Amaze-ing Developments, or Don't Shoot the Piano Player

Where did the borders get all these people? It's so crowded you feel like a small sardine packed in a tin. Fangirls and fanboys are everywhere, hoping to get a glimpse of their favorite idol. Stagehands squeeze through desperately, and the piano player walks back and forth with sheets of music, apparently looking for someone.

Several fangirls eye Tanaka before deciding he's just one of the crowd, while Larianne bounces up and down excitedly to be at her first concert.

Suddenly, the pianist, now looking very apprehensive, reappears and stops next to Tanaka. "Sign this for my cousin, sweetie. She's a big fan."

Hearing this, the fangirls swing back and mob Tanaka, crushing the pianist against him as he looks puzzled.

"Over there!" Larianne cries, pointing left. "It's Rembrandt coming around the corner!"

With shrieks, the fangirls rush away, as does the pianist. Tanaka's brow furrows. "What the heck was that?"

"Not sure," Larianne adds, "but I thought she looked scared."

He nods in agreement, then grabs Larianne's hand. "Come on, let's get inside and grab a seat away from the screaming, if that's possible."

And so it goes on, much like any other concert. Convinced you know where Caniel is, you can't wait to be taken backstage by Jedro's cousin so you can confront him.

However, just as you head back to the dressing rooms, the makeup girl screams and comes running out of Rembrandt's dressing room. "It's Sunny! She's d-d-d-d-dead!!"

Sure enough, the piano player is slumped on the floor, her eyes wide and staring out in horror.

"I was so worried for her," the girl sobs. "There was that phony manager here earlier, playing around with the roster, and I told the real manager about it. We never caught the fake, but Sunny got scared to death and said she had to find somebody, but she never said who!"

At that point, the real manager arrives, a weary retired minor mage and appointed Borderby deputy. He kneels down next to Sunny, and sprinkles a white powder over her, which sizzles and turns black. "Killed by Unseelie magic," he whispers.

"Oh, my god!" screams Rosemary from the doorway, arriving with the other four lead singers. "Sunny!"

After that, it gets to be a mess, with all five of the singers looking like suspects, and all of them claiming not to be Caniel, or even to know him, while the makeup girl insists that Sunny did know about him.

The manager separates the two women from the three men, and interviews them separately. Normally, no one in border country cares who's Seelie or Unseelie or not either, but the way Sunny was killed makes that vital to know.

You stick around to listen to both interviews. Rembrandt claims that Pale Lightning is as Unseelie as they come, while Mauve claims Rembrandt, despite his make-up, is true Seelie. Pale Lightning scoffs and tell the deputy he's simply human.

Meanwhile, Delish claims that Rosemary is Unseelie, while Rosemary claims that neither she nor Delish is Unseelie. This all seems to be going nowhere, and you are ready to leave in frustration until the makeup girl whispers under her breath, "Everyone knows Seelies always tell the truth and Unseelies always lie. It's only the humans who can go either way. You'd have to run the Elder's Maze to know the full truth, and no one's insane enough to do that."

All in all it's been a disappointment, no Caniel, one dead piano player, and two more conundrums.

Back at the Gearloose Goose, everyone slumps down in dejection. Where do you go from here?

"I wonder what she wanted to tell you with that paper?" Larianne says to Tanaka.

"Nothing with that," he tosses the paper out. It's simply a blank music sheet. "Uncle tested it, and that's it. However," he reaches into the pocket of his studded leather jacket. "This is another story."

He flips a ring onto the bar counter. "She dropped this in my pocket when the fangirls hit. I knew she did it, but I wasn't going to tell that deputy. He doesn't look all that bright."

"He's Jedro's cousin," remarks Nancy. "That should explain it."

"Interesting," adds Jack. "It appears to be some kind of key."

"Then the legend of the three keys is true, more's the pity, as usual," says a gruff voice from the stairs leading up to the Wayward Squirrel.

You all turn to see Grumpus, looking even more downcast than usual, since Vibrissa has still not recovered from a nasty poison bolt that got past him, even though he threw himself over her.

"It's one of those Seelie tales that you would think was false, one about three strange keys that would unlock the final gate to the Unseelie world. With what's going on, you know they're frantic to get their hands on those rather than send a few through the rift each time. Open the gates, and they win--which they probably will anyway."

"No, they won't!" Winton says firmly.

