Kez inspects an animal trap.

[Kez Shiras]

Just off of the Green Corridor, Kez stands over a slightly buried animal trap, looking very carefully at it. He seems to be partially waiting for someone, but also practicing going through some steps repeatedly under his breath.

[Kuromori, Taka]

Taka wanders into the woods a little bit lost...
"Ah, so this is what they call the Green Corridor, hi Kez... I'm hear for my training!"

[Kez Shiras]

Kez snaps out of his brief depth to greet Taka.
"Oh my gosh! You're here already. I'm just trying to figure out the best way to explain this stuff. Here, come over!"
He gestures to the trap on the ground that he was just inspecting.

[Kuromori, Taka]

"Yeah, training's always hard..."
Taka hurries over and crouches next to Kez.

[Kez Shiras]

"So, okay. I'm assuming you've seen one of these things before. It's an animal trap that probably Theo set out, but it'll work just fine for these purposes. All traps work the same, really."

[Kuromori, Taka]

"Uh.. no actually. I don't actually spend that much time out in the woods."

[Kez Shiras]

"Oh! That'll make this perfect for teaching about traps then, huh? Okay so, ultimately, all traps consist of three things: the trigger, the move-y bits, and then the stuff that connects the trigger to the move-y bits. Does that make any sense?"

For training purposes, I'm imagining a cartoon looking bear trap, although it may not be the type that is actually used in the woods. At the appropriate times, Kez points to the pressure plate, the sharp jaw that would trap the animal, and the spring that engages the sharp jaw, connected to the pressure plate.

[Kuromori, Taka]

"Rightt... that makes sense. So I just need to know the different triggers and move-y bits and connections..."

[Kez Shiras]

“Basically! You don’t have to memorize absolutely eeeeverything because it all just fits in those groups. Anyways when disarming a trap, you’re probably gonna focus on the connections, because the move-y bits you wanna stay away from, and obviously you wanna stay away from the trigger most of the time. Super important, most of the time. Usually, I just try and see where the trigger is, and follow the connections from there. For this, it’s a pressure plate. Do you see how the lever on the pressure plate is keeping the jaws open?”

[Kuromori, Taka]

Taka just sort of stares blankly until - "Oh uh yeah, the pressure plate is connected to the jaws, yes, mhm."

[Kez Shiras]

"Do you have any questions or anything before I keep going? I don't know how easily humans learn these sorts of things. Us fauns gotta be careful in the woods of this stuff, so we're taught REALLY young. Either way, any questions? Am I explaining too much? Talking too fast? Sometimes I do that. You know."

Kez FINALLY looks up from the trap and up at Taka, having hyperfocused a little bit.

[Kuromori, Taka]

"So how does- that's a lever?" She hovers her pointing finger way-too-caustiously far away from the trap. "And how does it make the trap spring?"

[Kez Shiras]

"Okay, this is actually way easier when you ask what you don't know. You can get close to it y'know, it's only if we were to properly touch it or step on it would there be an issue." Probably way too flippantly, he waves his hand just above the trap, showing no harm.

"So do you see how the pressure plate is on a little see-saw, and the jaws are pressing up really hard into the other end of it? It's holding the jaws open. If you were to move the pressure plate, it would move the end of it out of the way, and therefore allow the jaws to snap shut. Does that make any more sense?" He points to a small hitch connected to the pressure plate keeping one end of the jaws open, and the springs underneath that push the jaws together.

In my research, I found this little baby thing, it may help with visualization. Words hard. https://youtu.be/ccRGaZjfRs4?t=320

[Kuromori, Taka]

Taka takes a moment and stares at the contraption.

"And so the spring is in there and it forces that ring up and gives the side of the jaws nowhere to go but into the hole!"

[Pierre]

Pierre stumbles through the woods to find the two hunched over something. Curious, he makes his way over to them. “What’s on the go here?” Spotting the spring trap, “Oh! Are you teaching about traps? Mind if I sit in on this?”

[Kez Shiras]

Kez is wonderfully surprised to see Pierre there. "By all means! Before I get too off topic, that's completely right Taka!" He is BEAMING. It feels great to teach people things. "I was just explaining to her the basics of disarming traps. How much do you already know about it bud, should I start from the beginning?"

[Pierre]

“I mostly know tricks on how to get out of them. As far as understanding the mechanics of it, not much. My usual attempt to disarm them is to set them off and escape out of it. But it’d be nice avoid the damage if possible”

[Kez Shiras]

"That makes sense. Some traps are unavoidable though, or not ones you 'escape from', so stopping it at the point of connection works best. VERY quick overview, you mostly wanna be dealing with the connections between the trigger and the move-y bits that you wanna stay away from. The connections, once inert, make it so that the trigger does nothing, and thus the move-y bits can't hurt you. In this case," he points towards the little animal trap, "we wanna neutralize the spring, or hold the hole on the corner open so that the jaws don't get pushed together. Does that make sense?"

[Pierre]

“I think I follow” he takes a closer look at the trap trying to study it. “So is the spring the trigger, or just a move-y bit? How do we know what is the trigger and what part is safe to handle?…Sorry for all the questions”

[Kez Shiras]

"No, I really appreciate the questions. Spring would be part of the connection, because it connects the pressure plate to the jaws. Ultimately the move-y bit is the trap itself. In this case, it's the jaws. It could be an arrow flying at you, or a bell to raise an alarm, or an explosive, etc. It's the thing that hurts you. I kinda see the whole thing like... a line. You can see both ends of the line with careful inspection, where if you find the move-y bit, you can follow the line, or the connections, back to where it originates, the trigger. So for this, the pressure plate would be the trigger."

[Pierre]

“Ah, kinda like a chain reaction, one thing affect another, which affect another and so on until the trap does it’s thing”

[Kez Shiras]

“Absolutely! If you interrupt that, the trap doesn’t spring no matter what you do!”

[Pierre]

“Ok, I think I’m getting it. Seems simple enough. Are there ways to disarm traps if you can’t see the move-y parts?”

[Kez Shiras]

“Occasionally! So let’s say the pressure plate was in a stone floor or something. You can wedge something underneath it to make sure the pressure plate doesn’t trip. That’s just an example, but you can modify the trigger somehow usually to make it NOT do what it’s supposed to.”

[Kuromori, Taka]

"Mmm, mhm"

Taka has been following along.

"What other kinds of traps do you think we might see in the gauntlet in particular?"

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