Delver Magic Book I: Sanctum's Breach

by Jeff Inlo

Chapter 25

  Sanctum offered little to greet the apprehensive adventurers, mostly rock and darkness, but at least the stone steps provided an easy descent. They were built by the dwarves, part of the internal construction of the tiers in this once hollow edifice. Their purpose had not been to bring invaders down to the core, but to allow a path of exit. Once a particular race had completed setting its restrictions within its own tier, they would need a means of leaving Sanctum. It would not be wise to bury and seal the designers of the barriers with their inventions. The steps were nothing more than part of the foundation to serve that end. It was hoped they would never be used again, though now they functioned as a path of entry, a purpose beyond the aspirations of Sanctum's creators.

  The stone staircase cut through Sanctum Mountain at its very center. Four consecutive sections of steps, ten steps to each, led downward and broke at opposing angles. The final leg of the stairs ended directly underneath the opening which bore them entry. Thus, those that descended the stone stairway would reach a point exactly where they began, albeit forty steps lower.

  Each step was carved from pure granite. Layers and layers of rock dust masked the flat footfall portions of the stone. The vertical edges, however, escaped the brown and gray powder and shined with ancient polish, a tribute to dwarf construction. Most steps passed the test of the ages without crumbling or succumbing to fissure. Only a random few suffered the scars of cracks, and these appeared recent, probably the result of the blast which freed the magic from this monumental tomb.

  The steps themselves were fashioned wide enough to hold two side by side. The descending group used the great width to do just that, and they clumped together as close as possible, finding security in moving together.

  Only two stood alone. Dzeb's physical stature prevented him from moving with a companion at his side. His great size filled the width of a single step and not even the slender Holli would stand comfortably in the available room.

  Ryson also stepped down alone. As the bearer of the only source of light, he maintained his position at the center. Five moved behind him as four lurched on ahead. Directly in front of Dzeb, Ryson held his sword high. It glistened through the gloom, giving off the light of five or maybe ten torches combined.

  Ryson, as much as others within the party, continued to marvel at the sword as it continued to defy logic. It was now known to them all that the sword was not a creator of light but an enhancer of existing light. In this place, however, illumination was meager indeed. Darkness covered the sky outside the mountain, even the brightest stars were blanketed from sight. Now, they walked within the walls of Sanctum. Only the opening created by Jon kept them from being completely consumed within the rock. To be sure, the light of the sword dimmed when Ryson passed through the opening, yet the illumination burned strong enough to light a distance of near thirty paces.

  The Sword of Decree's ability to magnify such illumination was only part of its mystery. The light itself showed as an anomaly. It did not burn the eyes to look at, did not leave spots if anyone stared too long at the blade. It barely cast shadows, and certainly not sharp images. The light seemed to swerve around those objects in its path, thus even those that stood behind the cliff behemoth did not stand in his dark shadow.

  The sword's illumination also failed to affect Ryson's night vision. Normally, when a delver stood within light, his sight could not penetrate darkness in the distance, but here, this was not the case. Beyond the radiance cast by the sword, his eyes cut through the darkness. The border between light and dark was near invisible to him. He could see the final section of stairs which remained in darkness with the same sharpness as those steps which basked in the light of his sword.

  In that, he found another mystery yet to ponder. His sight ended at the tenth step of the fourth section. It was not the diminishing limit of his vision, but a distinct border between what he could see and what he could not. The last step was not a fading image. He saw it clearly, but whatever waited beyond it might have as well been covered in black ink. He could perceive nothing but a void, a void which remained even as they descended deeper, even as the last visible step finally came into the light of his sword.

  The delver's eyes narrowed. The void defied the light. It remained as dark as when they began. It defied his night vision. There was not a single object which he could focus upon, simply nothing; not another step, not a granite platform, not even a loose stone. To his eyes, there was nothing there, nothing but empty space, nothing for the light to reflect upon and nothing for his keen eyes to grasp.

  He took his eyes from the emptiness to refocus them, to bring them back to a sense of spatial reality. In his bewilderment, he noted another oddity. While the stone stair case was as visible to him as the cliff behemoth, the space beyond echoed the void. To his left and right, far ahead and far behind, the light of the sword drifted into blackness.

  Such should not be. Sanctum, an extinct volcano, took the shape of an inverted cone. Ryson could see its external shape in his mind. The hollowness of Sanctum's core could not extend beyond the limits of its external crust, yet that is what he saw. Where he calculated the sides to be, there existed only the void. Where he should have seen the sloping edges of Sanctum's inner walls, he saw emptiness. Only the stairs and the rock surrounding the opening above remained visible. Every other part of Sanctum's existence was bathed in darkness.

