After a tussle with an odd creature fashioned of ruby that came to life with a drop of blood, the Hekoye Lochinvar went off to make sure the beast was secured. Meanwhile Lakshmi and Skye explore further into the tower.

A staircase rested at the end of the amber corridor, and the Skreek, Skye, chose to climb it. Meanwhile his Naga companion found herself moving downwards with each step up that Skye took.

Lakshmi looks up in alarm. "Skye, wait! Something odd is happening… Come back to the landing, please?" She turns and slithers back that way herself.

The Skreek freezes at Lakshmi's call, and after a moment's pause he turns slowly around. "Boss'Laks'mi, I was t'inking we were supposed to be 'eading up?"

As the opening to the landing is up, Lakshmi begins to move that way. Oddly though, the entrance doesn't seem to be getting any closer. Meanwhile Skye, now not walking at all, starts moving downwards towards Lakshmi.

Lakshmi nods, heading towards the landing… then stops herself, a puzzled look on her face. "Um… Okay, this is weird. Is it just me, or do I not seem to be getting any closer to the landing?"

As the Naga stops, so does Skye.

Lakshmi blinks, startled!

Skye tilts his head, quiet. "Let us both try returning to t'e landing, yes?" And with that, Skye slowly and carefully walks back down.

Lakshmi frowns, then keeps her body where it is… but reaches her tail tip out to try curling it around the banister of the landing.

And as Skye starts walking down, the entrance to the landing doesn't seem to be getting any closer to him… but Lakshmi (who isn't slithering at all) is now moving within reach of the landing entrance again.

Lakshmi chuffs a sigh, "All right… very weird. Let's think this through. When we try to get where we want to go… the other one moves? Whoops… Stop a moment, please, Skye?"

Coming to a stop, Skye rubs his muzzle, his ears askance. "I feel like a weight on a string on a block an' tackle."

Lakshmi grins at Skye, then stares intently at the stairs, her tongue flickering thoughtfully. "So… when you walk towards the landing, I actually move there? And the reverse is true for me… hm. Hold still, please, and let me see if I can shift enough to get you to the landing?" She tries to slither a few steps closer to the landing, watching Skye's progress carefully.

The Naga's torso is on the same level as the landing, while Skye is about fifteen feet ahead. As she moves forward, the Skreek starts to move downwards towards her.

Skye straightens out his whiskers, thinking quietly. "Mirror, mirror mirror … I wonder if t'ree of us would confuse it?"

Lakshmi looks pleased. She slithers a few more steps, reaching out a hand for Skye. "Let's at least get together before we try this again."

The Skreek is now within easy grasping distance for Lakshmi.

Snaring Lakshmi's hand, Skye nods. "So we try this toget'er? As in one, two, t'ree?"

Lakshmi nods, smiling ruefully. "So it would seem. Hm… I'm catching the scents of fresh growing things, like a garden, downwards… Would you like to try there first, or Would you still prefer to try up first?"

Skye can't help but smile. "Up. Of course. That's w'ere Skreeks belong. T'is one, at least. Now, slowly an' carefully, least we pull ourselves apart accidentally, a one … an' two, an' t'ree … " And in time, Skye takes a step up the stairs.

Lakshmi nods again, slithering up the stairs at the same pace as Skye's much smaller steps… and cautiously not releasing his hand just yet.

The two step upwards, but the door remains beside them. They're making the motions of going upwards but don't seem to be getting anywhere.

Lakshmi looks up, her expression amused and her tone carefully deadpan as she says, "Hm… do you suppose this could this be a hint?" She then looks down, still grinning. "Mages… Maybe Lochinvar was right, eh?"

Skye lets Lakshmi's hand drop, as he shoulders off his pack. "Maybe. Or'n maybe we just 'aven't cased t'e place out well enouf. Let's see w'a I got in 'ere … I need two small objects we don't mind losing … "

Lakshmi watches curiously, but doesn't interrupt… just glances around thoughtfully a few times, her tongue flickering, then goes back to waiting for Skye.

Rummaging about, Skye retrieves a pair of small wooden cylinders which used to contain rice. He balances them in his paws, carefully and then tosses them both into the shaft at an upward arc, watching to see which way they fall.

The empty containers clatter across the stairs above and roll down a couple of steps before rattling to a stop. The staircase itself doesn't seem to move in reaction.

Lakshmi blinks slowly, then hisses, "Er… I wish I knew what this signified… "

"It seems to be a bit particular about w'o it fools wit', yes?" Skye's ears level, as he considers a next step. "It didn't take me downstairs w'en I t'rew t'em upstairs. So it's not just anyt'ing moving up t'e stairs. It's particularly after us. Now 'ow to convince it to let us bot' up t'e stairs… "

Lakshmi frowns thoughtfully. "Well… are we sure that if we both head downwards… that we'll actually go there?"

Skye frowns a bit. "I t'ink we would end up going now'ere … but we probably s'ould try. Ot'erwise, I got a second t'ought if t'at doesn't get us anyw'ere."

Lakshmi nods. "All right. Ready?" She offers her hand again, then carefully turns so she doesn't smoosh the smaller Skreek in the stairwell. "One… two… three," and she slithers slowly a few steps downwards.