"Keys are lost to them anyway," Grumpus adds with a sigh. "One light ray on a rainy day, I suppose. Delgar's dead and one key would have been his. Tanaka's got the second now, which would be Caniel's, and supposedly Eilwyn gave it to her personal mage for safekeeping, and he turned to the darkside and joined the Unseelie forces, so that's the only one they've got--unless the also have Delgar's from when they killed him, if they did, which might be likely. I hear he died somewhere in a maze."

At the second mention of a maze, all heads go up. "The Elder's Maze?" asks Tanaka's.

Grumpus shrugs. "Don't ask me. I'm useless. I couldn't even protect the feline I love--well, that I'm fond of, you know." He looks embarrassed by his admission and pads toward the basement. "I need to talk to Thorson and Hayao. Less than horrible luck to all of you."

"It has to be!" Jack comments, "but where is it?"

Lucien stands up with a flourish. "And on that, mes amis, my beautiful Izzy and I can help." Izzy brings over a large parchment and they unroll on the table in front of you:

"We've been scouting as much of the landscape as we could," she explains, "and Lucien was able to aerially map the maze. It's huge, and there are lots of ways in."

"Oh, for the Caroline!" Jack exclaims.

"No good," Izzy answers. "I tried to fly through some of it with the Vixen, but the walls are too narrow even for her. They're pretty much impenetrable, too, so you'd need to be on bikes, horseback, or on foot."

"Also," Lucien puts in. "Horses would be likely to spook away. It's in the heart of Bone Rider country, and you can expect to see lots of them."

"Right. Some of them chased after the Vixen, but I pulled her up and out. We can guide you to the areas, but you'd need to go inn by yourselves from there. There is something in the center, though. We did spy that. We just couldn't get close. It glows, though and there aren't any riders near there that we could see."

Nancy laughs out loud. "What could be worse than a Bone Rider? How about a lot of Bone Riders on bikes in a killer maze? Yeah, that's worse. Skulls sitting on top of their heads, like a perverse kind of helmet and in a few cases skin and hair still clinging to the sides with a waxy look. Many of the Bone Riders Kelian and Tanaka killed were adorned with necklaces made of teeth--marking how many kills they had. Others were covered in so many bones that you could hardly see the human underneath. Getting in and out of that maze should be interesting. How does the song go? 'Click Clack bones that crack; got those Riders on your back.' "

She laughs again and it's so infectious everyone joins in. Then she yells out the door: "Hey, Tony! Jedro! You've got 48 hours to make us up a fleet of the best bikes you can make out of Miranda's junkpiles. The guys in here'll help you. You wouldn't want to disappoint little old me, now would you, my handsome hunks?"

"No, M'am!" comes a chorus back.

Upstairs in the Squirrel later that night, Grumpus sits by a small bed, carefully cushioned on the sides. He holds Vibrissa's paws in one of his gently.

"My love," he purrs close to her ear, "I must go on a small mission, but hopefully, I will return quickly."

As he stands to trot off, he hears a soft purr in answer. "As long as you do, my Grumpkins, and for this time, you must be positive."

Tanaka is stretched out under a bike chassis when he sees two white boots with fanlike contraptions attached standing on the side nearest him. He slides out to find himself nose to nose with Grumpus.

"Your uncle says you know how to use fans as weapons," Grumpus says without preamble. "He made these for all four of my paws. Teach me."

Tanaka slides the rest of the way and stands up. "In the time we have, I don't know how much I can really...."

"I'm going with you!"

He sighs then. Really, there's no winning with this Wayward Squirrel crew. He just heard this same statement from Larianne earlier, and now this little cat wants to be TwoFer.

"Very well, let's find a clearer area. And you ride with me, understood."

"Agreed!" Grumpus adds.

Well, at least he's more cooperative than Girlie. Now, I've just got two to take care of.

(OOC: This is a double puzzle and RP challenge. In Adventurer mode, you need to decide who is Seelie or Unseelie from the clues given. (Tony and Jedro will then persue your suspect in the hopes of gaining a confession and information.) Then you must navigate the Elder's Maze, where you will encounter a HUGE confrontation with the Bone Riders. Have fun with this one, as your damage will be based on the degree to which you handle your fight well. Those on bikes will have only vehicle damage.

In Traveler mode, you must solve the puzzles, but you won't encounter any Bone Riders in the Maze.

To get a larger printable version of the maze, right click on it. It is NOT an easy maze to solve.

