Friday, June 19, 2009

Chapter Eleven -- Money, Money, Money MONEY. MONEY!

*Time Passes*

Steve! and Gladiola sit, eating their sammiches stolen from a guard galley they happened by. Their legs dangle over an endless precipice, having come to roost on the verge of a bottomless pit they've found. They enjoy a moment of rest and quiet. Finally Gladiola swallows the last bite of her mutton and cheese with pickle. She picks a bit of meat out of a back molar with her pinky claw, sucking the food off (because who knows when she'll get more meat so waste not want not!) and clears her throat.

".........so TOTALLY lost?" she asks at last, not looking at Steve!.

".........totally." he replies, still a third of his sammich left.

Silence returns for several beats.

".........how long do you s'pose we've been wandering around today anyway?"

".........somewhere between 4 and 6 hours I expect."

"yup, that sounds right."

Silence at the lip of a bottomless pit is actually silenter than any other silence.

"Yup." Gladiola repeats, swinging her feet below her.

Steve! finishes his last bite or two of food, his hands shiny from the mutton grease. He reaches into his pockets, pulling things out in pursuit of his kerchief. At last he finds it and as he wipes his hands clean his eyes survey the pile of items thrust upon him by Drelftox. 'Funny little assortment of this and that.' he thinks to himself, shoving his kerchief and the clutter back into the pockets. "Right!" he calls, clapping and rubbing his hands together as if eager to try some daring new thing. "Let's get back to the wandering around lost and aimless, shall we?"

The pair clamber to their feet and stroll back to the single door behind them. Back out into the hallway they close the door, clearly marked "Bottomless Pit Room", behind them. Gladiola shakes her greasy hands as well, and in response Steve! hands her his kerchief, once again pulling out his booty. The brass disk falls from his hand, landing on the floor with a clatter. The cover opens with a 'pop!' as it spins on its edge. Steve! watches the revolutions eventually run down, and as Gladiola tries to hand him back his kerchief he becomes transfixed by the face of the device.

"Steve!. Hello? Your kerchief? Helloooooooo???"

"Do you hear that?" he asks, almost a whisper.

"Hear what?"

"I think it's coming from that compass-thing-deal."

Steve! picks up the device and holds it to his ear. Ever so faintly he hears, "wrong way dumbass".

"What do you hear Steve!?"

"Ummm...nothing, I think it's broken or something."

"duuuummmbbbass...your going the wrong waaaaayyyy."

"Shut up you!"

"What?"

"Nothing. How does this stupid thing work?"

Examining the instruments face shows it divided into eight sections, each with its own color and symbol. There is a rotating arrow anchored in the center encircled by four tiny gems of different colors. As Steve! faces down a corridor, the arrow points at a blue section with what looks like a pineapple with a star around it.

"Hey Gladiola, isn't that the way to where we got these sandwiches?"

"Yeah I think so, why?"

Steve! turns and begins to walk down another pathway. The arrow swings wildly for a second and then comes to rest on a yellow section with three rectangles. Steve! proceeds down the passage staring at the device as he walks.

"Steve! where are you going? Steve!...Steeevvvee!?"

He comes to a large wooden double door. It has massive iron hinges and large lock next to the handles. As he draws near it, one of the gems glows green. Looking over the large lock, Steve! decides it to be impenetrable by raw brute force. Racking his brain, a spark of brilliance appears. Focusing his thoughts he releases just a whisper of a spell. A single bogling appears before him and immediately begins to cower in fear.

"It's OK little guy. I'm not going to get you killed, just relax. I need you to unlock this door."

The bogling looks at the massive doors and then back at Steve! Even more afraid he shakes his head at Steve!.

"Don't worry. I'm going to get you inside, you just open the lock."

Recalling the wisdom of The Wizard, Steve! begins to do that which is not necessarily the right thing to do, but is the most excellent. Reaching into his mind he calls out both the Summon Boglings and Trick Shot power and begins to mix. The two ethers swirl and dance, resistant at first to intertwine. Then all at once they snap together and pierce through the giant door. After a few thumping sounds there is silence. After a few minutes pass, the great lock begins to rattle and creak. The door swings open and there stands the bogling with a wide grin. Steve! pats him on the head as he passes through the doorway. Entering the chamber, Steve!'s eyes widen and his mouth gapes open. Filling the room is chest after chest brimming over with gold and treasure. Glimmering jewels, golden crowns, and hordes of pearls and silver.