Taking Lakshmi's hand again, Skye tries to accompany her down the stairs. Just to get somewhere.

Again the Naga and the snake walk, but don't seem to be getting anywhere. The steps move beneath their feet (and coils!) but the walls and open doorway beside them don't move.

Skye shakes his head and stops, his little ears perking. "Lakshmi, let's try going up for a bit, yes? Except t'is time, even t'ough it doesn't seem to be getting us anyw'eres, let's just give it a c'ance?"

Lakshmi frowns, looking quite puzzled, and stops. "All right. Aside from that, I can only think of two alternatives here, neither of which I like. Either we have to progress separately – which I don't think I want to do – or we have to somehow transcend the stairs, like when you tossed the rice canisters." She sighs, looking up and down. "Up. All right." She carefully turns herself around again, muttering a bit about dinky mammals with no interior decorating sense… then, just as before, she matches her pace to Skye's and slithers upwards – or at least tries.

The stairs move but again the walls and scenery do not. One odd thing does happen, though – the two rice containers resting on the stairs pop into view and move towards the Naga and Skreek.

Lakshmi frowns again, slowing to a stop… then hisses thoughtfully, "Skye… may I try an experiment? I'd like to try lifting you and putting you on an upper stair? To see if the stairs are just, um… rolling along under us somehow?"

Laughing, Skye looks up to Lakshmi and smiles. "Since w'en 'as a truly valuable treasure been easy to get, Laks'mi?" He continues up and up and up and up the stairs. He spies the canisters and smiles. "Let's continue, yes? At least we'll get t'e canisters back."

Lakshmi chuckles, shaking her head, and continues alongside Skye, "Very well then. You're the expert here."

A few steps more and the containers are almost underfoot. A few more steps beyond and they might vanish deeper down the spiraling staircase.

Lakshmi neatly scoops them up, and tucks them back into Skye's back pack for him.

Once the canisters are retrieved, Skye stops. Pausing, he turns, to take a good look down the passageway off the landing. An odd thought occurs to him, to just confirm, to see if after all this walking the passageway now leads somewhere else or whether they truly are on a stair to nowhere.

Outside is the amber corridor flanked a bit farther out by one ruby red statue, and beyond that an open wooden door leading outside.

Lakshmi looks the same way Skye is looking… then back at the stairs. She frowns thoughtfully again. "I wonder if I could test my idea myself… " She rests a hand on the interior of the tree, using it to balance herself as she straightens, lifting her torso up into the air as high as she can without tipping over. She cranes her neck, trying to see what's up there, her tongue flickering.

Sighing, Skye crinkles his muzzle, his whiskers sticking out in all directions. "We really are on a stair to now'ere. Actually I suspect t'e central shaft might be meant for flying, yes? Now we try your t'oug't."

From about ten feet up, Lakshmi flickers her tongue, then thoughtfully murmurs, "It smells… dusty and stale up there, Skye." She leans slightly, and very carefully, to catch the air from below on her tongue. "Hm… and it's definitely plant-smell from down-below."

Unfortunately the staircase is spiraled, so what resides above is out of sight, although Lakshmi can spy a soft glow creeping across the steps at the very edge of her vision.

Lakshmi carefully settles back down to her usual height. "That's interesting… the stairs up above almost look like they're starting to glow or something."

Considering, Skye looks back to Lakshmi. "So, if yi were a new beastie, w'ere would yi be … up above or down below?"

Lakshmi hisses softly, "A beast?" She smiles, "Neither. Under cover. So… may I try lifting you?""

Skye dryly chitters, "I think so. Yi going to try inching up t'e stairs, like t'em little worms?

Lakshmi hisses softly, "Hmm… no, I think I'll try to set you down below me on the stairs, to see if we can cover ground that way at all. That way, should worst come to worst, I can still reach you, and we know we can get back to this landing." She reaches to pick Skye up, curling her tail around the banisters as a brace. "Is that acceptable?"

Footsteps are heard from within the tunnel, and after a few moments the other member of the group appears to rejoin Skye and Lakshmi. "That creature shouldn't be going anywhere for a while now," says the winged Hekoye. "And if it does escape the rope, it'll have to deal with the dangerous vegetation out there."

Lochinvar looks up at the staircase. "So, what did I miss?" he asks.

Lakshmi looks up, "Thank you, Lochinvar. We're having a bit of trouble with the stairs… They seem to conspire to keep people moving together from getting anywhere. I'm going to see if I can move… " She pauses, then looks at Lochinvar again. "I wonder… can you fly up the central core?"

The winged coyote looks up the shaft, gauging it. "Tricky, but possible," he replies. "How do these conspire against us then?"

Skye looks to Lochinvar and smiles, "No matter w'ere yi go on t'ese stairs, yi stay were yi are … or if two of yi try, one will only go somew'ere if t'e other one does … and yes," Skye repeats, "I would t'ink t'e shaft was made for flying."

Lakshmi hisses softly, "When we move up the stairs, we don't go anywhere, Lochinvar… odd though that sounds."

Lakshmi hisses softly, "Try taking the first few steps up yourself, and see."

The Hekoye steps onto the stairs to try for himself.

