Chapter Thirty-Five
"Which means we need to go," TexBadass says. "C'mon. Chop chop. We can't just stand around here yapping all day."
"I'm on it," Callidus says, raising his hand.
The six of us fall in line, one right after the other as we have since we entered the White Rock Ravine. The teenage boy leads the rest of us, as Erinocalypse and I bring up the rear. Crossing the stone path makes me anxious. The boulders are at odd angles and I'm certain that any second my boots are going to slip. But I needn't have worried. This, after all, is the path the game wants us to take. In no time at all we are all safely across the pit, and making our way up the tunnel to what is hopefully the final set of chambers.
"Look for that fire elemental symbol," I say. "I can really use that affinity."
I can't wait to see what Fire arrows can do with my Bow of Elements. Granted, Fire arrows are probably no use against Fire creatures, but once we're out of this dungeon I should have quite the arsenal.
The tunnel continues straight for a bit and Callidus spots the Fire symbol carved into the wall, just before our path takes a sharp turn to the left. When it's my turn to file past the simple equilateral triangle, I press my thumb to the carving.
Attention: You have discovered the mark of Fire. Aligning yourself with this element will aid you in your journey.
Reward +10% Fire affinity.
Damn. I’m so much looking forward to seeing what my Bow of Elements does with this new affinity that I’m almost tempted to pull it out now. If it weren’t for my fear of lighting something on fire inadvertently in this narrow hallway, I might do it.
Now that we are officially in the fire elemental section of this dungeon, I'm expecting to see flames around every corner. I imagine the hallway is getting warmer. I even wonder if Erinocalypse should be lighting the torches as we go, or if that's just asking for trouble. The narrow tunnel winds to the left, then to the right, then back again. It seems meandering and I wonder if there's something more significant we are missing. Callidus leads us slowly and cautiously. He stops once, before a dirt-covered pressure plate built into the floor. At a gesture from the scout, Balderdash13 hands over her axe. Callidus crouches down, to the side of the plate, and uses the axe to apply pressure to the middle.
With a woosh, a narrow jet of flame right at eye-level shoots out of the wall on the right. Callidus ducks, and I shield my face from the heat and the light.
[- 135 HP]
When the blow torch ends after a couple seconds, Callidus grins, handing the axe back to Balderdash13. He uses his fingers to find the edge of the pressure plate in the dirt, sweeping it away so we can all see the outline.
“Watch out,” he says as he continues down the hallway.
Yeah. Okay. Stepping very carefully around that. If just the heat can knock off a bit of health, I don’t even want to know what a direct hit would do. We avoid further booby traps fairly easily. So easily, in fact, that I worry we are being drawn into a false sense of security. There must be something of real danger ready to attack us at any second.
The tunnel turns again to the right and before continuing another step, Callidus calls back to us.
"I think I found something."
The five of us creep cautiously forward to where Callidus has reached the doorway to another chamber. I peer over everyone's heads to see what's next.
At first glance, it appears to be a large room like any other—I see a closed door directly across from us. But while the door appears to be free of obstruction, the center of the room is not. Callidus, SteelFeather and the rest file into the chamber, spreading out around the perimeter, avoiding the middle with all possible caution.
The room is larger than I had initially realized. It has to be in order to accommodate the nightmare in the middle. Around the edge of the room I count twelve separate closed doors, including the one I just closed behind us. Each appear identical: light decoration around the doorframe, etched into the steel, solid and without any handles or locks whatsoever.
I don’t waste a moment wondering how to open the doors. That much is clear. Near the center of the room is a ring of twelve levers, each to presumably open one of the steel doors. So far, so good. We still need to figure out which door is the one to go through but that’s achievable through simple trial and error.
The problem, however, is how to get to the levers. Piled up around each of the levers, as well as scattered across the floor in between are dozens of jar-sized containers clearly labeled Nitroglycerin. Here and there, a jar has broken or tipped, spilling the volatile substance across the floor. We pause in the doorway.
“Damn,” SteelFeather whispers.
“Nitroglycerin? Isn’t that what they use to make dynamite?” Callidus asks, a little panicky. “That stuff blows up, right? You guys, I've seen movies—I know what that stuff can do."
"Yep, that's what it looks like." TexBadass leans back against the nearest wall and folds his arms over his belly, chewing on his lip. "Any thoughts on how to get around it?”
"Is it possible to get around?” I ask. “With containers that size, I’m not sure we can get to the levers without knocking into the nitro. Maybe we could neutralize it. How do we neutralize all this?"
"I have one spell that might work," Erinocalypse says. "I emphasize might. Or it might just be that literally any contact at all will blow these up."
"I could probably use an arrow to blow them up if it comes to that."
"Do you think you could use an arrow to tip the lever?" SteelFeather asks.
"Yeah ..." I say cautiously. "Yeah, probably." In truth I'm only about eighty percent sure. Those levers can't be any more than two or three inches in diameter and I can't get too close to them.
"Alright then," Erinocalypse says, taking charge again. "Everyone get behind me. I'll cast the protection, SirAsh3r will attempt to push a lever and hopefully open one of the doors from here."
