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Warning for non-con, peril, and bad ends of various forms.", "count": "23", "submission_left_submission_id": "3539910", "submission_left_file_name": "5418667_Flowerfall_title_card_01.png", "submission_left_thumbnail_url_huge_noncustom": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/preview/5418/5418667_Flowerfall_title_card_01.jpg", "submission_left_thumbnail_url_large_noncustom": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/large/5418/5418667_Flowerfall_title_card_01_noncustom.jpg", "submission_left_thumbnail_url_medium_noncustom": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/5418/5418667_Flowerfall_title_card_01_noncustom.jpg", "submission_left_thumb_medium_noncustom_x": "120", "submission_left_thumb_medium_noncustom_y": "120", "submission_left_thumb_large_noncustom_x": "200", "submission_left_thumb_large_noncustom_y": "200", "submission_left_thumb_huge_noncustom_x": "300", "submission_left_thumb_huge_noncustom_y": "300", "submission_right_submission_id": "3544745", "submission_right_file_name": "5427779_Flowerfall_title_card_p03.png", "submission_right_thumbnail_url_huge_noncustom": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/files/preview/5427/5427779_Flowerfall_title_card_p03.jpg", "submission_right_thumbnail_url_large_noncustom": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/large/5427/5427779_Flowerfall_title_card_p03_noncustom.jpg", "submission_right_thumbnail_url_medium_noncustom": "https://nl1.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/5427/5427779_Flowerfall_title_card_p03_noncustom.jpg", "submission_right_thumb_medium_noncustom_x": "120", "submission_right_thumb_medium_noncustom_y": "120", "submission_right_thumb_large_noncustom_x": "200", "submission_right_thumb_large_noncustom_y": "200", "submission_right_thumb_huge_noncustom_x": "300", "submission_right_thumb_huge_noncustom_y": "300" } ], "description": "[color=#babdb6](see bottom of description for a [color=#888a85][b]summary[/b][/color] - this one was also quite large, but I have tried to divide it into distinct sections)[/color]\n\nAfter giving the cubs their little time to ask their questions and get to know one another, *Minerva either decided, or was told, that it was time! The little fox goddess moved to the front of the chamber, where she stood before the big, stone slabs that formed its sealed door. She took a little breath, let it out... and then clapped her hands. Three times.\n\nThe sound wasn't nearly loud enough to be uncomfortable, but despite that, not a single one of the milling cubs would be able to miss her making it. Just another trick of the goddess designed entirely to be the host for the vast majority of [i]Chains of Serenity's[/i] publicity events.\n\n\"Very well everyone! I hope you have all had sufficient time to get to know one another, because it is time for the first challenge to begin!\" *Minerva declared, spreading her arms wide as, at her back, a symbol that couldn't possibly be misinterpreted shone on the stone doors. It only lasted for a moment, but even after the light had faded away, scored into the stones as if it had always been there was a circle, wildly criss-crossed by a whole mess of different lines to form paths that...\n\nWell, surely none of the cubs could miss the fact that it indicated a maze, before a rumbling sound began to shake the two slabs, dislodging little puffs of dust before they began, slowly at first but then with modest speed, to [i]grind[/i] away from one another. For a moment the path behind the stones was pitch black, then torches flared to life beyond and revealed a stone floor, much like the one on which the cubs were all presently stood!\n\n\"Please make your way through this passage to the first challenge area, and I will meet you all on the other side.\"\n\nWhereupon [i]blip[/i] and *Minerva was gone.\n\nSomething might feel a little bit different about the starting dungeon space, after that. A subtle change, as if the chamber had ceased to be as safe as it had been. The air a little cooler, the various implements of imprisonment and torture a little bit less fake-seeming... and the faintest sense of something coming. No evidence as such! But the [i]genuine[/i] prey species cubs might be able to feel it all the more. And if anyone did choose to remain behind in the chamber...\n\nWell, then it [i]had[/i] just been a feeling, because all of a sudden they would be with the others; suddenly moved without transition to be back with the group in the passage and the heavy stone doors behind the party sealed.\n[center][b][u] [/u][/b][/center]\n\nOn emerging from the torchlit passage (it wasn't [i]that[/i] long) the group was still be surrounded by stone. The big difference now, however, was [i]scale[/i].\n\nIn place of an underground room full of RPG-appropriate dungeon paraphernalia, the group found themselves on a ledge overlooking a vast chamber. The ledge was not that high up - barely two stories, even - but it was still enough to give a view out across the top of a big, stone-walled maze.\n\nNot that everything was stone! The ledge was just high enough above the walls of the maze to glimpse all kinds of things in motion. Rotating wooden balance beams, rising and falling spikes, toothed rollers, even a glimpse of an enormous metal pendulum swinging back and forth!\n\nAnd, just for a little extra atmosphere? Either side of the staircase leading down from the party's entry point, and looping around the pillar of rock that formed their ledge, was a work pit, where enormous wooden wheels and cranks turned, no doubt to power the various mechanisms out in the body of the maze.