Autumnal The Hollow Harvest

[jahdeen]

The bobbling flames came out from the stalks, two of them dancing around Echo and Sea, ushering them to their feet. "This way. This way."

"Yes, yes, this way."

Both flames danced around them once more before pulling open some stalks that opened another path. "This way." One giggled.

Are you ready? Came the whisper again, more amused. Continue if you dare.

The flames giggled.

Echo bristled unsteadily at the voices. He watched the little sparks sway and flutter, both transfixed by their motions and unnerved by their enthusiasm. Trust was already a fickle thing to him, and these faeries sounded more mischievous than trustworthy. The laughing, too, did nothing to ease his suspicion. What could possibly be so entertaining?

He leaned to his side to murmur to Amphi, intending to advise caution--

Amphitrite looked over at Echo. "You coming...? They might lead you to, well, whomever it is that you are looking for." She asked with a tilt of her head before stepping closer to the flames.

Echo opened his mouth to protest, but no sound emerged. Careless as she might be, the legged mermaid had a point. Realistically, Aisha probably wouldn't be in this corn maze in the first place--there was no sign of lightning or someone tripping with a yelp--but if there was indeed a way out, he could make his way back to Akardan sooner than later. Really, following these fire spirits would yield no different outcome than Echo following a random path on his own blind volition. Besides... fire was always his friend.

He chewed his lip, then exhaled. "Lead on," he conceded, giving Amphi a nod. "Just keep your wits about you."

 

[Flex]

Flex lifted one side of his confident brow as crows cawed in one direction. Then the other side lifted, equally as confident as he heard voices in the distance.

The singing had reached his ears far earlier, and now some unfortunate soul seemed to have collided with the screeching siren. Truly, she sounded like a wounded animal making its final plea to the gods.

He let out a soft stoic laugh.

One glance at the sky had him redoubling his efforts on completing this maze. It was night and his bedtime was 8pm.

Choosing the path untouched

Flex’s eyes closed, his nose lifting as if he could scent the beautiful voice that crept over his skin.

How curious.

He loosed an unconcerned breath. Curiosity killed the cat. But, nothing was said for a man with that dawg in him.

A growl came from somewhere that sent chills up his spine.

He liked that.

Flex gave a playful growl in response.

What will be left to walk it when you are gone?

An incredulous laugh escaped him. “I think I’m only interested in you, darling. To hell with whatever comes behind me.”

The voice cackled as the stalks shuddered around Flex. They felt weighted, heavy, as if turning to stone while still firmly being stalks. The more one pushed, the heavier they became.

Something shifted. Something intangible, yet—the stalks felt denser, heavier. Convenient, he thought. This voice of a goddess didn’t deserve him at his worst.

Deflated.

His last work out having occurred nearly half a day ago. She deserved him with a fresh pump and the stalks had changed their weight so he could appease this creature. Without a moment’s hesitation he began to perform rows with perfect form, his eyes concentrated on the peak of his biceps with each pull. He spoke to his muscles praising them when they succeeded, and commanding better when their strength faulted.

Set after set was conducted. Minutes turned to long moments, and a full workout later he realized that a path had opened.

He smirked, proud of himself, head nodding because he knew the goddess had watched. Perhaps she was the only being more impressed than he was with what he’d just accomplished in the maze.

Do you trust the little flame?

She was summoning him. He knew it in his heart. It wasn’t the flame he saw which she spoke of, but rather the flame of his desire that had begun to burn for her.

“Oh, love. I’m ready to be consumed by it.”

So, Flex ran down the path. Sprinted. Blindly headed towards that flame, towards her, the thing that made his blood rush.

He had never known love until now.

For what was love, if not something that made his heart race—faster than any double scoop of pre-workout.

 

[Crenna]

Either they set the fields up precisely next to each other without overlapping, or it isn't magnetism... Considering that she wasn't sure if the former was even possible, not to mention the fact that she felt that she was already lost, she sighed and, after looking down the other two paths, decided to continue following in the direction of the compass. Actually, she thought after a moment, I'm not lost. All I have to do is go 'South' to retrace my steps. At least, so long as the maze itself wasn't magically shifting around her, which she wouldn't be surprised if that were the case.

The First

.

.

