Dungeon Dive - January 20, 2024

As you make your way deeper into the dungeon…

You find yourself in an open room. There are no doors, but there is artwork on the walls.

On the left wall, a drawing of a skeleton with a large, exaggerated smile.

On the right wall, a drawing of a living person, who is clearly frowning. Both drawings depict the figure holding a musical instrument.

And on the opposite wall from where you entered is an ear, with a circle drawn on the ground immediately before it.

On a pedestal in the center of the room is a lute, and as soon as you step fully into the room, you can now hear a single, clear tone. This tone is not coming from the lute itself, but from an undetermined location.

What do you do?

Solution:

This room has one central solution - and as you may have guessed, it’s musical in nature.

Figuring it out:

The drawings on the wall suggest that the “happy” solution results in death (thus the smiling skeleton), while the “sad” solution results in life (thus the frowning living person).

These drawings each hold a musical instrument, there is a lute in the center of the room, and an ear is on the wall. Additionally, there is a clear, audible tone in the room. All of these point towards music being a core part of this room’s solution.

Solution:

The smile on the skeleton’s face refers to a happy tune played in a major chord. The frowning person refers to a sad tune played in a minor chord.

To exit the room, one must stand in the circle before the ear wall and play a minor chord that harmonizes with the room’s tone. This will open a doorway out of the room.

Should you play a major chord, you will be locked in forever.