  The emptiness dizzied him, left him reaching for rail holds which did not exist. His knees nearly buckled as his keen senses could not break the grip of the void. He was a delver in a vacuum—a man of uncanny senses, but in a place where those senses were now blocked.

  He needed something to focus on, something to anchor his senses and avoid sudden panic. He threw his sights to his feet. He stared at each step before him as if their existence meant his life. His nostrils flared. He breathed deeply, inhaling the scent of every one next to him. He smelled the dampness of their clothes and the mud upon their feet. He caught the faint traces of the horses they rode upon still lingering with each rider. He swallowed the air, tasted the bitter bile of his own spit. He listened to those around him, heard at least one shiver; heard them all breathing ever so lightly, as if taking in too much air would bring poison to their lungs. He turned an ear upward. He could hear the rain drops growing louder. Water that dripped through the opening onto the stone steps echoed throughout the cavern.

  He took hold of the echo, and with it, he found comprehension. It was as a song to his ears. It rang in his soul like a triumphant symphony. The echo! It provided the answer. The void was immune to light, but not to sound. The simple notes of the rain pierced the void, bounced about to return to his ears, a phenomenon which could not occur without the walls of Sanctum. It proved the existence of the surrounding rock as truly as if he could reach out and touch it.

  Again, he sniffed the air with near savagery. He picked up the scent beyond the party. He inhaled the stale air, and long captured dust. He could smell beyond the void, smell the age of captured air.

  The answer was clear. The emptiness, the void, it was an illusion. He laughed as he exclaimed as much.

  "It's a trick!" he said with glee.

  Tun was in front, near the last visible step when he stopped. He twirled about abruptly as if he realized the delver had just stolen something from him.

  "What did you say?!" His tone was as accusing as it was astonished.

  Ryson still rejoiced in his revelation and ignored the angry tone of the dwarf. "I said it's a trick."

  "What are you talking about?" Lief called from the rear.

  "I'm talking about the darkness," the delver called out joyously. "Look at how the step where Tun stands is visible, but the next is not. Look around you, look for the walls of this mountain. You can't see them."

  All those but Jon and Tun turned about to witness what had previously gone unnoticed. They murmured with curiosity. They looked in awe at the space beyond the very edges of each step. Everyth
ing around them was consumed in darkness. They could not deny the void any more than they could deny the very stone steps they stood upon.

  "There's something that swallows the light," Ryson called out to them. "The walls are there, but we can't see them. That's the trick I'm talking about. It's an illusion."

  Tun called out sternly. "Delver! How is it you speak of such things? What is it you know of Sanctum that you have not revealed?" His tone continued to carry more than just a hint of accusation. His hard dwarf eyes bore down upon the delver with demanding expectation.

  The question surprised Ryson, ripped him from the joy of his discovery. He answered near defensively. "I'm not hiding anything. You know more than I do about what's in here."

  "Yet you speak of secrets which you should know nothing about," Tun pressed.

  "What are you talking about?"

  "I'm talking about the illusion of the void. How is it you know of the dwarf secret?" The words were louder than the dwarf normally spoke. His anger brought a tone which echoed off the walls.

  The reverberation of Tun's voice was not lost upon Ryson. He used it to explain himself, though he did not understand why such an explanation was necessary. He pointed to the air as he replied. "Do you hear the echo? That's what gave it away."

  "You speak in riddles," Tun defied the explanation. "How can sound explain that which is hidden to your eyes?"

  "Easy," Ryson responded confidently, finally shaking off the accusing stare of the dwarf. "I can tell how far the walls are from us by the echo. We should all be able to see them. The echo is the same sound just bouncing back to us. The interior of the mountainside should stand in the light of the sword, but it doesn't. That means they have to be hidden by an illusion."

  "Is this true?" Stephen Clarin asked of the dwarves. "Is this what the dwarves used to protect the first tier?"

  "It is just part of the obstacle," Tun explained as if insulted. "But I do not like the delver revealing things which he should not know."

  "What would you have him do?" Lief near demanded. He peered downward from his position further up the staircase. He had to arch his neck to get a clear view over Dzeb's shoulder. He continued with an accusing tone of his own. "Would you have him ignore what he senses? He is a delver. He has explained exactly how he came to his conclusion. Why must you remain as obstinate as the rocks you live under?"

  "And why do you think I have to answer to you?" Tun snarled. He glared at the elf as the others stood uneasily between them.

