .OTHER

"I'm a smarter, baby, smarter..."

✩ ✩ ✩

Lauren was going to a maze. Not any maze, but a maze called THE RED QUEEN'S LABYRINTH. She was looking forward to it. It had been stuck in her head since the day they announced it. Of course, Lauren signed up. She had heard rumours that there would be riddles or something like that. It shouldn’t be that hard right? I mean I am in Ravenclaw! But still, it might be hard... Shaking her head, Lauren entered the maze. She walked on a colourful checker-patterned path. When she reached the end, she noticed three pathways. One of the three paths was very colourful and filled with... mushrooms. Lauren doesn’t 'hate hate' mushrooms, but she didn’t love them. Like the rest of its surroundings, it was colourful. They must be poisonous! She glanced at the second path. Unlike the first path, it was not colourful and certainly did not have mushrooms. The second path, in Lauren's opinion, looked eye catching and pretty. It looked like a garden. There were gnomes everywhere. The third path looked the most elegant. There was gold almost everywhere. Almost. She then noticed a... sign? It read: Before you lay a path split in three, But only one will be a breeze! Will you go down the first path where life's abundant, And flourishing nature is the ruler incumbent? Or prepare for a party, For the company of critters on the second path is nothing short of hearty. Opulence, oh, a dream of many. On the third path where riches a-plenty await, It is up to you to seize your fate. One last advice. Heed it, it shall suffice: To brave the jungle is to have a knowing local in the bundle. To go without, you'd best have an out! Hmm... only one will be a breeze? That means that that will be the easiest path... Suddenly, something clicked. I know! Its a guide! But which path... Definitely not the first, maybe the second? Lauren noticed a boy. "Um... hello. Are we in the same group? I think so. So... what path should we go to? I feel its the second path." Lauren hoped that the boy really was in her group and that the boy will respond.

✩ ✩ ✩

✩ ACTION ✩ Reducio Talks to @George Calder

✩ OOC NOTE ✩ Reducio Nil

✩ POST TRACKER ✩ Reducio 1st post

Hazel sighs as she walks towards the small hall. This.. sucked. After begging her cousin to sign up with her for weeks prior, they didn't get assigned together. No, she got grouped together with three other people that she has never met once. But her disappointment didn't go to that. She loved meeting people. A lot of times, it has led to good things. She has no doubt that this will be fun, but her cousin. Bree would be a hundred percent annoyed with her. Signing her up and then them being separated was terrible. Although she's lucky that she doesn't have two people mad at her. Hazel asked Axel to come but he said no. This time she didn't push, he already agreed to be her date for the ball.

Running her fingers through her hair that's slightly messy, she finds her way to the maze. Skipping in she puts on a smile as she spots who she assumes is her group. A boy is already there, whom she assumes is George. Next to him is a young girl, who's either Lauren or Elowin. Ignoring them for a moment, she looks over and reads the riddle. Once she hit the last part, she did a double take on it. A local and a jungle? Her eyes land on the part describing the second path. The critters may live in a jungle and would be a local wherever hey live. Maybe just maybe its that path. "Au moins on sait que je ne suis pas le local¹." Muttering this under her breath, she walks towards the other two.

"Hello! I'm glad to hear that someone else thinks we should take the second path," Cheerfully she continues, "And if we'll work together we might need to know each other's name. I assume you're George. I'm Hazel! And you are..."

Smiling at the boy as she addresses him by his name, her eyes wanders to the girl. Excitement and question swirls in her eyes as she waits for an answer."

Group 9 was smaller, but they were no less capable than any other group, as they quickly proved that they stood on business! As the first challenger of his group to arrive, cheerful George Calder took no time to begin breaking down the lines of the riddle, able to decipher the message within minutes with an eager clap. Lauren Wong embodied the cleverness fit for a Ravenclaw with her equally quick yet concise deciphering of the riddle's hints. Hazel Nelson, a foreign student, helped to finalise the group's decision to embark on the SECOND PATH with her bright greetings and sharing of her thoughts.

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. The peaceful passage through the breezy, grassy path with the cheery gnomes would eventually lead them to the second obstacle in the labyrinth…

Moderator's note: Please note that for this labyrinth game, we need you to clearly write your moderated action in OOC notes (like what Lauren did)! I read your RPs for the (assumed) action, but please make your actions clear next round!

