The Jellybeans entered into a large circular room. The walls were onyx black and continued going up to a ceiling about thirty feet or so above the floor. Picture frames hung along the circumference. In the centre of the room was an elegant glass table with a long sofa and two comfy looking chairs around it. A tea set rested on top of the table and a luxurious blue carpet completed the regal look this room had. Finally, there was a staircase that lead to a door near the ceiling.

Ciylia watched as Meowlynn moved towards the sofa. After fighting the troll outside, she looked like she really wanted a break. This was probably more than what she mentally signed up for. The wizard approached the jet black sofa and sat down. Instead of the soft and relaxing cushion, she was hoping for, the high elf fell through the object and landed on the floor.

“What the hell!” Meowlynn screamed. She tried to use the table to stand back up but her hand slipped through it as well. Ciylia couldn’t help but chuckle to herself. It was nice to watch the stuck-up elf flounder like a fish on land.

The elven ranger and Gene moved towards the centre of the room to inspect the weird furniture. The monk helped the wizard onto her feet and then the trio started to wave their hands through the illusory items. “Maybe the is a switch hidden here. Let’s try to feel for one,” suggested Ciylia.

As the three stroked the surface of the floor a loud thud was heard from the direction of the staircase. “Oh my god! He fell through!” Kira shouted to anyone who would listen.

“Who fell!?” Gene rushed over to her in a panic.

“Fern did! He tried to climb the stairs and fell through them!”

“He is a goddamn bear right now and it sounded like he didn’t go down that far. He should be fine as long as it’s just a hole.” The monk thought for a moment before making a decision. “Ciylia, can you be very careful and poke your head through the stairs and see if you can see the bear? I would do it but my eyes can not see through the darkness.”

“I can do that,” smiled the elf. She got down on all fours and slowly moved her hand forward. Her fingers passed through the illusion and then found the hole in the ground. “Gene and Kira, could you hold my legs so I don’t fall down?”

The two teammates listened to the thief as she inched closer to the pitfall. Cautiously, Ciylia poked her head through the fake staircase and looked down. Her eyes adjusted to the dark and she was able to see a bear grunting below. “Hello, Fern!” The druid looked up in his bear form excitedly. “Try to climb up the wall. Follow my voice.”

Fern nodded in agreement and proceeded towards Ciylia’s voice. Though the elf possessed the ability to see in the dark and could watch the bear’s every move, the bear, on the other hand, was not as lucky. While blindly moving around, his snout smacked into the smooth onyx wall causing him to grown in pain. As much as the slender ranger would have enjoyed watching this his face against the wall multiple times, they were here for a reason.

“Stand on your back legs then walk towards the wall with your front paws forward,” yelled Ciylia. The bear did what he was told until his paws touched the wall. “Now dig your claws into the rock and climb up!” Once again, did as he was commanded to do and tried to climb up the wall. The stone was too hard for his claws to penetrate and he just ended up flailing against the wall before giving up.

“He can’t get up,” said the team’s thief.

Gene clicked his tongue before speaking, “Tell that idiot to become a half-elf again. That way we can lower a rope and help him climb up.” Why didn’t Ciylia think of that? The solution to the problem was so obvious that it never crossed her mind.

“Become an elf again and we can help you get out,” shouted the wood elf.

Fern’s body reverted back into his humanoid form. “Now get me the fuck out of here!”

Gene produced a long coil of rope from his new climbing pack. He threw one end down to the druid while the monk and the halfling held the other end to help pull him up. Once the rope was taut, the two of them pulled. A few minutes later, Fern appeared from the illusion.

“Gene!” Aliya called from across the room. “I think you’ll want to see this.” All the Jellybeans converged at the location where the gnome was standing. The cleric was staring at a painting with three figures in it. Ciylia didn’t recognize the simple-looking man standing at the bottom left of the picture, nor the demonic-looking purple human in the bottom right. The woman standing behind the men she did know. Candice Bruntworth had her hands rest on both of the men shoulders. It was oddly enough, the happiest Ciylia had ever seen the witch.

