the clock tower

[groundrules]

Happy Hallow-elevator! The clock tower event lasts between 22 October and 8 November. ICly, the tower incursion stretches around a week, and you’re welcome to have your character investigate something else, if they finish early!

THE CLOCK TOWER

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ALL IS AS ALL WAS| TRIAL & NO ERRORS | THE TOWER

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ALL IS AS ALL WAS

Play it cool, as Serthica’s customs officers pore over your passport papers, before grudgingly allowing you overground. Minaras, you hear, is hunting a delinquent.

Both it and Eidris fare well, with no sign of the damage that preceded the Unwinding. Locals no longer behave eerily, dragons and clockwork droids roam freely, and everyone hates taxes.

Yet perfect strangers insist they know you. Your assigned address leads to a different house. The roads, buildings and architecture look ‘lived in,’ but changed.

No one remembers the Unwinding.

■ Burlap mannequins sometimes watch from mirrors, windows and reflecting surfaces.

■ You might hear shifting and scratching in Eidris walls.

■ Minaras has doubled its bounty for a man not unlike Leonard McCoy.

■ Black fungal spores are found on the increasingly voluminous experiment vials, specimens and supplies thrown out by Minaras medical facilities.

■ Frail and confused, Ellethia survivor Zenobius finally awakens. A short thread is up for RNG grabs.

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TRIALS & NO ERRORS

The guard troops that Eidris and Minaras assign to the Neutral Zone now protect King Thivar and High Councillor Arabella during the annual Sanctuary Reckoning trials. Both adjudicate cases that violate the ceasefire.

Prolonging the trials buys time for your companions in the clock tower.

■ Create a distraction — flood the judgement hall rooms? Fire? Illusions?

■ Pose as trial participants: perhaps you are of Eidris, and you caught this wicked Minaraian raiding your home? Mayhap this wretched man of Eidris stole your girlfriend? Wait, you’re a Minaraian who wants to kill King Thivar?

■ …organise breakouts, if Thivar or Arabella have your jailed. You are first imprisoned in makeshift Sanctuary cells — all but poorly locked, glorified closets. Get a trial sentence!

■ Thivar and Arabella treat the trials as a box-ticking exercise.

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THE TOWER

As Eidris and Minaras play court, you can infiltrate the Neutral Zone clock tower of Vassarizhia.

■ Only token security remains. The door is unlocked.

■ Karsa supplies paper talismans that must be burned in the watch fire at the tower’s top level.

■ Each burned talisman amplifies the reveal spell that Karsa activates. Link a finished burning thread by 8 November to help the cause.

■ A November mod post will describe how much of Serthica’s ‘undeath’ characters can see.

■ Placing Magnus’ dragon eye before the tower’s telescope will allow characters to always see Serthica’s undeath, moving forward.

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✘ ELEVATOR ETIQUETTE

Imperfect stillness dominates Vassarizhia: your footsteps do not click, words die in your mouth. The tower’s rickety gear slither silently. Your heartbeat aligns with the clock’s tick… tock.
You have the growing, gnarly certainty that you have invaded something ancient and alive.

The tower’s entryway level is large, deserted, stacked with gears. At its core is a dilapidated open elevator shaft.

A large sign says to find and pull the floor lever, if elevators stop.

■ There are two elevators. Each narrow lift can hold up to four people, crammed. The upper half of the carriage is chain-link fence, while the floors contain hatches that sometimes open mid-travel for 30 seconds. Hold on to ceiling-bound leather straps.

■ The ropes holding the elevators are thick, but tattered.

■ The elevator’s creaking squeals can awaken swarms of 1m-tall bats and bat wyverns. They rattle the lift, but ultimately withdraw.

■ The elevator can stop at as many levels as you want (or none!).

■ Beyond the second level, you feel intensely paranoid and see your companions as the persons you most hate/fear for five to 10 minutes. Reaching the top, you are tempted to cut the lift ropes of those who follow. (The ropes and elevators recover, after crashing to the bottom. )

■ On each floor, as you exit the elevator, a nearby wall shows a different scratched instruction, signed by DAVID.

LEVEL I: THE LABYRINTH| LEVEL II: THE ANCESTOR | LEVEL III: TAG! YOU’RE IT
LEVEL IV: THE ROOM WHERE NOTHING HAPPENS | LEVEL V: IT’S RAINING (AGAIN)

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LEVEL I: THE LABYRINTH
CONTENT WARNING: MINOTAUR, BODY HORROR

Step into a jail maze, flooded to knee level. Confusing corridors narrow, widen and contort, while wall torches dim.

Intermittent howling reveals you’re not alone. Hiding, you see child-like chalk drawings of forest animals on walls — and a great minotaur. Keep silent.

■ David S P’s wall scrawl says, IT RUNS IN THE FAMILY.

■ Collect some of the many discarded daggers or axes. Rope bundles float in water — use them to paralyse your captive or briefly force them under your control.

■ Don’t linger in one place: rotting, bodiless hands surface to restrain you.

■ Bad news, if you swallow water when the minotaur or dead hands try to drown you: your skin stretches and bursts, while your bones pop and extend. You mutate into a half human, half woodland creature, all bloodlust. ( Inspiration, anyone? ) Your companions should still recognise you; between hazy memories and constant pain, you might struggle to remember them and even attack.

■ Morphed characters can (painfully) return to normal within minutes of re-entering the elevator.

