L: The rest of that day was relatively uneventful. We eventually found a place to camp. Maraja went straight to sleep while Kalyani and I... communed... about Vanessa. J: We don't need to hear about that, Mum. D: Sure is a lot of boring adult stuff in this story. L: One day you'll want to know about "boring adult stuff." J: Still don't, Mum.
Maraja took the second watch. She made no fuss about her companions; she would simply pretend that she hadn't noticed. Between the two of them, the spells and wardings would likely be enough without an actual guard, but Maraja couldn't allow herself to become complacent; she will not always be traveling with such magicians. She kept her ears open to the faint distant echoes: things burrowing, skittering, even flapping. While the earlier worm shocked her with its size, the fauna she's met since is small and mostly harmless.
Maraja kept eyeing the passages forward and back. While she had lost track of how far the group have traveled, she trusts Vanessa's eyes to guide them. If they kept following her, they'd find Kirono. The wizard was convinced that the paladins were dating. 'Insanity,' thinks Maraja, 'We're just friends and I'm not about to abandon her.' Her thoughts drift to and fro. 'We are friends, right?' she worries, 'It's not like those Vrow.'
L: Anyway, when we woke, Maraja was really distracted: deep in thought. But we got our things together and continued on. That day, we found a suspicious box. So naturally the first thing we did was make sure they wasn't anyone hiding nearby before we carefully approached it.
The iron chest has a single hinge and a simple lock. It appears tightly clamped and relatively clean. It is clearly out of place here, all three women know that; no one just leaves a container like this in the middle of a tunnel in plain (dark)sight. The real question is: what kind of trap is it?
"Bomb?" asks Kalyani, "Perhapss, a cursse or poisson?"
"It looks koboldic," says Ling, "So poison is most likely, if anything."
"Should we just ignore it?" asks Maraja, "Just raise a little wall around it?"
Kalyani points her staff at the chest. "Jusst give thhe word."
"Hold," Ling raises her hand. "If you see anything appear over the box, sink it down." She points at it and thinks loudly. An image of a dog 🐶 appears over it.
As commanded, Kalyani shapes the stone beneath the box to lower it down and cage it with forcefully formed stalagmites. For a second, she thinks it may have twitched.
"What manner of spell was that?" asks Maraja, "A dog?"
"That's a mimic, no doubt," says Ling, she looks at her armored friend, "Say something, mate?"
"Thhe sspell, dear," says Kalyani, "What wass thhat?"
"Oh that," laughs Ling, "That's my own invention; I call it Detect Consent. I think of something and the idea enters the target's mind then I get a reaction for if they're in favor, against, or unable."
"So what is 'dog'?" asks Maraja, leaning closer.
"Dog is non-sapient," says Ling, waving a few illusions for dramatic effect, "There's also 🧠 brainwashed, 🍾intoxicated, 👻 possessed, ⭐ cursed, 💤 unconch, and 🐣 minor. If none of those trigger, then it'll give a ✅ yes or 🚫 no."
"What about imposssible?" asks Kalyani, "And can you teachh me thhiss?"
"Impossible actions default to no," says Ling, "And I'd love to teach ya."
"So if that were a normal chest," asks Maraja as the group approach the trapped mimic, "It wouldn't have given any response?"
"Nailed it," Ling slaps Maraja's shoulder, "I just realized it'd out these b****rs."
D: Why did you make that spell? L: To keep kids from places they don't belong. Almost every bartender in Inner Glow ended up learning to cast that cantrip. J: And then it spread amongst travelers and drove non-sapient mimics into extinction. L: Can't say anyone's mourning those. J: The propagation of smart mimics that led to was disastrous.
"But the question remains," says Maraja, poking the mimic with her sword, "Where did this come from? Mimics hide near people."
"Sso people," says Kalyani, keeping her staff ready as she leads the group forward, "Musst be hiding near it."