i think mazes are neat. mutually exclusive to you i thought of this since posting too!

so a theme to a maze. like a centre of a dojo to escape, beginning in the boss's chamber while that boss is out for some reason.

or a gym.

or a school.

or a cloistre.

each time exiting a layer like an onion :p

also boarding a horizon: shipwrecked at sea, a desert travel going from oasis to oasis, an endless snowfield going from hamlet to hamlet, ...