Satya stood dumbfounded at Lacy's aggressive nature. "She must wield great power or have little regard for her own life," Satya said in wonder after the half-elf disappeared beyond the doorway without a word or looking back. "I do not pretend to know any of you or what you are capable of, but I believe your friend to be in danger if left to explore the supernatural nature of these doors alone. I have learned never to trust the inconsistency of magic and even more those who wield it with no regard to the lives it destroys. I know that I am useless to the child dead, so I will await your choice before proceeding with my own investigation."

"Huh, well, I'm not going to lie, I think the other one is prettier... it would be nice to go into the pretty door. But, seeing as Lacey there has no regard for discussion or safety, I say we go bail her out of there, so that she can owe us a debt of gratitude. Chi, Sel?" He says, turning to them individually, rolling his eyes. Turning to Satya, he gives a formal bow. "My lady Satya."

Then addressing the whole group, Xavier makes a speech resembling that which may be given by a commander to his troops. "My lovely companions, we do not know whether Lacey leads us in to life or death, success or failure. However, we do know that she is somewhat recognized as what some may call a ... friend. So, even though she may be trying sometimes, then all I can say is... we better follow her. And we better find that kid. And I want to go through the pretty door when we get back."

Xavier lets out a childish giggle. "Heehee, that was fun! Well, shall we go then?"

Xavier moves towards the door. If the other decide to follow him, he will dramatically throw open the door, but make sure it doesn't slam against the wall, then proceed through, while still hanging around the group, close to the newcomer, Satya.

As the magical weave rested over the objects on the table an aura of magic came into Seluumiel's awareness. She reached out to make further study of the objects but stopped as she saw Lacey open one of the doors and enter. Seluumiel stared at the door incredulously and shook her head. The half elf had plainly ignored everything she had told them. Did she have no regard for her own life or the lives of those she was with? Seluumiel hissed in vexation as she placed both the book and map in her bag. She would have to study them later to unlock any mysteries they might hold and lacking that knowledge here might well prove dangerous.

Seluumiel steps away from the table and looks to the others. Lacey had left them little choice but to follow, whatever minds her divination had detected would certainly be roused by the half elf's actions.

"Unfortunately Lacey has decided to take matters in her own hands. You are right Xavier we will have to follow her, though she seems determined to throw her life away," Seluumiel takes a step to join the pale man and stops looking to Chiron. "But first we should find some way to keep that door from closing."

Feeling that there was no time to lose, Lacey went to the door indicated by the liquid trail that was almost all but dry and cold by now, to see if the child was in the space behind it. Out reached her hand to the knob and gave it a twist. The door opened to an empty room. Empty with the exception of a bright glowing keystone archway that cast an extreme amount of light on all surfaces.
The stone it was constructed of seemed normal enough. The glowing was coming from the inside of the archway, as if an exessively bright light was passing through fog or smoke contained behind a pane of glass.
Incredulous of her brash actions, The rest of the team stopped what they were doing to join her in case she needed someone to watch her back. Whether or not Xavier's eccentric pep talk had any real effect, only each one of the group in their hearts and minds know, but they did at least agree with him that, though they haven't known each other long, they were a team and potentially friends and they needed to look after one another.

"I agree with you," said Chiron, shaking his head in disbelief at Lacey's actions. "The door leading out cannot close, and neither can the door we now have to chase Lacey through. We should all be very cautious. Before Lacey charged ahead, I detected great evil in this place, and it was hiding somewhere beyond those doors. The intensity of it was nearly overwhelming, and I couldn't pin down a more exact location than that."

As he spoke, Chiron moved up to the table Seluumiel was clearing. "Satya, Seluumiel, can you keep the door from closing behind Lacey? Xavier, can you hold the exit for a moment? We need to get these doors propped open before we can go any further." Once the elf had everything of interest packed away, he flipped the table up on its side and slid it over so that all four legs were braced against the nearest wall. Taking a step back, the paladin replaced his sword in its sheath and steadied himself before lunging forward and snapping his foot out at the center of the table. There was a loud crack and the table bowed slightly, but didn't break. One more swift kick and the table folds almost in half, sending a small spray of splinters into the air.

"Seluumiel, can you two wedge this into the doorway over there? Xavier and I will do the same to the front door and then we can get on with rescuing Lacey from her own enthusiasm." With that,Chiron slides one half of the table toward Satya and Seluumiel and drags the other piece to the front door and begins maneuvering the chunk of wood into a position that should prevent the door from closing.

