[Update 1/1]

“Sorry, this is the first time I hear this name. How does she look?”

“You don’t know Alice?” the woman’s eyebrow corks, “What about you?” she turns to ask Elvira.

“I-I think I know Miss Alice…” Elvira says but recants, “O-or I think I do. S-sorry, I’m not so sure anymore.”

The woman lets out an exasperated sigh. She slaps her knees and leans forwards, “She’s looks a little bit older than you, and a little bit longer in height and is very thin. She has blue hair that is a complete mess, I am not even sure how to explain her hairstyle… She also has bright, blue eyes. She is a noble like many of us, but she is very loud and obnoxious and rude.” She keeps a relaxed glare on you and Elvira, as if looking at your reactions.

That – indeed – rings a bell.

“Is she in this garden right now?” You ask.

“I think so,” the woman sighs once more, “I bet she is trying to get into the labyrinth while nobody sees her.” She notices the confusion on your face and explains further, “To get the ‘Blue Rose’? Oh, so you heard about the test? She has been forbidden by Captain Charlotte to participate in this challenge after failing it seventy time and having to be rescued and recovered at least a dozen times inside the labyrinth, but she just keeps trying…”

“I was told it is supposed to be extremely dangerous, the hardest challenge?” you ask following a nod.

“Yes, it is, I tried reaching the centre of the maze a few times and still failed, but even if by some miracle Alice will manage to get the Blue Rose, I have serious doubts the Captain is going to assign any dangerous missions to her.”

“Why is that? Is it because she is going against Captain Charlotte’s orders and prohibition?”

She shakes her head, “No, not just that, she is the weakest Magic Knight in the Blue Rose, those missions are above her abilities. If you haven’t seen her, I’ll go check the labyrinth by myself. Be a friend, call Cecilia there.”

> “I have healing magic. If Alice will need immediate attention, it will be better if I am there to do that.”
> Agree to her request. Go back to the Headquarters and request Cecilia to come to the labyrinth.
> Ask Elvira to find and bring Cecilia while you will go assist the woman with looking for Alice.
> [Write In]

>>3884324
Noted.

>>3885375
>> Agree to her request. Go back to the Headquarters and request Cecilia to come to the labyrinth.

>>3885375
>> Agree to her request. Go back to the Headquarters and request Cecilia to come to the labyrinth.

>>3885375
> Agree to her request. Go back to the Headquarters and request Cecilia to come to the labyrinth.

Btw melk, both this and the last thread are listed as #4. Just saying.

>>3885375
>> Ask Elvira to find and bring Cecilia while you will go assist the woman with looking for Alice.

>>3885375
> “I have healing magic. If Alice will need immediate attention, it will be better if I am there to do that.”
She's the worst knight, huh?

>>3885375
> Agree to her request. Go back to the Headquarters and request Cecilia to come to the labyrinth.

[Update 1/1]

You stand up from the bench before you give the woman a nod. “Okay, we will call her,” you reassure her.

“Thanks,” she hastily turns away and follows to where Alice went towards previously, “Tell her Wainsley called her.”

“Of course,” you nod as you offer Elvira a hand to help her stand up. The woman timidly refuses and stands up by herself. You decide to cut your garden outing short as to not make Wainsley angry and not put Alice’s life in potential danger. Your original reason coming here was to calm Elvira down, yet you now wonder if you only made it worse…

“How come she called her the weakest Magic Knight?” You ask Elvira with a simple curiosity

“I… as you know I had worked here for a while now, so I do know Miss Alice… although there are so many faces here it is hard to remember sometimes. I believe they call her that because of her very uncommon and unusable magic.”

“What kind of?”

“I-I’m sorry Cynthia,” Elvira shakes her head, “I have never seen her use it, that is what all the others say.”

“Don’t worry. Say, have you checked your grimoire after last night?” you motion your hand to her poach.

She gives you a timid nod, “I did, yes, I-I was curious but… there are no new spells or changes to any old ones.”

“That sounds a bit strange, but not by a lot,” you tell her, “That means you did not even need a new spell to do it!”

“I… I guess you are right, Cynthia,” Elvira’s lips raise slowly as you two enter the much warmer main hall. The steps with which Elvira follows you are much lighter and carefree now, “If I could do it while drunk, I can do it without it.”

You agree with her; you raise your thumb to give her the additional burst of assurance she needs. To you, her magic sounds extremely useful and powerful once she can master it, but it is now up to Elvira to do so. She will never have the mana reserve of nobles and royal families, but that does not mean she should be ashamed of her magic – of all the people living in Clover Kingdom for the last thousands of years, it was she chosen by this grimoire. You two follow the instructions given to you by one of the female Magic Knights until you find the so-called “Bouquet Wing”.

As you approach the room, however, you notice a tall, robbed figure standing right next to the door. Her purple-bluish mantle is made out earthly looking leather. Once she eventually locks the door, you notice simple, white cotton gloves on her hands. She gasps and quickly turns around when she hears you approach – her flamingo hair reaches her shoulders and is weaved into several long braids: on the back of her head it is of massive, pretzel-like shape while on the front, two long pigtails drop over her shoulders. This woman is also wearing a bandana made out of the same leather as her robes that, without any tightness, covers the top of her head and her forehead. Her eyes are protected by strange, kaleidoscope glasses which chance their colour and shape with every turn of her head…

It makes you just a bit dizzy.

“Regrettably,” the woman, who looks like she is in her twenties, begins to very slowly walk away from her office, “I am finished for today. If you are injured, I am inclined to suggest you find Christina Albyon or Cynthia Gualdo.”

“Are you Cecilia?” you mutter very quickly as you rush towards her, “Please wait, we were sent by Wainsley.”

“Regrettably,” she repeats without even stopping and looking at you, “This is all I can do today… I still have a few things to take care off, but then I need my rest. You must be new here, but strict rules must be followed. Now…”

“I said wait,” you grab into her gloved hand to stop her, but she is able to completely ignore you and continue with her lazy footstep. You grunt, “I am Cynthia Gualdo, but Alice, who is stuck in the labyrinth right now, is going to need something more powerful than my healing magic. I heard you are the number one healer in the Blue Rose…”

She turns, looks at you through her glasses and then, after adjusting them, she nods, “Fortunately, I leave it to you.”

Tightly, you put your second hand over your first, but then, abruptly, you start to feel yourself weakening. Your knees begin to tremble and your muscles start to feel soft. Once you can’t feel your fingers, you release your hold.

“C-Cynthia,” Elvira quickly rushes to you as you struggle to remain standing. To your surprise, you return to normal after a brief pause. Elvira and you glance towards the hallway where the woman can still be spotted walking through the halls – her pace is so slow it feels as if she is in no hurry despite what she was telling you. “What now?” she asks.

> Rush towards Cecilia and try your best to convince her to come to the labyrinth. Can you?
> You did what you could and as Wainsley asked – you asked Cecilia; it is not your fault she is refusing. Go to sleep.
> Ask Elvira to come with you to the labyrinth as support. If Wainsley asked for a healer, that means she’ll need one.
> Go back to the labyrinth by yourself – if it’s as dangerous as they say, you don’t want Elvira to get badly injured.
> [Write In]

>>3885491
>Curses, I'll try not to forget when archiving.

>>3886773
> Rush towards Cecilia and ask her when we could find another healer.
If that doesn't work we turn to our standard option
"Sol/Tugela HELP!" - Distraught Seamstress
QM just to confirm we did saw Alice walk into or walk in general direction of the maze?

>>3886797
>when
*where
If I remember there was at least couple of them

>>3886797
>QM just to confirm we did saw Alice walk into or walk in general direction of the maze?
>Yes!

>>3886773
> Ask Elvira to come with you to the labyrinth as support. If Wainsley asked for a healer, that means she’ll need one.

>>3886797
+1
Tugela told us there's nothing wrong with nepotism.

>>3886773
> Look for Sol or Tugela and ask for their help in searching the maze for Alice.

Sol did ask us to take the Blue Rose challenge with her, so she might just end up getting her wish.

>update will be later today

[Update 1/1]

“Where can I find another healer?” you shout as you rush towards her. This time, you avoid grabbing her hand.

“Unfortunately, I do not know where Christina is,” Cecilia lazily shakes her fingers in your direction. You are able to keep up with her rushing with simple stroll, “But I know where Cynthia is,” she yawns, “It’s you – you said? There.”

You huff and stomp your leg; you come to a complete stop. There is no use arguing with this woman: even if you try stopping her by force, it looks like she is surrounded by a magic effect of which can tranquilize you. Shrugging your shoulders, you turn around and pace towards Elvira– unless by some coincidence you stumble on “Christina” the only healer around is… you. “I am going back to the labyrinth to help Alice, was it? Do you want to come with me?”

“I… I don’t think I’m going to be much of a help there, and it sounds dangerous, I’ll only be in your way,” Elvira smiles at you as she then gently lifts her hood to hide her long hair, “P-please be careful, however. Good luck!”

“Yeah,” you give her a full-fledged departing wave. You pause to consider your options. You have never been in the labyrinth, so you do not know how dangerous it really is. You do not trust Wainsley to protect you if you get in danger, she does not know you and will be satisfied with just bringing Alice back. No, you need somebody else. Tugela can be a great option: she’s very protecting, reliant and strong. However, Sol had previously showed her interest in going through the maze together with you, if it is only a day sooner, she is likely not going to mind.

Sol it is – you ask some of the staff and Magic Knights for the direction to her room. You knock once you find it.

“Yeah-yeah, I’m coming,” Sol’s annoyed voice echoes as she opens the door to greet you. She’s in her underwear.

“I hope I am not disturbing anything?” you gingerly question Sol.

“No,” she rubs under her shoulder as she beckons you inside, “Come in. What’s worrying you so late at night?”

Sol’s room is rather simplistic: there are not many items here compared to Tugela’s or Cleole’s rooms. Her room’s like yours, size and emptiness-wise. In the right corner of her room stands a tall, bamboo shrub and on one of her walls, above her bed, there are three canvas paintings of Charlotte Roselei, they look well-done and expensive.

“You see,” you clear your throat, “I was in the garden today – I was just walking around with Elvira; that garden is so massive and varied,” you quickly explain yourself. “We were about to return to our rooms, but then, a woman named Wainsley found us. She said she was looking for Alice, and asked us to bring a healer to the-”

“Labyrinth,” Sol finishes your sentence. You nod. “Sister told that girl, clearly, not to attempt it again.”

“Wainsley said the same thing. I think I saw her going towards the labyrinth is – do you think she’ll need help?”

Sol is quick to pick up and then snap her poach, alongside her grimoire, in place. “Of course, Phetocruel have been found several times inside the labyrinth in the morning, injured and unconscious. She had been accepted by Captain Charlotte for her potential after the last Magic Knight Examination, and I will not argue with sister, but that girl does not take ‘no’ for an answer. Even I told her that she is not ready, but she ignores me, Wardress and even the Captain.”

