Session Four

Keen now to escape this catacomb Thorn hefts his axe & puts his shoulder to the second door, for an instance it resists, & then to the sound of splintering timbers, he crashes through the door into the room beyond. Stepping into the room Grace can see a large pool occupies most of the room, water running out of the wall from a spout part way up the wall, the cobbled floor is damp & slippery.

Peering into the water both Grace & Thorn were astonished to see coins, thousands of coins, lying on the bottom of the pool, both plunge arms into the water but alas the water is deeper than first they imagined & the coins remain illusively below their grasp. Undeterred Grace slips of her armour & drops over the edge of the pools rim, surprised her feet do not touch the bottom, the coins appearing just below her outstretched toes. Dropping the few extra inches she suddenly finds the water above her head, the coins still beyond her reach. Determinedly she surfaces, gulps a lung-full of air & dives below the surface, as she drops the bottom of the pool seams to drop away but with a few powerful strokes Grace is sure she can reach them. Realising she can go no further, her lungs burning, she wheels & pushes for the surface, suddenly however she feels tired, every stroke saps her of energy, at her neck the dragon chain burns against her skin.

Looking down into the water Thorn is confused, surely the pool can't be that deep, but he can see no sign of Grace, yet he can still see the coins mere inches below the surface, realising something is badly wrong he plunges his arm into the water desperately hoping Grace is somewhere below.

Under the water Grace's energy has gone, her lungs fit to burst, as her eyes start to close an arm spears through the water towards her, grasping the outstretched fingers she clings on for dear life, hoping it is Thorn she holds & no other.

As Grace sits shivering on the cobbles, Thorn takes one last regretful look into the pool, as he dismisses them from his mind they fade from view & instead three small watery female figures can be seen swimming in circles below the surface, entranced Thorn watches as they near the surface, as clawed hands reach for him, he is suddenly jerked backwards by Grace, the spell broken the water spirits bare razor sharp teeth & with hate filled eyes dive deep into the pool.

Shaking heads in disbelief Grace rubs herself dry & dons her armour whilst Thorn keeps a wary eye on the pool.

Leaving the watery room alone they return to the main cellar & consider their options, two doors remain locked & unopened. Unhappily they choose the left hand door ignoring the smaller door in the side wall. Again Thorn tries to shoulder the door open however it proves to strong for him. Grace attempts to pick the lock, but a lack of skill & inappropriate tools are her undoing. Inspiration strikes at Thorn & he takes the recovered pouch of yellow powder from his pack & sprinkles a pinch into the lock, alas to his disappointment nothing happens.

As they are about to turn aside muffled voices can be heard approaching from the other side of the door, the latch rattles but the door remains firmly locked, Thorn, eager to be through the door, bellows out,

"Hello, who's there, its locked"

The conversation on the other side of the door stops for a moment, then footsteps can be heard hurrying away. Frustrated Thorn puts his axe to good use & several minutes later the door is in splinters, however the blade of his axe has suffered sorely.

Shining their lanterns down the exposed corridor, a passage can be seen leading left & right with a door some thirty feet beyond that. Creeping forward they reach the side passages, on the floor are signs of somebody having recently rested & eaten at the junction, maybe those who they so recently heard beyond the door. To the left passage steps lead steeply up into darkness, whilst to the right steps angle sharply down into hidden depths.

Pausing only to take a brief meal, they move towards the door ahead, as Grace listens for sign of movement beyond, Thorn pushes past, wrenches at the latch & to his suprise finds the door unlocked, drawing his shortsword. Peering through both can see the corridor widens slightly but little else as the polished floor appears to curve away, what lies beyond the curviture of the floor is unknown. As Grace goes to step over the threshold, Thorn has a bad feeling about what lies beyond & shouts for to hold where she is, unfortunately Grace ignores his warning.

Immediately Grace drops to her knees as her feet slide from beneath her, slowly, & despite her efforts to escape, she slips further & further into the room as the steepness of the floor increases the further she gets into the room, watching, helpless, Thorn looks on as Grace disappears from view.

Looking over her shoulder Grace can see the floor diving away until it is near vertical with the end wall of the room, in horror she slides down until she is stuck fast in a narrowing gap between what was the floor & the wall, looking about her she is horrified to see the remains of others who have slid down into the gap & been unable to escape.

Wedged tight she calls out to Thorn not to step into the room & hoping he won't abandon her, with every breath, every movement, she makes she slips a little bit more into the death grip of the chasm.

After several minutes, convinced Thorn has left her to her fate, a rope suddenly snakes down towards her, she answers Thorns call & grips the rope with both hands, above Thorn braces himself against the door frame & pulls, at first nothing happens, so tightly is Grace held, however, imperceptibly at first, Thorn gradually manages to pull the terrified Grace from the grasp of the trap into which she had fallen.

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