Moments later, Chiron stands at the door Lacey had passed through, fairly certain that the front door wasn't going to close easily. Taking a deep breath, the paladin climbs over the table and into the next room.

Seeing no child in the room, and no other exit besides the archway, Lacey continues through the archway without even breaking stride.

Without knowing the nature of the archway, nor where the missing boy is, on a hunch Lacey strikes out on what many would consider a dangerous journey. She stepped through the glow of the archway and disappeared from sight. Only she and the gods that be know where she has wound up.

Chiron took up the lead and started putting the beginnings of a plan together. The table seemed like a good start so he broke it in half to create door wedges. It would seem that, in his head, entrapment was not an option when the fate of the missing boy was at stake and the others seemed to agree with him. However, Lacey took matters into her own hands and created a complication of their mission in a single decision, in a single action. Is she to be given up for lost? Which take precedence now, Lacey or the child? Questions that Chiron, Xavier, Seluumiel, and Satya wrestle with at this moment.

"Good call Chi. Now that the doors are wedged though, let us also discuss the matter at hand." Xavier looked down the hall, and let out a sigh.

"It would seem as though Lacey has disappeared through that arch. And I take back what I said before. That door," he says, motioning to the one he had previously indicated. "Isn't the prettiest. That one is." He says, pointing to the arch which Lacey disappeared through.

"You know, I say we head through it. But, just in case it's a warp of some description, we should link arms, hold hands, plaster ourselves against each other, sink our teeth into each other... I don't know. Something to keep us together." Xavier glances at all of the others. He then places his hands on his hips, leaving room in his elbows to allow for someone else to link their own to his. "What do you say?"

"I am sorry but she seems very confidant in her path and I do not wish to put my own life at risk without knowing what we are up against. My only interest is to save the missing child and I do not think that risking my life will do that poor boy any good. I say we take the time to find out what we can from that map and book before we proceed. Unless you all feel that following your friend into the unknown to be a priority, then please do not let me keep you from her."

Chiron stares, mouth agape, at the archway Lacey had so boldly walked through. How could anyone move forward into danger so blindly?

"I have no idea what that woman was thinking. This house is very obviously a trap and she just keeps walking without...." he stops himself, taking a slow, deep, breath to prevent getting too worked up. "She confounds me."

Xavier points to the arch which Lacey disappeared through, "You know, I say we head through it. But, just in case it's a warp of some description, we should link arms, hold hands..."

Chiron shakes his head as Xavier finished his suggestion. "We can't follow. Not yet, not before we examine the information we've been given. Lacey made it very clear before we left that the only thing that held any importance for her was finding the child. She's just demonstrated that her own life, and the safety of anyone near her is in a very distant second place."

A grim look on his face, the paladin turns to Seluumiel, "Can you decipher the items Satya found on the desk? Xavier, if you have any talents dealing with magical or ancient texts, could you lend her a hand? I don't think any one of us should be left alone while we're in here. While I do believe Lacey stepped into that portal on her own, we can't rule out the possibility that something forced her through.

"Satya, can you help me with these other two doors? I'm not sure what I'm more curious about: the contents of the rooms, or what the house will do if all four doors are open at the same time. If there are more of these glowing arches, I recommend not looking directly into them."

Chiron moved back into the main room. The image of a simple hornet trap kept passing through his mind. Set a small piece of meat in a jar and replace the lid with a funnel, pointing down to the bait. The wasps will crawl down through the tapered opening, chasing the smell of the meat. After eating their fill, they try to leave but can't fly out through the opening they walked in.

He hoped that Seluumiel would find something useful in the book. He doubted that the other rooms held anything of note, but he couldn't just stand around waiting while Lacey moved deeper into who knows how much more danger.

Seluumiel peered into the room and stared icily at the glowing archway. Lacey was no where in sight, the fool woman must have gone through the archway. She shook her head and took a deep breath before studying the archway. It was a strange thing, but everything in this place was strange. Seluumiel turned to face the others.

With a grim look on his face, the paladin faced her, "Can you decipher the items Satya found on the desk? Xavier, if you have any talents dealing with magical or ancient texts, could you lend her a hand? I don't think any one of us should be left alone while we're in here. While I do believe Lacey stepped into that portal on her own, we can't rule out the possibility that something forced her through."

She looked up to him for a moment, the man certainly enjoyed taking the lead. Regardless she was of a like mind with him for now, moving forward without further knowledge could prove fatal. If Lacey wished to walk blindly she could manage that well enough on her own. Producing the tome and map from her bag, Seluumiel began to seek a place to make further study of them.

