"Hmm... they mostly come in pairs on that side, but are on their own on that side?"

"A hundred and five squares total, nine dark, ninety six light, and none of those numbers are particularly significant..." She sighs. "Usually everything you need to solve a puzzle like this is in the dungeon itself, but they might've been smart and required priests to have a key - or this is just a side storage or ritual room."

"Would there be a reason for intriguing floor tiles in a side room?

Maybe it's about having a combination of tiles pressed down all at once?"

"Might've been what was available. I don't think we have enough people for all nine, but we can try smaller combinations." Her brow furrows, as she tries to think through what other clues are offered.

There's not a lot of clues, really.

"What if we pressed down some of the paired dark ones at once?"

"Maybe, but I didn't feel any catches. I'm not sure it's - something like that, even..."

"Maybe it's related to shadows, like the other thing?"

"The other thing... That was new. Like, a hint added by later users of this temple... What if the riddle relates directly to this?"

"The bowing thing? It can't hurt."

And she bows at the tiles, though she doesn't expect much to happen.

It doesn't.

"No, no - something else. A code, or a second riddle..." She counts the tiles again, fixes the position of the black tiles loosely in her mind - "I need to go look at it."

"Stepping back's probably a good idea, before we start randomly stabbing tiles to see what happens."

"Yeah. That might go poorly." Back through the tunnel?

Back through the tunnel.

Liliane is still waiting on the other side. "Any luck?" she asks.

"The tiles are being a problem."

"How so?"

"There's a pattern of light and dark tiles, and presumably it means something?" She shrugs. "Haven't worked it out though."

Rune goes back to the inscription - and starts muttering to herself, apparently counting.

"I'm not sure I'd be much help, unless it's something of historical significance - and Omu wasn't my field."

"Yeah, same here-- Drukhari architecture gets weird, but tiles? Tiles are not my wheelhouse."

Before Liliane can respond, Rune announces, "A hundred and five!"

"Tiles?"

"And letters! There's equal numbers!"

"...there's a code in the tiles?"

"Maybe!" She scribbles down the verse, then goes back through the tunnel.