Still, it was bright enough to see by, more so than the hallways he had taken to come here. The moss was at its deepest though, covering everything ankle-deep, only bits of the uneven floor could be seen through its heavy green cloak. Behind him was the silver door, while ahead laid a twinkle of emerald radiance, his goal.
It was tempting to simply race down the passage and end this trial but he held back. Dalmarn’s conditions were clear, so he could afford to take his time. Instead of racing forward, he peered around, looking in greater detail as he considered his options.
It strained his eyes a little - Dalmarn’s light-summoning Spellstone would have proven particularly handy - but he managed to spot several symbols beneath the green matting, faintly glowing red and etched into the stone itself.
Activation runes, each probably triggering something nasty.
Rian threaded his way past them and allowed himself a smile. So much for Dalmarn’s little trick. Whatever cruelties the man might have planned, he would not stop him from becoming a mage.
Keeping his eyes out for any runes, he took another step forward.
Click.
He looked down, but there was no rune beneath him.
A boom rang through the hall, making his bones shiver with the force as something massive landed on the mossy ground right behind him.
His legs shook like twigs in a breeze, but he managed to turn around.
The construct was half again his size, crafted of steel and stone, and molded into something vaguely resembling a man, but each of its four arms was as thick as his waist while compound ruby eyes gleamed maliciously on its forehead. It leered hungrily down at Rian, mere paces away.
Shit!
He tried to grab a Spellstone from his pocket, but his fingers shook as they tried to gain purchase upon the roughly-hewn orb.
The golem had no such trouble. Taking advantage of his distraction, it charged with a roar that sounded like a rockslide. Each step was thunderous and its feet tore through layers of moss with their passing, the construct moving faster than its size would have implied.
His mind froze but instinct born from countless hours of practice saved him. In the space of a moment, he ripped the Spellstone from his pocket, drew upon his stamina, and summoned the spell.
Unlike the Spellstone in the First Trial, he was intimately familiar with this one, courtesy of the years spent mastering it. Rather than taking minutes, this spell took barely a couple seconds to cast.
A shockwave of arcane power burst from his outstretched hand, easily as big around as a man was tall. Silver in color, it ripped through the air with the power of a giant before exploding against something with a rumbling boom, filling the cavern with a cloud of dust and shattered rock. Force Wave was its name, and it lived up to it without doubt.
He smiled. A direct hit was sure to badly damage, perhaps even destroy his foe. With the golem out of the way, he could bypass the rest of the runes without trouble. All he needed to do was -
The sound of stone grinding against stone was his only warning before the golem’s fist impacted him.
His stomach exploded in pain and he was sent skidding back. He doubled over, clutching his abdomen, but managed to keep his grip upon his Spellstone.
The golem stood before him, cracks running up and down its armored chest but otherwise unhampered, somehow having avoided the worst of his spell. It reared up before bringing its hands down in a crushing hammer-blow.
Rian’s mind went blank, but he managed to throw himself to the side and the attack whistled past him, so close he could feel the wind against his cheek. He brought his Spellstone up to train upon his foe.
The construct was faster, its arms sweeping out and grabbing shoulder, side and hip before throwing him to the ground. It brought one massive foot high.
No! Refusing to let himself lose, he channeled into his Spellstone once more, unleashing another mighty blast. This one struck true and, with a grinding roar, the entire upper half of the construct was reduced to rubble.
Rubbing his aching stomach, Rian got to his feet once more.
That… that had been tougher than he expected. For him to face a golem in the Second Trial was quite - his jaw tightened as he reminded himself who his proctor was. ‘Dalmarn is a bastard’ really explained everything, didn’t it? Of course it would be maddeningly difficult. The idea of that hateful man giving him a fair fight was downright laughable.
He shook his head. He would have to be especially careful now if he wanted to avoid -
“Well done, young lord,” Dalmarn’s voice echoed sardonically from above, “you successfully managed to defeat a golem… one which had its primary enchantments disabled and was unable to do anything other than hit you like a random thug. Congratulations. I hope it was all you ever dreamed of.”
Rian gritted his teeth, but said nothing, choosing to focus on the task at hand. Enchantments or no, that golem packed a punch.
“However, you made one small mistake. I suggest you look down.”
Rian’s eyes flickered down reflexively, only to see two runes flaring scarlet beneath him.
His heart stopped at the sight before thundering anew in his chest. He must have landed on the runes during the fight with the golem. If these runes had also triggered…
A pair of thundering booms rocked the cavern as two more golems dropped from the ceiling. Twin roars tore through the air, then the constructs leaped for him.
His hands shook, but he called upon his Spellstone once more, letting its power loose in a wild burst.
The spell ripped off one golem’s left arms, but it barely seemed to notice, slamming into him with a mighty headbutt.
