Vault of Silence (The Hidden Wizard Book 2)

by Vaughan W. Smith

  You must use time to your advantage.

  "That's odd," Alrion whispered, and turned to the next page. There was no other message, just that one. Alrion had the distinct feeling that someone was watching him.

  "Does this wizard know that I am trapped in a storm? Maybe it's Ashra," Alrion thought. There were some aspects that made sense, but he never met Ashra until recently. The advice seemed timely, but it was too neat.

  "There has to be something else to this, but what? I am using my time as effectively as possible. We kept my training short so that I could make my way to the temple as soon as possible. Is there something I'm missing?" Alrion thought, working through all the interpretations of the message. He was still missing something, but decided to capitalise on the fact that he was stuck in a storm and reviewed his spell book.

  With delight Alrion noticed that the spells he had practised with Ashra were now documented in the book. Reading about them from a different author provided an additional perspective and helped his understanding. It was as if what he read resonated strongly with him.

  "Somewhere in my head, I have this knowledge already. It must be the act of joining the lines from something I instinctively know, to something I actively know," he thought. It was an interesting perspective that he would have to try out on someone.

  "Next time I go to Paperton I'll have a lot of questions," Alrion said to himself. But first, he had other things to focus on. He used the time to do some minor reinforcement of his walls, and rework small sections to learn some of the slightly different techniques in his spell book.

  As his confidence climbed, and the protective dome retained its strength, Alrion felt sleep coming on.

  "It's safe now, and I have no energy left. It's time," he thought. He shuffled over and shook Certan. At the slightest touch the monk's eyes darted open and he was completely alert.

  "Time for my shift? Great. Have a good rest.” Certan sat up carefully and inspected the walls and listened carefully. "This will be set in for a while, but I think we are safe. Don't worry I will wake you if required," he said.

  "Thanks, I'm exhausted." Alrion laid out a blanket and collapsed onto it. Sleep was close, but it was a restless sleep.

  He awoke by himself, and was quite groggy and confused.

  Lara and Certan were up and talking quietly.

  "Welcome back. I would ask how your sleep was, but I could tell from all the tossing and turning that it wasn't great," Lara said.

  "I'm not sure, maybe I was overtired. Is everything alright?" Alrion started to test the walls.

  "Seems fine, storm has died down a bit. It's still too much to go out yet, but I think we are over the worst. Eat and we shall keep an ear out," Certan said. Alrion drank some water and ate some biscuits and bread. He felt a bit better than the day before, even his restless sleep had done the job.

  "Have you ever experienced a storm like this?" Alrion said.

  "No, nothing quite this bad. It's suspicious," Certan said.

  "In what way? It's unnatural?" Lara said.

  "Yes." Certan didn't elaborate but he looked concerned.

  "So maybe a wizard is behind it?" Alrion said.

  "I don't know what's possible, but it seems likely. We should be very careful during the rest of our journey," Certan said.

  "You know, it seems like a crazy spell, but it's plausible," Alrion said after a moment of consideration.

  "At least if that's the case, they don't know where we are. It's not very targeted," Lara said.

  "Agreed. We just need to remain cautious and prepare ourselves," Certan said.

  "Sure. I'll review my spells and do some training," Alrion went back to the spell book and tried miniature versions of his spells within the dome. By practising at a very small scale, he would not disrupt their shelter and he could focus more on how he was controlling the spells.

  Hours passed, and Alrion felt in more control of his new techniques. He built a tiny dome that surrounded Certan's foot and he kicked it away.

  "Aww that was cute," Lara said with a laugh. Certan was about to respond when he stopped suddenly and pressed his ear against the dome wall.

  "Something has changed. I think the storm is dying down," he said. Lara and Alrion became still and tried listening as well. The howling seemed more distant, and less enthusiastic.

  "I think you're right," Lara said softly.

  "How long until we can emerge?" Alrion said.

