What's your one last job for the house move then? Or are you just referring to next February's packing and moving? :)
One last job We walked nervously down the street, listening hard for any hooting sounds or running feet or... well, anything really. While it was unlikely that the map was a trap, having been chased by a nearly unkillable monster already today, we weren't feeling in the mood for any more "fun". The black cancer seemed to spreading more and more across the building and even us walking past was enough for stray air currents to cause the crumbling gold facade to shiver and throw off clouds of fine dust. We turned left down a street where one side was badly affected by the black and the other side was much better, almost clear in places, and somewhere around the half-way mark we stopped outside a building that seemed completely untouched by the black veins. "This is it," I said, checking the map. Jimmy climbed the stairs at the side to the first floor and pushed on the door. "It's open," he reported, and I looked at the key in my hand and wondered what it was for. Inside was a square room with no other doors, no windows, and no furnishings. "Well this is unexpected," said Ben, looking around. "I guess it's not the right place after all." "No," I said checking the map again. "It's not like this is the clearest thing in the world, but it's the right place. And I think the lack of that black vein stuff is a clue as well; it's untouched in the middle of everything falling apart. It might even be holding the black stuff off from this side of the street." "Secret doors?" Ben sounded annoyed. His hands started doing their customary pocket dance until he found his cigars. "Huh, two left. One for now then, and one for tomorrow after we're out of here." "They're pretty secret," said Jimmy, looking around again. "I can't see where you'd hide one." I held up the key. "Look for a keyhole, I guess," I said. "The buildings a lot bigger than this room so I suppose we'll have to find one. It took nearly fifteen minutes of searching, running our hands over the walls and a fair number of complaints from Ben (about stupid searches) and Jimmy (about Ben's cigar smoke getting in his face) but then Ben found a keyhole in the wall opposite where we'd come in, at head-height of all places. I had to stretch a little to fit the key in -- Ben's just a touch taller than me -- but it slid it and turned easily, and there was a groaning sound following by a near deafening rumble, and the entire lower half of the wall slid down and revealed a library. There were shelves and shelves of books; desks and chairs for sitting and reading, large sheets of paper on the walls with pictures and diagrams on, and a writing desk up near us at the front with jars of ink and dip-pens laid in rows next to them. Paper was stored underneath on a wooden shelf. Towards the middle of the room were display cabinets similar to the ones we'd found the jewelled fish in, though it was too far away to see what was in them, and towards the far end of the room there was a yellow glow coming from somewhere. I figured it was probably sunlight, more of those odd windows in the room that somehow focused it. "Not what I was expecting," said Ben. "But those cabinets might have something worthwhile in!"
Greg - I figured the key/map would be their last job before departing El Dorado :)
A secret door. Par for the course in El Dorado at this point, I'd say. I'm curious to see what the library holds for them, both treasure-wise and knowledge-wise.
2 comments:
What's your one last job for the house move then? Or are you just referring to next February's packing and moving? :)
One last job
We walked nervously down the street, listening hard for any hooting sounds or running feet or... well, anything really. While it was unlikely that the map was a trap, having been chased by a nearly unkillable monster already today, we weren't feeling in the mood for any more "fun". The black cancer seemed to spreading more and more across the building and even us walking past was enough for stray air currents to cause the crumbling gold facade to shiver and throw off clouds of fine dust.
We turned left down a street where one side was badly affected by the black and the other side was much better, almost clear in places, and somewhere around the half-way mark we stopped outside a building that seemed completely untouched by the black veins.
"This is it," I said, checking the map.
Jimmy climbed the stairs at the side to the first floor and pushed on the door. "It's open," he reported, and I looked at the key in my hand and wondered what it was for.
Inside was a square room with no other doors, no windows, and no furnishings.
"Well this is unexpected," said Ben, looking around. "I guess it's not the right place after all."
"No," I said checking the map again. "It's not like this is the clearest thing in the world, but it's the right place. And I think the lack of that black vein stuff is a clue as well; it's untouched in the middle of everything falling apart. It might even be holding the black stuff off from this side of the street."
"Secret doors?" Ben sounded annoyed. His hands started doing their customary pocket dance until he found his cigars. "Huh, two left. One for now then, and one for tomorrow after we're out of here."
"They're pretty secret," said Jimmy, looking around again. "I can't see where you'd hide one."
I held up the key. "Look for a keyhole, I guess," I said. "The buildings a lot bigger than this room so I suppose we'll have to find one.
It took nearly fifteen minutes of searching, running our hands over the walls and a fair number of complaints from Ben (about stupid searches) and Jimmy (about Ben's cigar smoke getting in his face) but then Ben found a keyhole in the wall opposite where we'd come in, at head-height of all places. I had to stretch a little to fit the key in -- Ben's just a touch taller than me -- but it slid it and turned easily, and there was a groaning sound following by a near deafening rumble, and the entire lower half of the wall slid down and revealed a library.
There were shelves and shelves of books; desks and chairs for sitting and reading, large sheets of paper on the walls with pictures and diagrams on, and a writing desk up near us at the front with jars of ink and dip-pens laid in rows next to them. Paper was stored underneath on a wooden shelf. Towards the middle of the room were display cabinets similar to the ones we'd found the jewelled fish in, though it was too far away to see what was in them, and towards the far end of the room there was a yellow glow coming from somewhere. I figured it was probably sunlight, more of those odd windows in the room that somehow focused it.
"Not what I was expecting," said Ben. "But those cabinets might have something worthwhile in!"
Greg - I figured the key/map would be their last job before departing El Dorado :)
A secret door. Par for the course in El Dorado at this point, I'd say. I'm curious to see what the library holds for them, both treasure-wise and knowledge-wise.
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