“How many times it takes, usually, for a Magic Knight to reach the ‘Blue Rose’?” you question.

“It took Tugela fifteen tries, and Tresses… was it seven? Even if you reach the centre, the rose is not always there.”

“Is that not unfair?” you ask, and Sol stares daggers at you, “It’s not just up to luck, is it?”

“I don’t think so,” she says, “If what I heard is right, when you walk through it – the labyrinth judges you…”

Is that even possible? Regardless on how amazing Captain Charlotte and her magic is, would she be able to keep control and watch over the labyrinth? Perhaps, there are Magic Tools and other mages that are involved here? Sol pushes her blue-clock over her neck and snaps the golden ring shut. She notices the insignia on your shirt offered to you by Tugela and softly teases you: ‘You already look like a Magic Knight now’. You simply roll your eyes.

You do not know how much time had passed since you have separated from Wainsley, yet you wager it was at least half an hour. You tell Sol as much. You both agree to hurry. Despite the situation, Sol has a bright sparkle in her eyes – even if you find Alice, there is no doubt Sol is about to have another go at this challenge. Sol leads you through the quickest way to the main hall – you still have difficulty orienteering through all those galleries and staircases – and then, through the garden. There are no shortcuts here, the labyrinth lies just a few minutes away from the bench. When you approach the maze, you are only able to see a small part of it: it is a tall, mossy cobblestone wall at least twice your height. The entire wall Is half-enveloped in creepers, thorny vines, and prickly roses – all of them have the hues of blue. The wall spreads further right and left, further into the distance.

“You ready?” Sol says as the two of you stop in front of the heavy, gothic entrance (or exit?) gate. You give her an uncertain nod. Wainsley is nowhere to be seen. Did she except Cecilia to go into the labyrinth all by herself?

“Keep close to me,” Sol warns you as she pushes the gates open. “There are a few things I must warn you,” she says, “The things I learned after going through this labyrinth so many times: when the sun begins to rise, the challenge is over and the vines will block all the paths but one – the way back to the exit. My magic will not work on those walls, and it is likely for traps to come from or behind them, as well as the walls themselves to turn into hostile creatures.”

You follow Sol step in step. You make sure to keep Sol in front of your eyes and your distance as short as possible.

Sol turns to you as you two continue walking between the tall stone hedges, “The other thing to keep in mind is that while the traps here are extremely hard to spot – because they were put by sister Charlotte, that’s not impossible. A magical trap is nothing more than a waiting sphere of magic, you know? You can sense it just like any other mana.”

You take another step forward. The tremble of the brick stones in the wall right of you is sudden, loud and crisp…

> Roll 1d100, best of 3 please.
> [Write In]

Rolled 97 (1d100)

>>3888428

Do we have our Paralyze Dagger on us right now? Also, for future reference, you've been spelling the word 'pouch' as 'poach'.

>>3888478
>Guess I'm hungry. I'll keep it in mind. Yes, it's on you. Very nice roll.

>>3888478
Hell yeah, now that's a roll!

Rolled 5 (1d100)

>>3888428

Rolled 10 (1d100)

>>3888428
lunge forward?

[Update 1/2]

Immediately, you lunge towards Sol. She catches you into her arms and pushes both of you out of the way. From beneath the bricks a massive clew of vines and thorns bursts out and hurls across the entire path before piercing through the opposite wall. As if alive, the crawling plant continues to slither and wave. A few of the barbed tendrils reach out for you but, they are immediately crushed in-between the two earth mounds summoned by Sol.

“Sorry,” Sol gives you an apologetic smile as she softens her embrace, “Told you, those things are hard to spot.”

You look behind your shoulder at the crawling amalgamation of deadly plants. For safety’s sake you step away.

“I did expect something like this to happen,” you joke as you look at yourself and then Sol, “Are you hurt?”

“Not yet,” she grins, “But for sure, things will only get more dangerous from here. We will need all of your magic.”

“How are we going to find Alice here?” you ask Sol once you come to a branching path.

Sol awkwardly slides her hand over her neck and pauses, “I do not know Alice that well, so sensing her mana from far away is going to be hard. Despite how weak her magic is, she still has noble blood, so I, and I think even you, will be able to sense her once she is close enough. Wainsley’s magic I am more familiar with… so let’s see here.”

Sol closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She raises her hand and open her palm towards each of the three pathways at your current junction. The three paths all look exactly the same. Without magic, it is just luck…

“There is a trap right as you enter that one,” she explains as she points towards the first entrance. She hums, “I can feel multiple traps spread out through the second entrance, but there’s not much mana in them.” Sol then approaches the third entrance and, rather hectically, she begins waving her hand right in front of it. “I… don’t know, there’s something strange about this one. I can feel a lot of magic right here, but it is not typical trap…”

> Suggest to go through the first entrance. The labyrinth, surely, expects you to go through the hardest traps?
> Suggest to go through the second entrance. It is not ideal, but if the traps are not that strong it’s the best way.
> Suggest to go through the third one. If it is not a trap, it is the safest way forward.
> Try sensing the mana coming from the pathways yourself. Practice never hurts.
> [Write In]

>>3888909
> Try sensing the mana coming from the pathways yourself. Practice never hurts.
> Suggest to go through the second entrance. It is not ideal, but if the traps are not that strong it’s the best way.

>>3888909
>> Try sensing the mana coming from the pathways yourself. Practice never hurts.
>> Suggest to go through the second entrance. It is not ideal, but if the traps are not that strong it’s the best way.

[Update 2/2]

You close your eyes and concentrate; you relax your breathing and soften the power of your mana in order to try and sense the traps set by Captain Charlotte. Sol is a commoner, just like you, so it should not be impossible for you to learn this skill. You take another deep breath, but all in vain: all you can hear are the shuffling of briars and leaves, all you can sense are earthly, mossy smells of the walls and all you can feel is the howling cold air around…

You open your eyes to see Sol still investigating the third entrance. You shake your head as you approach and stop right in front of the first entrance – according to Sol’s words, a dangerous and powerful trap should be right in this spot – so how come you are unable to sense it? Arrogantly – for shame – you shut your grimoire close as you then spread out your palm and, once again, try your best to negate the influence of your own magic to sense Roselei’s.

You do not even know how sensing a trap supposed to work – are you suppose to see glowing outlines, or maybe you are supposed to feel a magical surge right the one you get when you enchant the linen cloth? After a minute or two, your hand begins to tremble, but not out of new discovery but because you become tired. Your affinity is Linen Magic, it is completely impure compared to something like earth, of which Charlotte’s mana is related to.

You let out a tired sigh as you give up. Sol has been a Knight for ages now, and she still can’t sense all the traps.

“Let’s go through the second entrance, Sol,” you say, “Going through the first one is suicidal for no reason, that one is…”

“Yeah,” Sol hovers her open palms like a mime a few inches away from the third entrance. She leans her head closer to the ‘wall’ as she, as well, attempts to sense and see through all the oddities of this trap. Just like you, however, she eventually gives up and shows you a cross gesture with her exposed hands, “Let’s go through there.”

Sol leads you into the middle opening in the stone walls, but she makes sure to keep a closer eye on you this time. You stop at the beginning on a long, narrow corridor in-between the green walls. It is hard to spot the bricks between all the shrubbery and moss. There is nothing particularly interesting about this lane – it is just extremely narrow and straight. The ground here is dirt with a few patches of grass.

Sol places a finger to her forehead.

“Can you sense either Wainsley or Alice?”

Sol shakes her head. She let’s go of her grimoire to allow it to float besides her, battle-ready to use her magic.

“No, not yet but I can sense a lot of small traps here,” she explains, “There are multiple ones across both walls, they all vary on how high they are placed, and there is a middle-sized one in the centre. I just know they are traps, but I’m not sure what kind of. Knowing Captain Charlotte, they all have something to do with her Briar Magic…”

“What’s your take?” you ask.

“If you have no ideas, I probably will cover us both in my earth magic shield sphere so that, whatever those traps on the walls are, they won’t be able to do a thing to us, probably. My problem is that trap in the centre there.”

> “If I use my shirt, I should be able to try to trigger the trap from the distance to see what it is. Or is that bad?”
> “Can you use your magic to create a way above the trap spell on the ground? Something like a bridge?”
> “Do you know, if I place my Healing Blanket over the trap, will it trigger it? Does it matter what form I use?”
> “Let’s return back to try the third entrance first. It might be better than using so much of your mana here.”
> [Write In]

>>3889144
>> “If I use my shirt, I should be able to try to trigger the trap from the distance to see what it is. Or is that bad?”

>>3889144
>> “If I use my shirt, I should be able to try to trigger the trap from the distance to see what it is. Or is that bad?”

>>3889144
>> “Do you know, if I place my Healing Blanket over the trap, will it trigger it? Does it matter what form I use?”

>>3889144
>> “If I use my shirt, I should be able to try to trigger the trap from the distance to see what it is. Or is that bad?”

[Update 1/3]

“If I use my shirt, I should be able to try to trigger the trap from the distance to see what it is. Or is that bad?”

“I don’t think we want you to get sick,” Sol jokes before her eyes look across the corridor, “I would rather avoid triggering the big one all-together, little Cynthia, but I do not think that will be possible. Your shirt is not going to give you enough distance – if only you had a bedsheet with you.” She shakes her head and places a finger to her chin, as if in thought, “I think there is no way out of it without using my magic… I’ll just summon a golem to bring us across.”

“Wait,” you pause her as you, with a short reluctance, step forward, “I have an idea but… Do you know, if I place my Healing Blanket over the trap, will it trigger it? Does it matter what form I use?” you stare as to where the trap is.

“I never had a healing spell, or a healer doing something absurd like what you are proposing,” Sol smirks, “I don’t know, that trap reacts to magic energy itself, so I do not think your healing spell will be treated differently by it, but…” she raises her finger, “But… I know less about your magic than you. I will not stop you trying, if you want.”

> “No, I think you are right – we don’t know what kind of spell that is. Let’s use your golem to go through safely.”
> “Probably not. Perhaps, instead of a golem, you can just create an earthen bridge so we can step over the trap?”
> “I want to try it. I still do not know the limits of this spell.” [Linen Magic: Homely Blanket] 1d10+10 roll.
> “I insist, Sol. Let me be useful and trigger the trap.”
> [Write In]

>>3890401
Are we wearing something under the shirt?

>>3890411
>Undershirt, yes.

>>3890438
Can we cut our shirt into stripes and connect them?

>>3890462
>You do have a knife, so if you want to.

>>3890401
>>3890486
We can fix our shirt later so yeah
> “I insist, Sol. Let me be useful and trigger the trap.”
>Cut shirt into strips to make it longer

>>3890498
+1

>>3890498
Support

>>3890401
> “I want to try it. I still do not know the limits of this spell.” [Linen Magic: Homely Blanket] 1d10+10 roll.

[Update 2/3]

You slide your hand into your sack to remove the long Paralyze Knife by it’s handle. As soon as you take it out to expose it to the open air, the mana inside it sends it into a shake. “I insist, Sol. Let me be useful and trigger the trap.”

