VANARA

[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

[allergictostairs]

[Chimera is rather pale, but he's doing his best to keep a level expression now that they're in the game.]

Only three...

Re: DISCUSSION

[unquailified]

[guess who still has no idea what's going on]

Er... maybe we should take the rabbit feet? Aren't those supposed to be lucky?

DECISION

[soulping]

Re: DECISION

[allergictostairs]

Rabbit feet, snake tongues, monkey fingers!

Re: DECISION

[soulping]

[+1 feet, tongues and fingers for your inventory]

[the other jars 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]

Mmmm. . . I would like something that moves like a whip and swishes to and fro. Do you have that for me, dears?

DISCUSSION

[soulping]

Re: DISCUSSION

[unquailified]

That could be the tongues, right?

Re: DISCUSSION

[allergictostairs]

...Yeah.

Probably.

[Trying to steal glances at the sphinx without looking her in the eyes.]

Re: DISCUSSION

[allergictostairs]

[Oh.

Well.

Chimera looks between the sphinx and Gryphon a couple of times, before wordlessly holding up the snake tongues jar for the bird to see.]

DECISION

[soulping]

Re: DECISION

[allergictostairs]

[Chimera offers their snake tongues!]

Re: DECISION

[soulping]

[The sphinx laughs]

[and laughs]

Aha! Tongues, you think I want tongues? You fools. . . it was tails I sought!

[and then disappears into a swirl of smoke, without leaving you or your team the ingredient. aw :( looks like that was the wrong answer after all]

[at least you get to keep the jar of tongues?]

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 that amplifies the echoes you hear in a cavern.

DISCUSSION

[soulping]

Re: DISCUSSION

[allergictostairs]

[oops.]

...We don't have anything like that, I guess.

DECISION

[soulping]

Re: DECISION

[overfull]

The answer is "ears," but because we have none we'll increase our bloodlust in exchange for the ingredient.

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 blue, brown, green, and black. Immediately!

DISCUSSION

[soulping]

Re: DISCUSSION

[overfull]

[ WATCHING BIRB CAREFULLY ]

Is it eyes...?

DECISION

[soulping]

Re: DECISION

[allergictostairs]

The answer is eyes, but we don't have that, so. Um. Bloodlust, please?