“It’s him,” said Gene while pointing at the simple-looking man. “This is Shield.”

“Who is this then,” asked Meowlynn. “I’ve never seen anyone like that.”

“That is the cursed race,” explained the monk. “They are a mostly rare race that I guess most people have never seen but they are more common where I come from, Velo. I’m not sure how their people became like that, but they are either proud of their heritage or embarrassed by it.”

“Still doesn’t tell us who he is but hopefully we don’t find out,” said Kira. At the moment the cursed human smiled at the group and everyone backed up. Aliya her holy symbol and started to mutter a few words. After she finished, the gnome announced that the painting had an evil aura.

Ciylia ran back outside and grabbed a stone off the ground. The stench of burnt troll still polluted the area but didn’t seem to follow the elf back inside.

The elven ranger took the stone and threw it will all her might at the painting. The rock hit the face of the demonic figure but kept spinning and gaining momentum. Ripples started to appear on the portrait as if it was becoming water. A shining light flickered for a few moments before the stone shot back at Ciylia. She barely managed to drop to the ground in time as the rock sailed out through the entrance at an unimaginable speed.

“No one mess with that picture,” instructed Gene. “Let’s look for a way to that door.”

“I could jump up there with a bit of boost,” said Ciylia. “If there was another foothold that would be better, but with enough lift and using my jumping magic, I might be able to make it.”

“It’s worth a try,” agreed Gene. “I hope you can make though. That would be a fair drop if you fail.”

“I’ll be fine,” Ciylia was eager to show off her skills and test her limits. Testing her abilities would let her know where she can improve and boost her confidence and ego if she succeeded. The elf grabbed a grasshopper’s hind leg from a pouch on her belt and bent it several times until it snapped while saying an elvish incantation. Power swelled up in her legs and she felt like she could almost touch the ceiling. Ciylia backed up to test how close she could get to touching the surface above her in the centre of the room. As her feet left the ground, she felt like she could fly but after a few seconds of going up, she began falling.

“How close was I,” asked the thief as she landed.

“Not that far away,” replied Fern. “You do need the boost though or you’ll land flat on your face.”

“Here’s what we are going to do,” said Gene. “We are going to make Ciylia a human staircase. Aliya and Kira will be the bottom step to lift her to the next step. Fern and I will hold our hands above our heads and launch her as she jumps toward the door. All we can do after is hope that she reaches the door and finds a way to let us up. In positions everyone!” The group did as instructed and Meowlynn watched the action unfold.

Taking a deep breath, Ciylia mentally prepared herself and stretched her legs before walking to the other side of the room. She sprinted across the room and stepped onto the first pair of hands. The shorter women lifted their arms up with all their strength, throwing the elf into the air. While in the air, Ciylia bent her legs to prepare for the best jump of her life. Each foot landed into the hands of the men. The guys lifted as Ciylia went to jump. The muscles in her legs were screaming from the built-up magic and force but felt light as wind as she sprang off the last step of her human stairs.

Ciylia’s eyes were focused as she sailed through the air. Her hands ready to latch onto her target, the door handle. It arrived faster than she thought and she managed to grab the handle as she collided into the door.

The door opened by the elf’s body rebounding off of it. She held on with all her might while she dangled from the handle. Slowly, she transferred her hands so her right hand was on the outside of the door and her left hand was on the handle on the opposite side of the door. Swinging her legs, she moved the door towards its initial position. When it got closer she released her right hand and let her body swing to the other side of the door. With her free hand, she grabbed on the ledge. Using whatever strength she could muster in her arms, she lifted herself up. After getting a leg up on the ledge, she was able to finally enter the next room.

Ciylia laid on the floor for a few moments to catch her breath. She felt amazing and glad she had succeeded. This sense of accomplishment was a satisfying high. One she regained her composure, she stood up to look at the new room.

