MASKTOURN

Ace steps out into a long, dismal hallway. The walls are covered in peeling wallpaper of a sickening yellow pattern, that seems to twist and writhe and take human shape when he looks at it for too long. On the floor is a mildew-y rug that might’ve once had some pattern, but is too old and worn to actually tell what that pattern is. The hall is lit by sickly, flickering fluorescent lights. The entire hallway smells like mold, dead flowers, and really obnoxious perfume. Occasionally, as he walks down the hallway, he’ll pass small end tables decorated by wilting flowers and strange sculptures. Just over the droning, staticy music, Ace can hear something that sounds like the whispering of a familiar voice….

@Kip | Ace 🏹 / Ellie 📷

Ace reaches an intersection. There are paths going left, right and forward.

Kip | Ace 🏹 / Ellie 📷

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# 2
Details:[d3 (2)]

[Right!]

12:06 PM

"Eugh," Ace groans as he steps out into the hallway. It smells just like his first apartment. The dawning realization that his fight is happening now seems to be smothering the anxiety of being in this nightmare of a place. He could only really worry about one thing at a time. There's someone here. "Hello?" he calls, following the voice, wherever it's coming from. The feeling of rug underneath his sandals is starting to get on his nerves. @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

Ace reaches an intersection. There are paths going left and right. @Kip | Ace 🏹 / Ellie 📷

Kip | Ace 🏹 / Ellie 📷

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# 1
Details:[d2 (1)]

[Left!]

12:09 PM

Ace heads left, still listening for that voice. @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

Ace reaches an intersection. There are paths going right and forward. Standing in the hallway is a tall man with long, dirty blonde hair and gray eyes. He’s wearing a casual outfit of jeans, a t-shirt, and a denim jacket. He’s got lichtenberg figure scars racing up his arms and neck. Ace has definitely not seen him around before. He’s fidgeting awkwardly when he notices Ace suddenly- and when he startles, small sparks of electricity frizz the ends of his hair and dance across the tips of his fingers. “OH! I wasn’t expectin’ to see you there, hah. Do you- uh, know where we are?” @Kip | Ace 🏹 / Ellie 📷

Huh. Ace stops at the intersection, faltering slightly. He doesn't look like a contestant- or like anyone who belongs here, either. [Though he seems to have lightning powers of some sort.] Who was this person? Where did he come from? Was he just part of this place? Speaking of. Where was this place. "Ah- hello," Ace awkwardly greets, raising a hand slightly. He doesn't know what to make of this guy. "You...you are in a hallway- tournament. You're in a tournament match right now." @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

"Tournament?" He repeated, and looked around the hallway. "Uhh. Okay. Who're you? I'm Roy." @Kip | Ace 🏹 / Ellie 📷

"M- yes. A tournament," Ace sighed. "I'm not too sure if you were brought here...now. Ah." "I'm Ace. I'm...competing in this tournament." @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

"Huh... well, nice to meet you, Ace." Roy nodded. "Do you know how to get outta here?" He turned to face the right side of the intersection. "I assume that's what were meant to do here..." @Kip | Ace 🏹 / Ellie 📷

"It's nice to meet you too, Roy," they echo, looking down the hallway Roy's facing. "I'm not too sure how to get out of here, myself. I've only just arrived here." "I came from that end...so we could try continuing that way," Ace sighed. "It's not like we can make much of a decision, either way. Everything looks the same." @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

"Yeah, we should go this way, I think." Roy nodded. Ace reaches an intersection. There are paths going left and right. @Kip | Ace 🏹 / Ellie 📷

Kip | Ace 🏹 / Ellie 📷

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2

Kip | Ace 🏹 / Ellie 📷

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# 2
Details:[d2 (2)]

Ace continues on to the right, still feeling a little unsettled by...Roy. His appearance in this maze only brings more questions than answers. "Where...did you come from, Roy?" he asks, glancing behind him. He's still following, right? @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

Roy's following, and keeping pace with Ace. "Oh, I'm from Iowa, actually. I... can't remember exactly how I got here...." Ace reaches an intersection. There are paths going left and forward. @Kip | Ace 🏹 / Ellie 📷

Kip | Ace 🏹 / Ellie 📷

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# 1
Details:[d2 (1)]

"Left it is," Ace mumbles, continuing on. "Ah- Iowa?" He knew where Iowa is. In America. He doesn't wanna go there. To- to America. That is. "I see- I'm from Ninjago City, myself. Do- do you remember what you were doing before this? Talking to someone? Being in a room?" @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

Roy furrowed his brow. "I...uh, I can't remember...." He faced the left. "Do you think we should go this way?" @Kip | Ace 🏹 / Ellie 📷

