Now just before she exited the room Nat caught the glimpse of ivory and a dull red
off to one corner wedged between the pillar and the stone wall,
The problem with bringing in
Ilvir/Issac was that the corrupted
paladin might take the "challenge the Guardian " and if
Chirp came rushing through the Guardian Door,totally
clueless to the fact some disembodied female voice had just
made his a combatant,there could be a slaying of a
air dragon bunny baby by
accident.
So Nat quietly closed the door to Ilvir/Issac
and the folks down below
and quietly,so as not to trigger any more of these so-unfair death traps,
approached the irory and dull red object.
Basically on the floor lay a huge painting
and out from one side of the frame stretched a skeletal hand.
The dull red object was a ruby gem,covered in dust,thus making it
dull in appearance.
Nothing ventured nothing gained.
Nat bent down ( as best whatever she'd turned into could)
and slowly raised the painting so It was leaning against the pillar.
Underneath lay the skeletal remains of a sorceress,a member of the League of the Red Dot
still partly clothed in a rotting black robe.
The painting clearly had fallen from a place of display high
on the nearby wall and clobbered the sorceress,breaking her neck as
it struck her.
It had a wooden frame of rubies,and one had broken free of its mount when the
painting hit the floor
long long ago.
Nat looked at the dust and grime covered
painting.
To the left the painter had painted Hercules,all musclebound and heroic
a sword in his hands.
A little further to the left stood three Minoan ladies,who Nat,well educated in Greek mythology she
recognized as the Three Fates who weave the Tapestry of Destiny.
Clearly the painter was telling the viewer that
the Three Fates were heartily in Hercules's corner.
To the right of the painting,emerging from the misty cave she called home
slid a multi cobra headed being,who Nat
recognized as the Lenuarian Hydra.
The painter ( mid 19th century preRaephelite )had been inspired by
the cultures fascination with the sensual and exotic
and mysterious Egyptian Queens Nefertiti and Cleopatra.
The Hydra clearly was doomed,so had the Three Fates decided
but she was going down regally,the Queen of Monsters facing the
coming Age of Heroes
paradoxically more heroic then the Hero.
Paintings don't just crash on top of
sorceress's for no
reason so
Nat turned her gaze back to the skeleton.
There were many documents,manuscripts and a letherbound diary
pinned underneath the bones.
Gingerly Nat teased out that diary
and
"Oh My" realized she held the diary of the sorceress responsible for putting this room
and its Guardian Test.
And as Nat read the style of words used in the diary
she realized the words and phrasing
were the same as that of the disembodied female voice
that had
essentially told
Nat "to sod off" only fifteen minutes earlier.
That wasn't a robotic spell spirit she'd listened to
but the captured soul of
the FEMALE DOG who had designed all this nastiness,partly stonified Nat
and was now setting Chirp up for a unpleasant death byy friend.
Which meant all those other documents and manuscripts pinned
under the skeletons ribs
were probably the schematic,spell specifications and shut
down procedures for this nasty plce.
Nat whipped out the sword
Excaliber
and shouted into the silent room
"I want Chirp back,you Bitch"