There are so many ways this can go wrong. But I guess the only thing to do is give it a shot.
I stand to the side of Erin as she casts the protection spell around the group.
Enhancement received: Bubble of Protection
Description: You will sustain -5% damage for the next sixty seconds
My Bow of Elements is equipped—I hesitate for a moment over whether an Earth arrow will be effective or not. Can I generate enough strength and power to move the level without it? I'm not sure I can, but I have to try something.
"Ok, ready." I nock an Earth arrow, aiming at the lever farthest from us. All the handles are pointed toward us, so presumably they need to be pushed away from us to be effective. I aim at the level across the circle from us and fire.
The Earth arrow seems to be the right choice. The hammer-like arrow head connects with the lever and pushes it forward most of the way. Balderdash13 lets out a little cheer behind me, but it proves to be premature as several things happen at once. The force behind the arrow peters out and the weapon falls onto the container of nitroglycerin below. Even just that light wooden weight is enough to set it off.
The resulting explosion nearly blinds me. Both TexBadass and Balderdash13 scream in surprise as we are all shocked by the heat. Erinocalypse's spell shields us a bit, but it can't protect us from the heat and light. In such a small room, so close to the flames, I feel like my eyebrows are being singed off.
[- 260 HP]
The fire from the explosion dies out quickly, and we wait for a silent beat. It's kind of amazing that the one explosion stays centralized around the single lever. IRL all the other containers of nitroglycerin would be knocked over, filling the room with flame and probably killing one or more of us. But instead they stay piled around the other levers, upright and unharmed. Clearly there is some kind of magic at work.
"No ..." SteelFeather says.
Chapter Thirty-Six
I turn to see what he is pointing at with such dismay. The door across the chamber from us, the door connected to the lever I just sho
t at, is now blocked even further. The steel door is still closed and metal doorframe has been broken and bent in at least four places. Even if it weren’t locked, there’s no way the door could be opened from the collapsed frame.
"Wait, what?" Callidus says. "What happened? Why didn't it work?"
"We sustained that explosion for no reason?" SteelFeather says.
"Maybe not for 'no' reason," I hazard. "Can we assume that we're not meant to go through that door?"
"Damn, I hope so," TexBadass says, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
"Damn." What am I missing? What is it exactly we're supposed to do in here? Clearly with all the doors and the nitroglycerin blocking us we are supposed to figure out a way to move forward. Right? I mean ... right? What's the alternative? But if the door frames collapse when their corresponding lever is hit, how are we going to get through?
This is starting to make my head hurt. I use my fingertips to massage my neck at the base of my skull. What are we missing?
“So, y’all ready to try again? SirAsh3r?”
I shrug. “I guess.” I equip another arrow and get it ready.
“Wait,” Balderdash13 says putting a hand on my arm. “Give me a second.”
I look at her, confused and surprised. She so rarely volunteers her knowledge or claims expertise, she must be pretty sure in order to stop me now. Everyone else must have the same thought because we all watch her intently.
I never noticed till just this second how cute she is. Every thought Balderdash13 has is plain on her face. She is totally oblivious to our watching her, as she points to one door or another, chews on her lip, looking back and forth as something in her mind clicks into place.
“Wait,” she says again. “What does that look like to you?”
She points at the door closest to us.
“It looks like a steel door with no handles, darlin’,” TexBadass says.
“Right, yes, obviously,” she says impatiently. “I mean that border. You see how there’s a narrow border?”
She looks at all of us make sure we’re following. I nod when she meets my eye.
“It’s on all the doors, right?” Erinocalypse says looking around the room.
"It is, but they're different. Look more closely. Look at this one." She rushes to the door three down from where we are.
SteelFeather winces as she steps dangerously close to the nitroglycerin.
"And then look at this one." She points at the engraved border on the door closest to us.
From where I stand, I can't really tell the difference. "Um ... One looks more wavy?"
"Yes!" She points at me, so thrilled that I see what she sees. Even though I have no idea what I'm looking at. "You see?"
I look at Callidus who is staring at Balderdash13 as though she's speaking another language. SteelFeather catches my eye and shrugs surreptitiously.
"What are we looking at?" Erinocalypse asks.
"I think ..." Balderdash13 moves to the next door over, peering closely at the carved border. "I think ... these are symbols of the zodiac."
"Astronomy?" Callidus asks.
“Astrology,” I correct him. “Very different.”
“Don’t be rude, Asher,” Balderdash13 says, glaring at me. “If I’m right, you’ll be sorry you don’t know about the astrological symbols.”
“Yeah, okay I’ll owe you a drink.”
“So, what does that mean?” Erinocalypse asks, bringing the conversation back around.
"Well." Balderdash13 grins at us. She seems very pleased with herself. "There are twelve signs in the zodiac, right? Aries, Taurus, et cetera. And we have twelve doors."
She points at the doors around us. There are twelve, including the one we came through.
"Each of the zodiac signs corresponds to one of the elements. Air, water, earth and ..." She looks at us expectantly.
"Fire," Callidus fills in obediently.
"Fire! Yes!" She points at him. She is practically bouncing up and down with glee. "Which means ...?"
"Which means the doors that correspond to fire signs are the ones we need to go through," I offer.
