NPF Avatars IV, Chapter VIII: At the Fountains of Madness

mauve · 12-04-2006, 04:19 AM

“That’s not good,” Mauve remarked intelligently as the sphinx took flight and lazily tossed some sort of dark spell her way.

The mage quickly backpedaled, trying to judge where it was going to land. This was okay, this was okay: As long as she didn’t get distracted, she could cast a spell to deflect the pyramid and shoot it back at the sph--

"Mauve, Rei, Skyshot! I'm a sitting snake right here! We need something that'll either reveal it's movement or slow it's attacks!"

Mauve was startled and instinctively looked towards the spot where her name was being called. She corrected herself almost instantly, but the briefest distraction was all that the sphinx needed. When Mauve’s attention returned to her opponent, the base of the great dark pyramid was already mere inches from her nose. Her eyes widened in something resembling horror.

“Aw, bloody he--” And Mauve was gone.

Meanwhile, in some parallel dimension comprised entirely of mazes, a portal opened in the sky. A magenta-clad figure plummeted through the glowing disk of light and landed in an undignified heap in some odd corner of the gigantic stone labyrinth.

Mauve coughed once or twice and picked herself up off the floor. She looked around, feeling quite annoyed and more than a little humiliated. That pyramid must have been some sort of prison spell or dimensional gateway, she thought to herself as she looked around. There wasn’t much to look at from this angle: just some long, twisting hallways and lots of stone walls lined with moss and who-knows-what-else. It certainly wasn’t the Earth Temple, or any part of the NPF.

She needed a different perspective, she decided. The view was always better from above. Grumbling to herself, she found a climbable portion of the wall and hefted herself upwards. A wave of icy coldness washed over her as she saw where she was.

There was nothing but jagged walls and winding passageways as far as the eye could see in every direction, looking more like a Salvador Dali painting than a physical landscape. She couldn’t see a beginning or an end, or anything, really. She slid back down to the ground, sitting on the cold stone floor and feeling slightly dazed. So that was it, then. The Sphinx had trapped her in a gigantic maze.

Mauve wondered if this was going to be the kind of maze adventure that involved Muppets and David Bowie, or the kind that involved Minotaurs.

Suddenly, Mauve was mad. Really mad. The Sphinx had just dumped her here as though she wasn't anything to concern herself with. She was probably up there right now, gloating over her victory. Stupid sphinx, thinking she's so damn high and mighty. Oooh, lookit me! I'm part cat and party lady and I'm oh-so-smart at riddles! Woo, so bloody special! And that little pink kid fell right into my trap! Oh-ho-ho, I is so smarts! She has to wander around blindly for the next SEVEN BLOODY HOURS whilst I sit here and laugh at her!

"Sphinx must die!" snarled Mauve. She knew what she had to do.

Back at the remnants of the earth temple, something strange was happening. If anyone had bothered to pay attention, they may have noticed that an oval patch of air seemed to be warping, like a funhouse mirror. And.. there was a sound. Faint at first, but growing louder. The sound... of machinery.

The warped splodge of reality jerked suddenly, and with a shredding sound a white and silver spinning blade appeared out of nowhere, hovering above the ground. The mechanical roar grew louder and the blade slashed a horizontal wound into the fabric of reality itself. A figure all but threw itself out of the gaping tear and landed on the ground with an angry grunt.

Mauve tossed the heavy weapon to the ground, it's machinery all but worn out from the task. The loud roar sputtered and faded away.

"Betcha didn't know chainsaws could slice through the fabric of reality, huh?" she asked the sphinx. "Yeah. Neither did the chainsaw." So much for the chainsaw she found. But oh well; it served her well while it could.

She stretched a hand towards the airborne creature.

"Come down here," she said angrily. She called forth another spell, and a boulder-sized chunk of ice appeared above and behind the sphinx. It fell quickly, intending to collide with her and knock her to the earth. Or at least show the Sphinx that Mauve was not a particularly happy camper at the moment. Whichever.