After a brief, hesitating, pause, Sol shrugs her shoulders and levitates her grimoire right into her hands. “All right, little Cynthia, but make sure to back away as soon as it is activated. I’ll be keeping an eye if anything happens.”

“Thanks,” you smile at Sol. Still holding the knife in your hand, you take off your shirt a drop it into the ground. You shudder from the evening’s cold. A bit embarrassed under Sol’s watchful eye, you hurry and crudely slice your shirt into stripes. Once that is done, you mend and connect the linen strips using your magic into one, long textile. You check your work for imperfections, as you, after years of tailor work, usually would, before you take a deep breath.

“Alright,” you nod towards Sol. You take a step forward. “This should be long enough… I hope this works,” you mutter to yourself as you continue with your incredibly cautious and careful footstep. You stop about ten meters away from the centre of the corridor; you grip each end of the cloth ‘rope’ with your hands. You push your mana into, and then through, the entire linen cloth. The cloth lights up in dim, cold, silver glow and as soon as you have absolute control over it, you snap it towards the centre – you do not release it, however, as you don’t really want to lose your shirt here. A loud whack echoes from the walls of the corridor as you hastily pull the cloth back to yourself.

Per Sol’s instructions, you quickly step back. As soon as you do so, a bright green briar thicket begins to quickly crawl out of the ground. The earth cracks and quakes as the patch grows bigger and bigger. As if a disfigured rose flower, the thicket bulges to releases dozens of lengthy, tentacle-like branches covered in sharp and long briars and thorns which, immediately, one after another, as if whips, sling themselves into all possible directions of the corridor. One of those branches reaches towards you. Quickly, somehow, you manage to grab it into your linen cloth and strike it away.

“Alright,” Sol claps her hands before taking a step forward and smashing her hands into the ground. Sol’s grimoire erupts in bright, orange glow as she loudly proclaims the incantation of her spell, “Earth Magic: Rampaging Mother Earth!” A thundering, ground explosion soon follows. A colossal, muscular figure - barely resembling a human - made entire out of earth, begins to climb out of the ground with the assistants of its oversized fists.

When the golem finally stands straight, it is barely able to fit in the corridor.

Under Sol's personal control, the golem grabs three of the branches of the thicket into its hand and begins to pull it towards itself in an attempt to uproot the entire briar trap. The branches of the thicket answer in kind: they quickly strike and then slither around the free arm of the giant to push it towards itself instead. A nasty sound of cracking roots and breaking stone follows. A stalemate of two magic creations ensues as you hide behind the golem.

Then… the walls behind to shift and slide. A loud crumble and grind of the walls echoes from far away distances: it is happening across the entire labyrinth. You attempt to rush closer to Sol but one of the briar branches grabs into your leg and forces you to stumble and fall. As soon as you turn to smack it away with your cloth, a massive wall smashes right in front of your face – it crushes the branch into smithereens but… you find yourself isolated in a different hall.

“Cynthia?” Sol’s voice grows more distant as the battle behind the wall rages one, “Wait for me there, y’hear?!”

You lay your back on the cold stone surface. The sounds of battle quiets and soon, completely disappears. You count to twenty minutes until you eventually give up. “Sol?” Sol, are you there!?” you shout to where you last heard her voice from – you hear no answer. You shudder as you surround your body with the long rag you made your shirt into to keep yourself warm – if you are going to on any further, night adventures, you should consider making yourself a jacket. You take a deep breath as you finally, yet extremely cautiously, step away from the wall.

You find a small square garden with hundreds of blooming pure-white roses spread around. You step through the meadow to find a wall unlike the others, with visible black outlines, as if is suppose to move. As closer inspection, you notice a deep iron vase hanging off the wall. You inspect the vase closer – there are small letters present on it.

Those letters are a red “n”, a yellow “p” a blue “e” and a green “o”. Is this suppose to be a puzzle? Worse trap.

> Avoid touching anything that can be a trap. Give Sol another half an hour to find you.
> Inspect the white flowers closely. Uproot and pick up one of the roses randomly.
> Inspect the white flowers closely. Try to use your linen magic on one of the roses randomly.
> Inspect the white flowers closely. Use your Paralyze Knife on one of the roses randomly.
> Fix your shirt – you do not want Alice, Wainsley or anybody else to find you looking like this.
> [Write In]

>>3890929
> Inspect the white flowers closely. Try to use your linen magic on one of the roses randomly.

So we need to color roses somehow. Then we need to throw them into vase in this order?
“o” green
“p” yellow
“e” blue
“n” red
Or just throw in items with those specific colors?

>>3890929
> Fix your shirt – you do not want Alice, Wainsley or anybody else to find you looking like this.
> Inspect the white flowers closely. Try to use your linen magic on one of the roses randomly.

>>3891174
I assume that we need to color the flowers. Or, maybe they already have colors and we can't see them? Perhaps if we try to do the magic sense thing we tried earlier, we could see if some of the flowers were green, yellow, blue, red, etc. and put them in the vase in the right order

>>3891185
>Perhaps if we try to do the magic sense thing we tried earlie
This is good suggestion
>>3890929
> First Try sensing the mana coming from the roses

>>3891194
+1

>>3890929
> First Try sensing the mana coming from the roses
> Inspect the white flowers closely. Try to use your linen magic on one of the roses randomly.

>>3891185
Also we probably shouldn't fix shirt as we will more likely need it to scan corridors

[Update 3/3]

You rub your finger on the letters. Peon? Nope? Open? Hm, which one of those can be the correct one, Charlotte?

Do you have anything green, yellow, blue and red on yourself? Your red hair, blue socks… nothing yellow or green. Surely, this can't be the point of this puzzle...

You harrumph as you turn back to the white garden: you have a feeling those white roses have something to do with this puzzle. You close your eyes and, once again, you try to completely supress your mana to sense any magical traps or deceptions hiding in those roses. You take vigilant step closer to one of the rose shrubs once you are unable to see or sense anything wrong from this far distance. You try again, you need to learn this skill to get further in this labyrinth. Fortunately, you are not completely useless, and while not a trap form spell, you can feel some magic.

There is, indeed, some kind of mana surrounding each of the roses here – while not completely white, the leaves, thorns and stalks all have murky watered gray colours. You make an attempt to push your own mana into one of the roses but your silvery gush quickly crumbles when it touches the roses. This is not enough. You take a second glance around the garden, just to make sure, but there are no roses of the hues you think you need – just enchanted white.

> Uproot and pick up one of the roses randomly.
> Use your Paralyze Knife on one of the roses randomly.
> Use [Linen Magic: Healing Blanket]. You are not sure what use it will be, but that’s your only spell…
>If majority, please roll 1d10+10 – best our of three.
> [Write In]

>>3891357
>tfw deleted a whole paragraph of repairing your shirt

>>3891375
>> Use your Paralyze Knife on one of the roses randomly.

>>3891375
>> Uproot and pick up one of the roses randomly.

>>3891375
>> Use [Linen Magic: Healing Blanket]. You are not sure what use it will be, but that’s your only spell…

>>3891375
> Uproot and pick up one of the roses randomly.

[Update 1/1]

Pondering, you glance around the garden in vain hope to sense or spot any additional detail. You shake your head, take a deep breath an kneel in front of the many white roses here. You comb your fingers around one of the roses and this close, the “graying” magic oozes onto your skin. Gently, you push the stalk upwards to uproot the rose and pick it up. As soon as the rose is in your hand, a slow, wave-like quake appears from beneath the garden. As if on a water bed, you put your best effort to balance yourself from falling from the extreme unusual tremor. The ground raises and lowers about a meter high in rows of several waves before it finally calms down. What the heck was that?

You shudder and collect yourself. You turn to look at the rose from which you can no longer sense any magic – gray flakes, as if snow, break off the petals and disappear in the night air - the original orange colour slowly begins to reveal itself. You awkwardly turn back to all the other roses – it is going to take you a while to find the right ones.

Your thought returns to the eerie tremble… This seems to be some sort of ailment type of magic or even a curse.

> Take the risk and continue picking up roses until you have all the colours you need.
> [Roll 1d50 – best out of three]
> Use your Paralyze Knife to stab the ground. If it’s a creature beneath, perhaps it will give you some time to pick up the roses without the underground going chaotic. If you fail to paralyze this thing, however, it might get angrier.
> Use [Linen Magic: Healing Blanket]. You don’t really want to spend your mana carelessly, but there is a chance you might be able to remove the strange ailment from all the flowers your enchanted cloth will touch – worth a shot?
> [If majority choice – roll 1d10+10 – best out of three.]
> [Write In]

File: Spoiler Image (34 KB, 664x487)

34 KB JPG

>For clarity sake, as it might be hard to visualize, Alice's hair looks something like this - although, in my vision, the bigger cube is replaced by dozen smaller ones.

>>3892836
>> Use [Linen Magic: Healing Blanket]. You don’t really want to spend your mana carelessly, but there is a chance you might be able to remove the strange ailment from all the flowers your enchanted cloth will touch – worth a shot?

>>3892836
>> Use [Linen Magic: Healing Blanket]. You don’t really want to spend your mana carelessly, but there is a chance you might be able to remove the strange ailment from all the flowers your enchanted cloth will touch – worth a shot?

>>3892836
> Use [Linen Magic: Healing Blanket]. You don’t really want to spend your mana carelessly, but there is a chance you might be able to remove the strange ailment from all the flowers your enchanted cloth will touch – worth a shot?

>>3892836
>> Use [Linen Magic: Healing Blanket]. You don’t really want to spend your mana carelessly, but there is a chance you might be able to remove the strange ailment from all the flowers your enchanted cloth will touch – worth a shot?

>Guess it's fair to say it's majority. Rolls for mana cost.

Rolled 7 + 10 (1d10 + 10)

>>3893040

Rolled 5 + 10 (1d10 + 10)

>>3893040

Rolled 6 + 10 (1d10 + 10)

>>3893040
>>3892844
That some weird hair

>>3893086
It is, isn't it. Let's laugh at it when we meet her.

[Update 1/1]

You spend 15 mana.
Mana [85/100]

You gently push your grimoire into the air – it slowly raises, opens – its pages flutter – and begins to float. Once the page with your spell is stopped on, a silver radiance overwhelms the grimoire. “Linen Magic: Healing Blanket”. You finish whispering your incantation – a shining linen fabric begins to manifest in front of your eyes. An enormous, enchanted blanket follows the motion of your hands as you moderately lower it to cover at least third of the white roses here; you do not allow the textile to wrap or harm the flowers. As your magic blanket continues to float, its fibres and threads begin to turn putrid, toxic-blue shade and very soon, the entirety of the blanket is completely drenched. You lift the much heavier blanket above the garden of roses of all colours of the rainbow.

As soon as you remove your cloth, the gray ailment begins to slowly yet immediately recapture the garden.

