Making my way towards the stairs, I press against the wall on my right hand side and climb upwards to the platform overhead. My friend has finally managed to catch up and is only a few steps behind me. Straight ahead is what appears to be a broken globe of collapsed stone and plinths. Working our way to it, we jump onto the first clear path across the ruined object, mindful of our step for fear of falling down to our deaths.
‘We’ve surely got to be almost there’ I say, carefully worming my way across the globe.
‘You’d think so, we’re so close to the beam’ my friend replies as he turns to look at the purple light.
Cutting to the left and back down the far side of the crumbling globe we leap onto a rocky outcrop and climb our way upwards. With barely any room to move on the small stepping stones my friend confidently takes the lead.
‘It feels like we’ve been down here for hours’
‘It really does, it’s strange to think people are fighting above us for our keeps’
'Are you sure you want to lead?' I ask, turning to face my friend who is lining up to jump in my general direction.
'Sure' he says approvingly, before scurrying past me and climbing high over the rocks and out of sight, up a collapsed stone beam.
High on the level above we weave our way carefully across row after row of stepping stones, eventually finding a set of stairs. At the top the floor is littered with what looks like spike traps. Cautious, we slowly move forward.
'Safe?' my friend asks, standing well back.
'Yes, I'm not sure why they aren't triggering. Maybe we've just avoided whatever sets them off?'
'Perhaps' he replies, nodding in agreement.
Turning to our left we head towards what appears a ramp to nowhere, only to see more stepping stones just in reach.
'After you?'
Without care or hesitation my friend skips across the stepping stones, as if the drop below wouldn't kill him instantly. Looking down I realize the drop would almost certainly see me fall through the ancient globe to the depths beneath. Taking a leap of faith I clear the huge expanse and land safely on the opposite side. Climbing up, the pathway is littered with gargoyle heads but like the rest we've encountered they lye dormant and allow us to pass by unharmed.
Looking into the distance the only way for us now is to jump down, to a lower ledge. Following the path to our right as we land in a heap, it leads towards a collapsed pillar which carves a path up to a row of thin ledges, just wide enough for us to walk across. As we shimmy around the edge of the ruined structure we can see the final staircase that leads us to the summit.
'We finally did it' I say, striding forward to claim our prise from the giant chest that radiates light.
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