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BSI: Bosum Strand Irregulars
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<blockquote data-quote="skotothalamos" data-source="post: 6559424" data-attributes="member: 83398"><p><strong>Initializing Bruse Shantus</strong></p><p></p><p>The constables were called to Bruse Shantus’s labyrinthine arena. The other petitioners had gathered in the bleachers to watch the festivities. The constables were guided to a raised platform where they were allowed to introduce themselves and were introduced to the rules of the game.</p><p></p><p>They would be participating in one of the Bruse’s “Adulthood Challenges.” The Adulthood Challenges were a series of competitive activities intended to replace the traditional Beran rites of passage, such as being mutilated by one’s elders or murdering a member of a nearby tribe. In this instance, it was taking the form of one of the minotaur’s favorite environments: a labyrinth. Forty-foot-tall hedges formed a maze on the floor of the arena. The constables would be expected to traverse the maze and emerge safely from the other side, overcoming all challenges that presented themselves. Flying or climbing over the tops of the hedges was prohibited, as was “using magic or technology to bypass the challenges.” Anyone who exited the maze from the opposite end would be granted an audience with the Bruse. The constables were given some glowing crowns so they could be more easily identified by the crowd, and then sent into the hedge maze. A few moments later, they heard someone shout, “Release the bears!”</p><p></p><p>The initial passageway through the hedge featured a twenty-foot-tall concrete wall on the left-hand side, only 20 feet high, blocking the way to a side passage. After much debate over whether they were allowed to go over concrete walls, the constables decided to take the straight path ahead of them. Cazara promptly fell into a pit trap. A glowing light shot into the sky from the bottom of the pit, and then it slammed shut as the crowd roared. The others pried the pit trap open, but there was no sign of Cazara at the bottom. Had she failed already? Had she simply been disintegrated? There was no way to know. IronPeak and Colleen stood on the edges of the false floor, counterweighting it so Summer, James and Alienor could cross, and then Colleen made the jump across, crashing into IronPeak and sending her flying.</p><p></p><p>Around the first turn was a new challenge: a twenty-foot-long pool of brackish water. right in the middle of an intersection. Upon further investigation, only the top foot of the pool was water; a darker substance lay below. After much speculation and experimentation concerning gelatinous creatures, various slimes and maybe a pudding or two (including an experimental Magic Missile at the darkness below the water), the group just decided to jump the pool or climb across the hedges adjacent to the pool. It was at this point that they heard a gunshot from elsewhere in the labyrinth. Either Cazara was alive, or she had just been shot. IronPeak climbed across the left hedge. On the right side, the hedge was interrupted by a passageway. James went for the shorter jump halfway across to the intersection, and then a second jump to join IronPeak. Instead, he jumped right into a pit trap and never made the second jump. Another light shot into the sky, the crowd roared again, and the group was down to four.</p><p></p><p>Summer climbed across the way IronPeak had gone, but lost her grip and fell into the water. Luckily, she as able to teleport away at the last moment, Colleen jumped (crashing into IronPeak again), and Alienor drank a potion of Water Walking. With only five minutes before the effects of the potion expired, Alienor hurried the group past two more pools of water and they came upon a three-way decision point. Opting for the first branch, they found themselves confronted by a passage that dead-ended into another concrete wall. </p><p></p><p>As they were deciding what to do with that, a bear emerged from one of the other passages, and they started to scramble over the wall, using Colleen as a ladder. On the other side was another bear. Alienor perched atop the wall and shot them both. Summer turned invisible and ran down a side passage, where there was another pool of water. She tried to stop, but then realized her momentum was carrying her too fast, so she tried to jump it, but lost her footing and just fell face-first into the ten-foot-deep pool of water and grease. The grease was too viscous for her to extricate herself from, and too dark to see through to try to teleport away, so she just floated down the bottom of the pond and started to accept her fate. IronPeak shoved past the oncoming bear and jumped in to save Summer. Fortunately, Summer’s invisibility wasn’t a hindrance, as the grease was too dark and thick to see through. IronPeak grabbed her and swam back up to the surface. Colleen tried to stop the bear, but it charged IronPeak and Summer, trying to shove them back into the pond. Summer decided she’d had enough of that, and just teleported across the pond.