reminded | Office Hours

[Maiza reaches for the ankh, hovering his hand over it and waiting for the others. It would be best to grab together or slightly after the two so that they have some time to react.]

If not...

If not, we'll find some way to shove him back in here, and hopefully he's not strong enough to open it up from inside.

That's something that ancient Egyptians probably never had to think about.

[Don't call him an expert on history yet. Luke holds his breath, shuts his eyes and grabs the flail, removing it from dear old pharaoh's possession.]

[Layton slips the crook out of the mummy's hand at the same time but with less excitement, mindful not to damage the fragile old body. Wouldn't want to pick up a hitchhiking hand or anything.]

[Maiza's a little less gentle about removing his because he has to find enough strength to snap the chain to avoid breaking the mummy's neck. Fortunately it was old and a little brittle so it comes off pretty easily.]

[And-!

Nothing really happens. Luke closes both hands around the base of the flail and looks around.]

Wow. For once I think we'll just be able to keep going.

[He gives the mummy another look before casting an eye around.]

It appears so. A pleasant surprise for once.

[As soon as he's done speaking, a door-sized portion of the wall begins to slide away in front of them, opposite the entrance.]

And there's the exit right in front of us too.

[He listens. Doesn't sound like there's anything coming towards there, does it?]

Shall we head on out?

Yeah! Haha, we did it! [This isn't a sprint, but it's a very jaunty walk toward the exit.]

[It's a shame he can't examine the mummy any further, but a true gentleman never carries out a millenia-old body without the proper equipment. He follows Luke through the door after giving the mummy a last look. It looks like they still have one long and hopefully final corridor ahead of them.]

It's been quite the thrill, but it's time we took our leave.

[And Maiza takes up the rear with one last look at the sarcophagus -- it won't open up, will it? --before he turns away and takes quick steps to catch up to his companions. Before he holds onto the ankh too tightly for too long, he fishes a handkerchief out of his pocket and wraps it carefully.]

... It was easy, wasn't it?

[Luke has no such issues about holding the flail. He may be waving it around a little bit, in his excitement.]

Yeah! Other than the part where we all could have fallen into a bottomless pit.

It was rather-- [Fwoom! As the last person steps out of the burial chamber, the door slams shut behind them. At the same time, a large section of the ceiling begins to slide open above them. Sliiiiide. It just keeps going, as if making way for something very large.]

Aah.

[He spoke to soon. Maiza looks up at the growing hole in the ceiling and turns immediately to Layton and Luke.]

It was too easy. Let's run.

[Nothing good is going to come out of that ceiling.

Luke makes a strangled squeaky noise and bolts in a random direction.]

[Layton doesn't need to be told twice. He turns tail and begins to hurry off after Luke, sneaking a look over his shoulder to glimpse a fine shower of dust and sand trickling from the widening hole. A deep growl of moving stone rumbles from somewhere near above, and when the ceiling's sliding maw achieves a perfect square, the noise is suddenly less "up there" and much more "down here" as a heavy shape drops out of the hole with all the grace of a piano pushed out of the fourth floor.

A resounding boom arrives on impact, rattling the corridor and making Layton jump in his skin. Another glance back, and then he's sprinting in earnest. The long hallway is sloped ever so gently downward, he notices, and he doesn't even need to be a seasoned archaeologist to understand that the very large boulder behind them will take to it nicely.]

[Maiza tears after the two of them immediately, gravel and dust already falling into his hair even as he kicks off as fast as he can. He hears the boom of the boulder landing, and the groan of boulder rolling on ground. He doesn't waste the time to look over his shoulder at it and instead kicks harder at the ground to run faster.

He could pick up Luke right now. Luke's doing his best, but he's smaller -- would that be quicker?]

[Luke is smaller and faster no-thank-you-very-much, Maiza! He is holding his own like nobody's business, either, especially once he hears the boulder rolling behind them. It makes the ground shake and rumble, which could easily trip any of them and then splat.

He doesn't dare risk looking behind him to see how big the boulder is. Right now there's just running...and looking for a way out. Careful not to slow his pace, he pulls out the flashlamp again, waving around as he runs and hoping it will highlight some kind of passage or ledge.]

[As the flashlamp's light stretches out ahead of them, it reveals loose shapes up ahead: dilapidated patches of the passageway collapsed and huddled in sloping piles of stone left and right. No hard obstacle for a charging some-ton boulder, but a different story for a footbound group of explorers. Layton becomes conscious of Luke, hoping the boy will be able to keep his footing among the rocks.]

[The stone lying around might slow down the boulder some, Maiza thinks as he hops over one, and maybe a big enough pile would get it stuck and stop the attack. But it's also possible that collapsing these stones too much would cause a greater destruction of the hallway and that would be a devastating ending for them all.

As it is, the boulder's rolling is shaking the ground and dropping bits of those stones on them, too. Stones the size of small apples.]

[Luke clears one nasty pile of rocks and nearly stumbles - the light of the flashlamp jerks wildly, throwing shadows everywhere - but catches himself and continues running. Seeing their way may help, but it doesn't show anything that will stop the boulder from squashing them all.

Then Luke notices something - a ledge, running along beside them, several feet up. It's narrow, and would be hard to reach. But maybe it'll help them think of something.]

Professor! Look up there!

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