Delver Magic Book I: Sanctum's Breach

by Jeff Inlo

  Chapter 26

  Stephen's words did not form that of a command, the interpreter would never even consider giving orders to the heir to the throne of Dunop, but they were brisk and direct. More of a grave warning shaded his request, a sense of imminent disaster animated his features.

  "Please do not open that!" Stephen bent over to be seen by Tun, whose hand remained poised to open a door which was still not visible.

  Tun stopped. He pulled his hand back as if it neared acid. He took no offense at the abrupt appeal, for he understood its true intention. He had led them though a sea of hidden traps, death shrouded by the illusions of the gems. He had bluntly ordered all that followed to heed his every move. He had done so because he knew that failure waited in the form of an agonizing end, but now the journey through his maze was complete. The tier of the humans waited beyond the invisible door, and it held secrets of which he did not know.

  He could not find fault with Stephen Clarin, and would not cast an angry stare in his direction. Tun bore only limited knowledge of what waited beyond this door. While the dwarves constructed the tiers, laid the foundation for Sanctum, he had no idea of what waited within them. He knew there would be a second stone staircase, for the dwarves had built such steps for all the tiers, but he could not know what horror waited within the tier to create the human obstacle to the sphere.

  With this realization, came another. It was time for him to relinquish command. The moment of his authority over them had slipped away, and all too short for his liking. A passive role awaited him now. The secret of the dwarves, his secret, had been revealed. Nothing remained of the dwarves' obstacle, nothing which he might assist in overcoming. The knowledge of the remaining barriers was within the minds of others. It was now their lead which he must follow.

  This understanding left him bitter, humiliated. Once this door was open, he would sink to the back of the pack and be led about like an orphan. He and his brother, princes in Dunop, dwarves of unlimited stature, would be relegated to the roles of peasants that followed mindlessly.

  His pride called for him to leave Sanctum entirely; better for him to walk away as if the rest were not of his concern. He was too important to tag about like some duckling. Let the others proceed without him. An heir to the throne never need follow. The urge was strong, but two considerations kept him in place.

  First, he needed to see the end of the sphere. The gift of knowledge that the Sword of Decree placed in his mind remained as crisp as if he still held its handle. The destruction of the sphere meant life to the dwarves. His acknowledgment of this need would see him through this, even if it meant crawling at the rear.

  Second, there was the opportunity to learn of what the other races placed in Sanctum. He found pleasure in this. Soon, he would not be alone in revealing that which protected the most infamous talisman of all. The humans, the algors, and especially the elves; they would all have to face the sacrilege of professing their most guarded of secrets. He would not miss this. Again, he would follow as long as it meant the others would be forced into the same indignity of conceding that precious knowledge. It was now time for the humans to reveal their portion of the mystery behind Sanctum, and he waited eagerly.

  Stephen began. He spoke of the human secret as openly as he might speak of the passing weather. If any emotion painted his words, it was detachment, as if he wished to distance himself from what he was about to reveal. He always failed to comprehend the underlying justification for the waiting atrocities whenever he pondered the secret.

  Unlike Tun, there was never any pride for him in this secret. He held it with respect, recognized the responsibility of being its bearer, but for him, the secret itself created only apprehension over the human ability to create such horrible devices.

  "The tier that waits beyond this door holds death as subtle as the traps which surround us now, but without the innovation of illusions. The barrier is as cold and as stark as the knowledge that created it. Mostly it is in the form of poison, poison which in its basic composition would not deteriorate with age no matter how long it was trapped within this rock. Poison vapors, tainted gases, invisible toxins, and dreadful contaminates; all things that could withstand time and remain deadly were placed within the human tier."

  Stephen noted the curious expressions mixed with the distasteful. The mere mention of the poison struck a disquieting chord with the elves that even now were battling against the taint of the free-flowing magic. The others appeared more burdened with the extent and the number of toxins which waited within the tier. Their faces expressed reservation, and Stephen felt compelled to define the secret in greater detail, to reveal it as it was explained to him.

  "More than any other race, humans have always been most concerned with science." He spoke dryly, keeping his distaste for the subject under wraps. "That is why most have chosen to ignore the legends, even ignore Godson. Humans look for definitive principles to explain mysteries. Even during the time before the sphere, we as a race surged forward in the study of natural laws such as physics, chemistry, and biology. Being so far advanced in these studies, it is no wonder they placed in Sanctum what they did. With a knowledge of poison gases and liquids, the humans used a mix of elements which would snuff out our lives even before we were aware of their existence.

  "You see, the humans at that time were not quite sure which poisons would be the most effective, so they placed several within their tier. They knew that different gases would have different attributes. Apparently, they wished to contaminate the area with poisons which guaranteed the death of any intruder, no matter what race or what immunity. The tier was divided very modestly by brick walls. The walls do not present a true obstacle, they do not even stretch from side to side of the mountain. They merely create chambers, pockets to hold and separate the different gases.

  "The chambers also hold pools of synthetic liquids which would not evaporate, but would constantly react to create more and more poisonous gas. Thus, as time wore on, the concentration of poison would increase, making it more deadly now than it has ever been. Some gases were designed to be heavier than the air and sink to the ground. The poison waits for an intruder to walk by, to stir it up, and to finally inhale. Others mix with the air, wait like a death cloud."

  He stopped, gritted his teeth, and only continued after his sorrow became quite apparent.