■ A smaller and distressed three-headed minotaur also roams the labyrinth. Two of its heads sob, while the third urges you to hide with it when brother approaches. It tries to throttle you with a noose to make brother happy, if you follow. David did say.

■ The minotaur and its sibling have poor sight. They cannot enter a corridor where you’ve drawn or laid down a line.

■ Pull the lever, and a straight corridor leads you to the elevator.

TOP | LEVEL II | LEVEL III | LEVEL IV | LEVEL V

LEVEL II: THE ANCESTOR
CONTENT WARNING: GIANT SKELETON, BLOOD DRINKING

Here, only barren stone and thin rivulets of fresh water pouring from wall fountains with sharp-tipped ornaments — your spilled blood quickly infects the basins. Knives, pins and bowls have been abandoned nearby.

High pressure and vertigo overwhelm you. Follow a rhythmic heaving to where the upper half of an enormous skeleton — the Ancestor — has broken through a wall. White, silk thread fetters it. Dried blood rims its cracked mouth. Before it, the stone floor has been tarnished, up to a 5m radius.

The Ancestor appears dormant, a crown of iron thorns on its head. It clutches the lever tightly in its right hand. Above it, an engraving urges, SPILL WINE FOR YOUR ANCESTOR.

■ David S P’s elevator scrawl says, WATER TO WINE.

■ Dally staring and you feel dizzy, nauseous, depressed and compelled to share your close-death encounters. Before you know it, you are stepping into the Ancestor’s radius…

■ …where it plunges for you, if you don’t bear a filled cup. The silk ropes keep the Ancestor from reaching beyond 5m.

■ Two carvings under his fists read HONOUR THY FATHER and DISHONOUR THY MOTHER.

■ Quickly distract the Ancestor from crumbling his captives, tearing their arms or attempting to eat them.

■ The Ancestor is instinct-driven, consumed by thirst. It cannot see or smell, and only remembers taste. Sounds divert it.

■ Improvise: there is no actual wine here. Infuse water, spill blood, or vocally pretend you are delivering wine, and the Ancestor might spare you.

■ If sated, the Ancestor releases the lever.

TOP | LEVEL I | LEVEL III | LEVEL IV | LEVEL V

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LEVEL III: TAG! YOU’RE IT
CONTENT WARNING: SCARECROW, SKINNED CREATURES

Enjoy pitch dark, dread and bile spreading in your gut. Take a candle from near the elevator and roam through small, unlocked rooms that feature tattered beds, strips of tanning leather and blood or wax spilled on the floor.

■ David S P’s wall scrawl says, O CATCHES IT.

■ Ahead, you see candle-bearing mannequins that dance a hora to the same song played by Jim Kirk’s music box: “Up the mountain, in the grove, hand in hand to Ke-Waihu, fresh harvest’s a treasure trove, each fall we feast anew.”

■ The creatures are patched abominations of wax, skinned flesh and burlap. In the middle of the hora is a wiry scarecrow, eyes blazing with candle fire as it points a large cleaver. In certain lights, the scarecrow’s face briefly contorts into that of your mother. It wears priestly robes that Arc III survivors may recognise from the House of Ravens.

■ As the dance finishes, you notice the lever in the middle of the circle, where flame spells out TAKE THEM, NOT ME. The game begins.

■ The abominations run, gleefully manic and screaming TAAAA~AAAAAG. YOU’RE IT! The scarecrow unflinchingly cuts them down while pursuing you. Hide in the abandoned rooms, or risk snuffing your candle to avoid detection.

■ Some abominations slap you, hold you, or alert the scarecrow. Others offer shelter. A few peel off wax skins from their limbs — showing black fungi beneath. They murmur, IT NEVER GOES AWAY.

■ Parchment strips fall from the scarecrow’s sleeves, reading, HAPPY NAME DAY, MOTHER KNOWS BEST, THE SIN RAN DEEPER THAN SKIN, IF YOU CAN BEAR IT, IT’S A GAME.

■ Bless David: draw the scarecrow into a drawn or makeshift circle to trap it.

■ Intense, paralysing fear arrests you, if the scarecrow catches you. The wax abominations chant, TAKE THEM, NOT ME. One might even take pity and move your numbed mouth to utter the words. Say them — and the scarecrow lands deep cuts on your arms, then pursues your companion.

■ If you betray someone, the abominations take the appearance of your worst version: whether physically mutated, with a temper that amplifies your worst features, or both.

TOP | LEVEL I | LEVEL II | LEVEL IV | LEVEL V

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LEVEL IV: THE ROOM WHERE NOTHING HAPPENS
CONTENT WARNING: MANIPULATION, MENTAL COERCION

You enter a quiet room. The lever sits on a table, beside rope and a dagger. As you approach, your surroundings transform: perhaps your dearest dead appear to warmly welcome you. Crowds of your doubters celebrate your success. Or you are in a calm oasis, where nothing hurts.

■ David S P’s wall scrawl says, THIS DREAM IS A NIGHTMARE.

■ Whatever your deepest wishes, the room’s vivid illusions provide. With time, your beautiful dreams deteriorate into horror. Sometimes, you hear whispers of, Make a wish.

■ The room increasingly drains your life force. Within half an hour, you have gaunt flesh, brittle bones and a hunched back. Or you might feel compelled to harm yourself, clawing your arms and face, or pulling your hair out.

■ The damage comes undone minutes after reaching the elevator.

■ The room focuses on one person: if someone joins you, they see fainter echoes of what the room shows you, but they are not enthralled. They must coax or drag you away.

■ If you are under the room’s influence, it forces you to make any later intruders stay.

