coming At you! ”
“We gotcha, Miss Plumtartt!”
“I say, well done, jolly good, yes, hear, hear!”
“All right Mr. Legolamb, secure this rope and we’ll make sure you get across.”
“I am secured. Don’t cross me, dwarf! Oh, very well, here I come. Aaaahhh! Unh! Not very dignified, I must say.”
“Okay, Mr. Morganstern, sir, it’s your turn.”
“Burbity, I don’t know how to secure myself into this rope. Temperance, get back over here and tie me in!”
“Um, nossir, you’re on your own this time, sir.”
“Blast it, Temperance! I demand that you save me at once!”
“Here you go, I’ll fashion a lariat, and you just slip it under your arms.”
“Temperance, if you get me killed, you’re fired!”
“Let’s get him done, y’all.”
“Aaah! Ouch, ouch, ouch! This lava is hot! Pull me up!”
“I say, you are a considerable amount of industrialist to be pulling, sir. It may behoove one to put more effort into one’s leaps, in what future ordeals may be encountered, Mr. Morganstern, eh hem?”
“Be silent, female! Now then, let us proceed. Temperance, get up front where you belong.”
“Yessir.”
“Hold please, Mr. Temperance. I say, my dear Legolamb, would you happen to have a spell that might reveal any hidden traps that lie in our path, eh hem?”
“Verily, this is a good idea, our lovely Persephone. This indicates a high level of wisdom on your part. As a matter of fact, I do have a spell that can be cast upon my wizard’s staff that will work perfectly here.”
Let the unseen receive detection.
Let the false be shown as real.
Staff of Truth illuminate deceptions,
and to our eyes reveal!
“Burbity-burb! Soft red light spreads from crevices and points on the floor, walls, and ceiling. Great Scott, there are all sorts of insidious perils lining this passage’s length.”
“Yessir, there are hidden catches in the floors. These will surely trigger the many poison darts that lie waiting in the glowing little round apertures lining the walls.”
“The halflet is right. Everyone must exercise extreme caution, lest we trip a trigger to our own demise.”
“Have a care, Mr. Temperance. I suspect those slender openings in the walls hide pendulums of great axe blades, eh hem? I envision them working in conjunction with their mates on the opposite wall to slice the unwary unfortunate in a criss- cross manner, eh hem?”
“Eep! I think you’re right, Ma’am!”
“Verily, halflet, now that we are through that perilous hallway, I caution thee to pause in this intersection. Let us peruse the three portals that branch out in so many directions.”
“Aye, elf, I confess bewilderment as to which passage to choose. Your staff conjures a vague, red light from each arched doorway. This suggests that each corridor contains hidden perils. What does your intuition say, Dwarf Icky?”
“Um, let’s see. Eany, meany, miney, moe. Catch a piggy by the toe. If he hollers, let him go. Eany, meany, miney, moe! ”
“Okay, here we go, y’all. This here corridor has a red light sure enough up ahead. I can tell it is an open room. Now as we step in, it is obvious that the red glow of danger is coming from that stout, wooden treasure chest.”
“Hello, did someone say treasure? Burbity! At last, there’s something worthwhile on this infernal adventure. I think I’ll go stuff my pockets with loot. Burb, burb, burb.”
“Nossir Mr. Morganstern, sir, it’s a trap!”
“Nonsense, boy, I’m just going to lift the lid and see. Hah! I knew it! Scads of golden loot! I’ll just grab up a handful of treasure and... hey, it’s got me! Help! Temperance, do something, I think this gold wants to eat me!”
“I say, I shall come to your aid then shall I, eh hem? Oh drat, my assault by elven sword is disappointingly ineffectual, yes?”
“Ach! Kill the beast! It’s a Wishful Thinker! The monster will devour the human!”
“Verily, I assault this horrid monster with the great blade