  "Let's wait a bit longer," Certan said. They all waited cautiously. Alrion stopped practising his spells and Lara sat still, occasionally trying to listen through the wall. After a while Certan broke the silence again.

  "Can you open a tiny part of the wall? I want to test the environment outside," Certan said. Alrion concentrated, and thought about how to adjust the wall. He couldn't just attack it, he needed a way of altering the structure in just the right way.

  "I need a minute to figure this out," Alrion said, and began his work. It was almost like building the shelter again, but this time looking for places that he could remove. He projected an invisible framework over it, then tried moving a section out. The wall shook, but then settled and a rectangular chunk shuffled over along the sand. Alrion was just about to cheer when a rush of sand blocked the gap he had created.

  "Something must have gone wrong," Alrion said, confused. He was sure he had done it carefully.

  "It wasn't your mistake, I think we are quite buried. Have you noticed the air going stale?" Certan said.

  "Now that you mention it. But why now?" Lara said.

  "I think it took a long time to build up, but we are quite buried. I have been monitoring it but didn't say anything in order to prevent panic. The last thing we needed was to unnecessarily waste the air," Certan said.

  "What do we do?" Lara said.

  "We need to take a chance that the storm has moved on. Alrion will need to clear a path for us," Certan said.

  "That can be arranged. Let's pack up then give me the word," Alrion said.

  The three of them took care in packing their things, working methodically.

  "That looks to be it," Lara said.

  "So, I just clear a path in front of us?" Alrion said.

  "Correct. Just be careful of sand coming in.” Certan shuffled over to behind Alrion, and Lara joined him.

  Alrion considered his options. "I should clear and build at the same time, that's safer," he decided. He drew in a deep breath, then built up his Spark. He prepared a tightly compacted ball of force, and held it ready. Before he unleashed it, he prepared himself to build up some walls.

  "I hope this works," he whispered and let his spell loose. The ball of force rocked ahead, displacing a huge curtain of sand. Alrion had not expected so much to come back to him. He quickly brought up a protective wall in front of them and extended the dome roof to try and prevent additional burial by the sand.

  "More sand is coming in," Certan said. Alrion tried again, but altered his technique. Instead he built a moving sand wall, and advanced it ahead. The length of their dome kept extending. With a sigh, he stopped it and paused, letting the wall in front of him drop down.

  "You've extended our space. What's the plan?" Lara said.

  "We have to assume the sand cover is extensive. I am hoping that if I poke a hole up, if we have enough space we can reinforce an exit before we get buried for good," Alrion said,

  "Worth a try, I will advise you if the situation is worsening," Certan said.

  "This better work," Alrion thought to himself. He had underestimated the seriousness of their situation. He shuffled closer, and picked a spot in the ceiling. He gathered his Spark, and prepared another ball of force. But this time he packed more and more power into it, and tried to compact the energy as much as possible.

  "Here goes," he whispered and put everything into the spell. There was an explosion of force above them, displacing the sand everywhere. But the intensity and power of the force pushed most of the sand out and they saw the daylight fi
nally.

  "Quick, reinforce!" Certan shouted.

  Alrion created walls either side of the relatively small hole and only minimal sand dropped back in.

  "We have an exit, if we can get there," Lara said, looking up at the daylight.

  "Maybe I can build a ladder," Alrion said, thinking out loud. He shuffled over then examined his new reinforced vertical walls. With some experimentation, he managed to create some bricks sticking out of the wall. Lara tested on.

  "It's a bit crumbly, can you do better?" she said. Alrion tried again, putting more water into the mix and compacting the sand further.

  "That'll do. Keep going," Lara said. Alrion built additional blocks, and Lara kept climbing.

  "Keep it up, I'm almost there," Lara said. Soon her head disappeared into the hole and she dragged herself out.

  "Wow. Get up here," she said. Alrion let Certan go next, and watched carefully to ensure the makeshift ladder held. Once Certan had reached the top, he called down to Alrion.