  "Hey, now hold on," Ryson called out to them both. "There's no need for this. Tun, I've told you the truth. I didn't know anything about what was in here when we entered. All I know is what I see, hear and smell right now. But that was enough to figure out the trick of the darkness. I still don't know what's causing it. I just know not to believe it."

  Silence gripped the dwarf. The light of the sword illuminated his doubtful expression. In the quiet, in the hollow of Sanctum, the sound of the rain became more prevalent. Even Tun could hear it now. The faint echoes of dripping water penetrated the musty cavern air. He gritted his teeth as if to brace himself against the abrasive, repetitive sound. He might have stood there for the entire passage of the night had Stephen not spoke up.

  "I want you all to listen to me." His voice was filled with passion as he was careful to cast his plea over all of them and not focus solely upon Tun. He spoke with conviction, with urgency. He spoke with a comprehension of the depth of where they were and what they needed to do. And he spoke with the vibrancy of youth. "Someone should have said this before we entered this place, that someone should have been me. I guess we wanted to get this thing over with as soon as possible. But that's no excuse. We walked into Sanctum as if we were walking into a market, as if we could put aside the past like it never occurred. But it has occurred and it's time we deal with it. Before we take another step, we must come to the true understanding of what we must do."

  "We must destroy the sphere," Dzeb said softly. "It is Godson's will. We are here to carry out that will." He spoke as if the answer was so simple, and indeed to him it was. His eyes, however, betrayed the confusion he felt within him when he looked at the others. They did not carry that simple but unyielding understanding. Even Stephen Clarin, a man touched by the very powers of Godson, carried doubts and fears which were plainly evident to the cliff behemoth.

  "It is that simple to you, my friend." A small lump in Stephen's throat forced a pause to swallow. He continued with a glistening tear in his eye. "You possess an understanding that humbles us all. The rest of us, unfortunately, aren't as strong. We carry with us the scars of the past, the burden of mistrust. We tried to ignore it, hoped we could overlook it, but we really can't. We have to deal with it here and now."

  The interpreter turned his attention back to every other member of the party. The sternness of his voice matched his expression. "When I was given the human's portion of the secret, I was told never to reveal it until it became necessary for another to carry. I was told not to trust elf, dwarf, algor, or even delver." He cast an apologizing glance at Ryson, as if he did not deserve to hear such a thing. "I accept the fact that the rest of you have been told the same, and told never to trust the humans.

  "Tun's reaction is perfectly understandable. His is the first secret to reveal and he feels the most vulnerable. Once we pass this tier, he will be at our mercy, as we our now at his. Is it truly any wonder to any of you that he would become upset at Ryson's revelation?

  "I understand it. I accept it. I do both because I realize we have not joined in a true agreement. Yes, we all agree to destroy the sphere, but we have not agreed to end the mistrust. We have agreed to assault this place as I have seen in my vision, but we have not agreed to put faith in each other. We can not succeed until we do each. We must pledge loyalty not only to our mission but to each other as well."

  He spoke quicker now. The sense of urgency heightened in his voice. "I tell you all, I tell you in the eyes of Godson, that I trust you. I know you shall all do your best to lead me safely through this mountain, as I will do my best. As to the delver, as to all of you, I invite—no, I demand—that you remain alert and do all you can do to protect the safety of this group. Remember, one tier remains a mystery to us and that is not the fault of anyone here. We must combine our strengths, as well as use the knowledge that is ours. Most of all, we must come together. How can we possibly hope to overcome this place if we remain isolated and mistrustful of each other?"

  The words rang with passion, with truth, a truth which cut quickly to the soul of the elf. Lief immediately responded, replied with both regret and sincerity directed at the lead dwarf. "I apologize Tun Folarok. The interpreter is correct. Since your arrival, I have been more than willing to remain in conflict with you. I have taken every opportunity to question your motives as well as decisions. The truth remains that I have not accepted your willingness to cooperate. That will no longer be the case. I am an elf of quick emotions. I offer that not as an excuse, but as an explanation. If I question you in the future, it will be out of my own quick temper and not from any mistrust directed toward you. As does the interpreter, I pledge my faith to you as well as every other member of this group."

  "As do we," the algors responded in unison. Their concurring voices punctuated their willingness to cooperate. It brought a smile to Stephen.

  "Is there any one here that remains doubtful to anyone's intentions?" he asked with the smile still gracing his lips.

