Chapter 184
It was one of the children that found something first. Perhaps it was because they were already so much closer to the ground than the adults due to their heights. Or it could have been that the children moved faster and covered more ground. Whatever the reason for it Jay soon found himself walking over to Bess with the other members of their group.
“I found something!” Bess said excitedly as she pointed at a tile on the floor.
Carly was already inspecting a tile on the floor when Jay reached them and squatted down to have a look.
“What do we have?” he asked Carly. He assumed that she had something to contribute.
She did not.
Carly shrugged her shoulders, “It's a tile, just like all the other tiles.”
Bess looked angry as if Carly were calling her a liar. “That's not true! There's a notch on the side nearest the wall!”
Carly checked the side nearest the wall. She ran her finger along the tile and felt a slight dip.
“Huh. She's right,” Carly admitted but didn't apologize.
Bess glared at Carly and crossed her arms over her chest.
It was Jay that calmed things down. “It's ok Bess, we believe you, and Carly just proved you right!” he offered encouragingly. Carly smiled at first before frowning. She quickly wiped the frown off her face and replaced it with a generic looking smile. Bess looked triumphant but kept her arms folded. She was still a little upset.
“Ok, let's see what we've got,” Jay said as he lowered himself to his stomach and wedged his trap tool in to the groove of the tile. He worked the tool up and down, back and forth, until he was able to insert the tool properly. With a careful motion he pried the tile free and carefully set it aside.
“It's a trap? Why didn't it already go off?” Carly asked out loud to no one in particular. Everyone was wondering the same thing.
Jay inspected the trap before he stopped and smiled. “It can be tough to see so maybe take turns but see this spot here?” Jay said as he pointed to a nub of metal sticking up out of the housing.
Bess had uncrossed her arms so that she could lower herself to the ground so that she could get closer to the trap. “It looks like a pin?”
Jay nodded. “And what does that mean?”
“The trigger can't activate?” Cory asked but sounded more confused than sure of his answer.
Jay grinned and nodded in his direction. “That's right! Also though, this trap isn't like the others – there isn't anything trap-like about this thing other than the trigger. There's nothing here that could hurt us. So what else could this thing possibly do?”
Neiman smiled but was slightly behind Jay so he didn't see it. “Could it open the door if we step on it after we take out the pin?”
Jay nodded, “That's what I'm thinking. See how the rest of the housing is empty? There's no glass vials or explosives or spikes – it's just a trigger. Why don't you pull the pin Neiman and we'll see what this thing does.”
Jay moved to the side a bit to make room and Neiman crawled forwards on his stomach. Jay pointed at the recessed pin just to make sure he would pull the right piece. Neiman nodded and grabbed it with his finger and thumb. It wasn't stuck, and pulled smoothly out of the hole. He looked strangely at it before Jay motioned towards him.
“Your first trap pin, congratulations! You should keep that. You never know when you might need a trap pin!” Jay said with a pleased smile as Neiman showed the other two children the pin before he stored it away in his belt pouch.
As the children talked Carly watched Jay. She could have been studying his movements to learn more about traps. Jay got the impression that she was just studying him, period. It made him a little uncomfortable but he ignored it as he replaced the tile back on to the trigger housing. It fit back in to place perfectly and blended in seamlessly.
Jay got up and Carly helped him to his feet. Jay briefly thought about refusing the help but he really needed it after laying on the ground for so long. Once up he dusted himself off and turned back to the group.
“Everyone ready? Everyone take a step back, just in case I am wrong about any of this,” Jay said and the children as well as Carly backed up a few steps. Jay turned back to the wall and stepped on the pressure plate.
It made a light clicking noise as the plate depressed the trigger. For a moment nothing happened but then a section of wall in front of him swung open inwardly.
After the door stopped moving a voice called down to them from above.