  "Can you throw the bags up?" Certan said. Alrion picked up the bags with waves of force and gently carried them up to Certan's waiting hands. Once they were taken, Alrion started climbing by himself. The rungs on his sand ladder were stronger than he had expected.

  "I'm getting this finally," Alrion thought. He took care and soon his head poked out of the opening. He had to take care to ensure his sword didn't get stuck as he climbed out of the hole. He dusted himself off and took a look around. There were now sand dunes where before they were none.

  "The whole landscape has changed," Alrion said.

  "Yes, an unimaginable amount of sand has settled here. I have a bad feeling about this," Certan said.

  "How will we navigate now?" Lara said.

  "Don't worry, I can look at the position of the sun and adjust our course. Eventually we will start to see landmarks that I can use as a guide," Certan said.

  "Good. Let's get started?" Alrion said.

  "Certainly. This way.” Certan walked off with confidence, and Alrion followed close behind.

  Lara lingered, looking back at the mostly buried shelter. "Shouldn't you close that up? What if someone fell in?" she said.

  "Good point, it's useful but more likely a person would fall in unexpectedly. I'll close it in." Alrion reached out and visualised the structure of the wall, as he had done previously when taking out a small piece. However, this time he started to crack and destabilise the entire wall. The sand shifted suddenly and the mini dune next to them sunk swiftly into the ground. Alrion stepped back with a start, surprised at the speed of the movement.

  "Lucky you weren't standing any closer," Lara said.

  "I know, I won't miscalculate that again," Alrion said.

  "The sand is a dangerous and often misjudged element," Certan said, then he turned back and started walking again. Lara and Alrion rushed to catch up.

  Up and down they went, navigating the new dunes. Certan only paused occasionally to check they were heading in the right direction. There seemed to be a lot of sand and dust still in the air, which helped reduce the sun's rays a little. But it was hot and slow going.

  Hours later, Alrion was tired and hot. He couldn't see that they had made any progress at all. But Certan seemed confident, so he kept going. His mind started drifting off when suddenly, he ran into Certan. The monk had stopped completely.

  "What is it?" Alrion said.

  "That should be the temple in the distance. Take a look," Certan said. Alrion squinted and looked where the monk was pointing.

  "All I can see is the haze. Is that smoke?"

  "That's definitely smoke. I take it you don't have massive bonfires at the temple?" Lara said.

  "Not at all. I believe the temple is under attack," Certan said. Alrion didn't know what to say. Despite everything they had done, they were too late.

  28

  Wavering

  Certan started walking again, increasing his speed.

  "What are we doing? What's the plan?" Alrion said.

  "We must get closer and assess. Don't you agree?" Certan said.

  "Sure, we don't know what we are dealing with," Alrion said, although he felt quite rattled. They had been so quick in travelling here, and only paused for a while.

  "Maybe we shouldn't have stopped," Alrion said.

  "We may have been caught in the storm anyway, and you wouldn't have had the required training. Besides, you needed that to take on Wraith," Lara said.

  "Maybe it's not enough? My spells did nothing last time. I should have focused on learning how to use this sword, that seemed to work," Alrion said.

  "Don't second guess yourself, everything you did was the best choice. You weren't going to be an effective fighter in such a brief time anyway, so it's best that you worked on being a better wizard. Don't you agree Certan?" Lara said.

  "Absolutely. You need the right focus and mindset to fight effectively. Some of that you have already from your previous encounters so you are at an advantage. But the body has many secrets, which take time to master. Your sword may be an effective weapon against Wraith, but you are not ready to wield it properly. There is time for that," Certan said.

  "You both make sense. I just feel a bit lost now that it seems as though he is here and ahead of us. I secretly thought that we could get there first, so I could use the second trial to be better prepared for him," Alrion said.

