DAWON

[soulping]

[You suddenly find yourselves standing at the beginning of a large hedge maze, one with walls that extend so far above your head you're not quite certain where they end. There is no entrance behind you, and the bushes are so thick and full of thorns that attempting to crawl through them will result in numerous scratches]

[There is no way to go but forward]

Comments

ROUND ONE

[soulping]

[On your right you find a large, wooden shelf with twelve jars sitting on top of it]

- A jar of rat tails
- A jar of tiger eyes
- A jar of rabbit feet
- A jar of dragon hearts
- A jar of snake tongues
- A jar of horse stomachs
- A jar of goat horns
- A jar of monkey fingers
- A jar of rooster claws
- A jar of pig ears

[Each jar is clearly labeled, and the contents are exactly what the labels purport them to be. Choose three!]

DISCUSSION

[soulping]

Re: DISCUSSION

[footwork]

... that's it? No clues or anything as to what we might actually need?

[ frrrrowns ]

Re: DISCUSSION

[showyouthesight]

I guess we could go with what matters to us...

DECISION

[soulping]

Re: DECISION

[footwork]

Tiger eyes, goat horns, & snake tongues

Re: DECISION

[soulping]

[the jars are added to your inventory. the rest disappear with a wisp of smoke]

ROUND TWO

[soulping]

[You move forward through the maze, the hedges looming ominously around you. And thankfully, it isn't long before you run into your first checkpoint]

[In front of you, and stretched across the path, is a large sphinx with a striped lioness' body. her wings are tucked at her sides, and she regards the group with a lazy, bored expression]

Mmm. . . I would like something that loves sweet-smelling flowers. Do you have that for me, dears?

DISCUSSION

[soulping]

Re: DISCUSSION

[showyouthesight]

[ He snarls angrily, fur rising again. ]

... Damn, that would've been the noses.

Re: DISCUSSION

[footwork]

[ his claws clench into fists as well as they can, but tries his best to otherwise keep cool. ]

Yeah... [ then, quickly-- ] I'll sacrifice something.

DECISION

[soulping]

Re: DECISION

[footwork]

[ grumpy after that discussion, let's get this over with ]

We don't have your stupid noses, but we want that ingredient. You can increase my bloodlust or whatever.

Re: DECISION

[soulping]

So be it.

[With a flick of its head, the sphinx tosses you a pouch filled with one ingredient: a few sprigs of aconite]

[. . . but whoever catches it suddenly feels the world tilt and spin beneath them. Their vision goes red, their stomach churns painfully, they may find themselves collapsing to the ground on their knees, if they still have them.]

[huuuuuungry. . .]

[the hunger soars, the cravings become painful, and all you can think is hungry hungry hungry flesh and blood and bone and hUNGER I MUST SATISFY IT NOW]

[the cravings can be resisted, but not without significant effort, and the hunger pangs seem to shoot through the subject's entire body]

[if you don't satisfy it soon, it feels like you may die]

ROUND THREE

[soulping]

[You walk through the maze's pathways for quite some time, taking sharp turns to the point of where you feel like you're going in circles. But eventually. . .]

[You stumble across another sphinx. Large, with blue fur and black hair, tiny wings protruding from his shoulders like stubs. he grumps at you all, chest puffed out formally.]

Something that amplifies the echoes you hear in a cavern. Give it to me.

DISCUSSION

[soulping]

Re: DISCUSSION

[showyouthesight]

[ Someone is dragging a now starving Aster along and glaring even harder at this Sphinx when he hears the riddle... ]

Fucking ears... of course. Another damn thing we don't have.

Re: DISCUSSION

[footwork]

[ being dragged at least gave him time to try and control himself, even if it's working terribly. on the plus side, at least he hasn't tried to bite into Sakura ye?!?! ]

Is it... ears? [ swallows hard, his breathing coming in short puffs and his speech slow as he tries to form the right words ] Amplifies... could be... horns?

DECISION

[soulping]

Re: DECISION

[showyouthesight]

[ He snarls again and offers up goat horns. ]

ROUND FOUR

[soulping]

[You walk, and walk, and walk some more, until your feet begin to hurt and you start to wonder. . . how long is this maze anyway?]

[Until you find them. The last sphinx, crouched low on all fours and watching you with golden eyes. its lips are curled back in a snarl, but it doesn't pounce]

Something sharp that may cut through skin. Immediately!

DISCUSSION

[soulping]

Re: DISCUSSION

[showyouthesight]

[ He is so so very pissed right now. It's practically radiating off him and setting him on extreme edge, every muscle taut and claws tensing. But that riddle makes him jerk up his head. ]

Finally. Fucking finally. Something we technically have.

DECISION

[soulping]

Re: DECISION

[showyouthesight]

[ Have a claw, sphinx. ]