[color:"00cccc"] People were looking burnt-out and tired, I was wondering if we could do this. Even I wanted just to go back to a tavern and kick up my feet with a mug of frothy ale something drove me on.
"These people need me!" I thought, "bugger! Viper! I knew there was something else to do.
"Jurak? Are you up to helping out Viper?"
"Sure... I think." He added cautiously.
I nodded to Willow. "It'll be ok..." I said with a grin.
We crept back into the hallway, past the first trap and the rooms. I didn't see much in there of interest. Probably dangerous anyway. DQ had gone straight on to find Viper, so would I. We carried on slowly down the corridoor when the world around me seemed to fade away for a second. I closed my eyes. "Concetrate Womble! These are the illusions that DQ warned about!" I opened my eyes and everything looked normal. Apart from Jurak walking ahead with his arms outstretched shouting "Orcette! orcette! I love you! You came back!"
"JURAK NO!" I bellowed, "ITS AN ILLUSION!" Jurak paid no heed.
"No you don't matey!" I grabbed a rock and hurled it at his head with the accuracy of a halfling. It made a dull 'clunk' against his thick skull. Finally he stopped, rubbing his head. "Where'd she go?" He mumbled.
"It was an illusion buddy."
"Oh bugger!" He said despondently. "Oh well..."
"DON'T walk forward! Jeez you almost triggered the tap!"
"What trap?" Jurak said carefully taking a step backward.
"This one.." I tossed another rock onto a now obvious floor panel, it sank slightly.
WHOOOSH! Two spikes shot out of the wall like a shark snapping its jaws shut. Anything in between would have been a kebab.
"YIKES!" Went Jurak.
"Easy boy...." I smiled
"Easy! I'd better go change my shorts!"
I sniffed, "hmmmmm you're right. Don't worry though, the smell will drive away any monsters we meet."
Jurak laughed. Loud...!
I diarmed the trap via the floor tile and carried onto the next.
"Be ready for the illusions this time mate!" I warned Jurak, "I you see anything weird, close your eyes."
"Gotcha!"
Then it came, swirling images to tempt me, my family was alive again, I was home sharing supper and.... "NO! Not this time Aganeth! You don't fool this dwarf so easily!"
I concentrated and the image dissapeared. "Should've tempted me with gold. Dumb bloody wizard! Ha! what did you expect from a troll?"
Jurak stood with his eyes closed muttering "Not real, not real, not real." to himself. Sometimes being a dwarf was good. Magic resistance was a definate plus.
[color:"yellow"] *Dwarves aren't really innately magically resistant. Magic just doesn't like them too much. It tends to avoid them. Dwarven wizards are pretty rare....* [/color]
"Its OK Jurak. Keep yer eyes closed Ok?" Jurak was sweating bullets trying to overcome the illusion. Then he remembered how Womble had snapped him out of the other one.
"Hit me on the head!"
"What?"
"Hit me on the head with a rock or something like you did before! These images are makin' me nuts!"
"Okaaaay." I hesitantly grabbed a big rock and threw it at his noggin"
"Ooof! Thats better mate!" Jurak opened his eyes. "Hey! That one was bigger than before!"
I sniggered. "I'll get you for that!" Jurak grinned.
We rounded a corner cautiously and saw DQ and Viper.
"Yoo-hoo! Need some help?" I called over.
"Be careful! Yelled DQ. "There's a big axe...."
"Oh crap!" I thought as the biggest axe I'd ever seen swung directly at me. "This is it! I'm deader than yesterday's goblin pie!"
Something made me dive forward. Pure reflex.
The axe continued to swing. I looked back and saw Jurak scratching his head. "Womble? Why did you dive like that?"
"Don't move!" I shouted. I timed the motion and dived though to the other side again. Easy enough...... Then I looked from the other side...... No axe to be seen. "Don't move forward an inch." I warned Jurak.
I could hear it swinging now though, veeeerrry quietly.
"Stay here buddy." I motioned toward Jurak. He looked totally confused now. Vision of the axe was blocked from this side by a magical illusion. It gave a vision of the wall behind, DQ and Viper......but no swinging axe! A cunning illusion! I listened for the axe....swish......swish..... I timed the sounds and dived through again.
"What ARE you doing?" Jurak was looking increasingly worried over me.
"You'll see...." I looked around for some sort of switch. I poked at an odd-looking wall panel. There was a satisfying 'click' and the axe stopped moving.
"Its ok, you can come forward now!" Jurak wandered over with a grin on his face.
"What you doin' funny monkey?"
"Look!" I pointed at the axe, visible from this side. Jurak gaped for a second and then went, "ooooo!"
"Less of that 'monkey' business too!" I grinned.
"Well done!" Viper said. We went over to them. "You okay? Both of you?"
"We're fine..." DQ gazed into Viper's eyes. I didn't know what was more nauseating, them or Willow and Jolie!
"What speared you?" I asked Viper.
"A trap on the door there." He pointed, indicating a strange-looking door at the end of the hallway.
"Let me look at this on my own." I said to the others. I went forward cautiously, there were no obvoius pressure pads or tripwires, hmmmmm.
Suddenly a spear shot out of the wall. I deflected it with my axe just in time. Then I heard a tiny voice.... "Bugger! Reload!" Coming from behind the wall.
There was a creaking sound, I looked up and saw a small periscope coming out of the ceiling. I grabbed a rock and hurled it. Smashing the device to pieces.
"Ahhhh! Can't see!" A small voice croaked. Then I heard rapid footsteps running away from the other side.
I wandered back to Viper. "Well the trap is sorted out, more like a sentry really and the door looks like it leads somewhere important. Here, try one of these keys."
I passed Viper the set of enchanted keys used to open the cages. There were a few spare so they had to be for something.
Viper walked to the door.... [/color]