</p><p></p><p>In all the commotion, James came running to them from a side passageway. The pit trap had teleported him to the bottom of a different pit trap, and he had shouted for them, but they had been too busy to notice. When he heard the fighting, he had been able to figure out where they were. In his excitement to rejoin the group, he nearly triggered a pit trap right in front of himself, but he was able to jump it in the nick of time. </p><p></p><p>Colleen and IronPeak were able to beat back the bear, which had filed-down claws, and — in IronPeak’s estimation — was trained not to kill, but to subdue. The punishment that IronPeak and Colleen had done to it was enough to break its training, however, and it was turning to run when Alienor shot it dead. The resounding chorus of boos from the crowd drowned out whatever expletives IronPeak was shouting at Alienor.</p><p></p><p>The mostly re-united group made their way further through the labyrinth. While crossing another pit trap, another bear appeared, startling Colleen. She and James tumbled into the pit, leaving only Alienor, Summer, and IronPeak to handle the pair of bears coming from either direction. Summer found herself facing down a bear alone while IronPeak and Alienor scared off the other, bickering the entire time. Summer reached into her pockets for something useful, and found a hunk of goat meat she had been using as T. Rex treats. She offered it to the bear, and then tossed it into a corner, distracting the bear while she ran away.</p><p></p><p>Colleen rejoined the party from a nearby pit trap and they made their way to what seemed to be the exit, especially when they saw the mechanical bear blocking their path. As they sized up the massive mechanical beast with deadly sharp blades for claws, there was a convergence of five or six other bears. The group fought their way past the first wave of organic bears and then IronPeak engaged the mechanical bear, but ended up surrounded and cut off from the rest of the group. Summer tried to fly past the mechanical bear, with Alienor in tow, but if leaped up into the air and skewered them both. Alienor responded by exploding in a ball of fire and escaping its clutches. IronPeak and Alienor destroyed the mechanical bear and Summer made a run for the exit, with them following close behind. Colleen was in danger of being dragged down by a pair of organic bears, but a thrown healing potion from the others allowed her to stay on her feet long enough to escape just ahead of the bears.</p><p></p><p>The group (minus James, who had failed the test by falling into a second pit trap) was escorted to the Bruse’s temporary throne room, adjacent to his viewing balcony. There they found Cazara, who had been teleported to the pit trap nearest the exit, scared off one bear with a gunshot, and outwitted the mechanical bear to exit the maze far ahead of her colleagues. A crowd started to gather in the throne room and the group was told that the Bruse would hear their petition in a few minutes.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="skotothalamos, post: 6559424, member: 83398"] [b]Initializing Bruse Shantus[/b] The constables were called to Bruse Shantus’s labyrinthine arena. The other petitioners had gathered in the bleachers to watch the festivities. The constables were guided to a raised platform where they were allowed to introduce themselves and were introduced to the rules of the game. They would be participating in one of the Bruse’s “Adulthood Challenges.” The Adulthood Challenges were a series of competitive activities intended to replace the traditional Beran rites of passage, such as being mutilated by one’s elders or murdering a member of a nearby tribe. In this instance, it was taking the form of one of the minotaur’s favorite environments: a labyrinth. Forty-foot-tall hedges formed a maze on the floor of the arena. The constables would be expected to traverse the maze and emerge safely from the other side, overcoming all challenges that presented themselves. Flying or climbing over the tops of the hedges was prohibited, as was “using magic or technology to bypass the challenges.” Anyone who exited the maze from the opposite end would be granted an audience with the Bruse. The constables were given some glowing crowns so they could be more easily identified by the crowd, and then sent into the hedge maze. A few moments later, they heard someone shout, “Release the bears!” The initial passageway through the hedge featured a twenty-foot-tall concrete wall on the left-hand side, only 20 feet high, blocking the way to a side passage. After much debate over whether they were allowed to go over concrete walls, the constables decided to take the straight path ahead of them. Cazara promptly fell into a pit trap. A glowing light shot into the sky from the bottom of the pit, and then it slammed shut as the crowd roared. The others pried the pit trap open, but there was no sign of Cazara at the bottom. Had she failed already? Had she simply been disintegrated? There was no way to know. IronPeak and Colleen stood on the edges of the false floor, counterweighting it so Summer, James and Alienor could cross, and then Colleen made the jump across, crashing into IronPeak and sending her flying. Around the first turn was a new challenge: a twenty-foot-long pool of brackish water. right in the middle of an intersection. Upon further investigation, only the top foot of the pool was water; a darker substance lay below. After much speculation and experimentation concerning gelatinous creatures, various slimes and maybe