It would be different, this time.
He headed into the maze determined, and turned left - because brave or not, he wasn't going to go down the exact same route as last time. He was trying to be brave, not stupid.
He stopped when he heard a chilling moan, and gave himself a minute to appreciate how creepy it was before moving forward. On the path he found a boil sitting on a rotten log, and he was crying. Bastion, moved by the tears, asked him what was wrong, and if he could help. The boil did not respond, and merely wailed louder. The sound of it disturbed Bastion, so he decided to move away as quickly as possible. If he could not help.. he would not be subject to such noise for it.
As the boil left his line of sight, the sound of him also faded away. Bastion could hear the sound of running water, and moved towards it quickly. He found a precious little pond in his path, and a cup at the middle of it. On it's side there is a sword, but the moment he saw it he was reminded of how he promised never to touch anything in this maze. He would not kill strange inanimate creatures again!
And yet.
Forced to sate his curiosity, Bastion leaned in to read the words that told him to drink to continue. He stared at the water for a long time, before his eyes narrowed and his lips pursed stubbornly. He would not do as it said, and instead he picked up the sword. He paused, waiting for it to scream or dissipate, and breathed in relief when it did not.
He placed it in the hole at the center of the pond where it clearly was meant to fit, and it opened a new pathway for him. He felt victorious.
Walking down this new pathway found him in front of two gates; an old and a new one. He was starting to enjoy his time in the maze again, for it was clearly a puzzle and a challenge, and it begged him to try and figure it out. So he stood there and truly thought hard about whether an old, or a new gate, would give him a better outcome. In the end, older was wiser, and he chose to walk through the old gate. It's a difficult push, but he managed, moving forward without any transgression. He found a gnome in his path, and winced with disgust.
The gnome was sitting on a toilet.
"What is Goos?" The gnome asks. He knew it to be a riddle but he was so troubled by the fact that he was standing in front of a gnome on a toilet, that his attempts to think were thwarted. If only there had been some way to help him think, he muttered..
That was when a golden throne appeared for him as well, and he sighed with resignation and sat on it.
It hit him like a brick wall, and the words - and insult - tumbled from his mouth before he could realize what he was saying. Bastion covered his own mouth after it had happened, and his eyes widened with surprise and embarrassment. He'd never have normally insulted a gnome like that! What had come over him? Was this place beginning to affect him already?
He snuck away before they could notice how embarrassed he was, and found himself in front of a sign with another riddle. It was a riddle he knew the answer to, for once! Bastion spoke the answer out loud, but nothing happened - and when he bent in, he realized the sign had buttons, and the only responses available were yes, or this is nonsense.
"But that's nonsense." He muttered. "Neither of those are my answer."
He debated which to pick for several minutes, before deciding that the closest thing to having an answer, was simply saying yes. So he did.
And the center of the maze appeared to him like a dream, offering him victory and his prize.
Quote:
Having reached the center of the maze, you are given a golden ear. No, a literal ear. It's a waxy candy that smells like salsa and if one were to eat it... It tastes like a tortilla. Amazing. What's more amazing is that you can hear whispers all around your from fellow students. Let them try to sneak up on you now! (effect lasts 1 IC night)