{ MAZE PRP } Navigation (Ship of Suffering)

[Toshihiko Two]

"What ears?" Harrison asked, reaching up to feel. "s**t, my ears!" He tugged the floppy, furry things down.

"What the ******** is wrong with them?"

They felt alien and hairy.  

[Baneful]

Rep stared at the things which apparently seemed to be attached to Harrison's head unlike the silly headbands they'd had to wear one time. He grabbed one and rubbed it between thumb and forefinger. The boobs got in the way of getting into Harrison's personal space.

"Eww man it's like an animal."

One of the tails got yanked. <********, you've got ******** tails too man. Like that wee b*****d in Sonic the hedgehog. Are they attached?"

He felt up to the terminal end of the thing. "THEY ARE."  

[prolixity]

This time, when Jordan saw something shining on the floor, he made a wide circle around it. Somehow, though, it still caught his toe and sent him tumbling forward. Last time, this had been followed immediately by a fall of rocks. Jordan scrambled hastily to his feet.

HP: 60/60
Roll: 3/6
Effect: 8: Oh look theres something shiny on the ground. Even if you try and avoid it, it decides it wants to get in your way anyways and trip you. :< Jokes on you. No status effects or HP loss, just maybe a little of your dignity...  

[prolixity]

The rocks buried him anyway.

HP: 50/60
Roll: 4/6
Effect: 3: Rocks decide its the perfect time to try and bury you. -10 HP  

[prolixity]

When he pulled himself out from under the rocks, he must have dislodged or triggered something; he didn't spot the scorpions until they were swarming up his boots. Most of the stings were stopped by the thick fabric of his pants, but a few got through. He shook the insects off and stomped on them, clamping down on the sense of panic as a warm dizziness swam up into his head.

Ferros snarled and started clearing the poison out of Jordan's bloodstream, but the stuff had still eaten away some of their shield by the time he'd finished.

HP: 40/60
Roll: 5/6
Effect: 7: Scorpions decide it is time to swarm you and sting at your ankles. They are poisonous, they make you feel delirious and really really warm. - 10 HP  

[prolixity]

Jordan stepped a little closer to the wall, avoiding a stone that looked slightly higher than the rest of the floor, and a cloud of nearly-invisible gas hissed out around him. He couldn't avoid breathing some of it in. To his surprise, it didn't hurt or make him cough, and seemed to have no effect.

Then he stepped forward again, and realized that his center of balance and sense of himself had changed in an all-too-familiar way. He looked down, just to make sure, and groaned. Yep.

HP: 40/60
Roll: 6/6
Effect: 2: You get a little too close to the wall.. and as if it can sense you, it sends out a spray of gas. You dont feel different... but if you look down, you would suddenly realize you turned into a girl. This effect lasts until your last dice roll. 8|  

[prolixity]

All in all, Jordan thought with some suspicion, things could be worse. This place had chipped away at Ferros's shield, but it felt more like the traps were pranks, rather than genuine attempts to kill intruders. As he move carefully into the clear space, he spotted Harrison, and his eyebrows went up. "That's a new look for you," he said.

HP: 40/60

Toshihiko Two

Baneful

Zoobey

 

[Toshihiko Two]

Harrison literally bristled as Rep goosed him, tails turning into stiff puffballs.

"Ye-ES! ******** sake." He commandeered the tail Rep had been manhandling, roughly trying to put the fur back in place. He gave Jordan a flat look.

"Ha ha. I thought being a ******** werewolf was bad."

He eyed them again, grumbling, "...You're both looking...curvier than I'm used to."

Zoobey

Through the maze!

 

[prolixity]

Jordan shrugged. "Could be worse. At least this has happened before, so it's not going to throw me off too much." The bristling tails got an interested look, but only briefly.  

[Zoobey]

"That's exactly it." A short guy in a Hunter coat and skirt combo wielding an impressive sleek-looking UZI gun on one shoulder paused before the end of the corridor, narrowed their eyes, and then slowly continued forwards. "Everything here is an illusion, though I wouldn't exactly call it hurtful."

On the way towards the barricaded exit, they purposely stepped on one of Harrison's tail(s) before facing the wall, slowly tapping their weapon against it. Almost immediately, a formation of gold bricks clanked and clustered into existence around the single knock, as if responding to any signs of presence. "This entire maze area is Fear-based, and extremely organic. I'm pretty sure it's based off the wishes of the artifact itself, and the cla-" a giant axe blade went flying just above their head, it was a good thing they were short, though they seemed for the most part nonplussed, -"an." He smoothed his slightly cropped hair down and then placed his free hand on his hip, creating a rather disconcerting image layover of who this should have been. A smirk. "It's effects are unfortunately permanent, but that's not a problem right? Besides, you boys look cute."

Toshihiko Two

Prolixity

Baneful

 

[prolixity]

Jordan raised one eyebrow at ... that was Sam, wasn't it? It was weirder to see her as a guy, mostly because he hadn't seen that before. "You just said it was all an illusion," he pointed out. "So I don't think I believe the permanent part."

Zoobey

 

[Zoobey]

Their smile grew a little wider, not unlike the mischievous fox-spirits that seemed synonymous with settings like these. "Oh, I did, my bad." As if almost in response to their tone, the floor shrugged, pieces of brick rippling up and downwards, before reassembling into a black cavern in front of them. A literal, crude chimney hole.

Sam kicked a stray piece of brick into the infinite hole, waiting for some sort of clack. Nothing responded, not even after a few seconds. (S)he turned to look at Jordan. "You have it you know, did you ever consider joining a division that would suit you more?" Coy look, which just looked odd, considering the cross-gender experience. "I'll even give you a tip free on the house. Just because it's an illusion, doesn't quite make it less permanent or any less real"

They gestured towards the rabbit hole. "Ladies first."

Prolixity

 

[prolixity]

"Considered, sure, but someone needs to look after the others," Jordan said with a quirk of a smile. He gave Sam a thoughtful look. "If it doesn't make it less permanent or real, what's t he difference between an illusion and a real change?" he asked. "Spirit of scientific curiosity."

He gave the hole a slightly skeptical look. "One, I'm not sure any of us qualify as ladies here, and two, just to be totally clear on instructions, we're jumping down that?"

Zoobey

 

[Zoobey]

"That's pretty easy to answer, wow I am just full of freebies today, I normally charge for such valuable information." It was unclear as to which part Sam was being sarcastic over. "Illusions are a type of Fear. Just like demonic omens, Horsemen sigils, Reaper hexes and spells, Familiar summoning and artifact crafting. They are all different aspects and practices of Fear. You know, if you ever have the time, sitting in on those Amityville lectures really is quite an eye opener. It's hard to really know your enemy when you barely know anything about them."

As they spoke, the chimney, for a lack of a better word, continued to shift wider, slowly, nothing too alarming, each brick making odd clack clack sounds as they clashed against each other before falling into the black space and emitting no echo.

Sam raised an eyebrow. "That's why you're here right, as Sun and Moon Hunters? To do that fighting thing? This is the exit, and I'm pretty sure some nice and friendly illusions are waiting for us on the other side. It's probably safe to just jump. Probably. Just don't look down."

Prolixity

 

[prolixity]

"I'll be sure to keep that idea in mind." Jordan's tone hovered in that neutral zone between earnest and sarcastic, probably as a response to Sam's. He grinned. "I'm here to do that fighting thing, yes, but I prefer not to jump blind if I can help it. That's the intelligent thing to do, right?"

He flexed his right hand, Ferros's ring lighting briefly in some silent communication, Then he moved to the edge of the hole, took a breath, and jumped in.

Zoobey