You have until July 13th at 11:59 Subeta time. Puzzle solutions and printed mazes showing your successful route into the center of the maze should be smailed, while the Maze RPs should be posted on this thread. Good luck!)

:

[spoiler=Stone Cold Rogues Enter the Eldar's Maze]

Alponse the Warrior Leads the Way

The murder of the unfortunate piano player and the subsequent lack of success in finding either the murderer or Prince Caniel had left Alphonse thoroughly frustrated. He had loomed over Tony and Jedro while they prepared the bikes, offering suggestions for the particular features he needed. The end result quite satisfied him. Large, warlike, shiny yet elegant. Very much like him. And it would definitely stand up in combat too. He ran it through a few trials before noticing Lady Frieda watching anxiously as her bike was being prepared. When he approached her she asked him for some lessons. He was more than delighted to help, but it was painfully obvious that she had never ridden a bike before. Remembering his old lessons, Alphonse used a gradual slope to teach her the rudiments, running alongside her as the bike gently coasted downwards with the engine off and the gears in neutral with a very jittery Frieda on it.

"A little faster now, my lady?" he suggested, only to run up to her with concern a few minutes later as she picked herself up from a rather embarrassing fall. Relieved that she was unhurt, he gave in to her demands to let her try again and watched her like a hawk as she re-mounted the bike. Her determination impressed him as much as her rapid advancement in what was a completely foreign skill to her. She was soon easily navigating the streets, which was a remarkable feat in his book, as the bike was far too large for her. After reassuring her that it would be far easier for her to use a bike in her size, he gave her a ride back to Miranda's junkpile and then resumed his own practise. There was no such thing as too much preparation, after all.

A. Starting the Maze

Alphonse tensed as they approached the maze. He frowned, noting the narrow spaces and the thick walls. There would be very little room to manoeuvre in there, or to retreat if that became necessary. Friendly fire might become a problem too, and if the roof or walls fell in... Taking a quick look at his team, he quickly began to plot out their positions. He would be at the front, of course, and so would Aicha. The Mage's sheer power, combat skills and ferocity made her an extremely valuable front line fighter. Right behind them, he decided, would be Dace and Shasa. The shapeshifter was exceedingly capable with weapons, and he had noticed her ability to think on her feet. She was also intensely protective of Lady Frieda, which meant that she was good person to ride in front of the Lady. And Shasa... he did not trust the Bard. It had not escaped him that she had disappeared halfway through the aerial battle against the Unseelie, nor that she had returned sporting an injury which she had refused to explain to him. If she tried to make a break for it, or worse, betrayed them, then he was certain he could count on Dace to take her out. Behind them he placed the level-headed Bard Teislyn, who was in the best position to provide back-up to anyone who needed it, as well as hand over replacements to broken or worn out weapons. Lady Frieda would ride beside her, in the best place to lob whatever alchemical concoctions she was carrying, and provide medical assistance as necessary. And behind them all would be the silent Ranger Eren, placed so that he could accurately snipe at their attackers without being interrupted in his shots.

Having ensured that everyone was placed to his satisfaction, he nodded, pulled on his visored helmet and rode in through the entrance. He grimaced at the dust kicked up by the wheels. He had just had his armour nicely polished too... Shaking those thoughts from his mind, he focused on keeping his ears open. Sound carried inside the closed walls, and as noisy as their bikes were, he would probably still be able to hear their enemies in time.

Numerous twists and turns later, the Warrior found himself getting impatient. The Maze seemed to go on forever, and the tiny spaces and high walls was making him claustrophobic. On top of that, there was something strange in the air, something old and oppressive. He was glad when he suddenly caught the sound of clicking from up ahead. A low hiss from Shasa confirmed it. There were Bone Riders up front. He looked back at the fox. Shasa sniffed the air and held up two fingers. Giving her a warning glance, he sped up ahead, unsheathing his blade. He grinned as he spotted the two Riders. Heavy bikes, heavy armour, heavy weapons and next to no room to move. This battle was his.

B. The First Attack Of The Bone Riders

He zoomed towards the riders, forcing one to topple backwards, falling off his bike to press against the wall. The other made a clumsy swipe at him, which he easily dodged. As it stumbled forwards from the momentum, he circled behind it and swiped with his blade, taking off its head. Blood spattered the front of his armour, and he curled his lip with disdain. Wasn't there any such thing as a non-messy battle? This thought was driven out out of his mind as with a guttural snarl, the other Bone Rider charged towards him, blade pointing straight forward. Berating himself, Alphonse quickly turned aside, the weapon clipping him on his side. That cursed warrior had nicked his armour! With a snarl of his own Alphonse wheeled around, furiously smacked away the oncoming weapon and separated the Rider's head from his neck. Taking a moment to breathe, he waited for the pain in his side to subside before riding ahead.

