The Hungry Garden Egg Hunt was an ambitious concept requiring a lot of coordination between the designers, builders and staff on the ground. There were four main categories of carnivorous plants represented: trappers, munchers, tanglers and shamblers. The trappers were static constructions the victim would stumble into and be unable to escape, such as the giant pitcher plants. Tanglers were motorised vines which could coil around victims to immobilise and smother them, while munchers waited with large jaws to close on the unwary. All of these operated autonomously. But the shamblers were walking trees, lurching monsters that needed to be operated by an internal puppeteer.

Hannah and Jess had been given the job of constructing the giant shambler costumes in Morior's sewing room, then brought them round to Ellen's Acting Academy so we could use them in a physical movement class and enlist students to do the job of working inside them. The costumes were deliberately cumbersome and the operator could not see out from within, forcing them to stagger around blindly waiting for somebody to enter the fold at the front of the plant where the eggs would be placed. If they felt someone there, they activated a mechanism to close and secure the fold, trapping the victim inside. Once the plant had been fed, anchoring spikes could be deployed to secure the structure in place, allowing the operator to leave the costume once the coast was clear.

I wasn't aware that Vic was a Masquerade spirit until Hannah told me, but with hindsight I should have made the connection between our resident surrealist and the Magritte-inspired Apple Head who Betsy had defeated back when we debuted her and Hyacinth. Vic didn't attend every Masquerade - he was more of an occasional player - but he wanted to be a part of the Hungry Garden Egg Hunt and wasn't concerned whether he got to actually compete. Like Len, Vic was more interested in creating interesting stories than winning.
Debs and I had decided that one or other of the Claydon sisters would end up in a pitcher plant - probably Larkin/Lexie - but we wanted someone on hand to help them escape for the showdown at the Sacrifice Tree. Waiting for them in the pool of acid at the bottom of the plant would be a friendly chap named Jim, who had already been trapped and was now resigned to being digested even as he helped them make good their escape. Vic was perfect for this role and liked the combination of chivalry, fatalism and sacrifice.

Gillian and Len were not available for any of these roles, as they would be competing as a couple under the name Team Dare (Ms. & Mr Dare respectively).

"You know, I'm actually looking forward to trying to win for a change," said the soon-to-be Mr. Dare.

The contestants for the Great Egg Hunt assembled in the lakeside square at the centre of the Jungle on a pleasant Spring evening, with spirits sat in cabanas around the square enjoying drinks served from a log cabin bar. Ted, Darryl and Lillian joined us as invited, and Lillian gave an impressive fire performance as part of the festivities. We greeted them in character, which they were happy to play along with.

We stood alongside Larkin and Adelia as Uncle Morbid explained the rules of the egg hunt, which were of little relevance to us as we already had our own agenda. We would need to stay close enough to the sisters to follow their progress and interject when the script called for it, but we could not allow ourselves to be seen by them until the right time. We engaged in a little pre-game banter with them: Adelia quizzed Elbert and Annie about whether we could rely on each other like they could, which was nicely done. Annie responded with a beautiful piece of improvisation hinting at an unsteady arrangement of mutual self-interest between her and Elbert. It was moments like these that made it impossible to see Debs and not think of Ellen, they really were peas in a pod.

Talking of peas in a pod, we also got to see the arrival of Team Dare, who wore matching jumpsuits and masks, struck superhero poses and Spoke! In! Comicbook! Melodrama! Elbert sneered at them, but I secretly wished them well. They had their own story unfolding, and not all of it was fiction.

We followed along behind the Claydon sisters, who chose a path that would take them to a few other plants before reaching the pitcher pits. Hiding in the bushes we watched them tackle a bed of munchers, which consumed a careless contestant right beside them as if as a warning. The leaves closed up over the startled woman and immediately began to secrete an ominous red-brown liquid as if she was being chewed into mulch before our eyes. I noticed Debs watching with a look of envy. The egg successfully retrieved, Larkin and Adelia set off to their next challenge, heading in the opposite direction to the pitcher pits. Good, that meant we had plenty of time to get there before them. Along the way we encountered a couple more freshly fed plants, each oozing red and brown liquid. Besides one such was a discarded satchel belonging to the losing player, containing two eggs from elsewhere in the garden.

"Don't mind if I do," said Amethyst Annie, emptying the cache into our own satchel. "You realise this is actually the most efficient way to play this game? There isn't even a rule against it."

We passed by the clearing containing the shamblers, which lumbered around menacingly, each with a batch of eggs shining in the front opening to tempt would-be raiders. I tried to guess who was inside each costume, but couldn't discern any clues. Of course we stayed clear, it wouldn't do for us to get eaten too early. That would ruin everything.

By luck or design we arrived at the pitcher pits well before the sisters did. As we waited for them we watched Team Dare execute an impressive double team strategy to secure the egg, running together around the pit slope like a pair of wall of death riders. When the time was right Ms. Dare threw Mr. Dare with enough momentum to make a grab for the egg, then caught his outstretched arm to help him back up to the top. These two clearly meant business. So much for Limbo Len.

