Has anyone started role playing? I saw some volunteers, but don't see any actual roleplaying.... If someone could start with the first bit here, that would be great...

(((OOC @ rainestorme I'll be writing mine as a whole big chunk since it's just Pip going into Area A I think..? Otherwise I'm not sure what's going on. I'm on pain killers right now and they don't agree with me so I'm kind of sick and dizzy right now. >_< I was wondering if you would be willing to ask GreenRowan if we may have even a one day extension because it seems everyone in our team has a lot going on right now, all at once? :(

I wanted to get started tonight but I'm having some of the worst post-tooth extraction pain I've dealt with... the pain even reaches my nose.)))

(((OOC EDIT here's what I got for area A. So I've got my HA and RP done. I'm not sure which thread the captain has to post the finalized RP in but it has to include a note of which voices go where and we must say which area each RP is. I wrote mine based off of the two prompts Greenrowan gave. Area A has to be a gentle companion and then the blurb about the crying pixie. Also remember we don't write for area E... I think we finish with the whole team arriving at area E after A, B, C and D are done.)))

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Pipsqueak was of a simple mind. While he was more intelligent than your average hedgehog, he was not of the magical kind. He had understood when Dahlia told him he was to do something very important, in a very important place, with a very important goal... and yet Pip was easily distracted by each fallen leaf his little paws found as he meandered alongside the towering hedges that lined the fantastic maze.

Tall place! He thought to himself excitedly. Maybe too tall... In fact he was sure that he was lost. At one point, he tried to traverse directly through the hedges but they seemed determined to halt his progress. This left Pip confused, as he was not aware that the area was cloaked with an enchanted veil meant to keep travelers from breaking the rules of the maze that had been set in place since it's creation.

Where go..? Pip asked himself as he scurried along, snuffling and chirping as he went. Unbeknownst to him, he'd come to be exactly where he was meant to be. The narrow maze opened into a small resting area, with marble benches and well cared for flower boxes. It was lovely in fact, lovely enough to distract Pip from his current mission as he hurried over to nibble on a fallen petal.

Pipsqueak could have easily lost track of time in his snacking, if not for the soft crying he heard. At first he was startled, his lunch forgotten as he curled into a protective ball with a worried squeak. Surely there were no hungry predators around here, right?

Some thirty seconds passed before Pip risked a peek at his surroundings. He was relieved to find that he was not being held in the jaws of some hungry animal... but there was still crying coming from somewhere.

Sounds. Sad sounds. Oh no!

Pipsqueak hurried about in panicked circles as he tried to determine the source of the noise, before he eventually collided nose first into one of the carved benches.

Ouch! He exclaimed in a high squeak. He began chattering grumpily, giving the (inanimate) bench a piece of his mind. It was then that Pip noticed that there was something on top of the bench in question. A hummingbird? No... perhaps a butterfly?

Pipsqueak waddled backwards, standing up on his hind legs and sniffling the air as he tried to get a better look. It wasn't a butterfly at all! It looked to be a fae folk. A small pixie... and she was sad!

Oh no. No sad! Pip chittered worriedly. He tried to scramble up onto the bench but his little feet could not grip onto the smooth marble. Pip made it up partway before tumbling down and comically rolling a short distance away. This succeeded in catching the saddened pixie's attention and she peered over the side of the bench at Pipsqueak down below.

As Pip's world stopped spinning, he looked up at the pixie curiously. It appeared that she had been crying for some time and this made Pip feel terribly sad. He wasn't sure what was wrong and he was incapable of speech, so he could not ask himself... but there had to be SOMETHING he could do to cheer her up. Even if he could not solve her troubles, perhaps he could bring a smile to her face?

And so Pip got to work, trying in brighten her day by sharing all the things that made him happy - maybe they'd make her happy too! He rolled somersaults. He flopped over onto his back to greet the sun. He began gathering an assortment of objects to give to her in offering. Leaves, pebbles, acorn shells leftover from some other critter's lunch... anything his tiny paws could carry. The pixie watched him all the while.

At first she was simply confused... after all, what was he doing? However, as she watched his antics her tiny sniffles turned to small, tearful giggles. With great effort Pipsqueak had managed to scale one of the flower boxes and as he frolicked back, holding the stem of a flower in his mouth like a grand trophy, he was unaware that all but one petal had been carried off by the breeze.