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 9

1. @George Calder
2. @Hazel Nelson
3. @Elowin Prankhurst
4. @Lauren Wong

DEADLINE: 1 week from time of posting

The Red Queen's Labyrinth

W/C. 336 DATE. 19/04/2026 OUTIFT. beepboop SONG.

✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩ ✩

@Hazel Nelson, @George Calder& @Elowin Prankhurst.INTERACTIONS Thoughts Speech.HEX Small Hall .LOCATION xx .OTHER

"I'm a smarter, baby, smarter..."

✩ ✩ ✩

Lauren was very pleased when they was yet another obstacle. She took a deep breath, hoping that this meant that they had chosen the correct path, and inhaling a pleasant and nice smell of roses. She soon noticed a door. She walked over to the door and twisted the handle, hoping that it will open. When it did not budge, she tried shaking it. When it yet again did not work, she looked around for clues. She finally noticed a clue, which is a key. She grabbed it, and inserted it into the keyhole. She quickly found that it was too big. Hmm… I would need to make either the keyhole bigger, or make the key smaller… Lauren looked at the wand in her hand. It was a 26,5 cm cherry wood and unicorn hair wand. She had bought it from Ollivander a few months ago. She then noticed yet another 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. Aha! I am allowed to use a wand! I should use a spell to make the key smaller! Based on the riddle obviously. She thought hard. After a few seconds or maybe minutes, Lauren finally remembered a spell to make things smaller. It was a spell called Reducio. Her mind soon flashed to a page of a book that Lauren had seen in the library: “Shrinking Charm (Reducio) A charm that causes an object to shrink.” Hmm I never really tried the spell before, but I can’t think of another spell to make the key shrink… so I’ll just have to make do with Reducio I guess…She had only studied the theory but she decided to try the spell. Lauren took a deep breath and said, pointing her wand at the key, “Reducio!” She looked at her teammates, hoping that they would be okay with her using “Reducio”, as she did not ask them.

✩ ✩ ✩

✩ ACTION ✩ Reducio Casts the spell “Reducio” on the key

✩ OOC NOTE ✩ Reducio Nil

✩ POST TRACKER ✩ Reducio 2nd post

Date : 19 April 2026
Time : 10:50 A.M.

George paced around, staring at the riddle in front of him, which read,

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.

Was he allowed to use wands? Should he dare try to fit the key by force? George got up, thinking. He had to make the key smaller somehow. He pointed his wand at the key and said, "Reducio!" Nothing happened. He could feel all his partners' eyes upon him. But this time, he was at a loss. For once, his classes felt important in such a grave situation.

Suddenly he heard a scuffling movement behind him and turned so fast he cricked his neck. Lauren pulled out her wand with a bright look in her eyes. "Will she be able to do it?", he thought. Lauren pointed her wand at the key and said, "Reducio!". Then she stole a quick look at her teammates, as if scared. George gasped.

He didn't dare look at the key. It ought to be the right size now. Nothing could go wrong right? Still, a nervous feeling crept over him. He pointed his wand at himself and muttered, "Animosus!". Suddenly, he felt brave. He pointed his wand at the others and repeated the same spell again. He took up the key and examined the little silver thing. Then he stepped over the hedges and inserted the key into the keyhole. But he did not turn it. He was not sure and was getting nervous. He was waiting for the signal from his teammates...

Perhaps it was because of the presence of 2 Ravenclaw members, because Group 9 proved themselves capable and very quick in their progression through the labyrinth. Upon arriving at the second obstacle, the group received the riddle and was eager to fish out their wands to cast a spell. Lauren Wong, quick on the ball, was able to deduce that the Shrinking Charm (reducio) would be the correct spell to cast. George Calder, despite his attempt to also cast Reducio, would find himself at a loss at the lack of effect. Instead, he decided to cast the Bravery Charm (animosus) for additional courage, which turned out to be successful in calming his nerves!

Upon Lauren Wong'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

1. Lauren Wong casts Reducio (WDC 12)
   [d20=17]+4=21 > 12 [Success!]
2. George Calder casts Bravery Charm (WDC 22)
   [d20=16]+8=24 > 22 [Success!]