As the cloth crumbles into the air and disappears, you search through the shrubs for the colours you need. You pick a red one, then a yellow one, and even a hard to spot between all the leaves green rose. With every pick, the loud grumble of the ground beneath your feet grows stronger. When you get your hands on the green rose, several places all over the garden, as if geysers, erupt and raise high into the air with all the roses and thorns…

You step back to the vase and the wall when you realize it is too dangerous to remain standing between the shrubs. After catching your breathe, you notice a blue rose. You release your self-made textile weapon and, after enriching it with your mana, you strike – less with skill and more with luck. The long cloth breaks and then captures several of the roses by their stalks and thorns – you immediately pull it back. Those last few roses, however, are enough to anger the entire garden into a massive earthquake and then for something colossal to begin raising. With visible panic, you push each of the roses in the sequence you believe is the correct one…

Green, yellow, blue, red… a tentacle-like vine crashes into the vase as soon as you are finished, you step away in fear. With eyes glowing red, an amalgamation of twigs, vines, roots, scrub and other vegetation now stands right before you, it is at least ten times your height. The rose garden, now – again, completely white – is nothing but a patch of hair on its “head”. As the wall, finally, begins to slowly open – you rush into the exposed passage – the wall immediately begins to enclose when the vase completely shatters. You rush through the exit just in time before the claw of the creature is able to grab you, it’s long “fingers” still twitch through the wall while crushed.

You take another deep breath. It does not help. You remove your grimoire to check if there are any changes: was what you just did a new effect, or just the ability of it you did not know about? Your finger slides across the page of your spell, but you find all the runic inscriptions hard to read through acutely – you can’t see any immediate changes. What you find curious, however, are some of the empty pages in grimoire which, while blank, have a strange, tactile feel to them – as if the spell is in limbo between existing and not yet revealing itself. Come on!

You sigh as you close your grimoire. You step away from your closed wall and the manifestation of Charlotte’s trap as you find yourself in another twitten. Once again, you attempt to sense and feel any potential magical traps and once again, your efforts end up in failure. Fortunately, and it is likely they are here as well, you end up managing to avoid triggering them as you reach and turn the corner. This time, the corridor is different – it is as twice as long as the one you and Sol found yourself previously but here, the two end points appear to be on some sort of earthly islands, and are separated by an undergrowth, muddy swamp-like trench with buzzing insects.

However, this trench looks as if somebody just recently managed to go across it… were the traps triggered?

On the other end of the trench you spot… Alice, her legs and pants are drenched in mud and she’s unconscious.

You shout at her to catch her attention, but it seems she is out cold. She will feel this in the morning.

> Try striking the surface of the trench to see if any magic creature or trap is present.
> Enforce your cloth-weapon with all the magic you can muster before throwing it towards Alice to “attack” her.
> Try crossing the trench just like that – Alice has managed to do it, and, supposedly she has weak magic too.
> The distance is too great, but maybe – just maybe – you can reach her with the Healing Blanket spell?
> [Write In]

>>3894848
>> Try striking the surface of the trench to see if any magic creature or trap is present.

>>3894848
>> The distance is too great, but maybe – just maybe – you can reach her with the Healing Blanket spell?

>>3892844
That's taking punk to a whole new level.
>>3894848
> Try crossing the trench just like that – Alice has managed to do it, and, supposedly she has weak magic too.
I bet she activated all the traps already so we'll be fine?

Rolled 2 (1d3)

[Update 1/1]

You open your grimoire and push your hand forward. Your lips whisper an invocation of your magical spell as you take a deep breath and concentrate. From inside your body your mana falls in unison with your grimoire. You close your eyes and do your best to concentrate even before the enchanted cloth is completely formed. Until now, you have only managed to manifest your Healing Blanket up close – it seems it is the only way you can do this. However, you have never really tested how far you can take it – the cloth created from your magic is in your completely control unlike the regular linen you have to put your mana through. What you are also aware of, is that there is a limit in time for existence of your blanket, and it is a short one – even if you do not manage to use it to mend the wounds it will still disappear. The bright light emitting from your grimoire grows brighter the more you push yourself – as if in drunk hover, it dips and touches the dirt of the trench but avoids sinking completely.

Your blanket starts to crumble as soon as it reaches the unconscious body of Alice Phetocruel. It is much harder to control from such distance, but you still manage to lay it on Alice like one would a normal blanket. Soon afterwards, your blanket vanishes completely. This certainly was not enough to heal Alice of all her wounds but, your inner hope proves fortunate when the girl begins to move and moan. She winces, pushes her hand against the wall she was leaning on, and raises herself – with a bit of a struggle because of her heavy, dirt-petrified pants.

“Commoner?” she blinks at you and stumbles forward – she barely avoids falling into the trench, “Commoner girl! What… WHAT’RE YOU DOING HERE?! This place’s for Mag’ Knights only – NOT A PLACE FOR YOU,” she spits blood.

> “Wainsley asked me to come here in case you get injured; it seems you are. She said you should return.”
> “I am here with Sol: I was helping her to find the ‘Blue Rose’ but we got separated by a wall.”
> “I’m here for the ‘Blue Rose’, I’ve stumbled on you by accident. Can you help get across?”
> “I was walking through the garden and accidentally stumbled in here… Can you help me find a way out?”
> [Write In]

> please roll 1d10+10 – best out of three.

Rolled 9 + 10 (1d10 + 10)

>>3896469
>>3896471
> “Wainsley asked me to come here in case you get injured; it seems you are. She said you should return.”

Rolled 10 + 10 (1d10 + 10)

>>3896469
>> “Wainsley asked me to come here in case you get injured; it seems you are. She said you should return.”

>>3896469
>> “Wainsley asked me to come here in case you get injured; it seems you are. She said you should return.”

>>3896471
>“I was walking through the garden and accidentally stumbled in here… Can you help me find a way out?”
Sounds believable to me.

>>3896692
>>3896702
You could try rolling for a better result.

Rolled 3 + 10 (1d10 + 10)

>>3896471
Tell her the truth
> “I am here with Sol: I was researching environment you clothes get damaged in. I thought it might give me idea how to improve”

>>3896469
>> “I was walking through the garden and accidentally stumbled in here… Can you help me find a way out?”

>>3896718
Didn't want to rob >>3896692

You think if we'll find the rose Tresses will start respecting us?

>>3897148
I wouldn't bet on it

[Update 1/1]

You spend 13 mana.
Mana [72/100]

“I was walking through the garden and accidentally stumbled in here… Can you help me find a way out?” you smile.

She deadpans. Alice leans away from the wall and strikes her pants to remove lumps of dirt off them. Showing clear distrust to your answer, she turns away and starts leaving to the next alleyway, “Whatever. I don’t have the time.”

“Wait!” you shout.

“WHAT ELSE?!” she shouts back in anger, “You think I have ALL NIGHT to chit-chat with a commoner, DO YOU?”

You groan; what a difficult person. “The real reason I am here is because Wainsley asked me to come here in case you get injured; it seems you are.” Your voice cracks as you shout across the trench, “She said you should return.”

“Wainsley should mind her own DAMN business, and a COMMONER like you shouldn’t be here!” she repeats and takes another, powerful step forward… only to have her ankle twist and force her to collapse rolling onto the ground – your spell had managed to heal the bear minimum of Alice’s injuries. “Heavens DAMN IT!” she returns to shouting.

“You are in no position to continue with the challenge,” you yell at Alice in genuine worry. Nervously, you approach the trench and pause just before entering it. “If you can help me get across, then I can heal you using my magic…”

“I don’t need YOUR MAGIC,” she growls. She attempts to stand up with the help of her trembling arms, “Today is the day I am going to REACH the DAMN centre of this maze and I DON’T CARE what anybody else. That rose is MINE!!!”

“Just stay there,” you whisper to yourself. Carefully, you raise your cloth-weapon an enrich it with your magic. Under your control, you bend the long scarf like a snake and then, as if a living whip, you strike the surface of the trenches.

The dirt surface you hit explodes in a mild burst, but nothing else happens. “’Heck are you doing?!” Alice asks.

“I am checking for traps,” you explain as sway your weapon back to strike another location of the trench.

“What sort of MAGE are you?! You entered the labyrinth without even able to sense traps?! Are you for real?!” She continues her tirade as you try to ignore her. You strike the trench one more time. “I got rid of all the traps, c’mon!”

“Why didn’t you say so in the beginning?!” you roll your eyes. Cautiously, you dip your feet into the mud – can you really trust Alice with saying the truth? You shake your head as you drop your second foot into the cold sludge – it reaches to your belt. Under Alice’s arrogant and annoyed glance, you slowly move forward. You try your hardest to crawl through the dense swamp as the deep undergrowth begins to scrape and cut your legs and ruin your skirt.

After suffering through several bug bites and completely drenching your lower clothes in mud, you eventually manage to go through the trench and reach Alice safely – all this time she was slowly crawling towards the next corridor. With an exhausted struggle, you manage to climb out of the ditch. Immediately, you lean on the wall.

Alice’s eyes greet you with a mockery, “You look ridiculous, commoner.” She is ignoring the fact she looks the same.

You harrumph and slide your hand over your spoiled skirt and boots. With the assistance of your magic, you make incredibly quick work of all the solidified mud and rends present over your clothes – you do not bother will all the dirt spots you can fix once you are back at your workshop. You give Alice a rather smug look once you are finished.

She grumbles as she, once again, forces herself to stand up, “Pffh, you’re not going FAR with some LINEN MAGIC.”

“I was planning to go to this labyrinth tomorrow,” you tell the girl the honest truth as you begin to approach her, “But there were no other healers available to… come and rescue you,”- she snarls in annoyance – “I am here with Sol, I was researching environment you clothes get damaged in. I thought it might give me idea how to improve.”

“Sol?! That COMMONER shorthair?” Alice says as she finally manages to grab a hold of the wall and slowly push herself up, “There’s no point of doin’ this challenge in PAIRS, or with HELP. You have to get the rose by YOURSELF.”

> “Have you never tried this challenge with a partner? Surely, if you do you will be able to get the rose in no time?”
> “You are in no condition to continue with this challenge. Will Captain Charlotte be happy you are injured again?”
> “I’m not sure if I should tell you or not, but Sol is absolutely going for the rose today. You have no chance like this.”
> “You are part of a group; Captain Charlotte wants every Magic Knight to work together. You are not leaving until you reach the centre – are you? Fine, then let me help you. I will tell you about my magic, you – about yours, fair?”
> “…And since I am here for practice, let me take a look and repair your clothes as well – if you will?”
> Use [Linen Magic: Healing Blanket] on the injured Magic Knight. You will need her help to get back.
> [Write In]

>if you guys have any suggestion for Cynthia's (Or whole Quest's) theme song, please give.

>>3898182
>> “Have you never tried this challenge with a partner? Surely, if you do you will be able to get the rose in no time?”
> “…And since I am here for practice, let me take a look and repair your clothes as well – if you will?”
> Use [Linen Magic: Healing Blanket] on the injured Magic Knight. You will need her help to get back.

