The Hall of Doors

by Phillip Locey

  “You’ve got the only light, you know,” Thaelios mentioned, though it didn’t keep him from moving.

  “Then you’ll be standing in the dark. I’ll make it quick,” Saffron added before finally meeting Be’naj’s gaze. “This is for me to do, Be’naj,” she said, just above a whisper. “Please go with the others. The hourglass is emptying.”

  Be’naj wanted to protect Saffron from any pain, but she realized the woman was stronger than anyone she’d ever known. Strong, like she aspired to be. She didn’t want to demean that strength, so she placed a hand on Saffron’s shoulder and nodded.

  Once they were far enough back in the tunnel that only the faintest glow of the dagger reached them from around a bend, Be’naj heard the sound of tearing cloth. She didn’t want to hear what was next, so she decided to distract herself and the others with a question. “So if we do find the key to these portals, where do you think we should go? And how do we find our way home?”

  “Those are both important questions,” Thaelios answered, seeming eager for a distraction as well. “Do you have any insights from your trance-vision? Without further knowledge, I think it sensible to at least choose from the Upper Planes. What do you think, Dyphina?”

  Thaelios still supported the woman with his arm around her back and a hand cupped to her ribcage, though her form sagged. Even in the dark, though, Be’naj swore she could almost feel Dyphina’s beauty, now that she took the time to notice. Her skin tingled, though unlike her itching response to the devil’s presence, the fey-aura seemed to increase her sensitivity.

  Dyphina sniffled but didn’t provide an answer to Thaelios, so Be’naj filled the silence. “Shecclad’s gift has not provided any guidance past this point, though I pray further instruction will come. I would like to visit Mt. Celestia, which Saffron says is the home realm of my father. Until now, I never imagined I’d have a chance to. I am eager to meet the Sky Lord himself, though I know not where the gods reside.”

  “Hmm, both destinations would be immeasurably intriguing,” Thaelios agreed. “Perhaps we should see what Saffron has to—”

  “It’s open!” Saffron yelled from the far end of the tunnel. “Come quick, everyone, the portal is open!”

  “Let me take her,” Be’naj offered as she claimed possession of the slumping Dyphina. “It’s going to be all right, my lady. You will find grief can help sustain you.” She let Thaelios and Rhazine clear the way before following at a slower pace. Dyphina’s feet started cooperating after a few steps, allowing Be’naj to look up.

  As they drew nearer the light, she saw that the flat rock face across from the basin was now reflective, it’s surface rippling ever-so-slightly like a pond settling after a rainstorm. She caught a glimpse of red, streaked inside the metal bowl, then looked to Saffron’s hands. They held irregular stains despite her attempts to wipe the blood clean. Searching the floor, Be’naj found Phaerim’s body in the corner, legs and arms folded to conceal his wound.

  “Do we just, step through?” Saffron asked.

  “Perhaps we should join hands, in case it only works once.” Thaelios reached out to Saffron, who looked at the blood on her hand before taking his. She, in turn, straightened three fingers of her right hand to Be’naj, keeping the lit dagger gripped by her thumb and forefinger.

  Be’naj claimed it, then linked with Dyphina, who hesitantly joined with Rhazine. Thaelios stepped forward once their line was complete and passed through the shimmering rock as if it were a curtain of water. The rest of them followed.

  On the other side, Be’naj emerged into a snow-covered forest glade. It was night, but the white snow reflecting silver moonlight provided plenty to see by. She looked up, but the black sky showed no stars. She likewise felt no wind, and though the air held a slight chill, it was not enough to warrant the dusting that had painted the trees and floor of the wood.

  Everyone released hands and spread out to investigate. Whatever Be’naj had been expecting, this was not it. There was a calmness to the area, but it also seemed somehow less than real. It was as if this space was some dream-like approximation of a memory whose details couldn’t quite match the truth.

  When she scooped up a handful of snow, it evaporated within ten heartbeats, not even leaving a pool of melt-moisture behind. After walking about twenty paces to her right, Be’naj bumped into something she couldn’t see. It looked as if the forest continued in front of her, but when she reached out, some invisible wall contained her – she’d reached the edge of wherever they were.