"Right!"
"But which one?"
"Which?"
"Which door? There should be three fire sign doors, right?"
"Oh yeah. I don't know. Maybe only one will open. Maybe all three." She shrugs, strangely unconcerned.
"Okaaayy ..." I catch Erinocalypse's eye but she also shrugs. I guess they're both right. I guess? Sometimes the only way to figure something out is to just move forward. I suppose not everything can be planned in advance.
"So, which are the fire doors?" Erin asks.
"Let me think," Balderdash13 says looking from door to door. "I don't think these are arranged in order. I'm not positive I can remember them. I know Aries is fire, and that is the ram symbol which is ..." She returns to the door four down from us. "This one."
"You're sure?" I ask.
She nods.
"Come back here and let's let SirAsh3r trigger that one so we can see if you're right," Erinocalypse says with a smile.
Balderdash13 practically skips back, again scarily close to the nitroglycerin in the center of the floor.
I double check that the others have backed away before readying my arrow. If we're going to endure the explosion, I'd like to make sure we do it as little as possible. Erinocalypse casts the protection spell while I ready another Earth arrow and fire at the lever Balderdash13 indicated.
Again the arrow falls and sets off the nitroglycerin on the floor. Again, the heat and light of the explosion overwhelms us. But this time, as we blink in the aftermath, we realize that instead of collapsing on itself, the door has opened, leading to a dark hallway beyond.
“Okay,” SteelFeather says. “Progress. Let’s go.”
“Wait.” TexBadass stops him, throwing an arm across his chest. “There are still two other doors for fire signs, right? How do we know this is the right one?”
There’s a quiet moment as we all exchange looks.
“We don’t,” I say finally.
“So, then …”
“I think we should follow all of them.”
“All? Like, split up?” SteelFeather clarifies.
"Yeah, I've been thinking about this," I nod to myself as I elaborate. "There's no way of knowing what Camlan has in store for us next. It's probably best if we divide and conquer. Just in case."
"I don't know, Asher," Balderdash13 says. "Is that safe?"
"It might not be. You're right. It could just weaken us and some monster could pick us off one by one once we're separated."
"Really instilling confidence here, son."
"Or we could all make it to whatever the next step is and realize we're missing two-thirds of the treasure or clues or something we need to go forward. I'm just saying ... from my own personal experience in the game, from what it has already asked of us, I think we are safest and best prepared by exhausting all of our options."
TexBadass rolls his eyes and elaborately heaves a huge sigh. "Goddamnit."
“Excuse me?”
“He’s right, y’all. I’m tired. I do not want to have to run this dungeon again. We need to take advantage of every single opportunity.”
"But ... Splitting up?" SteelFeather says. "I'm not sure."
"No, he's right," Erinocalypse says. "We'll all be fine. We got this far."
I’m taken aback for a second, but decide against asking her to repeat that I’m right.
"It'll be a risk either way," Callidus says.
"Okay, okay. I won't fight you." SteelFeather holds up his hands in surrender before turning to Balderdash13. "Which are the other fire signs?"
"Um. Let me think. It circles around. I think it goes fire, earth, air, water. So..." She walks slowly around the perimeter of the room, peering at the intricate symbols carved into each door. "That means it must be Aries, Leo and ... Scorpio? I think. I’m pretty sure. Aries we already got. Leo is the lion and the other
is the scorpion so ..."
“None of these look like a scorpion to me,” I say.
"No, of course not. It’s not going to—Oh here. This one is Leo. I'm sure of it." Balderdash13 indicates the door right next to the first one we collapsed. "And..." She rushes quickly past four more doors before settling on one. “The symbols aren’t in the traditional order, but … Here. This is Scorpio."
I fix the doors in my mind, knowing I'm going to have to be the one to remember which levers they are.
“You’re sure about this, right?” Erinocalypse asks. “I don’t know anything about astrology, so we’re trusting you.”
“Yeah, of course. Aries. Leo. Scorpio.” Balderdash13 turns to face the group. “I’m, like, ninety-eight percent sure.”
“That’s as good as we’re gonna get,” I say. “I don’t know anything about astrology either.”
“All right.” Erinocalypse sighs as she gestures us towards her for protection.
Enhancement received: Bubble of Protection
Description: You will sustain -5% damage for the next sixty seconds
"Here we go then," I say with as much bravado as I can muster. Balderdash13 hurries back to the shelter behind the protective spell.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
I ready another Earth arrow and aim at the lever attached to the Leo door. I wish I could close my eyes against the blast I know is coming, but I can’t aim with my eyes closed. I bet everyone else is shielding their own eyes, though, so I fire my arrow without giving them any further warning. Once the arrow has left my bow, I duck my head behind my arm.
[- 550 HP]
When I open my eyes again the door is open, also leading to a dark hallway.
“Alright. That was worth the hit to my health,” I say. “One left. It’s that one, right?” I point to the lever four to our left.
“Yes.”
Once more the group hunkers down, shielding themselves and protecting themselves against the coming explosion. But this time when we open our eyes to check the results, the doorframe has collapsed, blocking our access.
Depths of Camlan Page 15