\n\nOperating the various machines were a whole tribe of imposing-looking creatures: big, hunched, barely sentient-looking bipeds with off-gold fur spotted and socked with brown markings. Anyone with a bit of RPG-lore would be able to identify a pack of gnolls being used for manual labor.\n\nAnd, as promised, there was *Minerva!\n\nShe was floating again, just above the floor of the ledge, her eyes closed in the moment before everyone was present. If anything particular was the reason for her eyes opening, it was the sound of the stone doors at the party's back grinding shut and blocking the way they had come.\n\n\"Everyone, welcome to the first challenge!\"\n\nSomething was a little bit different about *Minerva, too. No one thing was obvious to point to, and yet the energetic cheer with which she had met them all in the landing chamber, previously so obvious in her eyes and her movements, was somehow... [i]less[/i]. It was still there! But in some, un-measurable way...\n\nAt that moment, everyone would here a soft [i]ping![/i]; a sound familiar to the veteran players as their journal being updated with a new Quest. Even the newbies should figure it out quickly enough though, what with journals opening up automatically to hover in front of their respective noses. For all of them, the contents were identical:\n\n[q][center][u][b]LABYRINTH OF TWILIGHT[/b][/u][/center]\n[b]Life Points:[/b] 13\n[b]Remaining Party Members:[/b] 13\n\nSTAGE ONE:\nFind your way out of the maze.[/q]\n\n*Minerva waved her hand, and all of the opened journals closed just as quickly as quickly as they appeared.\n\n\"Your first task will be to overcome the maze that you can all see ahead! The first to reach the end will gain one Life Point!\"\n\nDespite... whatever subtle issue was the matter with her, *Minerva was still very obviously able to put on a good show! All slightly ethereal, weighty touch to her still sweet-sounding voice as she gestured expansively at the challenge ahead.\n\n\"Understand, however! The traps ahead are fiendish, and-\"\n\n\"OH AWESOME!\" an interruption. Anyone who cared to look? There was Cinnamon! Perhaps she had been puzzling things out until now, but now her excitement was evident. \"That's gotta be the buff condition! Hang on guys I've got this!\"\n\nThe teenage catgirl had long since darted out of the party, the last of her declaration meeting with *Minerva's suddenly wide-eyed, \"Cinnamon, please, wait-!\" as the scantily-armored feline took several of the steps, then [i]threw[/i] herself into the work-pit.\n\nA battle cry, a foot swung in a high kick at the head of the nearest gnoll!- which caught her lower leg in one big, primitive hand-paw.\n\nThe whole tribe had stopped their work, and with them, every trap out in the maze had stilled as well. Then, in a flurry of activity that barely gave the surprised Cinnamon time to utter a, \"Wh-?\" practically the entire cackle had descended on her.\n\nCries of, \"Get off me!\" and \"What the fuck-!\" before a sharp \"[i]OUF-![/i]\" and sudden silence. And *Minerva only able to hover, staring, as the suddenly limp young adventuress was hauled away into the tunnels branching away from the work pit.\n\nCinnamon had not been wrong, though. With the entire work crew [i]gone[/i], the party had received a 'buff' in the form of every trap out in the maze now standing idle.\n\n\"I told her -\" *Minerva's voice, small - before a tiny shudder and she was back to presenting the challenge. Even if her eyes looked even [i]less[/i] alight now than they had before.\n\n\"A ruling has been made. Life Points will not be added or deducted as a result of this challenge. Please use it as an opportunity to familiarize yourselves with the mechanics of the Labyrinth of Twilight.\"\n\nWith that, *Minerva [i]blipped[/i] out of existence. In the wall of the maze at the foot of the stairs, twelve doorways opened - one for each cub. Each would disappear immediately after one cub chose and entered it.\n[center][b][u] [/u][/b][/center]\n[color=#888a85][t][center]The First Challenge[/center][/t][/color]\nSeparated from one another upon entering, for each of the cubs it would be as if they were exploring the maze entirely on their own. Indeed, even shouting to one another would not work, the silence of anything but their own footsteps almost seeming like a weight all its own. The walls were [i]just[/i] tall enough to defeat efforts to see over the top, too. ... Which left everyone no option but to begin to walk forward!\n\nThis was more challenging for some cubs than others.\n\nSkylar, Connie, Cyber, and Ash, for instance? [i]They[/i] managed to take the creepiness on the chin, setting out almost immediately on their own private paths!\n\nHesitation only set in with the other cubs, although Trixie, Connie, Sebastian, Petal and Pity only took a moment longer to pluck up their courage and mage the first step, with Poly and Josephine only a little behind!\n\nUnfortunately for poor Daniel and Jake, the creepiness of this first challenge was already the biggest trial. Daniel did eventually manage to gather his nerves, but by this point, many of the cubs were already well on their way - Skylar was already halfway to the exit! Petal, Cyber, and Connie were only a little behind. In fact, Connie had dithered for a moment at the first intersection, so her sense of direction might have been ever so slightly [i]better[/i] for her to have so caught up to the others!\n\nAs for poor Jake, though? [i]He[/i] might well be having an increasingly bad time, still frozen at the beginning of the maze under the oppressive sensation of scale and loneliness, while even [i]Pity[/i] finally managed to get her head around the best way to navigate a maze and set out into the various twists and turns. What had people said about Pity, and her ability to work through anything more mentally taxing?