[CENTER][h1]Zavakri[/h1] [h2]& The Dungeon Master[/h2][/CENTER] Zavakri's reaches her next stop: The Mystery Mines What she sees is an interesting sight, this attraction is a clear opportunity for many mathematical calculations. Propelled by magic, mine carts laden with fairgoers trundle into an opening carved like a dragon's mouth. The carts reappear moments later on the far side of the attraction, with the passengers expressing a mixture of bewilderment, fear, and excitement. Near the entrance, a male dwarf dressed like a wizard shouts, "[color=f7976a]Unlock the mysteries of your mind in the Mystery Mine![/color]" He has bushy eyebrows, wears a pointy hat, and holds a large clockwork contraption shaped like a giant eye. Approaching this attraction is a shocking experience for Zavakri, fatigued as she is and weary from her time chasing that surprisingly fast snail. A tremble passes through her body, the sight of the mine cart moving under mystical powers sparking a certain kind of joy deep within her. She was fascinated. But first thing's first, there's a faux-wizard dwarf man inbetween her and her ride of this mine cart. Cautiously brandishing her ticket she approaches and makes her way to the Dwarf, but pauses and stares at his contraption and its eye-like nature. "...By the Void Sea, man, what is that you're holding?" The dwarf answers Zavakri with a smile, noticing her stare at it, "[color=f7976a]This, my fair lady, is the All-Seeing Eye! This can make your experience in the Mystery Mines quite exhilarating![/color]" As Zavakri stares at the eye like contraption, it feels like it's staring back at her. Not just at her, but peering right into her very own clockwork soul. He then informs her, "[color=f7976a]A ride will be one ticket punch![/color]" Zavakri's eyes narrow skeptically, though quizzically, and perhaps somewhat believingly, at the clockwork eye as this strange feeling overcomes her. "...So how does it work then?" She slowly extends the ticket forward, but pauses awkwardly out of reach as she asks the quesiton. The dwarf closes the distance and easily punches the ticket. He answers her question, "[color=f7976a]Well, you've already looked at the All-Seeing Eye, all you have to do now is to sit in the cart. Make sure you buckle up, and keep your hands, feet, and the rest of your body inside the cart! And then simply enjoy the ride![/color]" He then gestures to the cart for Zavakri to enter, and proceeds to punch the tickets of the next seven guests, so the cart could be filled to the maximum number of passengers: 8. Zavakri blinks as her ticket is punched, and gazes at the now somewhat [i]lessened[/i] scrap of parchment in her hand. She runs her thumb over it and idly considers how strange a ticket punch is as a concept; you start with a whole piece of paper, then as it becomes tarnished and diminished your experience and self is expected to be fulfilled. Somehow it just didn't quite add up to her. She lifts her gaze and studies the dwarf quizzically. "That doesn't answer my que-" But she finds herself hurried and harangued along by the others in the line, and she clams up to save her questions for later. She casts another backwards glance at the All Seeing Eye in the manner of a forlorn child being removed from a desired toy, but ushers herself in, with an appropriate haughtiness of one such as herself who has been undesirably harassed in the ways she has been this night, and clambers into the cart. She shuffles over and begins bobbing her head side to side. "One..Two..Three...Four...Five six seven...Eight. Eight is a good number." [b]Tying her seatbelt closed securely, Zavakri nestled into her seat on the mine cart with relative comfort. Unawares, blissfully, of what was to come she even engaged in some idle chatter with her fellow. Soon the cart lurched forth, and with its movements she clasped her hands onto its front rail and gripped it firmly.[/b] The cart rolls along the tracks towards the gaping maw of a green dragon. After passing through the maw, Zavakri is able to see....a significant drop of a great height right before her! [b]Zavakri lets out a shriek, the sudden plunge catching her off guard- The outside of this building didn't look like it contained this! How does this make any sense! The volume of the building-[/b] The passengers with Zavakri scream, some in fear and some in delight, as the cart gains velocity as it drops; [b]Zavakri calms her initial panic with the soothing sensation of potential energy being transferred into actualized motion, the G-forces exerted upon her body a pleasant sensation of mathematics-made-physical.[/b]. That speed continues as the tracks wind and twist along the undulating hills, corkscrewing trees, and prismatic skies. As the cart continues speeding along, different illusions appear. A large spider, a large constrictor snake, a distorted and demonic looking Thaco, and...an essay graded an F-? These four rush at the cart first causing the passengers to scream before some of them laugh it off. The next illusion that appears...is a combination of Zavakri's own fears. A little girl, holding a wicked looking sword, appears. Zavakri would see slight resemblance to her sister, but the illusion is clearly not her. The little girl screams angrily as she rushes at Zavakri intent on impaling her with the sword... [b]Zavakri, already on edge from just the incomprehensibility of this carnival attraction, has been rendered an almost gibbering wreck by the time this latest illusion made itself real; the sight of the young girl, sword brandished, caused Zavakri's voice to escalate into a brief, yet piercing, shriek of blood-curdled confusion that swiftly became choked in her throat.[/b] Despite the screams from the other riders of the Mystery Mine, Zavakri was able to hear the little girl cry and ask questions born from Zavakri's subconscious, [CENTER][I]"Are you happier now that I wasn't in your life? Was my worth really only equal to a ticket to this place? [u][b]Do you truly hate me?![/b][/u]"[/I][/CENTER] ...before the illusion passes through harmlessly. [b]Zavakri recoiled nonetheless, as if struck by the sword. She lolls to the side and slumps, whimpering as tears streaked down her cheeks, against the passenger at her side- her hands clutching at their clothes tightly as she sought any solace or comfort from the horribleness of this place. From the dreadful truth of that little girl and her wicked sword.