As Pipsqueak placed the flower on top of the pile of treasures, his heart sank when he saw that the flower was ruined. He chittered sadly, looking up to the pixie to offer an apology for his meager gift... but to his surprise, she was smiling! Not only that, she was flying down to meet him!

The little hedgehog bowed his head respectfully as the pixie made a delicate landing before him and his eyes lit up as he watched her look over the mountain of gifts he'd gathered for her. Which would be her favorite? To his surprise, she chose the single petal that had remained off of the flower. She held it close, running her fingers over the petal as if it were made from the finest of fabric. Her eyes still shone with tears, but her smile was warm and thankful.

She stepped closer, leaned down and placed a sweet kiss on the tip of Pipsqueak's nose.

Pipsqueak was positively giddy now! He chattered excitedly, spun circles and performed more somersaults. When he looked again she was gone - most fae folk were masters at disappearing acts and it seemed she was no exception. Pip didn't know if he had come here to meet her, but something told him he'd done what he needed to do. He felt that he was one step closer to fulfilling his important mission and that he could now continue through the maze to join his friends.

Area D

Max gave Tinker a loving head scratch as he asked Tinker to enter the maze. She turned her head away from Max. reluctant at first. That is, untill Max started flattering her with tales of how only the strongest and fasted owls could go through. She straightened up on Max's arm and puffed her chest feathers in pride, then leapt off his arm and into the maze. Tinker glided just above the hedges edge, but not over the maze. While that would have been the easiest solution, Tinker didn't know where the maze ended, so she couldn't fly there. She just glided through, turning at every right turn. There was a tales that if you kept taking a specific turn, you could follow the wall to the end.

Eventually, Tinker became bored of the maze, not finding was was so terrifying about this one. All it had were potted plants ever so often. She glided lower to look at the plants and eventually stopped at one to peer into it. It was a tall plant with what looked like a weird, oval, spikey shaped flower on top. It looked like on of those....Veno...something plants. Tinker gave the pottery a tap with her claw and the plant swung to life, trying to grab her. Trap! Veno TRAP plant!!

Tinker took off, stumbling over her wings as she dodge the plant and few sideways into another. This pottery, however, had sleep darts shoot from the side, whizzing through her feathers. Thank goodness she wasn't so much pudgy and just fluffy feathered; the darts passed right by. She managed to dodge the domino of darts, lassos, pitfalls, and grabby plants she had set off, memorizing what each trap looked like and planning her moves.

That is, until the net came out. Tinker was close to the end when two unknown planters shuddered and sprung a net the width of the maze hall and snared her. Tinker screeched as she fell to the floor with the net draped over her. She didn't struggle with the heavy ropes, but just sat there, clicking her beak in anger. Last time this happened, she struggled so much, she got permanently stuck and almost starved to death till Max found her and helped. She's been with him ever since, but he can't get to her now. Tinker would have to figure this out on her own. Out of frustration, Tinker grabbed a piece of the net with her beak and started grinding it. As she sat the nibbling the rope to death as she contemplated her escape, there was suddenly a little snap in her mouth as the piece broke. Surprised at what had happened, Tinker grabbed another piece and began to test a theory. Sure enough, that piece broke as well, now leaving a bigger whole between the roped that made the net. Tinker grabbed more pieces and repeated her actions to there was a hole big enough for her to slide out. She stood on the net, her chest feathers puffy once more with her cunning defeat of the net, then took off for the end of the maze.

Exploring area B.

Anna watched Midnight fly around in a circle in front of her. Midnight kept looking at the maze in front and then back asking for permission. Anna looked at Midnight and said, "I think it would be great if you would go and investigate the lower left corner of the maze. Be careful and watch your surroundings. I'll see you when you come back out." Midnight squawked and flew off towards the entrance. Upon entry, Midnight found beautiful ivy surrounding each walls. Midnight perked up and started to travel towards the left. She went down one corner and saw beautiful flowers blooming along the edges of the path. She noticed a small concrete bench and then a wall of ivy. Midnight huffed and puffed at the realization that she made a wrong turn. "I'm suppose to be smarter than this" She thought. Midnight turned down another path and began looking around. She started to notice little swirls in the ivy as she would fly high or low. She also started to notice beautiful bushes in certain corners of the maze. "Hmmm, I wonder if there is a pattern in this maze not just confusion."

