LIGHTNOVELONLINE LXX. Jiving Past Jaws
On the floor above them, at the opposite side of the mansion, Jargen searched Cabdan's office alongside Syl, in their quest to find the written records of the deceased magnate's hidden fortunes.
Syl: So... Find anything yet, Jargen...?
Syl's tone seemed slightly sarcastic. Jargen was searching through some books on one of the bookshelves, while Syl rummaged the drawers of the large desk that was in the middle of the room.
Jargen: You're the one searching his goddamn desk. If anyone's gonna find something of use, it'll probably be you...
Syl forcefully shuts the last drawer, annoyed.
Syl: Yeah? Well no such luck. Seems like Cabdan was smarter than to hide the documents in the most obvious place.
Jargen: Hit the bookshelves, then. Plenty of crap to go through.
Syl: Plenty of crap indeed, dear Jargen...
Jargen lifts his brow, suspicious of Syl's tone.
Jargen: Anything you wanna share, Syl?
Syl lets out a short laugh, blowing air through his nose.
Syl: Not much... Just that you're one ballsy son of a bitch. You know that?
Jargen closes the book he was searching through.
Jargen: ... Why's that?
Syl: Don't play stupid. How many times have you been in this office?
Jargen: You know the answer to that...
He puts the book away.
Jargen: Zero.
Syl laughs.
Syl: If I didn't know any better, I'd be crapping my pants right this second... But if any thing's full of shit 'round here it's your damn words.
Jargen stops searching the bookshelf and slowly turns towards Syl.
Jargen: I'm serious.
Syl: Are you...?
Syl knocks over a specific book of a nearby bookshelf. A rope was attached to it, which was pulled by the falling object, thus triggering a hidden mechanism within the office's walls. Suddenly, latches in the office's ceiling open directly above the bookshelves' general area. Syl pre-emptively takes a step sideways away from the bookshelf the moment the book falls... But Jargen stands still.
Jargen: Hm?
Taking a quick glance at the openings above him, Jargen notices that there were several arrow-shaped holes pointed directly towards the ground. Within a fraction of a second, he takes a step forward, narrowingly avoiding a barrage of arrows that rains down from above.
Syl: You... You weren't kidding?!
Jargen seemed to get irritated.
Jargen: What the hell are you doing? Stop screwing around!
Syl's mouth was held agape. Before long his surprised look shifted into one of pure ecstasy, and he lets out another laugh.
Syl: Y-you're something else, Jargen... You have no idea where you've just gotten yourself into, do ya?!
Syl stretches out his arms, spreading out his palms.
Syl: This entire room is filled to the brim with death traps, each carefully designed by men far more intelligent than you or I, hired by Cabdan to ensure that no one but himself would ever be able to find what is his.
Jargen's expression remains unchanging.
Syl: One wrong move could be your last, Jargen... You'll soon be dead and I won't even have to dirty my hands with you.
Jargen: Hmph. Really?
Jargen steps close to the bookshelf once more. He places his hand on the first book of one of the shelves, then non-chalantly walks across as he knocks each book down to the ground one by one. Another rope is pulled, this time opening three vertically aligned latches on the wall directly perpendicular to the bookshelves, their line of fire coinciding with the entire row of bookshelves where Jargen stood.
Syl: You reckless idiot, you're gonna end up killin' the both of us actin' like that...!
Syl was already safe from danger since he was not in the way of the upcoming barrage... Yet Jargen didn't dodge to the side. Instead, he grabbed three large books.
Jargen: Well, seems like one of us will be dying here, that much is certain...
He throws the three books in front of him simultaneously, punching each of them with astonishing speed and accuracy. The books fly straight towards the latches, and as the next barrage of arrows fires, it is completely blocked by the thick flying volumes that Jargen had struck. Jargen remains unscathed, as the books fall to the ground riddled with small arrows.
Syl: You're not right in the head...
Jargen walks towards Syl, passing by a large desk near the middle of the room. As he walks beside it, he lifts a heavy column of books that laid flat on top of it, triggering a pressure plate underneath.
Jargen: You sure? My mind feels as sharp as ever.
He casually throws the books in the air, then takes a step to the side. The floor directly in front of the desk was, in reality, a set of double doors that opened shortly after the weight off the plate got lighter. The books fall through the hole in the floor, taking several seconds to finally hit the bottom. The fall would surely kill anyone. Once more, Jargen narrowingly avoided danger.
Syl: You motherfucker... So you do know of the traps!
Jargen laughs.
Jargen: In truth... I've no fucking clue what traps are in this room, Syl.
He keeps walking in Syl's direction, unwavering.
Jargen: All I know's what my gut's telling me. That first trap you triggered... It opened up a whole new world for me.
Jargen purposefully steps on a floor plank that seemed slightly different in elevation to the others. Soon after his foot pushes down on it, the entire floor around the area collapses, leaving anyone standing on it to plummet to their doom. Jargen had already hopped to the side before that could happen, however.
Jargen: Little things that feel out of place. Particularly dusty bookshelves. Oddly arranged books. Floorboards that stick out like sore thumbs... I can go on. Something felt off about all of it, noticed that shortly after we walked in... But I couldn't put my finger on why things looked the way they did. Now, it all makes sense. I gotta say, whoever designed the traps themselves was surely a smarter fella than I... But I'll be damned if they didn't get sloppy when it came to hiding them.
Jargen puts his fists up, stopping just a few steps before reaching Syl.
Jargen: Now let's make this quick, Syl... We both knew how this was going to end.
Syl smiles from ear to ear, reaching for his dagger.
Syl: Heh... So much for not dirtying my hands.