  “Supplies!” Dyphina yelled out from a copse of trees beyond the far edge of the glade. “I found food.” Those were the first words Be’naj had heard her utter since Phaerim took his life, and they were certainly welcome.

  Everyone rushed to see what Dyphina had found, even Rhazine. Stuffed between the thick trunks of a pair of snow-dusted oaks were two wooden chests, broad and already open. The powder formerly covering their lids lay in crumbly piles on the snow behind them.

  One of the chests seemed to be stacked full of folded clothes, enough outfits to dress perhaps a dozen Eladrin. The other box was packed with foodstuffs: crackers and grains and leaf-wrapped filets of smoked fish, already neatly sliced, among others. No trace of rot or spoilage tainted the food, even though many of the items were perishable. Be’naj lifted a strip of game fowl to her noise and sniffed – it smelled fresh, as if prepared within the hour.

  She was about to ask Thaelios if he thought the food had been protected by magic and was safe to eat, but Saffron and Dyphina were already chewing mouthfuls and preparing to swallow. She shrugged and followed suit, biting into the bird meat and savoring the taste of the first cooked meal she’d had in what seemed like a week.

  Be’naj had just devoured her handful of cooked fowl when Saffron stepped close, drinking from a metal canister. When she’d finished her swig, she handed the container to Be’naj and wiped the moisture from her lips.

  “It’s pure water, cold as a mountain stream.” Saffron smiled as Be’naj tipped the canister back to take a drink. The blood was gone from Saffron’s hands.

  “Where are we?” Be’naj asked after she’d quenched her thirst. “Don’t get me wrong, I certainly prefer this to that crypt we were in, but everything about it is odd. It feels like we’re in a place beyond the normal world.”

  “I believe we very much are,” Thaelios interjected. He sifted through the collection of available clothes until finally lifting a sapphire tunic with silver filigree around the sleeves. “My guess is, this is an extra-dimensional space. A pocket dimension, existing outside of normal time and physical location. The magic required to Shape one is well beyond me, but I’ve read about them. Trigilas certainly would have been able to pull one off.”

  “So, the Shapers who lived here probably created this place to hide the key? Then why stock it with other supplies?” Be’naj asked.

  Thaelios clawed his old shirt over his head and slipped on the fresh tunic. “Probably so it could be used as a sanctuary as well. Powerful magic often serves more than one purpose.”

  Saffron kneeled beside the chest and took over searching for a new outfit. “I’m glad they did, whatever the reason. This food is certainly a welcome blessing… I should have Rhazine refill her pack before we leave.” She conversed in Begnari with their adopted companion as she continued looking through the clothes.

  The crunch of Dyphina’s boots heralded her approach from behind, and Be’naj offered her the water canister. “I see you’ve found something new as well.” The soiled grey tunic she’d been wearing was replaced by an embroidered emerald top. Given the clothes were intended for the slighter-framed Eladrin, what was meant as a loose smock ended up hugging her frame, revealing her womanly shape. “How are you feeling?” Be’naj added, afraid her stare might be misinterpreted.

  “I’ve been better,” Dyphina admitted. “But I’m not going to let Phaerim’s sacrifice go to waste. We need to see this through.” She took a long drink of water, and Be’na
j once again noticed the effect the half-fey’s proximity had on her skin. How had she not noticed during their time in the desert? Always near Saffron, perhaps she’d never spent much time this close to Dyphina.

  “Has anyone seen this key we’re supposed to retrieve yet?” she asked after swallowing.

  “Not yet,” Saffron answered from her spot by the chest. She’d removed her slave tunic as well, and the bare skin of her back was exposed as she worked her arms through the long sleeves of a ruby-red shirt. “It doesn’t appear to be here with the other supplies, but we should fan out and see if we can find it.”

