At the bottom of the staircase, they found a wooden door with burning torches mounted on the wall on either side. The door had more of the strange, angular letters carved into it.
"Weird," said Zoe, "the fire on those torches isn't actually burning the wood or anything."
Stan stiffened. "Hey," he said, "I think I can read this writing! It's almost the same as the writing on the map in The Hobbit."
Brent's attention snapped to the writing. "Hey, I th-think you're right!" he said in surprise. "Look, that's the 'th-' rune there..."
Brent and Stan quickly translated the message, which was apparently written in English, just using funny letters. It read:
Beyond this door you must choose
Whatever tools you will use
But take your time, for past the gate
The things you choose shall seal your fate.
"That's pretty crappy poetry," said Athena. The others agreed.
"So what does it mean?" asked Jon.
"I'm not sure," said Stan, "but I think it means that we don't get to come back to resupply. We're stuck with whatever gear we pick."
They pushed on the door and it swung open easily. The five stepped inside and found a large, open space with small alcoves lining the walls. More of the strange torches lit the room in a flickering glow. Inside each alcove was a rack with various clothes, armour, weapons, and other tools displayed on it. There didn't seem to be another exit to the room, and the wooden door swung shut behind them.
Stan headed straight for an alcove containing long, blue robes, a pointy hat, a staff, and a large book with an ornate cover. He grabbed the book and opened it.
"Sweet! Magic User!" he cried. "This is a spellbook!"
"W-what spells d-does it have?" asked Brent.
Stan flipped through the pages. "Hmm," he said, "it's only got Sleep and Charm Person. There are a lot of blank pages, though, and it looks like there's some writing equipment. Maybe the dungeon will have other spells I can find?"
"Sweet," said Brent.
Jon shook his head, unsure of what they were talking about. "So, what are we supposed to do?" he asked, picking up a large bow in front of a green leather suit, "Just grab whatever we want?"
"I guess so," said Stan, who took the book and headed to another alcove with a suit of metal armour. As he reached out and touched the armour, however, there was a flash of light and Stan fell over, stunned.
A deep voice boomed out from nowhere, saying "You must choose only one!"
Everyone looked around in surprise. Stan picked himself up off the floor and said "Okay, no multiclassing then." He returned to the alcove with the robes and started gathering up the staff and other equipment.
Jon took the bow and quiver, and a backpack full of other gear. Brent went to an alcove with a black hooded cloak and a set of silver daggers. Athena picked up a large, deadly-looking axe and shield, while Zoe found a metal club, shield, and some chain armour. Athena tried to open the door they had come through, but it didn't budge.
"Crap, we're stuck!" she said, and the deep voice boomed out again:
"Leave all you brought, and take all you found!" it boomed.
"Okay, what the hell does that mean?" said Jon.
"Obviously we have to take all of the gear from our alcoves," Stan said.
They gathered up everything from their chosen alcoves, but the door still wouldn't open.
"I... I think we have to l-leave our c-clothes we came in," said Brent, looking embarrassed. He used the long black cloak to hide himself as he stripped the other clothes off, and put the outfit from his alcove on himself. He turned around, and Jon had to suppress a laugh. The dark clothes looked good, but apparently the alcove didn't have any footwear in it, and the pants only came halfway down Brent's shins.
Brent left his other clothes piled in the alcove, and walked over to the door. It swung open into a long, straight corridor. "What happened to the stairs?" he asked, stepping through. Before anyone else could say anything, however, the door swung shut behind him, trapping him on the other side.
"Crap," said Athena, "I guess we need to strip. Stan and Jon, you guys change and follow Brent, then Zoe and I will change and come after."
"Why can't we all just change together?" asked Jon.
Zoe gave him a dirty look. "Because we don't want you two pervs ogling us, obviously," she said.
Jon had trouble figuring out how to put on the green leather suit without letting the girls see him naked. He heard some soft giggling from their direction as they caught sight of his naked butt, but he gritted his teeth and pulled on his new kit. The quality of the stuff was very good, and it fit him perfectly. It was as comfortable as pajamas, but looked quite sharp. He looked over at Stan, who looked pretty funny in his blue robes and pointy hat.
"You look like you escaped from a Harry Potter movie," Jon laughed, and they went to the door. The door swung open easily, and they found Brent waiting for them.
A few minutes later, Zoe and Athena stepped through the door. Zoe's armour had a robe over it, and a headdress that looked like a nun's wimple. She looked a little bit like a teacher from the world's toughest Catholic school or something. Athena had sturdy boots, sturdy armour, a big axe and shield, and a helmet with cow horns sticking out the sides.
"Okay everyone," said Stan, "let's see where this hallway leads."
Brent looked around, puzzled. "Hey, everyone except Athena looks taller. Is it because I don't have boots?" he asked.
