by Riker Kane
“I’m not planning on spending any more time in the temples than I have to.” Clayton unsheathed his weapon as he walked down the path, knowing danger was inevitable.
The party had woken up early and headed to the temples. The sun was barely up when they reached the entrance.
Concrete stones were stacked high on each side of the entrance, moss growing between them. At the top of the entrance was a carving in the shape of a face. On the ground, smooth rocks paved an entrance deeper inside.
“No point in wasting any time.” Clayton stepped inside and saw eight statues, four on each side, lining the walls. The monuments were several meters high, stretched toward the ceiling. “I wonder who these guys are.”
“Usually when there is a statue of someone, it is because they are revered.” Mirella said. “These individuals do not appear to be an exception.”
Clayton looked at the statues. Each one of them was of a man standing tall and brave. They all wielded a sword in their hands, holding it near their chests or above their heads.
“Great warriors,” Rena said. “This temple is a shrine to them.”
“Or maybe it’s a warning of what’s inside,” Clayton sighed. “I’m just glad I don’t have to lug these statues around.”
He pointed at the path in front of them. Jalise ignited her palm with a fireball and took the lead.
The temples were old but not completely uninviting. The air was musty but breathable. The insects crawling between the cracks were harmless. The ground didn’t give as if the construction would break. The party moved down the path until they came upon a room with three more ways to move forward.
“All right,” Kailani said. “A fork in the road. Which way do we go?”
“We could divide ourselves.” Mirella pointed down one of the paths. “I am confident I can make it through on my own.”
Clayton looked above the pathways and saw strange markings above them. “Jalise… Does that look like anything to you?”
The sage examined the carvings and shook her head. “It is ancient script I’m not familiar with. I’m afraid I can’t offer you any insight.”
“Damn…” Clayton looked down each of the hallways, wondering if he should split the party up or proceed together. “Grady said we should recognize the Lourinth Stone as soon as we see it. It could be down any of these paths. The sooner we find it, the sooner we can leave. We’ll split up.”
“Hold on a second!” Kailani said. “You don’t really expect a girl like me to go wandering down a dungeon by myself?”
“I will go with you.” Rena stepped up and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
“Jalise,” Clayton said. “Take Mirella. I will go down the center by myself.”
“Are you sure?” the sage asked.
Clayton gave her a nod, though he couldn’t deny there was a bit of uncertainty in his gut. The two groups of women moved down their paths while Clayton moved forward on his own.
“I should be all right…” Cracks in the ceiling let some of the sunlight shine in, making it easier for him to see his way down. He walked through the corridors and noticed some of the skeletons of past travelers on the ground, their clothes dusty and cobwebbed. “Poor bastards… Wonder how they died here—”
A burst of flames shot at him from the wall without warning.
“Crap!” he dashed forward down the corridor and fire came at him from the other wall. He kept moving, narrowly missing the flames until he stumbled into the next room.
“Lousy traps…” He wiped the sweat from his brow and took a moment to recover his stamina. He only had a second when he heard some of the rocks on the walls shifting around him. It was a small room, no bigger than the one where he gamed back home. But that only meant there was more room for whatever it was shaking the walls.
He held the Zeal Blade in front of him and put his head on a swivel. Slowly, white smoke began to emerge from between the rocks. The mist filled the room and took the shape of skeletons, their long limbs holding scythes. But even though they were only smoke, Clayton knew they were quite lethal.
“Wraiths. Perfect—”
He dashed out of the way of the swipe of a scythe then ignited his sword. He shot a fireball at one of the spirits and knocked it back. A quick dash and he was able to cut it down with his emblazoned sword.
“Can’t let my guard down.” He quickly spun around then ducked to avoid another wraith seeking to take his head off. Clayton responded with a stab of his own, reaching as far as he could with his shortened sword. The wraith stumbled back and vanished into the mist it came from.
Three more wraiths circled him, floating around the room just above him. “Oh, do I miss the vultures.” They descended upon him simultaneously. Just as they swung, he leaped into the air as high as he could then came crashing down on one of them with a thrust so violent it shook the entire room.
He didn’t get much of a chance to admire his work as the wraiths screamed and swung at him again. He felt the scythe brush against his armor, slicing through the metal on his back. It provided just the protection he needed though.
He dashed to the other side of the room and raised his weapon up. “Focus…” He channeled all of his energy into the sword. Flames danced around it as the wraiths charged at him. He waited until the last moment before firing. Two fireballs shot forward, larger than he’d ever shot before. The wraiths were consumed entirely and vanished into a puff of smoke.
He took one last look around to make sure he didn’t miss anything then finally smiled to admire his handiwork. “Piece of cake.”
He kept his weapon raised as he descended farther into the temples. More traps fired arrows at him that he was just quick enough to dodge. He decided to use as much stamina as he could until he stumbled into a room larger than the previous ones, more than three times their size.
There were two more pathways next to where he’d come from. In front of him, there was nothing but a brick wall with a small pool of water in front of it.
“Damn! We almost beat you here!” Kailani and Rena appeared from one of the pathways.
