The Red Queen's Labyrinth Group 2

Banner by Skylar Astor

Interacting with:	@Zephyr Deakin, @Harumi Everdane,
—	@Skylar Astor & @Edward Bishop
Dialogue:	#770B08
Words:	257

There was no denying he got distracted. Did Zeph just call him, Max of all people, rich? The idea alone was so funny it made him cackle. Not really taking the time to pull himself together, he picked up the rock and hurled it, with as much strength as he could muster. Raising his arm, swinging it back, and throw! Only problem was that he lost the rock somewhere underway. It puzzled him, as he had had such a tight hold on it. He turned on the spot, looking in all directions. Where on earth did the stupid rock go? There, a few meters behind them he spotted it. Thrown in the exact opposite direction, it was just typical.

Without looking, or listening, he could just feel laughter building up around him. His cheeks reddened in response. Trying to act nonchalant he turned back to the group with a toss to the head. «Figured we could use a bit of a laugh!» His tone surprisingly held up, but the deep shade of his face gave it all away wether he wanted it to or not.

«Shall we have another go?» He added another theatrical bow, just to really play into the jester part. Maybe they would believe he had really done it on purpose. Then he reached for a new rock. This one was smaller and lighter. It was for sure easier to hold. He just hoped it would deal enough damage to knock the gate down. Trying to take better aim this time, he threw it.

Action:

Throwing projectile

Stats:

Sta 6

Eva 5

Str 8

Wis 4

Arc 5

Acc 7

Made by Skylar Astor

For a brief, glorious second, Zephyr was convinced his plan was going to work as the rock sailed through the air. It was simple, straight and fast, except, it didn't land on his intended target. His grin disappeared. "You're kidding..." He glared at the rock as if it's the most offending thing he had ever set his eyes on. There was a whole pile of them sitting there looking harmless and useful, and he chose the one that's lame. A loud crack was heard, it was Harumi's spell that definitely hit the gate and one of the glowing hearts disappeared. Another spell hit the gate at Edward's attempt and then another heart disappeared while his rock was few feet away from the gate. The comparison wasn't exactly flattering.

Out of everything that happened in this maze so far, this annoyed him more than getting thrown into a pool. At least the axe had the decency to hit him, the rock didn't even hit anything. What a shame! While things were going considerably better for Harumi and Edward. Skylar and Max were in the same predicament as him. Why was it that he always have to do a repeat? Was he really that weak? Or lame? Pfft, I refused to believe that!

Speaking of Max, if he was sulking with his own failure, Max's situation was what he would call...odd. The rock he threw flew, but not toward the gate, behind him. He thought he must have imagined it happening, but it's not. "No way." He laughed so hard, he bent over, with one hand on his knee while trying, and failing, to contain himself. "Max! How did you even manage that?" He pointed in the direction where the rock landed, feeling baffled. It took him a while to stop laughing. When he finally did, he looked at the gate. At least there's one thing he was able to prove, those glowing hearts were really the health bar of the gate. Two hearts were out which means the gate was weakening. "That's pretty cool." It was taking damage, they just have to try again.

Most people would have switched to spells by now but he was not most people. His throw almost made it, almost...He marched back toward the pile again, joining Max with determination on his face. He followed Max' lead and chose smaller rock so it's easier to throw. "If the big one couldn't make it, then I'll just throw a smaller one." Easy and simple logic, at least in his head. He planted his feet and stepped a little closer to the gate, his eyes were locked onto one of the remaining glowing hearts. Together with Max, he swung his arms and hurled the rock as hard as he possibly could, putting every bit of strength behind the throw. Come on, come on, hit it!!!

Action: Throwing projectile (rock)
Stat: Sta: 5, Eva: 5, Str: 7, Wis: 5, Arc: 8, Acc: 5
Special Ability: Calming Presence

☆Made by Skylar Astor☆

So that's it? The gate loses a heart each time it's attacked? It had 5 hearts, now it's 3, she looked at the others, it seems only she and Edward succeeded. Max seems to have thrown the stone the very opposite way.

♠︎♥︎ Harumi guessed it wasn't on purpose but he seemed to deny it. "Honestly, Max? And you laughed at me for falling into the water!" She said sarcastically before laughing. When she took a moment to glance at him, she noticed his reddened face, was he embarrassed? She was very tempted to take her revenge and tease him more. "Oh well, jester. Guess you really know how to make someone laugh.. " She ended up saying, she couldn't bring her kind heart to be cruel to someone embarrassed, very unlike her fellow Hufflepuff, Zephyr.

♣︎◆ She looked at the other two who failed, Skylar and Zephyr, she wasn't going to laugh at Skylar, the girl didn't laugh at her after all, honestly how is she a Slytherin while Max is a Gryffindor? Harumi laughed internally at her thoughts, but never voiced them. "And what's you excuse, Zephyr?" She asked maliciously, it wasn't as if he can reason it by being the butler. "Or were you just messing around as well?" She laughed. The boy looked maddened, glaring at the rock as if it personally offended him, which it probably did. It wasn't until he looked at Max that he left the poor rock alone. Honestly how can he laugh at Max when his attempt wasn't much better!