As you follow the compass, you soon start to feel eyes on you. Not hostile. You do not feel in danger or threatened. Just followed. Yet you do not hear or see anything. The best you see is a shadow in the stalks. BUt that could just be a trick of the light on your eyes. Your Neko senses are not helpful either. So all you can do is continue walking.

The compass leads you from path to path yet you always feel like you are going forward even if each intersection does not make sense. However, you finally come to a dead end yet the compass still points forward, directly into the corn stalks. Which as you recall is against the rules to enter.

"I'm surprised you followed the compass this entire time. Lots of people who are gifted it abandon it as broken and stop half way through to forge their own path."

Behind you sits a black housecat, its yellow eyes staring into yours. It almost looks out of place in the corn, sitting on the muddy path without a care in the world. It licks a paw and begins to wash its face. "I sensed that one of my own had come into the maze. And to be bestowed the compass. Whatever you did to impress the Mistresses must of worked. They do not give that compass to anyone." It flashes a tooth at your in a cheshire grin, "Though I suppose curiosity kills the cat." It looks past you, "So, what will you do sister? Enter the stalks to follow the compass or head back the way you came?"

 

[Crenna]

"Yes but now it is a big clean circle, and we have all these candy wrappers that we've taken out of the ecosystem so that they don't turn into microplastics and get into our food! Hey, did you know that the average human has approximately enough plastic in their body to create a credit card? As awful as that sounds, at least we know that if your mouth writes checks your body can't cash, you can always put it on your card!"

This kind of banter - wholly useless and perhaps dubiously factual information - had become commonplace over the last... however long it had been, among Rimechapel and the crows. So had the words 'obdurate' and 'recalcitrant,' as well as the byphrase 'ululating execrations,' which usually came up when one of the crows got too excited and pinched too hard on his shoulder.


"Ehehe..." Rimechapel slowly grinned - a sort of sheepish, perilously buccalent expression for his apparent lack of ability to rein it in - and poked his index fingers together anxiously. The bag of candy wrappers, hooked on his elbow, rustled cheerily. He glanced between the wingmen (wingwomen? He hadn't thought to ask, really) on his shoulders, a bead of nervous sweat beginning to form on his temple.

He began to whisper loudly to them. "Hey! Hey, members of the parliament, w-what do I say to her? She's really cute. Should I ask her for her number? Is that too forward? Should I give her a present? I really only have a big bag of trash and that cool looking pebble we found an hour ago. Hey, don't one of you owe me a shiny trinket? Dangit, I coulda offered her that! Ugh! Now I'll just have to try to be smooth and I'm so bad at that you guys!"

He cleared his throat and swallowed obviously. "... HI. Yeah. I think I'm probably pretty good and lost now. Unless, I'm uh... where I'm supposed to be? I mean, you're here, right?" He winked at her, not quite shyly, but not not shyly.

"Anyway, it's a very cute corn maize, and I've enjoyed it quite a lot so far, mostly because of the company. Maybe... you wouldn't mind walking with me for a while? If you're not busy, I mean. I wouldn't want to bother you if you're busy. I'm sure you're busy, right? Of course you're busy. You're like, super cute. I mean, uh, super important. Well, you are super cute, too, but I--" he laughed and scratched the back of his neck, grinning. Then he held out his hand - not the one that had the bag of trash hooked on it.

"Hold my hand while we walk?"

The First

.

.

The woman in front of you looks quite perplexed at you as you ramble about credit cards, microplastics and numbers. Then you declare your desire to hold her hand and she narrows her eyes., almost as if she is assessing your entire being. "So you greet my sisters without speaking a word to me but then you wish to hold my hand? I always forget how fickle mortals are."

The wind shifts and suddenly she is gone from your eyes. However, you hear her voice behind you and her looming presence. "Did you know that it rude to ignore your hosts? Though..." She reaches from behind you, poking the bag, "You did pick up the trash for us and that is also something I cannot ignore." Without warning, she appears in front of you, this time looking at the crows. "Come you two."

Both crows fly immediately to her shoulders, landing perfectly on them. She speaks in an ancient language and suddenly, a shiny coin appears in her hands. She tosses it to you. "I do not know what to make of you. So continue following the maze, pick up trash and if you are deemed worthy, the path will open before you." Then she vanishes along with the crows, leaving you all alone. Do you heed her words and continue to pick up trash? Or do you decide to do something different?