“Good work! Didn't take you too long either, not like the last group I brought through here! Again, take a look at how it works before you leave. The whole point of today is that you learn how secret entrances work. If you walk by them once you open them and don't look you're missing out! I'll meet you all at the next room!” Victor called down to them. He sounded like he was chewing and Jay almost asked him what he was eating but Victor had already run off.
Jay inspected the fittings for the door. This door had a spring loaded bolt that slid in to a socket in the wall when closed. When the trigger switch in the floor was pressed the bolt was pushed out of the socket by a recessed lever. That would then allow the door to swing open freely due to the way the door was weighted. It would have to be pressed closed by a person in order to shut the door. When closed the outline of the door completely disappeared.
Jay opened and closed the door a few times before he was satisfied.
Jay had seen what he needed to and now understood how a trap trigger could be used to activate a door. He hadn't seen anything like it before in Eden. Could he use this in his own home to make automatic doors? How would he go about locking it and securing it against intruders? Jay's mind wandered.
“JAY! Can we go to the next room now? Please?” begged the children. It brought Jay out of his wandering thoughts and he turned to face the rest of the group.
“Ok everyone, let's head to the next room!” Jay said with a smile in an attempt to keep the three children upbeat and positive. It mostly worked, and Jay led them in to the adjoining room.
The new room was well lit thanks to the overhead grating that allowed sunlight to stream in to the room below. A ring of torches lined the walls as well and provided pools of light in their immediate vicinity.
In the center of the room stood a display stand that was fashioned out of bone, or ivory, or some white material, Jay couldn't be sure. On the podium was a huge pearl. The luster of the round orb shimmered just as a pearl would, an iridescent rainbow of colors.
There was no covering to prevent its theft – it rested on its stand completely unprotected. As they stepped in to the room the door behind them shut with a click. Jay knew without looking that there would be no way back through that door. In this dungeon, if one could even call it that – it was more of a ruin than anything, one could only move forwards, never backwards.
As they all filed further in to the room Jay kept a close eye on the children to make sure that they didn't try to touch the pearl. It was quite obviously a trap.
The children should have been the least of his worries however and out of the corner of his eye he noticed Carly approach the pearl.
Jay opened his mouth to stop her but he was too late. She picked the pearl up with two hands and smiled triumphantly as she swung her backpack off her shoulder to store it.
As she did so the pearl disintegrated in to sand and ran through her fingers as it dribbled on to her backpack. She quickly shook the sand off of her hands and shrugged her backpack back on to her back. She looked incredibly guilty as Jay finally got a word out.
“No!” Jay managed and all the children turned to him just as a grinding noise could be heard.
The display stand did not move, but the floor did, and with a sudden whoosh it split in two and fell away from all of them in two massive sections. This left the group standing on nothing but air and with a number of screams they all fell in to the darkness below.
As they hit there were a number of splashes and more screams before Jay managed to stand up. They had fallen a very short distance in to water. The waterline only came up to Jay's waist but that meant the children were up to their necks.
Jay helped the children all get their legs under them. They coughed and sputtered as they regained their bearings. Then he and Carly helped gather up all the kit that they had dropped. Once they had their bags and weapons back Jay checked each of them for injuries. Everyone was ok.
A teasing voice called down to them from the ceiling above.
“A bit greedy, aren't ya?” Victor said and chuckled. “Not many groups can pass up treasure – but sometimes you should!”
Carly had the good graces to look embarrassed as Jay and the three children all glared at her. She opened her mouth to explain but Jay shook his head the tiniest bit and she reconsidered.
“What was the rule you gave us before you started Jay?” Victor asked from far above in a singsong voice usually reserved for children.
Jay sighed, “Don't touch anything until you've talked it over with the group first.” He looked at Carly as he said it and she withered under his brief glance.
She had screwed up.
The worst part, for Carly, was that they all dropped it then and there. If they had yelled at her, or had gotten upset with her, or had argued with her – those were all things that Carly was well equipped to handle.
Instead they had all looked at her with disappointment in their eyes. The children looked at her with looks that let her know she had let them down, not just as a group member but as an adult. Jay just looked disappointed and a bit sad.
