The Red Queen's Labyrinth Group 11

@Jessamine Hemlock @Emi Sato @Tatiana Contraire

With crust still in his eyes and eagerness overtaking his sleepiness, Pyxis arrived at the Small Hall right on time. He felt like it was much too early to be partaking in any sort of brain-engaging activity, but he’d already written his name down when he thought the event was going to be in the evening and he was not going to bail. I hope. The lad wanted to be in tiptop shape for his small group but he could feel the lack of energy slowly muddying his thoughts. At least, with the labyrinth and his increasing desire to be back in bed, there was no time for the snake to think about his last encounter with Costanza (which, dear reader, has not been written yet).

A part of him remembered the scene intensely as it had happened right here in this very room at the last ball event, but he couldn’t dwell on that now. Mostly because I just don’t understand it. Instead, Pyxis used his key to let both him and Jessamine into the starting point of the labyrinth. It was a beautiful setting, albeit a little disorienting with its winding hedges and checkered pathway. He reached up to pluck one of the roses from the hedges and brought it near to his nose, intent on discovering if conjuring flowers also gave it smell.

“Much nicer than the last one, I think,” he said to Jessamine, handing the rose over to her as they made their way forward until the path narrowed. He almost jumped out of his skin and into Jessamine’s arms when three pathways violently revealed themselves. He took a moment to be rid of his shakiness because he didn’t want his voice to waver in front of his teammates, one of which he had never seen before and the other not in his year group. Jessamine would be able to tell, Pyxis knew that. Her teasing is more funny and less hurtful these days, I suppose.

The lad was immediately drawn to the third pathway. It was elegant and promised riches. Pyxis was in no need for more riches, but the comfort of wealth was enticing. The other paths just weren’t his style. The fungi road looked like it would give him a mighty rash and the beady eyes of those gnomes were unsettling. But the latter were dancing in arrows, practically pointing them in that direction. Is that the trap? Is following the arrows too easy? The riddle was of no help to his foggy brain.

“What do you guys think?” he asked, moving to stand in front of the third pathway and squinting as if checking for signs of danger. “I’m Pyxis, by the way, just to get names out of the way.”

Action: None yet. STA: 10 | EVA: 6 | STR: 3 | WIS: 12 | ARC: 10 | ACC: 9 Perfectionist | Stat Relevant | Spell Spread

Reducio

This group was small, which might’ve worked in their favour, if it was in a different circumstance. The first years stood back, letting the third years take the lead. Jessamine seemed scared of the gnomes, and Pyxis was drawn by the elegance of the third path. So, they decided to go down the THIRD PATH. They obviously fell for the trap of looking for the easy answer, which didn’t work in their favour.

This group of participants were apparently the sort to ignore the riddle completely, and just choose the path they liked the look of the most. They only got partway down the path before a mysterious voice rang out above them.
“Oh, silly little wizards. So naive of you to come into my stash of jewels. Now, get out this second, before my army of card soldiers come.”
The sensible people among the group would run out as fast as their legs would let them, while the others may continue walking. If they did that, however, they would soon touch one of the diamond necklaces, their hands drawn to it by a mysterious force. As soon as they did touch it, they would be transported back to the original room they were in. What a waste of a few minutes.

OOC Instructions

Reducio

Rules
Uh oh, that was the wrong path, challengers! Please try again and read the bolded part of the riddle carefully. Hint: There is only one path with “knowing locals” who will ensure your safety.

1. Similar to before, moderation will occur once a week, if at least HALF of the members in the group have 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 progress.
   • 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. In this case, this would be another single path of your group's choice. Please include your abilities and stats in your post.
   • PLEASE STATE YOUR MODERATED ACTION IN YOUR POST! (as an OOC note).
3. Please follow all usual HIO rules.
   • This includes 200 IC word requirements.

Group 11

1. @Tatania Contraire
2. @Emi Sato
3. @Pyxis Hellebore
4. @Jessamine Hemlock

NEXT DEADLINE: 1 week from time of posting

Credits to @Natasha Blackwood

Code by Fawkes Chaos

WC: 257

Interactions:@Jessamine Hemlock, @Pyxis Hellebore & @Tatiana Contraire

DATE: 12 April 2026 TIME: ABC

Outfits:	Ooc note:	Action:	Hex:
Reducio ✦	Reducio Nothing!	Reducio Talks to the others	Reducio Thoughts|Speech|Japanese

Emi was kinda… disappointed. Her teammates and her went into the wrong path. And she also heard a creepy voice. The voice said: “Oh, silly little wizards. So naive of you to come into my stash of jewels. Now, get out this second, before my army of card soldiers come.”

Of course when Emi heard it, her first instinct was to run away like any other person. Of course they had to choose this path. I would have told them to pay attention to the riddle, but I’m not… um not from Hogwarts. And this is kinda their school so it would’ve been rude… as I’m from Mahoutokoro… but I should probably say something… I would get out of here, but I’m in a team! Hmm lemme think. The riddle’s answer is obviously a guide, as I have heard this riddle before, so if not this path, then it’s either the first or second one. The first is mushrooms, and only mushrooms so nope! Then the second one has gnomes! So it must be the second!

Emi nervously told the third years, “Um… hi! I’m uhh Emi and guys… we should really get out of here ASAP! And go to the second path instead you know… and hope not to get eaten by giant cards!”