  Be’naj found it impossible to turn away, and when Saffron turned to face her, she found the new clothing accentuated Saffron’s curves as well. Suddenly, despite the ambient chill of the snow-crusted glade, Be’naj felt quite warm. “I’ll go this way,” she offered, using the excuse to spin around and hide her embarrassment at once again staring. Only, even though her back was turned, the image of Saffron’s body was still clear in her mind. What was worse, her memory called up a clear picture of Saffron naked, bathing in the starlit pools of Skywatch Haven.

  Not now, she thought. She had to focus on something else. “Did the fiend mention what this key might look like, Thaelios?” What if it was buried somewhere in the snow? If that were the case, they might be looking forever.

  “He did not,” Thaelios responded, somewhere off to her right. “But it’s likely magical and would only have to rest in the basin, so it need not look like the traditional key to a door.”

  “Of course!” Dyphina exclaimed. “It would be magical.”

  Be’naj kept her eyes on the ground in front of her, unsure why that fact seemed such a revelation to Dyphina, but then she heard her chanting in Eladrin, which was not her primary tongue. “What is she doing?” Be’naj asked Thaelios in their native speech.

  He sighed. “Using her wits, along with one of the first cantrips Cauzel ever taught us.”

  “What’s that?” Be’naj didn’t like the feeling of missing out on what seemed obvious to others.

  “She’s cast a spell so that she can spot any latent magical auras. Any object carrying an enchantment will seem to glow in her sight.”

  “Oh,” Be’naj straightened and turned to watch Dyphina on the hunt. “That does seem helpful to our situation.”

  “Indeed.”

  The two of them remained still as Dyphina advanced through the snow, step by step, turning her head from shoulder to shoulder. “There it is!” she announced after a few moments, jogging directly for the twisted trunk of an elm.

  Be’naj and the others followed, drawing near in time to see Dyphina extracting her hand from a hollow in the elm. In it was a steel-colored, metallic ball, nearly spherical, with a band of gold bisecting its surface. Four symmetrical grooves were carved equidistant to one another near its pole. Be’naj stared at the key, wondering if it should be responding to the half-fey’s touch in some way instead of simply resting peacefully in her palm.

  “You’re sure that’s it?” Saffron asked.

  “What else could it be?” Dyphina responded. “I haven’t seen anything else give off such an aura.”

  Thaelios cleared his throat. “Now that we’ve got the key, we ought to discuss our plan once we leave this place. According to M’thenzor, we’ll only have an hour to use the key before it returns here. Be’naj started the conversation earlier, and suggested we visit Mount Celestia.”

  Be’naj opened her mouth to defend her choice, but Thaelios kept talking.

  “While I can see some of the merits of visiting such a realm: safety, her familial curiosity, and the possibility of finding useful allies in our quest, I also highly question whether that would be our final destination. If there is a plot against the Eladrin here on Elisahd, it hardly seems like the threat lies anywhere in the Upper Planes.”

  “All right, just slow down for a moment, Thaelios.” Saffron raised her palms as if they could actually impede the momentum of his speech. Be’naj was still having trouble looking at her and managing to draw her focus away from the beauty of her physical form.

  “The fact is,” she started talking to keep her mind occupied, “the message I received from Shecclad during my trance has been suggestive of truths up until this point. But I have no idea where to look next for an answer.” She made eye contact with both Dyphina and Saffron to drive the point. “Without further clues, we’d only be guessing at the source of the threat anyway, and I don’t think any of us wants to end up ill-prepared on one of the nether planes.”

  Dyphina nodded. “That makes sense to me.”

  “Palomar and his Aasimar brethren were invaluable in the struggle against the King-priest of Chelpa. He perished, but we could certainly use friends of the same ilk.” Saffron was addressing Thaelios, but stole a look at Be’naj and nodded faintly as well.

  Thaelios stood with his hand upon his chin, appearing to mull over the information.

  “Celestials may very well have knowledge we can use and possibly point us in the right direction,” Saffron continued, stacking the measure in her favor.

  The glassy look in Thaelios’s eyes passed and he lifted his head to acknowledge Saffron directly. “Agreed. Mount Celestia it is.”

  “Excellent. That’s acceptable to all?” Saffron received nods from Dyphina and Be’naj.