She hated it and felt a hot flash of shame as they all turned away from her and began to inspect their surroundings. She wanted to apologize but couldn't find the right words. 'Sorry' would have been an excellent starting point but Carly wasn't all that experienced when it came to apologies. That inexperience was costing her now.
The group was now in a pool of water roughly waist deep or neck deep depending on who you were. There did not appear to be any way out. The walls were smooth and featureless. Jay thought that if he and Carly tried they could possibly manage to climb out but that wasn't the point of what they were doing.
The whole point was to find hidden doors and secrets. Trying to circumvent those doors was pointless. Instead of trying to get out Jay focused on looking for hidden doors, triggers, anything that might help.
A few minutes went by but not quietly. The children were all complaining at that point about being wet, having water in their boots, having soggy armor, and so on. None of them asked to go home though, although Cory looked as if he might snap at any moment.
Water lapped up against his neck as he stood next to Jay with a wild look of fear on his eyes. Jay thought that might become a problem if it progressed any further.
“Guys, gather up,” he said and motioned to the children who formed a semi-circle in front of him.
“We fell in to some water. Ok, that happened, no big deal. No one got hurt, and now we're just a little wet,” Jay began and the children scoffed when he said 'a little wet.'
“I'll promise you this though – if we can find our way out of this room I will personally arrange for you to be completely dry once we do. No waiting to dry off or until you get home to change. I will see you all dry and happy. All we have to do is find the hidden door out of here. Deal?” Jay asked.
Neiman raised a hand that was dripping wet and Jay pointed at him. “Are you serious?”
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The other two children watched on with wide eyes and serious expressions.
Jay nodded, just as serious. “As sure as Gaia lives I will keep my word,” he said.
The children felt a brief burst of warmth and the group could hear a brief musical note of laughter, as if from a great distance. Then there was nothing but silence.
“Whoa. Can you do that again?” Bess asked breathlessly.
Jay shook his head, “I'm not sure I did it the first time!”
Neiman and the other children seemed a lot more relaxed though and appeared to have accepted their current circumstances. Yes, they were wet. Yes, they were a bit cold. That would pass just so long as they found the exit. Easy!
“What's going on down there? Any of you make it?” Victor yelled down in a high pitched voice.
Carly yelled back, “Everything's fine! Jay's just being Jay.”
The kids all stared at Jay when she said that and Jay smiled in slight embarrassment. “I'm looking for an exit!” Jay yelled to Victor.
Victor laughed and they could all hear him. It sounded nothing like the musical laugh they had heard moments ago. “Good luck! Let me know when you've all given up!”
They could hear crunching from above and it was Carly who called him out on it. “Are you...are you eating?”
Victor replied and was obviously still chewing as he did so. “No!”
Carly sighed and the children turned away from her to stare at Jay.
Jay stared back until he remembered that he was in charge. It had just happened. He didn't want to be in charge, it was just the way things were at the moment.
“Right,” he said a bit lamely. “Let's start looking for hidden anything. I'll start over here,” Jay said as he picked the wall closest to him and began to run his hands over the wall.
The others followed his example and each of them picked their own sections of wall to begin their search with.
Time passed and the group was now thoroughly soaked and more than just a bit chilly from the cold water.
Cory started to shiver.
“I. Want. OUT!” Cory yelled as he grew frustrated and used one arm to send a wave of water that crashed against one of the walls.
Jay had been standing right next to Cory in order to keep a closer eye on him when the wave of water splashed up against the wall. It left moisture marks against the smooth stone surface of the wall. One spot in particular drew Jay's attention.
The water had not only left a wet mark on the stone but had also revealed what looked like a straight line, a seam. Jay took a step back to get a better idea of what the seam might go to.
Jay cupped his hands and scooped up some water and splashed it against the wall but this time further up from where the seam had appeared. The water splashed against the stone but as the water washed away more of the seam had appeared in what moments ago had been featureless stone.
