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Level 10
2. I was running forward, but with caution, when two strange, bird-headed men suddenly appeared, swords in hand. They said nothing as they attacked, and I saw they weren't about to let me explain my presence in their temple, so I also drew my weapon. I had not encountered such adept swordsmen in a long time, and my skills might have grown a bit rusty I was forced to parry many times, and I received several wounds. But these men, as dangerous as they were, did not inspire the same dread as the goblin heads had done. And though the wounds I received hurt greatly, they had none of the venomous burning I had come to associate with the goblin head's bite. I defeated the guards and headed farther east. 3. I came to a short wall, climbed, and ran forward to a welcome healing potion. A floor tile fell behind me as I ran. So this place wasn't in perfect shape, after all, I thought. I continued east. 4. Before me, two great carvings acted as supports for the ceiling. My path ended, and I could see a ledge at the base of the statue columns. I stood back a little from the edge, just behind two short columns, and jumped, catching the ledge below with my fingertips. It was loose! 5. I fell with the floor tile, but it had stopped my momentum and I fell safely. Moreover, a guard was standing below, and the floor fell upon him, crushing him just as he was drawing his sword. I was sorry about the guard, but I have no doubt he would not have felt sorry at all if our roles had been reversed. I decided to continue east, jumping to a lower landing first. 6. I ran quickly, spotting a doorway ahead on an upper landing. As I ran, I stepped on a pressure plate, and the door began to open. But I could see no way to get up to the door. A gap prevented me from climbing up, and I knew I could not make the jump. 7. I dropped into a low-ceilinged passage blocked to the east by a metal gate. There were, however, a blade trap and a healing potion. I crawled under the trap and drank the potion, returned to the west, and climbed back out. 6. I could see the doorway, open now, and so close. But I still saw no way to get to it from here. I returned to the west. 5. As I came up to the low wall, I spied a pattern of holes that could only mean one thing - a spike trap! I stepped carefully up to it, avoiding the long rusted spikes as they sprang out. I climbed and headed west again, stepping on a pressure plate as I ran. 8. A gate was opening up ahead and I could see a wide gap with several ledges on the opposite side. I ran full speed and jumped at the last moment, hurtling through the air and barely catching onto a ledge. 9. It was a long fall below me. Two great statues stood along the western wall, and I saw gate between them. I pulled myself up. 8. I climbed to the top landing and headed west again, very carefully. 10. Below me I could see the straight groove made to accommodate a blade trap, so I jumped over it. Immediately a pair of bird-headed guards appeared and I was forced to fight with the blade trap at my back. However, I charged them, pressing aggressively forward until they fell. 11. I ran unmolested past a statue depicting a strange creature - perhaps it was a god to these people. 12. As I headed toward a twin set of statues holding up the ceiling, another bird guard came running up from behind me. I kept running and he stopped. 13. I almost ran directly into another guard. My head was turned, watching the one behind me, and I barely drew my sword in time. This guard was quick, and I had to advance, parry, then strike. He managed to hit me a few times, perhaps because I was distracted by the guard behind me. Eventually, I pushed him backward. There was a terrible whooshing sound, Hamza, and he was suddenly cut in two by a blade trap I had not seen. I stepped away from the deadly device before sheathing my sword. Then I quickly made my way past his gruesome remains and under the blade trap. The only exit was through a gap in the floor. I lowered myself into it. 14. I swung my feet to the west and landed on a platform below me. To the west was a closed metal gate. To the east were several of the giant statues. I jumped to the floor and ran to the east. Immediately, more guards appeared. I think there were three of them, but they kept coming, and I kept fighting as well as I could. They struck quickly, and I had to parry often to protect myself, but eventually they fell. I ran onward. 15. I saw a healing potion ahead, and, as I ran toward it, I stepped on a pressure plate. I could hear the sound of a gate opening behind me. I skipped the potion and ran back to see what had happened. 14. The gate I had seen previously was now open. Carefully but quickly, I stepped up to the first wall - I had spotted a spike trap - and climbed up two landings and walked through the gate. 16. I was in a very small room. I walked carefully, on the alert for traps, and discovered a loose floor I jumped over it, and it's a good thing I did. Directly beneath it was a Life Enhancement Potion that would have been crushed if the floor had fallen, I drank the potion, grateful for its healing effects, then made my way from the room and retraced my steps. 14. This time, there was no attack as I ran to the east. 15. I climbed up onto the second landing, then climbed again to the third, still heading to the east. 17. Below me I could see one of the bird-headed guards, but he faced in the other direction. Carefully, I lowered myself over the ledge, trying not to make any noise But the guard heard me as I landed and turned quickly to the attack. Too late I had noticed a spike trap in the wall behind me. Now I was truly caught between two sharp pointy deaths. I surprised the guard a little I think. I pushed forward, toward him, then struck. I was able to press close to him and turn him around. Now it was his back to the spikes. He fought furiously, especially when he saw that I had turned the tables on him, but I eventually wore him down. I ran to the east.
18. I avoided a blade trap by climbing onto a ledge and jumping over it, but I saw a pressure plate below and dropped down to step on it. To the east, I heard a gate opening. 9. I recognized this room. I had seen it briefly when I jumped across the wide gap before. I stood now at the base of the two giant statues and jumped to the east. A guard came running out and I fought him, then ran onward. 19. I drank a healing potion and ran through the great hallway. I kept going east. 7. I ran through a narrow hallway, ducking and crawling under a blade trap. As I was crawling, a guard came running into the hallway from behind me, but he stopped short of the trap. We stood facing each other a moment from opposite sides of the blade trap; then, seeing that he could not attack, I ran to the east. 20. The hallway seemed endless, broken occasionally by high gaps in the low ceiling, which revealed a higher path. I ran on... 21. ...and on 22. I came at last to a room dominated by four great statues. A guard awaited me, and we fought silently. He was quick, but I blocked his blows and answered with my own riposte, I found a healing potion behind him, then started to climb up to the third landing, using a series of ledges. I decided to explore an upper path first, so I headed west when I reached the third landing. 21. I came to a gap and jumped very carefully. A blade trap was just on the other side. I crawled under it and continued on. 20. I grabbed a healing potion, then jumped another gap. 7. I came to a familiar room. I had previously found a healing potion here. There was no reason to enter it, however, and I remembered there was no way to open the gate from inside, anyway. So I turned around and headed back the way I had come. 22. I reached the room with the four giant columns and climbed up through the ceiling. 23. There was only one way to go, so I ran west. 24. A guard stood in my way, and I drew my sword. His was already drawn, but I was able to hit him repeatedly. As we fought, more of his friends appeared and lined up behind him to take their turn, but they too, fell when I attacked furiously. I ran west and jumped a small gap. 25. I continued running west and jumped another gap. 6. I came to a gate, which began to open as I stepped on a pressure plate. I ran to the exit door and climbed the steps. |
Continue to Chapter 5: The Shadow & the Flame (Level 11)
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