The Ancient Labyrinth
Table of Contents
The Ancient Labyrinth
Other Appellations:
Universe 122818 (W-Series)
Fox Harmonic:
Mu-Phi
Astral Connection:
L1 D2
Caution Rating:
0
Multiverse Activity:
Inactive
Keywords:
Sleeping
Description:
Within a world of theriomorphic hominids, there exists a sprawling, subterranean structure made of stone and filled with danger called the Labyrinth. This structure is the universe’s synecdoche and ARGO’s observation point. On official ARGO forms, it is called the Ancient Labyrinth to differentiate it from the infamous Labyrinth of Daedalus, which roams the multiverse abducting those Daedalus believes can be “improved” by the challenges within its winding passageways.
No one can say whether or not the Ancient Labyrinth is older than the Labyrinth, because very little is known about the Ancient Labyrinth. Even the most learned scholars of this universe are mystified by the structure and our ARGO probe’s scans start to glitch up past certain layers.
Whatever is down there is either too alien, too powerful, or too intelligent for our probe to scan.
Something draws the beings of this world to risk life and limb to plumb the uncharted depths of the Labyrinth, and it drew our probe as well. There’s an energy structure within the Labyrinth, and it seemingly grows stronger the deeper the Labyrinth goes. This energy structure seems to be related to the construction of the Labyrinth through crystals that harness its power, and it seems to concentrate within “well” structures, but beyond this, our probe can tell us very little.
The adventurers that delve into the Labyrinth, through legends and the perilous accounts of trailblazers, know a little something of its nature. The top layer of the Labyrinth appears as a series of stone corridors. Crystals can be found on this layer, though nowhere in the amount as in other layers, and they’re often diluted by the surrounding earth and masonry. The top layer is mappable, unlike the lower layers where shifting walls and chambers makes any map worthless. Our probe models the lower levels as a probabilistic structure. Likely formations appear bold and solid, unlikely formations appear less so. Researcher Hand remarked upon seeing the model that it looked to him like a giant puzzle box–and perhaps that’s what the Labyrinth is.
Danger in the top layer commonly comes in the form of brutal monsters–eyeballs with two arms, massive, legless tadpole-like beasts, horned quadrupeds, and all sorts of vicious creatures nest in the top layers. We’ve even seen a minotaur, which is appropriate given the structure’s name.
What causes monsters to nest in the Labyrinth isn’t known. Could they be drawn to the energy structure like animals to a supersonic signal? Could they somehow be created by the Labyrinth? It’s not unlikely. The Labyrinth is filled with traps, some of which are activated or deactivated by wall mounted puzzles. The energy structure may have created the Labyrinth as a defensive mechanism, though another theory states that the Labyrinth is a kind of test. If the energy structure truly wanted to secure itself, it would have arranged the Labyrinth into an enormous shell structure without passages or stairs. The Labyrinth seems to filter, but not wholly eliminate, trespassers.
The middle layers of the Labyrinth are very different from the top layers. The narrow stone corridors of the top layers give way to surreal, wide-open areas filled with strange gravitational effects and staircases like something from an Escher painting. Constructs made from the stone of the Labyrinth itself replace biological monsters. These constructs assemble themselves around crystals, which supports the theory that the energy structure has intelligence and a motive for the Labyrinth.
We don’t have much information on what lies below the middle layers. Adventurers talk of the lowest layers in hushed tones. Death is there, but also great rewards.
The Labyrinth attracts the adventurous and the enterprising, not only with its energy-laced crystals and cryptic promises of power, but with the valuable equipment and weaponry of fallen adventurers. We’ve even seen a merchant set up a shop in the top layers to sell medical supplies and assistance to adventurers. Business is good.
Little is known about the world outside the Labyrinth. Judging by the technology adventurers bring with them into the Labyrinth (crossbows, plate armor) we can assume a technological level around that of the late medieval period, though of course, this is only an assumption. Given how many adventurers throw themselves into the Labyrinth, the outside world seems to be stable. If there was anything like a war outside, it’s very unlikely we’d be seeing so many take a risk on the Labyrinth.
It is interesting that the word the inhabitants of the universe use for “Labyrinth” translates to Labyrinth, linguistically speaking. True, we must always take the translation programs of ARGO probes with a grain of salt. We all remember when a probe accidentally misfired, manifested in New York City, and sent back reports on “Man-men” living in “Neo City of the York.” But the Labyrinth, from what we understand, seems to function more like a maze than a labyrinth. A labyrinth has a single continuous path to and back from the center while a maze has multiple paths that may or not lead to the center. Maze seems to describe the Labyrinth better than labyrinth, but then again, perhaps the name refers to the function rather than the form of the Labyrinth. Perhaps the various trials of the Labyrinth work like a single path that if an adventurer follows through perseverance and skill will lead them to some kind of control center for the energy structure?
Individuals of Note
Pike
A tall, quiet woman clad in armor and armed with a spear. Pike is a skilled adventuress, but she bit off more than she could chew once, which placed her in the debt of the Merchant. To pay off her debt, Pike serves as his factotum. She fights monsters, carries loot, and generally takes care of anything the Merchant wants.
Raw Power 9
Endurance 8
Speed 7
Sanity 10
Intelligence 6
Skill 11
The Merchant
A small, mysterious man with a keen understanding of the Labyrinth’s structures and economics. He has set up a business within the Labyrinth selling goods, either brought in from the outside world or reclaimed from unfortunate delvers, to adventurers and treasure hunters.
Raw Power 1
Endurance 6
Speed 1
Sanity 10
Intelligence 10
Skill 11
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