>>3898182
>"But you just received my HELP, shouldn't you start from the beginning tomorrow?"

>>3898190
+1

>>3898190
+1
If she protests counter with something like "We cant have you look like commoner" or something

>>3898182
> “I’m not sure if I should tell you or not, but Sol is absolutely going for the rose today. You have no chance like this.”
> Use [Linen Magic: Healing Blanket] on the injured Magic Knight. You will need her help to get back.

>>3898185
As for the theme, just use one of the openings?

>>3898185
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OFHXmiZP38

>Update will be later today.

[Update 1/1]

“Have you never tried this challenge with a partner? Surely, if you do, you will be able to get the rose in no time?”

Self-importantly, she hems “No, never, I don’t NEED help,” her fingers leave behind a bloody mark on the cobblestone walls she tries her hardest to use it for stability, “The best Knights got the blue rose by themselves.”

You shake your head, “Sol told me that most of the Magic Knights do this challenge in pairs…”

“I am NOT like the other Magic Knights,” she grumbles. She pusher herself and slowly stumbles forward.

“You will not go far with your clothes like that,” you quickly shorten the distance between you and her as you then put your hands over her severely tarnished and entrenched with mud clothes.

Despite her bloody clothes, visible wounds and exhausted expression, she simply snarls at you:
“Piss off, COMMONER, it will be morning soon.”

She stumbles forward. You pout, “We can’t have you looking like commoner when you get the rose, can we?”

She comes to a sluggish stop and, in a rather painful manner, turns her head to face you, “Do it in HASTE, then!”

“Alright-alright,” you chuckle rather awkwardly: every moment you share with Alice makes your urge to help her less and less desirable. Still, you originally came here to rescue her – struggling with her personality is the least of your worries. You close your eyes to take a deep breath as you concentrate. You then slowly turn your mana into magic which you measuredly begin to inundate Alice’s clothes with. Like a colossal prick, she does not even stop to make your job easier – wobbling, she continues forward. You break into a cold sweat once you realize it is incredibly likely for her to trigger traps like this. Once the heavy dirt is removed and all the cloth rends are closed and mended, you immediately open your grimoire and whisper and an incantation of your healing blanket spell…

As soon as the glowing linen cloth is manifested from your mana, it begins to quickly slither and spin around Alice’s body until, like a mummy, she is completely bound. She struggles to no avail. At first, you are worried than she will destroy the cloth with her magic but nothing of that sort happens; the blanket is able to heal her properly.

“HEY!” she shouts, “WHAT’RE YOU DOING?! GET THIS THING OFF ME!”

You remain calm as you allow the enchanted cloth to turn crimson red from mending most, but not all, of Alice’s wounds – her body had gone through a lot. Eventually, your cloth begins to disintegrate. Now being able to freely move and walk Alice is quick to rush towards you and pick you by your pits, “Did you not HEARD what I said?!”

“That makes it two times-,” you smile, “You received my help, shouldn’t you start from the beginning now?”

“You,” her grip tightens as she painfully grinds you against one of the walls – she panics, “That DOES NOT count, you hear?! I did NOT ask you to heal me, you did it out of your own COMMONER DUTY, do you understand me?!”

You grunt in pain; you can see your own reflection in her reddening eyes, “I did not want you to stay unconscious until the very morning…”

She harrumphs and lets you go. She does not entertain any further argument. Without a ‘thank you’ or even simple nod of appreciation for you returning both her clothes and her body to health, she spins away and carries on walking. “You might as well make yourself useful, peasant – act like a proper errand girl on your own accord.”

Alice leads – she walks by herself yet does not really complain about you tagging along. You pass through several corridors and passageways amongst the tall mossy brick walls. To your utter surprise, she is not half-assed and oblivious of her path: sometimes she sticks to the walls and sometimes, she bends and goose walks. She somehow is able to identify the location of every trap here, but unlike Sol, she does not even have to stop and sense them.

It might be hard for you to admit it out loud, but she appears to have an incredible sense of mana. Eventually, the two of you stop in front of a typical-looking entrance into another twitten. Alice does not tell you to halt, yet fortunately you are smart enough to realize that she has spotted a trap here. She grunts and gestures you to enter but… you outright refuse her. Impatient, Alice removes her grimoire – it is a long, but incredibly thin booklet with barely dozens of pages in gothic-white hued leather binding with an aquamarine three-leaf symbol on its centre.

She opens the grimoire and lets it to hover by her side. Then, she spreads her legs and crosses her arms in a sort off battle-stance. Her grimoire and her entire body beam with bright, cyan light for a mere second… and then again, and again: you count up to five times. You keep a safe distance, but you also keep an incredibly curious eye.

What is this ‘Weakest Magic’? Alice relaxes her arms and then, overwhelmed with self-confidence, she takes a step forward to trigger the trap – but, as soon as she does so, she takes a step back. A circular glyph in symbols you can never hope to read manifests from the air, and soon, a single but massive tentacle-like branch covered in finger sized thorns bursts out from within it straight towards Alice.

File: Wainsley.png (437 KB, 668x668)

437 KB PNG

Just before you can nervously jump to protect her – you think she’s suicidal – the pages of her grimoire engulf in bright cyan flames. “Afterimage Magic: Vestige. Form: Flesh Wall!” she shouts as loud and fast as she possibly can. Right where she was standing, a clone of her taking the exact same battle stance materializes. And as if a blur, another clone appears to do the exact same thing in the exact same place, until all five of them enter each other like some sort of conjoined quintuplets. Despite your long description, it all happens in less than a few seconds…

The razor-sharp branch smashes into the amalgamation created by Alice’s spell but finds itself stopped by it. It is a simple spell scribed to manifest this one, potentially deadly, attack and now that it failed, the branch falls onto the ground with no ways to support itself. Even so, it continues to slither like a snake, laying ready to attack.

Completely daft towards danger and injuries, Alice strikes the thick tendril with her foot but, of course, she is unable to break it just like that! The spikes of the enchanted briar rend through the metal of her boots as she forces her entire body onto the branch to keep in place. Using her second foot, she continues to kick the incredibly thick stem and with every kick, her body brightly lights up – once again, up to five times. With her grimoire now by her side, she once against evokes a spell with all the boastfulness she can muster in this position. “Afterimage Magic: Vestige. Form: Eternal Carnage.” The same happens again, in less than a second, five clones of Alice – this time they appear so close all of them pass through the real one – combine into one and kick the branch with the power of five. With five times the power, her strange magic is able to easily break though and kill Charlotte’s pet.

How much magic did she just use on those two – no, that was ten – spells alone?!

Alice steps away from the over-destroyed plant and turns at you. Before the two of you can exchange any words, a sudden rain of icicles impales into the ground in front of both you and Alice. As if by instinct, you both expose your grimoires, ready. Slowly, a girl with light brown hair and blue eyes walks out of the entrance of the tunnel.

“Oh, blessings! You found her!” Wainsley speaks out in glee as she motions her grimoire towards Alice.

“WAINSLEY!” Alice’s face quickly turns grim as she hastily attempts to cast another of her spells… but without having a chance to even cast one, she is stopped by another sharp icicle flying just a few inches away from her ear.

“Let’s not,” she says, “Everyone knows about your magic, Alice. I’m not going to entertain giving you time to cast your useless spells. You know Captain Charlotte has forbidden you to enter this labyrinth – pack up, let’s leave…”

> Assist Alice. Use your cloth-weapon to take Wainsley’s attention for long enough so Alice can do her thing.
> Assist Alice. Use [Linen Magic: Healing Blanket] on Wainsley to attempt to bind her so Alice can get close.
> Assist Wainsley. Use your cloth-weapon to interfere with Alice’s attempts to use her Afterimage Magic.
> Assist Wainsley. Use [Linen Magic: Healing Blanket] on Alice so you can bound her for Wainsley to knock her out.
> Try to convince Wainsley to give Alice one last chance tonight, try to persuade Alice to promise that as well. Unlikely. How?
> Ask Wainsley if she has seen Sol on her way here. Do not interfere in their squabble.
> Remain silent, this is not really your business – you can continue to the center by yourself until you find Sol.
> [Write In]

> please roll 1d10+10 – best out of three: for the used spell.

>>3900377
>> Remain silent, this is not really your business – you can continue to the center by yourself until you find Sol.

Rolled 10 + 10 (1d10 + 10)

>>3900377

>>3900377
changing vote to > Ask Wainsley if she has seen Sol on her way here. Do not interfere in their squabble.

Rolled 3 + 10 (1d10 + 10)

>>3900377
>Ask Wainsley if she has seen Sol on her way here. Do not interfere in their squabble.

Rolled 5 + 10 (1d10 + 10)

>>3900377
>> Remain silent, this is not really your business – you can continue to the center by yourself until you find Sol.

>>3900377
>Ask Wainsley if she has seen Sol on her way here. Do not interfere in their squabble.

>Hello. I apologize but I will have to postpone an update until tomorrow. Sorry,

>>3901112
No worries!

File: Briar Thicket.jpg (594 KB, 900x675)

594 KB JPG

[Update 1/2]

You spend 13 mana.
Mana [59/100]

Whatever, they can beat each other senseless for all your care. You step away from Alice to avoid standing in the way of their confrontation. You have questions of your own, “Wainsley, have you seen Sol on your way here?”

“Sol?” Wainsley raises her eyebrow as she turns to face you, “Why would Sol be here? She wasn’t planning to go to the labyrinth as far as I’m aware.” Before you can explain, however, Wainsley is interrupted by Alice, who you spot gracelessly rushing towards her with her hand squeezed for a punch – ready for an attack. Wainsley is not eager to engage in close combat, instead, she turns the page of her grimoire and casts a spell: “Ice Magic: Freezing Cone.”

Instantaneously, a massive and seamless spiral of cold magic appears in front of Waisley and tornadoes towards Alice. ‘The Weakest Knight’ attempts to jump out of the way of the spell, but the spiral goes under her boots, freezes them, and sends her smashing onto the ground. Then, the brilliant, blue glow of Wainsley’s magic surrounds Alice’s body like an ethereal whip and quickly begins to bind her in ice. Alice tries her best to break free but it is of no use…

Wainsley slowly approaches the ice prisoner that is now Alice. She turns to give you a mistrustful squint:
“Did you come up with that nonsense about Sol to distract me?”

“What?” you exclaim, “No! I asked Sol to come here with me because it was too dangerous to come alone.”

Wainsley sighs and then, with a visible annoyance, she turns to adress Alice, “It’s too much of a hassle to try and bring you to the exit like this, Alice. I guess I am just going to have to stay with you here until the daybreak…”

“Like HELL you will,” Alice shouts in her face as even her neck begins to gather a layer of ice. “Afterimage Magic…”

“This is useless,” Waisley comments as she raises her grimoire and shakes her head, “Even if you break free…”

“VESTIGE!” her voice echoes across the empty corridor. Wainsley shows a visible hesitation as she takes a step back… For a brief moment, nothing happens, but both you and Wainsley follow Alice’s head motion to see her plan. In the far corner of the corridor, a clone of Alice emerges from the empty air – this half-clone half-mirage does nothing but kick the ground with her boot before disappearing. Wait, you don’t remember her going there…

Then, all of a sudden, a massive cluster of vines and thorns begins to emerge and grow bigger and bigger. The look of shock and Wainsley’s sudden turn towards the quickly impending briar overgrowth confirms your worry – Alice triggered a trap.

