On the floor above, at the opposite side of the mansion, Jargen and Syl searched through Cabdan’s office, hunting for the records that would lead them to the deceased magnate’s hidden fortune.
Syl: "So... find anything yet, Jargen?"
There was a teasing lilt to Syl’s voice. Jargen barely acknowledged him, focused on rifling through bookshelves, while Syl rummaged through the drawers of the imposing desk at the center of the room.
Jargen: "You’re the one searching his goddamn desk. If anyone’s gonna find something useful, it’ll probably be you."
SLAM.
Syl shut the final drawer with unnecessary force, irritated.
Syl: "Yeah? Well, no such luck. Looks like Cabdan was smarter than to stash the goods in the most obvious place."
Jargen: "Hit the bookshelves, then. Plenty of crap to go through."
Syl: "Plenty of crap indeed, dear Jargen..."
Jargen lifted a brow, catching something in Syl’s tone.
Jargen: "Something you wanna share?"
Syl exhaled sharply, almost a laugh.
Syl: "Not much... just that you're one ballsy son of a bitch. You know that?"
Jargen snapped a book shut, unimpressed.
Jargen: "And why's that?"
Syl leaned casually against the desk, smirking.
Syl: "C’mon, don’t play dumb. How many times have you been in this office?"
Jargen: "You already know the answer to that."
He replaced the book on the shelf.
Jargen: "Zero."
Syl chuckled, shaking his head.
Syl: "If I didn’t know any better, I’d be shitting myself right now. But if anyone's full of shit ‘round here, it’s you."
Jargen stopped searching. Slowly, he turned toward Syl.
Jargen: "I’m serious."
Syl: "Are you...?"
Still smirking, Syl reached out and flicked a particular book off a nearby shelf.
A rope was attached to it.
The moment the book hit the floor, the tension in the rope pulled a hidden mechanism.
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CLICK.
Above them, latches snapped open.
Jargen’s sharp gaze flicked upward -- holes in the ceiling, arrow-shaped.
Syl had already sidestepped, grinning like he was watching a damn spectacle.
Jargen, however, stood still.
FWIP -- FWIP -- FWIP!
A barrage of arrows rained down.
In a blur, Jargen took a single step forward.
The arrows stabbed into the floor inches behind him.
Syl: "You... You weren’t kidding?!"
Jargen scowled.
Jargen: "The hell are you doing? Stop screwing around..."
Syl’s smirk faltered for a second. Then his lips split into something far worse -- a grin of pure, giddy delight.
Syl: "Y-you’re somethin’ else, Jargen... You have no idea what you’ve just walked into, do ya?"
He spread his arms theatrically.
Syl: "This whole room? It’s a fuckin’ death trap. Every inch of it -- designed by men far smarter than you or me. Cabdan made damn sure that no one but him would ever walk out of here with what’s his."
Jargen’s expression remained unchanged.
Syl: "One wrong move, and you’re dead, Jargen... Won’t even have to dirty my hands."
Jargen: "Hmph. Really?"
Before Syl could blink, Jargen stepped back toward the bookshelf.
With zero hesitation, he placed a hand on the first book of an entire row --
-- and knocked every single one onto the floor.
THWAP -- THWAP -- THWAP --
Another rope SNAPPED.
CLICK. CLICK. CLICK.
Three vertical latches burst open along the far wall -- lined up perfectly with the bookshelves where Jargen stood.
Syl: "You reckless idiot, you're gonna end up killin' the both of us...!"
Syl, already standing safely out of the trap’s line of fire, watched in disbelief.
Jargen, however, didn’t move.
Instead --
He grabbed three thick books.
Jargen: "Well, seems like one of us will be dying here, that much is certain..."
With astonishing speed, he hurled the books into the air --
CRACK -- CRACK -- CRACK!
His fists blurred as they struck each one mid-flight, propelling them forward just as the arrows fired.
The books took the full brunt of the barrage, their thick pages riddled with small iron bolts as they tumbled to the floor.
Jargen? Not so much as a scratch.
Syl stared.
Syl: "...You’re not right in the head."
Jargen smirked, stepping past a large desk near the center of the room. As he moved alongside it, he casually lifted a heavy stack of books resting atop the desk --
CLICK.
The moment their weight lifted, a pressure plate beneath them released.
Jargen: "... You sure? My mind feels as sharp as ever."
He tossed the books skyward.
KA-CHUNK.
The floor in front of the desk split apart -- a set of hidden double doors, swinging open to reveal a deep, black abyss.
A few moments later --
THUD... THUD... THUD...
The falling books hit the bottom.
Several seconds after they had dropped.
Syl swallowed. That fall was lethal.
Syl: "You motherfucker... You do know about the traps!"
Jargen laughed.
Jargen: "Truth is, Syl... I’ve got no clue what traps are in this room."
He kept walking, unwavering.
Jargen: "All I know is what my gut’s telling me. And that first trap you triggered?"
He smirked.
Jargen: "It opened up a whole new world for me."
Deliberately, he stepped onto an uneven floorboard.
CLICK.
The entire section of floor collapsed.
Syl flinched, expecting Jargen to plunge to his death --
But Jargen had already hopped aside, the wooden planks vanishing into darkness beneath him.
Jargen: "Little things that feel out of place. Dusty bookshelves. Oddly arranged books. Floorboards that stick out like sore thumbs... I could go on."
His gaze remained locked on Syl.
Jargen: "Something felt off the moment we walked in here. But I couldn’t put my finger on why."
He rolled his shoulders, loose and ready.
Jargen: "Now it all makes sense. I gotta say -- whoever designed these traps? Smart. Smarter than me, no doubt..."
His fists clenched.
Jargen: "But I’ll be damned if they weren’t sloppy when it came to hiding them."
He stopped a few paces from Syl, raising his fists.
Jargen: "Now let’s make this quick... We both knew how this was gonna end."
Syl grinned, reaching for his dagger.
Syl: "Heh... So much for not dirtying my hands...!"