  “What about Rhazine?” Be’naj asked, though she doubted the girl was in any position to weigh-in intelligently on such an outcome.

  Saffron waived dismissively. “I’ll tell her. We should fill her pack with rations before we leave, anyway. Are you sure you don’t want a change of clothes, Be’naj?”

  Be’naj’s face flushed warm again. “I may take a spare tunic, but I’ve got to make some … adjustments before I could wear it.”

  Saffron’s mouth dropped slightly at her oversight, and she struggled to recover. “Of course. Just … let me know if you need any help with the alterations.”

  “I will.” Be’naj smiled and walked over to the clothing trunk while Rhazine and Saffron picked through the food supplies to select what was best to pack.

  Before long, the five of them stood hand-in-hand before the shimmering portal. Thaelios cast a new light spell upon the dagger, both to renew its radiance and assure that the Dampening Stone wasn’t functioning once again. It worked, so they appeared to still have time.

  “I wish we’d brought Phaerim’s body with us,” Dyphina said before they passed through. “This seems a better place to rest than that stone tunnel.”

  Be’naj squeezed her hand and they each stepped forward, returning to the carved passage beneath the Hall of Doors.

  “We should not delay,” Thaelios said. “There’s no telling how much time we have. It can’t be long.”

  With Saffron holding the dagger and taking the lead, they made their way back to the stairs and through the secret door, returning to the Hall of Doors. “This way,” she said as she hurried by the stone pillars. The light of Thaelios’s spell briefly highlighted the gold cabinets before plunging them back into shadow.

  They passed through the shattered portion of the marble wall, making their way across the dais that marked the stairs, and into the adjoining room. A great wheel hung upon the wall, names scrawled in Eladrin upon its divided surface. Thaelios approached it and turned the mechanism until the triangle hanging from top-center rested squarely in the section labeled, “Mount Celestia.”

  “All right, Dyphina, place the key in the basin on that pedestal,” Thaelios instructed before joining the others in the center of the room.

  When she set the sphere into the metal tray, the key’s surface came to life with a bluish light, and the dark patch of wall opposite the wheel started to hum. Slowly, it changed from a void of fathomless blackness to something lighter. The radiance grew until it appeared to Be’naj like she was looking out of a window over a jade green valley, and into a beautiful, cloud-strafed sunrise.

  “Is that where we’re going?” Dy
phina asked the room, though no one seemed to have the words to respond. The view was striking, and Be’naj felt a twinge in her heart as if a piece of it that had been absent her entire life had just been found.

  Chapter 5

  The Slopes of

  Mount Celestia

  S tepping through the portal in the Hall of Doors felt much different to Be’naj than entering the pocket dimension Phaerim had sacrificed himself to open. Whereas that resembled passing underneath a waterfall and simply emerging instantaneously on the other side, this was clearly a journey. Her body felt like it was made of rope and was being stretched and twisted. The whole process was far from immediate. An elongated, half-minute of helplessness left her on her knees and gasping for air once her senses returned to normal.

  Looking back, she could not see any sign of a Planar Gate, but her friends were around her, similarly spent, and that was a relief. Her recently returned breath was nearly taken again as she rose to absorb her new surroundings. She stood in the realm she’d viewed through the portal-window, though the reality exceeded what little she’d been able to see.

  There was a sun, resting a short jump above the horizon, and though its brightness seemed muted, the air was filled with a warm, white light. She and her companions had been deposited on a wide path, paved with pale stones, though a dart’s throw to her left, the ground dropped away to a steep decline. She could see a valley below, a mixture of green vegetation and shining lights that sparkled like jewels as they peeked between passing clusters of thin, wispy clouds.

  Far off to the right, the mountainside rose upward. Its stones were green as if blanketed by a layer of soft moss. Be’naj followed the slope with her eyes but noticed that low-lying clouds obscured everything more than a hundred feet above. The current lateral position of the sun, however, prevented the clouds from obscuring its radiance.

  “This is where you’re from, Be’naj?” Dyphina asked. “It’s amazing!”