Clara walked over to the hole in the floor and inspected it. What initially appeared in the crypt's dim light to be a simple missing floor now appeared to be an intentional feature, like a weird underground skylight. It was perfectly round, and the perimeter was decorated in a snake design, which rose on the side facing the wall to form the shape of a cobra's head. Clara shrugged. There didn't seem to be another way forward, and the snake motif certainly fit the treasure she was looking for. She set down her bag and got her rope out of it to give herself a way down.

 

Details about the Serpent Queen's Staff were scarce, so Clara wasn't sure exactly what benefit it would give her. The scant records of it in the records she'd found suggested it amplified a mage's power to restrain others, physically and mentally. She wasn't sure what "mental restraint" was, and none of her sources described anyone using the staff. Still, it was probably valuable and at least a little bit powerful, so the treasure hunting wizard simply had to get her hands on it.

 

She finished tying her rope around the cobra's head and gave it a few experimental tugs to test it. Feeling proud of her rope work and sheepishly amused about how she'd acquired this particular skill, she grabbed the rope tight and hopped down the hole. As she descended, she noted a few things. The room was a vault, already lit by torches and filled with treasures of crystal and precious metal that caught the light. The torches were probably magical, given how little fresh air was circulating this deep in the crypt. Finally, the vaulted ceiling was high. Her rope didn't even make it all the way down, although it seemed to be close enough that Clara would be able to grab it again if she hopped.

 

She descended to near the end of the rope, then let go, touching down with a *tmp* that echoed across the stone walls. She looked around again, and spotted her prize. The room opened into a small alcove in the direction she'd come from, containing an altar that bore her prize. The staff was bronze in color, morphing into a coiled shape at the business end which expanded out until terminating, bearing a gem encrusted symbol of an eye at the very tip. She reached for her prize, and her hand phased through it. An illusion.

 

The magical torches suddenly went out, and she heard the sound of stone against stone at the top of the vault, followed by something soft hitting the floor. She cast a light spell up where she'd entered. Her entrance had sealed itself, cutting the rope that now lay on the ground in a heap in the room's center. She heard a voice echo off the vaulted ceiling.

 

"You shouldn't have come here, little mouse~"

 

Clara whipped around, her staff in hand, to see something slither out from the opposite wall, probably illusory as well. The figure rose, and Clara could see that it was a lamia. She ducked into the alcove and wove a shimmering barrier around the threshold, to obscure the monster's hypnotic gaze as much as to defend against attacks.

 

"Come out, come out~"

 

The lamia teased her as it drew a blade from a nearby treasure pile, before charging. Clara conjured a handful of projectiles outside her barrier, then willed them to fire on her target one-by-one. The lamia slithered with alarming speed and dexterity, effortlessly dodging three and deflecting the fourth with her blade. It reached the barrier and swatted the other bolts away before Clara could fire them. She prepared an agility spell as she saw the lamia prepare a spell of its own. It ran a finger along the blade of its sword, then pierced it into the barrier, shattering it instantly. Clara took advantage of the attack's follow through to leap past her opponent, but was snagged in midair. She noticed the tail that had wrapped around her ankles just before crashing to the ground. She was dazed and her vision swam from the impact, but she could feel the creature slither over her, restraining her as it coiled around her body. She struggled against the lamia's powerful serpentine half, but the only effect she had was eliciting a delighted giggle from her captor.

 

"I do so love when the surface sends me such exquisite specimens. I think I may even have an outfit from a previous capture that fits you..." the lamia pondered aloud. Clara opened her eyes to spit back that she was not some toy to dress up, but her mouth had barely opened when she realized her mistake. The lamia's eyes were beautiful, with irises in a million shifting, swirling colors. Clara lost herself in them instantly.

 

 

"Oh how eager! I hadn't even ordered you to open them for me yet! You must have been excited for this~"

 

Had she been? She felt like this wasn't what she came to this place for, but it was so hard to remember. Her awareness was clawed down into the abyss as she continued staring into the monster's eyes, feeling its will coil itself around her own until she could no longer tell where one ended and the other began.

 

"Let's bring you home now and get you cleaned up so that we can play~"

 

Clara couldn't quite discern what it meant by "play," but every possibility she imagined brought a warmth to her face. She barely managed a response, "yess ma'ammm" before the last of her awareness left her.