“A small cave is more welcome than the hold of a ship. I should like to be done with sea travel before I start using my axe to make more space.”
Bortun’s companions realized he was probably serious about such a threat.
Continuing onward, the four adventurers passed through several reception chambers before approaching a large chamber at the hub of the castle. They entered the largest room in the entire structure: a court which had been the center of rule in years past. The once-lively throne room opened before them with a cold silence. A tall ceiling reached up past the next floor, where a balcony had provided a vantage point for spectators in ages past. Chandeliers of large size were suspended by rusty chains. Though no lit candles spilled forth from the chandeliers, the room was still bathed in a glow. Light sprang forth from magically lit stones embedded high on the walls. The thrones stood mutely on a raised dais on one end of the room, barely standing on weathered frames.
All of these items showed their age as being around since the castle’s abandonment, but there were traces of recent habitation in the room as well. Magical runes formed patterns around the center of the chamber. New tables sat near one wall. Mixtures of magical chemicals and scrolls of arcane lore perched upon them. Pottery jars and other containers held various secret items necessary for the preparation of the room and the casting of a specific spell. A ceremonial stand sat in a position close to the center of the floor runes, supporting a book with arcane instructions. Next to this stand stood a smaller table which currently held nothing. The old, musky smell of the castle had been disguised by aromatic herbs burning in small bowls around the room. A large fireplace rested on the open floor, leaving blackened scorch marks on the stone. This fire was currently just warm embers, but more firewood had been stacked nearby.
Revwar looked about the room proudly. “It looks ready. We should go over the runes and markings again to make sure nothing was smudged or disturbed. Loung, please place the items on the empty table near the book stand. We should start a fire to boil some more materials as well.”
Loung wore his traditional silks from Tariyka. As usual, the silks left visible a muscular chest and strong arms. In one hand he held a bamboo fighting staff, but in the other he carried a simple bag. He carried the bag over to where Revwar had indicated. The martial artist voiced a question as he went. “I never asked, but why did you pick this place to start?”
Revwar answered, though his eyes stayed on the decorations that the group had added to the old throne room. “This location was picked for us, mainly due to its secluded but defensible nature. We could have done this at any place in the realm, but were asked to do this secretively, away from prying eyes and interfering parties. Savannah and I were directed that even the theft of the stones had to be done with care, so that we could delay anyone realizing they had been stolen.”
The wizard paused, “Well, the one I procured years ago wasn’t subtle, but it shouldn’t have led anyone into thinking I was after that specific stone. Mostly, this place offers a secluded location by which a new empire can be launched in secret. The forces we muster will have time to get fortified and settled in before others become aware of the danger.”
Loung set the bag, with its unseen contents, on the stand near the center of the room. The Tariykan considered the words. Eventually, he asked, “Who are we keeping this secret from?”
Revwar flashed a dangerous glare at the human. “From a god.”
Loung’s eyes opened wide at that statement. “A god? One who could simply strike us down without warning at any time?”
The elf shook his head, “That would be a breach of the Covenant, wouldn’t it? Gods nay longer may strike mortals or walk the realms with us. Gods are bound by the Covenant, and they simply can’t interfere with the mortal realms in such an open manner. Since the devastation of the Godswars, the deities have forbidden themselves from directly interfering in mortal affairs ever again. However, if this god is alerted to what we are doing, and I dare not mention a name which might attract his attention, he could send a message to his followers to intercept us. Though a god could not strike us down, they have followers they can use. We may find ourselves dealing with a small army of paladins and clerics trying to knock down our door before we even get started. Therefore, secrecy was paramount. I seriously doubt any chosen champion has been sent yet. Our tracks were covered well despite the revelation of the stolen stone to that young scrapper, and that foolish noblewoman. Once we complete this ceremony, I think we will have already gained enough of a head start to leave nations unaware and vulnerable for what will spawn forth here.
“Besides, we are agents working on behalf of two goddesses who seek to settle an old score. If successful, a new empire will sweep across Dhea Loral. Until then, we will get all the support we need from DeLaris, as well as…”
The elf was interrupted by a creaking noise, quickly followed by a curse. Savannah had been working at building up the fire off to one side, when her path took her over a loose grate in the floor. The rusty grate served as a hatch for gathering or lowering items from storerooms below, and from previous experience the adventurers knew it was barely held closed due to the wear of time. A little pressure could cause the hatch to fall open, spilling a person into the room below. The cleric froze at realizing where her careless steps had taken her. Slowly, she stepped off to the side, getting her weight off of the dangerous bars. Once out of danger, she gave a quick prayer to her patron deity.
“You must really be careful,” Revwar spoke. “I don’t know what held that grate up for all these years, but it’s not exactly a safe place to walk.”
Savannah glared at the degraded bars that were questionable protection from falling into the room below. “You’d think I’d remember the first time I stepped there and it shifted. That thing is liable to fall through the floor at any time. I don’t want to be the one to ride it down into the cellar. I serve DeLaris faithfully in her control over death, and I’d rather not be standing before her because my footsteps were careless.”