TOP | LEVEL I | LEVEL II | LEVEL III | LEVEL V

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LEVEL V: IT’S RAINING (AGAIN)
CONTENT WARNING: PLAGUE, THE CHILD

At the tower’s open-sky top, fire crackles from a small stone pit, shielded by a familiar, immovable blood-spattered white umbrella. Nearby, discover an immense rusted telescope and other discarded astronomy tools.

You trip on rain-battered yellowed bones at every step. One skeletal hand holds a watch piece, engraved for Mr. David Sebastian Pumpkins.

■ David S P’s has only scrawled his signature.

■ You might reach the flame easily, or be overwhelmed by sickness, black fungal spores blooming on your fingers, while you cough blood and experience intense fever. The symptoms wane once you reach the fire.

■ Burn paper talismans and link finished threads to help Karsa’s spell.

■ The child with a fox mask from the Unwinding could appear. Sign up for one of three short threads, which must finalise by 3 November.

NOTES

■ Some of the bigger plot clues have been emphasised, to help navigate through the horror details.

■ You can hit up some NPCs during the trials.

■ Check out plotting posts for last-minute team-ups.

■ Back to the top.

QUESTIONS

Comments

[matermali]

[ Just as Vanessa is stepping closer to try and catch the writing on the wall (Doctor, dear Doctor, what are you doing?), she hears the resounding call of a beast too immense to find any peace in these tunnels. So it was a prison after all, just like the one of lore.

Her hand is quick to rest over the Doctor's arm as he attempts to encircle the two of them, peering over and then under his little barrier, before ducking to balance onto a jutting piece of debris, using his arm for further balance behind her. She's hoping to gauge to distance of it, but the tunnels play tricks on the eyes and ears.

Vanessa's never seen a Minotaur, and she thinks she'll be safer if she never finds out. She certainly doesn't want to see what her companions might do in the face of one. ]

We are too exposed here. There was a smaller corridor behind us, if the debris does not overcrowd the path.

[thedreamer]

[ On some level, he recognizes that Red, by her nature, is more than a match for the creature that dwells with them now, but he's desperately hoping it won't come to that, for her sake. Even knowing that, his worry for her, for both of them, is palpable. It would be strange, perhaps, to most others, but the Doctor also can't help a flicker of sympathy for the Minotaur they're trapped with. He thinks back, accessing distant memories of the tale, of the Minotaur that went mad in the maze. Lonely, isolated, reacting out of instinct to its base, primal nature. He may pity the monster - he always understands them - but keeping Vanessa and Red safe is his only priority now and he'll do whatever it takes.

He watches Red carefully as she kneels down; ever cautious of their surroundings, the Doctor doesn't trust anything not to be a sudden trick or trap. When Vanessa moves to balance herself and suddenly grips his arm, he quickly reaches out and rests a steadying hand near her side, worried the debris she's counting on to be steady might not remain so for long. ]

We should move, agreed. Step carefully, I'm worried - [ And it would appear they've lingered too long. Around them, jutting out from the water, are rotted, disembodied hands that seem intent on grabbing them, trapping them in place. ]

[growlies]

( Red lets her palm press out against the water, understanding the danger may lie within it. Her shoulders are tense as she remains there without moving. The roars come from one end, but something else comes from the other. It's smaller. It's-

The hands jut out toward them, and she wants to scream but doesn't. Something feral that is all hers wants to rip every hand apart, wants to bite into them. They are both in the path of the hands, and she punches at the nearest, utilizing that Cerberus strength that she has only temporary access to like this, knocking the hand away from where it'd try to grab hold of the Doctor. She moves forward, trying to shove away the rest of them, kicking off hands on her legs. )

Vanessa. ( her voice is strangled with worry for them both from where she is kneeled down behind the both of them. ) There's - something else is coming from the other side. Not the hands, not the big one we heard - something else.

( She hisses the words low even as she stays where she's at, hands on top of the water, feeling it come. )

You gotta get out. Now.

[matermali]

[ Vanessa is absolutely trying to, but that creeping sensation she's had since arriving has made itself seen, and she's left to stab at the rising hand grasping at her ankle. She kicks it away, and where it splashes, more ripples spread. The water is infested with them.

Still grasping the Doctor's arm, she hops over to where they're standing, looking with distaste at the path back to where she'd seen a possible retreat. Even with the bit of rubble blocking the narrower corridor off to the side, they ought to squeeze through, where anything resembling a Minotaur shouldn't be able to.

Dropping the Doctor's arm, Vanessa's hand brushes over Red's shoulder in passing. She's coming with them, of course. Somehow they'll need to escape without being swarmed by the undead's grasp. ]

The other side? Behind us?

[ Her boot slams hard on a disembodied hand flailing its way up some broken stone. She's ready to jump back into the water if it means her recommended path is safe, but she trusts Red's instincts. They seem to stretch far. ]

[thedreamer]

[ He hears it, too, though to a lesser extent. He hasn't seen Red in a situation like this before, so it's giving him the chance to learn more about what she's capable of, and he trusts her implicitly, both of them. Vanessa and Red are all that he trusts right now, and he's desperate to see them out of here safely. ]

Wherever we go, it's together. The smaller path, let's try it, and if it comes to it, if we have to, I'll go a different way and distract the Minotaur. I'm good at distractions, I'll keep it guessing, buy us a bit of time.

