The Red Queen's Labyrinth Group 8

a 𝓢 𝓘 𝓢 𝓢 𝓨 a

𝓒 𝓐 𝓓 𝓔 𝓛 𝓛

WC: 388

Interactions: Labyrinth

OOC Note: sorry guys

Date: 22.05.26

Outfits: Reducio

Mentions: Reducio @Angel Dayes@Jada Blake@Tina Carille@Felix Hawthorne@Laurie Holmes@Dido Bleaklane

Speech: Reducio Sissy -, Tina - Felix-Jada-Dido-Angel-Laurie

Action: running forward

Stamina: 5 | Evasion: 4 | Strength: 2 | Wisdom: 7 | Arcane Power: 9 | Accuracy: 3
Abilities: Parselmouth

The impact knocked the air out of me.
One second? Perfect.
Next? Splash.
Cold water closed all over me, freezing cold and sudden, dragging me under for half a second before I forced myself back up. My hair clung to my face, my clothes soaked through.
Silence.
Dido laughing.
Of course. No one expected me to fall; me neither really.
I pushed the water out of my eyes slowly as I stood up, half my legs still in the water. I took a deep breathing once through my nose. Fury filling me completely

My gaze lifted. Angel. Felix. Jada. All dry.

Of course they made it. My jaw tightened. Pure luck.
Then Tina scrambling up the ladder like this was some kind of recreational swim.

I moved toward the ladder without a word, ignoring the water dripping from my arms, rolling down , my expression flat as ever. I climbed out, slower than Tina, acting like the fall didn't matter. That was humiliating.

Dido offered a hand.
I looked at it, “I can manage.”

I stepped past her instead, grabbing one of the towels and drying my hands first, then my face, more focused on regaining composure than actually getting dry.

Her giggling didn’t stop. That was… noted.
My eyes flicked briefly toward the path again, it was the same pattern. I couldn't fail again.

Tina started rambling again, something about Reducio and speed and whatever else she’d convinced herself of. I barely listened.
Then Angel spoke up, "Hey everyone! Dry yourselves off alright? I just thought of something right now!"

I glanced at her, unimpressed, “If you have a plan, use it.” I said flatly. “No need for a speech.”

My gaze shifted to the lollipop. Then the attempted spell.
A bird? For this?
I exhaled lightly through my nose., “Unless that bird plans on stopping the axe mid-swing, it’s useless.”

Then Jada, actually trying something practical for once.
Targeting the source, which is better.

I wrung the edge of my sleeve once, water dripping to the ground, then rolled my shoulders back, eyes locking onto the axe again.
Dido was already preparing to run again. Tina too.

Good, less talking, more doing, “Watch the center point.” I said, not looking at anyone in particular. “It speeds up halfway through.”
I prepared myself, “Go.” and started running forward again.

Successful runners of Group 8, Jada Blake, Felix Hawthorne, and Angel Dayes, watched from the other side as their teammates, Tes Cadell, Tina Carille, and Dido Bleaklane dragged themselves out of the pool and dried themselves off with the provided towels. With half of their team stranded on the other side, the fallen could only try again.

Deciding to try her hand at assisting her teammate, Jada Blake reached for her wand to cast Anathema Daphnis to root the axe. While the spell was successfully cast, the axes remained untouched and swinging due to their inanimate nature. If only the Queen had been eccentric enough to make a living, swinging axe... Angel Dayes, in a strange effort to test her spell-casting, went to cast a successful Avifors on a lollipop. Before her eyes, the lollipop shrank up into a ball of feathers and transformed into a bird! Chirps filled the air as a small bird hopped out of the feathery pile.

In their second attempt, the brave girls tried their luck again. Tes Cadell only made it halfway across the path before a puddle of water made her slip before the axe's swing again. Tina Carille, perhaps startled by her teammate's fall, soon joined Tes in the sparkling water once more. Dido Bleaklane was incredibly close to the end of the path, but just before the opposite edge of the pool, the axe hooked onto her shirt, sending her tipping backwards.

The Queen's security mechanisms are just too cruel...