♠︎♥︎ She left it all at that, she wasn't very keen on watching Zephyr be embarrassed as well if she laughed at him again, she simply can't deal with others emotions unless it was anger or fear. Embarrassment, sadness, hate, love, and even happiness are emotions she can't deal with. She can encourage someone who's scared, or calm down someone who's angry. However, what is she supposed to tell someone who's embarrassed when if she acknowledges their embarrassment to comfort them, then she only gives them more?

♣︎◆ Maybe she was overthinking it all for the millionth time, well, that's her usual, it's actually more worrisome if she's not overthinking. She looked at Skylar blankly for a moment, she wanted to annoy her without laughing at her. "It's alright, your majesty. You don't need to do anything, if you would like, we can throw Edward at the gate, that'll manage to break it in no time!" She grinned at Skylar. Whether she decides to interpret it literally, which is exactly what Harumi meant, or figuratively as in Edward doing all the work, was up to her.

♠︎♥︎ She looked back at the gate. "Well, it seems you need the knight's help, can't have the jester and butler do all the work." She announced and pointed her wand at the gate again. "Flipendo!" If it works, don't change it! One of Harumi's many unnecessary principles.

Max decided to try to start the team off strong with a projectile throw using a nearby rock from the pile of rocks. He however, falls short by an inch or maybe even less than that. Poor guy!

Zephyr decided to follow suit by also throwing one of those big rocks in the pile, and maybe he was motivated by the fact that his friend was so very close, or maybe he's just got accuracy and strength on his side today, but he throws the rock and it hits the gate perfectly! He now made the gate lose one heart.

Harumi tried to use her flipendo again on the gate. However, though she cast it well it looks like the spell hit the ground beside the gate rather than the gate itself and it caused some blades of grass to go flying.

Last bit not least, Skylar tried her incendio spell again and it sets the gate ablaze temporarily which causes it to lose a heart.

The gate is now at 1/5 hearts! Great job team! Keep going!

Moderator's Notes

Reducio

Harumi flipendo [d20+7=16] Fail
Skylar incendio [d20+7=20] Success
Zephyr projectile [d20+7=27] Success
Max projectile [d20+7=18] Fail

OOC Instructions

Reducio

Rules

Congratulations, your group has made it to the fourth obstacle! Almost the end~ Please note the following rules for this obstacle:

1. Moderation will happen if at least HALF of the members in the group posted an action.
a. Due to moderators’ schedules, moderation may take 1-1.5 weeks.
b. 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 progress

2. If there are any special circumstances (eg, members ill), please owl us. We will consider making exceptions on a case-by-case basis.

3. Each participant is allowed one moderated action per round. Please include your abilities and stats in your post.
a. Please specify your moderated action in your post (as an OOC note).
b. Moderated actions are those actions that require rolls like casting a spell

4. Please follow all usual HIO rules.
This includes 200 IC word requirements.

OBSTACLE 4 SPECIAL INSTRUCTION:
For this obstacle, your characters will be able to use different means to break down the gate! You can use:
Spells from our Duelling System! We will be using the damage equations from here. This is good for players with high wisdom and/or arcane stats.
Small projectiles (the rocks and pebbles mentioned). We will be using the Broom Racing System’s damage equation for small projectiles. This is good for players with high strength stats.

YOU CAN ONLY CHOOSE TO CAST ONE SPELL, OR THROW ONE PROJECTILE.

Notes:
Please do NOT assume the outcomes of spells/throws 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.
Moderation notes will be left for each player, with the rolls and damage equations shown.

Group 2:
@Zephyr Deakin
@Maximilianus Kenneally Vidler
@Harumi Everdane
@Edward Bishop
@Skylar Astor

Banner by Skylar Astor

Interacting with:	@Zephyr Deakin, @Harumi Everdane,
—	@Skylar Astor & @Edward Bishop
Dialogue:	#770B08
Words:	249

He threw his rock, and he threw it hard. Arm tilted back before it was swung forwards. The rock was released and sailed in a beautiful arch toward the gate. His eyes were glued to it, it might have been the best throw he had ever done. That was perhaps why he was so stumped when the stupid rock ended its travel through the air just an inch or so short. He had expected to hit, forseen the beautiful sound of rock hitting wood. Instead he got a very disappointing thomp, if it could even be called that much.

He threw up his hands and watched as Zeph and Skylar both got their hits in. Now why couldn’t he have done that? It couldn’t be that bloody difficult, could it. «I am so done with this gate, now if I don’t hit it…» His voice was low as he mumbled to himself. Nothing better than failure to ruin a good mood.