C. Surprise Attack of Three Bone Riders

Once again, their opponents seemed to be taking their own sweet time. Long, straight passageways and sweeping turns had Alphonse fairly twitching with annoyance. The rapidly drying blood on his armour and the (albeit decreasing) pain in his side did not do much to help his mood either. He and Aicha took to scouting ahead, making sure that the route was free of enemies. It was with a sense of relief that he noticed the Riders up ahead. This ebbed slightly as he noticed their size. Demons above and Below, what were those things?! He raised his weapon and was immediately forced to duck as a metal spike shot towards him. A clatter from behind told him that it had struck the wall and not, fortunately, a teammate. Straightening up, he hastily covered his face as just as Aicha's blast connected with the first Rider, blowing it to pieces. As she blasted the second one off its bike, he tackled the third one, pressing a button on his bike's handle to release a hidden blade from it's flap. He circled the Rider as fast as he could, parrying its weapon with his, letting his motorcycle's blade carve into the giant's side. The creature for its part, seemed to barely notice its injuries, until a well timed slash to its knee caused it to topple over and off its bike. Alphonse wasted no time in burying his sword into its throat. Noticing that Aicha had polished off the other Riders, he exchanged a smile with her before starting his bike and continuing in formation.

D. Five Bone Riders Begin To Wear Down The Rogues

Once again, the team moved forward, riding through the gloomy, endless passages. Alphonse tapped his fingers against the handle, his impatience rising. He found himself inexplicably irritated by his team members, their mission, the fairies, his armour... Oh, that wasn't inexplicable, was it. It was going to take him hours to get those stains off. And wash his hair. Hadn't the Mage heard of clean kills? He looked around once to check on the others. Lady Frieda was his main concern, but from what he could see through the dust, she seemed fine. Somewhat unsteady, but that was to be expected after everything they had been through. He debated telling Dace to keep an eye on her, but decided that that would just irritate the Vagabond. She would do so without his word, anyway. He turned his gaze to Shasa, but the Bard was looking away, frowning. She met his gaze and jerked her head. And then he heard it too. An ambush.

He held out his hand, signalling the riders behind him to stop. Getting off his bike, he propped it up against a wall and watched as others did the same before heading towards the intersection, weapon drawn. He came to a stop as the sound of the Bone bikes came closer and waited, holding his blade in a tight grip. He turned, spotted Shasa some distance behind. The Bard was listening, her head tilted. After a moment, she pointed towards the west. The Warrior carefully shifted his group, keeping himself and Aicha towards the incoming Riders and the others in formation behind them. He noticed that Lady Frieda had produced an odd looking ball and wondered what it was, She had been quite close mouthed about the special weapon she was carrying, and had charmed him with one of her dazzling smiles before he could get anything more out of her. Still, he was certain that whatever it was, it would be effective.

The sound of the bikes got louder, and Alphonse barely had time to brace himself before the Riders shot out of the passageway, right past him and Aicha. He whirled around to meet them as they turned back, his blade narrowly missing the Rider as it shot past him again. Angry, he realised that their bikes were fast, very fast. 'We should have brought ours' he muttered to himself, turning to face the Rider as the raced towards him. He bent down slightly, and as it reached him, he leapt up into the air, his foot connecting against the Rider's helmet with a solid 'thunk', sending it off its bike, which swerved away, narrowly missing Dace and causing Shasa to leap away before smashing into another Rider. With a battle cry, Alphonse attacked the unseated Rider, his spinning blade finding and attacking the weak spots on its armour, wearing it down until he brought it down with a kick and flicked off its chest-plate to bury his sword into the now unprotected heart. Without pausing he attacked another Rider who had somehow lost its bike. He heard an explosion, followed by several more and judged that Lady Frieda's 'concoctions' were apparently at work. Sure enough, the Riders seemed to be scattered and distracted following each explosion. Dispatching the one he was battling with a final slash, he looked around to find that the others had been taken care of. Giving the team a few moments to catch their breath and celebrate their victory, he finally mounted his bike and started off, a signal to the others to do the same.