Moderator's Notes
Jada Blake casts Anathema Daphnis (WDC 12)
[d20 : 15] + 7 = 22 > 12 [Success]
Angel Dayes casts Avifors (WDC 8 )
[d20 : 13] + 7 = 20 > 8 [Success]
Tina Carille runs forward.
[d20 : 10] + 6 = 16 < 20 [Fail]
Tes Cadell runs forward.
[d20 : 9] + 4 = 13 < 20 [Fail]
Dido Bleaklane runs forward.
[d20 : 13] + 6= 19 < 20 [Fail]

Side note: The reason why the Taking Root spell did not work was that the Spell System specifically stated that it works on the targeted creature, meaning that the spell only works on living things. The axes are not living things, and so they wouldn't have been rooted by the spell, even if it's successful. (Hence, the hint I tried to give haha ;;)

Evasion DC: 20

• 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, or a maintained Wingardium Leviosa, the Levitating Charm on the axe.
  • One spell per moderated action. Successful spells will LOWER the EDC.

OOC Instructions

Reducio

Rules
I am very sorry to say that three of you have fallen again ;;

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 8

1. @Jada Blake
2. @Tina Carille
3. @Tes Cadell
4. @Angel Dayes
5. @Felix Hawthorne
6. @Laurie Holmes
7. @Dido Bleaklane

DEADLINE: 1.5 week from time of posting

Real sorry for the late moderation post again.

<sub>"What was it that you said Tes? No speech? I think you guys need encouragement!" she said with a cool tone

"Well, third time's the charm. Speaking of charm I think I could hold the axe this time. Please try your best! We can't stall, who knows if the other teams had already passed this. But no worries! I believe in you all!" she says

Angel had thought of another idea. Levitating Charm. She can hold off the axe so they can get to the path with ease. Others probably have crossed this already. Which disappointed Angel because they were all so so close. If anything she felt gloomy. Tes, Tina, and Dido once again fell to the Labyrinth's mechanisms. Stepping forward once again with her heels clanking she grabbed her wand and pointed at the axe.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" she said with a calm and steady light voice. Almost nonchalant really

This time she hoped they can be a bit more efficient. They can't just stay here all day. But who knows if the Labyrinth will comply. It really depends on them if they can be quick. Stepping back once again she made room so in case it would work out all three could climb and get across with ease.</sub>

Word Count Reducio 238 (sorry that it's so short!)

Action Reducio Crossing the path

Stats/Abilities Reducio Stamina: 4 Evasion: 6 Strength: 5 Wisdom: 8 Arcane Power: 5 Accuracy: 7

Interacting With: Reducio @Jada Blake @Tina Carille @Tes Cadell @Angel Dayes @Felix Hawthorne

DidoTesTinaAngel Jada Felix

OOC note:

Reducio

1) At this point in the school year, Dido is not thinking at all clearly about people (especially Ravenclaws) and while everything said is true in her own belief, she is often very wrong/skewed.

She was there, she was going to make it. So close and-

With a sudden jolt and a slip which sent her barrelling downwards, almost crashing her chin against the path ledge as she fell, Dido splashed back into the water. Drenched.

It was… less funny the second time. Perhaps if Tina or Tes had elected to join in with her earlier amusement, Dido would have been left with some residual joy but, as it was, the entire affair was becoming rather sickening.

From the soaked hair that stuck to her face, almost like one of those unpleasantly squelchy squid creatures, Dido glared at the three students standing on the other side, unfairly dry. Thankfully, the light resentment was quickly banished when she noticed that both Tes and Tina had also fallen again. So, with a newly formed grin which was only slightly apologetic, Dido got up and out of the water, “accidentally” flicking water towards Angel as she swum back to the ladder.

As Dido straightened up, squeezing the water from her hair, she called across to her room-mate, “Has it been raining over there?” in a perfectly innocent tone, dramatically raising her eyebrows with an almost cartoonish smile. This was fun. She was having fun. She wanted to keep having fun. By getting across the stupid water.

Almost ignoring the two girls beside her, Dido hopped back onto the edge of the platform. One more try!