 

[Heather_the_Writer]

@firefly

"Thank you, for the compliment. And the help. I love all of your fashion, as well. Black widow silk is  extremely strong. Buendía armour is highly sought after. And, our warriors. Besides, I don't plan on staying long." She politely pointed out.
Isabel leveled the three women with a self-assured expression. Many people would consider the Buendía history as one full of villains. They might of been right.

"I made this toque myself, with my own spider silk." She lifted her chin proudly. Any fear she felt, she pushed away.

"I do not believe she looks similar to a pumpkin, no. Ann was wearing... a dull navy jacket. She's a Pender-moor, and stronger than she looks. I don't know what the siblings do, in their spare time."

The umber toned woman was, as always, the essence etiquette. She refused to comment about hiding things.
She had no clue what an 'animated pumpkin' was. She didn't feel the need to ask.
As the three spoke, she began using her gift. She had the power to control Thousands of tiny senses, unseen to normal people, merged into one, streamlined conscious. Her fire ants, safe in her satchel. Bugs, spiders, and flies skittered about.

Isabel nodded, and took the third sisters hand.

"Those spiders, in the corn. They're simply marvelous!" She commented on the gigantic spiders. Other than the high corn, the entire maze was cozy. She enjoyed the pumpkin smell; it was better than most farmers fields she had visited (to help with possible bug infestations, or anything along those lines).

Isabel studied her options... three choices... and thought she spotted a young brown haired boy in the middle passage; he had his fathers sapphire blue eyes. She squared her jaw.

"If she's like her mother, she likes shiny things." Isabel spoke outloud; she stepped into the middle passage. She didn't say, Ann junior was always willing to make friends, too.​

She would not cry.

​

 

[Batcat]

The First

.

.

As you follow the compass, you soon start to feel eyes on you. Not hostile. You do not feel in danger or threatened. Just followed. Yet you do not hear or see anything. The best you see is a shadow in the stalks. BUt that could just be a trick of the light on your eyes. Your Neko senses are not helpful either. So all you can do is continue walking.

The compass leads you from path to path yet you always feel like you are going forward even if each intersection does not make sense. However, you finally come to a dead end yet the compass still points forward, directly into the corn stalks. Which as you recall is against the rules to enter.

"I'm surprised you followed the compass this entire time. Lots of people who are gifted it abandon it as broken and stop half way through to forge their own path."

Behind you sits a black housecat, its yellow eyes staring into yours. It almost looks out of place in the corn, sitting on the muddy path without a care in the world. It licks a paw and begins to wash its face. "I sensed that one of my own had come into the maze. And to be bestowed the compass. Whatever you did to impress the Mistresses must of worked. They do not give that compass to anyone." It flashes a tooth at your in a cheshire grin, "Though I suppose curiosity kills the cat." It looks past you, "So, what will you do sister? Enter the stalks to follow the compass or head back the way you came?"

Aimi paused at the dead end, a slight frown on her face as she looked back down at the compass. Before she could make any decision, however, the voice caused her to jump slightly before turning to look at the cat.

She smiled and looked back at the wall of corn before her, her tail swishing excitedly. "The rules stated both to trust my instincts if I can't find my way, but also to not run through the stalks." Despite that, she reached out towards the stalks. This place was magical, which meant she couldn't exactly rely on logic, which had already been demonstrated by the compass. But magic could be dangerous if one did not respect it. "Though the rules didn't say anything about walking through the stalks. My instincts are telling me to continue following the compass. It's already led me this far." Then again, it could be that compass was indeed simply broken and the paths it was leading her on were entirely coincidental or manipulated using other means, but something told her that that wasn't the case. The woman had specifically said that the compass should lead the way.

"Besides," she said, her fingers brushing gently against the stalks. "Everyone seems to forget the second half of that saying. Curiosity may have killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back." Pausing only for a moment, her voice lowered nearly to a whisper. "Will you allow me passage?" Whether the stalks would part enough for her to step through or simply nothing would happen, her mind had been made up. Taking a breath for courage, she carefully stepped into the wall of the maze to continue walking in the direction the compass pointed.

 

[Rimechapel]

"Did you know that it rude to ignore your hosts?"