Midnight begins to backtrack and pay close attention to her surroundings. One good thing about always remembering where she went before she didn't have to worry about not being able to get back to where she was. She would fly high and low, looking closely at the swirls and the bushes. All at once, she noticed one path was different. She became very curious and began to fly really close to that section. She used her beak to poke at the bush in front of her. As she began pecking, a small box fell to the path. Midnight jumped back and squeaked. She leaned down and noticed the box was actually a deck of cards. Flapping her wings in excitement, she picked up the cards in her claws and headed back towards the paths that she remembered going down before. She kept noticing small patterns and was super excited to show Anna what she found. Midnight really wanted to make her way to the exit but she quickly remembered that she was supposed to head towards the center of the maze. She held on to her cards and quickly towards the center of the maze. Scratching her head a couple times, she ended up turned around. What happened to that memory of her?!? At one point, she did see the light heading towards outside. She filed that for later when it was time to take her cards to Anna. She did one last turn and entered the center of the maze, looking around for others to join her. She thought to herself, "I hope they all found goodies on their way also. Our owners are going to be so excited with what we come back with!"

(((These are all great! :) Though, Midnight sweetie, you need to go towards the Center of the maze, not back outside. gives her a little treat <3)))

Lol, thanks! I was just trying to get out. Let me fix things really fast. I know it's past the deadline but hoping we got a little extension!

I know it's late and I just posted this. But if your on here's the part for Area C.

Okay, so area C...

Area C: Is occupied by a grouchy gnome who loves riddles. You must devise one that would draw him out of his house on the far end. You must not make him mad. And if we decided it is the Gears, then... 5) Gears - for those whose lives are bound by the workings of time, both harsh and joyous, and the eternal gears of the universe

Okay, so area C...

Area C: Is occupied by a grouchy gnome who loves riddles. You must devise one that would draw him out of his house on the far end. You must not make him mad. And if we decided it is the Gears, then... 5) Gears - for those whose lives are bound by the workings of time, both harsh and joyous, and the eternal gears of the universe

In a clearing near the entrance to the third part of the maze, a flash of lightning suddenly lit the space, the light so dazzling it filled the great emptiness of the clearing. When the light had faded, a tiny fox was visible there, as if it had arrived with the light. Its fur was a beautiful, gleaming shade somewhere between white and blue, reminiscent of the great glow that had been present just moments before. The animal raised its head as though listening to something.

"A mysterious maze? What are you worrying about so, Raine?" the creature asked, it's voice as soft as a gentle shower. It seemed to wait for an answer from its master, though the master was not in the clearing. "I see... Yes, I can explore it for you. I do enjoy a good puzzle. A riddle is an excellent way to while away the time that holds us so tightly in its paws."

With that, the creature stepped lightly into the maze. She wandered about happily, dashing about energetically, exploring under this bush and that, and stepping down many long lanes. She took joy in the beauty of the place, dashing about after fireflies, and examining the plants that filled the space.

"Oh, a willow! She exclaimed suddenly. "That reminds me of a lovely riddle I heard once... What tree grieves more than any other?" The animal listened for the silent answer of her human companion once again. "No, no... Not a birch. They have lovely papery bark, but the answer is a willow tree. A weeping willow, of course."

As she wandered and dashed through the plants, she suddenly spotted a little hut in the distance. It was a grumpy-looking house, sure to house a grumpy sort of creature. But time passes too quickly to spend it grouching. "Perhaps I can bring the owner a bit of cheer," the fox thought out loud. She dashed towards the building, and turned to tap her tail lightly against the door. No answer came from inside, but a deep rumble of some kind shook the house a bit. She paused for a moment, then knocked again. "I go through a door from beginning to end, yet I never enter, and I never leave," she chanted merrily.

"My door has no keyhole, thank you very much," came a gruff return. "Because I let no one in, and I never leave. What need have I then for a keyhole?"

"Do you not?" The fox said in surprise. "But it's so lovely out here! Is there nothing that would bring you out?"

"Nothing!" the owner of the house declared. "Now go away. You're disturbing the silence of my garden." The little fox peered through the window beside the door of the cottage, but she saw no one inside. Only a tiny sculpture stood visible inside.

"But couldn't you enjoy your garden better if you came out into it?" She got no reply. She stepped away from the window and glanced around. "Why don't you leave your house?"

"I have a good reason to never leave. What would I find out there? I have all I need here. Where can you find adventure and treasure, live many lives, and enter with only your hands for a key?"

"That's easy," the fox replied. "In a book. But wouldn't you like to have some adventures yourself? After all, you only live once!"

"No need. The adventures within these walls are enough for one gnome."