  None responded, but the eyes of the party fell squarely upon Tun. Though the edges of conflict diminished from his chiseled features, the spark of opposition remained in his eyes as well as his voice. "As Lief is an elf of quick emotions, I am a dwarf with little faith in things I can not understand. It may sadden you, but I will speak the truth. What I know of the humans, I do not like. And I do not know the algors at all. I have had dealings with elves, both good and bad. The delver put his sword in my hand and I saw the need to dest
roy the sphere, but I saw no need to trust anyone but myself. If my words ring cold to any of you, there is nothing I can do. I barely put faith in my own brother, how can you expect me to put faith in strangers?"

  Uneasiness filled the cavern. His glare made it clear that no words would cleanse him of his mistrust. He would hold to it as he would hold to his axe in battle.

  The one most struck by the rebuke was Jon. His eyes dropped in obvious sorrow as grief painted his face. His beard seemed to grow grayer by the second. He did not turn his back on his brother, but he would not face him, either.

  Tun found no sadness in the cold response of those around him. He would, however, make one concession. He spoke it as if a peace offering to an ancient and bitter enemy. "I will make one promise to you all. While I may remain doubtful to your intentions, I have no misconceptions of what must be done with the sphere. It remains as clear to me as when I held the sword. It must be destroyed and I pledge everything within me for that cause."

  Lief found the words to respond first. There was no conflict in his voice, no anger towards Tun. He spoke as if his pledge of faith and loyalty sculpted his reply. "Then that is all we will ask of you. It is the true basis of why we we’re here. And no one should doubt the word of Prince Folarok."

  Stephen's expression, however, remained colored with disappointment. He opened up to the dwarf, revealed his own sadness over Tun's remarks. "I won't doubt your word, Tun, but I would have hoped for more from you. If you wish to doubt the words of those that even now put the faith of their very lives in your hands, so be it. I wish there was something I could say or do to make you understand, but I see in your eyes there is nothing that will change your mind."

  Tun responded, not harshly, but firmly, brittle with his own stubbornness. "What you see in my eyes is the doubt created by years of witnessing human arrogance and frailties. Every season they astound me with their greed to steal more and more of the land, to take far more gems from the earth than they need. And it does not end with the humans. I have knowledge of the ancient times, when dwarves suffered at the whims of wizards and sorcerers, elf and human alike. While I can no longer argue with the need to destroy the sphere, you can not take from me the understanding of what will come. You have visions blessed by Godson, but I have visions based on my perceptions of what the return of magic will mean to the dwarves."

  "As I said," Stephen concluded both apologetically and sadly, "I know you will hold firm to your beliefs, but I see no reason why I should hide my feelings from you. You don't have to make explanations to anyone here, it is not my position to judge you. But I will not lie to you either. If you hold to your doubts, I'll hold to my disappointment."

  Both Tun and Stephen had nothing further to say. They stood quiet. The rest of the group seemed lost, standing about wondering what to say or do. The indecision mounted. They stood more like ten statues, as if they were made of the same stone which comprised the stairs that held them.

  Holli found the condition intolerable. The inactivity, the indecision, and the clustered way they stood in the open; all of this left them vulnerable. Her mind, her well trained and honed instincts, screamed to her the reality of the situation. They were standing within the walls of Sanctum, perhaps the most dangerous place in all of Uton, standing there like sheep surrounded by ravenous wolves.

  Each passing moment grated on her senses, forced her deeper into distress. Though her eyes darted about the cavern, the darkness kept her from piercing the mysteries of the first tier. The void forbade her from finding threats. She could not see beyond the stone steps, could not assess the size of the expanse that was the dwarf section of Sanctum. The surrounding void was as damaging to her nerves as it was to the delver's.

  Though she did not wish to usurp control of the group's movements from the dwarves, she could no longer hold her tongue. "Tun? Are we in danger by simply standing here?"

  His eyes washed over her, just as slight satisfaction appeared on his face. If the delver's revelation had shaken his confidence in the sanctity of his secret, the elf's question restored it. "Standing still may be the only thing which is truly safe in this place," he said almost smugly. "It is movement that is dangerous. I bid you all to remember that." He let the warning sink in before continuing. "I suppose it is time for us to pass this level, and pass it we will."

  "One moment please." The uncertain voice of Lauren broke the attention upon the dwarf. The sorceress spoke meekly, as timid as a mouse with eyes upon circling owls. "I don't mean to interrupt, but I have to do something about the cold. My clothes are damp. I can feel the cold air on our backs. I won't be able to concentrate on what we're doing if I'm freezing to death."

  "It is cold," Stephen stated as he also realized how damp his own clothes were. He noted his frosty breath. Until this moment, the excitement of the quest kept their minds from the cold wind of night shrilling in from the opening overhead. Without torches to exude heat, most would soon become numb. "What is it you suggest we do?"