[/b] The next illusions to rush at the cart were a large predatory bird with sharp talons, a bugbear, and finally a dragon-[b]But Zavakri was already too deep into her terror, catching glimpses of these horrible sights through narrowed eyes already blurred by tears and gazing somewhere far-off and away already. Her emotions, uncontrolled and surging as they are, result in fragments of broken mathematical equations sparking into life on her flesh, the equations improperly balanced and the formulae improperly utilized.[/b] The dragon, as the last illusion, breathes fire after them, with the cart making a grand escape. The cart makes it out of the mines, and follows the circular tracks back to where the ride started...Zavakri was able to tell, when it comes to time, that this ride only took a moment as they emerge back out from the ride. [b]Trembling, she finally released the poor man she had nearly strangled in her terror and lurched herself over the edge of the mine cart and onto the ground where she lay weeping for a few long moments, stray magical energies lashing around her as her very nature forced the math into existence and writ into the air the complex nature of her emotional turmoil. After a few moments of this she would finally force herself to her feet, hands over her face, and sprint away into the thick of the carnival with no direction in mind.[/b] Zavakri runs and runs through the carnival, until she finally finds a little corner to sit and cry in without being noticed. After a while, Zavakri would hear a woman's voice speak to her, softly and kindly, "[color=1a7b30]Hey, are you alright?[/color]" When Zavakri looks up, she would see that the person talking to her is a gnome bard. The gnome has black hair tied into a pony tail, and has a lute strapped to her back. She is wearing a green shirt and black pants. She seems to whip out a light green with gold embroidery handkerchief out of thin air, and hands it to Zavakri for her to use. Starting at the sudden approach in a moment that, insofar as Zavakri was concerned, was a universal time of being left alone, Zavakri was forced to lift her face out of her hands and sniffle most dreadful. Wiping her hands upon the cloak she wore, she slowly extended her hand out to take the handkerchief with some deliberate hesitation. "I suppose the answer is a resounding 'No, I am not', but I'll be sporting and make you play the game by saying 'Yes, I'm just dandy, chum'." She delicately dabs at her face, eyes shut as she trembles still. The gnome bard gives a gentle smile to Zavakri and she asks, "[color=7bcdc8]Mind if I take a wild guess? It was the Mystery Mines?[/color]" She sighs and she comments, "[color=7bcdc8]They really need to put up a warning sign for that thing. I've met a lot of other people who had nightmares after riding that attraction,[/color]" She then offers gently, "[color=7bcdc8]If you want to talk about it, I can lend you a listening ear, and a shoulder,[/color]" Zavakri shivers at the guess; its spot-on nature echoes within her in a fel manner. She listens intently, squaring her shoulders as the possibilities of what is offered dawns on her. She bites her lip. "Zavakri." she says at first. "Nice to meet you." She shifts, uncrossing her legs. "Well, that's...Troubling as well. Honestly I don't think I'll get to sleep for a month after that." She trembles, memories filling her. "And I'm not sure what to really talk about... It was just...Scary. It's like something looked into my mind and grasped at my greatest horrors then concocted them for some nefarious scheme!" The gnome introduces herself in return to Zavakri, "[color=a187be]Ellywick Tumblestrum. The pleasure's all mine,[/color]" She listens to Zavakri patiently, and nods understandingly. She clarifies, "[color=a187be]Ah. That was probably the All-Seeing Eye contraption the dwarf had. It may have looked separate invention, but it's part of the Mystery Mines. If anyone looked into that eye, then the ride would manifest the person's fears when they ride the Mystery Mines. At least that's what I've heard,[/color]" At this revelation, her trembling of sorrow turns into the briefest flash of the trembling of sheer rage. "Of all the- I never- My [i]Privacy[/i]- I should go and-" Mathematical formulae swirl around her, her hair billowing faintly in an unbidden breeze of magic as her hands clench and unclench, spectral apparatuses of her trade flashing along the occult chalkboard of her aura. In that instant, her eyes seem almost scary in their ruthless calculations- but as swiftly as that sensation occurs, it is softened into an unyielding and omnipresent curiosity. "How does it [i]work[/i]?" She asks breathlessly, the concept of a device doing such a thing too interesting for her rage to even properly manifest itself within her mind. "Magic is involved, surely, but is its appearance merely facade to obscure the magic, or is it tinker-tanner smithwork and steel as well? Oh, madam Tumblestrum, I've lost myself for a time- this is too much for my poor heart-" she swoons at this time, but soon rises shakily to her feet as the faintness fades from her features. "But you have inspired me! May I enlist your aid briefly, madam, before the hour is fully a waste for me? You appear to be a minstrel of sorts, and a kind one to boot, and if it's no trouble at all I dearly would like to ensure nobody else is suffering as I am. I am in need of companionship, but I have too great a purpose to abandon it entirely to my self pity; would you please join me in trying to cheer up those who get off the ride in a state similar to mine?" Ellywick is silent as Zavakri's own magic reacted to her rage. She watches as that rage morphs into curiosity, and gives a smile at the mention that she had inspired Zavakri. She nods in response to her question, and answers, "[color=f6989d]Of course! I'd be happy to join you in this task, Zavakri,[/color]" Together, the both of them are able to help some of the fair goers calm down from the Mystery Mines successfully. Eventually, a string of Ellywick's plucks itself and she smiles at Zavakri, "[color=7ea7d8]Ah! It's almost time for the Crowning...! ...And it looks like I might not need to intervene after all...[/color]" She looks directly at Zavakri and she encourages the mage, "[color=7ea7d8]You should hurry over there! After all...even fey planes won't stand for what goes against the Balance for too long,[/color]" Before Zavakri could even question the bard's enigmatic words, Ellywick disappears, leaving Zavakri alone to follow the crowd into the Big Top.