Lair of the Unidragon, Page Thirty-Seven
The left-hand tunnel stretches on uneventfully for a few hundred yards, then is cut off by a small, swiftly-flowing stream. You stand at the bank and stare down, trying to gauge the depth, width, and speed of the current. The rushing of the water is deafening from this close up and the motion of the current is making you dizzy. Finally you decide enough is enough and plunge in.
Instantly, you regret it. The water is COLD, and the current is even swifter than you expected. You fight against it, wondering why that other bank that looked so close from dry land now feels so far away.
It's quite a struggle, but eventually you pull yourself, dripping and sneezing, onto the far bank. You wring the water out of your shoulder-length hair and pause to get a better look at your surroundings.
Instead of just plain old rock walls, someone has evidently gone to great effort to make this part of the cave luxurious. A beautiful, but old and chewed-on, embroidered rug covers the floor. The walls of the tunnel have been smoothed, polished, and covered with colourful mosaic tiles. The tunnel is lighted by ornate iron candelabra hanging from the ceiling. Hmmn, you think. Nice decor.
The tunnel goes a short way, then ends in a large room. There are no side galleries along the way or anything; it is as if the tunnel's only purpose for existence is to lead to this room. You step cautiously forward. The huge double doors are standing open, so you can easily go inside. But you don't--not yet, of course a place like this would be trapped. You merely stand in the threshold and peer in.
It is a well-furnished room, with a lush burgundy carpet, tasteful leather furniture, huge oaken bookcases stuffed with cloth-bound books, a large harpsichord in the corner and--wait a minute. What's that on the mahogany lounge table? You squint.
It's the Goldensword! But wait. Let's test those traps, shall we? You look around for something to throw, find a small rock, and lob it through the doorway.
ZOT!
A bolt of lightning strikes out of nowhere, completely disentegrating the rock in mid-air. Yikes! you think. That could have been ME. And there's nothing saying it won't strike again--this is magical-trap lightning, and it CAN strike in the same place twice.
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