For the last months heroes, scholars and adventurers have been helping the Zeinav government unearth an ancient city buried beneath the desert. Their research has proven that this is in fact the very first Zeinav, the city created by the first Sultan. This has been an exciting discovery, but what's even more exciting is that scholars believe this is not only the first city but also the burial place of the Sultan himself. Much of the city has been explored and excavated, with a small single pyramid sitting at its center. A massive stone door blocks the entrance and it has yet to be explored. However a group of adventurers have come together to take the risk, enter the tomb and uncover what secrets might lie beneath the sands.

You meet the two other individuals assigned to this task outside of the cavern in which the city was discovered. You know this is going to be the hardest thing you have tried and prepare yourself before delving down into the dark, musty cavern that holds the city. After meeting your comrades the three of you venture through the abandoned city, passing empty buildings and homes lost to time. Your destination lies before you, a single pyramid located at the center of this city. A massive stone door blocks the way, and any attempt to open the door, from magic to explosives, has failed.

Now standing before the door, you see an inscription, a riddle, poem or phrase of some kind. Above the phrase, at eye level, is a small eye shaped hole in the stone. This is your first obstacle, getting in. You have no clue how to get in or what tricks this pyramid has in store for you, but despite the mystery and the looming danger, excitement begins to run through your veins. You are about to become a part of history.

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The Dungeon is open! You have 72 hours to respond to this topic! Once you make your first post you can no longer buy items to be used for this activity, so purchase anything you may want before making your reply. The posting order is up to you and you can discuss this topic with anyone, getting help from the site as you go. Remember this is a back and forth activity with a member of staff, please be sure to be crystal clear in your writing and be as detailed as you can. The more you give, the easier things will be to understand. 

Cirice looks to her companions and looks at the inscription again.

"Okay so if only the blind can reveal the truth, and he who lies beneath the sun can only be found by seeing the truth then maybe whatever we need to sacrifice is hidden in the inscription itself? I have an idea! Let me just...."

She closes her eyes tight and runs her hands over the inscription slowly, top to bottom, following the letters one at a time like reading a book, trying to find anything that feels tactilely different like any raised or sunken letters. If she feels any differences she reads them aloud slowly, putting them together hoping that the answer is hidden there.

Cyran was thankful that he knew both of his companions going into the dungeon, and had a rough idea of their combat prowess and abilities. It would make strategy much easier, and with Cirice’s healing, Gerhart’s ability with the blade, and his own stealth, he hoped they would be able to make it far. Not to mention that Gerhart and Cirice would improve the mood considerably as they went through the Sultan’s tomb. But he was getting ahead of himself. Before they could even make it into the tomb underneath the pyramid, they had to pass through the first hurdle- the door.

They had to pay a price to get in… Cyran’s initial thought was that they had to give up their sight temporarily to gain entrance, but he had no idea how to go about that. As he was considering what their next move could be, Cirice suggested that a clue of exactly what they had to sacrifice to gain entrance through hidden letters in the message. It was a smart idea, and he hoped it meant he would not have to give up his sight.

He still could not help but be curious about the eye hole could be for, so he waited for Cirice to be done examining the stone tablet containing the riddle before he stepped up, placing his right eye near the hole that was roughly about eye level. As he got a closer look, he blinked, and his eyes turned a solid black color as they attempted to pierce through the shadows inside- even if there was any magical darkness concealing the inside, then his vision would not be hindered.^[1] If nothing else, he hoped to get a peek at the tomb inside.

And if the eye hole had any sort of mechanism designed to take his eye, then he didn’t mind if he was the first to make that sacrifice.

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1. Ebon Eyes

"Of course you're here, bartending not as exciting as tomb diving?" Gerhart grinned at Cyran givng him a playful nudge as they met.



"Gerhart Stanislav." The grin didn't fade as he turned to make a quick introduction to Cirie.



Learning from his last trip to the desert with Zarius, Gerhart was much more aptly dressed. He still had his armor, but far fewer layers and much more room for airflow. It made all the difference in their trek to the toomb.



At the door, an effort was made to look studious and equally capable of figuring out this riddle. Why did it have to be a riddle first? It's never skeletons first, skeletons are easy to handle, if a skeleton gives you a dumb riddle you can just bonk it.



He takes a while to think, letting them try their options first before speaking up. "If this is a tomb and there's a price to pay, blindness, yeah yeah, what if we need to put coins over our eyes to enter? Some people talking about putting coins over they eyes of the dead so they can pay passage to the afterlife.....if we believe we will pass cause you know it says seeing is not always believing....I don't know, it's an option."

As Cirice closes their eyes and begins to rub their hands across the surface of the door, something odd happens. The text itself is flat and uninteresting, however, while their eyes remain closed, they are able to see something. Through the darkness of their closed eyes, Cirice is able to see a dim light pulsating from the eye shaped hole in the door. It does nothing but sit there, glowing against the darkness, and while it does not open the door, its worth noteing that even with her eyes closed, she is able to see something.