"I don't see why not," Ace said, looking down the left hallway. It looked like a hallway. And mildewy. Right. Still not sure what to make of Roy, especially with that news. "I...see. So you just arrived here out of the blue?" Or green. Or yellow- did Iowa have wheat? @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

"Yeah, I just... woke up here." Roy frowned, and continued down the left hallway... @Kip | Ace 🏹 / Ellie 📷

"That's...unfortunate," they sighed. "Ah- well. Both good and bad, I suppose. I'm sorry you're here to begin with, but...at least you aren't actively competing in this." Still. Not sure who this guy was. Was he just some stranger who was dropped into here? @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

"I don't even know what this place is..." Roy muttered. Ace reaches an intersection. There are paths going left, right and forward. @Kip | Ace 🏹 / Ellie 📷

Kip | Ace 🏹 / Ellie 📷

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# 3
Details:[d3 (3)]

"It's...it's a tournament in the realm of the Lifebringer," Ace started, carefully choosing not to mention the 'death tournament' part of it. "I'm competing to...win by getting a relic in the center of this...maze. It's a maze. We're in a maze." @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

Roy's brow furrowed, and he fidgeted with his jacket.. "Lifebringer? Wh- I've never even heard of that." "I think... we should go left, shouldn't we?" @Kip | Ace 🏹 / Ellie 📷

"Ah, well. Neither did I until I came here," Ace shrugged. "It's...mm. The LIfebringer is a...god who can heal. Handles the Fold, which- ah. Realm for the deceased. And the realm of the living- the, the Lifebringer is a god of healing and is Eternity, incarnate." "...Or something," Ace mutters, shaking his head a bit. "Ah, there's two incarnations of the Lifebringer, and they're in charge of this tournament, and this is their realm." Talking was helping soothe his nerves, at least. "Mm. Sure, let's continue le- left. Are you also guessing, or did you figure out some sort of pattern to this pattern-less place?" Ace asked, looking over at him curiously. @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

That seemed to confuse Roy even more. "I... I don't really know, I just get this gut feeling..." Ace reaches an intersection. There are paths going left and right. @Kip | Ace 🏹 / Ellie 📷

Kip | Ace 🏹 / Ellie 📷

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# 1
Details:[d2 (1)]

"Well...better than what I'm relying on." Pure, good ol' luck. Oh, Nuwa bless. Unlike Roy, Ace didn't have this gut feeling, and so he went left. "For a moment, I figured you might have discovered some...rhyme or reason to this place. It's very unnerving in here." "But- but, ah, we'll hopefully be out of here soon," Ace assured, looking back behind him. @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

Roy didn't protest, so maybe Ace was going the right way. "Yeah, yeah, I hope so... I haven't figured out anything about this place..." @Kip | Ace 🏹 / Ellie 📷

"It...doesn't seem to make sense, that's for sure," they said, continuing on. Roy seemed to be alright with his decision. "But it seems to be a maze. We haven't run into any dead ends, thankfully." And Roy seemed to be...pretty young, didn't he? Around Ell's age, maybe? Maybe it was because of his scars, too? Oh, young and scrawny. Damn. "So...what- you don't remember getting here, yes, but do you remember...anything else? You seemed to remember where you're from, at least." @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

"It, uh, hurts a bit to try to remember very much, I get this tension..." He put his hands to his forehead. Ace reaches an intersection. There are paths going left and forward. @Kip | Ace 🏹 / Ellie 📷

Kip | Ace 🏹 / Ellie 📷

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# 2
Details:[d2 (2)]

Ace frowned as he continued forward, brows furrowed in thought as Roy pressed his hands to his head. "That's...strange. Out of all the contestants I spoke to, everyone seemed to remember their past before being brought here." "Maybe it's knowledge you...know, rather than memories? Um- let's try this, what do you usually do in...Iowa. Iowa?" @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

Roy followed... "Well, uh, I go fishing, I do woodcarving, that sort of thing. I keep chickens, actually." @Kip | Ace 🏹 / Ellie 📷

"So maybe it is knowledge rather than. Memories and whatnot," Ace murmurs. "Chickens? That's nice. I can't...exactly raise chickens in the city, but I can't say I haven't thought about it. Is it nice to do?" @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

"Yeah, it's nice... you just gotta feed them, and they give you eggs. It's awesome." Roy nodded. Ace reaches an intersection. There are paths going left, right and forward. @Kip | Ace 🏹 / Ellie 📷

Kip | Ace 🏹 / Ellie 📷

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3

Kip | Ace 🏹 / Ellie 📷

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# 2
Details:[d3 (2)]

"Mm. Let's continue right," Ace hummed, going that way. "Eggs sound nice- do they, do chickens eat...s-seeds? Um. I don't exactly know what else chickens eat except seeds," he adds, mostly under his breath. "Ah, but it does sound nice. Fishing, too. Do chickens eat fish." Cityboy here doesn't know what chickens eat. @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

