Belboz enters the Chambers of Philosophy

Menifee led the way. In the ruddy red light of the dying taper, he noticed a glint of a dull shiny thing on the granite wall. He grunted, and pointed it out to Belboz and Fred. As they approached, they could see that it was an oaken door, with the dull surface of a brass plaque that had been exposed to ages of humidity from the cave. On the plaque in a florid script was the inscription The Chambers of Philosophy. The door was not barred; it opened easily when Menifee pushed it.

There was a inlay on the floor by the door of a white marble with green veins, about half a meter by half a meter. On the wall to the left were two metal screws mounted in the wall, like smaller versions of winepress screws that Fred had seen in the vinyards at home. There was a brass plaque with a U-shaped curve over the screw on the left, and another brass plaque with a line slanting diagonally from the lower left to the upper right over the screw on the right.

Beyond the marble inlay was some sort of slate-like material - it was black and rich. The walls were of the same substance. The ceiling had some sort of symbolic mosaic of a boy gliding across a frozen lake in a snowstorm. There were a couple of potted plants inset in the wall at the end of the hall, illuminated by a mysterious light, with the sound of a trickling coming from somewhere. The end of the room seemed to be a little higher than the rest, with a point in between the plants being the highest of all. It was difficult to tell, but there appeared to be a passageway between the plants.

Belboz walked past the troll onto the white platform. "This is just a reception area. I think that new architects have delusions of adequacy. Just follow me ...

Belboz never finished his sentence as his left foot slipped on the black slate and sent him sprawling across the floor. He was sliding on his belly slowly across the ice, neither picking up speed nor slowing down. Belboz struggled, but could not get any traction, even to push himself up. The incantations that he intoned were useless against the well-polished floor. Soon he was animatedly uttering other incantations whose meaning was well-known to Fred, but did not seem relevant to the situation at hand.

"Just a reception area, eh?", said Menifee, smiling the sardonic smile that only a troll can form. This might be more fun than I thought.

1. Fred and Menifee try to rescue Belboz.
2. Fred fiddles with the screws on the wall.

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