Suddenly, a tremendous noise makes you jump. The hammer in the big hall strikesthe anvil eleven times. Then it gets quiet again.
From somewhere far away, the sound of eleven loud blows echoes through the halls.It sounds like iron being hammered on an anvil. After the eleventh blow, silencedescends once more.
Again, the sound of a hammer blow echoes through the corridors.
At your feet, you notice a palm-sized opening in the floor. Well, actually it’shalfway inside the wall.
Take a closer look at the hole?
Put a hand in?
Stick a torch into the opening?
The hole is dark. You cannot see anything in there.
[NAME] feels around inside the hole. Then, [NAME] abruptly pulls back. Something hasbitten [NAME].
[NAME] feels around inside the opening, until [NAME] arm disappears inside all the wayto the shoulder, without finding a thing.
[NAME] fingertips touch something inside. With tremendous skill, [NAME] manages to pulla small box from the floor opening. Inside the box, there are a few coins anda small gem.
[NAME] fingertips touch something inside the hole. However, [NAME] cannot grasp the mysterioussomething. Suddenly, [NAME] pulls back with a shout. Something appears to have bitten[NAME].
[NAME] can touch something inside with fingertips. Then suddenly, [NAME] pulls back sharply.[NAME] has sprung a rat trap. The rusty iron has cut the palm of [NAME] hand. The painis excruciating.
With a bit of effort, [NAME] pulls back the trap iron, releasing a wounded hand.Boy, that was nasty!
With no trouble at all, [NAME] pulls back the trap iron and [NAME] can pull the woundedhand free with a sigh of relief.
[NAME] can feel something inside with [NAME] fingertips, but cannot get a grip on it.Suddenly, [NAME] pulls a hand back sharply. Looks like something inside the holebit [NAME].
[NAME] finds a small vial with a healing potion.
Nothing happens.
You can hear squealing.
Do you want to
Would you mind telling me what torch you are refering to?
Pardon me, but you’ll need water to do that!
[NAME] feels [NAME] hands starting to burn.
[NAME] hands keep hurting. What’s more, the fur is quite obviously starting to spread.This does not look good.
The shimmering, colorful fur keeps spreading all over [NAME] hands, and the burningsensation increases in intensity until it’s almost unbearable. The fingers aregetting stiff. It takes effort to move them at all now.
Every so often, [NAME] stops and draws [NAME] fingers in to make fists. It’s a tremendouseffort to master the intense pain.
[NAME] is desperate. [NAME] can’t move [NAME] hands any more and is dazed from the pain.
Rub the hands?
Wash the hands?
Burn the stuff off?
Rubbing the hands is extremely painful and produces no result. The fur staysin place.
The merest touch of water produces an intensely stinging pain. What’s worse,the fur is stubborn and cannot be washed off.
When [NAME] holds the torch under [NAME] hands, [NAME] screams loudly with pain. First, thefur turns a dark blue, then black, and finally, the badly burnt skin underneathbecomes visible. A small cloud of stinging smoke is released.
The whole room is filled with thick, stinging smoke. You are unable to see andalmost unable to breathe.
Immediately above and below you, large iron clamps are moored in the wall atregular intervals, making for a sort of improvised stairway. In both directions,the shaft continues beyond the reach of your lights.
Do you
climb up the shaft?
climb down the shaft?
There seems to be no end in sight, and the climbing becomes very tiring. Afteryou moved up something like three to four hundred steps, the stairway ends ata massive stone slab totally sealing the shaft from above.
Do you want to
climb back down
or examine the stone slab?
Let’s face it, you couldn’t move that slab even if you were all working together.However, looking about, [NAME] discovers a crack in the rockface. And yes, a pieceof stone was loosened here and can be pulled out from the wall, though it doestake quite some effort.
It easier going down, but even so, you are quite puffed and covered in soot fromhead to toe by the time you get back to the entry of the shaft.
It’s quite a long climb up, and definitely tiring to boot. But in the end, youreach an opening allowing you to leave the shaft.
You climb down the improvised ladder of iron clamps and reach another landingwhere a narrow opening leads away from the chimney to the east.
In both directions, the shaft continues beyond the reach of your lights. Younotice a distinct draft from below. There are large awls in the wall to the leftand right, and large iron clamps are moored in the wall at regular intervalsgoing up.
Do you want to
or rappel down?
[NAME] climbs down into the shaft a bit, but can’t discover anything unusual.
Doyou
let [NAME] down some more
or pull [NAME] back up?
It’s hardly possible to go down more than eight paces, for [NAME] is already hardpressed holding on to the severely swaying rope.
Do you
[NAME] is now down some ten paces and has hit the walls of the shaft a number oftimes and hard.
Do you want to
Suddenly, [NAME] lets out a scream, and you hear a low rumbling noise leveling offin the depth.
[NAME] has some trouble doing it, but manages to climb back up from the hole in onepiece.
How? You aren’t carrying any rope!
[NAME] turns [NAME] wand into a rope, and you’re all set.