\n\nIt had not been kind, at any rate, and by the time Pity was out among the passages, she was a good two turns behind Poly, and a couple more behind everyone but Daniel and his still slowly, steadily mustering courage.\n\nWell, except for Jake. Depending on whether he was merely frozen, or genuinely spiraling with fright, the poor hare might by this point have curled up on the ground. Perhaps those monstrous-looking demi-anthro predator-types that had carried off Cinnamon had gotten to him more even than Daniel!\n\nFor everyone out in the maze, however, there had to be a certain surreality about the experience. Yes, it was creepy, but by this point it must have been obvious that nobody was going to leap out at them. Clearly they were all far to busy doing... whatever it was that gnolls did to foolhardy, scantily clad adventuresses who didn't listen to warnings about their stats not mattering here. Meanwhile, all those 'nefarious' traps that *Minerva had mentioned loomed idle on the occasions they were encountered, presenting at worst a field of poles to wander through come the still-deployed spears rising from the floor.\n\nBy this point, Skylar had consolidated her lead! Connie and Petal were not far behind. Any initial rush might have faded, also: after all, with no way to see one another, the only thing to spur their pace would be that lingering creepiness, and sharp bend after sharp bend made running deeply inconvenient anyway.\n\nFinally, one by one, they began to emerge from the exit of the maze. At no point had any cub seen another, and yet all seemed to be stepping out from the same exit into a chamber roughly the same size as where they had started, albeit sans dungeon furniture.\n\nFirst out was Skylar, receiving a, \"Hello Skylar, well done,\" from *Minerva along with a nice little smile. Most of that sense of the fox goddess being somehow 'lessened' would be gone now, though still a certain something about her eyes...\n\nNext up behind Skylar came Connie, Cyber and Ash, the three of whom had made steady showings of themselves but not quite enough to catch Skylar's initial lead. Both exited almost at the same time, to similar recognition from *Minerva! Petal emerged next, followed by Trixie, and wonder of wonders, Pity! Then it was Josephine's turn to appear, and then after a drawn out little pause, Poly, with Sebastian not far behind.\n\nThe wait for Daniel to appear was a little more drawn out, that initial pause having cost him, despite a fairly adequate performance in the face of what must have proven a difficult bit of navigating!\n\n... And that just left Jake. The group would have to wait, twice as long as the time had passed between Sebastian emergence and Daniel's, before, finally, *Minerva looked a little sad, closed her eyes, and - [i]blip[/i].\n\nExcept this time it wasn't her that moved! Rather, in their midst, Jake had appeared - in whatever state he might have been after spending the entire challenge battling against his looming fears at the very beginning of the maze.\n\n\"Jacob? It's okay, you are at the end of the maze with everyone, now.\" *Minerva might even have moved to put a comforting hand on him, if it seemed he would need it! And then she turned to face the others, smiling with that genuinely warm and yet... still slightly wooden smile.\n\n\"Well done, everyone. That may have been a little different compared to what the creators' intended, but I hope you still found it interesting. The challenges still to come should be more engaging, but for now...\n\n\"Skylar, you were the first to find your way out of the maze. Under normal circumstances, this would have earned you a life point, but since... Cinnamon, took it upon herself to disrupt the nature of the event, it has been decided that everyone's Life Points will be considered to be [i]12[/i] as of this moment.\n\n\"Daniel, you were the last to find your way out. Just so that we are all clear, this would not have resulted in a lost Life Point. However, [i]Jacob[/i], had the rules not been disrupted, your failure to begin would have forced me to take away one of your Life Points. I hope you can do better next time.\"\n\nNow that? [i]That[/i] was earnestly said.\n\nFinally, *Minerva took a little breath, and, \"Congratulations everyone on completing the very first challenge on your journey through the Labyrinth of Twilight.\"\n\nWith a gesture of her hand, a single, rounded section of the stone wall opposite the Labyrinth exit began to grind its way to one side, shafts of sunlight lancing into a space that had been quite dark but for their immediate little circle of light. *Minerva gestured, and then waited for everyone to make their way through, and out into the sun.\n[center][b][u] [/u][/b][/center]\n\nThe space the party emerged into was [i]bright[/i]. Just sunlight, but after all that time effectively underground, no matter how well-lit most of the areas were? There had to be a good bit of eye shielding going on as everyone got used to the warm sun on their fur and the bright, blue sky stretching overhead in all directions.\n\nStretching out around them were rolling, green plains, small hills here and there, with patches of tall grass, heather, or wild flowers scattered to break up the monotony. Far, far off in the distance, almost at the horizon, dark trees could be seen, but they had to be days and days of walking away. There was also no sign of the passage through which they had come, although distant black mountains 'behind' them were suggestive of having somehow traveled from that way.