Room10a
As they step through the door Jora immediately begins to sweat. The humidity and heat in the room are oppressive. After a moment his eyes adjust to the dim lighting revealing that they stand at the edge of a jungle. Crooked trees fill every corner of the room. Vines, dripping moisture, hang from every tree and rustling sounds and low chirps reach their ears.
A narrow trail leads into the foliage.
Jora leads the way, sword drawn. He is forced to hack at random vines to clear the path.
He cannot tell how long they walk; it is hard to tell the time in this dim place, cut off from sun and stars.
“I have to, um, you know,” Safir says.
“No, I don’t know.” Jora turns weary eyes toward the girl. Sweat pours down his face from the exertion of clearing the path.
“You know, in the bushes.”
“She has to pee,” Conrad supplies helpfully causing Safir to blush scarlet.
“Well make it quick,” Jora says and sits on the ground. He wouldn’t admit it, but he is secretly grateful for the break.
Safir pushes her way into the foliage. The others hear her crunching across dried leaves.
In less than a minute there is a piercing scream and Safir crashes through the foliage, her pants wrapped around her knees and a look of terror on her face.
“They’re out there,” she wails. “Monsters!”
Jora hops to his feet and Conrad draws his sword.
Rustling sounds surround them. Glowing yellow eyes peer from beneath enormous leaves. The owners of the eyes are hidden in shadow and the glow winks out whenever one of them thinks they might see the owner of the baleful eyes.
They stand at the ready for long minutes. The creatures, monsters, or whatever they are, remain at a distance.
Finally, Jora turns to speak to Safir and it’s his turn to blush, her pants are pooled around her ankles. He spins away and clears his throat.
“Um, Safir, your–um, pants.”
The sound of rustling fabric informs him that it is safe once more and he looks at the girl who is pink with embarrassment but manages a shy smile.
“Whatever they are, I don’t think they’re coming closer. What did you see?”
“Just eyes and there was something moving all around me.”
“Let’s keep moving. Maybe we can get out of here before they become a problem.”
Everyone agrees and the small band presses onward with weapons at the ready.
After hours of travel, they reach a clearing. Six trails, including the one they just traversed, radiate from this large cleared area like the spokes of a wheel. They can faintly see doors in the distance along each trail.
“We just walked for hours, how the heck can we see the doors from here?” Jora looks around in confusion.
“Things are never what they seem here,” Lamia says. “Maybe it just felt like hours, it’s a magic place after all.”
The doors follow a familiar pattern, wooden portals with black iron banding, painted in differing colors.
There is a black door, and then white, red, green, blue, and yellow doors.
“I think this room has the most doors so far,” Safir says.
In the center of the clearing are two mirrors. The mirrors ripple with magical energy and reveal their alternatives.
The black framed mirror shows Lamia squatting beside the foliage. Her hand is extended, beckoning to something in the underbrush. A small furred creature with an enormous, comical face emerges from the foliage.
The white framed mirror shows a different scenario, Jora and Conrad plunge into the jungle slashing and hacking at strange furred beasts with their swords.
“This place just gets more complicated as we move onward,” Lamia says.
“What should we do?” Safir looks expectantly at Jora.
“Group vote, should we choose one of the mirrors, or should we pick a door and see what’s beyond?”
What choice should the adventurers make?