Weylan gulped down some exploded corn: “Why don’t they get the trapped corridor and chest room I had to try?”
The dungeon heart's light dimmed slightly in embarrassment:
“Why do they get the less lethal traps?”
The four revenants cautiously entered the next room. It was well-lit and circular, about 100 steps in diameter. In the center, on a raised pedestal, stood a large gilded chest, about one step wide and high, and half again as long. The otherwise featureless floor had many slightly raised, round, hand-sized parts. Obviously trap triggers. Above each one on the ceiling, ten steps up, hung sharp swords, tips pointing down.
Five-step-high iron bars were haphazardly placed upright on the floor, connected at different heights, horizontal and diagonal, by sparkling wires hung with tiny silver bells. The walls were featureless apart from a row of ledges high up on the wall, filled with sleeping besps, the giant bee-wasp chimeras.
As the revenants took in the sight, a door opened on the other side. A strangler, his fur turned the deepest black, stepped in on his short feet. He held up a hand to one of the tiny bells and shook it gently. The besps on their shelves started to stir. The lurker stopped the bell, and they went back to sleep. The lurking strangler bowed to the revenants and left. The part with the door slowly sank into the floor, revealing there was no exit.
Selvara flew excitedly around the viewing room: “It’s a variation of an old classic: the room of sleeping beasts. The swords are triggered by the floor triggers below them. Apart from being sharp, they also cause a high-pitched ringing when they strike the floor. This, as well as ringing the bells, wakes the besps. Dungeon etiquette allows for one monster of the intruder’s level per intruder. Six besps count as a level 1 monster. We’ve placed about forty of them. If they wake all of them, the intruders will be swarmed in seconds."
The viewers relaxed with drinks and food while the delvers examined the new room.
* * *
Legolas’s voice sounded worried: “That’s quite a setup. Sleeping beasts, bells, floor triggers... I can see runes of magic detection on different sections of the floor and walls. I’ll bet thirty gold they’re spell triggers of some kind. Probably to prevent us to just cast silence on the room and be done with it.”
Darken rubbed his hands eagerly: “Time for some dark aromatherapy!”
Fleetfoot held up his hands before Darken could take the first vial fully out of his bag: “What exactly are you planning?”
“Well, I have malefic essential oils of lavender, chamomile, and nightshade. Mixed and sprayed into the room, they will deepen the sleep of anyone breathing it, without affecting us much.”
His three companions thought about it, then nodded. Darken mixed a few drops of his oils into a carrier solution and sprayed it into the room in a fine mist.
* * *
Skorr watched the mirror reflection doubtfully: “Malvorik, will that really work?”
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* * *
Fleetfoot walked slowly around the room, searching for the best route of approach. “This is fiendishly designed. No matter which way we take, there’s at least one part where you have to either be lithe and dexterous to move between the wires, or you have to jump right over some of them. There’s even a route I could imagine crossing by using a series of back handsprings, if I were suicidal or had a way to safely try it a few dozen times.”
Bernd looked down at himself: “Do we all need to reach the chest?”
“I believe one will be enough. There is probably a trigger to disarm the traps inside the chest.”
* * *
Everyone looked at Selvara. She shrugged: “Yes, that would have been a nice touch. But only if this had been a normal dungeon. Our theme here is still assassin's training. The exit trapdoor is hidden inside the chest. They all have to cross the gauntlet to get out.”
The team nodded and returned their focus to the scrying mirror.
* * *
Fleetfoot performed a short stretching routine, then faced the labyrinthine maze of thin wires. Along these wires, tiny bells dangled, their polished surfaces reflecting the light. The bells hung at varying heights and intervals, creating an intricate web that demanded both finesse and flexibility to navigate.
The thief, clad in her form-fitting dark leather outfit designed for agility, stood at the edge of the final obstacle. Her eyes narrowed as she surveyed the challenge before her, mentally mapping a route through the tangle of wires and bells. She took a deep breath, centering herself.
She began her journey with fluid grace. Her body twisted and bent with an almost serpentine elegance. She extended her arms, fingers splayed, to steady herself as she maneuvered through the narrow gaps. Her every movement was measured to avoid even the slightest brush against the wires or bells.
She stepped forward with utmost caution, watching out for the clearly visible trap triggers on the floor. Her eyes were focused, tracing the path of the wires above.
Encountering a particularly dense cluster of wires and bells, she rotated her shoulders and hips, slipping sideways through a narrow gap. Her muscles rippled with controlled tension, allowing her to inch forward without touching the bells.
Next, she encountered a section where the bells hung lower. She bent at the knees and waist, ducking under the bells. Her back arched gracefully, and she shifted her weight to her toes, her balance impeccable as she glided through the constricted space.
Her steps were precise, each foot placed carefully to avoid the slightest tremor. She used the edges of her feet, pivoting and adjusting her position with feline agility.
As she reached a particularly tight section, she extended her arms above her head, weaving them through the wires. Her fingers brushed close to the bells but never made contact. She used her arms to balance herself, almost like a tightrope walker, as she progressed.
The two mages and the warrior held their breath.
She shifted sideways, her body parallel to the ground in a fluid motion. Her shoulders squeezed through a narrow gap, and she twisted her torso to follow the path. Her movements were reminiscent of a contortionist, each twist executed with precise control.
Nearing the end of the maze, she encountered a final series of closely spaced wires. She lowered herself to a crouch, threading her way through the lowest hanging bells. Her body coiled and uncoiled with each movement, like a spring being compressed and released.
After navigating the last section of the maze, she finally stepped clear of the wires into the free area around the gilded chest. She stood tall, her face full of triumph. Not a single bell had been disturbed. The besps lay sleeping undisturbed. She exhaled a slow, relieved breath.
Darken and Bernd simultaneously lifted their hands to start clapping. Legolias, standing between them, gripped their hands. Not hard enough to really stop them, but enough to remind them of the sleeping monsters. After about two claps and a loud “Oops,” from Bernd they stopped.
Some besps stirred. Everyone, even in the viewing room, held their breath.
The wasp-bee chimeras slowly went still again and stayed asleep.
Legolias looked at Darken and then pointedly at his essential oil collection. Darken grinned back and nodded. His dark aromatherapy had made a difference.
Fleetfoot rolled her eyes, made a facepalm gesture and then turned to investigate the chest. She knelt down and used some small tools on one side. She frowned, then moved to the opposite side of the chest. She studied something there too. Then she looked up at her teammates and started forming violent hand signals.
Legolias hadn’t expected someone to be able to curse in sign language, but Fleetfoot managed it.
* * *
Selvara continued for him: “Any good team of dungeoneers needs a thief to open locks and disarm traps. Usually, a dungeon is designed for one thief to remove all of those kinds of obstacles so the team can continue. Same with obstacle courses designed for acrobatic types of adventurers. But since our theme is a secret assassin's training dungeon, we could introduce some changes. So, I had the idea for the chest to have two locking mechanisms on opposite sides that have to be opened simultaneously. The locks are not very complicated, but you need two revenants, one at each lock. We could have required all four to participate, but that would have been too unfair for normal teams. There’s almost always some strength-based class member with low dexterity. And they all have to cross the wire maze. I honestly have no idea how some of them will manage that.”
Skorr munched down a handful of exploded corn and mumbled with a full mouth: “I’d disassemble the bells and remove the wires one by one.”
Ulmenglanz nodded, while Weylan seemed unconvinced: “That would take hours!”
The dryad shrugged: “So?”