Chapter 2: One Bad Apple

R3N-L3 steps through the large eye before anybody else can protest. In each corner of the room beyond, a column of eyes extends from floor to ceiling. A chariot, several iron-bound chests, silk bags, bolts of cloth, and other valuables occupy the room’s center. More eyes appear on the walls, floor, and ceiling. A stone door with handle stands in the center of the south wall.

As R3N-L3 searches the room, it quickly becomes clear that the treasure here is false. His hands pass right through the goods, causing the whole thing to waver and revealing the room's contents as illusory. At the same time, there is a clanking sound, and a portcullis drops from the ceiling behind the clockwork, sealing the passage through the large eye! Luckily, nobody is standing under the portcullis as it falls.

Lauretta’s axe makes short work of the portcullis. Soon enough, she has chopped a big enough hole in the middle for anybody to pass through.

All of the treasure here is illusory. The only real bits are the columns and the door to the south.

The south door opens onto a T-intersection. To the west, the hall ends in a square room. Two niches in the north, west, and south walls hold skeletal remains. On the center of the ceiling and floor are yet more giant eyes. A few sacks rest in the corner.

To the east, the hall opens into a long, narrow room. The walls, floor, and ceiling of this chamber have been painted black and flecked with tiny white spots that look a bit like stars. A hole in the wall opposite of the entrance offers a way out of this chamber. At the room’s center, blocking further progress, stand two skeletal warriors wearing tattered rags. Each holds an axe in both hands before its body, the butt planted on the ground. They remain silent and unmoving, but you get the sense that they are watching you...