The "Spider-Man" of the Death Chamber

"Bachmann, smash the gate open!" An infuriated Gothard glanced at the empty casket and bellowed. Executive Priest Bachmann immediately led the priests to cast spells against the gate, but the thick barrier proved too resilient for a quick breach.

Grayson, observing coolly, peeked into the casket and saw a note. He reached in, retrieved the note, and read aloud.

"Dear Mr. Grayson, I trust this note finds you well. You should know that soon, this hall will flood. If you do not find an exit, you will drown. There are two doors, one to your left and one to your right. Behind one lies a deadly poison, behind the other, perhaps a way out. Choose wisely, and quickly, or the rising water will decide for you. Good luck!"

"Fantastic news," Grayson mumbled, finishing the note. Before he could reflect further, a hand snatched the paper from him. Gothard's face was livid as Grayson pointed at the note, "A gift from Wystan. Now you see why he revealed the relic's location."

No sooner had he spoken than water began spraying from the honeycomb holes above, drenching everyone like a downpour. Grayson backed away from the deluge toward the door on the left.

He scrutinized the stone door, gently pushing with his gloved hand, but it remained immovable. Without any handles and tightly sealed, the door required significant force to open.

He then moved away from the stone table and quickly approached the right door. Both doors appeared the same, but inspecting the lower seam of the right door, he noticed dead ants washed out by the water.

Grayson crouched, scooping up some water and examining the ant carcasses. After a moment, he tossed the water aside, leaned closer to the door seam, then abruptly stood up and ran to the left door.

The water had risen to ankle height. Gothard and the priests were still futilely bombarding the gate with spells. Grayson ignored them and reached the left door. He crouched again, studying the seam and the floor, then reached out to the door.

As his hand touched the door, he suddenly pulled back and stepped away, looking up at the upper corners of the door frame. They were clean, with nothing amiss.

"Elyra, I need your help," Grayson whispered to the little owl in his hood. She flew up, circling the hall's corners, then landed back on Grayson and whispered in his ear.

"I thought so," Grayson said with a soft chuckle, then left the door and approached the wall opposite the main entrance. He shot five blades into the wall, creating a makeshift ladder.

Climbing up, he continued to extend the ladder with his mind until he neared the ceiling. There, he found numerous spider webs in the corner where the ceiling met the wall, and behind the webs were small holes, likely ventilation ducts.

"We've found it!" Grayson peered into the ducts and saw a narrow passage. He prepared to descend when Gothard's voice called from below, "What are you doing?"

Grayson looked down to see Gothard, anxious and bewildered, "Hammering at the gate is futile; you need to hit here to escape!" he pointed at the wall and climbed down quickly. Midway, he gestured for Gothard to act.

Gothard raised his golden scepter, its tip shining brightly, and a beam of holy light struck the wall above Grayson. The impact blasted a hole, and debris scattered over Grayson's head, falling into the water around Gothard.

Grayson brushed off the dust and climbed into the hole, struggling through the narrow entrance. He turned and shouted down to Gothard, "Have your priests tie their robes into ropes. That's the only way you'll get up here!"

Gothard ordered the priests to tie their robes together. Grayson directed his blades to carve notches in the wall and had Elyra bring up the robe-ropes.

He anchored his silver sword into the wall beside him and tied the rope to its hilt, allowing Gothard and the others to climb up and crawl through the passage behind him. As the last priest entered the duct, the water had already risen halfway up the hall's walls.

"Sorry, 'Bloodhand' Wystan, you've been disappointed again!" Grayson gazed at the holy relic casket soaking on the stone table, a faint smirk on his lips. He pulled out his sword and left.

They crawled along the passage, not knowing how long, finally reaching the other end of the ventilation duct. Gothard used holy light to shatter the net-like wall, revealing an exit wide enough for one person.

"I must say, Mr. Grayson," Gothard said gratefully as Grayson was the last to jump down into the chamber, "If it weren't for you, we would all be buried here today."

"No need for thanks, High Priest. I owed you a favor, and now we're even," Grayson replied with a smile.

"But I'm curious, how did you know about this passage? And why didn't you choose one of the side doors? The note clearly stated we should choose one."

"I initially thought one of the doors would be the exit," Grayson wrung out his drenched cloak, "but I found dead ants washed out from under the right door."

"You mean the ants died from poison?" Gothard asked.

"At first, I thought so. But why would the limbs of poisoned ants be missing?" Grayson shook his head, "I was puzzled, and then I found tiny scratches near the door seam. Do you understand what I mean?"

Gothard shook his head blankly, and Grayson explained, "It means someone deliberately used a tool to push the ants into the seam. They weren't killed by poison behind the door, but their bodies were collected to fabricate a clue."

"Ah, so the left door should be the exit!" Gothard realized.

"That was my initial thought. But I hesitated to push the door when it occurred to me that Wystan wouldn't be so foolish. He wouldn't leave such an obvious flaw after all the effort to set up this trap," Grayson chuckled.

"So I stepped back to check for spider webs in the corners of the door frame. When we first entered the hall, I noticed many webs in the corners and the entrance, which meant many spiders were living there. But there were no webs near the left door or the entire wall beside it—odd, right?"

"What does that mean?" Gothard asked, handing his wet robe to Bachmann to wring out.

"Insects are sensitive to dangerous smells, spiders included. They avoid weaving webs near poisonous or harmful areas. Elyra told me the largest webs in the hall were right where I found the ventilation duct. Only the strongest spiders claim the best spots, just like humans," Grayson said with a smile, donning his cloak again.

"The black sorcerer never dreamed we'd escape like this!" Gothard nodded with satisfaction.

"Don't jump to conclusions," Grayson's expression suddenly became serious as he looked toward the chamber door and whispered, "We haven't left hell for the world of the living yet."