You hold the gem in your hand and recite the appropriate spell and find yourself standing in the center of a broad stone courtyard under an endless blue sky. You are wearing just enough clothes to keep this a PG-rated adventure but none of your other equipment has come with you. The paving stones beneath your feet are an irregular mosaic, as though stolen from a dozen different buildings and persuaded into a perfect circle.
Around the outer edge are six evenly spaced doorways, each styled to suggest the class it represents:
- Wizard – tall pointed arch of whorled blue crystal, faint motes of light drifting within.
- Fighter – ironbound oak doors flanked by upright halberds.
- Cleric – white marble columns inlaid with gold holy symbols.
- Rogue – narrow, shadowed doorway smelling faintly of ale and lamp oil.
- Paladin – polished stone arch hung with shining banners and a suit of plate armor on display.
- Barbarian – rough-hewn log frame with crude claw marks, an axe head embedded in the lintel.
The air is still, save for the faint chiming from the Wizard’s crystalline arch or the slow creak of wood from the Barbarian’s doorframe.
A neatly lettered sign on a post in the center reads:
“This maze contains two kinds of passages: obvious and subtle.
For the obvious ones, you may simply click the clearly marked links — a courtesy provided for those who dislike typing.
Alternatively, you may alter the address displayed at the top of your browser. At present, it ends with ‘maze-entrance.’ Replace that with ‘maze-wizard,’ and you shall arrive in the wizard’s chamber, exactly as though you had clicked the link.
Subtle passages, however, are another matter. They are hidden, with no links at all. To walk them, you must deduce the correct word(s) or numbers, add it after the prefix ‘maze-,’ and change the address accordingly.
Remember: the words are always lowercase, always begin with ‘maze-‘ and contain no spaces. Numbers will always be whole numbers.
Use of the “Back” button on your browser and developer tools (aka “F12 tools”) is encouraged… but not required for the initial puzzles.
If this confuses you, seek assistance from someone clever (such as the GM). If you are someone clever, congratulations — you may proceed.”
Kardan’s voice drifts from somewhere overhead:
“In my experience, every door leads somewhere. That’s the problem.”
From here you can go to,