As Lochinvar takes a step forward, the doorway beside him doesn't seem to go anywhere – but Lakshmi and Skye start to slowly move backwards at the speed of his pace, as though he were walking away from them.

Skye blinks and throws up his paws. "Going down… "

Lakshmi laughs! "Well! This Earth Mage seems to like going places without effort!" She glances downwards, smiling. "I think, Skye, were I an animal… I'd go towards where it smells green and growing. Downwards."

Lakshmi leans on the banister, looking down the core curiously.

Looking up, Skye tilts his head. "Yi'onor Lochinvar … walk a bit father up, maybe one w'ole turn. T'en glide back down to us. Let's see w'at 'appens, yes?"

The coyote continues walking up the steps a little further, about ten more steps before stopping again.

As Lochinvar moves onwards, the Naga and Skreek vanish around a bend below him. Whatever's down there, he can't see it.

Lochinvar can hear a pleased, "Oooh… how pretty!" from Lakshmi, out of sight below him.

Skye calls out and up and up, "Ten more paces, then be a comin' down."

The coyote calls back. "I'll come back now, I think," then back-paces down the stairs for a few steps.

Lochinvar turns after a few steps, walking down the stairs to try and find a point where he can see his companions again.

Lakshmi and Skye suddenly begin to rise again as Lochinvar walks down the steps. The door is just behind him but he doesn't seem to be gaining any further ground as the steps move below his feet.

Lakshmi gives Skye an amused glance, then smiles at Lochinvar as they rise up the stairs and come back in sight of the winged coyote. "Actually, I believe Skye was correct in his assessment. Could we trouble you to trot upstairs just a bit farther, so that we'll land on the garden floor below? Since you can fly down and we cannot?"

"I could," Lochinvar answers to the Naga. "Are you that desperate to go down to the ground level, when it is the upstairs levels we seek?"

Lakshmi points out dryly, "Well… were I an animal, which we are theoretically here to seek, I would go where it smelled like life. Upstairs smells dusty and stale. Downstairs smells – and looks – like a garden."

Tilting his head back, Skye answers, "Well it would at least get us off t'e stairs. W'at did yi find at t'e top of t'e stairs?"

Lakshmi hisses softly, "Good point, Skye. Was there any indication of why the stairs appeared to be starting to glow, Lochinvar?"

Lochinvar says, "I didn't find the top of the stairs, and I didn't notice any glow. However, I believe I have an idea."

Lochinvar doesn't elaborate on his idea, but instead unfurls his wings and launches himself into the core shaft, and flies up about six feet.

Lakshmi sighs softly, then curls up resignedly, pulls out her journal, and starts making notes to herself.

Skye leans out to try and spot the Hekoye. "Could yi at least get us down to somewhere, yi'onor?"

Lochinvar pauses, doing his best to hover in the cramped space. "I think I've found the source of the glow!" he calls down the stairs. "Also, some kind of lever in the room up here. Maybe that will turn these weird stairs off?"

Lakshmi glances up at Skye from her journal. "You're the expert here, Skye. Should he experiment with the lever while we're on the stairs, or no?"

Skye calls up, quick, "Can yi walk us off t'e stairs … first? Before pulling t'e lever?"

"All right," the Hekoye calls back. "You want me walking up, or down?"

Lakshmi hisses softly, "Up, please, I believe."

Lakshmi adds to Skye, "That is right, yes?"

Preparing to walk down, Skye looks upwards into the shaft. "Yi s'ould walk up, per'aps fifteen, sixteen paces. T'at s'ould do it."

The winged coyote flies down over the steps about that amount, and lands.

"Here I go!" Lochinvar calls down, and starts walking up.

The stairs begin moving downwards again, and Lakshmi and Skye soon find themselves on an earthen floor in the center of the bottom of the tree.

Lakshmi brightens, putting her journal away. "Finally! Let's check this garden out."

At the interior base of the tree, there's quite a bit of vegetation to work one's way through, but there is a passageway that leads off to the south, through the wood, at the end of which can be seen the reverse side of the amber door that was visible from the outside. Light filters in, limning shadows of creatures caught in the amber … not all of them insects. There's a strange effect, as the creatures caught in the amber seem to be flattened somehow … or else the amber isn't as shallow as it appears. Whatever the case, there is a simple handle set in the amber, and hinges of wood that hold it in place.

Lakshmi shudders slightly, looking at the door then hastily away. "But… not that way."

Through the amber doorway outside, the shadowy silhouette of a trussed-up critter glares balefully at the Skreek and Naga.

From up above, the voice of the coyote is heard again. "Just shout up when you want me to try this lever!"

Also to be found amongst the vegetation is the occasional statue hidden in the greenery. Shiny glints betray the locations of the partially-buried beasts – fashioned of nothing less than pure gold!

Skye smiles quietly, then remarks, "So, now we are at t'e bottom of t'e – t'e t'e t'e t'e t'at's gold!"