a pudding or two (including an experimental Magic Missile at the darkness below the water), the group just decided to jump the pool or climb across the hedges adjacent to the pool. It was at this point that they heard a gunshot from elsewhere in the labyrinth. Either Cazara was alive, or she had just been shot. IronPeak climbed across the left hedge. On the right side, the hedge was interrupted by a passageway. James went for the shorter jump halfway across to the intersection, and then a second jump to join IronPeak. Instead, he jumped right into a pit trap and never made the second jump. Another light shot into the sky, the crowd roared again, and the group was down to four. Summer climbed across the way IronPeak had gone, but lost her grip and fell into the water. Luckily, she as able to teleport away at the last moment, Colleen jumped (crashing into IronPeak again), and Alienor drank a potion of Water Walking. With only five minutes before the effects of the potion expired, Alienor hurried the group past two more pools of water and they came upon a three-way decision point. Opting for the first branch, they found themselves confronted by a passage that dead-ended into another concrete wall. As they were deciding what to do with that, a bear emerged from one of the other passages, and they started to scramble over the wall, using Colleen as a ladder. On the other side was another bear. Alienor perched atop the wall and shot them both. Summer turned invisible and ran down a side passage, where there was another pool of water. She tried to stop, but then realized her momentum was carrying her too fast, so she tried to jump it, but lost her footing and just fell face-first into the ten-foot-deep pool of water and grease. The grease was too viscous for her to extricate herself from, and too dark to see through to try to teleport away, so she just floated down the bottom of the pond and started to accept her fate. IronPeak shoved past the oncoming bear and jumped in to save Summer. Fortunately, Summer’s invisibility wasn’t a hindrance, as the grease was too dark and thick to see through. IronPeak grabbed her and swam back up to the surface. Colleen tried to stop the bear, but it charged IronPeak and Summer, trying to shove them back into the pond. Summer decided she’d had enough of that, and just teleported across the pond. In all the commotion, James came running to them from a side passageway. The pit trap had teleported him to the bottom of a different pit trap, and he had shouted for them, but they had been too busy to notice. When he heard the fighting, he had been able to figure out where they were. In his excitement to rejoin the group, he nearly triggered a pit trap right in front of himself, but he was able to jump it in the nick of time. Colleen and IronPeak were able to beat back the bear, which had filed-down claws, and — in IronPeak’s estimation — was trained not to kill, but to subdue. The punishment that IronPeak and Colleen had done to it was enough to break its training, however, and it was turning to run when Alienor shot it dead. The resounding chorus of boos from the crowd drowned out whatever expletives IronPeak was shouting at Alienor. The mostly re-united group made their way further through the labyrinth. While crossing another pit trap, another bear appeared, startling Colleen. She and James tumbled into the pit, leaving only Alienor, Summer, and IronPeak to handle the pair of bears coming from either direction. Summer found herself facing down a bear alone while IronPeak and Alienor scared off the other, bickering the entire time. Summer reached into her pockets for something useful, and found a hunk of goat meat she had been using as T. Rex treats. She offered it to the bear, and then tossed it into a corner, distracting the bear while she ran away. Colleen rejoined the party from a nearby pit trap and they made their way to what seemed to be the exit, especially when they saw the mechanical bear blocking their path. As they sized up the massive mechanical beast with deadly sharp blades for claws, there was a convergence of five or six other bears. The group fought their way past the first wave of organic bears and then IronPeak engaged the mechanical bear, but ended up surrounded and cut off from the rest of the group. Summer tried to fly past the mechanical bear, with Alienor in tow, but if leaped up into the air and skewered them both. Alienor responded by exploding in a ball of fire and escaping its clutches. IronPeak and Alienor destroyed the mechanical bear and Summer made a run for the exit, with them following close behind. Colleen was in danger of being dragged down by a pair of organic bears, but a thrown healing potion from the others allowed her to stay on her feet long enough to escape just ahead of the bears. The group (minus James, who had failed the test by falling into a second pit trap) was escorted to the Bruse’s temporary throne room, adjacent to his viewing balcony. There they found Cazara, who had been teleported to the pit trap nearest the exit, scared off one bear with a gunshot, and outwitted the mechanical bear to exit the maze far ahead of her colleagues. A crowd started to gather in the throne room and the group was told that the Bruse would hear their petition in a few minutes. [/QUOTE]
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