OMETOTCHTLI

[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

[lucciola]

[... I... do not even know where to start]

Should we... pick them at random?

Re: DISCUSSION

[foulhussy]

[Kaine screamed herself out in the mingle, and now she is just extremely withdrawn and dead to the world right now. Occasionally she draws her arms around herself, or covers her face with her hands, though.]

DECISION

[soulping]

Re: DECISION

[lucciola]

- A jar of dragon hearts
- A jar of snake tongues
- A jar of monkey fingers

Re: DECISION

[soulping]

[the jars are added to your inventory. the rest disappear in 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 makes a magnificent headdress. Do you have that for me, dears?

DISCUSSION

[soulping]

Re: DISCUSSION

[lucciola]

Nothing... out of any of the jars are... good for that.

[in my opinion, that is]

Re: DISCUSSION

[foulhussy]

...It would have been the horns, I guess.

[Hello, I am so miserable.]

DECISION

[soulping]

Re: DECISION

[foulhussy]

Heels is offering up her hair in lieu of goat horns.

Re: DECISION

[soulping]

[The sphinx's mouth curls up into a grin, and it devours the snack you offer it in one large swallow. It. . . probably hurts Heels quite a bit to have her hair ripped out painfully and bloodily like that, because the sphinx is devouring all of it. It licks its massive chops and stretches]

Mmm. . . I suppose I owe you one of these.

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

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.]

Give me something you can fill that snarls at you angrily when it is empty.

DISCUSSION

[soulping]

Re: DISCUSSION

[lucciola]

[he's. a little shaken and avoids looking at anything close to blood for now]

That... would be a stomach. We do not have that.

Re: DISCUSSION

[foulhussy]

[I'm bald and bleeding from my scalp, isn't that great? She has an increasingly manic look, not that Lucciola can probably see it.]

He can have mine.

DECISION

[soulping]

Re: DECISION

[lucciola]

... we do not have what you requested. I am not certain if we can offer a part of us of equal value, therefore... I request to receive the ingredient in return for increasing my... [a beat] my bloodlust.

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 phoenix, 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 that loves sweet-smelling flowers. Immediately!

DISCUSSION

[soulping]

Re: DISCUSSION

[foulhussy]

I'll give my nose. Just a little longer, alright?

[She's worried he's going to attack at any moment.]

DECISION

[soulping]

Re: DECISION

[foulhussy]

Take my nose.