  "You beat him once with even less training, don't let yourself get defeated already," Lara said, giving him a big smile. Alrion couldn't help but smile back. His doubts were still there, but he could push them back. For a time.

  They continued on, gradually through the burning hot desert. The addition of the new dunes made the going tougher, and Alrion frequently wanted the flat wasteland back. At least it was less work. The route seemed to be slowly taking them higher and higher. Lara mentioned it first.

  "We seem to be slowly ascending. Is that normal?" Lara said.

  "No, this is not natural. I suspect it because we are getting closer to the source of the storm," Certan said.

  "Let's say Wraith or someone near the temple created the storm?" Alrion said.

  "That would be my guess," Certan said.

  "Lucky we weren't any closer, we would have struggled to get out from that much sand," Lara said. Alrion stopped and looked back. When he looked for it, he could see the gentle slope of the sand all the way back. The amount of sand displaced was staggering. He thought about the power required to fuel such a storm and a chill ran down his spine.

  "Don't think about it, you're fine," he thought to himself and took some quicker steps to catch up.

  "We are getting closer, I think we shall see better once we reach the top of this dune," Certan said.

  "You would hope so, that thing is massive," Lara said. The incline was steeper than anything they had traversed yet, and it was obviously towering over the rest of the area.

  With more measured steps, they ascended the giant dune. The sand still shifted considerably, so they had to take care with each step forward. Alrion found this section very frustrating. His footing was constantly sliding back, and he felt like he was making very little progress. But each time he paused and looked back, he could see how far they had come. Not as far as he would have liked for the effort expended but at least he could see.

  "If I'm right, we should be able to see the temple once we reach the top. Very close now.” Certan increased his speed, his urge to see the temple once more spurring him on. Lara also sped up, but Alrion let them go ahead. He wanted to conserve his energy.

  The monk reached the top first, and crouched. He said nothing. Lara joined him shortly after and let out a quiet gasp. Alrion was intrigued by what they were seeing, and pushed on to look for himself. He crested the top of the dune and almost toppled over, the ridge was actually quite narrow. Once he steadied himself he looked out.

  The desert temple was in clear view. The large blocks of stone covered in sand looked like something from a long-forgotten
time. But that was not what took his breath away. The smoke was a sign of danger, as Certan had pointed out. But the horrifying thing was the black mass of seething Tainted swarming the temple and surrounding it. As far as he could see, they ground was covered with Tainted. He could pick out Blighters, Tainted Ones and even several Shades.

  "This is bad," Alrion said. It was a lot more than that, but he couldn't put the words together.

  "It is probably the worst-case scenario, given the circumstances," Certan said.

  "We can't take that head on," Lara said.

  "We can't take that period," Alrion said.

  "There are ways and means. The temple is not yet overcome, so our quest is not in vain.” Certan was studying the scene with a thoughtful look.

  "You're just getting sentimental over returning to your home. Lara and I took on a tiny fraction of the force here, and I used the entirety of my Spark. She had to save me at the last moment," Alrion said.

  "We wouldn't have to fight them all," Certan said.

  "There must be another way into the temple," Lara said.

  "No, stealth takes time. By the time, we enter it will be too late. The monks will be defeated, the temple will be taken and the Vault of Silence will be destroyed or locked away. This is a no-win situation," Alrion said.

  "You've dealt with long-shots before and succeeded. We can't give up, not at this stage," Lara said.

  "I won't allow you to falter now. We have come too far, and the monks need our help. You have an important responsibility that you cannot give up," Certan said,

  "I can find Ashra, and he can teach me instead. He has passed the trial, he understands how it works and what it teaches. It won't be the same, but at least I can prepare in safety. I can't deal with this, it's too much too soon. No amount of power can overcome these odds," Alrion said. Certan stood up and walked off the dune. He stood in front of Alrion, blocking the way back.

  "To retreat, you must go through me," Certan said.

  "Don't make me do this. Just let me go," Alrion said.