"Gladiola you gotta come see this!"

"What is it, did you discover the bathroom of ultimate darkness 'cause I really gotta make some room after all that mutton...Holy Gilgamesh!!"

Gladiola stares in wonder at the mountains of loot. Passing through the doorway, she never thinks to look down. Straight down onto the slightly raised floor stone. The floor stone she steps directly on. The same floor stone that triggers a great metal slab to come hurtling down from the ceiling, smashing the smiling bogling to paste and sealing the entrance.

"Whoops...sorry Steve!. Looks like you lost another follower."

"You know you have a detect traps power right!"

"Yes."

"Are you confused as to how it works or what a "trap" is?!"

"No...Hey you would have probably killed him later by lighting him on fire or something anyways."

What will you do?

"I'll set you on fire..." Steve! mutters under his breath as he climbs back over a chest overflowing with doubloons, making his way back to where there used to be a door. Now he faces only a huge wall of stone. No hinges, no windows, no locks or knobs. "Yeah, this is totally perfect." He shoots a glare her way, quick to pull it back before she returns the glance. "Got any ideas?"

"I was just thinking this could use a great deal of pounding from, say, a mystical hammer. Or some overly-strong fists."

"Hmmm. Interesting idea. Of course I don't think even you could plow through this thing, though I have to admit the idea of letting you try for a while has some appeal. Anything in your trick bag that could help?" Steve! goes through his powers inventory too, just in case.

"...not unless you think it'll help to "please" the wall or bum it out. You?"

"Wanna see what it looks like when a huge mass of arrows bounces off of stone?" The two back away from the stone wall, staring at it intently from their new perch seated atop a bejeweled chest. From his pocket Steve! hears a tiny, nagging voice.

"duuuummmbbbass!!!"

"Good god, there it goes again!" he gripes as he pulls the compass from his pocket. Opening the lid he sees that the arrow now points into a corner behind the piles of treasure, in a section colored black with a keyhole shape of white at its center. The nearest gem, a vibrant blue, flashes in three short bursts over and over. After looking over the cryptic direction for a few minutes Steve clambers off the chest, headed into the corner. "Follow me." he says. The two climb over and around massive mounds of riches. For a moment Gladiola has a brief, hazy memory of some time in her childhood; she climbs up and down dunes of brilliant golden sand. In her fleeting memory she's covered by an avalanche of sand, but as the memory fades life imitates it and a mountain of coins and jewelry tumbles down on top of her. "Gladiola!" cries Steve! as he leaps back, just avoiding the downpour. The entire mass slides past him, crashing into the corner of the room.

He begins to dig before the cascade has even finished, scooping the treasure away in huge handfuls. Sharp corners cut and scrape him, but he digs and digs. Finally a scaly hand shoots up through the gold and he grabs it, pulling and pulling until she re-emerges. She pulls herself to full standing, and as her other hand frees from the quicksand of wealth Steve! sees it holds a golden rope. The other end of the rope disappears into the corner, hidden by the remaining mass of gold. "Where do you think this goes?" she asks. Steve! looks again at his cryptic compass and sees that the blue gem now flashes at double the speed. Going on a hunch he instructs his partner.

"Pull it."

Gladiola prepares to give a yank, but stops and holds her hand to Steve! in the "hold a sec'" position. She gathers up several handfuls of gold and riches, depositing them into her pockets. Steve! follows her lead and does the same. Now, properly riched-up, she takes the rope in both hands and gives a good, solid YANK!

All at once the room tilts toward the corner, a hole opening up there. Treasure flows through the hole, along with the heroes. As she slips through the opening Gladiola looks up and sees that the stone wall hangs at an angle now, leaving a clear path through the still-open door. But it is too late for that now -- they are falling again...

But not for long! *SPLASH!!!*

The cold water shocks them both. They are relieved that the descent wasn't unending like before, but the relief is short lived as they are both pulled under the water quickly, dragged down by the weight now filling their pockets.

Struggling to remove the golden anchors from their pockets the adventurers can feel their lungs begin to ache. Their clothes sticking to their bodies as they descend into the abyss, the gold is reluctant to be removed. Reaching the bottom of the pool their eyes begin to fill with blackness. Gasping for air where there is none, their consciousness slips away.

CONTINUED NEXT WEEK IN CHAPTER TWELVE!

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