You step away as far as you can towards one of the exists to avoid being butchered by the growing thorn patch. Wainsley’s grimoire flashes in blue light as she begins casting another ice spell to freeze the plant overflow and create a barricade between her and the enchanted plants.

You do not engage or interrupt, although you keep your grimoire open just in case things will go messy. Just then, you notice that Alice’s body has been going on and off with bright, cyan light: she is casting her magic again and Wainsley is too busy with the labyrinth’s forthcoming trap to notice. “Afterimage Magic: Vestige,” Alice whispers as one after another her clones begin to reappear and shake inside her frozen self. “Form: Mana Chrysalis” Alice spreads out her arms and, somehow, she is able to shatter the ice shackles imposed on her by Wainsley.

The immense briars are now so close they begin to becrawl beneath your feet and block your view. Even if you wanted to, there is no time to warn Wainsley of Alice’s escape. As soon as the woman turns to look, she gets a horrible, almost barbaric, punch across her face. She tries to respond with another spell, but the chaotic overgrown thicket blocks her from following Alice and forces her to retreat to the where you two previously came from. Alice completely ignores you as she rushes past you into the corridor; you have no other choice but to follow her.

You find her standing on front of a deep pit that is overgrown with very sharp looking, bright and hissing briars at the bottom of it – surely magical, as if pain alone if you end up in there is not enough. Alice puts her hands together and kneels, and her body once again engulfs in cyan radiance. She takes a step right and repeats the motion of placing and then quickly throwing her hands into the air from another kneeling position, and once more, her body glows.

How much magic she has used so far?

As the briar thicket continues to grow into the tunnel, Alice stands up and raises her foot in the air. “Afterimage Magic: Vestige,” she says loud and clear. Both of her clones manifest at the same time according to her command to do the same motions she just did, one on her right and another on her left: they hold her iron heel and then toss her into the air. With their assistance, Alice easily manages to cross the pit and land on the other side. She prepares to leave without even turning to check or help you. It seems like you are screwed… perhaps literally.

> Try to convince Alice to help you, is it not the duty of a Magic Knight to assist the ones in need of help?
> Run and jump towards the pit – use the cloth to try and grab onto something on the other side.
> Attempt to rewrite your Healing Blanket spell… but to do what and how? It is just a healing spell!
> [Write In]

>>3902113
>> Try to convince Alice to help you, is it not the duty of a Magic Knight to assist the ones in need of help?
> Run and jump towards the pit – use the cloth to try and grab onto something on the other side.

>>3902113
> Attempt to rewrite your Healing Blanket spell… but to do what and how? It is just a healing spell!

> Try to make the blanket long enough to extend across the pit, and rigid enough to support our weight

>>3902113
changing vote to >>3902131

>>3902732
>Sorry for taking so long, I was hoping for one more vote. Let me think for a moment how to proceed...

>>3902113
>> Try to convince Alice to help you, is it not the duty of a Magic Knight to assist the ones in need of help?

[Update 2/2]

https://youtu.be/r1imbAWqbE4

You break into a cold sweat. Panicking, you flick your hand above your hovering grimoire until you reach the only page containing a spell – Healing Blanket. You toss a glance back to see the barbed thicket crawling ever-closer towards you: it is going to hurt you so much it is no longer a question – you will have to jump across the pit! But there is no way you can realistically cross it. Also, your cloth weapon is just not long or strong enough to grasp something on the other side to assist you. You take a deep breath to calm yourself – Think Cynthia, damn it…

If you jump into the pit and cast the Healing Blanket over yourself, surely, you will survive – but it will not last long enough for you to crawl out of the pit. What if you put the blanket over the pit? But all the ones you have created so far were not long enough for such a task, and the time limit of your spell’s duration is insubstantial. Healing Blanket allows you to mould linen from your own mana, and it’s not regular just your typical linen cloth: it is enchanted with the ability to heal wounds and ailments. What is the limit to the effects your grimoire will allow you to sanctify your linen with? As you hastily raise your hand to cast a spell, a concept loudly clicks in your head.

Yours is Linen Magic – the mana has no restrictions over the cloth you create. Blazing with silver flame, the pages of your grimoire begin to turn like mad until an empty page reveals itself in front of you. And then, by magic, a new spell begins to inscribe itself into your grimoire. With no time to think or waste, you recite the still glowing letters of the spell. “Linen Magic: Weighted Blanket!” Just like with Healing Blanket, a piece of brilliant enchanted cloth begins to materialize in front of you with your complete control over it – unlike the Healing Blanket, however, this linen is much thicker and heavier, and is broken into checkers pattern in a rainbow of grey.

The cloth is twice as big as your healing blanket, but that is still not enough to extend across the entire pit. With no choice of your own, you place the blanket into the pit to cover the obviously-dangerous and enchanted briars at the bottom of it and then, you jump on top of it. Fortuitously, this new blanket is perfectly able to hold your weight and protect you from touching the cursed thorns – it lays flat and still. As soon as you land on top of your cloth, you quickly hasten to rush across the pit before the time-limit is up. Quickly, you find yourself on the other end and as soon as you touch the wall, your Weight Blanket begins to disintegrate to reveal all the dangerous shrubbery beneath it. You turn and make several attempts to grab into something above you with your cloth-weapon, but you fail every time you try to do so. Damn it, damn it. You’ll have to cast another Weighted Blanket…

Just as the thought crosses your mind, Alice grabs your crude cloth whip and without a single word, starts pulling it and you alongside it. After a rather awkward ascend, you find yourself laying on the cold ground, catching breath. Alice stands up and, now looking down on you, she says “What the HELL do you think you are doing?”

“H-huh?” you ask her.

“Creating new spells inside the labyrinth,” she says, “Were you that afraid of a little prickle? Or are you LYING?”

“I…I don’t understand,” you say, but you are unable to keep a bright, massive smile hidden. A new spell!

“You need a strong desire to create a new spell!” she shouts at you, “It’s your FIRST time, how arrogant are you?!”

The rose? The centre of the labyrinth? You don’t give a needle about that. What you want is…

“No,” you shake your head, “I told you the truth. I came here to find ways to improve my craft, and that’s it.”

Alice bites her lips and grunts; you flinch. Slowly, she turns on her heels and begins walking forward, “Do what you want, but I am going for the rose. Don’t tell me I own you anything after SAVING you just now. See you.”

“Thanks,” you tell her as you push yourself to take a sitting position with your legs crossed, “But I’m going too.”

“I don’t give a damn. Just don’t get in my way.”

You smirk at her as you hasten your step to follow Alice deeper into the labyrinth. Likewise.

Eventually, she stops in a sparse, foursquare meadow with four marble statues of female Magic Knights – human sized – standing in the very centre of it. The meadow is rather scarce, there are no thorns or bushes or flowers here, just dirt and dying grass. All four of statues are chiselled holding a sword they are aiming forward. They all stand to each other back to back, and in a way, they resemble a compass rose. At first, you think this is another puzzle but the two exists on the other side of the hedge field are open. Is this an elaborate trap then? You turn to Alice, but she, too, is contemplating? Confusing, how? Until this point she had no problem avoiding every trap.

“I went through this labyrinth seventy-five times,” she says, more to herself than to you, “But this is the first time I see a ‘room’ like this, it must be a new thing…” She picks up her grimoire, “I don’t trust those STUPID statues.”

“Can you not sense Captain’s trap magic?” you ask bewildered. If looks could kill, she just gave you one of those.

> “I’m… not making fun of you, Alice, but you knew where every trap was previously? How?”
> “If we are going to do this together, care to tell me how your magic works? Do you have a plan?”
> Try sensing the mana coming from the statues and then rest of the meadow.
> Try leaning to the wall and slowly crawling across the square corridor without engaging the statues.
> [Write In]

New spell acquired: [Restraining Form] [Linen Magic: Weighted Blanket].
Cost: 1d10+10 mana. With an open grimoire, you create a long, thick and rigid layer of linen cloth under your complete control. If used to surround a target of your choice, and the target fails the DR of 40, the cloth restraints the target from escaping, moving or using any magic for one turn unless destroyed by a spell roll of 25 SDR for one minute (1 turn). If placed over an object or area of magical nature or a trap, and such an object is unable to destroy the cloth by a spell roll of 25 SDR, the cloth creates a restraining layer you can step on and placates the magic from beneath it from harming you and any trap from triggering by your presence for one minute – 1 turn.

>SDR means an offensive spell which, per example, costs 1d20+20, should get 25 or above.

>please roll 1d10+10 – best of three.

Rolled 2 + 10 (1d10 + 10)

>>3903060
> “I’m… not making fun of you, Alice, but you knew where every trap was previously? How?”
>>3903061

Rolled 7 + 10 (1d10 + 10)

>>3903060
>> “I’m… not making fun of you, Alice, but you knew where every trap was previously? How?”

>>3903061
>New spell acquired: [Restraining Form] [Linen Magic: Weighted Blanket].
Really glad we've unlocked a new spell, and it seems like a really useful one too!

Rolled 10 + 10 (1d10 + 10)

>>3903060
>> [Write In]
>Investigate status

>>3903060
>> “I’m… not making fun of you, Alice, but you knew where every trap was previously? How?”

[Update 1/1]

You spend 12 mana.
Mana [47/100]

“I’m… not making fun of you, Alice, but you knew where every trap was previously? How?”

Pausing, she grumbles. She does not answer you straight away but eventually, she raises her sleeve to cover her mouth and mumbles through it, “This is my last chance to reach the centre and find the blue rose, so I DON’T CARE if you know anymore. Every single time I’ve tried to conquer this labyrinth, I used my magic to create a Vestige around the traps I had discovered previously. In every passageway we went through previously, I had my vestiges.” She explains as she then takes another glance at the statue and the empty meadow, “Not here…”

“That’s… but that means some of those afterimages existed here for seventy days in a row, at least seventy nights! That should be impossible!?”

“You are annoying,” she responds in anger, “They are not afterimages, they are VESTIGES.” She takes a deep breath and approaches one of the statues even closer – there is no response from the marble warriors. “From what I can see, you have no useful offensive spells, so I don’t think I should be worried about you trying to STEAL my ROSE from me…” She turns her back towards the statues to take a closer look at both of the entrances.

“Once created, my vestiges do not disappear until I use them, not for a week, not for a month – maybe they will still be here even a year after,” she, eventually, decides to explain and brag, “Everyone in the ‘Blue Rose’ is high and arrogant, ‘cially Tresses, just because I can’t create giant waves or throw boulders… SO ANNOYING!” Alice shouts and, in a very foolish gesture, she kicks one of the statues with her boot – it does not respond. “Tresses that, Tresses this! She’s as old as you and me, but that is ALL I hear everyone else here talk about!!!”