Walking on stiff legs, he picked up yet another rock, and found his place in their informal line-up once more. Speaking now, he raised his voice. «I swear, if I’m not the one to take out that last heart…» That sounded almost a bit too bitter, even to him. So he cast a quick glance at the rest and forced a tiny smile. «Anyone wanna bet who does it?» Without waiting any longer, he hurled the new rock with all the frustration he could muster to let go.

Action:

Throwing projectile

Stats:

Sta 6

Eva 5

Str 8

Wis 4

Arc 5

Acc 7

Made by Skylar Astor

Zephyr's second attempt was better than the first, maybe because of his switch to a smaller one or he had stepped closer. Whatever the reason, the throw looked good. He followed its trajectory and refused to blink as it flew. Beside him, Max's own projectile came agonisingly close to the gate that he almost thought it had hit. "Aw, mate...you were robbed." The sympathy for his friend was real. His rock connected to the gate, the impact echoed through the gate and one of the glowing hearts disappeared completely. Both his fists shot into the air. "YES! I told you!" Glancing at Harumi, "You were saying?"

His grin threatened to split his face in half. Finally his attempt worked without ending being thrown into a pool, smacked by an axe, or made fun of by a talking lock. The timing could not have been better because a burst of flames from Skylar's wand struck the gate shortly after and another heart vanished. Only one remained. Zephyr whistled and turned around to the rest, "Good job, look at that, just one last heart!"

Harumi's spell missed this time, and sent bits of grass flying, at this point, he hardly cared. They had the gate down to its last heart. He looked at the remaining glowing heart and cracked his knuckles. "Let's try again." He went back to the pile of rocks. There's no reason to change strategies now so he searched through the pile until he found another rock that was not too heavy.

At Max, he smirked, "Let's see then..." He simultaneously hurled the rock with everything he had left, aiming directly for the gate. One last time!

Action: Throwing projectile (rock)
Stat: Sta: 5, Eva: 5, Str: 7, Wis: 5, Arc: 8, Acc: 5
Special Ability: Calming Presence

☆Made by Skylar Astor☆

Another failure, Harumi wasn't even bothered at this point, she succeeded last time so, statistically speaking, she wasn't going to succeed this time, or at least that's her thoughts, the last time she took math was long ago, Hogwarts seems to care more about if you're able to bewitch snowballs rather than if you're able to calculate taxes.

♠︎♥︎ Speaking of taxes, there aren't any in the magical world, are there? Harumi found herself worrying about that, what if there is? She doesn't know how to calculate taxes, let alone magical ones, are they a set percent of your income or what? Maybe it's automatically taken from your income? Wait, she doesn't even have an income yet, she's just a student. She lets out a sigh of relief, being young certainly has its privileges.

♣︎◆ Back to worrying about the stubborn gate in front of them, everything in this labyrinth is stubborn, nothing is easy. Max failed again and Harumi pretended not to see, she was not keen on watching him embarrassed again. Max is the kind of person Harumi wouldn't mind laughing at her, even if they weren't friends, so being in reverse positions makes her confused, annoying him a bit is alright, but she already did last time, so ignoring it is better.

♠︎♥︎ "Oh, I bet it's gonna be m-.. Well, probably Max!" Harumi cheered, be it because she actually believed he would since he must have ran out of bad luck now, or just to cheer him up after failing twice.

♣︎◆ Harumi points her wand at the door one last time. "I might as well try one last time though!" She decided eagerly. "Flipendo!" She used the spell hopefully one last time.

With the final blow from Skylar with her incendio, the once-steady and strong portcullis quivered as if it were a dried leaf in a whirlwind. With one final grunt of steel bending, it collapsed in a heap of dust backwards, creating an entrance into the palace at last!

“No, NOOOO! Curse you all, I’ll be back!”

A shrill voice hollered out as it faded into the distant, leaving sweet bird song and the relieved chitters of woodland creatures in its wake.

Upon entry, past the gatehouse, players would be greeted by a ray of gentle, welcoming light from the sun, enveloping their entire surroundings. Upon opening their eyes, they would find themselves in the grand interior of a throne room. Walking deeper into the room, players would see a now-vacant golden throne sitting atop the elevated platform. Then, sizzling– SQUEAK! Like a balloon animal at a party, the throne squeaked and squirmed before splitting itself into five thrones!

A giant painted banner decorated with each card suit rolled down from the ceiling, displaying itself behind the throne. On it written in bold red letters states: 'CONGRATULATIONS! Vermillion rose petals rained from above. Congratulations, players!


Moderator's Notes

Reducio

Harumi flipendo [d20+7=16] Fail
Skylar incendio [d20+7=25] Success
Zephyr projectile [d20+7=20] Success
Max projectile [d20+7=13] Fail

Group 2:
@Zephyr Deakin
@Maximilianus Kenneally Vidler
@Harumi Everdane
@Edward Bishop
@Skylar Astor