9  3

There was no end to these corridors, and nothing that would tell one from another. From time to time another door was blocking the way, the corridors split, there were intersections and turns. Map did not help:  the maze remains the same until the party go around a corner or open a door, but the moment they close it, or turn - the labyrinth change behind them. 

After some time - how do you tell time in here? - the yet another door opened to the quite long corridor - at least 100 ft. At the end of it, the party saw a tall figure. A few step closer, and the figure turned into a knight dressed in a full suit of armor. He raised his hand as if asking to stop, and said in a booming voice sounded somehow sad and compassionate: "Greetings, adventurers. I was expecting your arrival!"

Ramious stops abruptly staring at the knightly figure. He grunts, and steps aside, ushering the other party members forward, "Best you deal with this guy...."  He doesn't explain why. 

"Hey there!  Hello," Cinder says, pushing to the front of the group and mirroring the knight by raising a hand in greeting.  "Who're you, and why were you expecting us?  Judging from the maze here, I'd bet you've been waiting for some company for some time, and in my experience, that means we're going to be doing a lot of talking.  So let's start off on a good note and get straight to the point.  Did you mean expecting, like, 'oh, hello adventurers, let me give you a bit of cryptic advice to exit this maze', or expecting, like, 'I've been waiting to fight someone for eons and now here you all are, lucky me'?"

"So young and so brash," with a hint of sad envy said the Knight. "No, I am not going to battle you, but not long ago an ugly monster came through this Cursed Labyrinth. And where is the monster - there is the heroes battling it. At least that how it was in my time." He sighed. "You can refuse, of course, but then I will be of no help to you. Should you agree - I would help you to get to the beast. Though there are certain .... conditions. This is The Cursed Labyrinth after all and I am a part of it." 

He made a pause as if expecting adventurers vigorously protest or enthusiastically agree, but then clarified. "First, we shall have to play a game. The ... creator of this maze was a .... traditionalist, I may say. You have to solve two riddles - then I will be allowed to help. Would you listen the first riddle?"

Alyssa definitely wasn't quick enough to beat the enthusiastic Cinder to the 'punch', but was happy all the same for someone to address the man and begin the conversation. All the same, she'd give a little wave before bowing her head in a greeting.

It would be no surprise that the elf would pull out her notebook to be sure to jot some notes down as she'd tilt her head in curiosity to some points made by the man. Her red eyes would glance up from her page to meet with the man's, "Please continue." She'd nod in encouragement for him to continue with his riddle. Alyssa was curious to know the mans story and pluck into details, but she assumed he may not be able to speak as freely until he is 'allowed' to help.

The knight bowed to Alyssa and then suddenly made a side step, disappearing from the view. Then you heard his voice, stating "Your first task is simple - you will have to catch me."

“At my heels you nip in this game we play. But cursed is the maze, and lost am I. So who’s chasing whom? Oh, who’s to say? The front is the back. Hello is goodbye.”

"If we agree, does the one you speak the riddle to have to answer it, or can we do so as a group?"  Leon asks as he sizes up the knight.

(Before disappearing, the Knight answered, of course - "you came as a group, you will leave as a group, no matter who answers, you'll be caught in one scoop!" )

Considering the words, Leon turns and heads the opposite direction from which the knight went.  If no opposite direction, then back on their own path.

Alyssa would scribble down as fast as she could before the man would slip away. Her knee jerk reaction would be to follow after him, but he was so fast! She'd blink a couple times before looking over to Leon who was pondering. When he would turn to walk away, it would be as if a light bulb goes off. She'd underline the front is the back. Hello is goodbye before patting her nose. "Thinking going back from where we came?" The elf would speak out loud to break the silence as she takes he steps to follow Leon.

Ramious says, "Just a sec."  He does a quick trot to where the knight was standing, and feels the wall opposite to the one the knight stepped into.  He gives it a quick search (Investigation : 14).  Assuming he finds nothing he trots back to the party motioning to Leon, "Alright, I'm following, let's go."

