BlossomFest Great Maze - The Team WMNBN PV

Adam stood in the entrance to the maze and looked between the three paths in excitement. This was going to take a while, but Adam was glad that it had been made so complicated. Otherwise, where was the fun in solving a simple maze? It was a bit strange that the thing they'd been tasked with finding was a goat, but he supposed that goats could be interesting. Right? There were, let's see....mountain goats. Mountain goats were cool. Those satyr-fawn creatures in mythology had been half-goat, and while they were pretty weird, they always seemed to help in one way or another. That video of the screaming goat had been ridiculously popular a few years back, enough to reach some of the wizard community before it quickly faded out of style again. Oh, and how could he forget that singing goat from the movie that Sydney had forced him and Dean to watch with her last year? Yeah, he guessed goats were pretty entertaining creatures. That wasn't the point of the maze, though, so he snapped himself back into focus before his mind could stray any further.

"Right, so....." Adam began, taking a step forward and trying to see if any of the paths really stood out to him. "Unless anyone has any sudden urges to take a specific route, what do you say we just start out by wandering a bit and seeing where it takes us?" He turned to the path branching off diagonally and looked down it, as far as he could see. It didn't seem to be too visibly dangerous, at least, not yet. "This one looks as good as any other, doesn't it?"

ACTION: Take the northwest path

Amadea was so excited; she had been looking forward to the maze event ever since it had been announced. She was also excited to be part of a team with two Ravenclaws. They seemed to know what they were doing, which was good because Amadea had a feeling she might get lost inside this maze very quickly. She wondered why there was a goat on the loose inside the maze as well and why they had to catch it. Hopefully it wouldn't be that difficult, but knowing the types of challenges at Hogwarts, she figured it would definitely be a sizable task. Maybe the goat would be a giant goat, or maybe it would be as small as a bug. Or maybe it was a magical goat that have powers to defend itself against the teams trying to catch it.

As she fantasized about all of the different variations of goats that could be in the maze, Adam took a step forward, checking out each of the different directions before suggesting going northwest. Amadea had no strong feeling as to which way they should go, and exploring a little bit seemed like a good idea. They could see what the maze looked like and get a feel for things before making a strategy on how to win, because of course they were going to win.

"Sure," she said. "Let's go exploring!"

ACTION: Head northwest.

One step after another, your team is heading northwest in the maze. Taking in the green hedges and breezy wind, the hedges seem to begin to bloom more and more with flowers and buds. The hedges become prettier the further you venture towards the northwest path of the maze. Strange. Perhaps it is the right way to go as increased growth is happening towards the direction. As you walk further and further down the path, you realize that not only are there more flowers, but there are many more bumblebees. Luckily, they were cast not to attack and only be idle among their flowers. You keep going, past the bumblebees and towards what finally seemed like a dead end of the maze. Oh no! Your team turns around and you now walk past the flowers and bumblebees and decide on a new path.

You must choose East or West from the entrance now. Teams cannot split up.

As Amadea followed her teammates down the northwest path, she looked around them. The hedges were becoming more and more elaborately decorated with flowers. They were absolutely beautiful. Amadea wondered if this was some sort of sign that they were heading in either the right direction, or the wrong. She would have to make note of it. As more bees became visible, she wondered if they were going to attack, however they didn't. The team came to a halt as the path abruptly ended. She turned back to her teammates.

"Well, I guess we'll have to try this again!" she said cheerfully. As they retraced their steps back to the entrance, Amadea pondered the event in her head. There wasn't any particular strategy they could have yet, as they had only barely just entered the maze. Plus, the maze was magical which added a whole other level of hard. She looked at her teammates. "I don't have any particular strategy," she told them. "Why don't we just explore going east?"

ACTION: Suggest to go east.

Cecily followed her teammates down the northwest path. It became more and more crowded, filling with flowers and bumblebees. Cecily was not afraid of the bees, but still tried to avoid getting in their way. They seemed to have no inclination to attack, but rather just bumble along through the beautiful flowers.

Cecily was wondering if the flowers were a hint of some sort when they came to a dead end in the passage. "Well, I guess we'll have to try this again!" Amadea said, spirits still not broken.

"Oh yes, we're off to a great start," Cecily muttered. She didn't mind Amadea's enthusiasm, but they had just wasted valuable time travelling down the wrong path. Neverthless, Cecily led the group back to the starting point and surveyed their other two choices. So far, Cecily could not see any particular strategy to this maze.

Amadea suggested they explore the eastern passage. Having no complaints, Cecily nodded, and followed her teammate down a hopefully more successful passage.

ACTION: Take the east path.

