“If there were any clues, it wouldn’t make for much of a security system I’m afraid.” Ishawari said, slowly uncoiling from his fighting stance after the abrupt springing of another trap. The old contraptions in these dark and musty passageways must be older than both Jin and Ishawari combined.

“I do, however, remember going over the layouts of this place with the chief engineer years ago.” He took a deep breath, trying to fish for detailed bits of his foggy memory. 

“Chief Gao. Real, creepy guy, remember him? He used prisoners like rats to make sure these mechanisms still worked.” He shuddered at the thought, excluding the more graphic details in Hotaru’s presence. “He had to do maintenance on everything...and there was a method he used...”

Ishawari’s eyes lit up. 

“A dragon!” He looked at her with a smile, then gestured with one hand in a wave-like gesture, like a snake coiling forward. “I don’t remember the exact pattern, but I remember him saying to never walk in a straight path.” 

Ishawari unstrapped the wheat basket then set it onto the stone floor. Hotaru said nothing. Was he asleep? He opened the lid to check on him and sure enough, the boy was resting peacefully. He looked up at Jin. 

“I’ll take point from here. I can’t let you proceed on the whims of an old memory, one that involved [i]a lot[/i] of sake.” Ishawari grinned.