  "I think ... I'm pretty sure I can dry our clothes for us."

  "A spell has come to your mind?" Holli asked perceptively.

  Lauren could only nod. She did not wish to speak of how or why the knowledge became her own. She did not understand it herself. A moment before she only knew she was cold, uncomfortable in the damp clothes she wore. As if fulfilling a wish, a means of funneling the energy within in her burst into her mind. A moment of concentration and they would be warmed.

  Most called for an immediate casting, especially the algors who were perhaps the most uncomfortable in the drafty dampness of the cavern. Lauren hesitated, torn by the desire to be warmed and the fear of unleashing yet another power which she could not comprehend. She began to shiver, the cold gnawed at her, and finally forced the fear from her mind. She closed her eyes and seized a distant thought.

  The air around the entire group shuddered and then became colored with a light purple hue. The cold was ripped from about them as dry hot air engulfed them all. It swirled about, ever so slightly, like a hot but gentle breeze from the desert. Their clothes dried near instantaneously and soon became warm to the touch, a warmth which would stay with them. The cold damp from above was blocked and most of the party hummed in satisfaction. Even the great cliff behemoth basked in the comforting warmth.

  Lauren opened her eyes, at first she was smiling. Her burden of cold released, no longer shivering, she embraced herself. She draped her arms about her shoulders to drink in the heat. Her delight was short lived. Her realization that she was the sole creation of this phenomenon pulled any further pleasure from her. She dropped her arms in near desperation.

  Her plight, however, went unnoticed as Tun called for their attention. "With our thanks to the sorceress, we can now begin." If he was truly thankful, his voice concealed it. He continued as if wanting to move beyond the use of magic as soon as possible. "It is time I reveal to you what waits for us beyond the darkness. The delver is correct, the cover of dark is an illusion. It is the first veil to discourage unwanted visitors into Sanctum. The dwarves were never able to use magic to create illusions, but we know how to use what the land gives us. Gems and crystals can bend the light, reshape it, create things which are not there and hide things which are. That is what awaits us.

  "It took the preparation of hundreds of perfect gems to create the obstacles in this tier, but such was the importance of guarding the sphere. Any light, even the light of the delver's sword, will be twisted to create numerous illusions. You will see walls were no walls exist, you will see clear paths that are nothing more than dead ends, and you will see solid ground which is truly waiting doom.

  "As well as creating images which do not exist, the gems also hide those things which you might wish to find. The one clear path through the maze of this tier is as disguised as the best thief in the land. As for the trap door which leads to the next level, if you look for it, you will never see it. It is bathed in the same void which surrounds us now. <
br />
  "But beware, this is not simply a tier full of tricks. There are things very deadly, even to a cliff behemoth. Spiked pits, pools of acid, falling boulders, and traps of other assortments wait for a single misstep. Sometimes you will see me step directly toward a pit while safe ground appears to my side. You must remember it is the trick of the gems. You must not trust what you see, for the pit will be safe and the solid ground will hold your death.

  "This entire tier was constructed so that one who walked about in the light would die as foolish as the one that stumbled about in the dark. Even a delver moving inch by painful inch with his eyes closed would never avoid every pitfall that waits. Unless you enter knowing what is safe and what is not, you would not survive this tier.

  "One other thing, once we pass into the void, the steps will disappear from our sight. Just as the ground beyond this spot is invisible to us, that which can be seen here can not be seen there. When I take my next step, I will disappear from your sight as you will disappear from mine. It is a safeguard to prevent anyone from finding their way back to the steps once they make the foolish attempt to truly enter Sanctum. Only those that know the true path would be able to find the stairs again."

  With the secret revealed, Tun gazed into the darkness that greeted them one and all. He watched it with growing displeasure, as if it were now nothing more than a curtain to be thrown aside. If it were vulnerable to the edge of his axe, he would have cut through it in disgust.

  He knew his help was still needed. Knowing what evil lurked beyond the darkness, and knowing how to defeat it were certainly two separate entities, but the truth of what his people placed in Sanctum was now exposed. In his own eyes, the barrier itself did not live up to its long history.

  The secret to Sanctum was his birthright as prince. It was something spoken of in hushed tones, a great burden. Now that he acknowledged it openly, spoke of it not only outside of royal blood but outside his race, it seemed almost feeble, almost laughable. The dwarf barrier to the unholy sphere was nothing more than a trick of light.

  He and his brother knew which steps to take to gain safe passage through the tier, but the barrier did not seem as deadly now that it was truly revealed. He never felt as humbled as he did at that very moment. He spoke of what must be done with growing dissatisfaction.