Clayton sighed a breath of relief to see they were all right. “Did you find the Lourinth?”
“We did not see anything of note,” Rena said. “Only reanimated skeletons that wished to kill us.”
“That’s what I figured…” Clayton looked toward the other path just as Mirella and Jalise appeared. “Any luck?”
“There were only bats that were a minor nuisance,” Mirella said.
Clayton looked around the temple room. The stones that made up the walls didn’t look any different from the previous rooms. He searched for some text carved into the stones but there was nothing.
“There’s nothing here,” he said. “Nothing but this pool of water…”
“You think it’s another portal to Azure?” Kailani said.
“There is only one portal to Azure and it is in the Great Sea,” Mirella responded.
“No… This is something different…” Clayton walked up to the pool of water and peered into it. It was unassuming, as clear as the water he’d seen elsewhere in Xeylon. He couldn’t tell how shallow it was. “I think I see something—”
The ground rumbled underneath him, nearly knocking him off balance. The rest of the party struggled to remain standing on their feet.
“What is that?” Kailani shouted.
“I hear something!” Rena walked over to the wall. “There is something on the other side—”
The wall crumbled and the stones burst in every direction.
“Rena!” Clayton quickly dashed forward and protected her from the debris.
They moved away from the wall, turning their faces away from it. Clayton looked back but couldn’t see anything within the dust and soot. There was something there though. He couldn’t see it but he could hear it.
“I’ve got a bad feeling of this…” The dust began to settle and the figure emerged in Clayton’s vision. “Is that….”
The beast towered in the hole it had made, its body thick with wide muscles. Its skin was a dark red as were its eyes. The two old ivory horns on its head looked as sharp as the points on Mirella’s trident, though they were considerably larger.
Clayton had never seen a creature like this before. Its sheer size made it even more formidable.
It stomped its hooves on the ground and the chamber rumbled again. Smoke blew from its snout as it roared toward the ceiling, its red eyes filled with undeniable rage. Its fist slammed against the floor as it crouched down and charged at Clayton and Rena.
Again, Clayton was forced to wrap his arms around her and move her out of the way.
“This is gonna be tricky…”
Rena freed herself from Clayton’s grip and unsheathed her sword and dagger. She charged recklessly at the beast as it moved toward her.
Just as they were about to collide, Rena spun out of the way and sliced the beast on the side, black blood dripping from it like bile.
“Surround it! Go! Go! Go!”
The group followed Clayton’s orders as the beast stood in the center of the room. Mirella brandished her trident. Kailani readied her swords. Jalise held her hands together to summon a great fireball.
“I’ll draw its attention!” Clayton shouted. “I’ll lead it into the wall! Once it stops, hit it with everything you got—”
Clayton didn’t have a moment to finish as the minotaur charged toward him. He just managed to dash out of the way. The minotaur dug its horns into the wall and crumbled it. The room began to shake even more.
The party followed Clayton’s lead. Mirella rushed forward and thrust her trident into its side. Rena sliced at it on the other. Kailani pounced on top of it, stabbing it with her daggers then jumping off just as Jalise’s fireball engulfed it.
The minotaur didn’t slow down. Black blood spilled from its wounds. Its hair and fur singed. Its horns damaged from the wall. But they were like scratches on the creature that stood more than a dozen feet tall. Its injuries only seemed to make it more furious, as it charged toward Clayton again. Clayton moved out of the way, slicing it with his sword before it crashed into the wall.
The chamber rumbled even more. The ceiling began to crumble as dust fell.
“Uh, guys…” Kailani looked up and shook her head. “I don’t think we should be hanging around in this room for much longer.”
“Tell that to this thing.” Clayton just barely dodged another charge, the beast’s horns nicking his armor. Just a graze was enough for him to feel, so he knew getting gored would mean certain death regardless of his armor.
“The beast is relentless!” Rena shouted. “We must keep attacking!”
The party used the full brunt of their arsenal but the minotaur remained standing. The room began to shake out of control so much Clayton couldn’t keep his footing. Even the walls had disappeared.
“We can’t keep this up!” Jalise shouted. “If we stay in here, the roof will collapse on top of us.”
“Dammit… There has to be a way…” Clayton looked around then noticed a small beam of light from one side where the wall used to be. He rushed up to it and saw nothing but the clouds on the other side. “Maybe if…”
“Everybody! Get out of the room! Head back!”
“Brooks!” Rena shouted. “What are you thinking—”
“Just do it, Rena! Trust me!” He stared at the elf and she nodded.
The four women all quickly headed back up the paths they came.
Clayton turned around and faced the minotaur. The black beast stomped its hooves on the ground and did the same with its fists. Bloodied and burned, it showed no signs of relenting.
“Come on, buddy… I’m right here…”
It blew steam from its snout before charging at Clayton in a flash with its horns ready to spear right through him.
“Wait until the last second…” Clayton stood in place for as long as he could before moving out of the way. The beast slammed into the wall behind him. Clayton quickly followed up on its rear, kicking it with all of his strength.