Note: Please try not to RP the outcome of the spell or assume the outcome before the moderator's roll on those actions and the mod post. It defeats the purpose of a moderated thread Also, you are only allowed ONE moderated action/spell for every round.

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! You're going to have to make a mad dash.

Evasion DC: 20

OOC Instructions

Reducio

Rules

Congratulations, your group has made it to the third 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:
For this obstacle, your character will have to use the action of “run forward”.

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.

Group 9

1. @George Calder
2. @Hazel Nelson
3. @Elowin Prankhurst
4. @Lauren Wong

DEADLINE: 1 week from time of posting

Date : 19 April 2026
Time : 11:15 A.M.

George was feeling elated. His group had made it through two obstacles already, one involving a gnome-y affair and another with a failure in casting a spell. Oh, and he was the one who had caused it. What could go wrong this time? Nothing, right?

Wrong.

George totally lost it when he came face-to-face with an axe bouncing over a path. He instinctively took a step back. People rushed at the axe. Some successfully dive-bombed it, but others? Not so lucky. They landed in the pool with a sploosh. Oddly, the axe didn't shed any blood. It just made a soft thump. George took it that the axe was probably made of... rubber? Whatever. He called his teammates into a huddle and said, "Ok, guys, I did the math, and the chances of us surviving this... axe thingy is about 0.98%. Why I can't use Arresto Momentum on it? It doesn't seem it would work. And besides, I don't know how to cast ir. As for blasting it... is that even legal? Probably not. Our best shot is... you got it! Running at it and dodging it. Sorry about that.". He looked backwards at someone in a light coloured dress splashing into the water with a loud "Yeawhoaa!". He turned back. "I'll go first. I've been training for Quidditch, dodging Bludgers. I might just get across this one. No guarantees, though. Heh heh.. He grinned. "Oh, and, before running through, don't wait to check if I got through, okay? That'll just mess up your nerves and, uh, slow you down or something. Oh wait, and I have an idea!".

As he stepped over to the edge of the grassy stretch, moving to one side to get better chances of avoiding the axe, ignoring his teammates' amused looks, he shouted, "HERE I COME!!!", and rushed at top speed straight at the axe. He wished he'd practised a full-on sprint, all the while being attacked by dangerous pets. Though he'd won about seven footraces. But still... this was different. He whipped out his wand and pointed it at the axe. "Arresto Momentum!". He kept casting it."WHEEEEEEEEEEEEE......!!!!!"

Back and forth the axe swung over the grassy path across the pool. The axe glinted under the glow of sunshine, as if truly made of metal, and its weight made intimidating swishing noises in the air. Yet, such a frightening obstacle did nothing to deter our brave challengers of Group 9!

George Calder, being the strategic Ravenclaw he was, decided to cast Arresto Momentum on the swinging axe! The spell was a success, hitting the axe squarely. Suddenly, the movements slowed into a more sluggish lull, making it easier for everyone to run across. Now is the time to dash across, make or break.

Moderator's Notes
George Calder casts Arresto Momentum (WDC 10).
[d20 : 13] + 8 = 21 > 10 [Success]

Side note:

Reducio

1. There should only be ONE action per round, per person. Since we count running forward and spell-casting as separate actions, I only rolled for the spell described, not the running.
2. Please also don't assume the outcomes of spells/actions before the moderation post. This defeats the point of a moderated thread, and if you RP a different outcome, the posts and action outcomes become inconsistent

Evasion DC: 20 REDUCED TO 10

• Players who successfully crossed will now be able to assist their other members with their moderated action by casting SPELLS. One example would be Arresto Momentum, the Slowing Charm.
  • One spell per moderated action. Successful spells will LOWER the EDC.

OOC Instructions

Reducio

Rules
Although only 1/4 of the members posted, due to my own delay in moderating, I decided to moderate out of fairness. However, the rule will be reinstated from next week onwards.

1. Moderation will occur once a week, if at least HALF of the members in the group 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.

Group 9

1. @George Calder
2. @Hazel Nelson
3. @Elowin Prankhurst
4. @Lauren Wong

DEADLINE: 1 week from time of posting

Sorry for the late moderation post, I ended up ill ;;;