I pulled open the door with ease as it too was enchanted to resist corrosion. It still squeaked at the hinges from metal rubbing on metal but otherwise no problems at all. Beyond this door was yet another staircase going down. This one was not a short one however as we had to have walked for ten minutes before we reached the bottom. At the bottom of these stairs lay yet another room though this one was decidedly different from the last one. If the last room was a test of patience this one appeared to be a test of character. -
The rooms floor was a massive pit with spikes at the bottom and a single straight pathway forward. In the middle of said pathway on either side suspended over the spike pit was two things. On the right a flimsy wooden cage holding a sickly looking Kneazel. On the left a small pile of gold roughly equal to the weight of the beast opposite it. Both things were clearly rigged to fall if the opposite side was messed with. Additionally I could feel a sort of magic running along the edge of the path to no doubt only allow you to choose a single option.-
"So I probably don't need to ask this but we are choosing the Kneazel right?" I asked and my friends shrugged.
"Kinda obvious isn't it? Like everyone knows the whole choose wealth or goodness trap." Terry said with a shrug.
"I'm more curious how the cat even got here." Mike said confused.
"I can answer that. It's not. That" I pointed at the caged beast "Is an illusion. Well actually both are but you get the idea." I said and they looked surprised.
"How can you tell? As far as I can see they both look pretty real to me." Terry said staring hard at both sides as if that would help somehow.
"It's my perception technique. My physical senses are telling me they are real but that? It's says there's nothing there but magic." I explained honestly.
"Wicked, well lets get this over with already." Terry said impressed.
We walked right up to the caged Kneazel illusion and even as it hissed and swiped at us we unhesitantly reached out to grab the cage. The illusion dispersed the moment we touched it and the door on the other end of the room clicked as it unlocked.-
We went to it and opened it before heading inside. This time there was no illusion but the real prize. Two chests made of wood with iron latching and a podium that a single leather bound book sat upon.
"I take the book and you both get the chests?" I suggested.
"We don't know what's in the chests yet. We should wait until we know before deciding." Mike said seriously and Terry nodded in agreement.
I shrugged "Works for me." I said as I walked straight to the podium.
I carefully scanned the podium and book sitting on it with my haki but besides the standard preservation charm that the library used to keep the old books from crumbling there was no other magic present. I didn't carelessly take the book however but retrieved the spear on the back of my hand and enlarged it before using it's sharp point to flip the cover open. When nothing happened I relaxed a little and put away my spear again before stepping forward to read what was written on that first page.-
"Orin Gaunts compendium of illusions"
My eyes narrowed at that title as I recognized that surname immediately. The Gaunt family. Originally one of the sacred twenty seven, the "oldest, purest" blooded families in Britain. Additionally also a family with direct descendance from two wizards of great importance. The one they were known for however was Salazar Slytherin himself. Cadmus Peverell was the second that was much less well known but equally important if you understood who he was. It wasn't quite clarified how he got it as the tale and reality probably differed(I hoped so at least) but of the famous tale of three brothers Cadmus was the one who received the Resurrection stone.-
This stone was said to allow it's wielder to summon the souls of the departed from beyond death to converse. The problem however was the longer those souls stayed here the more miserable they would be as it was an unnatural state for them. Most didn't even realize that the deathly hallows from the tale were real or that it was the three Peverell brothers who first had them. Ironically Voldemort himself even got incredibly close to using one of them as a horcrux by turning the band of the Gaunt heirloom ring into his horcrux.-
According to the books and movies he knew the ring was important but failed to understand that it wasn't the band that was important but rather the stone on it and put his soul fragment in the band of the ring rather than the stone. Beyond their descendance the Gaunts all held the innate Parseltongue ability. They were also well known for being innately gifted in the dark arts. They weren't all let's say accepting of their families dark nature however so I didn't immediately think of burning this tome after seeing it's author.