Many things were happening all at once, all of them more magical as each second seemed to pass on. First came the voice and head in the sky, a booming but robotic echo radiating from the heavens above. Marianne listened in curiosity as the disembodied being instructed them of their tasks, or something like that. All she knew was that the dwarf was taking the lead again, guiding them to the summoned beam of light.

Clenching her small black book tightly, she once again moved her lips towards it, seeming to speak words that registered no sound. If one were to look closely, they would witness the book actually shaking slightly, as it were trembling…or chuckling. But books couldn’t chuckle.

In any case, the dark mage walked into the beam of light, grimacing at her bright surroundings, before noticing that they had been transported away once again. This time it was a small chamber with a single pedestal and a single button. Obviously the contraption was some kind of devious trap meant to hinder their progress. Surely no one would be as stupid as to-

[url=http://vocaroo.com/i/s0nR7Qx6RUCj]“You complete idiot! Don’t touch that!”[/url]

The voice most certainly came from Marianne but most certainly didn’t sound very feminine. In fact, it almost reverberated, as if coming from another dimension. The dark mage’s lips hadn’t moved so it couldn’t have come from her. So who then?

There wouldn’t be time to question it too much because now the room began to rumble and shake. Large, circling blades each attached to moving gears appeared on the sides of the walls. Said walls began to close in on the traveling group, threatening to tear them apart. More magical contraptions it seemed.