Summer Camp Mysterious Maze Group 3 Closed

Interacting with @Howard White & Everyone

Grabbing her wand, Bloom looked at it while walking with the group. Was she good with a wand? She had no idea, really. She never really practiced like a lot of her peers, but she wasn't inept with it. "Um, sure," she responded to Howard with lack of confidence in her voice. Hopefully he would not see through it, but if he did, then she hoped that he would still partner with her on this adventure.

Bloom saw ahead the word "RUN" that was written out. What did that mean? Were they meant to run away from it? Run to it? There were so many questions to consider about one word. Like even wondering if there was danger nearby or not. Hogwarts was always known for danger, no matter the fact that they were all children.

Then the answer came. Bloom heard rustling behind them and looked back to see the path begin to fold into itself. And the worst part, it was quickly coming after them.

"RUN!!!" she screamed, and Bloom ran forward only to find that they could only go left or right. Bloom's heart was racing and she chose right, unsure of what her peers would be choosing.

ACTION: Ran and went right

───────────── Interacting Everyone present Calming Presence - Maze Team ─────────────

───────────── Luka Volkov Koldovstoretz The golden wolf Russian / English ─────────────

───────────── Outfit Reducio ─────────────

It seemed everyone in the group would be in agreement on their direction yet as soon as they stepped onto the path, the light of Elena’s wand would reveal a warning. “Run?” He repeated the warning aloud as the maze began to shift again. “Run!” He yelped with a surprised laugh as the maze began to close behind them. That was all the prompting he needed to move his feet, bursting into a run and not stopping until they reached the fork. He skidded to a stop, noticing that one of the other girls had run ahead of him, veering down the right path. “Be careful! We shouldn’t separate!” He warned her as he turned back to see who else had followed and whether or not the maze had stopped trying to devour them.

“Hurry!” He encouraged the others. “Go right!” He called, hoping they would follow, wanting to keep the group together. He was bouncing on his toes, ready to start running again if it was necessary, watching the other students a bit anxiously as he waited for them. The excitement of the surprise hedge attack had taken his mind off his concerns, drawing him into the present. “So exciting! We should watch for more messages!” He added, drawing his wand. “Revelio!”

Action: Casting Revelio and taking the right fork

Interacting| Everyone present. Mentioning| -

Outfit Reducio

Action| Casting Lumos, Taking the right path.

Ihe fact that Elena decided to light up the way proved to reveal some factors that were not comforting at all if you asked her. Honestly, it only confirmed in her mind that this maze was out to make their lives as diffcult as possible. Along with lighting the way, it also revealed messages inscribed to either help them along the way or give them a somber warning in this case. "Run.." Elena repeated scanning it, a sinking feeling emerging in her chest. Well, that wasn't very encouraging at all as she had to ponder what it would be exactly that they would be running from. The brunette's thoughts would be answered a moment later as Bloom shouted and a twist of her head confirmed that the maze indeed was caving in on them, a mess of vines and greenery intent on ensnaring them if they didn't pick up the pace quickly enough as everyone seemed to be flocking to the right. "Let's go, move! Stay calm but keep going!" She called out breaking out at a run to outpace the maze which had come alive.

It was essentialy that they have a sense of urgency but it was also important that they didn't run around like wild chickens with no sense of organization. That only led to more delays and issues that in this situation, they could not afford. Ensuring that no was straggling behind and pausing to make sure, Elena followed suit as the maze ate up the ground behind them deadset on catching at least one student in it's viney grasps. The Gryffindor however had other ideas as one of the other girls was already focused on lighting the way ahead of them so she could bring up the rear and play defense for a short while. Aiming her wand over her shoulder, the girl muttered an "Arresto Momentum" hurling the spell back towards the vines that were gaining rapidly towards them. Truth be told, she didn't know if it would work on something but coming to the conclusion that the maze was alive in some cases, she'd come to the reasoning that the Slowing Charm could buy all of them some time to get the heck out of dodge and deeper into this maze.