She hoped that she didn’t sound funny or weird as she wasn’t that great at English. Most would say that English was probably not her strong suit. She was way better at Japanese. But she doubted that anyone in her group understood Japanese or what it was.

STATS: sta 9 | eva 5 | str 5 | wis 7 | arc 4 | acc 5
ABILITIES: Lovely Creature

@Jessamine Hemlock @Emi Sato @Tatiana Contraire

There was a certain curse that came with being an indecisive lad, but it was one that could only be broken by a confident friend. Pyxis was glad to skip the choosing portion, happy to let Jessamine lead the way down the opulent pathway. His thoughts did keep drifting back to the ‘knowing locals’ portion of the riddle, but he stopped caring at some point. If this was the wrong path, then perhaps it meant they would have to fight their way through, or happen upon an incredibly difficult puzzle that would have been easier if they’d taken the right way. Everything is a video game. I’ve been training for this since birth.

Alas, the event was not a true ‘choose your own adventure’ as Pyxis had initially hoped. Nearing the sounds of the fountain, he stopped in his tracks when a voice came from the sky. Expecting another clue or a song like the last event, he was disappointed to hear someone telling them to turn back or face… card soldiers? Ah, this is an Alice in Wonderland theme. The young lad wasn’t too familiar with the story, but he knew card soldiers worked for the Queen of Hearts and the Queen of Hearts was bad news. Allegedly.

“Egad!” he exclaimed, placing his hands on his head in an exaggerated manner. Slipping into a character was his way of interjecting some humor for Jessamine. Pyxis turned to see that the other two members of their group had shown up and were following them, so he made a wild gesture with his arms. “Let’s get out of hereeee!” he yelled, drawing out the last word as if in a slow motion cutscene and running back to the branching paths. He had to catch his breath after that, placing his hands on his knees and switching between wheezing and laughing. “Terrible choice, I must say. Now that I think about it, we should’ve kept going and grabbed some of the jewels,” he would say to Jessamine whenever she caught up.

He wiped a bit of perspiration off his brow and listened as his teammates finally spoke up. The girl he didn’t recognize at all clearly wasn’t from Hogwarts. Pyxis chuckled at her interpretation of what the giant cards would do to them.

“Getting eaten? By conjured card soldiers? That sounds like a fun ride… and a good research point,” he started off unserious, but was seriously considering jotting down some notes on conjuration studies. The last girl had caught up by then and Pyxis thought that heels were an odd choice for the event. The ball was still hours away and seeing as he just ran straight down the path, he assumed that comfortable clothes would be best for this kind of thing. But the lad didn’t dwell on the notion for too long. I’m not going to pretend I understand girls and their fashion.

“I would disagree about the riddle not being subtle,” he responded, furrowing his brow at the girl’s words. “Take the use of the word ‘jungle’… The second path is not a jungle. The first one fits that part of the riddle much more. Mushrooms, jungle… makes sense. ‘Knowing local’ does suggest gnomes, but the arrow formations literally leading us into the second path could totally be bait material,” Pyxis explained, justifying his reasoning. But now they knew the third path was the true bait, leaving the choice between what he interpreted as the jungle and the gnomes. ‘Knowing local’ won out over the potentially rash-giving fungi.

“Second path, then?” he asked Jessamine, stepping up next to the younger Hogwarts girl who he hoped would not continue being a b—Buzzkill.

Action: Picking the second path. STA: 10 | EVA: 6 | STR: 3 | WIS: 12 | ARC: 10 | ACC: 9 Perfectionist | Stat Relevant | Spell Spread

Reducio

This time, Emi, the only international student, decided to speak up first, and the rest of the group followed her train of thought as they decided to go down the SECOND PATH.
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 11

1. @Tatania Contraire
2. @Emi Sato
3. @Pyxis Hellebore
4. @Jessamine Hemlock

DEADLINE: 1 week from time of posting

@Jessamine Hemlock @Emi Sato @Tatiana Contraire

The gnomes were terrifying and Pyxis tried his hardest to look anywhere but at their beady, unsettling eyes. He almost shuddered when they crowded against him and the group, but didn’t for fear of being rude. Yes, I am disgusted. No, I was not raised without manners. Thankfully, he would not need to deal with them for much longer as they approached the next part of the maze. No voice rang out overheard, threatening to send cards after them, so they were on the right path this time. Pyxis preferred the third path still.

The scent of roses touched his twitching nose as the group was led towards an isolated door. Before he even read the clue, the lad turned the shiny handle to confirm that it was indeed locked. There was a keyhole beneath the handle and a silver key that was much too large to fit. Putting two and two together, Pyxis still read through the clue that was above the door lest the fun police told him off again. Well, that seems obvious. But was the obvious thing ever the best choice? At least there were no gnomes accosting him this time.

“Well, I’m going to shrink the key if no one has any objections,” he said hesitantly, wondering if anyone had any other ideas that they deemed superior. I don’t really care, to be honest. “Reducio,” he said after retrieving his wand from its pocket and pointing it at the key.

Action: Casting the Shrinking Charm on the key. STA: 10 | EVA: 6 | STR: 3 | WIS: 12 | ARC: 10 | ACC: 9 Perfectionist | Stat Relevant | Spell Spread

Reducio