\n\nSomething else stood out, however: a stream. Clear and pure and winding from a spring not too far distant, off toward the distant woods. And by the stream's side? A [i]camp site[/i]. And not a poorly equipped one, either! There was a fire pit, complete with a little balanced-branch tripod and a hanging pot made from black metal. Big, leather packs that looked as if they were supposed to be carried by non-existent pack animals, all full of supplies like snacks, toiletries, and even a few books and toys! Albeit all of a decidedly fantasy bent and not a single piece of electronics, as if they had all been designed and made to entertain the sort of child might have grown up in the moderately generic fantasy world of [i]Chains of Serenity[/i] proper.\n\nAnd then there were the tents. Thirteen of them, all in a faintly fantastical design that featured a little more curvature than necessary, not to mention little embellishments of fluff, feathers, and embroidered patterns. Patterns that ought stand out. They were stylized; fit again to the fantasy world they all supposedly inhabited. But at the same time... there would be no mistaking which tent was intended for which cub.\n\nNot only was the embroidering done in colors that were clearly meant to invoke the hues of each cub's fur, but the patterns themselves tried to evoke their matched cub as well. All were stylized and impressionistic, but all of them would at least evoke species - if not personality as well.\n\nThat included the warm, dark brown and orange tones of the wavy pattern adorning the tent that was probably supposed to have been for Cinnamon.\n\n\"Please, everyone, make yourselves comfortable. There is something to which I... need to attend.\"\n\n*Minerva remained just for a moment too long, her whole aspect somehow muted, and then\n\n[i]Blip[/i].\n\n\n[b][/b]\n[center][b][u] [/u][/b][/center]\n\n[b](Summary/Key points:[/b] [color=#babdb6](because, again, this one got big)[/color]\n- *Minerva led the party into an enormous chamber with a trap-filled maze, operated by big, hyena-like\n beastkin - gnolls.\n- Everyone's journal menu opened, displaying a quest notification containing their initial Life Points, \n the remaining number of party members, and an instruction to pass through the maze.\n- Cinnamon stupidly threw herself in amongst the gnolls, believing that defeating them would make the\n coming challenge easier. It did, but only because the entire cackle beat Cinnamon and dragged her\n off somewhere, abandoning the machines.\n- Because of this, *Minerva explained that there had been a ruling: no Life Points would be gained or\n lost in this first challenge; it was to become a taster of sorts.\n- The first cub to escape the maze was Skylar, then in order: Connie, Cyber, Ash, Petal, Trixie, Pity,\n Josephine and Sebastian. The last was Daniel. Jake never passed the initial skill check and had to\n be rescued from the start by *Minerva once everyone else was through.\n- After the challenge, *Minerva led the remaining 12 cubs out into vast, sunny, open plains-land. She\n left them at a camp site near a stream, before disappearing.\n- There is a fire pit, and (very large, very heavy) cargo bags full of snacks, toiletries, toys, and books for\n children - albeit ones that skew a little younger and fit the generic medieval fantasy of [i]Chains of\n Serenity[/i]. As such: no electronics.\n- There are also 13 tents, all a little fantasy-looking, and each decorated to look like it is especially\n for one of the cubs - including a tent for the missing Cinnamon.\n- There are [b]no personal backpacks[/b]. I'm sorry; it's a cool idea that manifested from nowhere\n but it would absolutely bite me later if I decided to just run with it.\n\n[u][t]Remaining Cubs[/t][/u]\n[icon]Polymorph[/icon] [url=https://inkbunny.net/s/3533964#commentid_8956124](Poly)[/url] [icon]blessedwasthechild[/icon] [url=https://inkbunny.net/s/3533964#commentid_8956767](Trixie)[/url] [icon]Smolfoks[/icon] [url=https://inkbunny.net/s/3533964#commentid_8957427](Skylar)[/url] [icon]PaydayWolf[/icon] [url=https://inkbunny.net/s/3533964#commentid_8958052](Connie)[/url] [icon]Cyberblade[/icon] [url=https://inkbunny.net/s/3533964#commentid_8958504](Cyber)[/url] \n[icon]MystBunny[/icon] [url=https://inkbunny.net/s/3533964#commentid_8959771](Daniel)[/url] [icon]SebastianTheRoo[/icon] [url=https://inkbunny.net/s/3533964#commentid_8960253](Sebastian)[/url] [icon]Mysterythree[/icon] [url=https://inkbunny.net/s/3533964#commentid_8960555](Ash)[/url] [icon]PetalLaFleur[/icon] [url=https://inkbunny.net/s/3533964#commentid_8965166](Petal)[/url] [icon]PityPlowed[/icon] [url=https://inkbunny.net/s/3533964#commentid_8965346](Pity)[/url] \n[icon]Mizzyam[/icon] [url=https://inkbunny.net/s/3533964#commentid_8965608](Jake)[/url] [icon]FlutterBun[/icon] [url=https://inkbunny.net/s/3533964#commentid_8965902](Fifi)[/url]\n\n[color=#babdb6](There likely won't be further predator-side dedicated prompts! Except in the unlikely event something significant happens solely for them. Instead they will have a dedicated placeholder in the comments below)[/color]\n\n- Cub reactions and freeplay [url=https://inkbunny.net/s/3542468#commentid_8971799]Here[/url]\n- Predator reactions and freeplay [url=https://inkbunny.net/s/3542468#commentid_8971805]Here[/url]\n- Audience reactions [url=https://inkbunny.net/s/3542468#commentid_8971814]Here[/url]\n[center][b][u] [/u][/b]\n\n[url=https://inkbunny.net/s/3539887]<--- to the previous prompt[/url] | [url=https://inkbunny.net/s/3533932]to Labyrinth of Twilight Details/Index[/url] | [url=https://inkbunny.net/s/3544745]to the next prompt --->[/url][/center]", "description_bbcode_parsed": "(see bottom of description for a summary - this one was also quite large, but I have tried to divide it into distinct sections)