  "The designers of the barrier weren't satisfied with just the poison gases. They apparently wanted something with a greater dramatic effect as well, so they put in another trap to stop entry. It's set to go off when we break the seal of this door. It was made airtight before the humans handed over the last tier to the dwarves. Within are compounds which consumed and removed the trapped air with slow precision. As the chemicals aged, they also altered into a substance which would now ignite at any new inflow of fresh air. So if you opened that door now, we would all be incinerated.

  "Unfortunately, it doesn't even end there. Another diabolical obstacle is present. Glowing stones wait within the far corners. They give off no traceable gas, but they will kill more terribly. Without protection we would become sick almost instantly, fall to our knees as our very skin would peel from our bodies. Our sight would grow pale. Even if we could escape before total immobility consumed us, we would not escape the slow death. It has been told to me that once contact is made with these glowing rocks, death is irreversible."

  The magnitude of his last statement was punctuated by its echo through Sanctum's uppermost cavern. The telling of mysterious rocks with such power chased away any warmth that drained from their magically heated clothes.

  "If such is the case," Holli questioned with a cold calculating tone, "how is it you intend for us to enter? I would expect only Dzeb is resistant to flame and these glowing rocks carry a burden which sounds heavy to face." She waited patiently for a response, but she listened with intensity, as if attending her training sessions all over again.

  Stephen gestured with an open hand towa
rd Lauren who stood behind him. A sense of pride flushed away his remorse. He spoke near exaltedly that a blessing of power bestowed upon one human might counteract the misdeeds of others. "She has the power to protect us. That is why she is needed. She has the knowledge and ability to cast a field of protection around us all. Just as such a field will protect us from the flames and the stones; it will hold within it the untainted air which surrounds us now. We will be able to breathe without facing the gas, just as we are protected from the death of the glowing rocks."

  The statement bristled in Lauren's ears. The pressure became insurmountable. She burst into tears, wringing her hands at her chest. "You ask too much. I can't do it."

  The outburst caught Stephen off guard. He stood stupefied as Lauren stood nearly doubled over, wailing with frustration and fear.

  "I can't control it! I don't want to be here. None of this is my fault!" Her outburst grew and soon she could not mouth the thoughts which weighed upon her. She closed her eyes as tightly as possible. Her skin wrinkled above her cheeks and at the corners of her eyes. Uncontrollable moans echoed through the cavern just as her tears began falling to the ground.

  They stood about her, confused and tense. They looked about at each other, not wanting to stare at the grief-stricken girl, and not knowing what to say to relieve her strain.

  Finally, Stephen brought his own surprise under control, but he could not hide his confusion. "Lauren, we talked about this before, talked about it before I brought you to the church. You believed you could do it."

  "I was wrong." It was all she could do to blurt out those three words.

  Stephen patted her on the back lightly as she coughed out more tears. "Just calm down. Take a moment to breathe. We're not going to go forward without you, so you have all the time you need."

  Lauren pulled her hands apart and clenched them into fists. She held them so tightly that her nails made indentations in the flesh of her palms. The pain in her hands allowed her to concentrate upon something other than the stone walls that surrounded them. Slowly, she brought her moans to a near stop. The corners of her eyes remained wet with tears, but they no longer streamed down her cheeks. With a few deep breaths, she opened her eyes.

  "I can't protect so many," she spoke in a shakily controlled voice. It remained raspy even as she swallowed hard. "Look at how large the cliff behemoth is. How can I cast something so big to protect us all?" Her eyes beseeched all of them to understand, to realize what was being asked of her. She did not want these powers which now took hold of her. She did not want to be held responsible for protecting them all. Her head swerved about, taking in their confused expressions. She looked for compassionate understanding, but found bewilderment instead. Her head dropped and her eyes sank to the ground in depression.

  Holli considered the matter with the logic of a guard. She weighed Lauren's concern and offered the first solution to the problem. "We can reduce our numbers, if that is the only way to pass. Both Lief and I know what waits in the tier of the elves. It is not necessary for us both to go. One can remain behind, with both Jon and Tun. The dwarf tier is passed, and there is no need for them to continue forward. We can wait here for your return once you obtain the sphere. Perhaps, it is also possible for one of the algors to remain behind, and even Stephen. If it is the power of the sorceress which will lead you through, he can give instructions before you enter. If this can be done, we can cut the size of the party in half. Will this help you, sorceress?"

  She barely lifted her head. Her response was inaudible.

  Tun's, however, was not. "I will not remain behind!" he commanded with his usual authority. "As you have seen the revelation of the dwarf secret, I will see to yours. I will also see the destruction of the sphere to the end. I will not remain behind."

  The algors spoke together and spoke as if they did not hear Tun's outburst. "Only one algor is necessary. It was your decision to send two. But another must decide who stays and who continues."

  Even the mere thought of making yet another division of the algors agonized the delver. His objection, however, was covered by the protests of another.

  "A separation is not necessary," Stephen stated loudly but calmly. "Lauren has the power to protect us all. I know it and she knows it."

  A light sob came from the sorceress who still stood with her head bowed and her face concealed.

  Stephen continued with a mix of compassion and resolve filling his speech. "I realize you are not a follower of Godson, Lauren. You don't understand the power that guided me to you. If you did, you'd lose your fears. But while you don't understand my faith, I know you understand the power within you, a power which you can control. The barrier you must create will be large, I realize that, but you can do this."

  Her head jolted up. Her eyes and nose were red, her face blotched with the strain of emotion. "I don't want to do it!" she nearly screamed.

  "Bah!" Tun released.

