March rolls around and the hotel seems to be doing just fine, bar any of the usual shenanigans. In fact, it's one of those just fine days that Mr Bennet comes on the speaker and announces to the hotel:
"Hello, hello, my lovely guests! There seems to be an issue where one of the floors is, er, overlapping the others. Sorry about that. If you end up on this specific floor, just go through it instead of avoiding it. Then it'll stop bothering you, promise! It just wants the attention, clearly."
What this means is this: as characters move throughout the hotel today, they might end up on a floor they don't mean to be. What floor is this? The Labyrinth floor. Even if the elevator or stairs open up to a floor they're intimately familiar with, they'll be faced with a dark floor where the only view they can see is a hedge maze in front of them, beckoning them inside.
TEST OF COURAGE
The labyrinth floor will haunt characters as they go through their routine for the next three days. If they're lucky enough to avoid it for those three days, they'll be fine. But like Mr Bennet said, the easiest way to deal with the labyrinth is to just go through it.
The floor is dark, with the hedge maze reaching a whopping 15 feet high and only ending at the ceiling above. Characters will be led through a maze that has many dead ends and pitfalls. Some dead ends will feature monsters they have to fight or puzzles they have to solve (maybe a sphinx they have to answer the riddle of, for instance). If they try to ask the monsters or anyone else they find in the maze what the point of the maze is, the answer will always be to get to the middle. Find your prize. Claim your victory.
WHO AM I
If your character succeeds in making their way to the middle of the maze, they're in for quite a sight. What's waiting for them in the middle of the maze? Oh, it's just yourself. They'll be faced with a doppelganger of themselves in the middle of the maze, who just seems to be standing there, waiting for them.
And when they find that doppelganger, it'll only be a few moments of staring at each other until the doppelganger attacks. That's right, it's time to kill your double! The doppelganger has all the powers and skills that the original has with an added murderous intent. There's no hesitation from the doppelganger, no mercy. The only solution here is to kill or be killed.
If a character has teamed up with another character to reach the middle, two doppelgangers will be present instead — one of each character. The same goes for three or four characters.
VICTORY CRY
If a character managers to win against the fight against their double, they'll end up being transported right back to their hotel room and find a gift on the nearest surface closest to them. The gift can contain anything, something from home, something they want dearly, a memory they've forgotten. Just something precious to the character.
If a character ends up dying instead, either to a monster or their double, they'll wake up in the infirmary an hour later all patched up and like nothing happened. No prize! But the labyrinth will no longer be haunting them to go through it.
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hotelcaelum2024-03-15 08:31 am
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[Should his effort go awry, Amelia would still have a question to make use of. For now, he steps forward and lifts a loosely-curled fist to his mouth as he clears his throat to get the guards' attention.]
Ah— good afternoon, gentlemen! I would very much like to pass, and am prepared to solve this riddle of yours!
[Both suits of armor seem to come to life, going from stock-still to creaking and groaning as they loosen themselves up just enough to turn both their visors towards the wizard in question.
"Then you are already aware of the rules? One door leads to the center, while the other leads to certain death."
"You may ask but one question!"
Gale nods as he folds his arms in front of him, squaring his shoulders.]
Yes, yes— I'm well aware, though I do so admire your dedication. [He pauses for a moment and lets out a thoughtful hum before he turns his attention towards the guard on the left, smiling warmly.] I'll ask you, I believe. Tell me— which door would he tell me leads to the center of the labyrinth?
[He points to the second guard, just in case there was any question.]
no subject
"Given the choice, he would tell you to enter the right."
[Amelia looks thoughtful as she regards the door on the right and both suits of armor. Then she glances at Gale.]
Well, that's a straightforward answer. I think I have a different approach with mine.
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[A genuine, earnest bit of encouragement, and he gestures towards the pair of guards as he watches the witch with keen interest.]
By all means, the floor is yours, my dear.
no subject
"As you are aware, one door leads to the center, while the other leads to certain death."
"You may ask but one question!"
[She puts one arm on her hip looking thoughtfully at the guards.]
Then I've, but one question: Which one of you is the liar?
[Normally, she would expect that they would have a workaround for such a trick question, but to her surprise, before the armor on the left can answer, the one right positioned one boldly declares:]
"Why, I am of course!"
[There's a notable pause. Both armor suits creak as they glance at each other.]
"Wait, hold on."
"Did you just...?"
"Shouldn't we have said it the other way?"
"But you declared the premise so..."
"We've discussed this...!"
"How are we going to...!?"
[Amelia blinks as the two suits begin to bicker with one another and then glances back at Gale.]
I believe they've been broken.
no subject
I do believe you're right. Nicely done.
[He gestures forward with one hand, returning to her side.]
Given that this pair has been dealt with quite handily, shall we proceed?
no subject
[She nods at Gale and starts moving forward.]
Let's go. They'll be arguing for a long while.
[When they're further ahead, Amelia glances back and forth with crossed arms.]
Nothing with sharp teeth or a murderous impulse yet. At least the walls of the maze haven't shifted. That was a design feature my teacher liked to include when putting me through mazes.
no subject
[He continues alongside her, glad to leave the guards in their wake as they venture forward, but he does give her a cutting, sidelong glance as they approach what looks like a large, circular clearing, his mouth settling into a hard line.]
Should I ever have the misfortune to meet this teacher of yours for myself, he will most certainly come to rue the day he crossed my path.
[The list of reasons why has only grown in months past. Gale would very much like to give the Witch King a piece of his mind, followed by a barrage of the nastier spells in his own arsenal.
His pace slows as they come to the very edge of the center of the maze, his brow slightly furrowed as he surveys it.]
... remarkably empty. I'm almost disappointed.
[Except there, in the distance, there's movement— shadows at first, but they soon coalesce to form a more solid figure on the opposite side of the clearing.]
no subject
Don't get too ahead of yourself. He's always been more of a force of nature and a creature of impulse. It's better to be apathetic towards him.
[This is a conversation for another day. Right now, they're at the center and she's equally puzzled at the emptiness until the appearance of the shadow at the other end.
She uncrosses her arms and studies the dark figure critically.]
Well, looks like we have our obstacle. And hopefully, the key to our exit.
no subject
[However, he is of the same mind; for now, it is a passing comment and a conversation for another day, should it ever be truly relevant at all— and as the figure comes into the light and reveals itself in full, the thought leaves his head entirely.]
Is that—?
[He'd seen enough shapeshifters in his last days in Baldur's Gate that the idea of coming across someone wearing his face had certainly crossed his mind and, indeed, been something that each member of their company had a mind to be wary of, but this, the reality of such a thing, did not feel quite as he had expected.
The man that moves towards the center of the arena is identical to him in almost every way, the differences superficial: his robes were more ornate, befitting what he might have worn during his time as Chosen, and atop his head—
The very same crown that Gale had last spotted atop the Elder Brain, the one he had been so intent on learning more about before coming here. He steels himself, putting an arm out in front of Amelia on instinct.]
... we ought to proceed with great caution.
[Gale's double offers a confident smile from where he stands, raising a hand to effortlessly summon an orb of arcane energy that he proceeds to idly pass between his fingers, watching the pair of them with some distant sort of amusement.
"Caution? How terribly dull. You're sadly lacking in ambition, Gale of Waterdeep."]