Seconds later Cyran steps up, also attempting to understand and solve the riddle to the door, however they attempt a much braver approach, placing their face against the eye hole and peering inside. His dark, magic filled eyes peer into a deep, but empty hole, only to be instantly surprised as out of nowhere a small metal spike jolts out from the hole, piercing right into Cyran's eye. All vision vanishes from the pierced eye, blood quickly pooling and dripping down their cheek. The eye has been destroyed, yet there is no pain. Despite the obvious injury Cyran feels none of the pain that would come with a wound such as this.

Luckily, the price was paid, and as Cyran reels from the surprise attack, the door violently shakes and slowly slides downwards into the ground. The entrance to the tomb has been opened.

The trio slowly enters the doorway, taking their time and analyzing the situation. Before them lies a long pitch black tunnel, full of dust, dirt and cobwebs. For those who are unable to see, a dark hole sits before them, however for anyone who can see in non magical darkness, they are able to make out a room about 100 feet down at the end of the tunnel. The inside walls of the tunnel are filled with ancient paintings and depictions of the first city, multiple vague and confusing scenes playing out across the surface of the wall. Cirice, Cyran and Gerhart now stand at the open doorway, ready to take their next steps forward.

Notes:
-One of Cyran's eyes are rendered useless for the rest of this topic and the eye can not be healed by any means until after the event. However you sustain no damage and do not receive a wound.

-Cirice- 0 Wounds
-Cyran- 0 Wounds, one blind eye
-Gerhart- 0 Wounds

"Its really nice to meet you Mr. Gerhart let's have a great- OH MY GODDESS CYRAN YOUR EYE!" Cirice shrieks as the door slides down into the ground and Cyran's face is a bloody mess. "Oh goddess I-I can't fix that... I'm sorry I can heal but... Your eye... This is going to be a lot more dangerous than I thought..." She frets over Cyran's face, taking out a handkerchief and handing it to him to wipe off the blood.

"M-mr. Gerhart you seem really big and strong, maybe you should go first? I'll give you Mother Moon's blessing so you can see in the dark." She touches him gently and bestows Night Sight upon him. When they get inside she'll look at the paintings and murals closely, both with her eyes opened AND closed, but she doesn't want to go first as she's the squishy healer. "There are probably more traps, be really careful!"

Gerhart winces seeing Cyran lose an eye. After Cirice wipes him down, Gerhart offers him a bandage and some gauze to create a makeshift eyepatch. “Well….that’s not the best way to learn this place is out to kill us, but I guess we should have expected that.”

He gives a moment to let Cyran have a breather before looking towards the entrance. He blinks a few times after the blessing, unused to having eye sight like this. With a little laugh he takes the front. “I suppose I can lead now that I can see a little bit better.”

Gerhart leads the way down the stairs, glancing towards all the murals and decorations. This place was incredible, how long has it been since anyone even came down here? Probably not often given the whole sacrificing an eye thing.

At least there was no pain with the sudden loss of vision as the needle from the contraption poked his eye. Cyran reeled back, clutching at his now-useless eye, as Cirice suddenly screamed in shock when she noticed the blood.

“I’m okay. It didn’t hurt.” Cyran assured Cirice as she quickly cleaned up the blood with a handkerchief and Gerhart created a makeshift eyepatch that covered the right side of his face. “At least it looks like the price has been paid.” He said, gesturing towards the wall that was rapidly lowering, granting them passage to the tomb. He was relieved that the tomb would not demand sacrifices of the others, and that his had been enough. “We should be careful, though. If this was only the entrance, I worry about what the rest of the tomb holds.”

Cirice gave Gerhart night vision, which allowed him to take the lead as they descended into the darkness. Cyran walked on Gerhart’s left, trusting the hero to keep an eye on his new blind spot on his right side and prevent Cyran from being ambushed.

”Move slowly,” He warned, “In case of traps.”

He pulled out his fighting knives, each blade equipped with an enchantment that he would use to strike against anything that might jump out at him. In the darkness, he kept an eye out for any figures that would be hiding in the shadows ahead of them.^[1] he also tried to make sense of the murals, and see if he could determine if there was any hint into the pictures as to what would lie ahead. He wanted to be as aware as possible for anything they might encounter once they reached the room at the end of the hall.

---

1. Shadow Dancer feature: Shadow Sight
[Fighting Knives are equipped with magic blocker enchantment and ice rune]

The trio slowly moves through the dark tunnel, Gerhart moving first, now bestowed with the ability to see in the dark. They attempt to stay clear of any further traps or complications, making the full journey through the hallway uninterrupted. While the images on the walls are beautiful and tell very interesting stories, they reveal nothing of use to the group.

You make it to the end of the hall, entering a medium sized square room. A very tiny beam of light filters down through an unseen crack in the ceiling, barely illuminating the small chamber. The ceiling itself is only about 10 feet high, and you notice there are no other doors or windows. What stands out to you is the floor, an odd type of stone with a large eye painted within a sun across the surface of the floor.

You and your comrades step inside, taking a moment to access what exactly is going on. Before you have time to fully comprehend the situation, you hear the sound of stone grinding against stone as the room jolts slightly for a second. You are almost thrown to your knees from the surprise shake of the floor. You look side to side, trying to understand what happened, only to realize the entry way you had come through is now gone, a solid stone wall replacing the only way in, or out of the room.