The statues and plants are centered around a pool of clear water, disturbed by a burbling spring in the center. Some of the plants are fruit-bearing, some are vegetables, and others are herbs. Here and there amidst the overgrown weeds and flowers can be found signs that have emblems of the shapes of leaves or fruits or nuts. Underneath these emblems, written in multiple languages (including Rephidim Standard, Zerda, Khattan, and the archaic language of Olympian) are names of the varied plants. Not all of them appear to be growing where they ought to be, and there are plenty of weeds choking out the less durable flowers and fruits.

Lakshmi sighs a bit wistfully, looking around, "I suppose so… but I don't hear any animals yet, darnit." She looks up, calling, "We're down now, Lochinvar, thank you!"

Looking back up but reluctantly, Skye tears his gaze from the huge metal sculpture. "Yi can try t'e lever. Now. Yes?"

A pause, then Lochinvar's voice is heard again. "Anything happen down there?"

Lakshmi looks upwards, then at the stairs. "Um… nothing I noticed. Skye? Did you notice anything?"

Skye calls up. "Not at t'e moment. Let me check." And with a padpadpad, Skye once again tries the stairs.

The Skreek moves upwards! The stairs seem much better behaved now.

Skye calls up, "Thanks, yi'onor. Yi are now Lochinvar-Stair-Tamer!"

Lakshmi chuckles as she looks around, her hands on her hips. "This garden… is a mess. Just look at all these weeds!"

It turns out that Skye needn't have been so loud in his call, as Lochinvar appears down the stairs a moment after his shout, looking like he flew down most of the way. "Thanks for the promotion," he says, grinning slightly.

Lakshmi hisses softly, "And this Gooshurm is… malformed." She reaches a hand out to touch the statue, then suddenly thinks better of that, and merely straightens and just looks around. "They're all a little… odd… ?"

Stopping about three risers up, Skye turns around. "Lakshmi, t'ese doors, t'ey just lead back out to t'e Himaat, correct? And don't … Good. Don't touch. And yes, t'is place is very odd, like t'e beasties were cousins of ours and not ours. Oh! Yi'honor, besides t'e lever, any other places to go? Yi were telling us of all sorts of doors in t'e ot'er tower?

Lakshmi hisses softly, "Look… over there. A beasthound with double the usual number of legs, and with a barbed tail… That Creen looks fuzzy, almost, and that one looks like a fuff'nar crossed with… a lizard, perhaps? I wonder how many there are, and why they're golden?" She frowns thoughtfully. "Maybe… maybe this is how they ended up, sort of dying or somesuch? Poor things… "

"There is a room up there, where I found the lever," says the winged Hekoye. "A fair number of small animal statues in there also."

Lakshmi slithers cautiously a few feet through the underbrush to look at one particularly tiny statue. "Some of them are rather pretty, actually… " She's a bit oblivious to the others, examining the golden animals with intense (and nontactile!) curiosity.

Skye pads down, quiet. "T'e amber is a trap … T'ese… statues are usually a reminder of such. Like a place to go see? T'e question I would ask … are t'ese beasties older or younger cousins of ours, an' if t'ey are, w'ere did t'ey come from … an' 'ow do we go t'ere ourselves?"

Lakshmi looks up absently from her perusal of what looks like a fuzzy, delicate-featured vermite with a long, fluffy tail. "Umm… pardon? Oh… so what was the glow on the stairs, did you find out?"

"Not specifically," answers the coyote. "But it seemed to come from that room."

Skye slowly circles the garden, seeing if there's anything else in the periphery of the room … like more doors.

Lakshmi hisses softly, "Hm… interesting… " It's not clear if she's talking about the room or the statue, as she's bent back over the tiny thing. "Amber… Are you suggesting these statues are the remains of animals that tried to get in through the door, Skye?"

Skye hmms quietly and stops, examining a small grouping of leaves. Very carefully and very slowly, aware of potential thorns or sticky plant sap, Skye pushes through the foliage, to see just where the snippet of light comes from.

Lochinvar thumbs back up the stairs, up where the statue room is. "Do you think there's anything here that will assist us, or should we check out the room upstairs?"

It looks like beyond the leaves and vines is a portal where daylight tries shine through. None of the plants try to attack the Skreek.

Lakshmi studies a branch cautiously, then gently puts a finger on it, pressing lightly downwards… until a single leaf lightly brushes the head of the tiny statue – then she immediately releases, looking to see if the leaf sticks as if to amber.

Happy for small blessings, which are actually nice-sized ones when you are a little Skreek, Skye leans forward to look out the window, to see what might be seen.

Nope. The leaf pulls away freely, and the statue remains where it is on the ground.

Lakshmi frowns in puzzlement at the statue. "I really don't think this is amber residue at all, Skye… ?"

As Skye peeks out the window a shaft of light enters the room from outside and shines on the golden statue of the fuzzy Creen.

The Hekoye shrugs, and leans against the wall to wait. "And I thought that Tock was bad," he mutters to himself.

Lakshmi oohs softly at the glitter of sunlight on the tiny golden statue. "How pretty!"

The sunlight glitters across the surface of the statue like liquid honey… and then the little Creen-thing starts to twitch ever so slightly.

Insect-like wings flutter and the fuzzy length of the small creature stretches out. Its tiny little mouth opens up in a wide yawn and a pair of beady little eyes blink in the bright light. "Cree?"

