Basic Trope: A path that bypasses various problems/watchmen and which most people don't know about.
- Straight: Bob and Alice are on a quest into Emperor Evulz' kingdom and need to get past a watchtower without being seen. Charlie shows them a little-known tunnel that begins in a bramble thicket.
- Exaggerated: Bob and Alice are on a quest and need to sneak past the front gate of Evulz' lair. Charlie shows them a tunnel of which only he knows that goes from the outside directly to Emperor Evulz' quarters.
- Downplayed: ???
- Justified:
- Charlie is a native, and Bob and Alice aren't.
- Charlie was the architect who built the fortress.
- Inverted: Bob and Alice need to find the front gate to Emperor Evulz' fortress. Charlie takes them there.
- Subverted:
- Bob and Alice tell Charlie they need to get past the watchtower without being seen. Charlie nods...and hides them under a haystack that he has to take to the lands beyond the watchtower.
- The secret path happens to be a year long detour.
- Double Subverted:
- However, now Bob and Alice need to get into Emperor Evulz' lair. Charlie shows them a secret tunnel that goes into the inner sanctum.
- The mission is not on a deadline, so they take it anyway.
- Parodied: ???
- Averted: ???
- Enforced: The author plans to make Bob, Alice, and Charlie True Companions and needs an explanation how Bob and Alice came to trust Charlie so much. Helping them by letting them know about a secret path works.
- Lampshaded: "We need a secret path."
- Invoked: Charlie was the architect who built Emperor Evulz' fortress, and he purposely designed it with a secret tunnel or two in case he or someone he knew ever needed to sneak into it.
- Exploited: ???
- Defied: Charlie offers to show Bob and Alice a secret way, but Bob doesn't trust him and refuses.
- Discussed: ???
- Conversed: ???
- Implied: Alice and Bob are seen discussing their need to get past the watchtower without being seen. Charlie nods, and the next scene shows Bob, Alice, and Charlie opening a door, spiderwebs caught in their hair.
- Deconstructed: There's a reason most people don't know of or use the path — it's dangerous.
- Reconstructed: However, if you know the right precautions to take, the danger is manageable, and, being secret, the path turns out far less dangerous than trying to go past the usual way would be.
Hurry! Here's a little-known link back to Secret Path.