Simple, short and sweet. Watching her step to make sure she didn't trip over anything and barely pausing to see if her incantation would have any effect or not, the girl would stow her wand in her pocker putting on a burst of energy to sprint forward. They had light and they had hopefully hindered their first obstacle which was moving. She had a feeling that was only the warm-up and there were a lot of more things to come. "Everyone alright?" Elena called out shooting a wary glance behind them. Well, they most defintely weren't going to get out now with the entrance having been shut behind them and the horde of vines incoming sealing off any escape route. They were in this now whether they liked it or not and it was up to all of them to work together to find a way to navigate their ways out.

"Alright, that's good." Howard gave Bloom a reassuring head nod. "Cuz I'm rubbish with mine." Mostly because he never took the time to practice, but part of it came with his transition. Ever since the change there seemed to be a small divide between magic and him. As if the undead part of him rejected it, but it was tethered down by his human nature. Complicated to say the least, but punching was rather simple. "You take care of the spell work and I'll...uh...knock shit about I suppose." He finished with a smile and a wink. Bloom had seen his strength first hand. If the pair could stay together they just might make a decent team.

The group would begin to discuss a strategy for how to take on the challenge of the maze, but as soon as the first wand was lit a warning would make itself know. RUN...RUN...RUN!! It was written along the hedge walls and shouted aloud as the path behind them began to close. Not only was it blocking their retreat, but this time it was coming after them! Howard's long legs would carry him along as he first started walking backwards, his keen red eyes locked on the encroaching hedges. "Go, go, go!" He called out to the group, his voice stern but still calm. Howard would spin around as the collapsing pathway began to increase in speed. "Bloom! Bloom...OI! Wait up!" He called to his partner as he dug his feet into a full sprint.

"Yeah! Stick together." Howard echoed Luka's advice as they all ran further down the path. He would follow the group to the right and come to a pause as they did. "I'm good." He answered the group before making his way back over to Bloom. "Wait for me next time, partner." Howard teased her with a gentle and playful slug on the arm. A smile grew on his face as he began to let his worries slip away and let the excitement of the challenge sink in.

Action: Choosing the right path.

Interacting: -
Action: Slowly moving forward towards the sound of the violins

English | Mandarin | French | Quotes

Fog engulfed the world, and his vision soon became naught but white only a few paces ahead of him. Only the sounds of his breathing, and the tapping of his footsteps limited visibility, but the bespectacled Chinese boy went forward into the maze, bucket in hand.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

A careful gait, as Hui Ming kept looking around as if expecting the walls of the maze itself to consume him with each step. Unsurprisingly, the walls remained unmoving.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The sound footsteps, as the bespectacled Chinese boy delved deeper into the maze. Hui Ming started to slowly relax. Perhaps it was just a moving maze, and nothing else awaited him in its depths. But then-

ehh - ee -oo -ehhh- eeek- eeh - ahhh

It was a faint sound, muffled almost. It sounded like some sort of string instrument, playing in the distance. A violin, maybe? Who in their right mind would play music in the middle of the maze?. The through brought an absurd mental image of Avery playing his violin all alone in an intersection among the pathways. He could almost imagine Avery's voice:

Come on Ming, this is such a beautiful locations. Doesn't is just-

The bespectacled boy snorted in his amusement. That would be just perfect. Hui Ming sped up, treading through the pathway with a little more confidence as he started making his way towards the sound, until he came in the path of a fork. The pathway diverged into two, one heading left towards the center of the maze, looking utterly unremarkable; while another headed straight towards the sounds of music. The distant, rational part of his mind told him that if he went left, he would be more likely to bump into the rest of this group.

Slowly, a smile formed on the Chinese boy's lips. This was no choice at all. Without so much as looking at the left path, the boy continued towards the sounds of music.