E. High Noon At the Bone Rider Barricade

To Alphonse's relief, It did not take too long before he realised that they were reaching the centre of the Maze. The eerie glow in the distance confirmed it and after spotting the barricade flanked by the Bone Riders he called the team to a halt to discuss their tactics. To his surprise, Lady Frieda spoke up. He had to admit, her plan was impressive and would certainly work better than what he had in mind. "Little One, you would have made a grand tactician." he said, surveying the area and pointing towards the place he felt the smoke bomb would work the best. After he was certain that everyone else had understood what was to be done, he gave Lady Frieda a sharp nod, signalling the start of the battle.

The Warrior watched anxiously as the Lady raced towards the barrier. Almost immediately the Bone Riders opened fire and he tensed, desperately hoping that his estimation of their aim was correct, that they were quite incapable of hitting a moving target at any distance with their crude weaponry. He gave Eren a signal, and the Ranger shot a couple of arrows into the fray, effectively distracting the Riders from Frieda. Alphonse finally allowed himself to breathe when he saw that she had reached the hiding spot. As she began to set out the bombs, the Warrior directed his team into the battle. As the smoke unfurled, everyone reached their positions, and chaos began. The Riders ran amok, guns firing in random directions, weapons darting through the thick smoke, feet thudding on the thick ground. Alphonse dismounted and knelt slightly as one ran near him, using his blade's hilt to trip the Rider, and then flipping the sword around to stab it in the back of its exposed neck. He swiped at another one which raced by, but somehow the blade passed through it as if it was made of smoke. He frowned, remembering that Shasa could cast illusions. What was she up to? Whirring wheels some distance away drew his attention, and he ran towards it, skidding to a stop as the Bone Rider fell heavily off its bike. Kicking it over furiously, he drew his sword up and chopped its head off.

He had just struck down another Rider when he heard Dace cry out, "Everybody get clear of that gas! It'll kill you!" Lady Frieda had evidently used her final weapon. Beckoning Aicha, Eren and Teislyn over, he ran for cover, backing away from the deadly gas. Once he had reached safety he looked around wildly, checking to see if the others were there. To his horror, Lady Frieda was nowhere to be seen. Was she caught in that deadly fog? He somehow stopped himself from racing into it. There was no point and the last thing he should do was waste her sacrifice. He could only hope that she had found some sort of shelter, somewhere. If she hadn't... no Bone Rider anywhere would be safe from him. And if any survived here, he would tear them limb from limb as revenge for the brave Little One.

F. At the End Of The Maze

The smoke cleared and he and Shasa helped Dace cross the barricade. The Vagabond had somehow managed to get herself injured, and it looked fairly severe. But as they approached the battlefield he felt himself drop to his knees. An involuntary groan forced itself out of his throat. "No... no, no, no, no, no!" The Lady Frieda lay motionless beside a brutish Bone Warrior. Her last act had been to dispose of it in the harshest way possible. It wasn't harsh enough for Alphonse. He wished it was still alive so that he could flay it, carry out all the nasty techniques he had seen used by the dark creatures he had fought in earlier battles. Looking down at Lady Frieda's calm face, he felt a terrible feeling of sorrow, shame and guilt. How could he have let this happen? He should not have let her cut herself off, should have found someone else to set off the bombs. This was his fault...

So absorbed was he in his misery that he did not notice Dace kneeling beside Frieda and only realised that there nothing to worry about when she blinked and slowly sat up. Tears pricked his eyes and he quickly wiped them away before bending over and gently scooping Frieda up. "My Lady, you gave us quite a fright." he said softly, carrying her away from the grisly remains of the Bone Rider and over the barricade. Despite his protests, she was on her feet within half an hour, binding up injuries and passing out water. He could only sit back, bemused, shaking his head at her tenacity.

Aicha the Mage Blazes a Trail

INTRO Aicha wasn't too happy about the prospect of riding a motorbike - they were loud and dirty. Not typically the type of transport a refined and graceful mage would take. Nevertheless, she did know how to ride one - it was a long story involving a vagabond, a dragon, and some pirates... With a scoff, the mage prepared herself for what was to come. The maze was filled with an old magic, an old magic she could clearly feel even with the distance to it. If there was time after, perhaps some examination of the walls would be...enlightening...

