43 Chp 43: Turn on the light
Aaaahhh
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Thud
Adam and Morag fell into the room below, landing heavily.
The dark gloom filled the room, a faint misty vapour obscuring the gnarled floor they were laying on.
"Adam" said Morag worriedly.
"You okay" replied Adam.
"Uh-uh I think the floors moving".
Adam noticed something worming its way around his ancle.
'Fuck no, not again' thought Adam as what he now realised was a root wrapped itself fully around his leg setting off PTSD images flashing in his mind like a film of his personal meeting between his leg and a plant in the warp.
Adam struggled the roots only growing stronger and stronger.
Dipping lightly into the warp he enhanced his muscles, managing to rip his leg from the roots wrapping around his leg only for ten more to wrap around his chest.
'Shit, thrones balls'
"Morag you okay", shouted Adam.
"No, what do you think, next time tell me not to join you".
"I did, do you know how to get out they seem to grow heads every time I remove one".
More roots wrapped around Adam tying him up like a mummy, slowly pulling him deeper into the pile of roots.
Adam struggled viciously splintering the roots around his arms.
"Ow Adam stop, your getting splinters in my hair".
Adam started shaking then began screaming in rage as the roots covered his face.
"aaaaarrrggghh".
'Calcifer burn these fucking twigs'.
'I thought you'd never ask' replied Calcifer manically.
A warm glow filtered through the gaps in the roots as they suddenly tried to unravel and run.
A pillar of flame burst out of Adam's mouth as he cremated the roots around him only for him to continue falling through the floor as the roots holding him up failed to exist as - not ash.
Thud
Adam hit the floor beneath twice as hard as he had hit the roots above.
'Ow...'.
Morag was placed nearby, the roots laying her down much more softly than the free fall Adam had experienced from ceiling height.
Standing up Adam dusted himself off, before walking over to Morag who was lying comfortably on the ground. Offering her his hand, "See it wasn't that bad".
She turned her head towards him rolling her eyes before, taking his hand and pulling herself to her feet.
"What a room", she said in wonder admiring the arched vaulted ceiling and Doric pillars.
"This room reminds me of Greece, my family visited there when I was a child and we visited the Under-Pantheon. I'm sure the muggles would just love to know that there's an entire quidditch stadium under the pantheon" she said stepping into the next chamber, "speaking of quidditch ... that's a broom".
"I'm not a fan of any vehicles that fly," said Adam.
"Is that why, you refuse to get on a boom".
"Sshh we don't talk about that ... I just don't like flying or falling or flying and then falling or falling then flying though that is preferable nor dreaming about flying generally, now why are the keys flying".
Morag pointed at the door ahead of them.
Adam groaned, "I'm not doing it, which idiot constructed this series of infantile challenges".
"Then what?" asked Morag confused.
Adam drew his wand, wingardium leviosa.
Nothing happened, "Flitwick, that beautiful little bugger I'd bet you a hundred berty botts, that he's charmed them so they can't be summoned".
'Huzzah, nice try' he thought pushing the warp into the spell a big ugly key whipping straight towards him through the air and into his hand.
"How did you do that," said Morag shocked turning round.
"We do Magic Morag" he said smiling throwing the door open to reveal hulking figures looming out of the shadows.
"Aaaah, do you think we have to fight them".
"Hopefully not, we -aven't learnt any spells with enough firepower yet" replied Morag.
"Shame".
Without warning, braziers lit up across the room revealing a great chess board.
Adam took a step back, "What's that".
"Wizarding chest by the looks of it".
"Chess ... never heard of it, what is this chess?"
"You've never heard of it ... What you know Adam sometimes I believe you were raised on another planet".
'Ope' giggled Calcifer.
"...The countryside".
"Well let me think ... it's a board game which originated in the pursuit of developing one's understanding of command and battle strategy originating in ancient India, but fundamentally it's a strategy game".
"And the wizarding part" asked Adam mercurially stepping towards the first row of pawns in front of them.
Shing
All the pawns drew their swords as one.
"Thrones hell that's intimidating, I'm assuming we have to play the stupid game, you ever played".
"Once, father beat me handily".
"Not the best" said Adam crouching down, looking at the chess pieces only to smile.
"They're flat".
"What".
"Aha-ha-ha, there are steps around the chessboard, and they're flat" he stated laughing.
"I'm so confused".
"Let's just walk around the board, their bases are flat if they try and follow us they'll just fall over", Adam stood up grinning tiptoeing over to the side of the board before jumping down mockingly.
As he moved horizontally in line with the battle line of chess pieces, all the chess pieces drew their weapons and turned their heads towards him but then did nothing as their pre-programmed animation failed to predict Adams's propensity to disrespect well-laid plans.
"Come it's fine".
"... it just makes you feel bad, someone must have put so much effort into this, just the carving alone".
Morag pranced down the steps after Adam sighing, who was already halfway through the remnants of a previous test run, whose rubble the creator hadn't thought necessary to vanish.
[Not me ... Not Hermione, you]
----
Both of them strolled down one set of stairs then another.
"What do you think is being kept down here" asked Morag.
"Now that is ... the question, maybe Merlin's staff or a magic sword, or a relic of St Celestine perhaps".
"St Celestine never heard of that Saint".
'Shit'.
"Eh, You wouldn't have heard of her ... she's a niche Saint not very well known" said Adam as a large ornate mirror came into view, "... a mirror that's a bit underwhelming and just a normal one at that".
Adam stepped in front of it inspecting the mirror closely but saw only himself in it. Though he did feel an almost imperceptible force push against his iron-tight mental shields.
"Morag it says here ... Erised straeh ruoy tub ecaf ruoy ton wohsi, I wonder what that means," said Adam only to see a single tear fall from Morag's smiling face.
"Morag".