Code by Fawkes Chaos

Banner & Signature by Tes Cadell

WC: 201/200 Interactions: JadaDidoTesTinaLaurieAngelFelix Date: 13/04/2026 Time: late afternoon/early evening Reducio Abilites: Charmer Stats: Stamina: 8 Evasion: 7 Strength: 3 Wisdom: 7 ArcPower: 6 Accuracy: 4

A sigh slipped from her lips as her teammates failed, yet again, to cross the bridge. At this point all the other groups would probably have moved on. All except for them, still stuck here because some people were either extremely uncoordinated or had no sense or rhythm. Or both actually. "Come on guys," she said with a false cheeriness before adding on "It's not that hard."

Once again, she pointed her wand at an axe. Her last spell had been in vain, roots having grown but not secured the axe to anything. How could she have been so stupid, the axes weren't attached to anything in the first place. Anyways, it was no use to anyone, focusing to the past. Actions would always have more of an effect, whether positive or not.

She didn't even try hide the painfully obvious annoyance on her face as she cast the next spell. "Wingardium Leviosa" she said lazily, following Angel's lead. Although it wouldn't stop the axe's from swinging, she hoped she could at least move them away from the bridge they had to cross. She shot a pointed look towards Felix. He was the oldest out of the lot, shouldn't he be able to help the others more?

Reducio

Action: Casting Wingardium Leviosa on the second axe

Outfit: Reducio https://i.postimg.cc/8khLLHFT/image.png

Signature:

Mentions: Reducio @Felix Hawthorne@Tes Cadell@Dido Bleaklane@Tina Carille@Angel Dayes

Despite numerous failures, Group 8's girls remained determined! Angel Dayes, ever observant and quick on her feet, brandished her wand to cast the Levitation Charm in an attempt to hold the axes in place with magic. Jada Blake, seeing this, follows Angel's lead. Together, both girls cast successful levitation charms on the axe! Not only that, it seems as if Angel's attention to this spell was particularly astute, because the axe is held perfectly still by her magic and Jada's support.

Witnessing their teammate's efforts and unwilling to give up, Dido Bleaklane used her energetic encouragement to drive the remaining girls to run across the path. Now with the axe looming over them in the air, the only real thing to evade was the path, which seemed to be getting hiccups from the way certain parts would hitch up from time to time. Despite the strange path's behaviour, swiftly as a whirlwind, Dido and Tina easily dashed across the path without breaking a sweat, finally succeeding at this obstacle! What a rush!

Moderator's Notes
Angel Dayes casts Wingardium Leviosa (WDC 9)
[d20 : 20] + 7 = 27 > 9 [Critical Success!!]
Jada Blake casts Wingardium Leviosa (WDC 9)
[d20 : 15] + 7 = 22 > 9 [Success]
Tina Carille runs forward.
[d20 : 17] + 6= 23 > 5 [Success!!]
Dido Bleaklane runs forward.
[d20 : 19] + 6 = 25 > 5 [Success!!]
HUZZAH !!

Evasion DC: 20 5

OBSTACLE 4

It seemed as if the swinging axe had just been the start of many trials to infiltrate the Red Queen’s Palace. Past perfectly-trimmed hedges and grand, pointed trefoil arches made by marble, the challengers would find their polished pebble path leading to a huge gatehouse. SHKK. If they looked up at the walls, they would see a stack of human-sized cards dishing themselves apart in the blink of an eye. The card soldiers stared down from above, watching them with oddly-curved spears in their hands.

“Intruders!”
“Have they come to overthrow the Queen?”
“LOWER THE GATE!”

A heavy, wooden portcullis reinforced with heavy steel bounced up from the ground like a meerkat from its burrow before the challengers could attempt, wobbling before hardened into a formidable barrier blocking their path. 5 hearts glowed on the portcullis, shimmering with vitality.

Without a ladder or rope to scale the wall, there seemed to be only one way through: You’re gonna have to knock this gate DOWN!!

For those with strong magical power, fish out your wands and cast your strongest offensive spells to weaken the gate! For the fit and strong, a good throw could do more than a wand! At the foot of the gatehouse, pebbles and rocks of strange shapes laid in a pile from the Red Queen’s last path renovation. Convenient, huh?

