The Swirling Whirlpool of Swirliness

"But it was a major effort to do that and it drained my mana. I shan't be able to do any more magic of any significance until I'm recharged, and that will take several hours."

Just then, they heard Astra, who was leading the party along a passage that they hoped might ultimately lead to the outside, say: "Hold up."

Everyone finished up right behind her, anxious to see what the problem was. Just ahead of her there was a swirling whirlpool that covered the whole width of the tunnel.

"If we want to carry on we have no choice but to pass through the whirlpool," Astra said. "The alternative is to back up and look for another route out. We can't tell how deep the water is. If it's fairly shallow, then the whirlpool shouldn't be dangerous - unless it's enchanted, of course."

"If there's a whirlpool, doesn't that imply that there ought to be a hole in the bottom at the middle of the pool that the water is escaping from?" Sophia said. "But there doesn't seem to be any water entering the pool, so why doesn't it empty?"

"So either there's no hole but the water somehow keeps swirling anyway, or the pool is invisibly replenished," Diana said. "Either way, that looks like it must be magic."

"So is the magic harmful?" Jasper wondered.

"Only one way to find out," Josh said. Astra was standing right at the edge of the pool, and he barged her from behind. Taken by surprise, she fell in.

The pool was much deeper than it looked, and Astra disappeared from view.

1. A moment later, she came back to the surface, coughing from the water that she had swallowed but otherwise none the worse.
2. A moment later, she came back to the surface, considerably altered. "Omigod!" human Sara said.
3. She never reappeared above the surface of the water. Given that she was a strong swimmer, what had happened to her?
4. She never reappeared. The whirlpool was enchanted with "undo last teleportation spell undergone", so she wound up back in the Staircase Room, where Lots was pleased to see her.
5. With typical clumsiness, Josh fell in after Astra.

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