“Over here guys!” Jay called out, “Cory found something!”
Cory looked surprised at hearing that as he hadn't found anything – he had splashed some water and Jay had found the seam. Jay asked him to help splash more water on to the wall and Cory quickly complied.
The others watched as Jay and Cory covered a portion of the wall with water. As they did so a doorway was gradually revealed – or at least the seams of a doorway. They still weren't sure how to open it.
A voice yelled down to them, “You found it! I'm impressed! Now all you have to do is open it!”
“Thanks Victor!” Carly yelled back a bit cattily.
“You're welcome!” Victor shouted back a little irritably in response. Two could play that game.
Jay stayed quiet as he didn't see any point in angering their instructor. He had found the door but now couldn't open it.
“Did you try pushing it? You know – like the first door?” Bess asked curiously as she gazed up at Jay with most of her body underwater.
Jay looked at her dumbly for a moment before he slapped his own forehead. “No. No I did not. Thanks for the idea though!”
Jay placed his hand on the right side of the 'door' and pushed. It didn't move even a little bit. He took a step back and glared at the door in thought.
“Try the other side of the door. Maybe the side you pushed on was the side with the hinges?” Neiman offered helpfully.
Jay nodded. That made perfect sense. He placed his hand on the left side of the door and pushed firmly.
The outline of a door suddenly was a door and it opened smoothly inward an inch before it sprang open outwards. Jay had to step back and out of the way as it did so. The now opened doorway was a half foot above the water line. The children would need a boost.
Everyone became quite excited at the chance to get out of the pool and Jay and Carly helped lift the children up and in to the now opened doorway. After them went Carly, and then Jay as he would have the easiest time of it thanks to his height.
They found themselves in another stairwell but this one had benches against the wall in case the group needed a rest. Which they did. Everyone spread out and sat in their own dripping pool of chilly water. Torches set in to the wall provided light enough to see by but no warmth of any consequence.
The door they had entered through swung shut behind them with a heavy click.
“One of you come here, you all decide who,” Jay said as he stepped away from the rest of the group.
The children all looked confused but finally nominated Neiman to go first – because of course they would send him first.
He walked over to Jay and stood uncertainly next to him.
“Everyone watch, you might recognize this. This works for me and one other person. It takes thirty seconds. It might feel weird but is entirely safe. When I tell you that you are finished you can go sit down and someone else can take your place. Nope, no questions on this one, here we go.” Jay said as Bess raised her hand. She put her hand back down and Jay toggled his Tropical Island Aura on.
Jay could feel it working right away but it took Neiman a moment or two to detect the light buzzing he felt under his skin. It wasn't entirely uncomfortable and reminded him a lot of when he would get goose bumps.
“What is happening?” Neiman said but quickly stopped talking as a flurry of motes of light began to rise off of him and in to the air. There were more motes than the last time Jay had used his aura on him.
Although the children had been cleaned by Jay's aura before, being dried off created far more motes than they had expected.
The buzzing continued and Neiman and Jay were momentarily obscured by a flurry of motes of light that rose around them. The other children watched the light show with surprise. As the seconds ticked by the flurry faded until only a few motes hung in the air around them. And then none.
Once the motes had stopped forming it was easy to see that Jay and Neiman had been transformed. They were now entirely dry along with all of their belongings. Their hair looked baby soft and moved slightly in the circulating air. Their armor looked spotlessly clean and new as the day it was made. Their skin practically glowed.
“What the hell was that? I mean, we knew your aura could clean but dry too? Isn't that a little over powered?” Bess demanded and Carly laughed. Bess turned to Carly and then back to Jay just to be sure that she wasn't being made fun of.
Carly waved at her and spoke with a smile, “Jay is kind of known for that ability he just used. It doesn't do anything in combat but imagine being dropped in a pool of water and then forced to fight a ring event. It'd be much more difficult while wet, wouldn't you think?”