  "Alright, that's enough." Ryson turned aside the cold stare from the dwarf and placed his attention upon the sorceress. He sheathed his sword so the brilliant radiance would not be centered upon her. The level of light dropped significantly as only the strategically placed light gems offered any illumination. Many of the walls which surrounded them appeared to shift in size and shape. New paths emerged. Different traps became revealed, some real, some illusion; the change all due to the shift in light.

  Ryson ignored the alterations. He spoke softly to Lauren, in words that revealed his understanding. "Ignore him, and for a moment, ignore everything else. Stop worrying about what's happening to you. It's not helping you. You can wish with all your might that it would stop, but I don't think it's going to help. You're probably telling yourself over and over again that you didn't ask for this, didn't want it. All you want is to go back to the way things were, when you were no different than everybody else you knew."

  A gleam of hope rose in Lauren's eyes. "You know what I'm trying to say. You see what I'm going through."

  "Not completely," Ryson responded truthfully. "But I know the look you've had since I met you. Most delvers share that look. When we learn of our abilities, it fills us with as much fear as it does excitement. It is not a pleasant thought to be so different from those around you. Some try to hide their abilities, even forget them. For them, it's a better alternative than feeling isolated and alone. But that's their choice. Being a delver gives me some understanding, but it doesn't give me all the answers to your problem. I know very little about this magic, but I think I see in you the same confusion I once saw in myself."

  Lauren waited impatiently for him to reveal the secret of dealing with this dilemma. She wanted to hear the words that would lessen the tension in her stomach and remove the doubts and fears from her mind.

  Ryson could only offer words which bluntly explained the truth.

  "You may not want to hear this, but I'm going to tell you what I think you should do. I think you should help us proceed. Basically, it's because your problem won't matter to anyone, not even you, if we let the sphere kill us all."

  He bent his head slightly to get a clear view of her face. "You're going to decide in the end whether you want to use these powers or not. You're going to decide now, and you're going to have to decide again after this is all over. You may want to return to life the way it was for you and never cast a spell again. But you know what; you can only do that if you help us now. The sphere's going to kill us, kill us all. It's going to kill everyone in Connel. There'll be no normal life for you to return to. That's why I'm telling you what I think you should do. It'll always be your choice, though, no matter what you do now. If in the future you wish to hide your power, a decision to help here won't change that. Those that are here aren't going to be revealing your secret to anyone. But a decision not to help, well, that'll make your problem meaningless because we'll all be dead, including you."

  He straightened up, pulled his sword again from its sheath. The light returned to its previo
us state, as did the walls surrounding them. "If you want to place the responsibility of your choice upon me, go right ahead. But I don't believe any of us have a choice any longer."

  Lauren stiffened at these last words. She wiped the remaining tears from her eyes as if their presence insulted her. She threw her hands down to her sides, and again, they formed tight fists. She glowered at the darkness in the distance as she swallowed the last hint of her despair.

  "Fine," she remarked simply but coldly, a single word which signaled a transformation. While not taking a step, she leaned away from them all. Flinging her hands open, as if releasing the fears which previously bound her, she swept loose hairs from her face. She would not look at the delver, she turned to Stephen instead. "We can all go. Tell me when you want me to cast the damn spell."

  "Ummh," he stammered at first. He looked about as everyone now watched him. "I guess we should go now."

  "Very well." Her reply was just as cold, but slightly more biting. The blotches on her face were quickly disappearing, her pallor returned quickly to a healthy pink. She closed her eyes for but an instant. When they reopened, they burned with dark purple flames. She said nothing.

  She focused first on the floor at her feet. Her eyes bulged ever so slightly, and the violet shadows of her pupils grew and threatened to reach out with unbounded fury. She turned and arched her neck, slowly but surely scanning the entire floor under each member. She then passed her view beyond the edges of where they stood. The air hardened with each passing glance. The shell of the barrier became visible. It was transparent, like a growing shield of glass. She turned about and the path of her sight encircled them. The shell grew with each wave of her focus and soon it surrounded them. Finally, she pressed her vision upon the area over their heads. She scanned the black open space from side to side and front to back. With these last glances the barrier was complete.

  With a final pass, her eyes returned to normal and she set them back upon the interpreter. "The field is set. We are completely surrounded and shall not be harmed by any of the dangers you mentioned."

  Stephen rubbed his hands together nervously. With nothing to say to Lauren, and uncomfortable with her gaze, he turned instead to Tun. "If you would, you may open the door now."

  From near the back, Holli called out one last warning. "Won't his arm be singed if he passes it through the barrier?"

  "The barrier will move with him as it will move with us all," Lauren stated with calculated confidence. "Any flame will no more hurt the dwarf than it would the cliff behemoth behind me."

  Tun did not wait for further explanation. His hand speared downward to the ground, and indeed, the violet hardened shell stretched with his movements, revealing its own flexibility. His fingers disappeared to those that watched as he groped for the handle which remained hidden by the illusion of a gem. As he probed, the barrier expanded to encase areas where his fingers pressed upon. A grunt of satisfaction revealed he found that for which he searched. With a savage pull upon an iron ring, he hoisted a stone cover on its hinge and opened wide the passage to the next level.

  Instinctively, he had shielded his eyes from the bright flare which he expected, but no such flame appeared. The opening was as quiet as church rafters. There was no ignition of the air which even now flowed freely into the next level, no sign of explosion or even the smallest spark appeared. The first barrier as explained by the interpreter had failed.

  Stephen looked into the newly created hole with befuddlement. "I don't understand."

  Tun returned the statement with a doubting, accusing stare, but said nothing.

  Stephen felt the need to explain. "I assure you, the opening of this hole should have released a wave of flame."