[ It's only a last resort, and not something he's going to leap into, for obvious reasons. He'd so much rather insist they split off together now, if only to give them both a better chance, but splitting up leaves all of them vulnerable, in the end. He won't do anything to risk them unless there are no options left, and in that case, well, he's faced off against worse. And, of course, there's the other that Red has heard. He won't be foolishly risky.

He does step off ahead a few paces, though, noting a discarded axe in the water, its edges just barely glistening in the lowly flickering candlelight. The moment he has the weight of it in his grip, he feels a sense of deep revulsion. Logically, the hands that grasp at them, being of the undead, won't feel pain, but he silently pleads for those to be the only thing he'll need to use this axe on in this maze. He never thought he'd hold a weapon again, but needs must and this axe will be a bit more efficient at clearing a path if they're to try Vanessa's suggested route. ]

[growlies]

Yes. ( Red confirms even as she moves to where she hears the smaller approaching. Her hackles remain up. Her jaw is locked. The bigger minotaur is on its prowl too, but this smaller one is gaining ground. She can't even begin to consider the Doctor's words, can't start to argue and disagree with him

because if anyone should buy them time, it should be her. she's older than the both of them. she just wants them both to-

she wants them to go (the doctor is supposed to save the world - even if he wasn't, she cares about him, and she doesn't want him here. it's the same for vanessa, be safe, be okay). red was made for this - to be a soldier, to be a guard. she wants them far away from this- this growling, loudness, violence she understands so deeply. because it's her. she wants that. her throat locks. )

Go. Down your path, Vanessa. It's quiet. Please.

( that please says drag the doctor with you if you have to. she wants her to understand. she wants her to leave red here if need be. )

[matermali]

[ Vanessa can scarcely believe what she's hearing, each traded glance more agitated than the last. ]

As the Doctor has said, [ before he turned around and offered himself as bait, like Red, both sweet fools, ] we will stay together. Nobody needs to act as a distraction. Their chances of cornering us only increase if we separate.

[ She may understand Red's desire for such a cause, but it's far too soon to be assuming the worst. They're wasting time even discussing it, and Vanessa is not so quick to let go at the first sign of danger. Her hand drops from Red's shoulder to her hand, tugging it away from the dead fingers about to grasp from below the murky waters. ]

We may yet discover our exit before drastic measures are needed. Come, there's no time to waste.

[ She may not have the strength to force her, but she will try to pull Red along when she slogs back through the water. The cold hands below, she can feel where their flesh rots when they grasp at her legs to try and hold her. ]

[thedreamer]

[ The very air around them feels like an entity unto itself, curling around every part of his body, taunting him with the certainty that things are about to get much worse quite quickly. He doesn't run from danger, doesn't fear it generally, only as it pertains to his companions here with him. Still, even with the howling, the knowledge that two creatures surround them, the path they need to dodge with hands reaching out to pull them under, the Doctor remains poised, calm, focused. This is what he does. Approaching them, his movements are swift and decisive as he forcibly pulls another hand away that had been reaching near Vanessa's leg. Gone for now is his more lighthearted facade - this is no time for flippancy - but he's still reassuring (or, he's aiming to be) in the way he speaks and the assured look in his eyes. He pulls the rope from his coat pocket and stretches it taut. ]

Take hold of this, both of you. This will keep us steady, connected, stronger. We're stronger together.

[ That's all he'll say on it as he holds the rope out, trusting them both to grab hold. They need to move before the hands swarm them even more, and for his part, he keeps a tight grip on the rope with one hand while leading them forward, clearing a way through the disembodied hands the best he can with the axe. He rarely uses such a tool, so he looks, at best, a bit uncoordinated, like the axe is too heavy and doesn't belong in his hand. This is the best he can manage, to lead them safely ahead. As they walk, he's talking very quietly to himself, puzzling out what they've already seen, what they're seeing now. ]

It runs in the family - the family - the drawings - [ Another hand grabs at his calf and he swings the axe low, nearly scraping his other calf in the process. Uncoordinated, definitely, but he's clearing a sort of haphazard and meandering path ahead, at least? ]

[growlies]

( Red doesn't know how to describe it - the simultaneous swell of protection inside of her based on her loyalty to them both, but also this deep-seated need to meet this ancient monster's ferocity with her own. There is a part of her soul and her marrow that craves the violence of hunting down what tries to hunt her, tries to hunt people she cares about, and then tearing it to parts, tasting its blood inside of her mouth, reveling in its screams for daring to threaten the Doctor, Vanessa-

No. She doesn't even know what she'll be like if she shifts into Cerberus here in the mortal realm. The Doctor gave her a psychic link inside of her head right there, a way to get out, but there hasn't been any chance to test it really. She grips hold of the rope, however, when the Doctor hands it to her. Her hands grip it too tightly, fists curling over it as her jaw locks.

Stronger together, no one gets left behind, no one needs to be a distraction.

She isn't used to this. Not really. Working with others, being a team especially when Cerberus grows loud inside of her: ancient and loyal and refusing to back down. She winces at the way the Doctor is swinging that axe but they make their way through one corridor to the next, and she tries to pay attention to where the creatures are at. The big one is so much louder. )

[matermali]

[ Vanessa feels she scarcely has time to hold a rope for how often she has to keep from being tugged off balance by the incessant hands, and the unease they caused has mostly been replaced with irritation. Most that come at her are stabbed and flung away, but it's a bit tiring and she'll be grateful for the rope when there are moments of reprieve, so long as they keep it above the water.