The three of you now stand there in an empty room, no doors, no walls, no way out. Thousands of things begin to run through your mind as you consider your next move, the room filling with an eerie silence. Only for a moment however, for the sound of stones grinding once again fills the room. However you can now see the source of the sound, as the two walls on either side of you now appear to be moving, slowly closing in on you and approaching the center of the room.

It dawns on you, in a matter of moments, you will be crushed.

---

Notes:

2 post rotations remain until the walls close in fully. 

-Cirice- 0 Wounds

-Cyran- 0 Wounds, one blind eye

-Gerhart- 0 Wounds

They made it to the end of the hall without much incident, which Cyran was thankful for. There was nothing much of interest on the murals that he could make sense of, nor did anyone jump out at them from the shadows. No, the real challenge came when they entered the room at the end of the hall, which had the exact same symbol depicted on the floor as was on the stone slab at the entrance to the tomb. There was a single crack in the ceiling, which was relatively low, letting a small amount of light into the room. All three of them had stepped inside by the time Cyran could make sense of the layout.

“There’s no door in here. Perhaps there’s another method to open a new entrance, like at the-“

He did not get to finish that thought as the room jolted, nearly throwing him off of his feet. He turned around to look at the others in confusion, only to notice that their only exit had been sealed off, and the walls had begun to close in on them, the silence punctuated by the sound of the scraping sound that marked their inevitable demise if they could not figure out what this particular trap required of them. If this room was the same as the door, then simple magic would not be enough to get through its walls.

Cyran tried not to panic as he thought back to what the riddle at the tomb’s door said. For only the blind can reveal the truth… that seemed to be a warning for the entire dungeon. And based on the price that he’d had to pay, there seemed to be a theme here. Cyran remembered what Cirice had done earlier at the tablet. Though she hadn’t found anything of interest, she’d noticed something, even though she hadn’t been able to see with her eyes closed.

That gave him an idea, and out of lack of better options, Cyran closed his eyes- well, eye now, though that realization hadn’t quite sunken in yet, waiting to see if his lack of sight would make anything stand out, whether it was the eye on the ground, or the crack in the ceiling, or something else. Anything that would help them find the exit, or shut down the mechanism before the walls crushed them entirely.

Cirice gasps loudly as the walls start closing in on them. Small spaces are fine, but not when they get smaller by the moment. Biting back the panic that threatens to overwhelm her she watches as Cyran closes his one good eye and starts looking around quickly. She waits until after he's turned his gaze the the floor and gets closer to the painting. The tiniest light above might be a clue, perhaps they need to blind the eye on the ground with light! She places both hands on the sun and eye painting, focusing and making the runes on her hands glow bright with silvery moonlight as she causes the whole of the odd stone to glow with light¹. While she's down there she tries to turn the sun and see if it gives at all.

---

1 light

"All right no need to panic, it'll be fine." He grinned at both of them as the walls moved, fully trusting in their problem solving abilities.

As they tested out their ideas, Gerhart drew his swords, poking and prodding at the stones below to see if he could get any good leverage on any of them. "The door said he lies beneath the eye of god, I think we gotta get ready to fall, so you know....watch your heads and stuff."

As Cyran closes their eyes, focuses and investigates the painted eye on the floor, they quickly realize that while their eyes are closed, they can see a vibrant white light coming from under them. Instead of a floor, Cyran is staring down a deep dark pit, the floor completely hollow beneath them. They also see the bright, lit outline of an eye, where the painted version was when their eyes were open. It closely resembles an eye painted on a glass surface.

While Cirice's attempts to uncover and solve the problem were unsuccessful, Gerhart, thanks to his allies spell, noticed something off about the floor as well. As they used their sword to poke and prod the stones, it became very obvious that these were not stones, the rocks, sand and earth on the ground was sitting on top of some clear surface. It was a clever disguise, a tricked made to look as if the ground was real.

The stone walls continued to push forward, scraping against the ceiling as stone grinded against stone. If one was brave enough to take the moment to check, they would notice that each wall was slightly off the ground, with an inch of empty space between the floor and the bottom of the stone wall.

---

Notes:
1 post rotation remains until the walls close in fully.

-Cirice- 0 Wounds
-Cyran- 0 Wounds, one blind eye
-Gerhart- 0 Wounds

“Hey the floor seems like it’s….not there!” He called out, a little surprised to be right. “I can see a hole, not sure how deep it goes, but I think this is the way. There’s a gap under the walls too.”

Gerhart pulls some wire from his pack moving to where the eye is. Across the pupil he sets up his explosive wire keeping it clos to this clear surface. When safely clear of it he picks up a rock to toss it towards the wire and set it off.

Cirice squishes herself against one of the sliding walls, bending down to look to see hoe large the gap is and if she can stick her fingers under it. She's still a very green adventurer and she tries to see if theres any way to pull the walls up from the floor, giving all her tiny strength to lift from the bottom of the wall if her fingers will find purchase. Failing that she'll close her eyes and pray to Mother Moon not to get squished.