  "It did not," Tun stated the obvious.

  "Has the passage been opened before?" Holli asked.

  Tun took but a moment to inspect the rock cover which was in his hand. "No. The break in the seal is fresh. This stone has not been moved in ages."

  "I don't understand." Stephen agonized over the mystery. The culmination of events was quickly taking their toll on his youthful enthusiasm. Being inside Sanctum, following Tun through the first maze, dealing with Lauren, and now the deficiency in his own explanations; all of this drained from him his normal exuberance. He was growing tired. It was late and he had not slept. The pain of riding horseback all day now sunk in his legs. He heaved a heavy breath in exhaustion. He could not decide what to do next, and the decision to move onward had to be made for him.

  "Let us not question it further," Lief advised. "If the seal has not been previously broken, there is no true danger to us. It may simply be that over time, the substances placed in this tier offset each other. Let us just be thankful and move on."

  "I think that's wise," Ryson echoed the sentiment.

  Stephen shrugged, but accepted the directive.

  Without any dissent, the group moved down a second set of steps. The protective shield moved with them just as the light filled their path. Jon set another light gem at the opening and Ryson's sword doubled and redoubled its radiance. Again, there were four segments to the stairway, each comprised of ten steps, and square platforms of heavy granite bricks divided the sections.

  Stephen took the lead, but Tun decided to stay near the front rather than drop back with his brother. The lack of fire had him questioning the words of the interpreter. It fueled his misgivings, justified his doubts, and the dwarf prince wondered what else might contradict Stephen's revelation of the human secret. He moved behind the interpreter, filled with suspicion and eager to challenge any further discrepancies.

  Stephen, himself, descended with curious eyes, grasping for an explanation to the lack of flame which should have greeted them. He peered into the tier with every opportunity, affording more attention to the surrounding area than the steps which bore him. There was no void to block his vision. The open space of the tier bathed in the light from Jon's gem and Ryson's sword and it held another alteration from Stephen's description.

  There was at first glance, that which was expected. The ceiling overhead remained safe and solid. It was well supported by the very walls of the mountain as well as by thick stone columns. The pillars were wider than the cliff behemoth and stood the test of time far better than the brick walls constructed by the humans.

  Here waited more of the unexpected for the interpreter. There were no sections in this room, no division of space. Most of the walls which divided the room into chambers were reduced to rubble, or even clay dust. Only two or three remained partially standing, and they were crumbling and unsteady. With the decay of the brick, the tier now took on the shape of a wide open expanse rather than a space divided by separate chambers.

  There could, however, be no denying the previous existence of the brick walls. If not, Tun would have been more than willing to challenge the interpreter's truthfulness, but even the stubborn dwarf could not ignore the crumbled remains. Their remnants verified the existence of chambers in an earlier time and served to confirm Stephen's knowledge of the waiting obstacle.

  Other evidence existed as well. Vapors rose unsteadily from puddles of dark liquid. The air shimmered in several places with hazy clouds. The floor was hidden, encrusted with a thick fog which crystallized in many areas. And to everyone's dread, each corner radiated a light from its own source. Collections of small pebbles, no larger than fingernails, gleamed with a greenish orange glow. It reminded them all that the absence of the flame did not constitute the end of all dangers. Most of what the interpreter warned indeed waited within these walls, and it remained as deadly as he explained.

  Still, the absence of the walls, the removal of the chambers, constituted a shift from the original obstacle. Lief offered the a possible explanation for the flames which did not materialize.

  "If the walls which separated the gasses collapsed, could this not have caused changes which might explain the absence of the flames?"

  "I guess it's possible,"
Stephen muttered. He had stopped at the bottom of the stair case and surveyed the now open space from an even level. "I'm not a scientist. I'm not sure what would happen if some of these gases mixed with each other."

  The thought troubled the elf guard. "Does that mean you are not sure if we are safe where we stand? Is it possible the barrier will not protect us?"

  Stephen frowned, but shook his head. "No, I didn't mean that. I honestly believe we are safe. As long as the barrier remains air tight, I can't believe anything will hurt us. It's just that I wonder if any of the dangers exist anymore. The air may be as clean to breathe as the air outside. All the different gases might have neutralized each other, just as it did to the gas which was supposed to ignite on our entry."

  Ryson looked nervously toward the glowing stones in the far corners of the tier. He spoke with urgency. "It looks like there's at least one thing that's still dangerous here. The rocks you spoke of still glow. So unless anyone really wants to poke their head out to see if the air is free of poison, I suggest we keep moving."

  "You're right," Stephen allowed as he shrugged yet again.

  Before they started, Ryson questioned Lauren. "How are you holding up?"

  "Do not fear the rocks, delver" the sorceress replied almost laughingly. While she did not wish to respond to the delver, she found his apprehension somewhat fulfilling. "The barrier will hold, and though I am tiring, I will last."

  "Alright." He dismissed the strangeness of her reply as he urged the rest to move without delay. "If she's getting tired, we should move as quickly as possible."

  It was Holli who called out one last question. "Stephen, do you know of any traps which we must avoid?"

  "There was no need for traps," Stephen conceded. "The gas and the stones would be enough to stop anyone."

  Holli addressed the entire group with a stern warning. "Still, there are liquids which might prove deadly if we touch them, and the brick walls that still stand remain in danger of collapsing. I suggest you steer us clear of such obstacles. Do not become careless in haste to reach the next level."

  "Very well," he approved. "I'll take us down a center path. The door waits at the far end, over there." He pointed off in front of him.