  "Once I pass beyond, I will ask that my brother remain here to guide you one by one to me. When you pass through the darkness, you must, without argument, step exactly where I tell you to. When we begin to cross the tier you must also do exactly as I say. No matter what it looks like I am doing, do not stray from the path I set. If you do so, you will not only cause your death, but the rest of us will probably die as well."

  Such a warning limped hollow and empty from the prince, but it needed to be said for it was the truth. The path to be traveled was narrow, with no margin for error. He looked to his brother before moving forward. "I expect you will be placing light gems as we go?"

  "Yes," John replied still somewhat remorseful from his brother's previous remarks. "I will place one here when everyone has past and another at the door to the next tier."

  "What are light gems?" Ryson asked aloud.

  Jon seemed grateful for the chance to remove his attention from his brother. "Light gems reflect light from outside, like mirrors. It is what the dwarves use to bring light to dark tunnels. I will place them at certain points of our travel to keep the light that is with us now with us as we venture forward. With your sword to amplify that light, we will never lose our current depth of illumination."

  Ryson considered the explanation and held it in regard with the gems which waited beyond the darkness, as well as the void itself. "Will you be able to penetrate the darkness? And won't the gems beyond shift the light from where you direct it?"

  "The gems that create this barrier of darkness do not stop light from entering," Jon explained. "They only keep it from reflecting back to our eyes. As to the other gems, they will play tricks with the light I direct, as they will with the light from your sword, but they will not stop it from reaching its destination. Let me show you." He reached into the pack which hung about his shoulder and pulled out a clear crystal gem. It appeared more like an octagonal piece of glass than a multi-faceted diamond. He took one quick glimpse of the opening above before placing it on the next-to-the-last step. Immediately, the light within the cavern doubled.

  "Right now, I am directing light from our entrance back towards Ryson. His sword is now magnifying light from two different sources. Even without your sword, this reflected light would allow dwarves to see for long distances in tunnels. Even though the gems beyond this point will bend it, change it to create the illusions my brother spoke of, it will reach the door to the next level. For now, I will hold it in the open so that even when Ryson's sword passes through, those that remain on this side will still have light." He took the gem back in his hand and waited for Tun to retake command.

  The elder prince said nothing. He simply turned, faced the void, and stepped beyond it. His body moved through the curtain of black much like breaking through the surface of water, though there were no shifting waves of dispersal. It simply gave way to his shape, and then returned to its original form. The veil remained intact, unfazed by the crossing as the darkness swallowed Tun whole.

  There was no visual trace of the dwarf, not an outline beyond the void, not a glimmer of form within the darkness, yet he stood only a single pace beyond the last stone step which remained visible to them all. It was only the sound of his voice which reassured the rest that he was not removed to oblivion. "Send them one at a time, Jon."

  The order rang loud and clear and revealed his close proximity. Holli and Ryson stared with near disbelief at the spectacle. Her trained ears and his keen senses allowed them both to calculate the dwarf's distance. They knew he stood no more than an arm's reach from Jon, but neither could see even the faintest trace of the older prince. The light from Ryson's sword continued to bathe the steps and should have shown upon Tun, but the curtain of black consumed the glow and covered the prince as if he stood miles beneath the surface in an airtight cave.

  They were not given a chance to comment, for Jon quickly moved them forward. One by one he guided them past the void. The experience was near mesmerizing. Each moved up to face the darkness. It stood within a finger's length of their noses. Their eyes could not penetrate it, not even Ryson with his ability to see in near total dark. It stood as a wall, solid and thick. As they stepped into it, they cringed as if their minds told them the wall would not give, but the veil did not hold the least resistance. It had no substance and it gave way to their movements as free as the air about them.

  The first step would take a foot and an ankle through the screen. They would disappear just as Tun had vanished. Many wavered at that moment of crossing, looking down at a leg which broke through the void and was no longer visible. Uncertainty gripped them with unthinkable power as fear washed over their consciousness. Tun had warned them a single misstep could mean their doom and here they were stepping into an area they could not even see. The algors, Stephen, even Ryson were hesitant. As they stepped into the void, they felt the ground ahead, carefully probing for solid footholds. The ground was there and with the same rock solid sturdiness as any other platform.

