Event: Passage in the Abyss

[letsplayamod]

[Well, even down in this squalid prison, you have gained some amount of levity. Just a day prior, an impromptu attempt to channel one of you to the land of the living put you into contact with not only the rest of your friends, but Athena herself.

That all comes to a sudden halt, but you're free to continue with perhaps a renewed strength. For once in a long while, it seems like things are getting interesting.

A day later, that's when the rumbling comes.]

That is it! I cannot wait a moment longer... My strength must return, and so my hunger must be sated.

[It's Typhon, he sounds mad.]

A mess of mortals, trapped in my personal cage. Perfect for feeding on!

[He sounds like he's on his way.]

Comments

[cannotunravel]

I hope the others are finding pieces of armor as well. They might need it.

[Can you imagine if these two end up having all the luck and the rest have a terrible time]

[letsplayamod]

[That's all she wrote for this little safe haven!

Where would we like to go next? Up the hallway from here or backtrack slightly to 2-C or 2-D?]

Rolled a 6

[rockymountaindie]

If it wouldn't really slow us down, I'd haul the others with us.

[ Here we go, 2-D we're coming at ya. ]

[letsplayamod]

[Let's goooooo, 2-D~!

Ah. You've hit your first setback- a path that wraps around right back to where you started.]

Roll 7!

[cannotunravel]

[It's not too difficult to recognize this place when they arrive back there. Misane looks around, frowning]

Wait...we came back all the way to the start. This wasn't a waste since we got armor, but...

[But we really went in a big circle. Misane returns to the hall they had entered the first time]

I remember seeing a crossroads. Time to check the other path.

[Aaaaall the way back to 2B, but this time, going in the direction opposite to the room with the armor chest! Now that we don't have anything to fear from chisels and tentacles, we can go on.

This only led them to the same room they had just been at. The empty chest proves it. Misane frowns. What a labyrinth this is turning out to be. Back into the secret passageway, and into 2C]

...this is the only hall we haven't been into yet...I think.

[If it takes her back to that room with the armor she won't know what to do]

[letsplayamod]

[A safe and normal path forward that quickly results in another split decision:

2-E or 2-F?]

Roll 10

[rockymountaindie]

[ After a dizzying turn about, in which Alex finds himself wishing he had a piece of paper so he could sketch this map while they go, they come to a new choice. ]

Okay... Uh... Let's try this way. [ 2-E! ]

[letsplayamod]

[At first, after the first rounding of the corner, 2-E looks like another a dead end. It's a labyrinth, of course there's going to be plenty of those.

However...Alex and Misane just hit one loop. In the moment they're a little more perceptive and, with that heightened perception, they'll see that certain parts of the labyrinth are less well-kept than others. There's a large chunk of floor missing right in front of them underneath the wall. Light shines through the gap.

It's going to be a tight squeeze for Alex specifically but at least you have armor now!]

[rockymountaindie]

Ugh, it looks like we'll have to go- ...hold on. Hooold on—

[ Alex spies that missing chunk, that light, and gets closer. ]

Hey... Misane, over here. I think it might be... No, c'mon, follow me.

[ He's gonna wave her over and squeeze on in through that gap! ]

[cannotunravel]

I'm glad I'm kind of short...

[Sure makes squeezing through this kind of holes easier. Just a little bit, but hey, she probably won't get stuck. If Alex gets through, so she can!]

I'm starting to wonder what we will do if we're the ones to find the exit. We'll have to go back and get everyone else.

[She hopes they're okay...]

[letsplayamod]

[Well done, team!

Your next choice: 2-G or 2-H?]

[cannotunravel]

[2H!

Oh, wow, I rolled a 10]

[letsplayamod]

[Another 10 gets them down the hall of 2H and-

...huh. There was a wall here, now it's gone. The way the wall in front of them has been pulverized, it looks like something may have smashed through it at some point.

Good news though: there are now 3 paths to choose from! 2-I, 2-J or 2-K.]

SOMEHOW I ROLLED A 12?!?!!?

[rockymountaindie]

Realistically? We backtrack or scream or something. But maybe if we make it to the end whoever made this place'll just...hop out and reward us?

[ That musing is cut short when Alex sees the former wall. ]

What the fuck happened here...?

[ Alex carefully steps over any remaining rubble. Much as he puzzles it, dawdling won't help. We're choosing 2-J and to reiterate SOMEHOW I ROLLED A 12. ]

1/3

[letsplayamod]

2/3

[letsplayamod]

[Oh, Alex.

You deserve exactly what's coming to you.]

3/3

[letsplayamod]

[Creak.

Something is strange here. Not wrong, not like in the craft room. Just strange. Because, by all odds and statistics and calculations, this shouldn't happen. When he steps over the broken wall, Alex's foot shouldn't meet that exact false stone with just the right amount of pressure for the few seconds needed. The ground rumbles beneath their feet and the sound almost drowns out a mechanical grinding below.

Clink, clink- thump.

The thick stone walls in front of them drop into the ground and reveal an open path ahead to their final destination- at least in this labyrinth.

A path well chosen, God of Life.]

[rockymountaindie]

[ The ground starts to rumble. The stone starts to shift. And Alex, instinctively, moves to shield Misane. Because this has to be a trap. He's activated a trap, and he's put the two of them in danger, that's how it goes, that's how it always goes—

Except. The walls before them all drop, like the labyrinth itself is recoiling, and before them is just an empty path. ]

Did- did that just... You saw that, right? This...

[ Alex feels around for a rock or something like. THIS KIND OF LUCK DOES NOT HAPPEN TO HIM, so he has to toss something into the open space to see if a bunch of arrows shoot out or the ground collapses or something. ]

[cannotunravel]

[toss misane]

[cannotunravel]

I...if I didn't know better, I'd think something opened this for us.

[The ally who opened the rift in the first place, perhaps? But then, uh...where would such an entity be leading? No, it's possible that Alex and Misane -- but mostly Alex -- managed to find a safe-looking place]

Well done, Alex. You're a great assistant.

[Let her go back and try to bring some rubble from the crumbly wall they had crawled through! Here, Alex, maybe tossing this will help. It's heavy!]

[rockymountaindie]

[ WE ARE NOT TOSSING MISANE ]

[rockymountaindie]

I-I- I barely did anything...!

[ But we are tossing this piece of rubble. YEET. ...I, Ashley, assume we are free from traps, but just for Alex's piece of mind- are we free from traps lmao. ]

[letsplayamod]

[Holmes and Watson here got a maximum roll. It is so incredibly devoid of traps.]

[rockymountaindie]

[ A long, long moment... ]

Huh.

[ ...and Alex starts making his way to the room on the other side. Is there anything worth investigating in this empty space, or should we just make for the end of the maze? ]

[letsplayamod]

[It's a fully empty space! Unfortunately a shiny old problem bellows overhead.]