In a strange world as a Doppelganger

Chapter 53 - What hides underneath

It took two whole days before the toxin had run its course through me. Bewella did what she could to stave the worst of the symptoms for me but it was still ha harrowing experience of pain, nausea and fever. I think the biggest damage was dealt to my ego though. Even though I knew to be careful I most definitely also let my new-found powers get to my head. While acquiring levels seem to give me more versatility it has not done much for my body itself. It makes sense though, my powers have been heavily focused on magic and not building my physical strength or resiliency.

Well back on my feet I have a talk with Bewella, the young gnomeblin has had to grow a fair amount in the last few weeks. It's not going to get easier either.

"Bewella, I would like to try and map the area to some extent. Walk around it and see how far it goes."

We start to follow the rotting treeline to the west, walking around the web-covered canopy with a wide berth. The silken strands reflect the sunlight and it's a beautiful sight as the setting sun that evening lights the forest on fire. Not real fire but the reds and oranges are reflected and fractured across the webs spun by various creatures. Both Bewella and I find it hard to look away at times. I may not remember much of my time before waking up in these woods but I know for certain that this is the first time I've seen something so marvelous that it moves me to tears.

As night falls and the only light we have to guide us by is stars and the moon, we spot a very peculiar sight. Within the shimmering webworld that we've been following there's a spot a bit in where there are no webs.

"Let's camp down here for the night and see if we can get a better look when the sun comes back", my companion nods and we quickly get to bedding down for the night.

"What do you think it is?" Bewella looks over at me while unrolling her bedroll.

"No clue. The fact that it's been avoided is probably not a good thing but I'm still very curious."

I take first watch and let her sleep. She's been wearing herself out caring for me while I was sick.

The untouched bit of forest was not hard to get to. Even though there were webs and insects around, the path in was short enough to only contain smaller bugs. What we find though is an oddity in its own right. There's an ornate stone slab on the ground, surrounded by ruined pillars that are covered in dead foliage. We uncover the slab and find a set of hinges at one end.

"You think there's an opening mechanism somewhere?" Bewella says quietly.

"Most likely, let's have a look."

We start to carefully remove any and all dead plants and ivy around the area, still making sure to not disturb any stray webs. We uncover two strange, bestial, faces in the ground on either side of the main slab.

"There's a handle inside this one!" my traveling partner calls out.

Walking over I see that part of the creatures' snout has been crush or eroded away. There's a metallic handle a few inches inside its mouth cavity. I hesitate for a moment but do eventually put my hand down into the hole and grab the rod. It doesn't pull or push. There's some slight movement if I try to twist though.

"Go to the other one, I think we have to turn the simultaneously", I gesture for her to go to the other side.

"Okay!" Bewella scampers over on all fours to the other one and puts her hand inside. She almost has to lay down on the stone in order to reach in properly. "I've got it!"

"Okay, on three! One, Two, Three!"

We both twist the metallic handles and there's an audible *clunk* from the stone slab. It starts to slowly rise, opening like a trapdoor to reveal a set of stone steps. A waft of stale air hits us and we cough lightly as it assaults our olfactory senses.

"We're going down there aren't we?" She looks at me with excitement.

"Of course, you don't build things like this unless you have something to hide. But we remain vigilant. The fact that the spiders and insects have avoided this has me worried."

As we step down the steps and darkness envelopes us, the sound of grinding stone alerts us to the entrance closing. I light some magical fire in my palm and we both give a quick shrug. There's bound to be a way to exit if there's a way to enter.

The steps go down for a little bit before turning and heading further down in the other direction. There's the scent of decay and stiff air. We reach a small landing and find what is left of someone who got stuck down here in the past. Old clothes that fray at the touch are all that's left on the old bones. There are some roots coming down from the dirt ceiling and as we get further down it gets more damp and cold.

Suddenly a door stands before us. A large stone door with no visible handle or pulley.

"Let's take a look around?" I gesture at the walls.

We spend the next maybe 20 or 30 minutes just feeling the walls for grooves or false stones. Nothing seems to show itself to us as an obvious solution until I walk back to the stairs we come from and find a small carving on the wall. It was at an angle that's harder to see when coming down but as I approach, the shadows cast by my fire makes them easy to spot. At first I try hard to read what it says but it's not a language I know. Bewella comes over and takes a look as well. "I think it's Draconic", she says, "These runes look similar to some magical stuff I've seen."

"Draconic? Can you read it?" I move over and hold the light to make it easier for her to see the scratches.

"Not really, but this one here means fire." She points at one of the runes near the end of the sequence.

"You think it's worth a shot?" I nod toward the stone door.

"Couldn't hurt to try?" she shrugs.

I walk over to the door again and push the palm with fire glowing in it at the door. The fire is sucked into the door itself on contact and little lights burn away like a fuse trail making a crosshairs of the door. As the lights reach the edges of the stone door the now quartered slab splits and they almost roll counter-clockwise to reveal a corridor within.