The Eleventh Trial: Thyme

[hot_mess_express]

[As you pass through the doors of the bar, your vision blacks out. You find yourself in a void, unable to see even your own hands. For a moment, all is silent. Then, out of the murky dark shines a pair of brilliant sky blue, cat-slit eyes. Below them, a sharp, fanged smile.]

Looks like it's my turn, now.

Your mission today is to master a maze. Every room has a riddle: give it the right answer, and you get a point. Mess it up or wait too long, and you lose a point. Either way you can move on, but screw-ups have to pay a toll.

I don't really expect anything from you, but let's see if you can prove me wrong. Get as many points as you can before you reach the exit, and maybe I'll buy you a drink.

[The cat's face disappears, and the void recedes...]

Comments

INSTRUCTIONS

[hot_mess_express]

Characters find the rules for this game appear in their mind. They are as follows:

- Each room of the maze has a puzzle. You have 30 minutes to enter a solution or give up. The solution must be agreed on by everyone but submitted by one person. Results are given as soon as you've submitted your answer, so you may move on before the 30 minutes are up.

- If you enter the right solution, the doors will unlock and you can choose in which direction to proceed. Unlocking successfully causes the team to gain one point.

- If you enter the wrong solution, give up, or exceed your time limit, the person submitting the answer will receive a penalty before the door unlocks. You can choose in which direction to proceed, but the team will lose one point.

- Once you've gone through a door, it becomes permanently locked. You cannot go backwards, only forwards.

- If you reach the end room, you may not go back into the maze. You're done and must wait for endgame.

- The total game run time is 3 hours. You should aim to be in the end room with as many points as possible by that time. If you never reach the end, the whole team takes a penalty and you lose 5 points.

- The 3 teams with the highest score at the end of 3 hours win.

THE CAT

[hot_mess_express]

[As you go through the rooms, you'll see a black cat in each one, lounging and watching you with bright blue eyes. You may talk to the cat here!]

START

[hot_mess_express]

[You begin in a walled-in garden -- a lush green lawn spreads across the ground, soft beneath your feet. Scattered about are flower beds, with rosebushes in various colours. In the center is a fountain, with cool water that’s clear and fresh and perfectly drinkable. The room is lit from above by a bright but distant artificial sun.

There are three doors leading North: Left, Right, and Center. They are featureless, with no visible way to open them. Near them is a stone pedestal.]

PUZZLE

[hot_mess_express]

[Upon examining the pedestal, you find three dials with three settings, marked with a coloured dot: red, yellow, and white. Above each one is a number: 12, 18, and 23. You must select a colour for each number.

In this thread, you may discuss solutions or examine the room. Please ping Cleo on discord if your characters are examining something or you have a question.]

Re: PUZZLE

[wontforbidtherain]

This is a riddle?

Re: PUZZLE

[bowtiedbones]

Are you any good at riddles?

Re: PUZZLE

[bowtiedbones]

Oh this isn't my kind of smart.

[going to examine the rosebushes though, counting the different numbers of the different colors]

SOLUTION

[hot_mess_express]

[Submit your answer here. Remember, whichever character submits is the one who'll receive the penalty if you're wrong.]

Re: SOLUTION

[bowtiedbones]

red: 18
white: 12
yellow: 23

ROOM B

[hot_mess_express]

[You enter a dim room with walls and floor and ceiling made of a flat black stone with a smooth matte finish. It’s empty, aside from a statue of a nymph holding a mirror, a small bright light shining down upon it, warm and golden like a sunbeam. There is no pedestal -- instead near the North ceiling there are two stone rings hanging down on chains. One is decorated with sun rays, one has a rim engraved with stars.

There are four doors here: North, South, East, and West. The South door locks behind you, and cannot be unlocked. You can only move forward.]

PUZZLE

[hot_mess_express]

[The nymph holds her mirror slightly downward, facing the floor. Inspection proves that the mirror can be tilted up or down, as far back as parallel to the ceiling, and side to side.]

Re: PUZZLE

[bowtiedbones]

It looks like we need to reflext the light to a ring.

Re: PUZZLE

[wontforbidtherain]

It's like some old temple. Can we tilt the mirror to align the sunlight?

SOLUTION

[hot_mess_express]

[Submit your answer here. Remember, whichever character submits is the one who'll receive the penalty if you're wrong.]

Re: SOLUTION

[wontforbidtherain]

[takes the mirror and slowly moves it so that the sunbeam is going through the ring with the sun on it]

ROOM E

[hot_mess_express]

[You enter a garden of stone -- the floor is bare, and there are a number of statues. First, four carvings of a pretty young woman, standing in a circle, facing eachother. Each holds an urn, and is marked with a letter:

Statue A rests the urn on her hip.
Statue B holds it above her head.
Statue C clutches it to her chest.
Statue D leans over to tip it sideways.

Behind them, there’s a statue of a waterfall coming out of some rocks, and a statue of a wooden basin. Between those, in a line, are four squares marked into the floor.

There are four doors here: North, South, East, and West. The South door locks behind you, and cannot be unlocked. You can only move forward.]

PUZZLE

[hot_mess_express]

[The statues are actually quite light -- they can easily be pushed along the floor.]

Re: PUZZLE

[bowtiedbones]

B, C, A, D?

SOLUTION

[hot_mess_express]

[Submit your answer here. Remember, whichever character submits is the one who'll receive the penalty if you're wrong.

You have til 7:25pm]

Re: SOLUTION

[hot_mess_express]

[Time has run out! Suddenly there comes a hissing noise. Water bursts forth from the waterfall, dousing one of you in an icy chill. It stops after a second or two, but the cold remains, and nothing can warm them.

After that there’s a click -- the doors are open. But you can only choose one, so proceed carefully.]

END

[hot_mess_express]

[You enter the door and come out into what appears to be the inside of the bar you first walked into. The lights are low, the walls rough brick and the bar itself old, hard wood. Off in the corner is a stage, currently empty except for speakers that play instrumental rock music at a mid-low volume. Along the wall behind you are three doors, all leading South, all locked.

Behind the bar is a young man in acid wash jeans and a leather jacket, with dark hair and very blue eyes. He’s got cat ears and a tail -- jet black -- and a lazy expression as he examines his nails.]

You made it. Nice.

[Welcome to the end zone.]

Re: END

[bowtiedbones]

Hi, thanks, what was the answer to the last one?

Re: END

[catcophonous]

You had it. Just took too long worrying about it.

Re: END

[malignstar]

I don't know if nice is the word I'd use...

Re: END

[catcophonous]

You could've done worse.