Free World of Eternia: The Complete Collection by Antony W. F. Chow Page B

physical traps
like the tripwire you found. Trap detection is an innate skill for a
thief, with success of detection depending on his class level. I
can't make my spell automatically check for traps continuously,
unfortunately,” he shakes his head again.
    Wesley listens
carefully to the young man's respond. He already knows it is unlikely
that a spell would work, but asked anyway to confirm his hunch. “In
that case, I hope that our luck holds until we exit this tunnel. In
the meantime, please get me more chalk. I expect I will need lots
more sooner or later,” he says.
    “That I can do,”
the mage grins, and sticks his hand inside his Bag of Holding for
more pieces of chalk. He quickly hands over two more pieces to the
cavalier.
    Wesley holds the chalk
in his left hand. He cautiously approaches the big white line on the
floor. He raises his left leg one foot up in the high, and takes a
big step forward, while his right leg remains on the ground. Once his
left foot is firmly planted on the ground beyond the tripwire, he
carefully raises his hind leg high in the air. The armored knight
turns his hips until his right leg is also in front of the tripwire.
Finally he lowers his right leg until his feet are together on the
ground. Looking closely at the ground in front of him, he sees no
further tripwires nearby. He takes two steps forward, and turns
around. “I can't move forward any further without light,” he
reminds the battle mage.
    “Coming!” Lucious
grins. Pulling his golden robe up to his knees, the mage imitates the
knight's awkward steps over the discovered tripwire. Once beyond the
line, he takes a few small steps until he is standing shoulder to
shoulder with his leader.
    “Don't take another
step forward!” Wesley scolds the young man. “I haven't checked
the area in front of us for more booby traps.”
    “Yes, I know,” the
mage replies nonchalantly. “I made sure to stand right next to you,
so that you could cover more ground. I'll stick close to you, that
is, until you find more traps. Then you're on your own,” he
grins. He looks back, and sees that the priestess has hiked up her
robe in a similar fashion as him. “Nice legs!” he whistles as he
stares at them in appreciation.
    Still looking intently
at the white chalk on the ground, Diana pulls her hind leg over the
tripwire. Once safely beyond the line, she lowers her robe until they
hover above her ankles again. She pulls her steel mace off the hook
on her belt, and holds it menacingly as she stares at the lewd mage.
“Care to repeat your comment sir?” she dares him.
    Lucious holds his palms
out in front of his chest, and tries hard to keep his facial
expression blank lest she makes good on her threat to whack him with
her mace.
    “Save this banter for
later,” Conrad says as he puts a hand on the priestess' left
shoulder.
    “Right,” Wesley
joins in. “I need light, Lucious,” he requests.
    “Roger that,” the
mage replies, and holds up his glowing staff above the knight's head.
    The party moves forward
in silence for another fifty feet, until Lucious speaks up suddenly
and breaks the silence. “Um . . . guys, my staff just snagged on
something,” he says.
    Conrad raises his
torchlight, and the light reveals that the staff's orb is pressing
against another thin, almost invisible tripwire.
    Wesley stares intently
at the wire, and swears silently to himself. I
should have caught that , he thinks dejectedly, refusing to
blame the spell caster for getting caught in the tripwire. He speaks
up, “It's possible that the trap has not been triggered yet.
Lucious, on my signal I want you to pull back your staff. The rest of
you should face outward and warn us of any trap,” he orders.
    Conrad faces forward,
while Diana faces backward.
    Wesley pauses for a
moment. He nods to Lucious. “Now!” he commands.
    The mage slowly pulls
back the staff and off the tripwire.
    Despite Lucious' best
attempt, the tripwire quivers slightly, causing a