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<blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 7091090" data-attributes="member: 143"><p>Chapter 24</p><p></p><p>For a moment the three remaining adventurers could just stare at where their companion had abruptly disappeared.</p><p></p><p>Before any of them could react further, there was another crackling burst of smoke on their side of the room, one that quickly disgorged a stunned dwarf onto the floor. Quellan was at his side in a heartbeat, but Kosk seemed to be all right, if a bit singed by his magical journey across the room.</p><p></p><p>“What happened?” Bredan asked.</p><p></p><p>“What’s it bloody look like!” the dwarf said as he staggered to his feet, shaking off the cleric’s steadying hand. “Another bloody magical trap!”</p><p></p><p>“Hold on, I’ll go take another look at the door,” Glori said.</p><p></p><p>“I can maybe clear the tiles altogether,” Kosk said, regarding the floor pattern with a suspicious growl.</p><p></p><p>“That’s twenty feet if it is a yard,” Bredan said. “You’ll never make it, not without enough room to get a running start.”</p><p></p><p>“I could get a boost from my staff,” the monk suggested.</p><p></p><p>“Look, just wait a blasted minute, okay?” Glori said. She turned back to the door, but Bredan stopped her. “Hey, wait, what if the door closes behind us?”</p><p></p><p>“Then I guess you’ll be trapped here for all eternity,” Glori said. When Bredan’s expression turned into one of horror she said, “Don’t worry, I’m not going to touch anything.”</p><p></p><p>“I’ll go with you,” Quellan said.</p><p></p><p>Bredan hesitated, but before he could commit either way Kosk tugged on his arm. “Come over here, I have an idea.”</p><p></p><p>Glori stepped over the sunken door and moved aside to let Quellan pass before returning her attention to the door and the runes now just above floor level. She flopped down without feeling self-conscious, making sure her lyre was not in danger of being crushed before she scooted forward to look at the inscription more closely.</p><p></p><p>“Come on, you’ll have to crouch down to get a closer look,” she said to Quellan.</p><p></p><p>She was so focused on the runes that she didn’t notice the cleric’s hesitation, or the look that crossed his face before he dropped to one knee and bent low so that his head was close to hers.</p><p></p><p>“Damn it, I thought the room might jog something loose,” Glori said after a long moment.</p><p></p><p>“I think I recognize some of those runes!” Quellan said.</p><p></p><p>“Oh? Which ones?”</p><p></p><p>Quellan pointed to some of the markings on the door. “These here… this one, and this one. And this here. I read them, I think… in a book…”</p><p></p><p>“What do they mean?” Glori asked. She grabbed hold of his shoulder, again failing to notice his reaction.</p><p></p><p>“Um… I don’t… I think it was Tevran’s… no, it was Cheslan’s <em>Iconography of the Soul</em>, that’s it! They represent emotions!”</p><p></p><p>“Emotions?” Glori asked.</p><p></p><p>“Yes. See, this one’s envy, and this one here is anger. They repeat on successive lines. And fear up here in the right, near the start—draconic reads right to left, that much I know—and again here.”</p><p></p><p>“This one at the end, I think that’s pretty obvious,” Glori said, pointing to a rune that resembled a skull. What’s this one next to it?”</p><p></p><p>Quellan frowned. “I’m not sure, but I think it might be…”</p><p></p><p>He didn’t get a chance to finish, as he was interrupted by a sound of fast-padding feet on stone that was followed by a loud grunt of effort. The cleric and bard shared a knowing look but even as they started to get up they could hear a familiar sizzling pop from the room beyond.</p><p></p><p>They ran into the room to find Kosk lying on the floor again, with wisps of smoke just dissolving above him. The dwarf had clearly suffered from his second trip through the trap’s teleporter, but he didn’t look to be seriously hurt as he pulled himself up, cursing.</p><p></p><p>Bredan turned with a look on his face like a child caught filching cookies. “He almost made it,” he said. “I boosted him, he just barely clipped the furthest tile…”</p><p></p><p>“I am getting over there,” the dwarf said.</p><p></p><p>“We don’t even know if that will work,” Quellan said. “Maybe you don’t have to touch the tiles at all to trigger the trap.”</p><p></p><p>“Do you have a better option?” Kosk shot back.</p><p></p><p>“We’ve partially deciphered the inscription,” Quellan said. “Some of the runes represent emotions.”</p><p></p><p>“So? We’re not dealing with emotions, we’re dealing with colors.”</p><p></p><p>“Colors… emotions…” Glori said, turning away from the argument to consider the floor pattern again.</p><p></p><p>“Maybe that potion you found, the one that resists lightning?” Bredan said. “It looks like the trap hits you with lightning.” He pointed to Kosk’s robe, twice-singed in his passage through the trap.</p><p></p><p>“That still won’t help us get us past the teleport effect,” Quellan pointed out.</p><p></p><p>“Well, maybe we can try stepping on the colored ones, see what happens,” the smith suggested.</p><p></p><p>“I’m going to try the jump again,” Kosk said. “This time, both of you help me.”