What's time gonna do? Catch me?
-Kieran Oifey, Running head first into a stun trap he mistook for a slow trap.

After a close encounter of the Vampire kind, we set out further east in search of a weapon that could abuse their weakness to sunlight. Seems like we didn't quite find our intended destination, as we instead came across a old ruin belonging to Narvok of the Five.

The structure, (Which we would later deduce was a trail chamber for Narvok's chosen to prove their willpower and resilience) was lined with black-stone pillars radiating magic, and running parallel to a set of stairs. leading deeper in.

Lacking in appropriate tools to circumvent the trap, I decided to trade my well-being for information my companions could use to circumvent the obstacle. Trusting in the integrity of my armour, I ran head first into the trapped chamber. The first pillars set our armour ablaze. The second pillars attempted to conjure saltwater directly into our lungs. The third pillars stunned and poisoned us, mostly likely trying to keep us stuck in place and withered to a slow death. The fourth and final pillar blinded any who crossed it's threshold.

Figuring that the less time spent between each threshold, the safer we'd be, I kept charging full tilt down the stairs, arriving mostly intact at the bottom.

The heart of the chamber was a site of desecration. An altar to Narvok was demolished, a greatsword bearing Narvok's own sigil embedded deep into the stonework, with the tapestry shredded and tattered. I have two theories as to what transpired here. Either an adversary of Narvok's sent an agent of theirs to demolish this shrine as a declaration of war. or an Oathbreaker of Narvok's was unhappy with their loyalty to their god, and they lashed out in recompense. In either case, the building was desolate.

I drew the sword from the altar hoping it might disable the traps, but with no such luck, my compatriots were forced to also brave the tests of resilience. But before we could all reach the bottom, we were attacked by a phantom claiming to guard the sanctity of the test.

Much to my frustration, the phantom was unphased by my attempts to heckle it. I barely registered as a threat to it!! It kept harping on about "heresy" this and, "You didn't pass the trial" that. Honestly, I was pretty insulted! For a guardian of adversity and willpower, it didn't seem too interested in going toe to toe with the only one who actually passed the test! Well the jokes on it. As it kept ignoring me to beat down on my allies, it found itself getting beaten to undeath with the very sword it was probably supposed to be guarding.

After licking our wounds and properly disabling the traps from the inside, so that no other explorers would find themselves dead at the hands of a deceased god's petty hazing ritual, we pilfered a magic sword that renders the user immovable, and a crystalline eye that thwarts attempts to hide from the wielder. We then set back out for camp to regroup and plan our next outing.