trans_9 | The Chamber of the Ordeal (Open)

Alanna had decided that it would be best to at least scout out her new surroundings. After all, she'd rather not find out the hard way that there were dangers out there just waiting for them all to drop their guard and if she was really fortunate then she might even discover a way out of here. She wouldn't hold her breath, but she also held on to a certain amount of hope that the solution to their captivity would be found soon. It wouldn't be found through inaction though.

That wasn't what she found though as she entered a new area and found herself face to face with something very familiar. Her breath caught in her throat and her hands clenched at her sides as she stared hard at the stone chamber within the room. To someone unfamiliar with it, it didn't look terribly intimidating. It was a plain stone chamber, rectangular in shape. Alanna was far from unfamiliar with it though and she knew that it was far more than it appeared.

The Chamber of the Ordeal... why had it been brought here? Did it function the same as it had in Tortall? Given that the Chamber could not be manipulated by outside forces, at least as far as she knew, she assumed that it had to function as it had. She was in no hurry to test it, in truth. She'd managed to pass the Chamber's test, but she didn't think that there was anything in the world that would convince her to walk willingly back into that room again.

Not totally trusting her eyes, she took a step closer to further investigate, biting down hard on her lip. It was forbidden to make a sound in the Chamber of the Ordeal.

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"It's... a chamber. A magical one," Alanna answered vaguely, her eyes flickering back to the walls of the object of discussion. She had been thrown off-balance by this discovery and she knew it, but for that reason she worked harder to better ground herself. Surprise in itself was not a problem unless it hindered the ability to think and act.

She wondered if it was impolite to press for clarification. "A dangerous kind of magical?" If so, best to avoid. Bringing knowing danger into her life wasn't something Sakura went out of her way to do.

"It's not a magic to take lightly," Alanna said, turning the question over in her mind. In a sense, she felt trapped by two conflicting loyalties. She had a duty to help those aboard Stacy and she took it seriously, but she'd sworn oaths to uphold the laws of her kingdom and she took them seriously too. It was not permitted for a knight who had taken the Ordeal to explain what the Chamber would do in any sort of specifics. But in Tortall it was well known that one would not play around with the Chamber, so warning people off was not generally necessary. Here that was not true. At least as far as she knew. She needed to at least warn people of the danger.

"I wouldn't enter the Chamber without good reason," she finished, her tone implying that there weren't many things that she'd consider good reason. "It was used as a final test for knights in my homeland and it's the final test for a reason."

Sakura looked to the chamber again, then nodded. "Final tests have a habit of not seeing everyone through past the end. I don't guess you're meant to say much on it either, though thank you for the warning. We should probably put up some kind of sign, or seal off the area. Unintentional access might be troublesome."

She looked to Alanna for some kind of confirmation of her final statement.

Alanna was relieved that Sakura seemed to understand without needing her to go into much more detail. It was very much appreciated. "The Chamber is not something to be toyed with and you're right that I'm limited in what I can say about it." Her voice was apologetic, but firm about the point. "To what I can say though, I can add that no outside forces can affect what happens within the Chamber. Once you're in there, you will only be released when it is done with you. Also, a part of the test is that no sound may be uttered until exiting the Chamber." A fact that was far harder then it sounded.

A sign was a good suggestion, although Alanna was at a bit of a loss on what to write on it. Often times people seemed to take "do not enter" as a challenge and, given the potential danger that the Chamber posed, that would not do. "That would be a good idea. It'd be very bad for someone to wander in there without knowing the risks."

"What happens if you do?"

It's a simple, pointed question. She wondered if that was too much of an answer for this woman to give.

"Write up the risks, warn people about those. You can't stop an idiot from being an idiot, but you can at least hand them the tools to get through things on their own if they're going to be stubborn about the whole idiot thing."

The Chamber of the Ordeal (Open)

I'm sorry that this took so long.

Pfft, not even a week, you're perfectly on time in my books!

Thank you. :) I've been having the hardest time tagging the last week or so..

I feel you there! Sometimes I think it's just hard going, period.

It definitely can be. Thank you for understanding. :)

<3 You're always welcome.