“I… I don’t think we should be doing that,” you step forward as you motion towards the immobile statues.

“Just part of the decoration, who cares!”, Alice harrumphs as she turns away and continues walking towards one of the exits, unclearly convinced it is the right one. “I’m going to show them… SHOW THEM ALL!”

Alice is soon caught in her own rant, and so are you. You cautiously pass by the unmoving statues soon after Alice is out of their reach. Wrongly, you assume it is a safe room. As soon as Alice steps forward one of the passage outs, a sudden, piercing vine flies right into her shoulder – It easily penetrates through. Alice painful scream echoes through the meadow as her blood splatters into the night air. Phetocruel tightly grabs into vine with both of her hands and shapes a vestige. Beating your panic, you reveal the healing spell of your grimoire only to stop.

The statues are moving. Your gaze falls on the almost marionette movement of two of the statues: unlike their previously pristine, marble look, they are now completely covered from inside and outside by enchanted briar patches; with every movement, the statues reveal fresh, growing cracks. The other two statues are yet un-moving, but you notice briar slowly climbing and growing up their marble legs. The statue that has attacked Alice has its stone sword pointed towards Alice: the sharp vine-lash that is still inside her is wrapped over the and is coming from the sword. Wasting no time, the second engulfed statue loudly turns towards you and aggressively lowers her sword – in a burst and loud crack of her sword, the same kind of vine that damaged Alice is send towards you.

>roll 1d100 – best of three – to avoid the attack.

> Use your grimoire to cast a spell. Specify which and how?
> Use your Paralyze Knife on the vine stuck inside Alice.
> Retreat further into the corridor together with Alice: maybe they won’t follow you?
> [Write In]

Rolled 73 (1d100)

>>3904461
> Retreat further into the corridor together with Alice: maybe they won’t follow you?

Rolled 39 (1d100)

>>3904461
> Use your Paralyze Knife on the vine stuck inside Alice.

Rolled 10 (1d100)

>>3904461
>> Use your Paralyze Knife on the vine stuck inside Alice.

>>3904461
>> Use your Paralyze Knife on the vine stuck inside Alice.

[Update 1/1]

Somehow, you manage to duck just in time for the sharp and long vine to strike just a meter above your head. Shards of the wall are sent flying behind you from the crack in the wall made by the vine. The statue which attacked you staggers clumsily before, with an obnoxious snap of its marble sword and arm, it(she?) begins slowly retracting it back. In haste, you remove the weapon that is your Magic Tool from your pouch and, with no time to think or waste, you impale it into the vine going through Alice’s shoulder. Thankfully, Tugela’s magic is still present. A bright seal as big as the palm of your hand appears at the end of your knives handle before the magic surge is send through the prickly parasite. The vein softens and darkens as it, eerily, falls from Alice’s shoulder.

“You had a Magic Tool?” Alice asks you in an obdurate mix of anger, surprise and pain. Tightly, she holds her palm over her bleeding shoulder as she grabs – practically steals – your knife away from you with her uninjured hand. “Give me that,” she hisses, although you realize she is not doing this just to be an ass. You both glance at the direction of the paralyzed statue but your relief is short-lived as the one that attacked you prepares to do it again.

“Oh no you don’t,” Alice screams out as she bends her body lower to the ground and, with her arms spread out as if a goose, she rushes towards the statue; her body glows several times during her sprint. With some form of intelligence, the second statue cracks and half-crumbles to turn and lower its sword in Alice’s direction. In a burst of thorns, another briar vine is sent towards her! This time, however, Alice is able to avoid it and slide -your- knife right under it, as if a butcher’s blade. While sharp, the vine is not that firm and the knife is easily able to cut it into two. When the statue tries to recall the vine back and then aim for the Alice for another attempt, Alice summons her grimoire and cries out her ‘Vestige’ spell. Two of her identical clones reappear in different locations of the meadow where she previously was running, and do the same exact thing, in the exact same pattern…

The statue is at loss, and is forced to send its attack towards one of the clones whom, shortly after, disappears.

The two other statues are now completely covered in Charlotte’s enchanted briar – they are bound to move soon.

> Use your grimoire to cast a spell. [Select a spell and explain the manner in which you want to use it.]
> Retreat deeper into the corridor and let Alice handle the statues.
> Shout to Alice to warn her about the other two statues. Ask her to keep their attention on her.
> [Write In]

>early update as I probably won't have time to do so later, although maybe I will update at the evening

>>3905684
> Use your grimoire to cast a spell. [Select a spell and explain the manner in which you want to use it.]
>> Use [Weighted Blanket] to block and bind the remaining two statues long enough for Alice to use our knife to cut the vines off.

Afe both of the entrances still open? If so I might change votes to just run away

>>3905684
> Use your grimoire to cast a spell. [Select a spell and explain the manner in which you want to use it.]
>> Use [Weighted Blanket] to block and bind the remaining two statues long enough for Alice to use our knife to cut the vines off.

>>3905754
+1

[Update 1/1]

Shaking your head, you rush inside one of the entrances only to feel a sudden tremble coming from inside both of the moss walls. You stop and put your foot away just in time to avoid getting caught in the quickly enveloping briar webs. You accurse the cheap trick of giving people who would try to escape, like you, a false sense of hope. Having the ability to sense traps would be more than useful right now: unfortunately, Alice is just as useless.

Your glance shifts to the second, still standing clear, entrance - what are the chances it is not the same? You allow your grimoire to float into the air – silver glow engulfs the pages. You turn back to Alice and the statue she is fighting… what was the duration of the ‘Paralyze’ spell? Did Tugela mention? Dexterously, and with an immense overuse of her mana, Alice is able to avoid the continuously thrown vine-whip of the first engaged statue. Too engaged in her battle, Phetocruel fails to notice the second pair of statues that slowly and cacophonously turn and raise their swords in her direction.

“Linen Magic: Weighted Blanket,” you shout out the incantation. Under your binding, an enchanted cloth in gruff, gray colours reveals itself into physical world. You push your hand forward and, the cloth obeys. In haste, but flowing motion, your blanket is, fortunately, long enough to surrounds the two, close standing statues and bang them against each other with audible crumble. With your spell cast, the statues lose their ability to move their marble bodies and the briar parasites, set up as a trap by Charlotte’s magic, are not strong to break through it.

Alice finally reaches the one statue who, for now, is still left fighting. Despite all the cuts Alice made to the briar-whip, there is no end to it being constantly reformed. Once Alice finds herself face to face with the statue, she immediately attempts to punch it into the chest only to find that hitting marble with your bare fists is not keenest thing to do. There is a deaf crack as her attack bruises the knuckles and leaves a bloody imprint on the white stone – her body lights up in brilliant cyan as she does so. Rather crazy, Alice ducks out of the way of the statue and strikes it again, and, once again, her fist bursts in a splatter of blood. The statue does not care, but it is too slow to properly react to Alice’s sprightly movements. Like a mad-woman, Alice repeats the same unsuccessful attack with her second hand and, just like her other, she breaks it to a bloody pulp. Finally, Alice bends her neck backwards…

“Afterimage Magic: Vestige. Form: Eternal Carnage.”

Her incantation manifests four clones rehashing their previous punches. Alice ends the barrage with a forward assault against the marble layer with her forehead. Reckless or not, the combine force of five repeated attacks is finally able to break and collapse the statue’s stone ribcage where the briar centre has retracked to. Alice stumbles a few steps back as gaping wound on her temple starts bleeding. In a drunk stumble she takes the knife and plunges it inside, and then, she wastes no time slashing the rest of the vines on this statue to finish the job.

Alice is not going to be able to repeat the same suicidal attack with all the rest of the statues, and you do not feel like both your ‘Weighted Blanket’, and the paralyze spell, will last for any longer… half-a-minute at best.

> Use your grimoire to cast a spell. [Select a spell and explain the manner in which you want to use it.]
> Shout to Alice to forget about the statues and use her knife to assist you with cutting through the briar-web.
> Use your cloth-weapon to catch the attention of one or more statues to give Alice the time she needs.
> Steal the knife from Alice using your cloth-weapon and try to do a better job yourself: her injuries look bad.
> [Write In]

>roll 1d10+10 for the cost of the spell – best of three.

>Thanks for playing so far, I hope you are enjoying the story, the humour and the writing.

Rolled 5 + 10 (1d10 + 10)

>>3907163
> Use your grimoire to cast a spell.
> Shout to Alice to forget about the statues and use her knife to assist you with cutting through the briar-web.
> [Wite In]
>> Warn Alice not to be so reckless with her body. We can't keep healing her forever, and if she is going to intentionally get herself harmed like this we aren't going to heal her at all.

Rolled 5 + 10 (1d10 + 10)

>>3907163
> Shout to Alice to forget about the statues and use her knife to assist you with cutting through the briar-web.
> [Wite In]
>> Warn Alice not to be so reckless with her body. We can't keep healing her forever, and if she is going to intentionally get herself harmed like this we aren't going to heal her at all.
> “I’m a commoner! I can’t keep casting healing spells til sunrise, you reckless idiot!”

>>3907800
My write in is probably a bit harsh, I definitely feel Cynthia would be a bit miffed at Alice rn.

>>3907812
Works for me. Fact is, we're almost tapped. We have 2, maybe 3 spells left in us if we're lucky, and judging by how wildly Alice was swinging our knife around, I wouldn't be surprised if the charge is completely drained or close to it.

Rolled 8 + 10 (1d10 + 10)

>>3907163
> Use your grimoire to cast a spell.
> Shout to Alice to forget about the statues and use her knife to assist you with cutting through the briar-web.

>>3907863
I think the knife only holds one charge.

>>3907961
Shit roll, sorry people.

>>3907800
+1

[Update 1/1]

You spend 15 mana.
Mana [32/100]

“Are you trying to get yourself killed?!” you shout at Alice as she, in obvious pain, picks herself up.

“Ha?! You have a problem with what I’m doing, peasant?!” she shouts before trying to wrestle the heavy statue, one that is still paralyzed from your Magic Tool, onto the ground – she fails, of course: the statue is just too heavy.

“I am a commoner! I can’t keep casting healing spells ‘till sunrise, you reckless idiot!”

“I never ASKED you to!” the blood continues to trickle down Alice’s forehead and hands as she frantically and futilely endures pushing the unaffected sculpture. “I DON’T HAVE other offensive spells, and neither do you!!!”

Your weighted blanket begins to slowly crumble into pieces which then completely vanish into the nature’s mana. The vines you have previously paralyzed, too, return to a slow quiver. “Forget about the statues!” you break your voice to reach Alice. You make an attempt to slash the briar-gate with your long cloth-weapon, unsuccessfully. “They will not be able to follow us if we are quick enough – are you here to get the blue rose or smash statues?”

