Challenge #01656-D195: Amazing How it Works
[Name]'s job description is less Indiana Jones and more "disarming multi-millennia old nuclear weapons without an instruction manual". - of an action archaeologist in a fantasy realm -- RecklessPrudence
Elbi was classed as a Rogue. Technically. It was her job to detect and disarm millenia-old deathtraps so that the rest of her team could safely document and investigate archaeological curiosities. And what never ceased to amaze was the fact that, despite eons of neglect, every single one of these traps was in perfect working order.
Without a preservation spell. Without any kind of maintenance. Without lubrication. And without anyone to check if the springs still sprang.
Metallurgists and ivaologists[1] were frantic to discover the secrets of these traps, and descended the second that Elbi breathed a sigh of relief. Taking the trap into careful pieces to study with every trick they knew. One day, they promised, they would rediscover the secret of steel that didn't rust, and rope that didn't decay for tens of thousands of years.
Engineers would breathlessly examine the cogs and gears of ancient devices, studying how the ancient temples and tombs recognised friend from foe. So they could apply the principles to more modern security systems that still managed to shoot the obligatory stupid guard once in a while.
Diviners were still puzzling out how the builders had managed to prevent local plant life from invading and then destroying all the stonework. Thousands of years, tens of thousands of years... and nature had done nothing to destroy any part of these ancient catacoombs.
And to think. Just a mere few centuries ago, people were delving into this death trap with nothing but primitive armour and flaming torches. And quite a large number of healing and resurrection spells.
[1]: Ivaology - the study of fibre, cord, and rope. Coined by me because Google was not my friend this time.
[Image (c) Can Stock Photo / neotakezo]
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