Chiron spoke again. "Satya, can you help me with these other two doors? I'm not sure what I'm more curious about: the contents of the rooms, or what the house will do if all four doors are open at the same time. If there are more of these glowing arches, I recommend not looking directly into them."

She stopped where she was and turned to face the man.

"Wait," she began, "While Lacey has decided to throw her life away and walk blindly on her own, the rest of us must stay together. Chiron both you and I have sensed the hostile presence others in this house. I fear that searching through these doors will only hasten a confrontation. Let me see what can be gleaned from this book and map before we investigate this house any further."

Seluumiel looks to Chiron and the others before bringing her gaze to the map and book. Her sapphire eyes trace the runes, shapes, and lines intent on puzzling their meaning.

(OOC: Seluumiel will read the book and study the map. She will cast Comrehend Languages, and Read Magic if she does not read the language or if the writing is magical.)

"Wait," Seluumiel began, "While Lacey has decided to throw her life away and walk blindly on her own, the rest of us must stay together.

"Let me see what can be gleaned from this book and map before we investigate this house any further."

The paladin's shoulders sagged. He knew the elf was right, but he hated the feeling of helplessness that accompanied inaction. He wasn't a scholar and would likely be more a distraction, poking his head over Seluumiel's shoulder while she studied the book, than provide any real aid. Maybe if he could discern the source of the evil he had sensed earlier, he could help the group's cause and give him something to do.

Chiron set himself in the center of the main room, in place where he could see the two remaining closed doors and be able to look through the open door to Lacey's Arch. He closed his eyes, took several deep breaths and supplicated Ilamter for the power to find evil, where ever it may try to hide.

He opened his eyes and looked to the table that had been wedged into the doorway to keep the path to Lacey open. He let his gaze slide beyond it to the archway, fearing that he may be overwhelmed by the power of the malice and hate he expected to encounter.

Xavier calmly walks over to the map and book, the same side as Selummiel, moving in close to observe the runes. He had very little talent in the magical arts - that was his sister's job - but he knew enough to fake it. That, and it gave him the chance to observe Selummiel's neck. It seemed rather tender as well as Satya's. Lacey was very headstrong, which gave blood a unique taste, but it was more of a get by taste than the fineries of the blood of those who were friendly and somewhat submissive. He had quite the interesting predicament... such tender necks, with blood just longing to be sucked out and slurped into his...

Focus.
Job at hand.
Pay. Attention.
Xavier shook himself out of his desires, and turned to look at the map and book. He wasn't expecting to understand much if it was magical in nature. But, at least he could fake it... go along with what Selummiel said, make the others believe he was more useful in these situations. Not that he wasn't useful... He just hadn't had a chance to shine. His time would come though...

Damn. He needed some blood. He was going loopy. Still... He looked up at Satya, then back to Selummiel.

Damn they have nice necks... I wonder if their blood as sweet as I'm imagining it...

We better find Lacey soon. I need to get out of here. I need blood. And I doubt they're going to let me drink from them. Abyss and back. I'm going to be mad by the end of this.

The remainder of the group took a look and the book that gained Seluumiel's attention. Considering the magic nature of the book, and what everyone expected of the two items that were displayed so prominently on the table, they were surprised at the seemingly mundane nature of the writing. The one disturbing thing was that, what was said in the writing made one assume that they were expected.

There was nothing especially interesting or eye catching about the map. It appeared to be just that, a map. A map of an unknown land.

The book, however, is a slightly different story. When Seluumiel opened the book, only the first page was printed in common with this passage:

“All others have failed and I was the last. My spirit is bound here for my time is past.

Unspeakable evil lies behind each door. Take care you don’t end up like others before.

Five colors, five heads is all I know of your fate. If you must know more, ask the guardian of the gate.

To what I have written you must take heed and I will record your actions, your words and your deeds.

For in you must go. There’s no way to turn back. Defeat your greatest foe before he attacks.”

The book begins to print itself "Are such adventurers present and ready to undertake this task?"

Having taken one glance at the book, and knowing he wouldn't be able to decipher a thing it said, Xavier instead turned his attention to the map, trying to figure out what he could say to make it seem like he knew what he was doing, but make it seem like a simpleton couldn't do it. Hmm... well, that could mean this... and then there's that... perfect. He knew what he had found.

"Well, I think this may be a map of the house... as cryptic as it may seem, but I believe that the magical nature of this house is perfectly recorded on this map... And while I've some suspicions about the book, I'll let Selummiel share her opinion first. I don't want to steal the whole spotlight."

With a wink at Selummiel, Xavier moves to the map and picks it up, and begins to roll it up, so as to take it with him.