</p><p></p><p>“We don’t know…” Quellan began, but the dwarf cut him off. “Well, we’ll try this, and then if it doesn’t work, we’ll try something else!”</p><p></p><p>“Glori!” Bredan cried.</p><p></p><p>The others turned to see Glori walking out onto the tiles. She walked straight to the white tile, roughly in the center of the room. She remained there for a moment, then took a deep breath and pivoted to face the yellow tile. The three men held their breath as she reached it, then turned to her next destination. She completed the pattern quickly, not pausing as she walked from green to red to blue and then straight across the room toward the far door. She hesitated just a moment over the final step off the tiles, the one that had gotten Kosk several times already, but when she did finally cross that transition nothing happened.</p><p></p><p>She turned back to face the others, a triumphant smile on her face.</p><p></p><p>“What was the secret?” Bredan asked.</p><p></p><p>“Emotions.” She pointed to the colored tiles. “Emotions <em>are</em> associated with colors. Think about it; we use them in stories and songs all the time. White to start with, the color of innocence. Then it was just following the order they appeared on the door. Yellow for fear, green for envy, red for anger.”</p><p></p><p>“But I never got a chance to tell you what the penultimate rune was,” Quellan said. “The one right before the skull.”</p><p></p><p>“Let me guess,” Glori said. “Sadness.”</p><p></p><p>Quellan nodded.</p><p></p><p>“And what about purple?” Bredan asked.</p><p></p><p>“I didn’t see how it fit, so I skipped it.”</p><p></p><p>“And how did you know to start with the white one?” Bredan asked.</p><p></p><p>Glori shrugged and grinned. “I guessed.”</p><p></p><p>“Clever,” Quellan said.</p><p></p><p>“Annoying,” Kosk said. “So what, we just step on them in that same order?”</p><p></p><p>“It worked once, anyway,” Bredan said. He walked out onto the tiles, echoing Glori’s path.</p><p></p><p>It only took a minute for each of them to complete the pattern and reunite on the far side of the room. The ominous door with its grinning skull offered another potential obstacle, but as soon as Kosk touched it the slab receded back a few inches and sank slowly into the floor. Unlike the previous door this one descended completely, leaving the route into the space beyond invitingly open. But the adventurers hesitated a moment, wary of what deadly surprise the long-dead cult might have for them next.</p><p></p><p>“Bloody hell,” Kosk finally said, striding forward into the next room.</p><p></p><p>It quickly became clear that they had finally come to their destination. The room was slightly smaller than the one they had left, an elongated ovoid that they entered at one narrow end. At the far end there was a crude table or altar fashioned out of stone slabs, and atop it rested a fist-sized crystal that caught the light of the torch and flashed it around the room.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lazybones, post: 7091090, member: 143"] Chapter 24 For a moment the three remaining adventurers could just stare at where their companion had abruptly disappeared. Before any of them could react further, there was another crackling burst of smoke on their side of the room, one that quickly disgorged a stunned dwarf onto the floor. Quellan was at his side in a heartbeat, but Kosk seemed to be all right, if a bit singed by his magical journey across the room. “What happened?” Bredan asked. “What’s it bloody look like!” the dwarf said as he staggered to his feet, shaking off the cleric’s steadying hand. “Another bloody magical trap!” “Hold on, I’ll go take another look at the door,” Glori said. “I can maybe clear the tiles altogether,” Kosk said, regarding the floor pattern with a suspicious growl. “That’s twenty feet if it is a yard,” Bredan said. “You’ll never make it, not without enough room to get a running start.” “I could get a boost from my staff,” the monk suggested. “Look, just wait a blasted minute, okay?” Glori said. She turned back to the door, but Bredan stopped her. “Hey, wait, what if the door closes behind us?” “Then I guess you’ll be trapped here for all eternity,” Glori said. When Bredan’s expression turned into one of horror she said, “Don’t worry, I’m not going to touch anything.” “I’ll go with you,” Quellan said. Bredan hesitated, but before he could commit either way Kosk tugged on his arm. “Come over here, I have an idea.” Glori stepped over the sunken door and moved aside to let Quellan pass before returning her attention to the door and the runes now just above floor level. She flopped down without feeling self-conscious, making sure her lyre was not in danger of being crushed before she scooted forward to look at the inscription more closely. “Come on, you’ll have to crouch down to get a closer look,” she said to Quellan. She was so focused on the runes that she didn’t notice the cleric’s hesitation, or the look that crossed his face before he dropped to one knee and bent low so that his head was close to hers. “Damn it, I thought the room might jog something loose,” Glori said after a long moment. “I think I recognize some of those