Appreciating the Doctor's attempt to multitask, there's still concern over how well he knows how to use that axe. She doesn't remark, though, feeling that the less spoken the better when trying to hide from minotaurs.

She'll still stop to occasionally mark the wall, although it feels endless as the numerals grow with a new unease. The sort that pinches at her throat. Concerned, she'll glance to Red before tapping on the Doctor's arm to hush him.

Had she heard the sound of someone weeping? She can't tell how far with how everything twists and turns. She can't tell if it's just her imagination, anymore. ]

[thedreamer]

[ Even with his voice low, he supposes his rambling out loud to himself isn't the wisest thing at the moment. He does forget himself sometimes; Vanessa's silent tap on his arm draws him back, and he glances over his shoulder at her briefly, just a momentary acknowledgment by winking at her, cutting off his idle conversation to himself. He would have given a thumbs up, but, well, not the best idea at the moment, his hands not being entirely unencumbered.

Not knowing what either of them is thinking - how convenient it would be if they could all communicate silently just now - the Doctor does hear an unmistakable sound of weeping as well. Just as his mind turns it over, what it could be and where it's coming from, he feels another strong tug on his pant leg, a hand that's particularly unrelenting in trying to pull him deeper into the water. They come to a halt as he wrestles with it, and the sound of the weeping draws closer, though he can't tell which direction it's coming from at the moment, preoccupied as he is with trying to stay afloat. ]

[growlies]

( There are too many sounds. Red tries to focus on the most immediate ones, on the biggest one, and it means she loses track of the smaller creature roaming through the labyrinth halls. It becomes even more of an afterthought when they all have to stop as a hand latches hold of the Doctor's pant leg, hard, unrelenting like the dead want him back.

They can't take him.

The growl inside of her wants to be unleashed, to rush forward, to bite at the wrist of the undead hand holding on too tight to the fabric of his pants, to drag him into the water, to drown him. She wants to hiss at it, to howl, to bite into it and tear it to bits for daring to touch something she cares about, someone she cares about. She nearly lunges forward-

But she doesn't see it - the circle of rope that is thrown out, that wraps around her throat, that pulls her back, abruptly making her drop the end of the rope into the water. Her hands lift up against the rope as the minotaur drags her backward through the hallways, and she experiences for the first time in her life, for the first time since oxygen became important to her- what it's like to be deprived of it. )

[matermali]

[ The sound carries dread with it, but how can she decipher signs differently when everything's been a jumble since arrival? Vanessa's nerves are fraying but she can never say why, she can only put that apprehension into some kind of momentum, even if that means wrestling with hands that have lost their owners. The three of them reaching a functioning elevator is all that really matters, and drowning to death simply isn't in the cards. In trying to prevent the Doctor from losing his balance while not losing a hand to his axe, Vanessa's narrowed focus comes at a cost.

The sudden slack in the rope nearly sends Vanessa careening into the Doctor, but she catches herself in time to turn and immediately change trajectory, dropping her rope. ]

No!

[ It's shouted as if the command will halt every inconvenience of the moment, but it doesn't make it any easier for Vanessa to rush after them. The minotaur isn't as large as she might have assumed, but what she can tell of its retreating figure, it's much better suited than her at getting around. She doesn't even know what she can do to it with this weak human body and a knife, but she can't simply watch Red get dragged off through the rotten water and damp rubble.

Should she dare throw her knife? She could lose it forever if she missed, or threw at the wrong angle. A bit different than shooting a gun, which she suddenly wishes she had. ]

Release her!

[thedreamer]

[ In his veritable tug-of-war with the hands nearly pulling him under, the Doctor isn't as quick to move as he desperately wants to be and normally would be. He can't get a good look at Red until he frees himself; this is honestly more annoying than anything else, he doesn't have time to waste, she's too important. He slashes at the hands with all his might, falling back into the water when they release him, nearly up to his neck, but then he scrambles quickly back to his feet, fighting against the hands and sloshing water everywhere as he runs with uncoordinated precision through the obstacle course of the undead. Vanessa is safe, he assures himself, passing her on his periphery, just barely glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. ]

No! No, no, no, not today, not ever. Red! Let go of her!

[ He gets just close enough, just at the perfect angle to trust himself enough, and then the axe is thrown, a little off-center because he's not even running in a straight and balanced line at this point. He shouldn't be throwing this while he's running, but there's simply no time to waste. His eyes are locked on Red's face, worried, needing to assure himself she's still breathing. The axe is aimed at the minotaur's legs, not wanting to kill it outright, but needing to stop it quickly. ]

[growlies]

( They don't leave her to be dragged away.

Vanessa shouts out no and release her with such command and power to the words as if she's angry at the beast, trying to draw attention without being afraid. The Doctor says not today, not ever as if her life is too important to be threatened. Logically, Red knows neither of them would. She understands it's part of having friends, real friends. They fight for one another. They put themselves at risk for one another, but it still manages to take her by surprise, to touch her, to reach her in ways she might never be able to formulate into words. Her fingers tighten their grip at the rope around her neck, struggling against it. Her lungs burn for air.

And then- then the Doctor throws an axe. The sharp blade manages to go over her head cutting through the rope and smacking the small minotaur in the back of the legs. Immediately, she falls to the floor, yanking the noose from around her neck (too much like a leash, like- ), and taking in multiple gasps of air.