  The faint outline of the door was visible at that point only to the delver and the elves. Their keen eye sight allowed them to cover the great distance. While Lief and Holli could make out only a meager trace of the stone door, Ryson obtained far greater detail, and with it an answer.

  "There's where your flame went," he announced suddenly.

  Stephen, about to take weary steps forward, stopped himself as he shot a confused look at the delver. Indeed, all eyes were now on Ryson, and all waited for an explanation.

  He spoke without hesitation. "The door's damaged. It's shifted off its hinges and there are scorch marks all around it."

  "Has it been opened?" Holli questioned in a near demanding tone.

  "I don't think so. It looks like something pounded upon it from the other side."

  Holli looked toward Lief. "That is the delver tier."

  Lief responded with equal grimness. "We still have no idea what waits for us there."

  Again, Holli questioned the delver before they proceeded. "What do you think happened, Ryson?"

  "It's hard to say from here. Some kind of force hit the rock door, damaged it, and shoved it from its original position. I guess when that happened, it broke the seal. The flame we expected when we opened this door already occurred around that one. There's scorch marks all around the cracks."

  Tun became frustrated in listening to this babble and being unable to see that which the delver described. "Let us move forward and we can all take a look," he demanded. "If there is damage to the rock, it is fitting that my brother and I inspect it as well."

  "That's a good idea," Ryson agreed. "I'd like to get a closer look myself."

  They moved forward over the flat rock floor. Stephen led, but there was no true need for his direction. A path through the center of the tier led directly to the door. It contained no obstacles as the gas emitting liquids and the crumbling walls remained off to the sides. They remained grouped together, but not out of fear of a misstep. They wished only to refrain from stretching the limits of the shield that protected them from unseen hazards. They formed more of a haphazard cluster within Lauren's magical field and abandoned the long snaking line which brought them through the dwarf tier.

  The broken stone door called to them as well, both as a mystery and a path of freedom from the stones. As they passed pillar after pillar, and beyond several pools of foaming liquids, it became visible to even the weakest eyed traveler among them. The scorch marks were clearly present and the cracks near the hinges verified Ryson's earlier report. The last few steps were taken in near trot as all wished to examine the door as well as put this tier behind them.

  Tun took an authoritative step forward to examine the damage in the rock. At his grunting request, Jon joined him.

  Jon took greater care in feeling the rock and examining the cracks, and he announced his observations to them all. "The force which broke the stone came from the other side. It did not press upon the door directly. It was also not a hammering effect. Whatever it was, it came in the form of a steady stream of great power. The force broke the seal and allowed air to rush through the cracks. Air continues to flow through even now."

  "How long ago?" Holli requested with a calculating expression.

  "Recently," Jon explained. "Within this season."

  Holli nodded her head with approval. She swerved about on her heels assessing their location within the tier. Her eyes cast first to the stone stairway across the rock floor and finally upon the ceiling.

  Lief noted her reaction. "You are aware of something?"

  "I believe so," she said firmly, but remained unsatisfied with her visual inspections. "It would be clearer if I knew which direction we faced."

  "We face south," Jon replied quickly.

  "Are you sure? How can you tell from within? With all the tricks played upon us in the tier overhead, it was impossible for me to keep a lock on our direction."

  "I know the path as well as my brother," Jon answered simply. "I always knew what direction we were headed. I also know the general construction of Sanctum. Even though this door was sealed by the humans, its foundation was built by the dwarves. Trust me, we face south."

  "Then I know the cause of the break in that door," Holli responded with hard edged certainty. "It is the result of the tunnel which the sphere created to funnel the tainted magic to the free air."

  Ryson's eyes shot open wide with enlightenment. "She's right! The breach in Sanctum's wall was on the southern slope. If the break in the wall went straight to the core it would have to break through the tiers at some point. It must be right beyond this door."

  "That would coincide with my findings," Jon stated in agreement.

  "There is only one way to be certain," Tun stated almost belligerently and with definite impatience. "Let us open the door and see for ourselves."

  "Wait! That might tell us what we need to know, but we don't know what else waits for us beyond this door," Stephen reminded him.

  Holli repeated the need for care over haste. "The interpreter is correct. The delver tier awaits us now. We can not be certain of what dangers it holds."

  "And we won't find out by standing here," Tun answered obstinately.

  It was Ryson that ended the short debate, ended it as he realized the new danger they faced. He took a deep breath, and held it. He waited, as if sampling the air in his lungs. "We can't stand around here much longer no matter what," he said with a new sense of urgency. "We're running out of air."

  Focus came away from the broken door and upon the very air that surrounded them. Many sniffed the air. They sensed nothing different, but they could not deny the logic of the danger. The barrier was airtight. It surrounded them all, ten of them breathing the same trapped air
. It would certainly not last indefinitely.

  The glow of rocks in a far corner called to them. What they faced became as clear as the greenish orange glow. If they remained within the barrier too long, one by one they would pass out. When the sorceress lost consciousness, the barrier would fade, leaving them open to the dreadful death the rocks offered. If she dropped the barrier to refresh their air, the possibility of poisonous gas overtaking them remained prevalent. And of course, the deadly power of the rocks might wash over them in that single instant.

  "We don't have much choice," Ryson admitted what they all now knew. "We can't just stay here. And we can't take too much time waiting around to figure out what might be waiting for us. We have to open this door and move on."

  "But what if a trap waits just beyond this door?" Stephen offered the dreadful possibility with reluctance, but it needed to be addressed. "Simply plunging forward may be as deadly as waiting."