Revwar chuckled, one of the rare times he did so. The elf turned back to his study of the magic symbols. Savannah looked to him and asked, “You seem to be in a good mood. You are really looking forward to this, aren’t you?”
“Of course!” He answered. “It’s not every day you get to summon forth a powerful demon, let alone one that is such a strong ally.”
* * * * *
The party from Troutbrook navigated long-abandoned passages, their footfalls avoiding animal refuse littering the halls, while venturing toward the front of the castle. Unfortunately, the current passage seemed to dead-end in a rather odd room. It seemed devoid of purpose, except for a circular metal platform at the end of the small room. Around the perimeter of the metal plate they observed some writing in a language other than the human tongue. Oddly, the ceiling directly above the area opened into a vertical shaft leading straight upwards. The shaft spanned a meter, large enough that a person could easily climb through it with the proper climbing equipment. Cat and Salgor, in the lead, exchanged questioning glances as they guessed how this room had been used. Neither approached close enough to look up the shaft, fearing what tricks the room might hold.
From the back of the group, Mel grew curious. He couldn’t see past the wall of tall people. “What do you see up there; anything interesting?”
Salgor irritably grunted. “Nay. The room contains nothing other than a metal platform and a hole in the ceiling. You could get more excitement watching a dead orc lie on the ground.”
Mel’s ears perked up at the description and he promptly asked, “Does it look magical?”
Cat and Salgor both shrugged. Mel saw the motions from their backs, but wished for a closer look. Gnomes liked puzzles and odd rooms, yet he could see nothing from his position in the back. Cat added, “It might be magical. The metal plate is shiny and polished as if new.”
“Ooh!” A thought struck Mel. “Tell me, are there small pebbles scattere
d around the platform, and is it about three feet in diameter?”
The half-elf looked about the area and saw several small stones near the platform, though none stood on top of it. “Aye, it looks like you say. It is three feet across and several small stones near it. Let’s get you up front so that you can see this thing.”
The group parted for the gnome sorcerer. As soon as he saw the metal disk on the small platform, he let out a squeal of delight. Mel, acting very excitable, showed he had no qualms about walking closer to the platform than Cat or Salgor dared. Mel grabbed one of the small stones on the floor, and he tossed it towards the magical disk. Moments before the pebble would have landed on the plate, it came to a stop in midair. Suddenly, the rock an unseen force hurled the rock straight up the vertical shaft. A moment later, it fell back down. This time it did not stop in midair just above the platform. It landed on top of the metal piece with a ting and bounced off to the side.
Mel was giggling, “Hee, hee. I’m glad I tested it before stepping there. Nobody say a word please, it could be dangerous.” Turning back to the plate, he whispered “Zero.”
His final word seemed to be aimed at the metal plate on the floor. He stood on top of the metal disk and looked up. The companions traded befuddled glances while the gnome looked up the vertical shaft. The gnome arched his head all the way back, and he even spun in place a bit as he looked up the shaft from slightly different angles. Finally he stepped off the platform, displaying an infectious smile. The others found themselves smiling back at the gnome, with no clue as to why. One exception to this was Salgor, who already deduced the metal plate was magical, and therefore something to be hated and feared.
Mel looked back and forth between the metal plate and the rest of the party. “I always wanted one of these in my home, if I live in one that has a few floors. It’s a Vertically Mounted Magical Elevation/Lifting/Descending Assistant. They are quite nice to have, but expensive and sometimes used as more of a status symbol. I didn’t realize the mountain gnomes have been making them since back during the Godswars era. The bigger races tend to call it by a shorter name. They call it a ‘lift’. I’m surprised to see one here.”
“Another gnomish magical device?” Salgor shook his head. “Didn’t we learn something from the breakable flying machine? I won’t have anything to do with it. Let’s turn around this minute!”
Intrigue showed plainly upon Petrow’s face. “Mel, what is it and what do people do with it?”
Mel looked at him, “You haven’t guessed? Gnomes name many devices after their basic use. If this was on its side it would be a Horizontally Mounted Magical Pushing/Moving Assistant.”
The gnome’s explanation was greeted by puzzled stares. Mel continued, “Anyway, the point is that you use these to transfer people or objects to different levels within a tall structure. A person calls out…well, I’ll just show you.”
The gnome started to step near the device, but stopped in mid-stride rather abruptly. “Whew, that was close.” He looked back to his companions. “I forgot to clear the last command. That’s why you saw that pebble launch upwards the first time. The ‘lift’, as you all would call it, had never been cleared after it heard the last command.”
“Cleared?” Trestan had a hand on his head as if already suffering a headache from trying to figure out strange gnomish devices. “Gnomes seem to come up with some odd ideas. Forgive me for saying it.”
“Odd?” Mel felt insulted. “This is the most useful device since someone invented the sail, which helped advance boat travel! Anyways, let me clear it of the last digit spoken. After that, I’ll call for which floor I want. Don’t anyone speak a word, until I’ve told you how this works.”
Mel approached the metal platform again, and as before he spoke the numeral “zero” before stepping onto the device. He then planted both feet firmly on the metal disk. The companions looked at him as if he might explode or suffer some other nasty fate. Mel then spoke the numeral “four”, waving back to the others as he did so.