Her gaze lifts from her spot on the floor even as she catches her breath, leveling a look of pure violence and ancient rage at the small minotaur who immediately begins weeping again. She wants to tear it apart. If she didn't need to regain the air in her lungs, she just might lunge right now and tear at it with her nails. )

[matermali]

[ The Doctor's actions startle her, if only because she had been about to yell for him to do something with that axe. For a split second she worries it might hit the girl, stumbling at the relief of seeing them both collapse.

For the moment, Vanessa leaves him to retrieve his weapon however he sees fit from the minotaur, and she kicks off a struggling disembodied hand before racing to the stretch of dry (debatable) ground to reach down, hoping to pull Red back onto her feet to wonder at the possible damage done to her neck. She keeps her knife stretched out between them and the minotaur, who now wails as it struggles to yank the axe out of its leg. It's only for her confusion at its tears that she doesn't try to rush past the Doctor to free the axe and remove all of its heads. ]

[thedreamer]

[ There's a larger, more menacing minotaur lurking somewhere beyond them, the Doctor is well aware. And wherever that creature happens to be at the present moment, he certainly hasn't helped in keeping their whereabouts a secret - that, at least, he's also aware of. But things happen quickly in moments of great duress, split second decisions that can't be mulled over at length. He's drawn attention to them, but he's kept Red safe; given the choice again, he'd do the very same thing. The beast that comes for them may be big enough to fill this labyrinth entirely, but its size would be minuscule by comparison to the Doctor's rage, were any harm to come to Red or Vanessa.

Here again, he must make a choice - tend to Red, tend to the whimpering beast. But why does he have to choose? He can help them both. It intended to harm his friend, yes, but it was weeping as it approached them. Why? Does it fear the larger beast, as they do? Was it compelled to seek them out? To set them as bait and trap for its kin? It begs to be hidden, cowers in fear.

As always with the Doctor, these many thoughts and questions swirl around in his mind as quickly as one draws breath. He wastes no time at all mulling it over, but by his nature, he has to consider every possibility.

Red is his first priority and as she's helped to her feet by both himself and Vanessa, he spares a moment to briefly cradle her cheek in his hand. A fraction of a second, a chance to meet her eyes, to study, to assess, to make sure she's...well, as okay as she can be at the moment. He leans in, kissing her forehead briefly, a moment to betray his own fear, yet to assure himself of her well-being at the same time. He trusts Vanessa to keep an eye on her now as he turns his focus to the minotaur in front of them.

Holding his hands out, palms up, he approaches slowly and cautiously, making sure to keep himself solidly between Vanessa and Red, and the minotaur. ]

I'm sorry, I am, but you were hurting my friend. He forced you to do it, didn't he? Your brother. You're afraid of him, too, we all are, and we can help each other. Let me help you, first, with this. [ Still taking it slow, he approaches, his hands held out in a gesture of innocence as he reaches for the axe. He's moving slowly enough, talking softly enough, that it seems amenable for the moment. Anything in enough pain would be, probably, and so the Doctor carefully dislodges the axe, tossing it aside in the water. ]

I'm the Doctor and I'm very glad to meet you. None of us want to be here, do we? Dreadful place, really, not my scene. Can I know your name? [ The two heads just keep crying while the third seems to...vaguely understand what he's saying, yet offers no name. To which, the Doctor simply claps and then rubs his hands together, offering the creature a gentle smile. ]

No name? That's okay! We all have to start somewhere. You look like - Theodore. Teddy! Had a good friend called Teddy once. And I don't leave friends behind. Will you come with us? Help us?

[ If he could communicate telepathically with Red and Vanessa right now, he'd be telling them to run, to take this opportunity with the distraction he's created, and just go. Where, is the question, but they could get a headstart down a different path at least. As it is, he glances over his shoulder for a moment at both of them, his eyes briefly flickering with a look that almost begs, if they catch what he's trying to silently say. Immediately, though, he puts a smile back on his face and turns back to the minotaur. ]

We can all get out of here together, Teddy. You don't deserve to be trapped here anymore than we do. Show us the way out, eh?

[growlies]

( Red is grateful for Vanessa's hand up to a standing position so she isn't on her knees if this beast decides to lunge again. There's just a bruise across her neck, nothing more, impossible to see even in this lighting. Emotion swarms her chest stupidly now that she realizes how much danger both of them put themselves in to come back to get her like this. They could have used it as a chance to escape, to get out. She gets to her feet with her hand on Vanessa's arm, and then catches her breath. Vanessa's violent desire is shared, but then the Doctor takes a moment to check on her. He cradles her cheek and then kisses her forehead before turning to face the monster. It's enough to drain some of the violence in her for the surprise it brings her, staring up at him, struggling to process.

And her stupid fucking eyes start to burn and a knot lodges in her throat at the gesture, at the softness of it all and the protectiveness, and there really isn't time to sort out all her godsdamn feelings. And she doesn't-

Stupid fucking, godsdamn emotions.

Now he is placing himself in front of the same monster that attacked her. He is having a jovial word with it as if it deserves a chance (she would have told him not to have taken a chance on her either, on what she was if he'd stumbled on her in the Underworld). And she is not able to utter a word between the pain in her throat and the emotion lodged there. She only looks up toward Vanessa who looks as murderous as Red feels, and then to the Doctor when he looks back. She mouths a: Fuck no. She is not leaving him or Vanessa like they wouldn't leave her. She moves slowly toward the axe to try not to draw its attention to her, but she wants to be armed, and she wants to cut its limbs off one by one if it even dares to lash out toward him or Vanessa or them both. )

[matermali]

[ Even Vanessa is stunned at the sight of the Doctor turning his conversational gifts on the ugly beast that had just been dragging Red to God only knows what fate. To the other beast? To something worse, if she could not overpower it in time? The thought keeps her eyes narrowed on the minotaur and her knife well outward once it's established that Red seems able to breathe.