Part A Aicha delegated herself to the front of the pack alongside Alphonse and no one objected. Perhaps her companions thought her magic would be of use up front, in reality all Aicha really cared about was not getting too dirty by being trapped behind another bike. As they took off into the maze, she allowed Alphonse to get ahead slightly - better him than her if something popped out. The walls were taller up close and the magic inside them was clearly not going to allow any blasting through unless she used a massive amount of energy. Oh well, best to conserve.

Part B The ride was so far going smoothly as she and Alphonse led the way towards a sharp corner. They were a bit ahead of the rest of the pack, scouting out the proper path through the maze. Slightly ahead, she saw Alphonse turn around and double back. She peer

"We'll regroup downstairs y'all, there is much to do and we need to get started right away." Atrueheart instructed her team to change as quickly as possible and the Fallen Angels rush to their rooms to get out of their FaeRock attire.

"What a disaster!" Frustrated, Laurie threw her wig across the room and plops down on the edge of her bed. I knew it, she huffed, speaking to no one in particular since no one else was there, I Knew something wasn't right but I couldn't put my finger on it... The exasperated warrior jumped up and went into what was suppose to be a walk-in closet but instead of over-flowing with clothes it was where she kept dozens of notebooks, files, scraps of paper covered in scrawl and reference books. "Stupid contacts! Hope have you seen my glasses!? Oh there they are, nevermind!" she called out to her sleepy companion who wasn't paying attention anyway.

"Here it is, Subeta History," flipping quickly through the pages she scanned each one looking for two specific names, her mind making note of everything she came across. Blackmoon.. Blackmoon.. see Fun With History: Atebus.. ok, now Phoenix.. Phoenix.. ah, there you are.. see Fun With History: Centropolis.. She quickly located the referenced sections. From there she found her way to a section titled "Subetapedia" and mouth agape read the summations of two cousins who most likely would not be able to handle being on the same planet let alone the same town. Scrambling to shed the rest of her outfit she quickly changed and rushed to rejoin the others.

Slamming her hand down on the table she told the what she had discovered. "Of course that manager was a fake! No one in their right mind would book those two for the same event, and now a sweet young pianist is dead because of it!" "Now calm down, hon," Atrueheart said, the soothing tones in her voice snapping Laurie out of her rage. "Oh man.." she mumbled, slumping into her chair, blushing furiously, "sorry for the disruption y'all." hiding as much of her reddening cheeks as possible behind a huge mug of coffee.

Atrueheart smiled, "Fallen Angels, we've got work to do, lets get started."

(OOC: Chapter 7 is posted at SubetaLodge, Angels, let the challenge begin!)

Please head over to the lodge and share any ideas you might have on the puzzles or the RP that we have to make

Thanks to Tony and Jedro, all of you are now mounted on motorbikes and ready to head out. However, there is a new development. Kelian, who headed out at dawn on his own bike, is now back, battered and bruised and much the worse for wear. Pugsy is already at work repairing his bike so he can go back in with you, even though Ertrude is against it considering his condition.

"Can't not go, m'am," he respectfully tells her. "It's a lot worse than we thought. Those Riders must have known we were coming in advance. Most of the entrances have been sealed off."

Lucien nods. "We have updated the map on the table. It appears we're down to only two possible ways."

"The maze is crawling with them," Kelian explains. "No matter how you go, I see this ahead of you:

"You're bound to hit or pass a dead end leading back out onto a narrow path. Two Riders will be waiting from the dead end, both on heavy bone bikes and brandishing weapons that look like they were pulled from some poor carcass and never cleaned. There is only enough room in those passages for room two of you to move forward at a time, so choose wisely.

"Further in the maze you'll come across three giant Riders. These guys look like they took too many body pumping potions--either that or eating the flesh of their enemies does bulk them up--grisly thought, that. They have necklaces of teeth on them, which marks how many kills they have. They're short on real magic, but one of them can throw metal spikes out so you can't get to them easily. I know it sounds like I'm chicken, but I ran as much as I could. This needs more than one solo cowboy.

"The maze just seems endless. On and on it twists, with the tension in the air so palatable you can taste it. There's ambush parties of five, and these are faster than the others. I suspect there's an Unseelie mage somewhere who's enchanted their bikes. They also use armor made from the bones of their victims. It's head to toe coverage, which complicates everything but turning tail.

"Just when you can see that light ahead of you, and that light leads somewhere they clearly can't go, you 'll also see there's a carefully assembled rock pile with seven riders waiting on the other side. I heard them; their bikes revving to climb up and over before you can. I smelled the dust from their tires, and heard the clatter of heavy weapons. They're pretty intent on making all of us part of their collection. I was lucky to get out with my life. Still, I'm going back with you. I want a piece of them!"