After giving the cubs their little time to ask their questions and get to know one another, *Minerva either decided, or was told, that it was time! The little fox goddess moved to the front of the chamber, where she stood before the big, stone slabs that formed its sealed door. She took a little breath, let it out... and then clapped her hands.  Three times.

The sound wasn't nearly loud enough to be uncomfortable, but despite that, not a single one of the milling cubs would be able to miss her making it. Just another trick of the goddess designed entirely to be the host for the vast majority of Chains of Serenity's publicity events.

"Very well everyone! I hope you have all had sufficient time to get to know one another, because it is time for the first challenge to begin!" *Minerva declared, spreading her arms wide as, at her back, a symbol that couldn't possibly be misinterpreted shone on the stone doors. It only lasted for a moment, but even after the light had faded away, scored into the stones as if it had always been there was a circle, wildly criss-crossed by a whole mess of different lines to form paths that...

Well, surely none of the cubs could miss the fact that it indicated a maze, before a rumbling sound began to shake the two slabs, dislodging little puffs of dust before they began, slowly at first but then with modest speed, to grind away from one another. For a moment the path behind the stones was pitch black, then torches flared to life beyond and revealed a stone floor, much like the one on which the cubs were all presently stood!

"Please make your way through this passage to the first challenge area, and I will meet you all on the other side."

Whereupon blip and *Minerva was gone.

Something might feel a little bit different about the starting dungeon space, after that. A subtle change, as if the chamber had ceased to be as safe as it had been. The air a little cooler, the various implements of imprisonment and torture a little bit less fake-seeming... and the faintest sense of something coming. No evidence as such! But the genuine prey species cubs might be able to feel it all the more. And if anyone did choose to remain behind in the chamber...

Well, then it had just been a feeling, because all of a sudden they would be with the others; suddenly moved without transition to be back with the group in the passage and the heavy stone doors behind the party sealed.
                                                                                                                                                    


On emerging from the torchlit passage (it wasn't that long) the group was still be surrounded by stone. The big difference now, however, was scale.

In place of an underground room full of RPG-appropriate dungeon paraphernalia, the group found themselves on a ledge overlooking a vast chamber. The ledge was not that high up - barely two stories, even - but it was still enough to give a view out across the top of a big, stone-walled maze.