"It-- I-- you're cute and I was shy, okay??"

She speaks in an ancient language and suddenly, a shiny coin appears in her hands. She tosses it to you.

Rimechapel gasped and caught the coin, in that hot-potato sort of way that is only technically a "catch" and is really more of a set of ten fumbling fingers finally forgetting function. The coin ultimately dropped to the ground with a soft noise before he crouched, grabbed it, and shot back up to his feet in the same motion. He turned the coin in his hand.

"No way. So cool..."

"I do not know what to make of you."

He grinned slowly. "... So you're saying there's a chance."

Then she vanishes along with the crows, leaving you all alone.

"Hey-- wait-- gah. Mannnn..." Rimechapel's arms slumped and he kicked at the ground - a big, willowy kick, that started in his elbow and traveled all the way down through his spine, hip, knee, and ankle, like someone held one end of a slack rope and gave it a good snap.

"... Cute... rich... educated... mature... good with animals... ugh." He sighed and trudged along the path, shoulders slumped a little. "Whatever. She's probably married or something, anyway - what with all that 'I forget how you mortals are' talk."

Glumly coming to an intersection of sorts, he straightened his back and looked at the sign. Really looked, as though any of the 'this way' or 'that way' shingles on the signpost meant anything at all.

"Hmm... well... I guess I've already been that way. May as well go this way. The 'right hand rule' must only work in Minecraft, and not 'hot girl corn maize land.'" He walked onwards, heading 'this way,' down a path that - as near as he could tell - he had not been before. His steps were a little surer now, even if they were quieter and lacked the small but unmistakable murder he bore on his shoulders before.

He studied the coin, good and long, with all the attention of someone who pretended to know quite a lot more about numismatics than he did - which was rather easy, for he knew so little of the field. And every so often, wherever it might be found along the way, he picked up litter and tucked it in the bag.

"... I wonder if she likes stamps. Hmm. Lemme workshop that... 'hey, baby, why don't we go back to my place for a little philately....' Nah, that doesn't work, sounds too much like... like... somethin' else. Shit, I've got, like, zero game. I'm lucky there's no one around to hear me talking to myself like a fucking psycho. Can you imagine if this whole thing was posted in an online forum somewhere? Heh!"

 

[Mikki]

Darla paused at the entrance, her eyes snapping over the rules, and taking in the countenance of the women arguing. This was likely to be an interesting time. She fiddled in her pocket for a caramel candy, and popped one in her mouth after removing the wrapper.

"I imagined more scarecrows... but this is cute. Definitely doesn't scream 'Come here to die'." She chuckled darkly then sauntered into the maze.

She didn't mind the whispers or the crows. In fact she tossed a candy towards one of the feathered friends as an offering.

"Werthers, they're the best..." She took the first left with barely a glance. Her pace was that of a leisure stroll, just taking in the maze and the rustling of the stalks. It was peaceful enough, a far cry from her days in the fighting pits. She was due a measure of break from her normal routine, she surmised. Something fun.

She continued on through the stalks, following her path, and leaving a small scuff mark in the dirt, something to reroute backwards if she needed to. Just in case. Though, she flicked her metallic lighter closed with a tinny sound that seemed louder in the night than it had any right to be. It was more a habit to flick the item open and closed, gave her some sense of safety to fiddle around with an item. As if her brain needed something to occupy it in the empty spaces of thought that occurred.

"Aren't I supposed to be harassed by now? Are there any scare actors out here too? You guys know that Halloween is over right?"

 

[firefly]

@firefly

"Thank you, for the compliment. And the help. I love all of your fashion, as well. Black widow silk is  extremely strong. Buendía armour is highly sought after. And, our warriors. Besides, I don't plan on staying long." She politely pointed out.
Isabel leveled the three women with a self-assured expression. Many people would consider the Buendía history as one full of villains. They might of been right.

"I made this toque myself, with my own spider silk." She lifted her chin proudly. Any fear she felt, she pushed away.

"I do not believe she looks similar to a pumpkin, no. Ann was wearing... a dull navy jacket. She's a Pender-moor, and stronger than she looks. I don't know what the siblings do, in their spare time."