  Holli had the most difficulty with the crossing. How could she convince herself to step blindly into the void while knowing the area was laden with traps and pitfalls? Even as Jon waited patiently to guide her, she remained more than reluctant. Simply passing through a barrier with such little knowledge of what waited beyond was an action of the untrained, the foolish, or both. She tested the curtain with her hand first. The result was no different. Her fingers vanished, then the rest of her hand. It dissolved before her eyes just as everything else which passed through the void. She pulled it back rigorously and inspected it, as if she expected missing digits. Nothing, however, had affected her hand. She pressed it beyond the border of light
and dark again. She let it linger there as she inspected the border on her wrist that was the limit of her vision. The darkness encircled her arm, just as something on the other side, out of her sight, took her by the hand.

  She reacted near violently. She pulled, but whatever held her, gripped her tightly. Her eyes narrowed without fear but with contempt. It became a tug of war with the veil of darkness as the focal point. Instantly, she set her feet apart for greater balance and leverage. She pulled her shoulders back, as far as her gripped arm would allow. She bent at the waist and pulled rigorously and evenly against whatever held her.

  With one violent tug from the opposing side, she was pulled from her feet. Against her will, she flew through the void. The mere instant of passing was something she wished never to go through again. For a split instant, during that miniscule moment that her wide open eyes surged through the darkness, nothing existed. The light from behind her disappeared, ravenously devoured by the void.

  Thankfully, gracefully, life instantly appeared before her. Where there was once no light, there was now an abundance. She saw the surprise in the faces of her comrades who stood single file, though in a somewhat twisted line in front of her. Her hand materialized before her. She saw the hand of Tun still grasping it firmly. With his help, she caught her balance before she stepped wildly past the initial platform that waited beyond the stone steps.

  She appeared more than ready to scold the dwarf. Her eyes fixed upon him as he released her. Her mouth trembled, ready to release a barrage of angry remarks, but she clenched her jaw. She remained in control as she questioned the dwarf.

  "Why did you do that?" Her voice was cool, but demanding.

  "I know you are an elf guard," Tun replied stoically, as if he did nothing wrong. "Your reluctance was not surprising. I understood your need for care, but you must understand the need for haste. Though the safe path is set, the illusions are not fixed. They will change as the light changes. If the night darkens, or if the clouds lift, what we see now will not be what we see then. It is best to move quickly once we enter the heart of the tier."

  "Then you should have told us that before we started," Holli responded with great self control. She spoke the words as advice and not as a reprimand. "As an elf guard, I react differently than others. If you prepare me for such things, I will act less defensively."

  Tun shrugged. The elf's reaction was not his problem. "Stand where you are and don't move." He turned back and waited for the last few to cross.

  Holli acknowledged the order. She took no steps, but she immediately scanned the area which was now more or less visible to her. It was as the dwarf warned, the stairs were gone, covered by the same void which previously hid the ground they now stood upon.

  Her darting eyes passed over the rough rock walls, and the level smooth floor. Total darkness loomed overhead. A long corridor trailed off to her right while a wide open expanse waited to her left. In the open space, she counted five spiked pits. She wondered how many were real and how many were illusion. The corridor showed no sign of danger, but the way was narrow and left no option for making any turn for as far as she could see. In front of her, a path broke between two pits of still liquid. She smelled the hint of sulfur in the air and guessed both were comprised of acid and not mountain water. She could not see the conclusion of the path, for another veil of darkness blanketed it less than four steps away.

  Her surveillance was cut short by Tun's unbending orders. Jon had crossed through the veil. The younger prince remained the last, waiting patiently behind Lief as Tun walked carefully by the rest to retake the lead. At present, they stood snaked about in apparent haphazard confusion. He addressed them showing little patience.

  "Do not stray from this line. I have set you in this pattern because even now hazards wait all about you. You must step exactly where the one in front of you steps, even if it seems a waste of time. If I take twenty steps to circle around a single stone, the rest of you must do the same. Ignore what you see other than what the person in front of you does. Follow the path exactly."

  He looked at Stephen who stood second in line. "Step as I step, move as I move. You will mirror my actions as the sorceress will mirror yours, and so on through the line."

  "I understand," the interpreter attempted to speak confidently, but his response was hollow and filled with dread.

  Perhaps Tun now felt the tier of the dwarves was lacking in true challenge, but others did not. It unnerved the interpreter to be in a place where a single mistake, the merest slip, would mean agonizing death. What would it be like to fall into a pool of acid? To die slowly, painfully as his skin foamed away to nothing? How much better would it feel to die by falling upon sharp, thick spikes? How many would pierce his body if he fell into such a thing? The power of the darkness which previously blocked their sight of this place added to his growing anxiety. If gems could bend the light to their will in such a way, they could hide anything. His life was now solely dependent upon following Tun, as were the lives of the others dependant upon him. If he erred, chances were those behind him would only follow his mistake. The charge weighed upon him like a cloak of lead. As Tun made his first step, Stephen wished anyone else would have been second in that march.