In the centre of the room, there was a statue. It was of a woman with four faces going around her head. Each of them were looking at a different wall. This room was a perfect cube with each wall looking vastly different from the next. The wall to the left of Ciylia had green vines rapidly moving in and out of an earthy texture. Ahead of her was a wall of fire. The flames danced along the surface of the wall but never seemed to harm the plants on the wall next to it. It also wasn’t being quenched by the wall of water beside it. That wall looked like a waterfall with tiny whirlpools forming randomly then vanishing. Entering the room completely, Ciylia turned around to look at the wall that the door was on. Giant clouds moved along it, a soft breeze could be felt when it was stood in front of.

The slender ranger walked to the statue to make sure it was firmly rooted in the ground. Upon looking at it again, she noticed an arm sticking out from each side of the four-faced woman. All four arms had their hands open with their palms up. The thief pulled on one of the hands neither the fingers or arms moved. Next, she pushed on the statue’s body and it didn’t budge. Now that she knew it wasn't going to move, she went back to the door.

"If you could get me some rope up here then I could tie it to a statue up here. Afterwards, you guys could climb up."

"How are we going to do that? It's so high up!" Kira shouted at her fellow ranger.

"Gene, could you be a dear and put your rope on the ground?" Meowlynn said with a hint of pride. The high elf was about to show off her magic and was going to make it painfully obvious that the team needed her and not the other way around. It was something that really annoyed Ciylia.

A magical hand appeared next to the wizard. It grabbed one end of the rope and slowly moved towards the door. Once it was in range, Ciylia snagged the rope from the hand and stomped away. Who did that witch think she was? This group couldn't make it up here without her jumping magic and athletic capabilities.

The elf wrapped the rope around the statue and made sure the knot was very tight. She then threw the rope out of the door. Still feeling a bit exhausted, she sat down to relax as everyone else climbed up.

Once everyone made their way up, they could now begin to solve a way past this room. There were no other doors that Ciylia could see, just the elemental walls.

Fern walked up to the wall with the plants and placed his hand on it. "It's alive. I can feel its life through my magic. Watch, it allows life to grow in it." Flowers started to bloom on the vines and earthy patches.

"That is really wonderful but I think this room's solution involves this statue," said Gene. "Fern, try to place a flower on the hand that is pointed towards your new flora wall." The druid did as instructed and as the flower touched the hand, the fingers curled, closing the hand entirely.

After seeing what happened, Meowlynn wasted no time with launching a bolt of fire into the palm of the hand closest to the wall of flame. The fire lingered on the hand until it was crushed by its closing.

"Now what? None of us knows water or air magic," said Aliya. "Is this really the best we could do?"

"No need to worry," Gene comforted the gnome. "I don't think this problem requires such a complex solution like magic." Gene took out his waterskin and enjoyed a swig of water. After, he poured some of it onto the hand close to the waterfall. It closed as the monk was expecting, proving that the group didn't need magic to proceed.

Inspired by this simple answer, Fern walked up to the remaining hand. He inhaled, taking in as much air as his lungs could hold before blowing as hard as he could into the open hand. A small ball of air formed before dissipating as the last hand closed.

The four faces turned quickly and then stopped. A part of the wall of fire opened up, leaving a path forward. After a bit of cheering, everyone went through the open space of the wall. On the other side of the wall was a narrow hallway. Perhaps just wide enough to allow two people to walk shoulder to shoulder. Torches clearly illuminated the path but the end of the hallway seemed impossibly far away. There was no way the tower could be this wide. This thought absorbed Ciylia's attention and perplexed her mind. How far was this passage? Was it just an illusion like other things in this cursed place or was this just very powerful magic?

"I want everyone to pair off as we go down the path." Gene's directions brought the elf to the present moment. "This is to make sure that there is nothing trying to separate us. Fern and I will take the lead, the rest of you will follow closely behind. Keep your eyes open for anything odd. I get the feeling that this won't just be a leisurely walk.