Middle Route

@Elana Jangleton, Angélique de Clairmont (iNPC @Santario Martin), Luka Volkov (iNPC @Kazuo Shimada), @Howard White, @Bloom Silverton

The main party seemed to be holding together, moving like a cohesive unit as they ran from the rapidly approaching wall of hedges...Well most of them were. Young Serena Bowen would hesitate and would be consumed by the moving hedges, her fate unclear to the group. Elena would cast Arresto Momentum to help protect the group from being chased any further as the hedge’s pursuit seemed to slow, but it didn’t halt it entirely. But led by Bloom’s fast decision, the group would turn right at the fork and into the unknown.

With Lumos being cast by Angel and Luka’s Revelio, there would be a good chance at spotting any new messages but it seemed that there would be none to be found. But the group would not have to travel far down the right path before being forced to make a new decision. The advancing hedge seemed to have stopped, at least for now and was no longer pursuing them. But that didn’t mean they were necessarily out of danger.

The left and right paths that were now in front of them seemed a bit similar, both arched into the darkness and it was hard to see what they might hold. Curiously, the left path had two oranges just sitting on the ground a little ways in. To the right, the students would be able to hear a very faint sound of a quack. Every few seconds another *Quack* would echo down the hall. But the choice was now up to them.

Available Directions: Turn Left or Turn Right
__________________________________________________________

@Serena Bowen (did not post)

Serena seemed to hesitate as the maze began to rush forward behind her. Unfortunately, there was no time for the hesitation and darkness would close in around them as they were engulfed in the hedges and rendered immobile for several moments in the temporary prison of leaves and branches. After a few seconds, however, the hedge seemed to open to Serena’s side offering freedom from the clutches. The maze seemed to have placed Serena somewhere new and there was little to offer the student any sense of direction. The path in front of her was narrow. Very narrow, it seemed Serena would need to squeeze through the path to make any sort of progress.

Available Directions:
Forward

Southern Route

@Hui Ming

As a clear fan of the illustrious music, Ming decided that he would make a quick decision in travelling forward. Even with the oddity that was random music in a maze, it seemed that the young boy was ready to face whatever consequences his decision might hold.

It would be clear that this was not a straight path, it seemed to turn every dozen feet or so making it difficult to see what might be coming up. But the music continued to get louder as they walked. Louder with every step until it felt as though it was right next to them. As the boy rounded a final corner they would find themselves at a dead end. But they were not alone.

Levitating several feet off the ground, an old violin was enchanted to play rather poorly. It was clearly the source of the music. Just below the floating violin, a musty old boot seemed to be dancing around in a circle with the music. It was a party of two with a new guest. The enchanted objects seemed not to mind the visitor, at least for now. But the explorer would have to decide if they wished to further investigate the dead-end or continue on their journey back the way they came.

Available Directions: Turn Back

How to Navigate the Maze

1. Each round you can choose an available direction to travel or to take a different action.
2. Each moderation will list the available directions for each student.
3. You can choose to stay as a group or wander off on your own. But if you are alone...beware of the orange.
4. Depending on the paths chosen, you may encounter challenges or changes within the maze.
5. Stats will be used in this tread and thus you will need to ensure they are in your trunk.
6. There will be a moderation post at least once a week. Quicker moderations will be done if all active participants have replied.
7. If a participant misses two weeks of moderation, it will be assumed they decided to take a nap and will be removed from the maze for their safety!
8. As always...clothing will be required in this thread!

@Elena Jangleton | @Santario Martin as Angelique | @Kazuo Shimada as Luka | @Bloom Silverton | @Serena Bowen

After some playful banter with Bloom, Howard's eyes would search the group. "Shit..." He muttered under his breath as there was one less head to be counted. It would appear that Serena was sacrificed to the hedges in order for the group to prevail. She will be remembered. "Looks like we lost another one." Howard stated the obvious with a shrug before eyeing the two options before them. Both paths were shrouded in darkness, but a pair of oranges could be seen to the left and an odd quacking noise sounded from the right. What was more intimidating? Fruit or ducks? Neither really, but he was sure there was more to it than that. At least for now the hedges seemed to have stopped.

