In the Labyrinth

The section of the Labyrinth they found themselves resembled forest and was covered with something like kudzu.  Uther touched a nearby door and learned that the world was called Basta, but something there caused him to recommend a different door.  Jane tried another door.  That world was also named Basta, but also did not appear to be hospitible.  Calais mentioned that this world was not here the last time he came to the labyrinth.  

They noticed several four-armed plantlike creatures approaching.  Jane mentioned that those were the  creatures on the other side of the doors.  The kudzu seemed to be part of them.  Uther sensed some Psyche in one of the appoarching beings that was stronger than Cyra, but less than the Dwimmerlaik Cyber-Lady on Fierce.  Uther advised the others.  Calais said that, in his experience, only Dale and Vala were stronger.

The beings appeared to be deferential to everyone except William and the Greek woman.  Mena attempted to greet them.  Jane made it clear that William was with her.  The beings cleared a potion of the vegetation and scrawled some indecipherable characters in the dirt.  Uther attempted to act as a conduit between the door and the inscription to transalate.  It was exhausting and labor-intensive, but it was a greeting and apologized for disturbing them, but wondered the team’s “fertilizer was for sale.”

Mena perfected the existing soil as a friendly gesture, and Uther drew an inquiry to find the minotaur.  The response was that he walked by, but Uther could not decipher the time reference used.  The being pointed toward a spiral staircase going down.  The team proceeded down the staircase to the next floor, which appeared to be the top of a tower made of boiling brass.  The air was steamy, and the walls were hot.  There was a perfectly normal door there with a strange sign bearing 626.  

Through the Door

Uther touched the door, which was not hot to the touch.  He got the sensation of a glitzy, overbuilt sprawl overlooking a hub of industry, and a large screen bearing propaganda videos and subtle threats from a overlord.  Docile inhabitants shuffled about their business, while aliens in spacesuits watched over them.  Uther checked to see if the door had been manipulated, but did not notice anything.  Jane verified his assessment.

William and Jane went through the door and identified that area as a mixture of Hong Kong and Tokyo.  Calais, Jane and Cyra experienced blinding headaches, nosebleeds as they passed through and glass breaks in the general area.  And their lynchpins collapsed.  

Cyra stepped back out to the stairs and everything returned to normal.  She dropped her spells and stepped back through.  She got a slight headache this time.  She attempted to cast a light spell, and it just happened as she thought it.  She cast a darkness spell and it also just happened.  She realized that the spells were psionic, not magical.

Uther used Wayfinding to locate the direction of the minotaur.  Cyra interfaced with the local network and discovered enhanced security and a coding language that was to human.  After a few moments, Uther, Sturm, Jane, and Mena collapsed.  Willam, Cyra and Calais remained conscious.  Cyra brain scanned Mena to sense what happened.  She sensed that she was  experiencing backlash from Uther’s Wayfinding.

Uther awakened.  Willam woke Jane.  Cyra woke Mena.  Eventually Sturm was awakened.  Cyra searched the net for reports of the minotaur.  She does not find anything about the minotaur, but he finds reports of an enormous battleship docking on the building they had emerged onto the day before.  According to the official history, that ship comes to that tower once per month.  It was normally based in Siberia at a base used for psy-experimentation.

While searching for a door in Siberia, the local net access shut down.  Then a bunch of hover tanks approached.  Cyra blind teleported the team to Siberia.

In Siberia

The appeared on the top of a hydroelectric dam.  The ship hovered above a delapidated city that was being rebuilt along alien architectural designs.  The dam had also been upgraded by the aliens.  Uther identified that the ripple from the Wayfinding came from above them.  Looking up, they could see a bright star above them that was the planet Saturn.

Mena created a messenger pigeon and had the Greek lady write and note to the minotaur.  Uther considered creating a link betwween and access door in the dam to an airlock on the ship. Jane surmised that the aliens required a different atmosphere.

Then there was a slight detonation in the ghost town part of the city.  They noticed several other craters and observation centers in that area, some of which were very old.  There was also dense security: hover tanks patrols, and force shields around the city, the dam, and the ship.

A shuttle flew through the air, a figure fell out of it, then the shuttle stopped mid-air and settled to the ground.  The figure flew back toward the ship.  There were psychic presences from somewhere near the shuttle and figure.

Uther used Wayfinding to locate the minotaur.  He found it somewhere on the ship in a lower hanger bay.  He also determined that the interference from Saturn was a malfunctioning door that did not link to the Grand Stair.

Cyra attempted to summon the mintoaur and hit a psychic wall.  Apparently the forcefield blocked psychic energy.  Uther created a link between and access door in the dam to an airlock on the ship.  

Inside the Ship

Sturm opened the inner airlock door.  The atmosphere beyond was alien but breathable.  Uther created a breathing device for the Greek lady.  Uther used Wayfinding to find the minotaur.  Cyra tried to psychically look around but found that his psychic powers were blocked.  The Wayfinding pointed to the elevator.  Uther looked into the elevator shaft and received the sensation to go down as the bulkhead doors closed within.  He closed the doors and pushed the button.

When the elevator arrived, five armored figures emerged pointing their weapons at the team.  Sturm identified the weakness in their armor.  Cyra and Jane took cover.  Uther tried to knock them over.  Mena shielded the Greek girl.  William shielded himself.  Callius shot one in the head.

Cyra hacked into the security system and opened all the other doors.  Sturm identified that the weakness was the power cells and depleted them.   Uther continued to knock away their weapons.  He found that their equipment was impressive but they were not.  In short order, they were defeated.  When the power cells depleted, the suits opened up.  The pilots were alien.  Calais killed them.

Cyra closed all doors except the one son their path to the minotaur.  All the other elevators and bulkheads were shut and locked.  They took the elevator down.  On the designated floor, the door opened up to a large dining area at which was seated the minotaur.  I had been served a meal.  They exited the elevator.

The minotaur and the Greek woman started speaking rapidly in Ancient Greek.  Cyra locked the elevator, but found that they had been isolated to the immediate vicinity.  After some time, the minotaur began speaking to Callius in another ancient language.  Mena asked the minotaur destroy the artifact, and he did.

The minotaur said they were trying to negotiate safe passage for the Incursion through the Labyrinth.  He also mentioned that the broken door was an experiment by the Incursion that failed.  the Incursion did not understand magic and did not appreciate things that could not be mass produced.  He asked if he could do anything else for the team.  Wiliam asked the minotaur how to get out of the Labyrinth.  He volunteered to lead them out.  The minotaur asked where they wanted to go.  They said they wanted to speak to Vala on Shadowlight.  

They exited through the elevator door to the pharmacy and then back to the Labyrinth.  On the way, Cyra disabled all the sytems that she could.

In the Labyrinth

The minotaur led them through the Labyrinth to a door made of multi-colored crystal.  The minotaur did not approach it.  He turned and walked away.  They opened the door and went through. 

The Team:

  • Sturm von Krieg the warrior (Joab)
  • William Edwalton the scientist (Greg)
  • Jane Edwalton the explorer (Jenna)
  • Mena the traveler (Stephanie)
  • Uther the gatherer (Dave)
  • Cyra the sorceress (Mike)