The Legend of the Labyrinth

[shisteer of nothing much]

Waiata heard the call and heaved on the lever, beating her wings to add extra force to her thrust. Beside her, she felt Pekepeke doing the same. Slowly, the lever moved, the metal making a horrible, shrieking sound that set the hairs on the back of her neck up straight. Waiata heaved again and heard a clunk as the lever locked into its new place.
"Ok, we've done thing with the lever, lever. What happens now, happens now?"

[Verdauga]

Ara heard weights begin to move, and watched as the few intact spikes pivoted downward and locked into place on the floor. Lastly, the trapdoors hinged back up to meet the rest of the passageway floor. One last weight moved, and Ara heard a lock slide into position. Gingerly, he tested the floor with his footpaw. Slowly,he moved to the middle of the deactivated trap, smiling at the rest of the group when he reached the centre. "C'mon, mates! The show isn't over yet!" Passing by Waiata and Pekepeke, he said, "Thanks, chappesses! Couldn't have done it without you." Ara sauntered down the path, turned a corner to the left, and checked his map. "Yes, we're on the right way," he thought, checking the walls. "The mapmarks are obvious now." Chycer hid his map and continued down the hall.

OOC: we'll be walking for a while. Feel free to have your characters talk to one another, and even take corners down the hallway. Just make sure you say which direction though.

[Kade Rivok]

Dantin dug his footpaws into the ground and held on tightly to the rope as Ara and Algirdas climbed up.  He was stronger than he looked, but he was still more built for cardio based endeavors rather than strength based ones.  He relaxed his clenched jaws with a sigh as the two found their way back onto solid stone, and pulled up the rope before the trap door was able to shut on it.  Pekepeke had pulled it out from somewhere, but it looked much too heavy for the bat to carry on her own, and so Dantin decided to do so in her stead.  He lifted part of his cloak and hung the rope underneath it, over one shoulder, and across his chest.  As he did so, he thought the hilts of a few of the daggers he had hidden at his back may have become visible, but he'd done the action quickly enough that he didn't think anybeast had noticed.  As the group moved down the passageway, he noted the strange symbols on the walls and, even more so, noted how intently Ara seemed to look at them.  Dantin quietly made his way up to where the hare was walking and forced himself to speak. 

"D- do you know where we're going... sir?"

[Verdauga]

Ara started at Dantin's remark. "My, that beast is quiet!" Aloud Ara replied, "O'course, m'chap! Never did undertake anything I couldn't get through. Good show, there, with the rope. You're stronger than I would've made ye out t'be. Anyways, let's keep going."
Ara checked the floor for trapdoors, and satisfied that there were none, continued down the passageway.

[Verdauga]

Ara started at Dantin's remark. "My, that beast is quiet!" Aloud Ara replied, "O'course, m'chap! Never did undertake anything I couldn't get through. Good show, there, with the rope. You're stronger than I would've made ye out t'be. Anyways, let's keep going."
Ara checked the floor for trapdoors, and satisfied that there were none, continued down the passageway.

OOC: Sorry for the double post. Let's keep going.

[Kade Rivok]

"Ah, o- ok...."  Dantin nodded timidly and fell back to his position at the tail of the group.  He would have preferred to question the hare further, but his nerves had given out, causing his retreat.  Talking to other beasts was indeed a rather nerve-racking endeavor. 

Dantin tilted his head in thought; the way Ara had only given him the very specific answer to his question without elaboration before quickly changing the subject had come across as somewhat suspicious.  It seemed to the mouse that their 'leader' had information that, for whatever reason, he did not want the rest of the group to be aware of.  He shrugged to himself, not feeling the need to worry overly much; as soon as he got out of this so called Labyrinth, he likely wouldn't ever see the hare again. 