  Tun chose the long corridor. He started without further word, and he moved far too quickly for the interpreter's liking. He marched as if moving through his own home in the tunnels of Dunop. He gave not the slightest indication of watching what was behind him. He had given his order and he expected all to follow. He would not stand over them and guide them like children through the night.

  From the rear, Jon was more observant of the movements of the others. He made sure no one swayed from the original twisting path set by his brother, and he made sure they mirrored Tun's current movements as well.

  Tun took five steps down the corridor before turning to his left. It appeared he faced a solid stone wall, but the illusion was revealed as he stepped through it. One by one, the others followed the apparently impossible maneuver of walking through stone, and one by one, they disappeared from the corridor.

  Upon clearing the illusion of the wall, the party broke through to a clearing, an area which looked much like the expanse which appeared previously. In fact, to Holli it appeared as the same space. She noted the five spiked pits which appeared in the exact positions as the first she surveyed. She swerved her head about to gain a better perspective of where they had moved.

  The wall of the corridor was not directly behind them. Instead, the corridor itself reappeared, just as the path between the two acid pools. They had made no progress. They were back at the starting point, though now facing the open expanse.

  "Please watch yourself, Holli," Jon called out politely from behind.

  She was about to reveal what had happened when a stern rebuke came from the head of the line.

  "Ignore what you think you see," Tun commanded with a tone which revealed he did not like to repeat himself.

  Exasperated, Holli turned her attention back to the algor that walked before her. Of all that marched, she would have the most difficulty in fending off the illusions. She shuddered each time it appeared as if they were stepping into pits of acid, lava, or spikes. It was difficult for her to believe the feel of her own feet even as they landed upon solid ground and she could only look down to see waiting death.

  With all her might, she concentrated upon the steps of the algor, but she could not refrain from scanning the area for threats. Each time she surveyed the surroundings, her tension grew with leaps and bounds. They walked directly over the most blatant dangers, even as safe ground waited within a single step's distance. She wished to cry out at the idiocy of such movements, yet these same movements defied the very dangers that made themselves so evident.

  While not with the same degree of suffering, Ryson also found the march disquieting. Though it was not his training to uncover threats before they manifested themselves, he was a delver. He relied on all his s
enses to explore a variety of places and things. He had traveled in caves previously, crawled through tunnels which threatened collapse or leapt over gorges with no visible bottom. In these times of exploration, all of his senses guided him away from danger. It now was his task to ignore his own honed sense of vision, or at the very least, to change his perception of what he saw.

  A desire filled him to uncover the secrets behind the illusions. He began to focus upon guessing what was real and what was deception before they moved upon it. With his keen eyesight, he sought the gems which created the magic of these mirages. He struggled to perceive that which might reveal the presence of illusion by seeing beyond the actual mirage and sensing the unnatural bend of light. At times, he was actually successful. He attuned his sight to the slightest wavering of an apparent solid structure, or the blur of distortion in visible open space. Several times he would predict correctly when Tun would move away from apparent safety, walk through a solid wall, or step toward an illusion of waiting catastrophe.

  These desires, however, split his concentration. He was torn between watching the steps of Lauren and searching for hidden answers to the illusions. He knew such distractions were dangerous, but as Holli scanned for threats which were invisible to her, his instincts kept him searching for answers.

  The march proceeded through many corridors, past two curtains of darkness, over and around hundreds of pitfalls, all without a single incident. Tun managed each turn with unfailing memory. Countless times, they walked uncomfortably close to waiting death, but death was always avoided. The cliff behemoth's size brought him within a cat's whisker of destruction on many occasion, but he walked as calmly and as confidently as Tun, as if he knew Godson was guiding his every step.

  After throngs of twists and turns, after a period of travel where time now had little meaning to any of them, they reached the center of yet another long corridor. Tun stopped, as if to step through yet another wall. He did not, however, move beyond his present position. Instead, he turned to face those that had unfailingly followed his every move.

  "We have successfully crossed the first tier," he stated without emotion. No hint of sadness, relief or joy existed in his expression or voice. He looked over them all with a stone cold glance. He saw the confusion in their faces which merely served to irritate him. "I told you you would not be able to see it. The door to the next level is here." He pointed to ordinary looking ground. There was nothing which indicated a door of any kind. Shaking his head and muttering, he bent down as if to prove its existence by opening the invisible passage.

  As he reached, Stephen realized what he was about to do and bid him to wait.