The umber toned woman was, as always, the essence etiquette. She refused to comment about hiding things.
She had no clue what an 'animated pumpkin' was. She didn't feel the need to ask.
As the three spoke, she began using her gift. She had the power to control Thousands of tiny senses, unseen to normal people, merged into one, streamlined conscious. Her fire ants, safe in her satchel. Bugs, spiders, and flies skittered about.

Isabel nodded, and took the third sisters hand.

"Those spiders, in the corn. They're simply marvelous!" She commented on the gigantic spiders. Other than the high corn, the entire maze was cozy. She enjoyed the pumpkin smell; it was better than most farmers fields she had visited (to help with possible bug infestations, or anything along those lines).

Isabel studied her options... three choices... and thought she spotted a young brown haired boy in the middle passage; he had his fathers sapphire blue eyes. She squared her jaw.

"If she's like her mother, she likes shiny things." Isabel spoke outloud; she stepped into the middle passage. She didn't say, Ann junior was always willing to make friends, too.​

She would not cry.

​

@Heather_the_Writer

The Third

.

.

The Third Sister seems quite pleased with your choice, giving you a little clap of her hands as she follows you into the middle passage.

The passage narrows considerably the further you both venture into it, the towering corn stalks leaning inwards so that their broad leaves brush against each other overhead. Any weak light by the moon is almost entirely covered by the thick canopy, only leaving small pools of lantern light on the straw-covered earth. As the sister walks beside you, her dark skirts catch little bits of straw along it's edges. and she occasionally reaches out to brush her fingertips along the corn leaves, as though greeting old friends.

"How clever of you to make your own clothes," She crooned conversationally, "Spider's are such wonderfully industrious little creatures. Always spinning, always weaving..."

She trails off as you both approach the item that had caught your eye. Closer inspection reveals it to be a small, antique brass key, its bow decorated with delicate floral engravings. A length of blue ribbon has been tied through its little loop, its ends frayed and slightly muddied. A set of small, muddied footprints trails away from it, disappearing into the wall of corn that lines the path.

The sister invites you to pick the key up and hums with a thoughtful expression, "How fascinating, I wonder what it opens? Best to keep it safe, who knows when it might come in handy!"

At that moment, a soft giggle bounces down the path from further down the path. Looking up, you see what might be a little girl peeking out from around the left corner of the next junction. Her blonde hair tumbles over one shoulder. She giggle again and disappears around the corner.

"Shy little thing, isn't she?" The sister comments mildly, clasping her hands behind her back and tilting her head after the girl, "Or maybe she's just playing a game. Our residents do love their games. It's a good thing that she seems to like you, when they don't, it can get a little tedious for me to stick around while they have their fun"

She turns to you, black eyes sparkling. Her hood slips back slightly, revealing more of the intricate markings that adorn her face.

"Now, my dear, it seems you have another pair of options."

With one pale finger, dipped in midnight ink, she points the footprints and follows its trail into the maze wall.

"Do you follow this convenient little trail, or," The sister's finger swings sideways towards the junction where you saw the girl. "Do you play a little game?"

 

[firefly]

Darla paused at the entrance, her eyes snapping over the rules, and taking in the countenance of the women arguing. This was likely to be an interesting time. She fiddled in her pocket for a caramel candy, and popped one in her mouth after removing the wrapper.

"I imagined more scarecrows... but this is cute. Definitely doesn't scream 'Come here to die'." She chuckled darkly then sauntered into the maze.

She didn't mind the whispers or the crows. In fact she tossed a candy towards one of the feathered friends as an offering.

"Werthers, they're the best..." She took the first left with barely a glance. Her pace was that of a leisure stroll, just taking in the maze and the rustling of the stalks. It was peaceful enough, a far cry from her days in the fighting pits. She was due a measure of break from her normal routine, she surmised. Something fun.

She continued on through the stalks, following her path, and leaving a small scuff mark in the dirt, something to reroute backwards if she needed to. Just in case. Though, she flicked her metallic lighter closed with a tinny sound that seemed louder in the night than it had any right to be. It was more a habit to flick the item open and closed, gave her some sense of safety to fiddle around with an item. As if her brain needed something to occupy it in the empty spaces of thought that occurred.

"Aren't I supposed to be harassed by now? Are there any scare actors out here too? You guys know that Halloween is over right?"