"I just want you to be aware of those magical sigils on the wall at about knee level." Meowlynn was pointing at some faint red drawing on the wall. She wore a smug look on her face as usual. "Something will happen as something passes through that space." How terribly vague for someone looking so proud. The snobby elf did deserve credit though because those strange markers were hard to spot under the torch's light.

Fern patted Gene on the back, "Don't worry, I already have a plan on how to move forward. Trust me, we aren't going to die to some lousy traps."

Ciylia always thought that the druid was an extremely relaxed person. It was as if he didn't have a single worry in the world. Maybe he was very courageous because of it or just very good at pretending to be. Either way, his positive attitude paired well with Gene's. Both of them could put the rest of the team at ease. They went into the hallway together like best friends, laughing with big smiles on their faces despite the dire situation. The two short women paired off together leaving Ciylia with her least favourite person, Meowlynn.

Fern was blooming flowers in the palm of his hand and then throwing them ahead of the party. For the first few steps, nothing happened but about a quarter of the way down the passage, a stream of flame shot out of sigil on the wall. It turned the plant to ash and spewed for a few more seconds before stopping. Afterwards, the arcane markings faded from red to black. The half-elf tossed another rose ahead of him but nothing happened. It seemed like the magic that was stored in the drawing was on for a single-use.

The group proceed moving forward, pausing only to watch a firey trap trigger only to claim a small botanical victim. One they reached the halfway point, the sigils quit appearing. In their place were slits in the walls and scratch marks in the centre of the floor. Fern created another flower and threw it forward. Instead of a pillar of fire, many mechanical noises moved down the hall starting from where they were standing. Like pendulums, pairs of guillotines started swinging back and forth, disappearing into the slits before emerging to attack once more.

A few seconds later, Gene walked between the blades with perfect timing. He waited until the guillotines met in the middle and moved as they were retracting into the walls. He then turned around and looked at the druid. "Fern, I need you to do as I say. Trust me, I won't let you die to some lousy trap."

This sentence made the druid chuckle before he nodded his head. "Take a deep breath. When I say go, run forward and focus on me." Even though the human was only talking to Fern, Ciylia noticed that everyone else, including herself, were all inhaling at the same time. "Three, two, one, go!" The druid dashed forward and made it past the blades.

"Gene!" Kira's tiny high pitch voice struggled to be heard over the sound of steel on stone as the guillotines grazed the floor. "All of the blades seem to have the same timing. You can guide us through these death devices at the same time."

"Okay everyone, single file!" We will do this as a team!" The Jellybeans obeyed their leader's instructions and lined up, waiting to proceed. Gene would count down the openings and the party would take them. Somehow, Ciylia ended up at the back of the line. She was fine playing it safe like everyone else but at some of the blades, she would ignore the count and jump off the walls instead. Her dexterity was the best of the bunch so she wanted to flaunt it a bit.

In front of her was Aliya. The gnome was struggling more to get through with each set of guillotines passed. Luckily for the cleric, she was at the final pair. Gene stood on the other side and stared at her. He then counted down for her but she panicked and went a moment too early. The last guillotine stuck her back where her shield was. The poor gnome managed to expose her back in time so she had that tiny bit of protection. The blade had her pinned against the wall, threatening to snap her shield in half before cutting her in two.

The monk ran forward and tried to push the blade away so she could escape but it kept trying slice Aliya. Ciylia jumped onto the blade and kicked it while her back was against the wall. The force of the monk and thief acting against the guillotine was enough to allow the cleric to get free. The elf then slipped away onto the other side before she was killed by that trap.

The whole team was now safe and they all looked up the stairwell that was at the end of the passage. "Maybe we should take a break first," said Gene. Aliya was shaken from the event but Gene and Kira were comforting her. The monk then went around patting everyone on the back to encourage them. The Jellybeans took this moment to wipe off their sweat and breathe before embracing new dangers.