You all look at each other. As can be expected at this point in your adventure, things are getting trickier, nastier, and just plain annoying.

(OOC: Okay, here's your battle(s) in detail. Revise your maze solutions down to the one you need, and mark the encounters before the slide at the entry clearly on your solutions before you send them. If the revised map above doesn't show the blocking "X"s, refresh with F5. Your damage assignments will depend on what you do and how, so choose and use with care. All other questions will be on the OOC thread. Good revised luck! :D)

Startled by the sight of Ertrude rushing past them followed closely by Lucien, the Fallen Angels halted their inspection of the "New-to-You" bikes Jedro and Tony had lined up outside the Gearloose Goose. A painful wail filled the air. "That sounded like Kelian!" Atrueheart said. "Couldn't be," Jeice replied, "You have to be a hurting unit to make that kind of noise." Pointing, Laurie murmured "Might want to rethink that Jeice." Jeice, Webby and Calie gasped as Ertrude and Lucien made their way back inside, half supporting, half carrying a wounded Kelian between them. Exchanging concerned glances, they quickly followed the trio inside, a bit apprehensive about what they were about to hear.

Instinctively, Laurie snatched her trusty No.2 from behind her ear and began scribbling in her notebook as Kelian described his the latest recon with Jeice hovering over her shoulder, pointing to details she felt should be underlined for emphasis. Atrueheart and Calie quietly inspected the newest imagery of the Elders Maze, comparing it to the crude map they had sketched earlier to make the necessary adjustments and Webby and Talli stood near the exit, their thoughts consumed by an urgent need to come up with a way to improve their chances as the full impact of what awaited their team sunk in.

Once Kelian finished telling them all he had encountered, they stepped back to give Ertrude all the room she may need to help him and regrouped in the far corner of the room. Speaking softly yet urgently, Atrueheart said ", this is going to be tougher then we thought, we need to make some adjustments to our plan of attack and we need to do it FAST."

(OOC: Angels, this latest development ect ect has been posted at SubetaLodge. Head there asap, we've got work to do)

(please forgive the unrelated stuff but felt I should explain and weave a new line into here a bit to explain my being on my own)

After The Fellowship got through the forest, Flame decided it was the right time to take off in another direction. As Wolf's top priority was always her baby's safety and well-being, she howled a heart-felt farewell to the group and took off after her. Catching up with her and giving her a good scolding for taking off after an imaginary butterfly, Wolf picked her up and, along with Sierra, flew the three of them back to The Goose. Due to the time they were away, The Fellowship was joined by another couple of people, forming a complete team.

Wolf looked at the two of them, "Well, looks like we're on our own, Loves. I guess they didn't think we were going to be able to get back in time. It's fine, though. We'll still be able to pull this off!"

They got back in time to be able to re-organize the disc-hologram movies, dress up and head out for a concert, rest up and get ready for the next adventure...

...which is the most difficult challenge Wolf has ever been faced with. She'd never driven anything before, except for riding a horse a couple of times. Now she's stuck with a motorcycle and needs to figure out how to work this thing. She knew about them a little, but driving one is a far cry from knowing what little knowledge she did about them. Fortunately the bike that was left for her from The Fellowship was the one that had the pet compartment built into it. Loading Sierra and Flame into their special seat and strapping them into the harnesses, Wolf looked at the task ahead of her. How am I going to drive this thing? she asked herself. It can't be much more difficult than riding a horse, just a machine version? She saw the key and turned it. The electronic motor whined to a start. I'm getting somewhere! I'm just not anatomically made for riding like a human. Sitting on her haunches on the seat she grasped the handlebars in her front paws and cast a spell on the gear shifter and break pedals to work whenever she spoke of them. Putting her helmet on, she twisted the throttle, controlled the clutch and said, "First gear!" The bike started to move forward. With the map of the maze floating along side of her for reference, they made their way towards the infamous Elders Maze.

Fortunately this bike was silent. They got to the maze and tried to go into the first entrance they came to, thinking that that was the safe one. Wrong! Bone Riders! Wolf thought fearfully. Wrong entrance! Turning around, she looked at the map again. She was on the opposite side of the maze! These creatures could be anywhere! Driving straight North, she wound her way through the trees, keeping out of sight of the Riders. Making a sharp left, she continued west along side the maze and thought she was in the clear until she heard a sound of engines behind her. She glanced worriedly in the rear view mirror. There were Bone Riders behind her! Before she could do anything, they were very nearly on top of her. She could see their evil pouring out from themselves and smell the stench of decay. They tried to knock her off her bike, but she managed to hold fast to the machine, spells being cast to turn the Riders to bone dust.

