[b]Mittens![/b]

This is the difference between Eupheria and Oberon. Oberon would wait for the clothes to bury you, and then just leave you there until the curse had run its course. Then, after someone else had won— or, more likely, everyone else had lost— he would come back, pick you up, and toss you in a cage. But Euphie? She’s got way too much in store for you to give up now!

Which means that you only spend a little while buried underneath overaffectionate clothing, squirming and grunting and trying to wiggle closer to your dream suit while blindfolded by sleeves. Then the trap door beneath you opens up, and with a sickening lurch, you and the entire pile of clothes fall to your doom.

Luckily, you and the pile have a soft landing! The relief that washes through you as you pant and thank your lucky stars, as clothes fall like snow around you, as muffled, desperate moans and grunts mingle with your own panting through your nose, is wonderful. You even see your dream suit dangling from a rainbow-colored silk rope above your head, safe and sound.

Rainbow-colored silk rope.

Hold on.

As the distinctive hiss of the polychromatic Jedadi Web Viper rings out from every direction, you realize you are in much, much more danger. You’re stuck to one of their intricate webs, and while the clothes fluttering and falling all around will act as a distraction, you’ve only got so much time before they find you, bite you, and wrap you up in a cocoon, just like the cocoons all around, filled with helpless, writhing, moaning victims. And don’t forget... the venom of the web viper is one of the most powerful aphrodisiacs in all of Hyperborea, a perfect distraction from escape. Just another reason Jedad is the [i]worst.[/i]

Damage your Grace for as long as you are hindered by the clinging clothes, and try to Get Away with your dream suit before the Web Vipers get you!

***

[b]Adila![/b]

It’s like a nightmare. You telepathically bark and whine helplessly and Juniper keeps coming!

“You’ll go back in your prison!” The sword is impossible to escape from. Every time you try to get out of the way, Juniper’s already jabbing right where your momentum’s leading you. It hurts where it touches your scales, and if you weren’t a dragon, you might be able to understand that the feeling is like touching a hot stove. “I don’t want to hear any more of your excuses!”

The other Adila in your head is berating you and you don’t want to hurt Juniper Blue and you’re in pain, so you flatten your ears against your skull and run for it, crashing through hedges and splashing into the fountain and leaving a trail of destruction in your wake.

You barrel through a curtain held between two topiary bushes, and then crash down a short flight of stairs in the dark. You lie there for a moment, panting, aching, and then the spotlights turn on.

On the other end of the room, up the stairs, is an Applause-O-Meter. The benches are full of gremlins, shoveling entire buckets of popcorn in their oversized mouths. The door behind you is gone. And a ring, sized for a dragon with her wings tucked in tight against her body to be able to jump through with a running start, rises up out of the floor.

A gremlin throws a popcorn kernel at you and hits your nose dead on.

Take two damage from the Bronze (and the popcorn kernel?), and then figure out a way to entertain the audience!

***

[b]Kathelia![/b]

You have the Spriggans at a disadvantage. Sure, you’re buried up to your neck in the soil, but you could bust out effortlessly, without even needing to make a Strength check. The thorns are in a useless heap at the bottom of the hole, and you’re casually stretching and getting ready for your next move.

The Spriggans themselves are sitting around in bushes, looking like they’re napping. If you’re quiet, they won’t even notice you, but you probably want to go fast, because you heard a familiar laugh floating over the breeze. A silly but ominous laugh. Eupheria’s on her rounds, and here to look at her gardens!

If you try to sneak away, Get Away and go to Page 8.

If you set a cunning trap for her, tell us how smart you are and how she’s going to fall for it, and go to Page 56.

If you disguise yourself as a Spriggan to try and get more information from her, go to Page 90.