@Mikki

The Third

.

.

As Darla enters the maze, the Third Sister watches her go with a small tilt of her head. A bright, entertained smile lights up her face beneath her dark cowl.

"Oh, I rather like this one," She says to her sisters, "She's brought refreshments for the crows, how thoughtful! Do you suppose she'll be disappointed if nothing tries to eat her?"

Inside the maze it is quiet, peaceful, dry leaves brushing against each other to sound like intrigued whispers at their interesting new guest. The air is warm and earthy, carrying a distant creaking from some wooden structure somewhere.

As you continue along the path around a gentle bend, the corn rustles behind you, hushed and mischievous. With a soft, deliberate shuffling noise, the path behind you subtly changes. It doesn't completely close off, but the stalks have shifted just enough so that your scuff mark is no longer visible. It doesn't seem to be anything ominous, it's like the maze is just tidying up after you.

Your lighter flicks open and close, a little metallic chime rhythmically breaking the relative quietness around you. Soon, you notice that the lanterns lining the path ahead are responding to it. At first, it's subtle, one of them several steps away brightening just as the lighter snaps open, and dimming when it closed. As you continue along, the lighter flicking open, closed, open, closed, lanterns further long the path follow suit. Before long, there's a little sequence of lights illuminating your way ahead.

An invitation, or a trick?

Before long you enter a small clearing. It's empty, save for a rather sorry-looking scarecrow mounted on a wooden pole. Its burlap head is crooked beneath a floppy straw hat, both arms jutting out on either side of it. Hanging from its neck is a sign and a rather uninspired proclamation:

BOO!

As you enter the clearing, the scarecrow's head slowly turns to follow you. As if only just hearing your question, a scratchy voice emerges from beneath the burlap, and its knitted mouth moving and scrunching the burlap there as if it has a mouth.

"What?? Halloween is over!? Ugh, but nobody told me!"

The scarecrow seems to sag in its wooden fixture.

"And you don't even looks scared," It mumbles, hanging its head down in a very pathetic sort of way, "It's not my fault. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to frighten people these days? They're all watching scary movies, playing creepy games, even writing all sorts of spooky things with each other."

From this distance you can see that there is something glinting in the front pocket of its shirt. Behind it, two paths diverge amongst the corn:

The trail of blinking lantern lights continues down the path to the left. They glow and dim playfully down the wide path where a faint ambient light shines just beyond, inviting you to follow.

To the right, a familiar looking crow perches on a sturdy stalk at the entrance to the other path, gently bobbing up and down as it sways. You recognise it from earlier, it's the one you offered the Werther's candy to.​

"One of those goes out. Probably." The scarecrow sighs morosely.

 

[Crenna]

Aimi paused at the dead end, a slight frown on her face as she looked back down at the compass. Before she could make any decision, however, the voice caused her to jump slightly before turning to look at the cat.

She smiled and looked back at the wall of corn before her, her tail swishing excitedly. "The rules stated both to trust my instincts if I can't find my way, but also to not run through the stalks." Despite that, she reached out towards the stalks. This place was magical, which meant she couldn't exactly rely on logic, which had already been demonstrated by the compass. But magic could be dangerous if one did not respect it. "Though the rules didn't say anything about walking through the stalks. My instincts are telling me to continue following the compass. It's already led me this far." Then again, it could be that compass was indeed simply broken and the paths it was leading her on were entirely coincidental or manipulated using other means, but something told her that that wasn't the case. The woman had specifically said that the compass should lead the way.

"Besides," she said, her fingers brushing gently against the stalks. "Everyone seems to forget the second half of that saying. Curiosity may have killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back." Pausing only for a moment, her voice lowered nearly to a whisper. "Will you allow me passage?" Whether the stalks would part enough for her to step through or simply nothing would happen, her mind had been made up. Taking a breath for courage, she carefully stepped into the wall of the maze to continue walking in the direction the compass pointed.

The First

.

.

As you take your first step, the stalks part in front of you, offering a path that just fits you. There was a chuckle from behind you as the cat grins, "Ah, a true soul after my own heart. You do well to follow your instincts."