  Holli took command with a cold, determined expression. "We have no choice. We know death waits for us here, which means we can't stay. Turning back will not bring us any closer to the sphere, so that is also not a choice. We must move ahead and that means going through this door. We knew we'd have to face the delver tier eventually, and now we must do so. But we will do so with the option that offers us the greatest chance of succeeding. I doubt simply opening the door will cause us danger. It has already been shifted by the passage of force and the seal has been broken. Tun, I want you to open the door while I stand ready at the opening. The rest of you, I want you to move as far back as the force field will permit."

  Nearly everyone submitted, even Tun showed no reluctance at remaining in harm's way. Ryson, however, protested.

  "It shouldn't be you," he demanded of Holli. "You should go back with the others. This is my responsibility."

  "I will not argue with you on this, delver," she scolded him. "You are still needed. If there is an unknown threat at this point. I am best suited to deal with it."

  "That's not true."

  Tun glared at Ryson. "This is no time for heroes, delver. Do as you're told."

  With a cold stare of his own, Ryson was ready and willing to respond to the dwarf, but another angry stare from Holli left him reeling with the realization he could not win. He stepped back with disgust.

  As Holli took the bow from her shoulder and loaded an arrow, Ryson took hold of the sword's hilt with both hands. He steadied himself for the unknown, focused on what might wait beyond. He could not see the tier below them, but a clear wind of comprehension cleared the doubts and fears from his mind. In an instant, he understood the Delver secret.

  "There's no danger," he muttered nearly unintelligibly.

  Holli swerved her head about to meet the delver's gaze with a demanding stare of her own. "What?"

  "There's no danger," he repeated.

  Holli tried to reassess her position. She looked again at the stone door and then back to Ryson. "We can open the door without danger to us?" She attempted to confirm.

  "Yes," he nodded, but with no explanation as to how this knowledge came to him.

  Holli's jaw tightened. She turned back to the door. Her eyes bore down upon it as she called to Tun. "Open it."

  With a sudden heave, the dwarf pulled upon the handle. The stone door broke free from its hinges. It cracked under its own weight, and a large piece fell with a thud to the ground.

  With the door pulled away, Holli thrust her attention through the hole. She pulled back on the bow string as her eyes darted over everything which was in the path of her vision. The bow string remained in her grip, but the arrow would not fly. She stepped closer to the opening, and again her darting eyes scanned that which waited. Slowly, carefully, she released her tension on the bow string, returned the arrow to its quiver, and the bow to her shoulder.

  "You were right," she exclaimed to Ryson. "There is no visible danger, but there is an obstacle. It is as I expected, the tunnel created by the sphere passes through the wall just beyond the door. The energy which created the breach also destroyed the stairs to the next tier."

  Ryson's mind quickly calculated the situation. He stepped up to take a look for himself. His sword brought a shower of light upon the rubble beneath the hole. There was little of the stone steps remaining other than broken rocks. The distance to the floor was great, but the comprehension that still no danger existed within this tier brought him vast hope. He turned back to the others as he again sampled the air with a deep breath.

  "We don't have much time, but I think we can make it. I have a short rope that will help us down. I'll go first and help catch you for the last distance you have to jump. The only one I'm worried about is Dzeb. My rope probably won't hold him and I know I can't catch him."

  The cliff behemoth strolled calmly to the opening. He glanced down to the next level. The distance measured well over twice his own great height.

  "I will jump," he stated as casually as if he were about to do nothing more than jump over a blade of grass.

  "You can make it without injury?" Ryson questioned.

  "I will not be harmed," Dzeb countered.

  Ryson accepted the option. He doubted the cliff behemoth could have lied if he wanted to. "Then we'll have no problem at all. If you hold the rope, you can lower us down and I can take it from there."

  "It will be as you say," Dzeb agreed.

  Ryson dug quickly into his pouch and pulled out a short rope. It would not cover the full distance of the fall, but it would handle most of it. He gave one end to the cliff behemoth and turned to face the opening. He made his descent with a flash of speed, moving before Holli could issue another warning or perhaps request that she go first. He shimmied down the rope in the blink of an eye. He did so with the sword still in one hand. He jumped the last span, a distance which was nearly as long as he was tall. He leapt with no fear of injury and no fear as to what might wait within this tier. As he hit the ground, he remained certain that no danger would befall him.

  He leaned the sword against a pile of rubble to free his two hands. The light increased in this tier, a result of the breach. With the tunnel so near, the sword was now reflecting more than just the light directed by Jon's gems.

  The light sparkled off the hardened shell of Lauren's magically created shield. The spell barrier moved with him, expanded to cover the distance, but it appeared to weaken as it stretched. It remained enclosed as it extended up to the opening where Dzeb waited with the other end of the rope. Worried that the spell might fade, he called up for them to move quickly.

  One by one they descended the rope. Ryson supported them the last small distance as they jumped into his guiding arms. As Dzeb stood alone, he dropped the rope. The others cleared aside as he prepared to jump. An awe-inspiring sight to be sure. The mammoth being plunged through the air and landed with the force of a giant boulder. The ground shook, but Dzeb kept his feet. He approached them as if nothing had happened.

  With all again on one level, the force field constricted to cover a smaller area. The air, however, was truly becoming thin, and they could now all recognize the threat of the enclosed space.

  Holli spoke quickly of their slim options. "We must be free of the barrier. Even now our time is growing short."

  Lief pointed to the hole above their heads. "What of the tier above us. It still holds gas and the glowing rocks."

  "The gas should remain within the tier," Stephen responded to the concern. "And the danger of the rocks can not affect us here; it will not pass through the heavy stone that surrounds us."