^{✥─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────✥}

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 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.

OBSTACLE 4 SPECIAL INSTRUCTION:
For this obstacle, your characters will be able to use different means to break down the gate! You can use:

1. 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.
2. 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:

1. This gate has 500 HP. Each heart on the gate represents 100 HP! Bring the gate down to 0 HP to make it through
2. Moderation notes will be left for each player, with the rolls and damage equations shown.

Group 8

1. @Jada Blake
2. @Tina Carille
3. @Tes Cadell
4. @Angel Dayes
5. @Felix Hawthorne
6. @Laurie Holmes
7. @Dido Bleaklane

DEADLINE: 1.5 week from time of posting

Code by Fawkes Chaos

Banner & Signature by Tes Cadell

WC: 217/200 Interactions: JadaDidoTesTinaLaurieAngelFelix Date: 13/04/2026 Time: late afternoon/early evening Reducio Abilites: Charmer Stats: Stamina: 8 Evasion: 7 Strength: 3 Wisdom: 7 ArcPower: 6 Accuracy: 4

Once everyone had finally made it past the stupid swing I axes, the next obstacle greeted them with even more enthusiasm!

They followed a path of pearly white pebbles up to an immense gatehouse. The sheer size of it astounded Jada as she looked up at the towering structure. Squinting her eyes she noticed white figures armed with spears staring down at them. “Intruders!” A shout pierced through the awe as a gate was hastily lower right in from of them.

Yay… What could possibly be more fun than huge playing card soldiers and an impenetrable wall in their path? The wall was too tall and smooth to climb and they had no idea how far into the ground the wall went. They would have no choice but to break it down with brute force or magical aid.

Now, Jada wasn’t dumb enough to overestimate her physical abilities. Yes she was fast, but strong? No, that she wasn’t. So instead of running into the wall as some other imbecile might have done, she twirled her wand in her hand before pointing it at the wall. She cast a jinx she’d seen others use whilst duelling and it had seemed surprisingly effective when done right. ”Flipendo!” The knockback jinx shot towards the mass of steel with a lone stream of blue light.

Reducio

Action: Casting Flipendo

Outfit: Reducio https://i.postimg.cc/8khLLHFT/image.png

Signature:

Mentions: Reducio @Felix Hawthorne@Tes Cadell@Dido Bleaklane@Tina Carille@Angel Dayes

ᡣ𐭩 ྀི Mentions ྀིᡣ𐭩 Reducio @Jada Blake @Tes Cadell @Angel Dayes @Felix Hawthorne @Dido Bleaklane@Briar Anderson

ᡣ𐭩 ྀི Outfit ྀིᡣ𐭩 Reducio NEW HAIRR

ᡣ𐭩 ྀི Notes ྀིᡣ𐭩 Reducio Action: Casting Flipendo

I closed my eyes, waiting for the inevitable plunge into the cold water. But I ended up on the other side dry. Dido and Tes also crossed successfully. ”Good job everyone!!” I said brightly. ”Thank you SO much Angel.” I said giving her a hug. ”Thanks too Jada.” I said trying to pretend to actually like her. I seemed to dry off quick. I nodded everyone forward. ”Comeon everyone!” I said already half running forward. But I was internally hoping that no one saw me as someone who's not perfect cause I was. My jaw dropped when I saw the huge fence and people screaming. Oh wait they were the cards from Alice in Wonderland. I almost teared up because it was my childhood dream to be in Alice in Wonderland. But I was pulled back to reality when a card soldier yelled, “ INTRUDERS!” I almost panicked but I stayed calm and collected. I turned to the group. ”Guys, we’re at Queen Red’s Palace. Now I may or may not be the only person who’s read the entire series but um....If we’re found our heads will be chopped off so isn’t that fun!” I said. The last part was a bit sarcastic. Jada cast a quick Flipendo and I jumped out of the way so she’d hit a heart instead of me. I steadied my wand skillfully. I fiddled with the ribbon tied on the handle. I’m sure I saw eye rolls from the crowd. ” FLIPENDO!” I said confidently. Confidence helps. Right? I was honestly scared of failing but i’d be fine...Right?