"What about a good riddle?" she asked. "I've just been telling some riddles myself. They're such fun!"

"A riddle is a worthy cause, but I haven't found a riddle of worth in many years. You have no riddles to share that would bring me out of this house."

"I have three riddles that may prove worthy," the fox said gently. "If I can tell a riddle that pleases you, will you come out and join me for a picnic?"

"It can't be done, and I won't come out, but perhaps I could listen to one."

"What travels without leaving, staying together while heading apart, separating from its companions even as it joins them again?"

"Grr," grumbled the gnome. "That's a tough one. The only thing that can travel away and towards something at the same time must be circular... Could it be a gear?" The gnome sculpture from before appeared suddenly in the window beside the door, peering out at the fox. "That's not a bad riddle, I suppose," he grumbled. "But I'm not coming out!"

"Maybe for a second riddle?" asked the fox. "I bring joy and sorrow, and exist in many forms. I am never seen, smelt, or felt, but am known in every land. What am I?"

"Oh... I love music," murmured the gnome. The gnome pushed open the door slightly. "Wherever did you find those rhymes?" it asked. "Though I'm not coming out!" it declared hastily.

"Oh, I've heard many riddles, in many places," returned the fox. "But I have one more that I really love... What flows through all lands, from start to finish, though no one knows its source nor its end? It is filled with every experience, from beginning to end, is always the same, yet always different, and carries us forward, never to return?"

"Why, that's a beautiful riddle..." came the gnome's reply. "I do love riddles. It can't be a river, because a source can be found, and you can always travel back again. It can't be life, because that to reaches an end. A book goes through many lands, but you always know when you've reached the end. What else could it be? Oh! Of course! Time! Do you have any more riddles?"

"I have many," replied the fox. "I'll share them with you, if you'll come out in this garden and help me eat a few of the raspberries growing here."

"Well..." The gnome thought about it for a moment. "I suppose I could, if only for a few minutes. But only if you have plenty more riddles!" The fox seemed to smile in reply, and the gnome stepped carefully out of the house, peering about as he did. The two settled in by the raspberries, sharing riddles as they nibbled away at the fruit.

"Riddle me this," the gnome said suddenly. "What is always dark, green, and filled with leaves, yet allows you to walk through with ease?"

"Hmm.... an opening in a maze like this one would do exactly that," the fox spoke up after a moment's thought. "But I think I've explored every part of this maze by now, and I haven't found any more openings!"

"Well, what about that one?" The gnome asked, pointing behind the fox. "There never was one there before!" The fox jumped up to explore the space. Sure enough, an opening had appeared that hadn't been there before! It seemed to lead into the center of the maze.

"That looks like it needs some exploring," the fox exclaimed happily. She smiled once again, thanked the gnome for the berries, then stepped gingerly towards the center of the maze.

Oh... ... I wasn't sure if anyone was writing anything for that, since I didn't see anything... So I threw something together as I posted the answer. (I posted what I wrote just above here.) I think you must have been writing at the same time I was! If you like yours better, I can certainly change it, or we can use both somehow or something....

Also everyone, I don't think it's the end of the world that we're late, because several others have posted after me. Maybe they'll just do a penalty for teams that were late or something? I dunno...

-_-' Can't say I wasn't disappointed to not be able to finally have a dragon, but three things: 1.I really should've started writing sooner, just lost track of time 2. I had forgotten about adding in the whole Gears, Blades, etc stuff and 3. Your rp bit here is Really good. I love how you added in riddles that actually had to do with time. You made the little gnome happy in what seems a more lasting way. And your writing feels more gentle. I don't know how else to describe it. (I really was just kinda throwing thoughts out as I had them, and it reading it kinda feels like just 'getting the job done' not necessarily.... oh, how to say it.... Like yours actually enjoys the journey more and getting to the destination is just icing on the cake. Does that make sense?) Plus I didn't see your post here until it was way past time. :) If we had started days earlier, it would have been fun to have them go together since they apparently both can talk. Could have had some interesting dialogue. I wonder if the companions will be included in any future bits of this...? Oh, question, will it count against us at all that not all of the active members (me) did rp for the official thread? :/ Worried...Since, I know the active members have to be a part of every chapter, but I wasn't sure how much.

aw, thanks. I admit, I didn't have time to read through yours, though I look forward to reading everything carefully once we get home again!

I don't think it matters if some missed this one... They did comment that different people will have different strengths as we go through things, such as some being better at puzzles, and others at roleplays, so...