Never has she seen such a creature, but any awe she might feel at the newness of it is mired in revulsion. This thing intended to make off and murder one of her own, and she feels no compassion from (nor for) its twisted features as it limps upward and then a bit sideways while it regains balance. The one that doesn't weep whispers, but it's a whisper that tries too hard and Vanessa thinks it means for everyone within the prison to hear. If you like. Sorry about that. Just wanted you to hide with me. Brother was near.

To which, Vanessa shakes her head should anyone look her way. Does she get a vote? She isn't leaving the Doctor alone with it, and she will not follow anything that calls the other one brother, even if it hadn't just made such a terrible first impression. She inches closer to the Doctor; her whisper is in a huff.

First Red, and now he has tried to offer himself the martyr if that glance was any indication. Vanessa isn't even acknowledging the hypocrisy of it, not mere moments after agreeing to remain together. She travels with lovable fools. ]

Doctor, anything it tells us will be a trick. We cannot follow him, not after that. Nor can we allow him to roam and tell his brother where to find us.

[ One of the grotesque heads weeps louder at the sight of Red getting closer to the axe, and the one that had spoken of its brother is blinking a little too much at Vanessa, like it can hear her just fine despite the incessant noise of the other heads. What's she going to do to it?

Already she's glancing to where the noosed rope lay, and wonders where the rope they had dropped still floated. It may be too strong to be tied up with such a simple tool. It also may not take too kindly to the violence being further implied by the two standing behind the Doctor. She knows in its stance, and her gut. Violence is inevitable, no matter how they tried to proceed. ]

[thedreamer]

[ Why couldn't they just have run? That was his intention here, for the two of them to run. He could stand here as long as it took, chatting up the minotaur, taking every blow it might wish to land on his body. They could have gotten away, they could have been safe. He can't blame them for something he would have done himself, of course, but he can't help feeling that same panic rise in him that he always feels when those he cares for most are in danger. They may reach a point soon where there's a limit to what he can do to keep them safe and he dreads to think of it. Then again, he'd said only a short while ago they were stronger together. Not so now; now, Red and Vanessa just need to run far away and get to safety.

It's not lost on him that his approach is, perhaps, overly compassionate and idealistic. The thought that for a moment, he could appeal to the monster's own fear, is not the choice many (or even most) would have made. He's aware of Red reaching for the axe and he can feel Vanessa close to him. She's too close, it's not safe, should the minotaur advance. He looks to her over his shoulder now, worry in his eyes, whispering back to her with a tone that's firm and laced with an edge of burgeoning fear. Fear for her, for Red, not for himself. ]

Vanessa, please-

[ The rest of his plea is cut off as the minotaur, clearly lost to its own madness and beyond helping, suddenly lunges and reaches out for any or all of them. Because his sight is briefly turned away from the minotaur, the Doctor doesn't see its long arm swiping towards them, otherwise he would have pushed Vanessa out of the way before it could injure her. Instead, it reaches for Vanessa, grabbing onto her for a moment while the Doctor lunges for it in return in an attempt to sever its hold on her, to no avail; its grip is too strong, and though it seems to struggle for a moment - the Doctor is hoping that Vanessa has at least managed to injure it further with the dagger she'd been gripping - it tosses her unceremoniously back into the water.

The Doctor turns his trust back to Red, hoping she was successful in grabbing the axe, as he rushes forward towards Vanessa, his hearts pounding loudly to his own ears. ]

Vanessa!

[ Not knowing the extent of her injuries and with the fear the undead will pull her fully under the water, the Doctor is by her side as swiftly as he can be, nearly desperate in his efforts to keep her safe. ]

[growlies]

Fuck!

( Red shouts the word out as Vanessa goes flying, and worry spikes in her heart like she's never felt before. The swell of violent rage that had been building inside of her chooses this moment to explode explode. This wasn't supposed to happen. She cannot even look to see if she's okay or breathing or alive. A hit like that could- No. She is not letting herself think, cannot think at all beyond that swell of explosiveness. She reaches for the axe, needing to utilize that Cerberus strength which only ever comes to her in bursts, but it sure as fuck is gonna come to her in this burst if she has anything to say about it.

The Doctor's chasing after her. He's got the name for a reason. He can help her. He will help her.

The mini minotaur starts to chase after the Doctor and Vanessa, and starts to speak again, You'll be my friends if you come down in the water with me. Take a drink. Swallow it up. Join me.. An inhuman growl leaves her before she launches herself at its back. She aims and angles the axe right in between its shoulder blades. The blade meets its mark, sinking inside, as blood flies out at her in turn. It howls out in pain, trying to reach for her or the axe in its back, but not being able to.

She grips to the axe with both her hands. The rest of her body curls around the handle as she remains on the thing's back, catching sight of a glint of metal at its arm. She'll grab that before she goes, but first: Her voice is a low hiss against one of its heads: )

You won't touch them again.

[matermali]

[ The impact with the water, shallow as it is, leaves Vanessa too stunned to move at first. Sounds are a all just a single buzz. She didn't have enough time to see exactly where her knife got stuck on the beast, but she sorely wishes she had it against the myriad hands creeping and tugging and yanking at her while she's still dazed. The rank water is almost everywhere now, in at least one ear, where the buzzing muffles. It's only a moment, really, just a blink in time, and then sound and panic rush in all at once. Water sloshing, voices shouting, and another roar from somewhere not so distant anymore.