Lakshmi rears back suddenly. "Oh!"

Hearing the soft call, Skye just freezes. "Laks'mi … w'at … 'appened?"

Lakshmi hastily adds, "I didn't do anything!"

Lochinvar's brow furrows. "Indeed. What happened there?"

The fuzzy Creen flicks its tongue out at Lakshmi and then starts to slither across the floor towards one of the overgrown berry bushes. It flutters up to a branch and begins devouring the berries messily, staining its golden fur several shades of red and purple in the process.

Lakshmi leans forward again, fascinated, "Well hello there, little one… hm, do I have any Creen treats on me?" She slithers over to the berry bush, then offers a small treat. "Here, would you like this instead?"

Skye steps back from the bushes, letting them close. He blinks, watching the golden critter. "Wasn't t'at still as a statue a moment ago?"

The little fuzzy Creen flicks its tongue out at the treat, tickling Lakshmi's fingertips before greedily chomping the offering down. Its butterfly wings flutter happily as it rests on the branch of the bush.

Lakshmi hisses softly, "Mmhm! This beam of sunlight suddenly appeared though, and it… sort of woke up!" She sounds rather pleased as she adds to the tiny Creen-like creature, "My, you are hungry! Here, I've got a few more, would you like them? Much higher protein than berries, too… " She pulls out a few, laying them on her palm so the creature can pick them up easily. "There you go. Poor thing, you must be starving!"

Lakshmi gently slides her free hand under the creature to try and slowly lift it, just as she would do with a real Creen.

Finding the Naga to be a more interesting source of food than the bush, the Creen (or perhaps 'freen'?) flitters to the Naga's arm and coils its tail around her wrist while it gobbles up the treats.

Lakshmi laughs softly and delightedly, happily feeding the… freen. "You are a cute one!"

Skye walks back to the stairs and down on the tread. "T'is doesn't make sense yet, Laks'mi. Wye would folks build t'is, make it difficult to get into, an' leave some plants an' one of a lot of critters?

Lakshmi hisses softly, "Mmm? Well… I don't know, Skye, but I know if the Earth Mage was a responsible sort, it might have realized the animals couldn't survive in here without it, even if the plants could… and so figured out some sort of means to, um… preserve them, until someone else that could care for them came along?"

Lakshmi smiles, gently rubbing the freen's tummy with her fingers as it gobbles Creen treats.

Skye looks back, nodding. "T'en wye 'ide t'em behind a sandstorm?"

The freen purrs happily.

On the stairs, the coyote folds his arms, and snorts at the mention of mages.

Lakshmi hisses softly. "Perhaps the sandstorm wasn't there then, Skye."

Lakshmi hisses softly, "Or perhaps the Earth Mage was a very responsible type… and wanted to be sure either that no one would disturb its home while it was gone," she beams at the tiny creature, then adds, "or that only a resourceful person would find its pets?"

Skye looks up, quiet. "T'e stairs ended, up on top?

Lochinvar nods to Skye. "In the room above, with the six statues, yes."

The freen finishes eating and begins to meticulously lick its fur, cleaning off the stains from the berry juice.

Lakshmi smiles, then looks up, still gently rubbing the little creature's tummy. "Do you two want to explore up first?"

Skye leans back, crossing his arms, nodding to the young Naga. "Now t'is, t'is is worth coming for. To see 'er with a new critterlin'." Smiling small, he settles against the tree and rests for a moment. "It still doesn't tell us w'ere 'e got t'e beasties, Laks'mi."

Lakshmi smiles a little self-consciously at Skye, then looks upwards. "Well… perhaps upstairs might have, um… something more like a library, or an information storage area? Why don't we check it out, now that the stairs aren't slippery?" She slithers slowly towards the stairs, careful not to disturb the new little creature in her hands.

Taking that as a cue, the Hekoye picks himself up from leaning against the wall, and starts up the stairs.

Skye nods and stands, his big smile returning as he looks up the stairs. "I'd really like to go up, yes … " And scrambling, his pace picking up with each higher step, Skye spirals about the tree, heading heavenwards.

The freen coils around Lakshmi's arm like a decoration and starts to snooze while the three explorers head upwards.

As the stairs rise, there are pebbles and bits of stone intermixed with the wood and plants, until, at last, the wooden staircase gives way to one of stone. There is an odd branch sticking out of a wooden section of wall, with bits of hardened amber reinforcing it and making a bulb-like "grip" that suggests some sort of lever that might be found in the Temple. Meanwhile, as the staircase rises to give way to stone, it ends in a much smaller stone chamber.

Lakshmi awwws softly at the little creature, then carefully holds that hand so the freen can sleep as she follows Skye upwards.

Skye looks back. "That was t'e lever yi pulled, Lochinvar?"

The coyote nods. "That's it, yes," he replies.

In the chamber there are six gargoyles carved into the stone, all perched on pillars. Every one of them has a gaping mouth, large enough to stick one's fist into – if not for the sharp stone fangs that might call into question whether one could get it back out again without getting scratched. At the far end of the rounded chamber is a stone door. To one side of the door is a stone urn, filled with several polished pebbles, each about palm-sized.

Skye pokes his nose into the little room.

