South
You head down the stairway to the south, your footfalls echoing eerily on the hard marble. The stairwell is surprisingly warm, and you're instantly grateful not to be covered in fur anymore. At least, not at the moment. You must be getting close to the mansion's central heating system. After a while, you begin to have an idea as to what that heating system might be--you're well beyond the light of the main rotunda, but you haven't seen any light sources in the stairwell. Still, there's definately light in the stairs, and it's been getting brighter as you've been going further down. It's also been hotter...
You round one last bend in the staircase and find the source of the heat and light. Your path is obstructed by a wall of flame. You turn around to return to the rotunda, only to find that the stairs you took are gone. You're left on a few feet of marble between a wall of fire and an apparently bottomless chasm. As if on cue, your little bit of staircase begins to crack and sway ominously.
It looks like you're stuck between a rock and a hard place. Actually, a rock and a hard place seem like enviable companions in this situation. You're stuck between certain death by falling and certain death by flame. Choose your fate.
Written by Zodiac on 13 December 2007