Time Paused
“Alright little one, which-”
“Secret passageway,” The kobold said quickly before diving back to the cock.
Finn cocked a brow. “Very well.”
He stroked his kobold’s growing tail with a smile.
-=-=--=-=---=-=-==-=-
The Hidden Passageway
Charlie glanced behind him and waved the group to him.
“Where does this lead?” Gregory asked.
“No clue,” Charlie shrugged. “I think it might be a secret passage, but I’m not sure what it leads to.”
“Way down there!” Palseks yapped excitedly, “See door?”
Charlie peered into the darkness. If he squinted, he could just make out the square shape of the doorway at the distant end of the narrow hallway. Despite the distance, Charlie could see light emanating from the small gaps between the door and the wall.
Was someone down there? The dust on the floor of the passageway was undisturbed, so no one had been down this way in centuries. That being said, this was a secret passageway, it could very well be that there was another, more travelled entrance to whatever room the door led to.
“Do you want to scout it or should I?” Oswin asked.
“I will.” Charlie replied, “I’ll clear the hallway.”
The wolf stepped forward.
The further in he went, the more he noticed the walls of the passageway were made of some kind of glassy substance. It was perfectly smooth to the touch and he could see his reflection staring back at him. He tapped it and felt it vibrate. It seemed fragile, almost like it was just a thin glass sheet. But there was something about the design of the hallway that seemed disturbingly familiar.
He glanced back.
Oswin and the others were watching him.
Charlie sighed. Voyeurs.
Charlie made it halfway down the corridor without incident when he began to relax. Taking another, cautious step, Charlie nonetheless put his full weight onto his foot just a tad too early, only to feel the stone beneath him begin to sink into the ground.
There was a hum, and then the hallway lit up brightly. Charlie crouched and rolled, dagger at the ready, searching for the trap.
The hum continued to build, though at first nothing happened. Charlie had just begun to turn back towards the group to give an all clear when a beam of blue light, suspended horizontally between the glass walls, shot screaming down the end of the corridor towards the wolf at neck level.
Charlie ducked.
“Get out of there, Charlie!” Veles cried.
The wolf turned to run back to the entrance when a shiny glass door slid into place, locking him in. He pounded on it ineffectually. Behind him, the hum started up again.
Two hot beams, one at waist level and another at neck height came careening towards Charlie.
He dove between the beams, tucking his paws to his chest as they attempted to snap shut on him. Charlie came up in a roll and realized the tip of one ears was stinging. He lifted a paw and found the top half completely missing, the smell of burning hair and flesh filling the air. He snarled, staring down the corridor and readied himself for the next beam.
The humming built again.
This time, a grid of lasers, completely undodgeable, flew down the hall towards the wolf. It was slower than the others had been. Charlie whimpered, unsure of what to do.
(ROLL TIME: USING A 6-SIDED DICE OR A DICE ROLLER APP, ROLL TO SEE IF CHARLIE FIGURES OUT THE TRAP’S WEAKNESS)