Chapter 38

As the light dimmed, we saw the final group for the round of this challenge. The group looked to consist of four women and two men. The first of the women was rather tall, with light white hair and long pointed ears. The elf was garbed in leather armor that looked to have been reinforced with various pieces that looked to be dropped by various beasts in the Dungeon. Various scales, hide, chitin all placed to overlap and protect vital areas. She was armed with a long blade that looked to be serrated near the hilt before smoothing out towards the middle of the blade and continuing to the tip. Beside her, stood a slightly shorter woman, who looked to have some demon blood in her. She had long blue hair that went to mid back and violet skin. There were two horns that rose from her hairline, curving backwards like a ram. Her eyes were black, save for the irises which were the same blue of her hair. She was garbed in leather, though it looked to be much thinner than normal. I would have to guess that it was to give more protection than normal spell casters normally wore but allowed the movement and ability to charge and cast their spells. She had a large ornate staff that looked to be made of a dark metal, with a few stones on the top of it. Her tail swished about behind her, as she scanned the area around them.

Next to her, was a short, stocky dwarf who looked to be of the barbarian persuasion. He wore next to no armor, instead going for a He-man or Conan style of garb. In his hands was a two-handed battle axe with serrated edges. The metal of the blade was anodized with an orangey-red color. He looked about with an almost fanatical look in his eyes as he searched for a target. Standing just behind the dwarf was a female gnome, who was dressed in green leathers. Based on the motif that her clothing had, I believed that it was another druid. Given her stature, I wondered if she were limited to beasts of her size only, or if she could grow and shrink to meet the needs of the creature. She was armed with a simple wooden staff but, given that they would ensure they had an array of spells, I was certain that she would be able to handle herself. Next to her stood the other male of the group. He had a dark hide like skin, reminding me of an elephant or a rhino. He wore a thick leather vest, allowing his arms to be bare. He had on long pants, that seemed loose enough to allow a full range of movement. I figured, based on his garb, that he could be based on the monk archetype of D&D. The final woman of the group was human, covered in scale mail armor. On her left arm was a kite shield and in her right hand was a morning star.

They talked for a few moments and then began to fan out from where they had appeared. Through various views, we could see them searching for a way into the structure as there were no visible stairs leading inside. A section of the display showed a view from a raven flying around the building showing that there were no other visible entrances there, either. I looked at the displays, trying to see a hint somewhere on the walls or floor of the area, but there was no sign. I glanced over towards the panning view and thought I saw a glimpse of something as it circled. I locked my focus on that view and saw the image that had been there for but an instant before. There were lines carved into the floor they were standing on, but they were faint. Only the correct angle and light made the image appear, which seemed to resemble a lamp. The group searched for a bit longer, then returned to the center.

They couldn’t find anything and began to talk together again. As expected, they couldn’t be heard, but I wasn’t surprised at what happened next. The small druid illuminated in a green light and, when it faded, a falcon that was her size remained. She took flight and began to circle the ziggurat and it took another ten minutes before she returned to the group. I began to wonder what they would need to do, but I couldn’t come up with anything that would reveal an entrance. Their little druid returned to her natural state, talking animatedly to the other about what she had seen. They talked for a few more minutes and then began to fan out again. They spent another fifteen minutes before the ‘monk’ got excited and pressed on something on a nearby wall. There was an audible rumble that we could hear and feel from our seats. One of the views showed that an area near the spout of the lamp shape had recessed and begun to pull away. The Pact House regrouped and talked for a moment or two before they began to descend into the opening. There hadn’t been any stairs, so they just dropped inside the opening.

Once all six participants had entered the opening, the view changed to a dimly lit room. The six of them stood in the center of the room, with the light barely reaching where they stood. The walls of the room were illuminated from sconces shaped like hands. Each finger had a dim flame flickering from it, but there was an unnatural quality to the light that I couldn’t place. The walls around the room were bare, save for the sconces, though there looked to be two doorways. Both seemed plain in design, with a simple handle on the doors. The violet spell caster raised her staff and within moments light filled the room as the crystals began to radiate. Even with the brighter light source, nothing else seemed to be revealed. I figured that the added light had done nothing to change things, but I was wrong. A few seconds later the flames on the hands roared to life and balls of fire were launched at the group. A shield of energy appeared around the group before the fireballs could strike them. The impact of the balls against the shield caused huge explosions that shook the room and caused the shield to visibly dim. The brighter light was canceled, and the flames returned to their regular illumination. A thought crossed my mind, but it would have only worked if they had more than one person able to conjure light. It seemed as if I wasn’t the only one to have the same idea. The druid and the demon girl split from the group and went to stand before the two doors. Both of them cast light and we watched in fascination as the fire on the fingers increased in power and again launched fireballs at them.