Lakshmi leans over Skye to peer in as well.

Lochinvar waits just inside the door and to the side for the Skreek and Naga. "I don't believe there's any immediate danger in here," he notes. "After all, I pulled the lever and nothing noticeable happened in here."

Lakshmi hms, looking around… then down at the peacefully sleeping freen. "I believe… I will stay out here and just look in. I don't want to endanger this little fellow."

Looking at the gargoyles and the urn, and then the door, Skye nods. "A shekel will get yi iron t'at w'ever t'ese critters came from is on t'e ot'er side of t'e door. Or at least a hint on 'ow t'ey got 'ere." Slowly Skye pads into the room, first to examine the door itself, and then to take a good look at the urn.

Lakshmi adds dryly, "Don't bleed on the statues… "

The door looks to be just that: a stone door with a stony latch on it. The urn holds a total of six polished pebbles, each big enough to fit in the palm of one's hand.

Lakshmi hisses softly, "I wonder what would happen if you put the pebbles… oh, like in the mouths of the gargoyles? Are there small declivities in the mouths that would make that possible? Or elsewhere on the statues?"

Skye's whiskers twitch. "Six stone, six frozen critters."

The Hekoye nods in agreement. "I noticed the same thing, Skye."

Skye pads up to the gargoyles and just looks into the mouths. "A stone to keep 'em from biting us w'en we open t'e door?

Lakshmi hisses softly, "I'm afraid I've no idea, Skye. Maybe the lower jaws are hinged or something, and when the weight pushes them down, some inner mechanism opens the door?"

Skye slowly turns back. "'E could swallow t'em. I would not wish to be giving t'em back t'eir hearts, Laks'mi."

Lakshmi nods. "Nor I, Skye. I merely pointed out possible options… especially since it seems sunlight is unlikely to enter this room, and these statues are stone, not gold."

Lakshmi adds, "They don't even look like real animals."

Lochinvar walks around the room, looking at the statues. "I think Master Lakshmi may have the right idea. Six stones for six statues does seem to infer that their purpose is related," he offers.

Lakshmi nods to Lochinvar, adding thoughtfully, "The question is… what is the purpose, yes?"

Returning to the door, Skye leaves the stones alone. "Yi'honor, I'm going to try t'e door, an leave t'e critters be. If'n t'ey stir, I'm going to be a running away fast Skreek, yes? … unless yi would rather me wait?"

Lakshmi shifts so she's not blocking the door at all, then.

The winged Hekoye also walks towards the door, to inspect it with Skye.

The door has a simple latch set into it, something that looks like it just needs to be turned to be opened.

Lakshmi curiously adds, "The stones in the urn… are they the same mineral as the stone of the statues?"

Lochinvar picks up one of the stones from the urn and inspects it. "It would appear so," he answers.

Lakshmi nods, replying, "Thank you," then simply watches, a little worriedly, as the other two examine the door.

The coyote tosses the stone up and catches it in his hand a couple of times. "Other than that, just feels like a normal rock," he adds.

Lakshmi hms… then cautiously slithers in just enough to arrange herself out of the line of exit, so she can closely study one of the gargoyles. She glances up at Lochinvar holding the rock with no apparent harm… then cautiously touches a slender fingertip to one clawed stone paw.

Looking back, Skye shrugs quietly. "It's a win or lose c'ance. Either t'e stones make t'e beasties safe to open t'e door, or t'ey are used to keep t'e beasties asleep until needed. Feed t'em t'eir 'earts when t'ey 'ave to wait, yes? I read it as t'e latter. W'at do yi two t'ink?"

"It would appear we have two choices, Skye," Lochinvar says. "We try the latch on the door, or 'feed the statues'"

The gargoyle doesn't move when Lakshmi touches it. It appears to be made of stone with a gaping mouth. Inside the mouth is a cavity and a hole where something moderately small might be able to slide down. The stone has a textured feel to it, as though the statue had been carved, rather than the "molded" feel of the other statues in the tower.

Lakshmi frowns thoughtfully. "Um… well, we've already seen that this Earth Mage is a pragmatic type. The stairs weren't magical. Neither is the amber… but the ruby creature was certainly something odd… so it's my guess," she looks up, her golden eyes glowing slightly in the light, "just a guess, mind you, that the latch will open the door, and the statues will do something unpleasant… unless the stones have been used to, um… appease or disengage them?"

Lakshmi hisses softly, "After all, you wouldn't want to have to run around dropping pebbles after the door was opened, right?"

"There's an easy way to check," says Lochinvar, shrugging a little.

Skye shrugs, "Or you put t'e pebbles in to set t'e guards alive, so t'ey didn't eat yi w'en yi were just working. Maybe we try one. An if it wakes up, t'ink yi can take it, yi'onor Lochinvar?"

Lakshmi glances worriedly between Skye and Lochinvar.

Lakshmi raises a hand, "Actually… I have a suggestion."

The Hekoye tilts his head towards the Naga?

Lakshmi hisses softly, "Why don't I go outside, so I'm partway on the stair, and we'll turn the lever off. The quicker of the two of you can drop a pebble in the mouth of the gargoyle closest to me, then dart over to the other door and try the handle. If the gargoyle awakens I'll try to draw its attention."

