When Kleine found Schnupfen, he'd just managed to add a sixth potential option for the all-important placement of his precious pitfall trap, without definitively eliminating any of the other possibilities he'd come up with. Second-guessing didn't even begin to describe his thought process; by now he was third-guessing or even fourth-guessing. In his mind, though, this was no laughing matter. It was difficult to oversell the important of this particular impediment to him, not just because of its potential lethality, but also because he had no idea if any trap could be moved again once someone placed it. If it couldn't (how could one expect to simply 'move' a hole in the ground, after all?) that meant that his pit would become a fixture of the dungeon going forward, around which the labyrinth's structure ought to be tactfully arranged. That potential permanence, combined with the dungeon keepers' very limited options right now, made this one pitfall an indispensable asset, hence the shadow's stupefying indecision.

Kleine's interjection stirred Schnupfen from his choice paralysis. He mulled over her advice for a few moments, one clawed hand curled into a fist upon which he rested his colossal snout in a contemplative manner. "Hmm." After a moment, the shadow gave a sagacious nod, then tapped the side of his nose with an index finger to signify that she was right. Although the little creature looked like a young child's stuffed animal, it seemed that her harmless and huggable appearance belied a keen intellect. There was wisdom between those fuzzy ears, and if he had a lick of cents himself, Schnupfen would have offered a penny for her thoughts. "Ah, you're a smart one, Kleine. Though valuable, this trap is only my first step toward building a better dungeon. For now, I should make a choice that's good, without worrying too much about what's best. Then turn my mind to other matters. Hesitation is defeat, after all!"

Resolved to take quick and decisive action rather than waste time bogged down in a mire of overthinking, Schnupfen turned and floated further away from the main entrance, headed south. As the presence of Kleine reminded him, he was part of a team, and didn't need to outdo the others by trying to pull far more than his weight. That kind of thinking was a pitfall in and of itself! Any place that played to his trap's strengths would work well enough; realistically, a single hole wasn't going to be the load-bearing defense mechanism that the dungeon's safety depended on no matter where it got placed.

After a couple more moments, Schnupfen took a deep breath and cast the trap crystal down in the center of the dungeon's first side chamber, at S11. He then loomed over it for a few moments, staring down into the abyss like a proud parent with eyes full of admiration. Strategically laid down in the center of the alcove, it dominated the room, creating a hazard that any intruders who entered would need to be wary of at all times. Unless, of course, they happened to be distracted. Kleine's comment about young adventurers being like flies got him looking at one of the dungeon's many light fixtures, around which a handful of gnats and moths from the forest outside were flitting. The best way to get marauders into his pitfall's proximity would be to lay down a little bait, and nothing attracted adventurers like a little treasure. 

Schnupfen darted back toward the dungeon core, where he spotted an item that he remembered seeing before. "There you are." He laid a half-dozen hands on the empty chest, then began to drag it across the dungeon. It was rather difficult, especially with all of his underlings gallivanting around the forest with Muste and unable to help him. After a little while, though, he successfully dragged the trove to T11 and propped it up against the wall, where it would be clearly visible from the doorway. Anyone who paused in the dungeon's center for a quick look around couldn't miss it. There didn't even need to be anything inside the trunk, as long as adventurers went to check it. Once they spotted the chest they would no doubt hustle over, initially wary of the pit in which Schnupfen himself would by hiding, invisible in the gloom. Once the raider's cautiousness subsided and they knelt in front of the chest, it would be the shadow's time to shine. He could emerge from the pit, silent as the grave, then pull the hapless hero into the hole! Or better yet, he could be hiding [i]inside[/i] the chest, the pink-and-cyan glow of his eyes reminiscent of enchanted gemstones or potions! Then it would just take a sudden push to bowl the greedy galoot over backwards.

Very pleased with his scheming, Schnupfen cackled to himself, his claws wiggling in anticipation. After a moment, though, he turned his nose downward to stare into the abyss again. Eye boggled out of either side of his head, their feeble illumination not penetrating the darkness beneath him. He then scratched his nose, his eyes narrowing. "Wait..." he murmured to nobody in particular, thinking allowed. "Is this pit the bottomless kind? Or not...?" Though this might seem like a complete non-issue to the others, it was actually kind of a big deal. If the pit was bottomless, any invaders who fell in would be gone for good, but that also meant that the dungeon keepers couldn't loot their gear. On the flipside, if the pit had a bottom, it could potentially fill up some day. Or even be too shallow to kill anyone! If Schnupfen's enemies could just climb out of the hole again, it was no longer a failsafe deathtrap, but a minor inconvenience. He quickly reached a decision. "Better find out for myself." After manifesting more arms, the shadow dove in and began to climb down.

The seconds ticked by as he descended, his downward progress slow but steady. As he made his way farther and farther, he couldn't help but be gnawed by the same fear that built up to a breaking point during his exploratory wandering. It was irrational this time, since he could always just use his dark vision to look upward and confirm the dim light overhead, but the unease proved difficult to suppress. Schnupfen tried to distract himself by measuring the pitfall's depth. [i]Twenty feet, twenty-five, thirty, thirty-five....[/i] He also kept a couple eyes on the pit walls in case the hole happened to explore an ore vein, but saw nothing of value. [i]Probably for the best, it would be nigh impossible to mine anything down here, anyway.[/i]

At one hundred feet down, Schnupfen stopped, decided that this depth would probably be enough to kill any human, and turned around. He climbed back up the wall, much faster going up than down, and hauled himself out onto the dungeon floor after a few moments. With a long, heavy sigh, he floated back up into the air, his extra arms disappearing. He put his hands on his hips and looked around, wondering where to go from here. It was then that he spotted a loose bit of debris from dungeon excavation, and an idea hit him like fastball. "Oh! Of course. How could I be so foolish?" He stooped to pick up the pebble, unceremoniously dropped it in the pitfall, then waited. A few moments passed in dead silence before the clack of rock against stone echoed up to reach him. Schnupfen nodded, crossing his arms. "So it has a bottom, after all. Good to know." He then looked around at the empty room, then sighed again as his eyes de-manifested. "...I must be losing my mind."

With that, he began to float back toward the dungeon core to see if there was anything else he could do.