Alice’s arrogant and hostile glare meets yours, and after a very annoyed and stubborn grunt, she concedes and, with a stagger – the world is likely spinning and ringing in her head right now – she rushes back towards the exit. While you wait for Alice to reach the entrapped exit obstructed by web-like-vines, you try a few more attempts to break and rip the briars with your mana-filled cloth. Alice arrives just in time and, using -your- knife, she begins to slash through the overgrowth. Yet again, Phetocruel creates several afterimages to assists her with her problem.

Finally, the briar barrier collapses on itself with no support to hold it in place. Before whooshing forward, you throw a quick glance behind your shoulder. Immediately, you panic: the two statues previously held by your magic are now able to move freely thanks to their ‘briar parasite’ and, although all three of them are sure to crumble and collapse if they have to follow you down the corridors (the statues are not meant to move), they have their swords motioned forward. From both the blades, an explosion of briars spreads and the vines blasts at you and Alice!

> roll 1d100 DR – best of three – to avoid the attack
> [Write In]

>>3907352
>You have to specify the spell

>>3907863
>You have to "recharge" the knife every time you use the paralyze spell, Alice is just using it as a regular weapon.

Rolled 15 (1d100)

>>3908739

Rolled 29 (1d100)

>>3908739

>>3908769
Well shit.

Rolled 24 (1d100)

>>3908739
Please be a good roll!

>>3908766
>>3908769
>>3908812

AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!

[Update 1/1]

You lost 3 health.
Health:[2/5]

You take several steps back. As your heart begins to chaotically beat in fright, you turn around to dash and hide behind the corridor walls. A sudden, immense pain forces you to stumble forward, falter and then hastily cover your upper body with your hands. You feel a sharp agony spreading inside your chest: it becomes harder and harder for you to breathe. Fighting the growing discomfort, you struggle forward – but your arching body suddenly stops and jiggles backwards, as if caught in chains… you might as well be. Once you compose yourself, you finally realize that both of your hands are covered in fresh, warm and scarlet blood, and that the briar-vine forced its way through your entire body and is now holding into your chest with its sharp thorns like a parasite.

You gurgle and spit your blood as you try your hardest to stay conscious. Wildly, you grab into the thicket of vines all over your chest and, with all the strength and pain tolerance you can muster, you begin shredding them off. All the thoughts in your head slowly melt into an oatmeal as you feel yourself weakening. You need your grimoire...

Suddenly, as the heavy briar parasite falls off your chest, you find yourself able to breathe in with all your lungs. You try your hardest to block your bleeding wound with your hands as you feel yourself becoming lighter. The unclear figure of Alice – you recognize her thanks to her unique hair – cuts the last of the annoying vines using your now-drained Paralyze Knife; she carries you a few meters to safety. Alice half-lays half-drops you against the wall and then leans her own shoulder to catch her breath – her forehead, hands and legs are covered in blood.

With no clear view, the statues, fortunately, are unable to throw another vine-lash to slash and gore you two any further. Behind the moss-covered turning wall, you hear the echoing noise of crumbling and cracking marble as the statues, slowly, make an attempt to follow you. The briar magic continues to damage the statues as it forces them to move; rather likely the statues will completely break and collapse before they reach you. Alice stands up.

“Wait,” you say, “I… I… need to heal us first.”

“Yeah, you look like shit,” she grouses, “But I’m going to make some distance first. Come ‘ere.”

Alice does not offer you her hand. Instead, she simply grabs you by your wrist and painfully leads both of your bleeding bodies even further away from this corridor. With all the pain in your chest, and all the ringing in your head, you find it hard to concentrate. Alice, on other hand, is able, albeit with constant pauses and stops, lead you through several more corridors while avoiding all the traps that are supposed to still be here and in waiting. She finally halts in front of an archway entry, leading into an alleyway, covered by the dark shadow of the briar ceiling.

Both of you collapse in front of the archway: you are injured and tired.

> “Do you know how far we are from the centre? It seems like we have been walking for hours now.”
> “We are going to seriously die if we have to face something as dangerous as those statues. Let’s quit.”
> “I am almost out of mana. I am not going to be able to heal us after this. What about you?”
> Attempt to recharge the Magic Tool: Paralyze Knife now that you have the time. Do you have the mana?
> Ask Alice if she can recharge the Magic Tool: Paralyze Knife – as a noble, she seems to have a lot of mana.
> Use your grimoire to cast a spell. [Select a spell and explain the manner in which you want to use it.]
> [Write In]

>>3909942
> Use your grimoire to cast a spell. [Select a spell and explain the manner in which you want to use it.]
> 2 x Healing Blanket Alice first then us
> “I am almost out of mana. I am not going to be able to heal us after this. What about you?”
If she is fine
> Ask Alice if she can recharge the Magic Tool: Paralyze Knife – as a noble, she seems to have a lot of mana.

>>3909954
+1

>Sounds good. I need three people to roll 2d10+10 for tomorrow's post, I will pick lowest of the first and lowest of the second.

Rolled 9, 6 + 10 = 25 (2d10 + 10)

>>3910037

Rolled 8, 3 + 10 = 21 (2d10 + 10)

>>3910037

Rolled 6, 6 + 10 = 22 (2d10 + 10)

>>3910037

[Update 1/1]

Ignoring the pain, you remove your grimoire and place it on your knees. You take a deep, painful breath before you force yourself to bite your lower lip until blood to keep yourself clear-minded and awake. Continuing to tightly hold your left fist over your bleeding chest, you use your other hand to turn the pages of the grimoire.

Alice remains silent.

“I am almost out of mana. I am not going to be able to heal us after this. What about you?”

“I’m FINE,” she groans – the grass beneath her is completely drenched in her bright, red blood.

“Are you not going to ask me not to heal you?” you try to jest but Alice does not notice the humour.

“Shut up,” she turns her head in annoyance, “This is all but your commoner’s duty after I saved you there.”

You shake your head and roll your eyes. Your fingers firmly press the runic, black letters of your grimoire pages as you, despite your harsh and crunching voice, whisper an incantation of your spell – Healing Blanket. Under your control and beneath your hovering hand, a shining silver textile begins to quickly manifest. You try not to move your body too much; even your hand gesticulations are slow and simple. With just the motion of your fingers, you push your incandescent blanket to crawl under and start surrounding your body as if preparing to mummify you.

Almost immediately, the white linen begins to turn crimson in several, bubbling spots. You close your eyes as, practically instantaneously, all your awful pain vanishes. The rough texture of your tarnished skin regains its mellow, soft origin as the deep wound quickly regenerates with almost no marks of you even having it left; almost, the wet blood, now all over your undershirt, remains. If you have to take off even your undershirt, the night cold will be merciless! You feel a bit egotistical wrapping this blanket over yourself first, but you quickly conclude that there is nothing wrong with being just a bit egotistical: your wound is worst and this is your magic.

However, once your wounds are taken care of and your overspent blanket is no more, you turn to Alice and her gruesome injuries. Who goes wrestling with a statue? You allow your grimoire to hover up in the air before you speak out another magic chant. A second, identical cloth portion reappears and repeats the healing ceremony. To your thankfulness, Alice remains laying still and does not offer too many complains. Once your charmed linen begins to – again - disappear, you quickly rub the remains of it all over Alice’s body to try and improve the process.

You spend 16 mana.
You spend 13 mana.
Mana [3/100]
Alice restored 2 health.
You restored 2 health.
Health [4/5]

This is likely your last magic spell for today, you need to try and make it count. Alice finally stands up and, unlike her clothing, her wounds are all (forehead, knuckles, knees and shoulders) completely healed. Again, she does not thank you but unlike lasts times, she crosses her arms and waits for you now. You sigh, gently rock your torso in for assistance and then, you lift yourself up. You are not completely healed, you quickly realize; this labyrinth is near-impossible even for strong Magic Knights! Alice quickly turns around and takes a step towards the archway.

“Wait,” you stop her, “Can you recharged this?” you question as you point at the knife she is holding.

“Recharge a Magic Tool?” Alice sharpens her eyes as she brings the knife closer to her face, “How cheap is this thing? A Magic Tool that can barely hold enough magic for one seal? Probably made in a Forsaken Region.” Alice’s body quickly engulfs in warm, cyan aura which she then swiftly concentrates and pushes in one big wave inside the loudly trembling Paralyze Knife. She spins the knife around her wrist and stabs it in the grass in-between you.

“Alright,” Alice grinds her teeth and knacks her knuckles together, “We… I am getting close; I can SEE it.”

She steps inside the incredibly dark corridor and, as soon as you pick up the now charged knife, you follow her. The “roof” is an overgrowth so thick that not even the moonlight is able to fall inside. The room is taller than all the other gardens you’ve passed through recently. You practically lose track of Alice as soon as she enters inside, you can only hear her motions not far away from you – and you are too drained to even try and sense her mana.

The only things present here that is not consumed by the darkness is a single, jellyfish-like glowing flower growing in one of the walls. For reasons unknown Alice creates an afterimage of herself but, as soon as her body begins to glow, as it usually does for her magic to take effect, another thorny vine smashes in her direction from high above – the spot the multiple vine-tentacle ‘hand’ can be seen dangling from now. Alice narrowly avoids the attack, but as she prepares to fight – the vine retracts back where it came from, only to completely end its engagement.

You look for the exit from where you stand, but it is too dark. You need to pass beneath Charlotte’s trap to find it.

> Use your grim… Not much magic there, is it?
> Enter the centre and try to search for the exit.
> Try to make the vines to strike again in order to paralyze the creature using your Paralyze Knife.
> Ask Alice to continue making her ‘vestiges’ to grab the attention of the vines so you can search for exit.
> Take the glowing flower in case you might need it. If the vines attack – paralyze them with the knife.
> [Write In]

>>3912227
> Did it attack because of where you were standing? Or because you tried to cast a spell?
> Take the glowing flower in case you might need it. If the vines attack – paralyze them with the knife.

By the way Melk, might want to archive the thread soon since we're on page 9.

>>3912278
>I hope I don't forget the thread number!

>>3912227
>> Take the glowing flower in case you might need it. If the vines attack – paralyze them with the knife.
>>3912293
kek

>What do you think about Alice so far?

>>3912309
Her magic is interesting. So far she's been kind of a bitch to us, to put it mildly and she's very self-destructive. Maybe she'll start to cool down if things go well here.

>>3912227
> Did it attack because of where you were standing? Or because you tried to cast a spell?
> or because your magic was glory? Or can is sense mana?
> Take the glowing flower in case you might need it. If the vines attack – paralyze them with the kni

>>3912593
*not glory “glowy”/“glowing”

>>3912309
She seems super strong contrary to what other said. She is just dumb I guess she smash her problem with enough mana/spells until that problem goes away, similary to Tugela but she at least uses her head sometimes.

>>3913575
>similary to Tugela but she at least uses her head sometimes.
Tugela confirmed to be better at headbutting than Alice

>>3914042
>>3914042
>>3914042
New thread.