You struggle with the lock. As you do, you get a sense that the lock has a tricky lock (-245 thief-lingo difficulty ranking).

Then...CLICK! It opens!

Uh oh! You hear what sounds like a vial being shattered from inside the lock mechanism.

You jump back from the strongbox as a cloud of billowing red begins to pour from its seams engulfing you and covering you with globs of fiery goo!

Roundtime: 10 sec.

Ganadar shoves futilely at you.

* Banie just bit the dust!

The flames engulfing you flare up and sear your skin!

Fire burns through neck and destroys carotid artery. Painfully bloody way to die.

It seems you have died, my friend. Although you cannot do anything, you are keenly aware of what is going on around you...

You mentally give a sigh of relief as you remember that the Goddess Lorminstra owes you a favor.

Ganadar blinks.

Rylan says, "ack"

Smoke continues to rise from you as your clothing smolders.

You say, "oops"

Camelryder gestures at you.

You feel a tingle on your soul, as if a powerful hand is gently cradling it. (Thy soul is bound to thy body for an extra 9 minutes.)

Camelryder rubs you gently.

You say, "havent done that in a while"

You say, "hehe"

Smoke continues to rise from you as your clothing smolders.

Helvis blinks.

Rannek says, "WOW that was neat"

Rannek removes a reinforced dark alum lockpick from in his belt pouch.

* Rannek just bit the dust!

Rannek settles into the difficult task of picking the lock on a scratched gold coffer.

Rannek falls to his knees and releases a pitiful moan before collapsing into a smoldering heap on the ground.