The cat gets up and stretches with a yawn. "I do not know what the next path entails for you but good luck. And remember to keep that compass handy." Suddenly, bat like wings appear from its back as it starts to take wings. Now that you get a good view, you are staring at a Bat Cat, a rare creature who only reveals itself to those it chooses. It winks at you, "Until next time, sister." It then disappears over the stalks, flying away.

Turning back to take the path before you, you realize that the path behind you has been swallowed up with stalks meaning that you can only go forward. The compass needle just spins in a circle, also indicating that you can only go straight. After you take a few more steps, the path widens to reveal a thick fog that obscures your view. Then you hear a voice in your head, the Bat Cat reminding you to follow your instincts. So you take a step forward into the fog...

(Thank you for playing in the corn maze. Your character have successfully completed this section. Once the new section opens, you will be able to continue on your adventure.)

 

[Crenna]

"It-- I-- you're cute and I was shy, okay??"



Rimechapel gasped and caught the coin, in that hot-potato sort of way that is only technically a "catch" and is really more of a set of ten fumbling fingers finally forgetting function. The coin ultimately dropped to the ground with a soft noise before he crouched, grabbed it, and shot back up to his feet in the same motion. He turned the coin in his hand.

"No way. So cool..."



He grinned slowly. "... So you're saying there's a chance."



"Hey-- wait-- gah. Mannnn..." Rimechapel's arms slumped and he kicked at the ground - a big, willowy kick, that started in his elbow and traveled all the way down through his spine, hip, knee, and ankle, like someone held one end of a slack rope and gave it a good snap.

"... Cute... rich... educated... mature... good with animals... ugh." He sighed and trudged along the path, shoulders slumped a little. "Whatever. She's probably married or something, anyway - what with all that 'I forget how you mortals are' talk."

Glumly coming to an intersection of sorts, he straightened his back and looked at the sign. Really looked, as though any of the 'this way' or 'that way' shingles on the signpost meant anything at all.

"Hmm... well... I guess I've already been that way. May as well go this way. The 'right hand rule' must only work in Minecraft, and not 'hot girl corn maize land.'" He walked onwards, heading 'this way,' down a path that - as near as he could tell - he had not been before. His steps were a little surer now, even if they were quieter and lacked the small but unmistakable murder he bore on his shoulders before.

He studied the coin, good and long, with all the attention of someone who pretended to know quite a lot more about numismatics than he did - which was rather easy, for he knew so little of the field. And every so often, wherever it might be found along the way, he picked up litter and tucked it in the bag.

"... I wonder if she likes stamps. Hmm. Lemme workshop that... 'hey, baby, why don't we go back to my place for a little philately....' Nah, that doesn't work, sounds too much like... like... somethin' else. Shit, I've got, like, zero game. I'm lucky there's no one around to hear me talking to myself like a fucking psycho. Can you imagine if this whole thing was posted in an online forum somewhere? Heh!"

The First

.

.

There is laughter coming from the corn as a disembodied voice says, "You never know what is being recorded for future generations to read and giggle about." When you look, there is nothing there and you are alone yet again. But something inside urges you to keep going and picking up trash. Once your bag is completely full, the wind around you starts to pick up and it rustles the stalks a bit aggressively.

"So you actually did continue to pick up trash? I am quite pleased that you took an interest in the upkeep of my maze."

The woman appears in front of you, this time face to face. She grins at you before leaning forward and placing a simple kiss on your cheek, "Thank you. I shall keep my eye on you. Now, go forth to the exit." Behind her, the stalks open up and reveal a heavy fog that obscures your view. "It is perfect safe." Without warning, she disappeared again, leaving you and your empty plastic bag to enter the fog alone...

(Thank you for playing in the corn maze. Your character have successfully completed this section. Once the new section opens, you will be able to continue on your adventure.)

 

[Mikki]

From this distance you can see that there is something glinting in the front pocket of its shirt.

"Well maybe it's not your fault friend. Times are changing in weird ways. People are going crazier by the day. Say... do you mind if I trade you a caramel for what's in your pocket?" She smiles up at the scarecrow.

"And I think your sign could use new lettering. Maybe that will help too. Instead of saying 'BOO!' Maybe it could say something more frightening. Like... 'Get Out While You Can!' Or 'Beware the children in the corn!' Ya know? Oh and maybe if you frown a bit more, that might help too."
Darla looked up at the scarecrow, her eyes calculating.