Divvying the Labyrinth

As we kept going, we soon saw the room in the distance. Not long after that, it became obvious that not only was it definitely the section's Zodiac Room, it was much larger on the outside than the Snake Room had been. "If the piece to complete the Jade Ox Medallion isn't in there, Monkey's my uncle," said Jue Zhu breathlessly as we approached.

The doorway was also much larger. Unlike any other Room I'd seen in the labyrinth, it was securely shut. And right away, I noticed why. Emblazoned on the door was a Zodiac wheel, but one that only contained eleven pictures. Five of the pictures were glowing with pulses of light—the Goat, Rabbit, Snake, Dragon, and Horse, naturally. "Looks like we won't be able to leave much unfinished here. It's just as well, this is what, the third day?"

Jue Zhu nodded. "I have a feeling this will get a little complicated."

When we returned to the Exit Tower, Jue Zhu was looking uncommonly serious. "All right everyone," he began, "I told you all through the communication stones what Zuhui and I found at the Ox Room. We know what we need to do. The question is, how are we going to go about this? The best rewards left in this place are in the remaining Zodiac Rooms, that much is obvious. So what we need to do is talk it out now to ensure we divide the rest of them fairly."

"I begin to grasp your concern," I said, allowing myself to slip some ironic humor into my voice, "dividing 12 loots—effectively—among a 5 person party, that kind of thing has ruined alliances more than once, when people don't have a fair method planned in advance. Not to mention, each of us has already taken one."

"And then there's the fact the 12th and last automatically goes to Jue Zhu," said Jong, "being the 'quest item' in this gaming analogy."

"So we all get at least two," said Quan, "and then two of us will get a third one, if my math is right. The obvious question is which two?"

"Well, there's an obvious answer," I said, "I mean, the two of us who are making a serious attempt to become disciples of Azure Flame Abbey surely need every advantage they can get their hands on."

"I can't say you're wrong," said Shokoya, "but I say to balance fairness for the rest of us, they make their picks of which Zodiac Rooms they take after the three of us."

"That would mean I basically don't get to pick," noted Jue Zhu, "since my second is Ox, like we said, there will only be one left by the time it gets to me at all. It sounds like a fair trade, since the completed Jade Ox Medallion represents an opportunity even bigger than joining Azure Flame Abbey."

"So, first you three pick one Zodiac Room each," said Jong, "then I pick two of the remaining three, and Jue Zhu gets Ox and the last one? Do I have that right?"

"That's the idea," said Shokoya, "so are we all agreed?"

We sealed the agreement with a set of handshakes, and I brought out pencil and paper again. "The half of the Zodiac animals we haven't encountered yet are Tiger, Rat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig."

"Let's go by class rank for the first three picks," said Shokoya, "meaning you first Zuhui."

I bit my lip. Having the most to choose from, I had to think about it the hardest. "Pig."

"Really, Zuhui?" said Quan, "I thought for sure we'd leave Pig for last."

"They're known for being smart, so I'm banking on the reward being related to that. If I can make my already strong Mind Measures even stronger…it's like the Head Instructor's said in plenty of lessons, in the world of cultivation, wings are for tigers. It only makes sense to improve my specialization."

Shokoya thought for at least as long as me, "Monkey. They can be pretty tricky at times."

"I'm glad neither of you took Dog," said Quan, "I was set on that one almost immediately."

"So left for me are Rat, Tiger and Rooster…" Jong's face contorted. "Sorry Jue Zhu, Tiger is likely one of the best rewards even out of the Zodiac Rooms. It's selfish of me…"

Jue Zhu held up his hands. "Not at all. We're basically planning to be teammates at Azure Flame Abbey, right? You need to get advantages too, and I already got Dragon."

"Then I guess I'll pick Rooster for my third."

"So that means Rat is the last one," said Jue Zhu, "it's within expectations really. They're not often viewed positively, are they? Not that that's a problem or something," he waved his arms at this, "I don't mind. I'm sure the reward will be interesting."

"Then it's time to venture back into the maze," said Jong, "Quan, Shokoya, I'll share my own map data with you so that you'll have the location of the Ox Room. Once we've each dealt with our other Zodiac Rooms, we can meet up at the entrance. We'll complete the Jade Ox Medallion in no time!"

We separated to our different sections, each of us taking our time locating the Scarab Rooms in each of them that held map data and helpful items. In another two days, I'd found the map data for the Pig's section, as well as a set of pills to temporarily boost Reaction and an edible treasure my Inventory IDed as an Insightful Truffle that would give a nice boost to my already very high Comprehension. After all that, I needed a night's sleep pretty badly, so I camped out in front of the Pig Room for a while.

Shokoya and Quan had made similar progress. Jong had finished the Tiger Room, but said he'd be resting for a while since the Ascended Beast had, as expected, been a particularly tough one. Jue Zhu had already finished with the Rat Room and started camping out at the Ox Room.