LogFAQs > #905451184

"These are apspora fungal pods," Enoch explained as he took them out and began to carefully squeeze the acidic juice onto the tablet. "Well, you can't credit me for this one. Torin seemed to know a lot more about it than I did. But according to him they're very interesting."

There was a soft hissing sound. Leone watched carefully as rivets began to burn into the stone tablet. It was slow going, but they did seem to at least be weakening the integrity. "Go for the edges," Leone instructed. "If we can at least break apart the seal where it's attached to the wall, we may be able to punch our way through."

This strategy of relying on physics seemed to work. Once Enoch melted the sides of the tablet it no longer had a sturdy base that was holding it in place. And, with the combined strength of all three of them pushing on the stone tablet, they were able to use the weight of the tablet to simply push it backwards... straight through the opening and into the secret passage beyond.

"I don't even want to -THINK- about how this door would be opened normally," Enoch said, gratefully stepping over the stone wreckage. Parts of it had broken on impact and left rocks scattered all over the passageway. Looking ahead, it was a bit too dark to see.

Leone, who had better eyes for the dark, pushed ahead and watched the upcoming corridor carefully. "Blood, most like," he theorized, thinking about what had happened with Goetic on the previous night. And, of course, after seeing that, he had no interest in touching those demonic markings with his own blood.

"Should we go back?" Jen inquired. Her primary concern was the danger of this situation, with only the three of them here, in this crowded and small corridor. She was more afraid of anything that Leone might get killed by acting too bold.

However, it wasn't in Jen's power to actually stop Leone or force him to slow down. Maybe Leone was usually passive by default. But if that person saw something interesting... getting him to give up and retreat was not very easy.

"Once we have something to report," Leone said, striding forward with no torch or other source of light. Leone had long ago become accustomed to the dark. Laurence hadn't always been a member of the city council, and they had not always led such comfortable lives. When those two brothers were younger they had been forced to get by in some pretty dark places.

Enoch, not wanting to let Jen walk face first into danger, ended up taking the position behind Leone. He drew his small curved knife and held it at the ready. Though it was hard for Enoch to see in the low light conditions it wasn't impossible. He was good at stabbing things with the knife but he was even better at throwing it. If something appeared, he figured, he might be able to throw the weapon and slow it down or kill it before it could fell Leone.

Luckily for the three, curiosity did not kill the cat this time.

Leone entered a hidden isolation chamber at the end of the secret passage. It was in this place where the engraved stone walls held a faint white-blue glow to them. The darkness receded as they ended the small, cramped room filled with its own magical source of light.

And, there, against the far wall, was a cell that almost looked to be made of some kind of glass. Though Leone had a feeling it wouldn't be so easy to break. Inside of it was a perfectly preserved corpse of some woman. Even in death she seemed to be oddly at peace. She was not a beauty nor was she a crone. In a manner of words, she looked really like your average person. No one special. Not the kind of prisoner one would typically imagine being taken for the sake of some sick arcane ritual.
---

~* Now I only see your dull imposter ~*
https://imgur.com/tdhOSKc