Not that everything was stone!  The ledge was just high enough above the walls of the maze to glimpse all kinds of things in motion. Rotating wooden balance beams, rising and falling spikes, toothed rollers, even a glimpse of an enormous metal pendulum swinging back and forth!

And, just for a little extra atmosphere? Either side of the staircase leading down from the party's entry point, and looping around the pillar of rock that formed their ledge, was a work pit, where enormous wooden wheels and cranks turned, no doubt to power the various mechanisms out in the body of the maze.

Operating the various machines were a whole tribe of imposing-looking creatures: big, hunched, barely sentient-looking bipeds with off-gold fur spotted and socked with brown markings. Anyone with a bit of RPG-lore would be able to identify a pack of gnolls being used for manual labor.

And, as promised, there was *Minerva!

She was floating again, just above the floor of the ledge, her eyes closed in the moment before everyone was present. If anything particular was the reason for her eyes opening, it was the sound of the stone doors at the party's back grinding shut and blocking the way they had come.

"Everyone, welcome to the first challenge!"

Something was a little bit different about *Minerva, too. No one thing was obvious to point to, and yet the energetic cheer with which she had met them all in the landing chamber, previously so obvious in her eyes and her movements, was somehow... less. It was still there! But in some, un-measurable way...

At that moment, everyone would here a soft ping!; a sound familiar to the veteran players as their journal being updated with a new Quest. Even the newbies should figure it out quickly enough though, what with journals opening up automatically to hover in front of their respective noses. For all of them, the contents were identical:

\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
LABYRINTH OF TWILIGHT

Life Points: 13
Remaining Party Members: 13

STAGE ONE:
Find your way out of the maze.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

*Minerva waved her hand, and all of the opened journals closed just as quickly as quickly as they appeared.

"Your first task will be to overcome the maze that you can all see ahead! The first to reach the end will gain one Life Point!"

Despite... whatever subtle issue was the matter with her, *Minerva was still very obviously able to put on a good show! All slightly ethereal, weighty touch to her still sweet-sounding voice as she gestured expansively at the challenge ahead.

"Understand, however! The traps ahead are fiendish, and-"

"OH AWESOME!" an interruption. Anyone who cared to look? There was Cinnamon! Perhaps she had been puzzling things out until now, but now her excitement was evident. "That's gotta be the buff condition! Hang on guys I've got this!"

The teenage catgirl had long since darted out of the party, the last of her declaration meeting with *Minerva's suddenly wide-eyed, "Cinnamon, please, wait-!" as the scantily-armored feline took several of the steps, then threw herself into the work-pit.

A battle cry, a foot swung in a high kick at the head of the nearest gnoll!- which caught her lower leg in one big, primitive hand-paw.

The whole tribe had stopped their work, and with them, every trap out in the maze had stilled as well. Then, in a flurry of activity that barely gave the surprised Cinnamon time to utter a, "Wh-?" practically the entire cackle had descended on her.

Cries of, "Get off me!" and "What the fuck-!" before a sharp "OUF-!" and sudden silence. And *Minerva only able to hover, staring, as the suddenly limp young adventuress was hauled away into the tunnels branching away from the work pit.

Cinnamon had not been wrong, though. With the entire work crew gone, the party had received a 'buff' in the form of every trap out in the maze now standing idle.

"I told her -" *Minerva's voice, small - before a tiny shudder and she was back to presenting the challenge. Even if her eyes looked even less alight now than they had before.

"A ruling has been made. Life Points will not be added or deducted as a result of this challenge. Please use it as an opportunity to familiarize yourselves with the mechanics of the Labyrinth of Twilight."

With that, *Minerva blipped out of existence. In the wall of the maze at the foot of the stairs, twelve doorways opened - one for each cub. Each would disappear immediately after one cub chose and entered it.
                                                                                                                                                    

The First Challenge

Separated from one another upon entering, for each of the cubs it would be as if they were exploring the maze entirely on their own. Indeed, even shouting to one another would not work, the silence of anything but their own footsteps almost seeming like a weight all its own. The walls were just tall enough to defeat efforts to see over the top, too. ... Which left everyone no option but to begin to walk forward!

This was more challenging for some cubs than others.

Skylar, Connie, Cyber, and Ash, for instance? They managed to take the creepiness on the chin, setting out almost immediately on their own private paths!

Hesitation only set in with the other cubs, although Trixie, Connie, Sebastian, Petal and Pity only took a moment longer to pluck up their courage and mage the first step, with Poly and Josephine only a little behind!