Thinking about that, he glanced up at Waiata as she chatted away with Pekepeke.  If an exit was found, would those two even want to leave?  This was their home, after all.  He rather liked the pair and felt that, given enough time, he might eventually be able to get along with them.  He dared not even think to use the word 'friend' though, as that seemed some far off fairy tale thing liable to vanish as a wispy strand of smoke on the breeze.  If the two stayed down here, however, whatever bond he might be able to form with them would be gone.  Feeling his mood dip, he shook his head and glanced at the others in the party.  He didn't really know what to think of them; they seemed a taciturn bunch.

[MathLuk]

If nobeast is going to say anything..., I will. Algirdas thought, annoyed at the silence. Silence was golden, yes, but in an underground maze it just seemed creepy.

The squirrel turned to the /otter/ mouse. "First time exploring, huh?

[Sebias of Redwall]

Brink glanced over to the mouse, eager to hear his answer. It would be handy to know which beasts here had experience or not...
"Yes. Do tell."

[Kade Rivok]

OOC:

@MathLuk  @Sebias of Redwall

Come on you two, there is no otter -_-

[MathLuk]

OOC: I have edited my post. Sorry for the confusion.

[Kade Rivok]

OOC:  You're good 

BIC:

Dantin nearly jumped from fright as the grey squirrel turned and began conversing with him, doubly so when the large hedgehog showed interest as well.  He wasn't sure what had suddenly made him the center of attention, but he knew that he had to say something.  With effort, he forced out a reply, glancing between the two nervously. 

"Um... w-well, depends on what you define as exploring, I suppose.  I've, uh, I've always wandered about on my own, but I'm not used to being... enclosed, like this.  I think I much prefer the... the open air with the sky above.  Personally." 

He shrank into his cloak, feeling somewhat silly over talking about himself, before continuing. 

"W-what about you two?  You both seem, uh, seem rather calm."

[Sebias of Redwall]

OOC: Oops. To tell you the truth, I was a little confused about that too. :-P

BIC:

Brink twitched his nose in amusement. "Well I don't know 'bout being calm. I'm just pretty good at appearances. You have to be in my line of work."
The hedgehog looked around, the humor in his face fading.
"I don't think anybeast in the right mind would be completely comfortable in here - maybe aside from those two bats. They live here after all. Too dark and gloomy for my taste." He shrugged. "I'm only here for the treasure. What about you?"

[MathLuk]

"Treasure does seem nice." Algirdas smirked. "But I'm here for studying what's in here. No more, no less." The squirrel winked. "Oh, and perhaps to prove to Chycer that there is more to ruins than treasure."

[Booklover]

"Though I'd prefer ruins without traps in. Treasure's nice enough, but there's no point dying in an attempt to get some treasure that might not even be real. I've been in every corner of Mossflower, and further afield too, but until Ara approached me I'd never heard of any treasure in a labyrinth." The shrew paused, hoping the hare hadn't heard. Even voicing her displeasure could be taken as mutiny or worse, although arguing was simply the trademark characteristic of a shrew. But the hare didn't strike her as someone to cross. He had, after all, orchestrated this expedition, and was certainly perilous, even for a hare. And he had been right about the labyrinth, after all. The shrew shrugged, although she doubted the others could see. "Well, we'll just have to see, I suppose."

[Kade Rivok]

The appeal of treasure was lost on Dantin; what was the use of it?  To him it seemed ridiculous to put oneself in danger over something like that.  He did understand where Algirdas was coming from though, to a degree, and looked at the squirrel in a new light.  The drive to explore simply for the sake of exploring, to be able to see things few others had: it was something that he could appreciate.  Still...

"I just... I just hope we're able to leave soon."

As the group walked, the path turned sharply to the left.  There were more symbols on the walls here, but once again Dantin couldn't make them out.  It really made him curious, despite himself.  Who had made this place, and who had left these symbols?  Where they the same person?  Why build something like this in the first place, and what kind of 'treasure' could possibly be waiting at the end?  It all seemed rather confusing, and somewhat absurd.  He just wished that he were back on the surface once more, able to feel the warmth of the sun and the wind in his fur.  He hugged his cloak closer to himself, a sudden chill running through his body.