To their surprise and astonishment, Mel’s body shot straight up into the vertical shaft overhead. The metal plate never moved, and there was no impressive magical display, simply the sight of the gnome shooting skyward until the edge of the ceiling hid the rest of his ascent. Unlike the pebble which had fallen back down the first time, Mel didn’t drop back down. Several seconds passed quietly, with no sign that the gnome was returning for a hard landing.
A voice called out from somewhere up the shaft. “How is that for luxury travel, eh? Nay need to climb ladders. Nay need to lug a heavy package up several flights of steps. Just say the number of floors you want to ascend and the magic pushes you up! I’ll be right back down. It’s as easy as going up. Zero!”
A moment later, the gnome dropped out of the shaft as fast as a normal person falls. Before reaching the ground, he slowed abruptly in midair, and then landed softly on the metal platform. The companions had a brief flash of panic when it had appeared that the gnome was falling to his death. They remembered to breathe again after he landed safely. Mel exited the platform, and then gave a small flourish. “And that’s how it works! Let’s all go up and check out the upper levels.”
Salgor’s eyes widened with alarm. “Nay! We all turn around right now, quickly walk away, and then lock any door we find that could ever again lead back to this room!”
Mel threw up his hands, “When am I going to get more respect from you, Salgor? My mountain brothers come up with some pretty decent inventions. You may not have liked Dovewing, but surely you could see the uses of such a wonderful craft! This lift may be the quickest way we can use to get to the upper floors of this place and search up there.”
Cat walked over to where the metal platform rested on the floor. The half-elf was trying to get a look up into the vertical shaft. Mel noticed her movements and was quick to warn her. “I wouldn’t do that, not unless you clear the lift first. Anything that hovers over it, in the vicinity of its magical pulse, will be lifted to their requested destination. You don’t have to step on the device to make it work; merely leaning over it will send you upwards as well.”
Cat wisely stopped short of the strange device. “How do I clear it? What does that mean anyway?”
Mel went into his lecturing mode. “Well, when was the last time someone here said ‘to’, ‘forehead’, ‘won’, ‘tent’, or even ‘sex’?”
The group exchanged puzzling glances behind Mel as he continued. “Each of those words can be mistaken for a numeral command. I believe someone said the word ‘to’, just before you approached that platform. The elevation device can’t differentiate when certain words sound just like numbers. It would respond to the word ‘to’ the same way as it would respond to someone asking it if they could go upwards ‘two’ floors. ‘Forehead’ would send you upwards four floors before you realized you said the wrong thing. That’s why I kept asking for quiet when I was trying out the device. That’s also why I first approached it after throwing one of these many pebbles on top of it, to see if it had a command that had not yet been carried out. Once it delivers a person or item to the requested floor, or if someone asks for floor ‘zero’, the device will not send you upwards. In fact, requesting ‘zero’ is how you return safely to the ground floor if you jump into the shaft from one of the floors above. The device cushions and stops your fall right on top of it. I should also add that when you request a floor, it doesn’t just throw you up in the air and let you fall again. It throws you up to the right floor on top of a magical cushion, which lasts for about a second, before you drop. This gives you a chance to float for a moment at the right height, and grab the bars on the sides of the doors up there. If you were just sending up a package, someone on an upper floor would have time to extend a plank underneath the floating package…then retract the plank after catching the package.”
Petrow and Trestan traded glances, thinking that gnome devices certainly had weird oddities. Mel continued, “Another nice thing: this is porta
ble. See those notches in the stone foundation, under the sides? The whole thing is just a flat disk. You can carry it to another location and use it.”
Cat softly spoke the numeral ‘zero’, and then got close to the device. With a nervous smile, she lightly stepped one foot onto the metal platform, and then the other. She turned to the others and put a hand over her chest as if trying to still her rapid heartbeat. From where she now stood, Cat looked upwards into the shaft. As soon as she had taken a good look, she stepped off the metal plate. Cat made sure she was well away from the device when she spoke again.
“There seems to be four floors to the keep.”
It was Mel’s turn to look puzzled. “I only saw three!”
Cat turned to regard him, “Three doors up the shaft, four floors total, including this one.”
Mel suddenly slapped himself in the head, as if finally figuring out something. “Pardon me, I forgot. You go by the backwards human terms of measuring floors.”
Just when Cat, Petrow, Trestan and Salgor thought they were as confused as they could get, Mel surprised them with another fact of gnome life. “Gnomes count floors differently than humans do. To you, this is the first floor; to us it is either the ground floor or ground zero. If you go one floor up, you call it the second floor; however, we call it the first floor. That is an abbreviated meaning…the first floor up from the ground. Your third floor is our second floor up from the ground. And so on.”
Trestan nodded his head, even as he held back laughter at this dose of gnomish logic, “Ok, I get it. So, to get to the third floor in human terms, I would ask the device for floor number two. This would propel me two gnome floors up from the ground floor, landing me on the human’s third floor.”
The Earthrin Stones 1 of 3: Inheritance of a Sword and a Path Page 44