She hears her name, she hears another invitation from the weeping minotaur, and if instinct isn't enough to encourage her to hold her breath the moment she's pulled underwater, then spite is a fine substitute. Unfortunately, she's still winded from the landing and if she can't wrench the rotting from her shoulders and arms in time to get free, she may not have a choice in 'drinking the water'.

In the back of her mind, in the mist, she worries what the monster is doing to her friends. It makes her movements all the more frantic as she splashes and kicks, slapping and ripping at hands with such a fervor that she can't immediately tell when a pair belongs to the Doctor. As soon as she notices his murky silhouette from the dim torchlight beyond, however, Vanessa latches desperately to his arm. ]

[thedreamer]

[ He can hear Red quite clearly in the distance, struggling with the minotaur and seeming to overcome it, if the monstrous wails of distress are any indication. Her subsequent rage-filled warning to the creature reminds him so much of what he'd seen in her mind only recently: Cerberus unleashed. If she can't control it here, he worries for her, what it will do to her.

She's safe for now, he has to tell himself. If only he could be with her and Vanessa at the same time, but he has to prioritize in the moment, and that means kneeling in close to tend to Vanessa. He pays no mind to the way she swats at him, understanding her disorientation and fear, but working to calm her as quickly as he can. ]

Vanessa, it's me, you're safe.

[ His voice is firm, husky with concern, decisive. He can't be sure how long she'll be safe, but he'll do whatever it takes. With her hand on his arm, the Doctor briefly cradles her cheek in his other hand, looking her over in a matter of seconds, trying to ascertain her injuries while also knowing they just don't have time. She's being grabbed at, pulled under, and he kicks and hits at the hands as hard as he can to get Vanessa free. ]

We need to move quickly. Please, let me do this. [ This, meaning, to lift her into his arms, while they have precious few seconds to spare as the undead hands briefly retreat from his assault. She may be able to stand and move easily in a moment, but right now, he can't risk her being grabbed again and the larger minotaur sounds like it's bearing down on them. From which direction, he can't be entirely sure. If she allows it, he'll lift her as delicately as he can, mindful not to jostle any unseen injuries, though it's likely unavoidable.

He quickly turns back to Red now, to look up ahead and make sure she's okay. ]

Red!

[ Tell me you're okay, tell me you've got it. You need to be okay, you have to be, his thoughts tumble through his mind in a rush of fear.

The bloodied minotaur appears gravely wounded and though he'd been ready to offer it mercy only a few moments ago, he feels a relief at knowing Red has done what he should have.

I'm sorry, he thinks, but doesn't say, because they don't have time for it. His mercy - he got it wrong, made a mistake, and now it's put them all in greater danger. ]

[growlies]

( Red manages to reach out to grab hold of Vanessa's knife in the minotaur's arm, and she yanks it out. There is a moment where she holds the blade where her bloodlust demands more from her - there's the intense desire to stab it in all of its eyes until it cannot see any longer, until it really regrets ever touching Vanessa or betraying the Doctor when he had been trying to help it.

She breathes in sharp through the feeling barely managing to contain it, and then she sends a psychic, ancient growl into the smaller minotaur's heads to show him what she really is deep down. He must be thinking it now: how she is like his brother - only worse. She hopes he is thinking that. The minotaur wails again in fear this time, crying for his brother, before she drops away from the axe as he runs off in the other direction. Her feet hit the floor roughly, splashing up some of the water in the process.

It's still alive. She doubts it can die like she could not die in the Underworld. Her existence too tied to the place, but at least she's bought them time.

She turns at the sound of the Doctor calling her, meeting his gaze, taking in a breath of relief that he's got Vanessa in his arms and he seems to be in one piece too for now. Sorry, yes, he's sorry. She sees that even at this distance, but she can be the monster if he wants to offer help first, to offer healing. She wouldn't know how to do that part of it anyway. She's covered in its blood, breathing heavily, bruise around her throat, but she's fine. Red rushes back over to them. )

Vanessa? Are you- ( okay, hurt, alive, breathing. She's in the Doctor's arms, and- and she didn't swallow the water, did she? )

[matermali]

[ A gasp when she's suddenly freed from the foggy water, dripping from unkempt hair to soaked leather boots. It takes her a moment to re-orient as the Doctor hauls her back onto something almost resembling solid ground, though that's a generous term. Her hands twist into his jacket like claws at first, her breaths coming in only slightly pained rattles. The cut on her leg from fallen rubble isn't even felt, not really. Just the pounding of her heart registers. Then their voices, but it seems louder than even their voices, and she just keeps hearing names. Hers. Red's.

Red. Her head snaps around at the girl's voice.

Finally gasping for air, assured that she isn't about to drink some kind of deathly poison that the ghastly beast had tried inviting her to, Vanessa weakens her grip and gently pushes at the Doctor's chest. She can walk. She is well enough. If anything, she's embarrassed, but that is overcome by relief at seeing the both of them in one piece.

Seeing the minotaur just as it flees, Vanessa's eyes narrow. That earlier twisting in her stomach feels lighter now, like moths have unraveled the tangle. Silent if not for the thrumming of their wings. Futile, though. No light for anyone here.

There's pride for the damage done by Red's own hand, but disappointment that it does not lay dead. A bit of a wheeze while still catching her breath. It seems she never will. ]

I am─ I am well. We endure. But now it will alert its brother.