Becky is caught by the trap

As Fuu stepped forward to defend the team, and Robin was still reeling from her lecture, no one was paying much attention to Becky.

The alchemist was smart enough to know that eating the fruit was almost certainly a horrible idea, of course. Only, she had never seen fruit like that before, so she couldn't be certain exactly what threat it posed. Was it a slow poison? A hallucinogen? Would it cause unrelenting addiction, forcing the victim to livee down here for ever, craving the food? It was impossible to know just by looking, but Becky was certain she had the tools to figure it out, given adequate time.

While the others were arguing, she carefully crept forward, inching her way across the room until she reached the table. Her sneaking ability guaranteed that none of her teammates were any the wiser as she reached up to deftly sweep a single fruit into a large vial with a gloved hand, corking it and stuffing it away beneath her cloak in one smooth motion.

Her gloves were made of a rather thick material, and guarenteed that she could even interact with most heavy duty acids with no ill effect. Unfortunately, however, this wasn't a physical or natural threat of any sort. The plants would impart a hallucinogenic effect on any who consumed them, but the enchantment that lay over them was an equal threat.

The moment Becky's hand crossed the threshold, the spell began to take effect, worming it's way into the back of her mind and searching her memories for the most potent ways to lead her astray. At the same time, the rupturing of the magical seal sent a ripple out through the nearby halls. It was near imperceptible to most, but for the denizens of the dungeon who had spent years and years with no interaction from the outside world, it was a blazing beacon.

In particular, the strange tentacled menace which had been stalking the party found it's attention renewed. It disassembled itself, and slunk through minuscule cracks in the walls, getting closer and closer to what it believed to be prey.

***

This chapter was co-authored by Mapron01(https://chyoa.com/user/Mapron01) Please check him out!