When the sisters appeared we had a brief conversation at the side of the pit, where we were delighted to see Larkin inadvertently position herself perfectly for a cheeky shove in the back. With a yelp she slid down the pit into the belly of the plant, landing with a loud splash as Adelia protested and called us names. We laughed in her face and left her to figure out how to get Larkin out with the aid of our secret friend Jim, who'd made his way directly to drop down into the plant as soon as the game began. He'd been waiting chest deep in Craig and Rebecca's special plant acid all this time, I admired his dedication.

While they were doing their thing we took a stroll around the garden in the setting sun, watched hapless spirits get consumed by writhing vines and picked up any stray eggs they dropped. We sat and watched the shamblers for a while, placing bets with each other on whether this or that contestant would be caught and eaten. It occurred to me we'd missed a trick by not having Elbert and Annie run a gambling ring on the egg hunt, it would have suited them perfectly. Of course we both wanted to play properly, but our avatars weren't going to be putting themselves in harm's way until the time was right.

We stopped by the pitcher pits again to check if Larkin had successfully escaped, which she had - a wet rope fashioned from her and Adelia's tied together skirts hung from the beam above the plants. Vic waved at us from beneath and told us it had all gone perfectly.

"Are you alright down there?" I asked.

"I'm fine," he called back. "The part called for me to be plant food, so I'll just swim around in here to the end. If anyone else falls in, they can have a bunk up too."

Shortly after this the klaxon sounded to herald the end of the game, the signal for everyone to make their way to the Sacrifice Tree at the centre of the garden.

--

The central clearing was ringed by flaming torches on raised posts, the flames flickering against the imposing structure of the tree in the dying light. Larkin and Adelia looked much the worst for wear, stripped down to torn corsets and petticoats soaked with mud and plant juice. As Elbert and Annie had exerted minimal effort throughout we were as clean and fully attired as when we began, a contrast we made sure to taunt the sisters over. Joining us in the circle were about fifteen other players, including both members of Team Dare. Their satchel was noticeably full, if they could beat the Sacrifice Tree the extra points on offer could assure them victory. But first we had our own endgame to play out.

Larkin and Adelia made a point of being the first to attempt the tree. Adelia did the climbing, pulling herself up and over into the bath of orange nectar where the special eggs awaited. Having retrieved one, she tossed it down to Larkin, who stashed it in their satchel. Meanwhile the plant tendrils snaked around in the twilight, searching for prey to pull into the waiting trapper leaves.

Adelia climbed out of the pool and began making her way cautiously back down, being careful not to disturb more than she had to. She shouted a warning as she saw a tendril get a little too close to Larkin, then leaped down into her arms, pushing her away from danger. Both women picked themselves up and grinned at us triumphantly.

"Our turn, then," said Annie. "I'd volunteer to climb up there, but you are better dressed for it, Mr. Makabra. Hurry up and get to it, there's a good chap. You can throw the egg down to me here."

I noticed she had subtly positioned herself with her back to one of the trapper leaves. We hadn't discussed it, but I think she'd guessed what was about to happen.

"I have a better idea," said Elbert. "Sorry about this, but you did kill George."

Debs' eyes lit up with delight as I delivered the line, even as every other part of her remained in character. She barely resisted as I put my arm across her chest and pushed her backwards into the waiting leaf. Tendrils wrapped around her arms and legs, pinning her in place as the leaf began rolling up to consume her. She gazed at me with an expression of total lust, which if circumstance were different I could not have stopped myself from reciprocating. This was the closest I had been to breaking my loyalty to Ellen, Debs was ravishing and wished to be ravished, we were both ready to drop character there and then, kiss, strip and let our smouldering passion bloom. But, as we had both an audience and a story to complete, it was not to be.

I had two climatic speeches prepared for Elbert, the first being a brutal tirade against the duplicitous Amethyst Annie, with whom he had formed an alliance specifically to lure her into a situation such as this in order to take revenge for the murder of his unrequited love. Annie's reactions were perfectly melodramatic as the spiky leaf rolled up her body. The terror in her facial expressions covered the excitement in Debs eyes as I addressed each word like code for the passion we both felt. Debs later said I ravished her with words; when I delivered the line "I hope the vines are draining the blood from your veins and replacing them with acid" she gave out a little gasp. To most normal people this would make no sense at all as sexy talk, but normal and abnormal, sane and rational, these are just concepts, detachable from mundane reality. In art, love and fantasy what matters is the moment, the controlled suspension of affected morality, reality and disbelief.
Ellen had taught me that.

When the leaf finally closed up over Annie and the grim red-brown juice oozed out of the sides, it was time for the final act of our little drama to commence. Elbert snatched Larkin and Adelia's satchel from their surprised hands, grabbed a flaming torch and ran off out of the gardens.I hoped they'd have the sense to run after me.