  "But the passage remains open," Lief persisted.

  "The rocks remain in the corners. As long as we do not walk in their direct path, we will remain safe."

  "The tunnel will also offer ventilation to disburse the gas," Holli offered. "We have but one concern. We still do not know what waits on this tier, and we are running out of air."

  "I tell you, no danger exists," Ryson reaffirmed his earlie
r remark.

  Holli was about to question him, but Lief called to their attention once more. "Look there!" He pointed to a rock wall to his left. The word "Beware" was carved deep into the stone. There was nothing else.

  "Then what do you make of that?" Holli asked of Ryson.

  "It's as much an illusion as the walls we walked through in the dwarf tier. There is no danger here." Ryson replied with such certainty that the elf guard did not know how to respond. The delver pointed his attention to Lauren. "You can drop the barrier now."

  A wave of relief swept across her face. Maintaining the field constantly pulled upon her. It felt almost as if her very life was draining from her. She turned her focus upon the hardened shell of air with immediacy. The shadow of purple rose again in her eyes. As her sight drifted over the very edges of the barrier, the field dissolved.

  With the first break in the shell, the surrounding air burst in with a loud pop. A musty breeze brushed against their waiting faces. Those that inhaled first did so almost reluctantly, fearing a lingering cloud of poisonous vapor. Small guarded breaths brought in the most meager mouthfuls. They stood silent, waiting, as if expecting one among them to fall to the ground. And one did.

  It was Lauren. She collapsed as the last fragment of the barrier disappeared, but it was not poison which brought her downfall. The air held no toxin, only the faint mustiness of time and even that was being cleansed by the recent opening in the side of the mountain. Lauren fell unconscious out of fatigue.

  Ryson caught her before she hit the ground. He pulled her to a far wall and leaned her shoulders against it.

  "What's happened to her?" Stephen called out as he rushed to her side.

  "It is the use of magic," the two algors answered in unison.

  "Such long powerful spells exhaust the soul," one continued solo.

  "She will need rest," followed the second algor.

  "We can revive her with our healing," they finished in chorus.

  They moved to Lauren with steady assurance and motioned for Ryson and Stephen to give them room. Each placed a hand on her shoulder and on her forehead. They were careful not to scratch Lauren's skin with their long, sharp claws. A thick green membrane slid over their bulging black eyes. They whispered something, again in unison, and Lauren's eyes fluttered open.

  "What happened?" she asked with a raspy voice and hollow breath. She rubbed her eyes, trying to bring her vision back into focus. She barely recognized the fact that the two algors were now at her side.

  The algors stood and stepped away as if they did nothing special while Stephen responded to the Rachael’s question.

  "You fainted," he replied as he knelt back down next to her. "The algors revived you."

  "You will need to rest for a while before you are ready to walk, but you will not need sleep now," the algors stated together.

  Lauren looked with confusion to Stephen. She ignored the delver who was also now back by her side.

  The interpreter did his best to clear the confused look from her face. "The algors apparently have the power to revive as well as heal. They said using the magic exhausted you."

  Lauren turned her attention upon her own hands. She rubbed them together lightly in front of her face. She felt the slight ache in her muscles, felt weariness in her back, but another sensation was much more prevalent. She tried to speak, but a long yawn interrupted her momentarily. After her lungs filled with the free air of the delver tier, she spoke with a stronger voice.

  "It's more than that," she described. "I feel empty inside. Not just weak, but like I've lost something."

  It was Lief who responded to this statement. "You've expended most of the magical energies which your body has stored over these past few days. That is the absence which you feel. Do not fear, though. Based on what I've seen, I would guess you will collect the energy quickly. The emptiness you now notice will dissolve."

  Lauren stared at the elf with a mixed set of emotions, not knowing quite how to respond. Was it not so long ago that she would have given anything to be free of the magic power that filled her? Was it so hard to remember the moments when she despised her new found abilities? As for now, the reassurance that the power would return brought her more comfort than misery. She broke her gaze from the elf to return her stare to her hands. She mumbled something about needing to rest as she felt the energies pouring back into the core of her being. This time, she indeed welcomed the magic.

  "Ryson!" It was Holli who called. She stood tensely. Her eyes darted about the open space they stood upon. She stood like a coil ready to spring. Her hand again held her bow and again an arrow rested in the string. "Explain to me why we stand carelessly about within Sanctum upon a tier we know nothing about. This is foolishness." Her words were strong, but she would not fix a stare upon him. She continued to scan every direction, waiting for a threat which she was sure would materialize in any moment.

  "There is no threat here," Ryson responded as he reluctantly left Lauren's side. He knew he was as much responsible for her exhaustion as anyone else. He recommended, urged her, to help them forward. As well, he could not deny the animosity she now held toward him. He would have liked to extinguish the aversion she cast upon him, but he realized Lauren would not even acknowledge his presence. He sullenly approached Holli as he made his explanation. "You can relax. The only thing that was placed in this tier was that carving." He nodded to the warning which now stood upon the stone as more of a puzzle than a threat.

  "There is nothing here?" Tun questioned with anger as well as doubt. "No secret? How can you expect us to believe that?"

  "I didn't say there wasn't a secret," Ryson stated, flipping an annoyed response to the hostile dwarf. "The secret is that the delvers saw no reason to put anything in Sanctum as an obstacle." Ryson turned back to Holli as he continued his explanation. "I guess they didn't see a point to it. I can only assume they figured that with two tiers above and two tiers below this one, there was no need for another trap or a barrier. I guess they took the time to carve out the warning just to make it seem like something was being placed within, but there really isn't anything else here."