Adam was embarrassed that they had to turn back. It had been his decision to go northwest, after all, and it had certainly been a poor one. It wasn't so much the fact that Adam was wrong that made him feel guilty, but that he had led his two teammates so far astray from the path that they should've taken. If he was smart, he probably would've been able to see where they were going before they'd made it all the way to this solid hedge wall. He'd been so distracted by the growing number of vibrant flowers and bumblebees flying between them. The maze had grown more and more beautiful, more springlike, if that was a word, and it had made him think that he had chosen correctly. After all, it was BlossomFest, wasn't it? The vernal decorations had only supported the theme.

"Sorry about that, guys," he murmured under his breath as they found their way back to the maze entrance. Adam winced a little bit at Cecily's underhand comment. He realized now that all of that had probably just been a trick, a creation of the professors to lead students astray. It was smart, he supposed. He probably should have known that there would be more dangers to the maze than just giant creatures or confusing puzzles. It was good that he'd been tricked once, wasn't it? Now Adam would be on the lookout for any more deceit from the maze.

Looking down their two remaining paths, Adam thought it was probably better to let one of the girls decide for them this time. Cecily or Amadea would probably have better luck, especially with the reduced chance of picking the wrong path. Luckily for him, Amadea spoke up a moment later, saying something about heading down the east passage. It was as good an option as going east, and Adam didn't have any problems with it. Smiling, he turned his attention back to his teammates. "Sounds good to me!" Motioning for Amadea to lead them forward, Adam fell into line behind her and set off down the new path.

ACTION: Follow Amadea and Cecily down the east path.

As your team takes the path to the East, you become more and more engulfed by the maze. The hedges grow taller, taller than you are, and the light seems to fade slightly as the sun passes over top of your heads. The further in you go, the more you wonder when you will be getting out, even though it had only just begun. The ground was beginning to turn from beautifully taken care of grass to rough dirt and stones that scattered randomly across the ground. Not the best to walk on but still tolerable. Halfway to the next fork in the maze, an animal darts out in front of your group from underneath the hedge to your right, causing a slight panic. It was black and white to the eye and about knee-height, but not much else could be told about the appearance, or the type of animal it could have been. Perhaps it was an animal that escaped Professor Lear’s classroom, or maybe it was an animal straying away from the Forbidden Forest, trying to find its way out of the maze itself? You won’t find out. Soon enough, you come to the next turning point, giving you three options to choose from.

Choose between North, South or turning back. Remember that teams can not split up.

Amadea led her team down the east path; after all, she had been the one to choose it. She hoped she hadn't picked wrong. They were probably already behind everyone else, as they had to turn back from their first decision. And now the ground was getting rougher to navigate through. But it was okay, Amadea reassured herself. Just because they might be behind didn't mean they couldn't find the goat and the exit quicker. 

Just as she thought that, she saw an animal dart in front of the path and disappear. Her eyes widened and she looked back at the Ravenclaws. "Did you guys see that too?" she asked them. Maybe they had gotten a better glimpse than she had. Could it have been...the goat? "Do you know what that was?" She hoped they knew what it was; maybe it was a clue. 

They reached the next fork in the path soon enough, and Amadea turned to her teammates. "We probably shouldn't head back the way we came," she said. "Should we go north or south?" Amadea didn't want to make the next decision as she had made the last choice, and she didn't want to take over leadership of the team. They were a team after all, they were all the leaders. She decided she would just make a suggestion, like she did last time. "How about north?" She really had no idea where they were going and didn't have a strategy, so she hoped the others did.

Action: Suggest to go North

Cecily followed her teammates down the east path, hoping they had made the right decision. However, the ground turning to dirt and stone beneath her feet did not raise her hopes. Cecily kept her eyes on the ground, trying to avoid twisting her ankle on any other the rough patches of ground.

Cecily lifted her head to make small talk or something of the sort when she saw a creature dart across their path. It was black and white and the size of a small dog. Could it be the goat? Or was it something more dangerous? "Do you know what that was?" Amadea asked, and Cecily just shook her head.

They soon stumbled upon yet another fork -- not that Cecily was surprised; it was a maze, after all. At least they hadn't hit a dead end.

Cecily surveyed her options. North or South. Cecily immediately ruled out turning back as an option, and hoped Adam and Amadea did as well. Besides that, though, for once, the Ravenclaw didn't have a plan. They were just winging it, she knew. She just hoped her wings were strong enough to fly.

Amadea suggested the north path, and Cecily agreed. After all, what was she going to do, choose South for the sake of being argumentative? Normally, Cecily might consider it, but this was not the time for such childishness, not when they had a common goal.

"North sounds good," Cecily replied to the Hufflepuff's suggestion. "Adam?"

ACTION: Agree to North path