[Solo CYOA] NAVIGATE THE MAIZE MAZE (Brenley)

[Smerdle]

Quote:

You enter the maze and well, it's a bit underwhelming, yet quickly enough, you find yourself at the first crossroads. Do you go left, or right?

Left:
You head left, and hear not to far ahead, a sad moan that sends an actual chill up your spine. That was just a bit too authentic...

Left (Again):
Taking a Left, you find yourself in a much colder path, the smell of coal and peppermint in the air. It's unsettling, but a train horn wails nearby. Do you investigate or ignore?

Investigate:
As you investigate the noise, you run across a set of two train cars. One says WARTS the other says TOWN which do you chose to get onto?

TOWN:
You get on the train car and notice flickering lights of red. A rattling can be heard and a wind gust hits the closed windows. Something seems to want in.

Ignore:
Smart move, you keep going forward ending up in an area that is much colder, and you notice a gnome sunbathing? Ew. They look up at you and point to a sign. 'Hug this tree' Do you?

No:
"You make the tree sad." The Gnome says, and suddenly, you find yourself stuck in place by sticky sap. Laughing the gnome dumps more sap on you along with pine needles. You smell of pine now and are shoved down and tied up. (Ending E)

E:
Covered in sap and pine needles, you're dragged out of the maze. You are sticky, smell and should probably get a bath. Too bad the smell lingers for an IC hour.

 

[Smerdle]

After his recent experience chasing artifacts, Bren was quite sure he never wanted to do anything adventurous ever again. When he first saw the giant corn maze just sitting there on Amityville property like it belonged, like it hadn't just shown up to threaten him overnight, the boil almost took a special trip back to his room just to grab a lighter and burn the thing to the ground. In the end, curiosity won out. Also the SPOOPY TRAPS and MUCH SCARE signs suggested he had little to fear. It was just a nice walk in a dark maze. At least he didn't have to pay.

He dropped into line behind a pair of twin ghosts, losing them immediately once he stepped past the first stalks of corn even though they had only been inches ahead. A glamour. Impressive. There was a crossroads in front of him, and since he was now alone, Bren took his time choosing which way to go. Right was his inclination, but left was standard. You always went left in a maze, keeping your hand on the wall until you got out. He wouldn't keep his hand on the corn, but he would still go left.

As he continued forward, the silence was split by a low, mournful moan. It was surely another effect, a recorded scare sounding from a speaker. Still, it made the hair at the back of his neck stand on end as he straightened, striding stiffly to the next fork.

Another left. He wasn't going to break his pattern now when it had only just begun.

Instead of moaning, this time Bren heard the wail of a train idling in the station. He had only been on a couple of trains in his life, but the creaking, oversized cars had left an impression. He felt small just thinking about them. When he turned the corner and actually came upon them, he felt even smaller.

Though there were only two, the cars were still impressive and far more modern than the ones he had been inside in the past. A sign labeled each: WARTS and TOWN. Well, he didn't want warts, so Bren supposed there was only one choice. He shivered as he stepped into the car on the right, TOWN. It seemed he was breaking his left rule already.

Inside, the differences between this train and the others Brenley had seen were even more clear. He recalled hard, communal benches and a musty odor. The car he stood in now had plush seats, three on either side, and it smelled of nothing at all. The vast majority of the place was clean, and he nodded his approval at the tidy aisle and neat little snack cart parked at its end. It was only as he reached the cart that he noticed the mess. Papers and candy were strewn across several of the seats, and as the boil moved to turn one over, the light above his head began to flash. It had once been white, but was now bright red. Bren watched it spread to the lights nearest to it, the car resembling a crimson disco when its infection was complete. The window rattled, startling his attention away from the lights and the mess. Something wanted inside, but he certainly wasn't going to be the one to make that happen.

Having entered at the middle of the car, Brenley now turned around and backtracked until he was there again, passing it in his quest to search the other half. He had already been cold, now he was freezing. And yet... was that a gnome in a speedo? Yes. Yes it was. He didn't look at the gnome for a long time, only deigning to do so when nothing more had happened for at least ten minutes. Bren glanced at the gnome. There was a sign draped across its small, hairy body.

hug this tree? ->

The boil shook his head in a vehement no.

"You make the tree sad."

What happened next was destined to be a blur until the end of his days. Bren tried to leave, but his legs wouldn't budge. When had he waded into sap? It was cloying and sticky. Just thinking about what it was doing to his clothing made the boil frown. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't break free, not even when a handful of additional gnomes joined the first, covering him with even more sap and dragging him from the maze.