Lakshmi hisses softly, "On the stairs, it can't reach me. It can only run the stairs till I reach the ground."

Skye chitters, "Yi got t'e wings, yi'onor. Yi want to be t'e one to try it?"

Lakshmi adds pragmatically, "The same thought would work if the other five gargoyles were the ones to awaken."

The coyote nods to the Skreek. "I'll try it," he says, and points to the statue nearest the door. "I'll try this one first, so if you two stay back, you should mostly be out of the way."

Lakshmi hisses softly, "Hm… but give me the other five stones, would you please?" Lakshmi slithers out onto the stairs, then turns. "That way if the other five gargoyles awaken, I can at least try to toss the quieting stones into their mouths."

Skye dryly chitters, "Tossing? Are yi any good at that? It'd be like giving a pill to an angry Dromodon."

Lakshmi smiles wryly. "Actually, I'd rather face an angry Dromodon… but that's not what we have here." She holds out a hand, "May I, Lochinvar, please? I'll let you know when I've pulled the lever."

Skye quietly hands Lakshmi two of the remaining stones. "I gotta do something to 'elp if t'is goes wrong."

Lakshmi smiles at Skye warmly. "Just… don't let that something be you getting chomped in half, Skye." She accepts the stones, then slithers out of the room, turning on the stairs so that if she stretches she can reach the lever. "Ready, all?"

Nodding over to the Naga, Lochinvar replies, "Ready."

Skye dryly chitters, "I'm not planning on being anybody's meal … and it's not even dinnertime yet.

Lakshmi hisses softly, "Cross your fingers that this is all unnecessary." She smiles, and pulls the lever. "Now please, Lochinvar."

Lochinvar holds up the small stone level with the mouth on the statue near the door, and deftly tosses it into the open mouth – then steps back out of the way.

Lakshmi coils up on the stairs, stones in her free hand and the arm with the freen on it turned slightly away from the upper room. She watches the gargoyles intently, "All right… if nothing happens, try the door, yes?"

As the stone falls down the gargoyle's gullet… nothing happens. The stone can be heard rattling down the throat of the gargoyle into someplace deeper. But besides that, it remains on its perch on the pedestal, still a statue and still unmoving.

Lakshmi hisses softly, "Well, so far so good."

His ears perking, Skye looks at the statue suspiciously. "If it does not'ing, I might suggest putting t'e rest in?"

Lakshmi hisses softly, "Do you think so? I thought you wanted to try the latched door first?"

The coyote looks over to the doorway behind which Lakshmi and Skye are. "Should I try the door then?" he asks.

Skye shakes his head. "If not'ing happened, maybe t'en t'ey are for keeping t'em asleep. S'ould we not put t'em all asleep?"

Lakshmi hisses softly, "What if it's for waking them? Except," she sounds uncertain, "the one sounded almost… hollow?"

Skye takes a close slow look at the beastie … remembering that it took a few moments for the beasties to change…

The gargoyle doesn't appear to be moving at all, or preparing to move, or undergoing any sort of transformation. It continues to squat on its pedestal perch and glare across the room with its open-mouthed grimace.

Lakshmi muses in puzzlement, "What can six stones do? Weigh something down? How would they awaken something? The sound maybe?"

"So," Lochinvar asks, "Door or the rest of them?"

Lakshmi looks at Skye uncertainly.

Skye dryly chitters, "If one stays quiet, I'd say t'e rest of t'em. Laks'mi?"

Lakshmi nods and reaches to switch the lever so she can easily use the stairs… then slithers into the room and drops her two stones into the two nearest gargoyles' mouths. "Here we go then… "

The stones slide down just as before, and just as before the gargoyles remain still. Three down…

Skye watches quietly, before slipping two of his three stones into the gullets of the gargoyles.

Lakshmi watches the gargoyles warily.

That leaves one remaining gargoyle. The five that the stones were dropped into continue to sit and do nothing.

"One left," Lochinvar notes, waiting ready also.

Lakshmi blinks. "A trap. That's what the six stones could do… disarm a trap set for when the door latch lifts." She looks at Skye, "Is that possible?"

Lakshmi hisses softly, "Which would mean we'd want to drop all six stones."

The Skreek pauses then, looking at the last stone. "T'at's w'at I was t'inking. Or mayhaps it takes all six to wake all six. T'e problem, of course, is t'at we don't know."

Lakshmi nods firmly. "Enough waiting then. Drop the stone, Skye. We're committed to this path at this point."

Reaching up, Skye drops the last stone.

Lakshmi holds her breath.

The final stone slides down… and nothing happens. The statues continue to sit on their perches just as before.

With a quiet shrug, Skye pads over to the door and slowly pulls it open.

There's a clicking noise as the door opens, but nothing more happens as the door fluidly swings open, revealing a chamber fashioned from crystal beyond. A clicking noise emanates from all six of the gargoyles but they still show no sign of moving from their perches or springing to life suddenly.

Lakshmi sighs softly, only now realizing she'd been holding her breath, "Whew… Skye, can you check the door and figure out why it clicked, maybe?"

Lochinvar relaxes a little. "Could be that whatever trap did exist, just got disarmed," he suggests.

