Through the corridors
You work your way through the basement halls relatively uneventfully. You see nobody but, in a school full of ninjas, that doesn't mean that nobody's there. Still, you're careful to be just as unseen as your unseen adversaries as you seek out memorized location of the Heartstone Pendant. You're a little dismayed, in fact. If the pendant had been so valuable, it would have been guarded better than this, and if it was a useless trinket, why was it on the floorplans in the first place? Trying to put this out of your mind as you scope the hallway for hidden traps, you arrive at the location and find...nothing. At least, no pendant. You do, however, see that one of the floor tiles is missing. You slink over to investigate and see a hole. It's certainly large enough to fit down, which means that the pendant is under it. Is there some sort of sub-basement to the dojo? Maybe there's another maze you've never even heard about. Something troubles you, though: If the floor tile is missing, somebody must have gone down before you. Somebody else must be trying to steal the pendant too! Still, you didn't come this far to chicken out. Whoever's down there, you're confident you can take. You slip down into the hole and find yourself in a long, dark tunnel. It appears to be a natural cave...the dojo was built on top of a cavern system! This adds a whole new obstacle to your plan. Not only must you avoid traps and fellow ninjas in your quest, you must also navigate the winding tunnels of an underground cave. You find a torch on a wall rack, light it, and proceed. A short distance later, you find yourself at a dead-end. You look around for another exit, and find none. You do, however, find a carving on the wall to the left of you, along with a stone shelf containing three small bottles. The caring says,
"Your path is blocked by only stone, but surely there is more.
To meet the challenges ahead, choose one of these vials four.
If change you seek then change you'll meet here deep within the ground,
For here the darkest treasures of The Dojo can be found.
But if you wish to keep the form you had when you came in,
You'll have to cut your journey short before it can begin."
You look at the three bottles. One contains a dark brown liquid, labeled, "Earth." [A jar of dirt,] you think. [How appetizing.] The next bottle is labeled "Water" and contains, unsurprisingly, water. The third is labeled "Wind." Inside is a sky-blue liquid wiih swirling gray and white cloud-like blobs. [Of course,] you think, [the classical elements. I guess some poor sap already drank fire.] A quick glance around indicates that whoever the poor sap was, drinking fire didn't kill him, at least not right away. That means that he's beyond the stone door somewhere, and if you want to join him, you'll have to pick a vial.
Written by Zodiac on 13 July 2007