The children all thought about what fighting waves of monsters would be like soaking wet. Not fun and even somewhat dangerous.
Jay was a bit surprised at her comments. She was right in what she had said, he was just surprised that she had given it any thought at all in the first place. He shook it off and put his focus back on the children.
“Ok Neiman, good work, you're all set. Who is next?” Jay asked but Bess ran over next to Jay before he could even finish his sentence.
Carly smartly decided that she would go last as she was the reason they were all soaked in the first place, even if everyone was too polite to point that out.
Jay left his aura running and watched as Bess was quickly cleaned and dried while she was surrounded by motes of light. After thirty seconds Jay told her she was all set and she quickly stepped away.
“Feeling clean and dry is great but standing in your aura is uncomfortable.” Bess remarked to Jay.
Jay smiled and shrugged, “Less uncomfortable than staying wet though, right?”
Bess smiled and giggled. “Maybe!”
“Go on and sit. You're up Cory!” Jay stated happily as Cory took Bess' place next to him and Bess took a seat on a dry bench.
Jay's aura cleaned Cory just as it had the others but Cory didn't seem to mind the feel of the aura at all.
“It tickled a little,” was all he said as Jay waved him to have a seat.
It was Carly's turn and she walked forwards to stand next to Jay.
Jay wasn't smiling as the aura worked its magic on Carly. He was instead wondering what she had thought she would gain by following him around. Was there a chance that she had taken this class all on her own? Jay doubted it. She didn't seem all that interested in any of the things he was learning so far.
The aura finished its work on Carly. It was easy to see when it was done because she looked amazing. Her curly red hair looked soft and bouncy. Her skin was smooth and her overall appearance was best described as radiant.
Jay sighed and shook his head. “You're all set.”
Carly looked a bit disappointed that he didn't say anything else but wisely kept quiet and stepped away.
Jay got everyone to stand back up and get in to line.
“Next room! We'll take these stairs up and see what's next. You're all doing great! You've gotten to see traps, you even disabled some! We've found hidden doors. Heck, we even fell in to a pit! Aren't you guys having fun?” Jay asked curiously.
The children smiled at the reminders of what they had already accomplished. For a couple of children the day had been absolutely thrilling so far – and they weren't even finished yet! They began to speak with each other in excited hushed tones as they went back and forth with their favorite parts of the run so far.
Jay let them talk as the went up the stairs. And up the stairs. They were a bit higher up than they should be Jay thought. They finally ended up in a room with no entrances or exits. The stairs were at one end and just empty room at the other end.
Sunlight streamed in through a section of metal grating in the ceiling. Jay thought he could make out a shadow above.
“Victor?” Jay called out.
“There you all are! You made it! Now listen! You're wet now but you need to just push through it. Be more careful of your movements and your footing. Try not to focus on how wet you are!” Victor called down.
“We're not wet!” Bess yelled back.
“What?” Victor yelled.
“I said we're not wet!” Bess repeated and her words echoed off of the smooth stone walls of the room.
“Oh. Well why not?” Victor asked a bit crossly. “You're supposed to be wet.”
“Jay dried us off.” Cory explained unhelpfully to the priest far above them.
“He what now??” Victor yelled down in confusion.
Jay sighed and shook his head, “What about this room!”
Carly was laughing quietly to herself as they argued.
“This room? Well think about the last room – some doors need to be splashed with water in order to discover the door seams. If you can't see any doors – what else can you do to make them visible?” Victor called down as he completely forgot about the group being mysteriously dry.
Jay nodded, “Ok everyone. Stay at the entrance while I check for traps.”
The three children along with Carly settled on to the floor at the entrance as they waited for Jay to do his thing.
Jay wondered how the group would fare without him. Could any of them find a trap? Could Carly disarm a trap? Jay wasn't exactly sure.
Hopefully none of them would have to find out.
Jay let go of his line of thought and focused on the floor directly in front of him. He began his search for traps and triggers.