"Maybe we ought to come up with a plan?" Odd for such a chaotic person such as Howard to suggest such a thing, but so far they had really just gotten lucky. "Before them vines come for us again." His red eyes would keep a close look on the path behind them. "That was good spell work." He directed to Elena, Angelique and Luka. "Bloom and I could take up the lead if you three wanna watch our backs?" Another shrug. Howard wasn't much of a leader, but as a Quidditch player he knew that it would take a group effort to make it through this successfully. "Let's all stay close, keep a tight bunch, yeah? Can you keep your wand lit while the others stay at the ready?" That question directed towards Angelique. "Which way should we go ya reckon? I trust them oranges over whatever's quacking down there, but whatever you all want to do is fine by me."

Action: Choosing the left path unless the group outvotes him. Will choose whatever the majority picks.

She supposed it could have gone better, her eyes flicking as one of their owns was swallowed up by the vines despite their best efforts. Elena had managed to slow down the horde of greenery and brush but it was inveitable and any rescue attempt would have been futile at this stage. The Gryffindor took comfort in the fact that they wouldn't be intentionally thrust into something like if their well-being was not accounted for so she took comfort in the fact that hopefully, the girl would find herself safe and sound. They had little time to dwell on the situatoin however because they were soon to become the next victims if they didn't keep moving. As they cut right with Elena and two others bringing up the rear, the vines seemed to cease it's pursuit suddenly as if had lost all interest though the girl wasn't complaining whatosever as she paused to catch her breath, this had certainly turned out to be something beyond her expectations.

However, their moment of blissful silence would be ruined soon afterwards as a series of quacks echoed down where they were. "What on Merlin is that?" Elena asked out loud eyeing where the noises came from not trusting it in the slightest. There were only some creatures who could produce something like that and as far as Elena was concerned, she didn't fancy being chased by a flock of ducks or whatever else horrible abonomation was coming their way. If she had learned one thing in the past few minutes, it was that if they stopped moving, it was a sure way to get lost and probably wind up becoming a victim to the trials of the maze. Somehow, she was leaving all the major choices up to the boy who was talking putting her faith in him and Bloom. They could be the captains that drove this ship while they fended off any contraptions that might ugly it's rear hand her wand leveled prepared to counter any threat.

Personally, the two oranges didn't seem as threatening as the various quacks that were greeting them. "Whatever you're gonna do, do it quick. We're about to have company." The right pathway was out of the question in her opinion, it was giving off all sorts of red flags and she was willing to bet whatever was producing these duck-like sounds was anything but a duck. She was more than willing to give her one hundred percent support for the left pathway inching that way slightly her eyes trained on the other pathway just in case something popped out. Thank Merlin they had the light to assist them or this whole thing would have been a hundred times more diffcult. "I say left, don't exactly fancy getting into it with whatever is lurking about down there." Whatever it was, it was clearly living and that was enough to persuade her that the left was a better option.

Interacting with @Howard White & Everyone

"Sorry!"

Bloom couldn't help but to give a sheepish smile at her new friend. It wasn't her fault that she was the first to see something happening and ran. If anything, he reflexes were spot on. She heard something, saw something and gunned for safety. Though, she should have at least grabbed his hand or something to bring him over if they were partners. Next time, she thought, I'll be a team player.

When they got to safety, there seemed to be yet another fork in the road. It was either to turn left, where two oranges lay astray, or to turn right where there seemed to be noises coming from afar. Was it getting closer? Bloom's heart started pounding again. There was never going to be a break from this madness.

She listened to Howard who insisted on turning left, not wanting to know what was happening down the quacking path. Bloom stood by her parter, wand in her hand, and nodded. "Perhaps left makes the most sense... Unless there's something dangerous about these oranges that we are not aware of...," she said, looking at the two fruit the left of her.

Bloom looked back to find that there was definitely no way of turning around. Their group was a bit smaller than what it had been in the beginning. She wondered how many more times will it shrink before they get to where they needed to get to?

ACTION: Wants to go left, but won't push too hard and will follow the group