<strong>The Yardness of Courtship + The Courtship of Roots</strong><br/><br/>The distant howl reminded the heroines of Zettai Ryouiki that the tentacled monstrosity (which they hadn't managed to figure out what exactly it was yet) that they had defeated but not destroyed was still loose somewhere, and while there was no active time limit, it probably wasn't wise to dally about indefinitely.<br/><br/>Before they left though, Kimiko managed to<em>Detect Magic</em>on the defeated enemy party's equipment. The magical enhancements were fading away, returning the gear to mundane, and the items themselves were turning back into... worthless wood, of all things.<br/><br/>Laura continued to question the revived woman, but she remembered frustratingly little. To the question of what she remembered doing before she was captured, all she would say was "<span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: courier;">I failed the gauntlet</span>" in an emotionless monotone, and to practically anything else, "<span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: courier;">I don't know</span>" in the same tone. Even more eerily, she just sat there unless she was told to do something, to which she would comply, like as if she had no independent will.<br/><br/>It went against Zettai Ryouiki's creed to just let the remaining unconscious women die, so it was decided that Listrata would revive them by channeling positive energy. Awakened, they were just as meek and pliant, and just as unknowledgeable, as the first revived survivor. At least they were easy to herd, and it was decided that Listrata and Tera would guide the survivors back to the magic portal in the previous room and evacuate them to safety. The throughput of the portal was limited, so Listrata and Tera would be busy with their task for an indefinite amount of time.<br/><br/>Meanwhile, the remaining adventurers of Zettai Ryouiki would proceed deeper into the temple.<br/><br/><em>(Listrata's Channel Energy restores all your HP back to maximum. Also you are no longer sickened. However your other spells/abilities/resources spent are not replendished; this is not a rest.)</em><br/><br/><hr/><br/><strong>The Gauntlet of Winnowing</strong><br/><em>Laura, Aetherana, Setta, Kimiko, Syra</em><br/><br/>The sewer pipe on the lower level soon ran into an intact metal grate that blocked the way, but at least the party wouldn't have to wade through old cum anymore.<br/><br/>Taking the only other route, the tunnel on the upper level gradually turned into a hallway of smoothed stone. It was still unlit and the party relied on their own light sources or darkvision to see the way. And yes, the walls were engraved with images of tentacles having their way with women, though beside the usual orifices, there was a new theme that wasn't present way back in the very first entrance chamber: thin wiry tendrils slipping into ears. And interspersed among the imagery of ravished femininity were non-sexual portraits of standing masculine figures with heads that resembled octopi and a quadruplet of tentacles where the mouth should be: in other words, mind flayers...<br/><br/>More importantly, there were five arched doorways in the hallway: two on the left, two the right, and one directly ahead at the far end. Each had an inscription above it in a foreign language. Those who could read and write<strong>Draconic</strong>would recognize the script as such and be able to read it.<br/><br/><span class="bbc_u">Near left room</span><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Draconic Inscription</div><div class="spoiler_body">Library</div></div>The door was open. The room beyond was filled with shelves laden with books and scrolls, and to a lesser extent writing supplies (inks, quills, parchment, and such), as well as a reading table and chairs, all dusty from unknown ages of unuse. A chandelier hung from the ceiling above the table, but instead of candles it held crystals (which did not give off light).<br/><br/><span class="bbc_u">Near right room</span><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Draconic Inscription</div><div class="spoiler_body">Observatory</div></div>The door was open. The central feature of the room beyond was a large crystal orb with a whopping 4-foot diameter, that levitated at eye level above a magic circle inscribed on the middle of the floor. A line of arcane symbols was drawn across three walls.<br/><br/><span class="bbc_u">Far left room</span><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Draconic Inscription</div><div class="spoiler_body">Armory</div></div>The door was closed. Made of polished stone, there was no knob nor handle nor keyhole to be seen, nor did it open when pushed. At the apex of the arched doorway was a stone figure of a mind flayer head, but its head tentacles were actual tentacles dangling down. If one of the heroines approached, the appendages would reach for her head, though they were too slow to catch her unless she willingly let them.<br/><br/><span class="bbc_u">Far right room</span><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Draconic Inscription</div><div class="spoiler_body">Gauntlet</div></div>The door was open. Large magic circles were inscribed on the floor, ceiling, and three walls. It smelled faintly of old cum, and there were drains in the corners of the room.<br/><br/><span class="bbc_u">End room</span><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Draconic Inscription</div><div class="spoiler_body">Ritual Chamber</div></div>The door was closed. Made of polished stone, there was no knob nor handle nor keyhole to be seen, nor did it open when pushed. At the apex of the arched doorway was a stone figure of a mind flayer head, but its head tentacles were actual tentacles dangling down. If one of the heroines approached, the appendages would reach for her head, though they were too slow to catch her unless she willingly let them.