12-04-2006, 04:19 AM	#11
mauve So Dreamy Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Someplace magical Posts: 6,863	“That’s not good,” Mauve remarked intelligently as the sphinx took flight and lazily tossed some sort of dark spell her way. The mage quickly backpedaled, trying to judge where it was going to land. This was okay, this was okay: As long as she didn’t get distracted, she could cast a spell to deflect the pyramid and shoot it back at the sph-- "Mauve, Rei, Skyshot! I'm a sitting snake right here! We need something that'll either reveal it's movement or slow it's attacks!" Mauve was startled and instinctively looked towards the spot where her name was being called. She corrected herself almost instantly, but the briefest distraction was all that the sphinx needed. When Mauve’s attention returned to her opponent, the base of the great dark pyramid was already mere inches from her nose. Her eyes widened in something resembling horror. “Aw, bloody he--” And Mauve was gone. Meanwhile, in some parallel dimension comprised entirely of mazes, a portal opened in the sky. A magenta-clad figure plummeted through the glowing disk of light and landed in an undignified heap in some odd corner of the gigantic stone labyrinth. Mauve coughed once or twice and picked herself up off the floor. She looked around, feeling quite annoyed and more than a little humiliated. That pyramid must have been some sort of prison spell or dimensional gateway, she thought to herself as she looked around. There wasn’t much to look at from this angle: just some long, twisting hallways and lots of stone walls lined with moss and who-knows-what-else. It certainly wasn’t the Earth Temple, or any part of the NPF. She needed a different perspective, she decided. The view was always better from above. Grumbling to herself, she found a climbable portion of the wall and hefted herself upwards. A wave of icy coldness washed over her as she saw where she was. There was nothing but jagged walls and winding passageways as far as the eye could see in every direction, looking more like a Salvador Dali painting than a physical landscape. She couldn’t see a beginning or an end, or anything, really. She slid back down to the ground, sitting on the cold stone floor and feeling slightly dazed. So that was it, then. The Sphinx had trapped her in a gigantic maze. Mauve wondered if this was going to be the kind of maze adventure that involved Muppets and David Bowie, or the kind that involved Minotaurs. Suddenly, Mauve was mad. Really mad. The Sphinx had just dumped her here as though she wasn't anything to concern herself with. She was probably up there right now, gloating over her victory. Stupid sphinx, thinking she's so damn high and mighty. Oooh, lookit me! I'm part cat and party lady and I'm oh-so-smart at riddles! Woo, so bloody special! And that little pink kid fell right into my trap! Oh-ho-ho, I is so smarts! She has to wander around blindly for the next SEVEN BLOODY HOURS whilst I sit here and laugh at her! "Sphinx must die!" snarled Mauve. She knew what she had to do. Back at the remnants of the earth temple, something strange was happening. If anyone had bothered to pay attention, they may have noticed that an oval patch of air seemed to be warping, like a funhouse mirror. And.. there was a sound. Faint at first, but growing louder. The sound... of machinery. The warped splodge of reality jerked suddenly, and with a shredding sound a white and silver spinning blade appeared out of nowhere, hovering above the ground. The mechanical roar grew louder and the blade slashed a horizontal wound into the fabric of reality itself. A figure all but threw itself out of the gaping tear and landed on the ground with an angry grunt. Mauve tossed the heavy weapon to the ground, it's machinery all but worn out from the task. The loud roar sputtered and faded away. "Betcha didn't know chainsaws could slice through the fabric of reality, huh?" she asked the sphinx. "Yeah. Neither did the chainsaw." So much for the chainsaw she found. But oh well; it served her well while it could. She stretched a hand towards the airborne creature. "Come down here," she said angrily. She called forth another spell, and a boulder-sized chunk of ice appeared above and behind the sphinx. It fell quickly, intending to collide with her and knock her to the earth. Or at least show the Sphinx that Mauve was not a particularly happy camper at the moment. Whichever. __________________ Yoo Hoo! Last edited by mauve; 12-04-2006 at 04:23 AM.