"Uh. No, chickens don't eat fish." Roy shook his head. "They'll eat like, anything, but they mostly eat grain and bugs." Ace reaches a dead end. There’s a table at the end of the hallway, with a blue vase on it. Touching this will teleport him and Roy back to the junction where he made the error. @Kip | Ace 🏹 / Ellie 📷

"Hm. I see...now." Aw, dang it. Dead end. "Argh," Ace frowned, staring down at the blue vase. That was unfortunate. "Ah, sorry- I think I made a wrong turn...somewhere." Going back would result in them getting lost some more, right? "I'm not too sure what this vase will do," he explained, reaching out for it. "Together?" @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

Once Ace touched the vase, he and Roy were telported back to the intersection they had made a wrong turn at. There were paths going left and forward (which they had already tried). "Oh- whoa, that was weird." Roy stumbled a bit as he got his bearings. "Should we go... left?" @Kip | Ace 🏹 / Ellie 📷

Ace squints a bit as they get teleported back to the intersection, a bit dismayed that it was further back than he thought. Shit. "I...yes. I think I'll follow you from now on," Ace sighed, shaking his head a bit. "That was not. Fun." @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

Roy continued left, running his hand along the wall. "This place is weird..." @Kip | Ace 🏹 / Ellie 📷

"I...eh. Would...not touch that wall if I were you," Ace very warily says, continuing to walk more in the center of the hall. "It's incredibly...unsettling. I'm pretty sure it's starting to move, too." The thought of touching anything in this room was starting to make him feel ill. He wasn't afraid of germs, or confined spaces, or anything of the sort, but man if this place didn't reek. @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

"Oh, yeah- you're probably right." Roy took his hand away from the wall. Ace reaches an intersection. There are paths going left and forward. "Let's go forward..." Roy moved that way. @Kip | Ace 🏹 / Ellie 📷

"I trust you," he hummed, continuing after him. That hallway looked...uninviting. And not fun. Well- all of the hallways looked the same. "I trust your gut feeling over my random choosing." @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

Ace reaches an intersection. There are paths going left and right. Roy heads left. "I don't really know where I'm goin', I... don't even really know where we are, honestly." @Kip | Ace 🏹 / Ellie 📷

"Well, I think we might have been sent back because of a mistake I made," Ace says. "You do seem to have the intuition to know where to go." @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

"Yeah, I guess I do." Ace reaches an intersection. There are paths going left, right and forward. Roy starts heading left. @Kip | Ace 🏹 / Ellie 📷

Ace continues after Roy, quietly thinking of any other...thing to talk about. The music's been breaking and looping and repeating measures again. It's driving him nuts. "What- what's your...family like?" @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

"I've got two sisters, they're the best." Roy smiled. "One older, one younger." Ace reaches an intersection. There are paths going left, right and forward. @Kip | Ace 🏹 / Ellie 📷

"Oh, that's nice," Ace smiles. Ah. He dropped all contact with his family as soon as he turned old enough to leave. "What're their names?" "Ah. Where to next?" @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

"My older sister is named Gale, and the younger one is Claire." "Uhhh.... right, yeah. Let's go right." He headed that way. @Kip | Ace 🏹 / Ellie 📷

Gale. Mmm. "Gale and Claire, hm?" Ace hums, keeping his voice as even and y'know, normal. "I see." Couldn't. Couldn't be this Gale, right? "Ah- out of curiosity, what...is your last name?" Definitely not suspicious. @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

"Oh, Davenport! I'm Roy Davenport." At the end of the hallway is a looming metal door that looks out onto the central room. @Kip | Ace 🏹 / Ellie 📷

Ohhgh. This Gale. "I'm Ace. Ace Lao," he returns, as not to make the name asking, y'know, super weird. "Ah...I also go b...y?" "...Oh." It's green. @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

"Do you wanna.. go through that first?" Roy asked hesitantly. @Kip | Ace 🏹 / Ellie 📷

"I...yeah, I'll go through that first," Ace slowly says, staring out anxiously into the room. Not a very good feeling. "I...I'll return. Yes." He starts to walk through, before he falters, glancing behind him. "...Do you miss your sister? Gale?" @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

"Uh- yeah, I do. She's in Chicago, I don't really see her outside of Christmas and Thanksgiving..." He said, and started rambling about trains. @Kip | Ace 🏹 / Ellie 📷

Ace just kinda smiled at Roy. Good kid. Liked trains and chickens and fishing. Iowa. "I- I do hope you get to see her again, Roy." He waved slightly and left out the door. @innsjo | kyrie🪶+ darcy🖋+npcs

Once Ace passed through the door, it slammed shut behind him, cutting him off from Roy. @Kip | Ace 🏹 / Ellie 📷