There was nothing on the opposite wall, but the Knight did not truly disappear - he stepped into the next corridor. As Ramious quickly glanced there, he saw The Knight escaping at the other end of that passage.

Of course Leon was right: when the group stepped through the door back where they came from, and turned where there was no turn before, they suddenly came to the room (something, the group did not come across yet).

There the group found the Lost Knight standing in a doorway at the far side of a room. “You solved my first riddle, and quite fast, I have to say. Gives me hope you can handle the rest," greeted he adventurers. “Now can you find the missing piece to finish my collection?”

He pointed to three shelves above the doorway. Then he stepped through the door, which closed behind him. The last thing you heard was the Knight humming "... four and twenty blackbirds..."

The first two shelves each have two small statues, and the third one has only one statue.

Shelf 1 Statues. A man with a crown and a bag of coins.

Shelf 2 Statues. A woman with a crown and a jar of honey.

Shelf 3 Statue. A common woman wearing an apron and an empty space for a second statue.

In the room is a large table covered with many small statues, including a cake, a pie, a spinning wheel, a basket of laundry, a plate with a steak, a toy soldier, a sword, and twenty-four sculptures of crows.

Ramious looks at the statues.  He picks up the statue of a basket of laundry and puts it up on the 3rd shelf.  

He turns to the others and shrugs defensively, "What...I had a mom....once a long time ago...."

 Smart though unchivalrous tiefling did not "let ladies guess" and solved the puzzle momentarily. The Knight just barely managed to close the door. He returned as quickly, brushed figurines from the table (they disappear, together with the figurines on the shelves - and with the shelves themselves) and invited adventurers to sit on the chairs around.

"I am truly glad to meet such a clever group of individuals," begun the Knight, "now I can tell you what I know about the beast. You see, the Cursed Labyrinth is not in your world - or anyone's world, to be precise. It is built in a demiplane. The thessalhydra - yes, I know the name! - came here by usual means, through the entrance. At least this is what I thought. But instead of getting lost and starving, as many other animals and sentient creatures did, the Hydra has found a way to push through it to a place called the Upside Down."

"I saw it myself, and so did the Labyrinth. I think - no, I am sure - I know how to open that "door" for you as well. There is one problem, though... I would not be able to bring you back this way. Once there, you will have to find your way back on your own."

"Or, I can return you to the place where you entered the Labyrinth. Of course, in that case, it will be closed for you forever but I doubt you will regret it."

The Lost Knight shows the characters how that is done, but warns that this is a one-way passage — they’ll have to find a different way home.

Cinder laughs and claps her hands.  "Didn't we all?"  She begins to sing the familiar nursery rhyme; her voice isn't the best, but her pitch is okay and she sings with as much confidence as she speaks. 

"Sing a song of sixpence, a pocket full of rye -
four and twenty blackbirds, baked into a pie!
When the pie was opened, the birds began to sing.
Oh wasn't that a dainty dish to set before the king?
The king was in his counting house, counting out his money;
The queen was in the parlour, eating bread and honey.
The maid was in the garden, hanging out the clothes,
When down came a blackbird and pecked off her nose!"

Looking around for the knight, Cinder calls out "So!  Are you going to help us catch that hydra now or what?"

((1 min away posts are the worst thing about PbP :) ))

(just pretend it happened first, LOL)

"If the hydra is in the Upside Down, then that's where we need to be too," Cinder says decisively.  She does take a look back at the others, though.  "I always vote for the shortest and easiest ways to my goals.  But if the rest of you are uncomfortable with the idea of having to find an exit, I'll listen.  I'm not in the habit of dragging my company down with me, after all.  Of course, I'm of the opinion we would succeed at finding another exit, so there's that."

Alyssa documents the riddles and their responses, including Cinder rhyming off the nursery rhyme she didn't recognize. "This is the adventure we set out for. It would be silly to turn back now. I'm sure there's an option to return once we've completed our task."