Knocking some the Riders off their bikes, and totally destroying the rest of that group, she managed to find herself at the entrance of the maze. Slowing the bike down, she really focused on the map to ensure safe passage. The first bit was quite uneventful. She had made quite good progress and thought she was safe. She thought too soon. From a path in front of her came another group of Riders popping out in front of her and causing her to lose control of the bike! The bike skidded from side to side, throwing Wolf from the seat. Fortunately she wasn't hurt due to speed she was going, but she had barely started getting up when three Riders were on top of her, leering down ready to strike and kill! She cried some words and took all three of the Riders out in one go. From her left came frantic barking, two more were bearing down on Flame and Sierra! They were trapped in there! She moved as fast as she could towards the bike and fought the Riders down. She knocked them to bits using physical attacks. There wasn't time for magic. She picked the bike up and started it up again before the Riders had time to re-connect themselves together. Fleeing down a very long corridor, she knew she had only bought herself a little time. It wouldn't take them all that long to get themselves back together again and after her once more.

Making multiple twists and turns, deeper and deeper towards the heart of the maze, Wolf was starting to become exhausted. There were no end to these Bone Riders. Time and time again, she sent barricading magic behind her and beside her to keep the Riders back so that she could get to the goal. Wrong turns were made and dead ends found due to being thrown off course by the Riders that kept popping up in front of her, confusing her. They had to keep doubling back to get back on course. I'm grateful I have an internal compass, Wolf thought grimly as she and her companions continued foraging their way through this labyrinth from Hell.

What seemed like halfway through the maze, three massive Bone Riders appeared out of nowhere. They were so big that Wolf was afraid that she wouldn't be able to take them down. There was only one thing to do: flee. She backed the bike up and sharply turned a corner and rode down a very long passage that took her way off the trail. They got up to an area where there was a ledge above their heads. Using a spell, she caused the rock to crumble and create a huge rock fall barricading their path to turn around and go back. Using an additional spell, she put an impenetrable spell on the rock to help further delay the three massive horrors they had just fled.

Finally, bike badly battered and beaten, and what seemed like hours later, she made it into the heart of the maze. "Bike, slow down and stop," Wolf said and the bike came to a clean, smooth halt, with Wolf working the hand breaks. Getting off the bike, she removed Flame and Sierra from their harnesses and healed their minor cuts and bruises from the accidents the bike took. They then made their way towards the glowing light. They were then stopped as before they could get near it, there was a large rock pile in front of them. Blasting the rocks away with a shot of magic, she thought they were home free...when they came face to horrible face with seven Riders on their bikes! It was too late for them to get back onto their own as they rode hard and fast towards the three of them, swinging their weapons trying to kill.

There was no time for a second thought - they jumped aside and scattered to avoid being hit or crushed by either bike or weapon.

Sierra jumped up swiftly onto one of the bikes and managed to startle the Rider due to her surprise attack and swiftness, causing him to swerve and smash into a maze wall and the bike burst into flame.

Flame was cornered by a second Rider. Though weaponless, Flame was clever. Very clever. She quickly looked around and noticed there was a heavy rock teetering on a ledge above the Rider's head. Using her newly found strength, she jump-attacked her foe's bike causing it to knock hard into the maze wall. The vibration of the impact was just enough and caused the boulder to fall from the ledge, crushing both rider and machine.

Wolf was left to deal with the last five that had bore down upon her as Flame and Sierra were fighting their own battles. There wasn't enough time to be able to take them all down. They were moving too fast. Casting an impenetrable net upon the advancing posse, she managed to temporarily entrap them. The net swept them all off their bikes and entangled the Riders on the ground together as she went to find the others. Getting back to the bike, she quickly put both bunny and fox into their compartment and blasted the remaining five bikes apart. That would buy them some extra time if the net dissolved before they could get to the end of the maze. Riding fast, they got to the very heart of the maze and entered the glowing light before the remaining Riders could get to them.

They were finally safe.

Sexy and I know it.

I see you.

HAHAHAHAHA!

Wait. What o.O

This is war!

You have been- mooned!

-wigglewigglewiggle-