Unfortunately for poor Daniel and Jake, the creepiness of this first challenge was already the biggest trial. Daniel did eventually manage to gather his nerves, but by this point, many of the cubs were already well on their way - Skylar was already halfway to the exit! Petal, Cyber, and Connie were only a little behind. In fact, Connie had dithered for a moment at the first intersection, so her sense of direction might have been ever so slightly better for her to have so caught up to the others!

As for poor Jake, though? He might well be having an increasingly bad time, still frozen at the beginning of the maze under the oppressive sensation of scale and loneliness, while even Pity finally managed to get her head around the best way to navigate a maze and set out into the various twists and turns. What had people said about Pity, and her ability to work through anything more mentally taxing?

It had not been kind, at any rate, and by the time Pity was out among the passages, she was a good two turns behind Poly, and a couple more behind everyone but Daniel and his still slowly, steadily mustering courage.

Well, except for Jake. Depending on whether he was merely frozen, or genuinely spiraling with fright, the poor hare might by this point have curled up on the ground. Perhaps those monstrous-looking demi-anthro predator-types that had carried off Cinnamon had gotten to him more even than Daniel!

For everyone out in the maze, however, there had to be a certain surreality about the experience. Yes, it was creepy, but by this point it must have been obvious that nobody was going to leap out at them. Clearly they were all far to busy doing... whatever it was that gnolls did to foolhardy, scantily clad adventuresses who didn't listen to warnings about their stats not mattering here. Meanwhile, all those 'nefarious' traps that *Minerva had mentioned loomed idle on the occasions they were encountered, presenting at worst a field of poles to wander through come the still-deployed spears rising from the floor.

By this point, Skylar had consolidated her lead! Connie and Petal were not far behind. Any initial rush might have faded, also: after all, with no way to see one another, the only thing to spur their pace would be that lingering creepiness, and sharp bend after sharp bend made running deeply inconvenient anyway.

Finally, one by one, they began to emerge from the exit of the maze. At no point had any cub seen another, and yet all seemed to be stepping out from the same exit into a chamber roughly the same size as where they had started, albeit sans dungeon furniture.

First out was Skylar, receiving a, "Hello Skylar, well done," from *Minerva along with a nice little smile. Most of that sense of the fox goddess being somehow 'lessened' would be gone now, though still a certain something about her eyes...

Next up behind Skylar came Connie, Cyber and Ash, the three of whom had made steady showings of themselves but not quite enough to catch Skylar's initial lead. Both exited almost at the same time, to similar recognition from *Minerva! Petal emerged next, followed by Trixie, and wonder of wonders, Pity! Then it was Josephine's turn to appear, and then after a drawn out little pause, Poly, with Sebastian not far behind.

The wait for Daniel to appear was a little more drawn out, that initial pause having cost him, despite a fairly adequate performance in the face of what must have proven a difficult bit of navigating!

... And that just left Jake. The group would have to wait, twice as long as the time had passed between Sebastian emergence and Daniel's, before, finally, *Minerva looked a little sad, closed her eyes, and - blip.

Except this time it wasn't her that moved! Rather, in their midst, Jake had appeared - in whatever state he might have been after spending the entire challenge battling against his looming fears at the very beginning of the maze.

"Jacob? It's okay, you are at the end of the maze with everyone, now." *Minerva might even have moved to put a comforting hand on him, if it seemed he would need it! And then she turned to face the others, smiling with that genuinely warm and yet... still slightly wooden smile.

"Well done, everyone. That may have been a little different compared to what the creators' intended, but I hope you still found it interesting. The challenges still to come should be more engaging, but for now...

"Skylar, you were the first to find your way out of the maze. Under normal circumstances, this would have earned you a life point, but since... Cinnamon, took it upon herself to disrupt the nature of the event, it has been decided that everyone's Life Points will be considered to be 12 as of this moment.

"Daniel, you were the last to find your way out. Just so that we are all clear, this would not have resulted in a lost Life Point. However, Jacob, had the rules not been disrupted, your failure to begin would have forced me to take away one of your Life Points. I hope you can do better next time."

Now that? That was earnestly said.

Finally, *Minerva took a little breath, and, "Congratulations everyone on completing the very first challenge on your journey through the Labyrinth of Twilight."

With a gesture of her hand, a single, rounded section of the stone wall opposite the Labyrinth exit began to grind its way to one side, shafts of sunlight lancing into a space that had been quite dark but for their immediate little circle of light. *Minerva gestured, and then waited for everyone to make their way through, and out into the sun.
                                                                                                                                                    


The space the party emerged into was bright. Just sunlight, but after all that time effectively underground, no matter how well-lit most of the areas were? There had to be a good bit of eye shielding going on as everyone got used to the warm sun on their fur and the bright, blue sky stretching overhead in all directions.