runes!” Quellan said. “Oh? Which ones?” Quellan pointed to some of the markings on the door. “These here… this one, and this one. And this here. I read them, I think… in a book…” “What do they mean?” Glori asked. She grabbed hold of his shoulder, again failing to notice his reaction. “Um… I don’t… I think it was Tevran’s… no, it was Cheslan’s [i]Iconography of the Soul[/i], that’s it! They represent emotions!” “Emotions?” Glori asked. “Yes. See, this one’s envy, and this one here is anger. They repeat on successive lines. And fear up here in the right, near the start—draconic reads right to left, that much I know—and again here.” “This one at the end, I think that’s pretty obvious,” Glori said, pointing to a rune that resembled a skull. What’s this one next to it?” Quellan frowned. “I’m not sure, but I think it might be…” He didn’t get a chance to finish, as he was interrupted by a sound of fast-padding feet on stone that was followed by a loud grunt of effort. The cleric and bard shared a knowing look but even as they started to get up they could hear a familiar sizzling pop from the room beyond. They ran into the room to find Kosk lying on the floor again, with wisps of smoke just dissolving above him. The dwarf had clearly suffered from his second trip through the trap’s teleporter, but he didn’t look to be seriously hurt as he pulled himself up, cursing. Bredan turned with a look on his face like a child caught filching cookies. “He almost made it,” he said. “I boosted him, he just barely clipped the furthest tile…” “I am getting over there,” the dwarf said. “We don’t even know if that will work,” Quellan said. “Maybe you don’t have to touch the tiles at all to trigger the trap.” “Do you have a better option?” Kosk shot back. “We’ve partially deciphered the inscription,” Quellan said. “Some of the runes represent emotions.” “So? We’re not dealing with emotions, we’re dealing with colors.” “Colors… emotions…” Glori said, turning away from the argument to consider the floor pattern again. “Maybe that potion you found, the one that resists lightning?” Bredan said. “It looks like the trap hits you with lightning.” He pointed to Kosk’s robe, twice-singed in his passage through the trap. “That still won’t help us get us past the teleport effect,” Quellan pointed out. “Well, maybe we can try stepping on the colored ones, see what happens,” the smith suggested. “I’m going to try the jump again,” Kosk said. “This time, both of you help me.” “We don’t know…” Quellan began, but the dwarf cut him off. “Well, we’ll try this, and then if it doesn’t work, we’ll try something else!” “Glori!” Bredan cried. The others turned to see Glori walking out onto the tiles. She walked straight to the white tile, roughly in the center of the room. She remained there for a moment, then took a deep breath and pivoted to face the yellow tile. The three men held their breath as she reached it, then turned to her next destination. She completed the pattern quickly, not pausing as she walked from green to red to blue and then straight across the room toward the far door. She hesitated just a moment over the final step off the tiles, the one that had gotten Kosk several times already, but when she did finally cross that transition nothing happened. She turned back to face the others, a triumphant smile on her face. “What was the secret?” Bredan asked. “Emotions.” She pointed to the colored tiles. “Emotions [i]are[/i] associated with colors. Think about it; we use them in stories and songs all the time. White to start with, the color of innocence. Then it was just following the order they appeared on the door. Yellow for fear, green for envy, red for anger.” “But I never got a chance to tell you what the penultimate rune was,” Quellan said. “The one right before the skull.” “Let me guess,” Glori said. “Sadness.” Quellan nodded. “And what about purple?” Bredan asked. “I didn’t see how it fit, so I skipped it.” “And how did you know to start with the white one?” Bredan asked. Glori shrugged and grinned. “I guessed.” “Clever,” Quellan said. “Annoying,” Kosk said. “So what, we just step on them in that same order?” “It worked once, anyway,” Bredan said. He walked out onto the tiles, echoing Glori’s path. It only took a minute for each of them to complete the pattern and reunite on the far side of the room. The ominous door with its grinning skull offered another potential obstacle, but as soon as Kosk touched it the slab receded back a few inches and sank slowly into the floor. Unlike the previous door this one descended completely, leaving the route into the space beyond invitingly open. But the adventurers hesitated a moment, wary of what deadly surprise the long-dead cult might have for them next. “Bloody hell,” Kosk finally said, striding forward into the next room. It quickly became clear that they had finally come to their destination. The room was slightly smaller than the one they had left, an elongated ovoid that they entered at one narrow end. At the far end there was a crude table or altar fashioned out of stone slabs, and atop it rested a fist-sized crystal that caught the light of the torch and flashed it around the room. [/QUOTE]
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