For some reason, a brief flicker of insanity filled me with the desire to take off my pants and add them to the bundle of useless junk that Uberbob had been carrying around since the day we met. Thankfully, I was able to overcome it, and came up with some slightly more sensible actions.
First and foremost, I looked West. There was an ice-covered wall, with a doorway leading into a dark hallway. Not very exciting.
I then got an idea. "Araches, try slinging a fireball at the walls to melt the ice."
Araches whipped up a fireball out of thin air, and slung it against the wall. Not only did the ice not melt, but the fireball bounced back and nearly fried us into oblivion. It bounced around the icey walls a few more times before eventually landing in the fountain, where it was extinguished.
"That was... different," the sorceress said in a confused tone. "Like the ice is magic-proof."
"A foul power resides within these walls," Fooruman declared, dramatically raising his arms in the air. "A teleportation ward seems to be in place, as well. We're stuck here, much like this beard is stuck to my chin." He gave a sharp tug on his beard, as if trying to demonstrate this point, but ended up pulling out a large wad of silvery-gray hair.
Feeling as though I would surely snap if we stayed in this room much longer, I lead the party through the highly ellaborate northern doorway. We arrived in another dome-shaped room, much larger than the last, with no floor except for a strange glowing walkway. It reached about 30 feet out and met up with an immense icy wall on the other side. There was no visible ground on either side of the walkway; stepping off it probably meant death. The walkway was also the only source of light in the room. Across from us, the walkway dead-ended with the icy wall, though I could see some sort of engraving in its side.
Without even thinking, I walked onto the eerie glowing platform and examined the engraving. It was a poem. Kind of.
time passes as one approaches the end
a step forward can take any form
outside it matters that face of the commands stay constant
there is no reason at all to be on the edge of caution
before you move, the point is simply to face left
Below this was a carving.
Looking beyond the ice wall, I could just barely make out the word "Save" printed on something behind it. The wall wasn't transparent enough for me to get a better view, though.
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