Stretching out around them were rolling, green plains, small hills here and there, with patches of tall grass, heather, or wild flowers scattered to break up the monotony. Far, far off in the distance, almost at the horizon, dark trees could be seen, but they had to be days and days of walking away. There was also no sign of the passage through which they had come, although distant black mountains 'behind' them were suggestive of having somehow traveled from that way.

Something else stood out, however: a stream. Clear and pure and winding from a spring not too far distant, off toward the distant woods. And by the stream's side? A camp site. And not a poorly equipped one, either! There was a fire pit, complete with a little balanced-branch tripod and a hanging pot made from black metal. Big, leather packs that looked as if they were supposed to be carried by non-existent pack animals, all full of supplies like snacks, toiletries, and even a few books and toys! Albeit all of a decidedly fantasy bent and not a single piece of electronics, as if they had all been designed and made to entertain the sort of child might have grown up in the moderately generic fantasy world of Chains of Serenity proper.

And then there were the tents. Thirteen of them, all in a faintly fantastical design that featured a little more curvature than necessary, not to mention little embellishments of fluff, feathers, and embroidered patterns. Patterns that ought stand out. They were stylized; fit again to the fantasy world they all supposedly inhabited. But at the same time... there would be no mistaking which tent was intended for which cub.

Not only was the embroidering done in colors that were clearly meant to invoke the hues of each cub's fur, but the patterns themselves tried to evoke their matched cub as well. All were stylized and impressionistic, but all of them would at least evoke species - if not personality as well.

That included the warm, dark brown and orange tones of the wavy pattern adorning the tent that was probably supposed to have been for Cinnamon.

"Please, everyone, make yourselves comfortable. There is something to which I... need to attend."

*Minerva remained just for a moment too long, her whole aspect somehow muted, and then

Blip.


<Please roleplay responses by replying to the appropriate ‘Immersion/Free Play’ comment below! The next prompt will ideally be posted on Sunday, in 2 days' time>
                                                                                                                                                    


(Summary/Key points: (because, again, this one got big)
- *Minerva led the party into an enormous chamber with a trap-filled maze, operated by big, hyena-like
  beastkin - gnolls.
- Everyone's journal menu opened, displaying a quest notification containing their initial Life Points,
  the remaining number of party members, and an instruction to pass through the maze.
- Cinnamon stupidly threw herself in amongst the gnolls, believing that defeating them would make the
  coming challenge easier. It did, but only because the entire cackle beat Cinnamon and dragged her
  off somewhere, abandoning the machines.
- Because of this, *Minerva explained that there had been a ruling: no Life Points would be gained or
  lost in this first challenge; it was to become a taster of sorts.
- The first cub to escape the maze was Skylar, then in order: Connie, Cyber, Ash, Petal, Trixie, Pity,
  Josephine and Sebastian. The last was Daniel. Jake never passed the initial skill check and had to
  be rescued from the start by *Minerva once everyone else was through.
- After the challenge, *Minerva led the remaining 12 cubs out into vast, sunny, open plains-land. She
  left them at a camp site near a stream, before disappearing.
- There is a fire pit, and (very large, very heavy) cargo bags full of snacks, toiletries, toys, and books for
  children - albeit ones that skew a little younger and fit the generic medieval fantasy of Chains of
  Serenity. As such: no electronics.
- There are also 13 tents, all a little fantasy-looking, and each decorated to look like it is especially
  for one of the cubs - including a tent for the missing Cinnamon.
- There are no personal backpacks. I'm sorry; it's a cool idea that manifested from nowhere
  but it would absolutely bite me later if I decided to just run with it.

Remaining Cubs
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Polymorph
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t (Poly)   \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
blessedwasthechild
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t (Trixie)       \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Smolfoks
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t (Skylar) \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
PaydayWolf
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t (Connie) \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Cyberblade
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t (Cyber)
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
MystBunny
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t (Daniel) \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
SebastianTheRoo
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t (Sebastian) \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Mysterythree
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t (Ash)  \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
PetalLaFleur
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t (Petal)    \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
PityPlowed
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t (Pity)
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Mizzyam
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t (Jake)   \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
FlutterBun
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t (Fifi)

(There likely won't be further predator-side dedicated prompts! Except in the unlikely event something significant happens solely for them. Instead they will have a dedicated placeholder in the comments below)

- Cub reactions and freeplay Here
- Predator reactions and freeplay Here
- Audience reactions Here
                                                                                                                                                      

<--- to the previous prompt         | to Labyrinth of Twilight Details/Index |         to the next prompt --->
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