FireOmens
Altair’s sharp eyes scanned the seamless wall before him, taking in every detail, every groove, and every minute imperfection that the others might miss. He stepped cautiously on the engraved tiles, ears pricking at the sound of a deep rumble echoing from the floor beneath his hooves. The ancient mechanism had stirred, its hidden gears turning somewhere far below.

He could feel it — this wasn’t just a dead end. There was something more here, something hidden beneath the surface that the dungeon had designed to test them. Altair’s breathing was calm despite the tension in the air, his mind already racing to decipher the puzzle.

“Of course, it wouldn’t be this easy,” he muttered under his breath, more to himself than to the others.

He knelt down, running a hoof over one of the engraved tiles, feeling the faint pulse of magic beneath it. The artwork was intricate, almost mesmerizing in its design—swirling patterns and symbols that seemed to shift when looked at too long. His gaze followed the lines, tracing them toward the seamless wall.

"There's a connection," Altair said, his voice steady and deliberate. "These tiles… they’re more than just decoration. The mechanism responds to them, but it’s not just about triggering it. There’s an order to this. A pattern..."

Altair rose to his full height and gestured at the others. “We’ll need to walk the right path. Step on the wrong tile, and the dungeon could just as easily turn this mechanism into a trap. I dunno bout you, but I don’t wanna fall into any more traps. But look, I think there’s a clue here.”

He pointed to a series of engravings on the floor — symbols that mirrored some of the designs on the wall ahead. “It’s a puzzle. The symbols are the key. Look closely, follow them in the right sequence. The tiles must correspond to the symbols on the wall, like a map.”

His gaze hardened and turned to Logue and the others. "No missteps. The dungeon doesn't forgive mistakes."

Logue, who had been lingering near the back, stepped forward, his heavy hooves making muted thuds against the stone floor. The satchel strapped to his side jangled as he moved, the contents clinking softly. While Altair worked with the precision of a seasoned tactician, Logue’s approach was more instinctual—raw, impulsive. He gave a shake of his head and gave a low whistle as he stared down at the puzzle.

“Well, ain't this a headache waiting to happen," he muttered, cracking his neck from side to side. "Just when I was getting comfortable."

Springfoss
Rather than focusing on the minute cracks and crags within the flat wall before them, Renault’s gaze was drawn to the symbols carved upon it. Faint and dusted with opportunistic lichen, it was clear to anyone with eyes, really, that the symbols corresponded to the ornate tiling on the floor. 

Speaking of the floor, Renault’s ears swiveled when Altair stepped forward, triggering a low grinding sound, muffled by stone. Renault shifted his hooves and looked beneath him, at the tile he’d thought was decorative. Apparently not. 

Renault would be the first to say he preferred more straight-edged challenges in the dungeon. He wasn’t stupid, but if given the choice between a complex puzzle and a monster fight, he’d usually take the monster. Were he alone right now, he might’ve simply turned back to find another branch in the twisting tunnels for a new challenge; the dungeon would always provide. 

Turning away from Altair, Renault took a sidestep onto the next tile over. Abruptly, the grinding mechanism went silent. But no traps opened, no bolts came flying from the wall. Renault stepped back next to Altair, and there was a low rumble as the hidden, ancient mechanism started up again. Slow, grinding, and not enough to open the door, but present. 

“Stay here,” He said to Altair, his eyes flicking from the faint sigils on the wall to the one beneath their hooves. The other two stood just off the tiled floor behind them, though Logue was working on puzzling it out already, himself. 

The second symbol on the wall matched with one the next row up, but two over. Wary of Altair’s warning that the puzzle could easily turn into a trap, Renault bunched his haunches beneath him and thrust off from the tile, landing with a skid and a lash of his tail on the matching tile. When his weight settled, a low groan echoed through the chamber, and the faint sound of the mechanism doubled. Maybe pure athleticism would help this trial more than they’d first thought. 

“Can one of you make this jump?” Renault called back to Pancake and Logue, his ears flicking, “And I can move on to the next.” 

hollow_forest
Pancake watched as Altair approached the strange tiles before their party, the older stallion making quick work of the trap’s mechanism. The bay Courser’s gaze drifted towards the wall on the other side, blinking slowly. Certainly, there were engravings on the archway just ahead of them–some matching the ones on the floor!

She lowered her head to the floor with a snort, wanting to get a closer look, glancing over at Altair as he stepped on one of the tiles. Pancake lifted his head, alert as the sound of subtle, grinding stones hit his ears. The last couple of times he heard such a sound, the very earth had begun to crumble beneath him!

However, he quickly relaxed the moment after, as an abyss was not forming in front of them, the sound simply being caused by the mechanism.

Shortly after, Renault was on the artsy tiles and taking action in solving the puzzle! Pancake watched on, ready to jump in if he happened to misstep… snakes lurching from the cracks in the walls! Flames spewing out from hidden nozzles! But, thankfully, nothing happened as he jumped to the tile, in fact, the mechanism sung the same song it had with Altair’s first step, but double! Pancake’s eyes lit up as she finally understood the puzzle’s game.

“Oooo! Me!” Pancake responded to Renault’s request, her gaze following to the tile he had gestured to. Leaving Logue’s side, the bay Courser hopped onto the tile Altair stood on, then to the one Renault was on. Pancake was a bit flimsy with her movements, but accurate! She bumped into the dapple gray’s side–but just a smidge–not enough to push him off the tile, and certainly not enough for Pancake to notice given her focus on reaching the tile across from them.

He surged forward, landing on the third tile. Pancake turned to face her partymates, her weight settling on the tile, causing it to lower. She flicked an ear back as the sound of grinding, mechanical parts rumbled within the room.

“Alright, Logue!” She began with a grin, taking a step back to make room for Renault,”You can take Renault’s spot now!”