Secret Passage

Secret Passage

• Related Event: The Accursed Archives/October 2019
• Release Date: October 31, 2019
• Featured Characters: Jurota, Alain, Rex

Dialogue

...... Splendid work, Rex—though I should have expected no less from you. Secret Passage To think one could dig a tunnel leading from the courtyard to a location outside the castle walls with such ease! Well, this is just splendid! Now we'll be able to make a hasty retreat the moment we see the enemy coming! Well, shucks, fellas. Reckon I'm just glad yer takin' a fancy to it. If there's anything else what I could do for ya, don't think twice 'bout givin' yer good pal Rex a holler. You have my most profound gratitude. And as for your offer, I would ask that you construct a secret passage that connects the inside of the castle to the outside. A truly inspired idea, my good man! One can only benefit from having multiple avenues of retreat. Come then, Rex! Let me show you the location of my future panic room! Do you mean to say you ALREADY have your eye on a spot suited to the construction of a secret passageway? "Craven is as craven does," as my dear mother used to say. ...Welp, let's get moving—this tunnel won't dig itself! This is... The innermost room beneath the castle. It also just so happens to be unused. Hoo-ee! There's more'n enough room here for me to work m'magic. Heck, there's even space for me to pile up the dirt what I'll be diggin' up! Right then! Let's get this hoedown started! Sir, yes, sir! Hold, friends. I understand the importance of striking when the iron is hot, but without proper tools and materials— Two steps ahead of you there, pal. I already went ahead and got everything we'll need—it's waiting for us right now beneath our very feet! How truly magnificent... Well, slap my rump and call me a mule! That's gonna be a heap'a help! Now lemme just... Hmm... Say, gents? Which way do ya want this tunnel'a yers pointin', anyhow? I will defer to Alain in this matter, as I assume he already has a plan. "A" plan? You wound me! I have already considered roughly ONE HUNDRED possible avenues of retreat from here. Gentlemen? From this room, we can create splendid avenues of retreat in any and all cardinal directions! Well, ain't that somethin'! Er, AIN'T it somethin', Jurota? Amazing as those possibilities may be, I would remind you that the construction time available to us is finite. Pray let us focus on a single path of egress that will be accessible to all. Accessible to all... Oh, I see now! You're thinking people may be injured or ill or something, right? Good point. Plus, we have children and the elderly to consider as well... Yes, in that case, there is only one clear choice: We will create a passage that connects with the forest to the east! Its mighty trees will shield our visages from the eyes of all would-be pursuers. Got a couple'a nice paths out in that forest, too. Seems like a humdinger of a winner of an idea to me! Come, then—the work begins! To think our path would be blocked by such an immense stone... Truly, fortune frowns upon us this day. A'yup. Smashin' up a rock that big might bring the whole works down on our heads. In that case...RETREEEEEAT! ...... Hold yer horses there, friend. If we can't bust this here boulder up, we still might be able to just dig the path 'round it. Then let us do so; we have come much too far to turn back now. Well, heck. This ain't good. I reckon we're comin' up on an underground waterway. Another detour, then? Hmm. Well, if we make a route what for the water to get out and then maybe reinforce the walls a tick, I reckon we could keep plowing forward. Still, I can't swear the thing won't collapse on our heads and flood the entire tunnel, so make'a that whatcha will. What do you make of our predicament, Alain? ...Er, Alain? Where did he go? Didn't he say he was gonna haul back all the dirt what we been scoopin' out? He has been gone too long for that errand. Perhaps something hinders his return. An earthquake...?! Aw, pig slop—that tremor put some real nasty cracks in m'support beams. Beat feet—this place is comin' down! Jurota! Rex! This way! RETREEEEAT! Alain?! ...What is this? An underground cavern? It just goes to show that you can never have too many avenues of retreat. Wait. Did you dig the hole what connected this cave to our tunnel? Thank you for asking! See, as I was returning to join you, I came across a wall with a most conspicuous crack. With a single flick of my fingers, the whole thing came down and created a tunnel of nature's making. An escape route within an escape route, as it were. Such things are often necessary in the name of the perfect getaway. Well, it kept us from bein' smooshed under a ton'a dirt'n rock, so ya got m'thanks no matter how it happened. Back to business, then. Let us return to our task of digging the passageway. After pressing forward for a time, the trio finds themselves stopped in their tracks by a giant slab of most formidable bedrock. Well, crud. I dunno, fellas. This bedrock here's tougher than my ma's meatloaf. Don't reckon we'll be able to clear it. We cannot proceed, and detours are not an option. Have we truly no choice but to turn back? The heavens have forsaken us! Wait! Jurota, that's it! What is "it"? The heavens! Come, gentlemen— let us turn our sights upward! I know we've been detouring all over the place, but I'll bet gold to gingerbread that we've already cleared the castle! Hmm. Are you certain of this? Of course! Who would know better than me—a man who spent his life exploring every facet of what it means to run away? Ain't like we got much of a choice, so I'm willin' to give 'er a go. Ready? One...two...HRNNNGGGGH! This is...er... Well, it's a room. At least there's no one here. I fear these are the private chambers of Master Euden. Wait, we went and dug ourselves into the prince's dang BEDROOM?! Shucks, I hope he don't hang us or whatever royalty does when ya barge into their room... Welp, no point gettin' hung up on it. Let's fill this in before anyone's the wiser and then skedadd— No. We leave the hole as it is. Didja get thumped on the noggin when the tunnel collapsed? Why the heck would we do somethin' like that?! If we reveal this passage's existence to the prince—and he alone—he could use it as an escape route in times of emergency. Let us make the best of this situation. Surely this is the will of the heavens! Huh. A private escape route for Prince Euden, is it? Though we have strayed far from our initial plan, I am pleased that our efforts have still borne some fruit. And with our mission complete, let us depart this place; a shinobi such as myself can only find peace in shadow. And then let's feast it up to celebrate keepin' Euden safe! Well, well. Look what we have here...