I felt the suspense grow as the balls neared their targets and watched as they jumped out of the way at the last moment. The balls slammed into doors causing massive explosions, and I waited for the light to dim, hoping that it had worked. As the smoke and light cleared from the first door, a brick wall was revealed with only shards of the door that once stood in front of it. As the view changed to the other door, the smoke and light revealed an opening. The group gathered, with the ‘monk’ tossing a dart through the opening. It was a smart way to test for traps, magical or otherwise. Nothing happened when the dart passed through, so the group slowly made their way through. The views changed and we could see them moving through a musty hallway, covered in cobwebs. Again there were strange finger sconces on the walls, but this time there was a single large flame in the palms. They carefully walked through the hallway, looking around as they scanned for signs of traps.

At the end of the hallway, there was a divergence, going in three directions. There were no differences in the hallway, same sconces, and webs on the walls. Above the three hallways were crests. The first showed the image of clouds and lightning, as if it was a huge thunderstorm. The second crest depicted intense waves, rolling, and crashing among one another. The last looked like a tornado that was tearing through a landscape. I wondered what the purpose of them was and why the crests would depict such imagery. I watched as they talked for a few minutes and then walked down the tunnel that had the tornado image. I wondered for a few minutes about why they had done that, until it hit me. Intense winds were depicted in the one they chose, waters in the second and lightning in the third. They were representative of the Shinto gods which included their own Pact leader. They probably figured that they were to go down the tunnel depicting their god, but what they didn’t know was that the three tunnels closed behind them.

They continued down the corridor until it led to a set of stairs that led downwards. They carefully made their way down towards the next level, not triggering any traps as they reached the end of the stairs. There was a single door at the end of the stairs, which they slowly entered. The view changed to show them entering a large, cavernous room filled with large glowing crystals that illuminated the room. There seemed to be various statues that seemed to depict various gods. Some resembled the marble sculptures made by the Greeks, others looked like what were seen in the Egyptian exhibits. The surroundings between them seemed to have different depictions on them. At the center of the room there looked to be a pedestal with a large green gem in the center. They moved closely together further into the room, with the ‘monk’ taking the lead. Every so often, he would call back behind to the others, who would then divert their path. It seemed that he was light footed enough to navigate deeper into the room and warn them of possible pressure plate traps as they moved through the room. They took a long winding path around the room, as if to follow an invisible path through the spaces between the statues.

As they neared the center of the room, I glanced at the time on my bracer, and they had eaten nearly an hour and a half of their time.

They were only a few feet away from the center when the gnome druid mis-stepped and out of nowhere a bolt of lightning struck the tile where she stood. I was thankful that the view had no sound as blinding light filled the shimmering display. The scream that she would have let out would have been ear piercing. When the light began to dim, we saw a flash of green and the druid was gone when the light had dissipated for good. The rest of her group looked around frantically for where the attack had originated, but they couldn’t seem to figure it out. They moved even more carefully towards the center podium without setting off any other traps. They began looking around and examining the area around it, along with the pedestal, for some hint of what they were to do next. The views that we were given allowed for some view of the area. As I looked around the floor, I noticed that it was cut off into ten sections. There were also symbols on the sides of the pedestal, though I couldn’t make out what they meant. It felt odd to have no clue about what to do, but I knew that the challenge was geared towards them. They would have the knowledge to solve them, but I did find it illuminating to see them work through these. The insight would prove useful if we were put in the situation ourselves.

They began talking amongst themselves, as they began to gesture towards the different parts of the pedestal and the floor they were attached to. It was fascinating to see them turning the pedestal one way and the next, until there was a flash from the green crystal on the pedestal. It was like a combination lock that you would find on a safe or vault door. The platform that it stood on began to descend into the floor and the group got into ready stances. The view changed again, and we could see the platform descend into a massive cavern that looked to be as wide as the ziggurat. After ten minutes, the platform reached the ground, and the green crystal flashed in brilliant light, illuminating the room. It revealed an insanely large shape that made my stomach clench. I wasn’t sure what it was made of, but it was reminiscent of a warforged colossus, only it looked to be made of marble. It was in a kneeling position, with a large two-handed sword in its hands. The blade looked almost as big as the dragon I fought with Entivala and Amenthia, with runes along where the fuller sat. It almost looked as if it were praying, though its eyes were open, facing downwards.

“Five arrive to take the test, but will they win or fall like the rest. To go below, one must see. The answer to the test is me.”

I was only shocked for a moment that we heard it as well, until I realized that it had not moved its lips. It had used a telepathic means to speak, which entered the minds of all who were watching, as well. It was a cute riddle, but I could already guess what they had to do. The runes on the blade seemed to be just that, but I could see that they were also spaced just enough to be used as handholds. The question was whether they would be able to figure out what it was, but I was uncertain of what they might have known of such beings. I couldn’t help but laugh, which caused everyone to look at me in confusion.