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Maze occurrences so far:

Random Encounter: 4

T-Junction: 2

Dead End: 3

Challenge: 1
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Iorek was inspecting the entrance of the maze by the time Ronan reached his side. The raevan was in awe at how tall the wall of twisting vines and leaves truly stretched. It was rather pretty and he imagined it could be something out of 'Alice in Wonderland'. The smog that rolled lazily along the around caught his attention next. He hadn't noticed that before...Well wasn't that a tad bit ominous. The heavy mist that hung above just sealed the deal of what he thought about this maze.

If Iorek was to say anything about it now he'd say it was rather creepy. This was something you'd avoid on a regular day if it was found out and about. To calm his sudden nerves, Reks told himself that the Lab would never do anything to harm them, so it had to be safe.

The raevan ignored the shiver that danced across his spine as he entered one of the maze's entrances with Ronan. "Do you think this is kind of strange? Um..this maze I mean." He asked quietly as if speaking too loud would break the peace inside the plant walls.

As they drifted and walked down the path, Iorek couldn't get over that he heard no one else behind the shrub's wall. He had seen a handful of raevans venture in before them. Shouldn't there be shrieking, giggles, and an overall jovial sound echoing through the structure? It would definitely be nicer than the heavy silence. Weird and creepy. What a great combo. "Lets...uh...stay close, okay? I would hate to lose my partner." Iorek said as he floated back to Ronan's side and continued to venture into the deep dark unknown.

Iorek knew he shouldn't be anxious about this maze, after all it was just a game, but boy his head was on a swivel just in case something was to jump out. That's what happened in mazes like this right? No. He had to be courageous. It was ridiculous to be made uneasy by this. Iorek knew that a hero never ran away from something that made him nervous. Ronan needed to see him as a strong and no-fear raevan. This maze was supposed to be a fun time and darn it he'd make sure he had one!

The magical stink refused to leave even after entering the maze; instead, it got stronger, tickling at Ronan's nose incessantly. Therefore, when Iorek asked if the maze was strange he didn't mince words.

"This place is filled to brim with magic." As if to prove the point he abruptly sneezed three times in rapid succession. "Bah..." Wiping the bottom of his nose he gave a large sniff, one of his eyes closing. Blinking a few times he looked around, satisfied that the sneezing fit had passed for the moment. The selkie hoped it wasn't going to become a regular thing, but he had bad feeling he wasn't going to be that lucky.

"Staying close isn't a bad idea," he said with a reassuring smile as he placed hand on the raevan's shoulder. "As long as we keep our wits about us, even with the magic, we should be fine." Any further words were cut off by a sputtering sneeze, and when he looked up through watering eyes Ronan witnessed a spectral pair of legs turning around the corner. Without really thinking he began to head in the opposite direction, his brain only focusing on calming his running nose.

Ronan's flight ended in a rather undignified manner, tripping onto his rear end in the middle of a junction. He gave a somewhat loud sniff, rubbing one of his eyes. "Sorry about that.... wasn't feeling the best there." Putting one of his hands on the ground he pushed himself up, shaking his head like a dog in an attempt to clear his sinuses. "On your earlier question, I can sense if magic is around, but most of the time it's very general. If there's too much around my nose starts to itch." He gave another sneeze. "Ahh, blast it..."

"As for if I'm magical... I guess you could say that," he said quietly, a distant look in his eyes as he examined the different paths. Both looked fairly similar with nothing to suggest a difference between the two. Well, nothing besides his nose at least and he was doing his best to ignore it at the moment. At this rate it was going to go numb soon.

The selkie turned back to the raevan, placing a hand on his hip. "So, which way do you want to go? They both look the same to me." He also felt somewhat bad for essentially ignoring the boy with the last encounter, so he felt it was best to let him take the lead.

It's no lie that this is a beautifully kept area. The walls are immaculate, the grass is trimmed, and everything just seems perfect for the day's events. This is why it's so odd that this path you've walked into is so unkempt. The grass is knee high and uneven, the walls are running wild with branches stretching in front of your face, roots are twisted above the ground, and there's a number of insects, squirrels, and stones dotting the path ahead. Perhaps the gardener just forgot about this section of the maze - it is pretty large after all.

"Alright, if you say so. If you get tired or anything just let me know, okay?" Iorek told him as they headed down the aisle of foliage.

Reks nodded as he listened to his partner explain exactly why he was having such a dilemma. "That makes sense. Glad it's only a sporadic thing. I'd go nuts if that happened all the time." He shivered at the thought and eyed Ronan curiously at the part of a 'bronze dragon'. What did he mean by that? Iorek wondered but they were onto the next topic before he could ask.

'You look too amazing...' made the gargoyle instantly flush. How many times was that today? It must have been over a hundred now that his pale cheeks glowed with some color.

Iorek chuckled and rubbed his arm, "Oh no...I uh...well..thanks. That's nice of you to say." Yeah, that sounded like a great response. Why did he always get so flustered when a compliment was thrown his way? Ugh...he must of looked like a glow-bug right now with his bright cheeks.

He was too busy fretting to realize what they had stumbled across for a moment. Iorek looked up when he felt the tall grass tickle his tattered ribbon. "What...oh...wow...."

Peculiar was the perfect word to not only explain this part of their game, but the maze over all. It had definitely been spiked to the max with something. If not magic then something like Miracle Grow.

"Um...I guess...we keep following the path?" Iorek bent down to avoid colliding with a stray branch. He listened to the bugs buzz and the squirrels chitter. What a place it was! "Watch yourself, Ronan. This place is easy enough for you to take a tumble."

Iorek winced as his hair got tangled up in a branch and gave a few sharp tugs to release it. "Eesh...this is definitely weird. Least the squirrels are cute?" He said as his large hands reached out to gently take Ronan's hand and pull him away from a large branch just waiting to cause a bruise to the man's noggin.

"Lets keep moving...careful...easy. Jeez this place is huge."

Iorek had been watching a squirrel stuff a nut into his mouth and before he knew it he was pulled to a new spot. The raevan yelped with surprise and quickly looked back where he had just been. A large branch had taken his spot for its own and he didn't have to guess that it would of hurt had he been hit.

"T-Thanks..." Reks leaned in to Ronan and tilted his head down so the selkie could pluck the forest debris out of his mane. He wasn't used to someone else rescuing him. How should he feel about that? It wasn't like he was too upset. He just felt a strange twinge at the fact that he hadn't been able to save himself. "I suppose you're right. I'm just used to always looking out for others. It's weird having the role reversed like that."

A large proud smile swept over and took the place of his pout at Ronan's 'thank you'. "Of course, I hope I'm of some use. It's been nice having a partner like you along."

He glanced at the fork in the road once they had reached the end of the wild area. "Uh...what do you feel about the left? See what the other direction gives us?"

"We all take the role of rescuer or rescuee at some point in our lives, so don't worry. And you are a great help, those arms aren't just ornaments after all," he said with a chuckle. Hearing the second part Ronan smiled. "The feeling's mutual."

"Left works just fine, a little variety to spice things up." The selkie oriented himself with a smart turn of the heel, soon stepping lightly over the manicured grass. The path was clear, nothing had popped out of the brush, everything seemed to be going fine.

Then Ronan sneezed.

He stopped, looking around warily. The first thing he noticed was the lack of animal sounds. No, not just animal sounds. Any sound. Hair raising along his arms in a wave he grabbed Iorek's hand and began to move at a brisk pace. He didn't know exactly why, but he wanted out of this soundless section, and fast. Mainly, it just gave him the creeps.