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And there it was. The trapdoor. Though, even though they exposed it, there was no guarantee that this door will actually open. Shun cast a glance at those around him, including the one who voiced his dissent on the matter. The larger man pretty much said what was on his mind. They didn't have many other options that he could tell.

The handle looked oddly new. And the detective still had a very bad feeling about this.

"May want to stand back... should anything unsavory pop out instead of someone in distress. There is really no telling what we are about to let loose," he warned. He moved around stand by the hinges of the trap door. Rather than try to grip the handle physically, he reached out mentally to try and pull it up that way. He should still be able to do that here, he figured.

In any case, he didn't want to be standing directly in front of the opening.

Alister stared hard at the latch, freshly planted in the dusty wood. Everything surrounding it had looked ancient, and yet this one thing beneath that untouched chest- so new. His fingers twitched into fists at his side. He'd be more comfortable with a weapon but he'd already searched the place. There'd been nothing worth swinging.

Around him, there was talk of magic. Of will. The stout man frowned at the thought. He almost wished he hadn't heard it. If he were a younger man, he might've let his curiosity get the better of him.

Instead, he backed away from the latched door in the ground. He frowned at the detective, noticed the determined glint in his eye.

He waited. He wondered if the door could be opened just like that, with a very forceful thought. Surely even he could do something like that? Not that he wanted to try. Al frowned at the detective and the trapdoor. This whole thing reminded him of some paperback mystery novel he'd picked up and read during his days in school. What awaited them on the other side, he wondered?

Friend, or foe?

Juniper huffed when the chat finally reached a point where it was no longer over the door. "That thing was deceptive." She murmured. Arms shaking a bit, she leaned over the chest to get a glimpse of the trap door.

"It looks like it was just put there, doesn't it? " She mentioned to Al just before Shun advised that they stand back. What was he expecting? Whoever it was that had been calling it to them said that the things that wetter with her head left.

Still she didn't say anything.

Until there wasn't any movement made to open it. "Are we just going to stand here and stare at it then?" She questioned as she rounded the chest to stand by Shun. "Cause its not helping."

Perfectly content to do as the belligerent bearded grump had said, Theo silently leveled a perfectly benign glance at the man as he turned away. He had only been expressing an opinion. A guy could come down with a heart attack getting all worked up like that.

He kept his distance, watching as the detective moved around behind the trap door to open it. Maybe he would take back his thoughts about siding with a cop. This one seemed to have his head on the right way at least.

At first the door doesn't move, as if it is fighting back against Shun trying to open it. Then it gives, swinging upwards suddenly. Dust billows up, as if the door has not been opened in ages despite the newness of the door.

It is dark, nothing visible.

"I see something!" The voice calls from within, sounding higher pitched now that it is not echoing up from below. "Can't get to it!"

There are stairs that lead downward, as new looking as the door itself. Something palpable hangs in the air, though if it is danger or wonder or something else all together, only those feeling it can tell.

At first, it wasn't easy to calm himself down enough to just listen to Chris and not get distracted by all of the other sounds, the talking, the feeling like he was going to be abandoned here. But once he was able to focus, an unsteady sense of calm did manage to come along with it, which was good, because the other man seemed to know what he was talking about....even if to Connor, it still all sounded completely ******** crazy.

But still, he listened, and he nodded slowly. Even if it was completely ******** crazy, what other choice did he have? Nobody else was offering up any other solutions. In fact, everyone else seemed to have wandered off, much to Connor's displeasure (see: even more panic with slight undertones of bitterness). Though it was difficult to wrap his head around, he was at least willing to give it a try.

"Alright." He finally said. "But if this doesn't ******** work..." What? What would he do? Any cheeky comment or idle threat that he'd thought to say died quickly on his tongue as he gave his head a shake and let out a long sigh. Nonchalance and ignorance was, apparently, what had gotten him into this situation.

"Just...if it doesn't work, do me a favor and help me get out of here." Whether it be out of that theater, or out of Other Ashdown, he didn't specify. Really, he just didn't want to be left alone.

And then, with that said, he did what he was told to do. He concentrated, hard, on what he wanted. He felt deep inside that it was all he wanted, at that moment, and he willed it to be so. He just wanted his eyes back, he wanted to be able to see again, and while it might not have been necessary, he lifted a hand to place over the area where his eyes had once been, pressing lightly against the now plastic like "skin" beneath.

And for the word, as he was really at a loss for what would do, he simply muttered. "Open." and let his hand fall away, all while hoping that this wasn't all just some colossal joke meant to make him look like a complete dumb a**.

Sensation comes over Connor, the area around his eyes tingling and stinging slightly as he pushed his hand against where they once were. He has a sense of something pushing into him and then, as the mouths the word open, something within him is pushing right back.

It is a strange sensation, as if something had bubbled up within himself and rushed outward but the darkness he experiences now was simply that of his eyes closed and not that they are gone.

With the door now opened, and nothing big and scary jumping out of it, Juniper circled around to look down into the black abyss like some of the others. She normally didn't much mind dark places, but the thought that it could be very tight down there as well put her on edge. After all, it was a trap door to somewhere under the stage. Sure, it could open up to a big room, but...what if it didn't?

"Right. So. Our only way out I guess?" She nervously shifted her weight without realizing she was doing it.

"Ya know, we're going into a dark place. Maybe we should uh...get everyone's names in case we get separated? This way I don't have to yell out 'red bearded dude' or something?" She smiled nervously. " Unless I missed that part of the party?" She glanced at their little group. "I am Juniper."

When red-bearded dude mentioned going first she gestured to the door. "If you're volunteering as tribute, have at. I'd rather...er...follow someone."