  "How is it you know of this now?" Holli asked without accusation, but certainly with curiosity, and perhaps even doubt.

  "It was the sword again," Ryson admitted, feeling somewhat foolish talking about a magic sword. "When you moved me back from the door, I concentrated on being prepared for anything that might wait for us here. As I held the sword, it all suddenly became clear to me. I just knew that this tier held no danger. In all honesty, I didn't know about the carving until I saw it, but when I did, I understood that as well. 'Beware', it's just a trick, a trick to make someone think that there's something more horrible in here than nothing. It's like when I knew how to deal with the vampire, I just know."

  "I see," Holli immediately stood down from her ready position. The bow went back over her shoulder as she placed her focus on the surrounding rock.

  The tier was only slightly larger than the one above. It contained the same stone pillars, and the same rock floor. There were, thankfully, no glowing rocks and no pools of liquid exuding poisonous vapors. The door to the next tier was located upon the floor nearer to the center of the cavern. It was within sight of them all, and it was closed tight.

  The only true spectacle was the breach which burst through the mountainside. It also broke through the floor of this tier, creating another entry to the level below.

  Holli stepped carefully up to the gaping hole. She tested the strength of the rock with a probing foot before placing any true weight upon it. Satisfied it would hold her, she stood at the very edge. The break in the floor was the same size as the tunnel which was carved through the wall. Its circular border was at least as tall and as wide as Dzeb.

  Ryson moved to her side and joined the inspection. His eyes followed the trail of the newly formed tunnel which jutted upward at a steep angle. Its edges were much like those he inspected
at Sanctum's exterior, and just as he noted when standing at the tunnel's conclusion, he saw the curve in the burrow. For some reason, the blast did not break an arrow’s path through the rock wall. Instead, it bent enough so that there was no straight visual path. He concluded that the curve was as much a defense mechanism as the magical force field which sealed this tunnel.

  His considerations and inspections were interrupted by the soft whisper from one behind.

  "I may be too quick to draw a conclusion from this, but I believe I might see an advantage here for us to take hold." It was Lief who spoke quietly, guardedly, and only to the elf and the delver. "This may offer us a great opportunity," he pressed a finger to his chin as he considered his own proposal. "If the fissure in Sanctum creates a path directly to the sphere, we will no longer have to move as dictated by the construction of the tiers."

  Holli raised an eyebrow, pondering the proposal with interest. Lief, however, was not able to continue unabated.

  "What are you speaking of over there?" Tun fumed with rage over the attempt at a private conference. "What is it you wish to exclude the rest of us from?"

  Lief almost exploded with rage. He turned about with fiery purpose. His brow knitted as his jaw tightened. The words of frustrated intolerance came to his tongue, but he bit them back. He remembered his previous vow of trust before going off on a tirade of his own. He took long moments to swallow his anger before finally responding. "My apologies, Tun. I have struck on an idea which might assist us and I wished to discuss it with my fellow elf."

  "But the delver stands with you, too," Tun retorted. "The delver who even now states that we should believe him about no danger existing within this tier."

  "My thoughts did not address this tier," Lief admitted. "My idea involves the very breach which the sphere uses to emit its energy to the land above. I wonder if we might be able to use it as a shortcut to the sphere itself."

  Silence greeted the elf's announcement. All eyes, save Lauren's, were upon him, and they all waited for further clarification.

  Lief continued his explanation to the group as a whole. "There are but two tiers left which separate us from the sphere, the algors', and finally the elves'. Rather than stay within the confines of the tiers, we can use the breach as a more direct path."

  "Do you mean by that you would not reveal what the elves have hidden in Sanctum?" Tun questioned severely.

  "No. We will still have to deal with that obstacle, but not to the same degree. If we stay to the stone steps and original doors, we will have to transverse the entire elf tier. If we use the breach, we cut our time upon the tier and thus reduce our risk." He paused, but could not refrain from casting the slightest rejoinder upon the dwarf prince. "I will still have to reveal to you what the obstacle is. When I do, you will be happy to use any such short cut."

  Tun fumed, but it was Ryson who stated the first reluctance. "If we use the tunnel, that will place you and Holli directly in the path of the magic. The last time that happened, you didn't do so well. It still contains poison to the elves, remember?"

  "You do not have to remind me of that," Lief acknowledged. "I am aware of the danger, I can feel it even now, but I am also aware of the danger that waits below. Trust me, I will be safer in direct contact with the magic."

  "I don't know," Ryson said as he shook his head. "We were only in the tunnel for a few moments and you had to find open air."

  "That is because I was probing for the magic," Lief countered. "If you also remember, at that same time I was still in search of answers. I did not know where the sphere was and thus I opened myself to the energy. I will not do so again. I will admit that I can not keep the taint of poison from me completely, but I can guard against it. It is our best option."

  "Well, what about the drop?" Ryson pointed to the hole in the floor. "We'll have to get down the same as before, by climbing and jumping. Won't it be safer to use the stairs?"

  "Easier, but not safer," Lief noted. "In the elf tier, the sphere is located far from the steps. We would have to walk a great distance to reach it. The deterrent that waits is one that we would do best to shorten our path."

  Ryson scratched his head. "Well, that's the elf tier. What about the tier below us, the algor tier?"

  "It does not matter which entrance we use." It was the algors that responded. "We can control the danger."

  Both algors pulled hand-carved wooden flutes from their packs. They held them up for all to see, as if they were as powerful as Ryson's sword.