Lakshmi smiles at Lochinvar. "I sure hope so."

Before the Skreek can discern the source of the noise, there's a rattling noise above the urn. Six palm-sized stones drop from the ceiling and fall into place inside the container.

Lakshmi starts at the sudden noise – then realizes what it is and pauses, laughing a bit in embarrassment at herself. "Goodness… I'm getting jumpy!"

"Maybe we hit the jackpot," the coyote offers, grinning slightly.

Skye blinks, and looks into the urn. "I t'ink ye were right, Lakshmi. Let'sgi in, yes?"

Lakshmi nods. "I think so, yes, Skye." She slithers quickly across the room.

Skye pads through the door, into the crystal chamber.

Lakshmi hisses softly, "Er… no, wait. Should we leave one person at least outside, so the door can be opened again? Skye, is there a way to open the door from the inside?"

Lochinvar closely follows the Naga and Skreek.

The walls, ceiling and floor of the next room appear to be fashioned of quartz crystal, or something similar to it in appearance. The floor is irregular and bumpy, but close enough to flat to walk upon (or slither). The ceiling and walls, however, are very jagged, with sharp crystal spines that one could easily stab oneself with, if one is not careful. Rising from the floor, here and there, are five crystal columns, each rising about two feet from the floor, and the tip of each having a stone trapped within the crystal: One stone is blue, Lapis lazuli; another is turquoise; another is green, malachite; and the next is red, coral; and the last is black, onyx.

"I'll just leave it open, ''ow's that?" Skye sets the door still, all the way open, giving a good view back into the small gargoyle room.

Lakshmi nods. "Excellent idea." She slithers into the room… where she pauses, looking around in fascination. "My… this mage certainly had… a sense of style."

The fuzzy freen coils a bit further up Lakshmi's arm, making little chirring snoring noises as it sleeps.

Lochinvar adds, "Not to mention a fascination with stones."

Lakshmi smiles and gently rubs the sleeping freen's tummy. "Shhh, little one… it's all right." She looks around again, then grins at Lochinvar. "So it would seem. Oooh… isn't that Lapis a lovely one?"

Slowly walking around the room, Skye examine the columns. Half as tall as he is, sharp, and what else?

"Let's not touch any for the moment," suggests the coyote, keeping his wings close against him so to avoid them being caught on the crystal spines, "until we get some idea of what we're dealing with."

Lakshmi nods, staying curled neatly out of the way by the door. "Definitely."

The columns themselves aren't "sharp" per se, but they do have colored stones suspended in them.

Lochinvar goes over to inspect the columns too, and almost touches one of the columns before thinking of his own advice, and pulling his hand back.

Lakshmi grins to herself at the freen's softly chirring, snoring noises, then slithers a short bit to coil loosely around the nearest column. She stares with interest at the blue stone. "This is a lovely stone." She smiles. "My favorite color, Lapis lazuli." She glances down at the little freen and grins delightedly. "Lazuli… that would be a big name for such a tiny creature, mm? But definitely a pretty one… just like you, little one."

The fuzzy Creen purrs happily. It probably has no idea what Lakshmi is saying, but seems content to be getting attention anyway.

As Lakshmi's coils touch the Lapis lazuli column, there is a strange sound like that of a tuning rod, and the crystal column lights up with a brilliant blue glow… then sinks down about a foot into the floor.

"Ack!" exclaims Lakshmi, shying away from the column.

Nothing more happens as the Naga pulls away. The column continues to glow and doesn't drop down any further.

Lakshmi stares nervously at it for a few heartbeats, then glances up. "Um… guys? Now what?"

Once again, the little black Skreek freezes, caught dead still as the column slides down. When he does move, it is again, slowly, calmly, and to tap the coral column.

Lakshmi takes a deep breath… then reaches slowly out to tap the column again with one cautious fingertip, emulating Skye.

The coral column glows a deep red color and hums softly as it sinks down into the floor. Meanwhile, as the sunken Lapis lazuli column is touched, it dims, and rises up out of the floor, returning to its previous height of about two feet off of the floor.

There is a sound of shattering crystal, as a section of the wall breaks away, the shards dissolving into nothingness, but revealing another chamber beyond.

Lakshmi starts again at the shattering sound, then mutters something under her breath about her heart. She stares into the newly revealed room. "What… is going on here?"

Skye carefully pads up, silent, wary of crystal shards, to peer into this newest chamber.

The illumination in this room flickers and bobs, as light is reflected into the chamber through crystals dangling on zolken cords. The refracted light makes countless little rainbows that dance about, amongst fish and other water-dwellers sculpted from sapphire. The sapphire fish dangle about the room from zolken threads as well, slowly turning about this way and that. The resulting effect is quite surreal, though there's no evidence of anything obviously supernatural happening here, despite the many oddities elsewhere in the tower.

Lakshmi blinks, looking a little stunned.

Skye dryly chitters, "Boss Laks'mi, we 'ave discovered fish."

Lakshmi hisses softly, "Uh," she sounds, for once, at an utter loss for words, "… really?"

Lochinvar exhales at the sight of the room, and merely offers, "Oooh. Shiny… "