The wall crumbled from the weight of the beast and sent it flying out of the room, off the mountain, and into the clouds below.
Clayton didn’t have any time to celebrate as the room continued to collapse around him.
“Lourinth… Where the hell is the Lourinth?”
His eyes caught a glimmer of the pool of water. He rushed over to it then looked down.
“Crap… What am I doing?” He leaped into the water with a splash then swam down as deep as he could. Even though he could breathe for longer than normal, there was no telling if he would find what he was looking for.
He kept swimming deeper until he found a pathway. As he moved down the path, a shimmering light grew brighter and brighter. He swam down the tunnel until reaching the end where the light was.
He raised his head up above the water and saw that he was outside, the morning sun bright above him. He used the rest of his stamina to pull himself out of the water and onto the grass.
The precipice hung over the edge of a mountain, so high there were clouds below him.
“Careful now… This thing is so small I might fall off…”
He looked around when something else caught his eye. A shining light different from the sun above. He squinted as he moved toward it. Sitting there on the grass was a rock, shimmering like nothing he’d ever seen before.
The stone was large but not so heavy he couldn’t pick it up. He squeezed it around the palm of his hand, mesmerized by the light.
“Strange… It’s… changing…” The light of the stone began to change colors right before his eyes. Green. Red. Blue. “So many different colors…”
The Zeal Blade began to pulse in his other hand. The crimson aura he’d seen before resonated on the blade before quickly disappearing.
Clayton held the stone up in the sun and examined it.
“Lourinth, huh?”
Chapter 39
Clayton swam back into the temples and managed to climb through the rubble. He kept his hand tight upon the Lourinth as they began the journey back to Taius. His curiosity grew the more he looked at it, an inexplicable energy continuing to resonate from it.
It was just past noon when they made it back to the mountain town. The villagers were already in the middle of their day, crafting their wares and cooking the food they’d hunted.
Clayton returned to the spot where he spoke with Grady from the night before but he was nowhere to be found.
“Now where is he…”
“Traveler!” Owen walked up to him. “You’re looking for Old Man Grady.”
“That’s right. Is he in his hut?”
“He took his things and left for his quiet place.”
“His quiet place? And where is that?”
“Don’t worry. It’s up around the hill. Just a short walk. There shouldn’t be any danger.”
“Shouldn’t be any danger…”
“We have already traversed so far,” Rena said. “It will not be a burden to travel a little farther if we are to get what we need.”
“Right, right… Let’s go.” Clayton sighed as he headed out of the village.
The small path from Taius led up a green hillside with grass as bright as the Serene Valley. The ascended above the village until there was nothing but clear open sky all around them. They came to a plateau on the side of the mountain, looking down on the clouds.
“He should be around here somewhere…”
Off to the side was a small cavern carved into the mountainside. Clayton narrowed his eyes when he saw something within.
“Wait a second…” He walked closer and saw a workbench off to one side. Across from it was a furnace that looked like it hadn’t been used in ages. An anvil sat next to it. “Why does this look like a blacksmith’s forge?”
“Because it is a blacksmith’s forge.” He turned around
and Grady appeared from around the corner, walking forward from the edge of the plateau. The old man had his eyes behind his back. “It hasn’t been used in some time but everything is still functional… You’ve acquired the Lourinth.”
Clayton held it up and it shimmered underneath the sunlight. “I don’t know. You said I’d know it when I saw it. I’m guessing this is it.”
Grady eyed the stone. A curious smile came across his lips as he sighed.
“You look relieved,” Clayton said. “Any reason for that?”
“From your appearance, you were in a great battle against a formidable opponent. I’m glad you escaped the danger, though I imagine it’s not the first time you’ve ever had to fight your way out of a predicament.”
“You got that right…”
Clayton continued to eye the old man curiously. Grady took the stone, still smiling in a way Clayton had never seen from him before.
“In all my years… I never thought someone would think to acquire this. I didn’t think this day would actually come.”
“What?” Clayton looked at his companions but they were just as confused as he was. “What’s he talking about?”
Grady paced back and forth, running his palm over the stone. “There was no reason for anybody to acquire this. As fancy as it looks, it’s not desired by anybody. There are jewels and gold that would provide more value to the people of Xeylon.”
“So the Lourinth isn’t gonna save this village? I’m hoping you didn’t just risk all of our lives for nothing…”
“On its surface, it has no value to the people of Xeylon. But this stone is truly more valuable than anything else they could possibly possess.”
“That valuable, huh? Maybe you should give it back to me…” Clayton smiled as he motioned with his hand.
Grady laughed softly, his eyes still locked on the stone. “You would not be able to do anything with this… This precious stone…”
“So, I know it’s not Lourinth. What is it exactly?”
Grady paced back and forth, his hands tight around it. “I didn’t always live in Taius. When I was a child, I was raised on the other side of the Great Sea. I lived an ordinary life. Son of a mother who was a baker and a father who smithed. I grew up in the forge. I remember the times when my mother would scold my father for letting me inhale the fumes from the metal. But they never bothered me. The smell was more satisfying than anything.