They continued on to the second chamber and the unnamed was glad to see that, once more, it was a room that he recognized. He called the group to a halt at the entrance to the room, shielding his eyes from the bright light that shone back through the corridor.
“Okay, so this one's tricky. We need to go through it blind. There are basically mirrors on every surface and if you look at any of them and catch your own reflection a version of yourself will come to life and start fighting. The copies aren't as strong or as smart as you are but they're a little like zombies. They quickly start to overwhelm you with numbers.”
Vella squinted at the room, holding her hand over her eyes and blinking.
“I can't see where the exit,” she said.
“Yeah, well, that's the tricky part. You can't afford to open your eyes at all while you're in the chamber, but walking in a straight line across the room won't do any good either. The entry to the next corridor could be anywhere, but all the times I've gone through this room it's never been directly ahead."
Tusk grunted. “So, We have to just fumble around until we find the exit?”
The unnamed nodded. “Exactly. We'll need to stay together too, so I think we should hold hands. I'll walk at the front, and we'll just walk around until I find the exit.”
They arranged themselves in a line with the unnamed at the front, Vella next, and Tusk taking up the rear. They'd use this formation during the previous forays into the maze and found it the most effective way of moving through the trickier chambers. That would reverse if they faced a chamber with enemies that needed to be defeated by means of combat, but for the most part rooms with obstacles, traps, and puzzles were easier to clear with this formation. Even if the unnamed didn't know exactly what was waiting for him, his extensive experience in the Rat Run meant that he was quickly able to assess the situation and adapt.
Holding hands, they entered the chamber and the unnamed bent low, feeling the cool surface of the mirrored tiles as he moved to the left and worked his way around the room. The wall was circular in shape, but the chamber was so large that the curve was barely perceptible it simply felt like he was touching panes of glass butting up against one another.
He made his way along the wall feeling up and down and waiting for the break in glass that would signal the exit point of the chamber. It was difficult to do with just one free hand, slowing their pace as they edged around the wall. The unnamed knew that, by now, the entry would have closed. That was another feature of this chamber he remembered. Once you moved into the room the passageway behind closed, meaning that there was only one exit point.
Every other time he'd ventured into this room the exit had been either to the left or right roughly in the middle of the wall. As the seconds passed by and he continued to move toward the left, the unnamed guessed that they were well past the halfway point. They kept moving and Vella yelped, jolting his hand back sharply for a moment.
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“What is it?” the unnamed asked, still gripping her hand in his.
“Nothing,” Vella replied. “The big oaf just stood on my heel with those hoofs of his.”
“You walk too slow,” Tusk complained. “I can’t help it if your dainty little elf feet keep getting in the way.”
“Just make sure you keep your eyes closed,” the unnamed insisted. “And keep hold of each other’s hands.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Tusk moaned.
They continued on with the unnamed feeling his way around the room. After a few minutes he concluded that they'd done a full circuit and that meant the exit wasn't anywhere in the wall. He said as much to the others reasoning that the next step would be to begin checking the floor.
“Is it likely to be on the floor?” Vella asked.
“Not sure. It hasn't been before, but I don’t see why it couldn’t be there somewhere. That’s our best bet, anyway. If it’s on the ceiling we’re screwed. Could be higher up in the walls I guess. That would be bad too, but let’s try this first.”
They all knelt down and the unnamed began moving slowly forward, patting the floor ahead of him as they moved out from the wall. It was difficult to know exactly where he was within the circular chamber and, therefore, difficult to know if he was covering the area fully or simply going in circles.
“There!” he said, his right hand catching on the lip of a nearby hole. “I think I’ve found it.”
He moved forward a little, reaching into the empty space beyond where he was kneeling to confirm. He bent down, leaning into the gap and opening his eyes a little.
** CONGRATULATIONS! **
You’ve just received the Look Ma No Eyes achievement for fumbling your way to a chamber exit without opening your eyes. Normally you fumble with them open, so this is quite an achievement!
Achievement Bonus: +1 Blind Navigation
Next time you have to fumble about with your eyes closed, you should find your way a little easier.
The unnamed sighed, pushing aside the announcement and confirming that it was at least the exit.
“Yeah, this is it. We just need to scoot down here and we’re out.”
“Define, scoot,” Vella said. “If it’s a vertical drop, will gravity correct itself once we’re in there, or are we just going to drop into the next chamber.”
The unnamed thought through his time in the Rat Run, searching for a similar scenario but finding nothing to rely on.
“I’m not sure. I think the best way is for me to drop in first and I’ll check it out. If I land safely and it turns out it’s okay, then I’ll call you both through.”
“And if it’s not safe?” Vella prodded.
“Then I guess you guys have to wait here until I get back and try again. The door to this chamber will open again for me if I’m coming from the entrance and there’s only one room to get past before I’m back here.”
He pulled Vella’s hand forward, placing it on the edge of the gap.
“This is where the exit passage starts. I’ll drop down there and let you know how I go.”
The unnamed moved over, feeling his way around the edge of the corridor entrance and slowly lowering his legs down into the gap.
“Okay, I’ll see you soon,” he managed before releasing his grip and falling down the corridor.
He opened his eyes, watching stone pass by as he plummeted down the passage, his trajectory increasing as a dark cavern beneath rushed up to meet him. The unnamed’s feet broke though dark water, his body plunging into cold depths, stealing the breath from his lungs with a sudden rush of chilling pain.
He swam up and reached the surface, treading water as he looked up through the corridor above to see Vella and Tusk sitting at the lip of the tunnel.
“I’m good!” he shouted. “Just water down here, but you’ll need to come down one at a time otherwise—”
Something brushed lightly against his leg, and he kicked at it, staring down into the dark water. Something was moving in the space below where he swam. Long tendrils writhed just beyond his legs, tentacles reaching up from the dark depths.
“I think there’s a—”