His head exploded with pain, but he gritted his teeth, holding his ground with all his strength. If he triggered more runes, this battle was probably over. The blow sent him to his knees, his legs quaking, but he didn’t move so much as a step back, instead unleashing another Force Wave that reduced his foe to shards of rock. One down.
The second golem was already upon him, bringing an arm down in a brutal strike.
Rian was ready this time though, and his foe's attack led it right into the full force of his next spell. The stone fist made it within inches of his face before the construct’s entire upper body was swallowed in a stream of silver light.
As the shattered fragments of the second golem clattered to the ground, he took several deep breaths. The pain from the blows he’d taken was magnified now that the rush of battle had begun to fade. How many spells had he used? Four… no, five, he corrected himself. Damn. He’d have to be careful going forward - the most spells he’d ever cast at one time was twelve before his vision swam and his tutors ordered him to stop.
Still, he’d managed to avoid triggering any more runes at least, and his spells were powerful enough to defeat the golems in one casting each if he was careful. Even if he did trigger a couple more, he’d probably be fine.
“Resting upon your laurels, oh brave champion?” Dalmarn’s sneer was audible. “To succeed, you need to complete the trial, not sit upon your noble arse!”
Rian opened his mouth to retort when five clicks rang through the cavern. An equal number of runes lit up, all across the cavern, and five ground-shaking booms occurred in quick succession.
“Oh good, I was wondering when those would trigger.” He could almost see the damn smirk on Dalmarn’s face. “Just think, in another two minutes, there will be twenty.”
A time limit. The longer he spent, the more there would be, no matter how he handled them. Every minute that passed, his chances would dwindle further and further. Awfully convenient that he didn’t mention this before the trial began.
The golems hurtled toward him. One of them was faster than the others. It didn’t breathe but it was close enough he could have smelled its breath if it did. He barely made it up to its stomach and it loomed over him as a man would a boy. Then it was upon him, reaching for his neck, four hands illuminated pale blue in the darkness.
The remaining golems’ footsteps thundered throughout the cavern.
He’d have to make every spell count if he wanted to succeed. His fingers wouldn’t stop shaking but he braced himself to cast as the three golems closed in - wait, weren’t there four?
Stone grated behind him.
He twisted around frantically, Spellstone in hand, but a fist slammed into his shoulder before he could finish casting, sending him careening to the ground in an explosion of pain.
He tried to get back to his knees, fingers scraping frantically against the moss. No, this can’t be! I can’t fail, not like this!
Mere inches away, the golem’s form blotted out everything else, with red eyes as big as Rian’s fists glaring right at him. Opening its immense stone mouth wide, it let loose an ear-splitting roar.
Over the incredible noise, he couldn’t hear, couldn’t think. His spells wouldn’t come to him, nor strategy. Even the trial itself seemed meaningless. He threw himself out of the construct’s way, any fears of what runes he might trigger meaningless against the thought of what would happen if this monster got ahold of him! Scrabbling to his feet, he ran as fast as he could.
The golems followed hungrily, leaping after him even as more runes clicked, flaring into garish red light. Still, they were some distance behind.
They weren’t as fast as him, he vaguely recognized, but that didn’t matter much. They wouldn’t tire. They would run him down, crush him, kill him. No, the only way out was the emerald. He raced toward it, even as his panting breaths grew more and more ragged.
The golems must have realized they couldn’t catch up, as they let out shrieks of inhuman rage, but nothing would stop him from touching that gemstone. When he closed within mere feet, there was a click, but he ignored it, along with a cool, damp feeling that permeated his robes.
He was almost there. Just a little bit further and he would be safe, mere inches really. His hand could almost touch it… so why couldn’t he get any closer?
He looked down.
The golems surrounded him but made no effort to strike. His body had been wrapped in an orb of shimmering water, encasing him from his feet to the top of his chest. It rose more with each second, to his shoulders and then neck.
What was this?
“Surely, you didn’t think we would be so foolish as to let just any idiot dash for the emerald,” Dalmarn said. “No, there only a few safe paths through and you chose wrongly.”
No! He struggled as hard as he could, trying to break free.
It was in vain. Mere moments later, the orb encased him entirely before sending him hurtling across the room to land against the wall. The orb burst upon impact in a wet shower, leaving him unharmed, but far, far from his goal.
“Don’t worry though, you can try again. You just have to make it past the golems. They’ve been accumulating, admittedly, but surely mere constructs pose no threat for a brave lord such as yourself. Good luck.” Dalmarn’s laughter echoed through the cavern.
The golems charged toward Rian in a cresting wave. True to Dalmarn’s word, there were no longer four of them. At least a dozen constructs thundered across the cavern floor, with more dropping from the ceiling every few moments.
Rian clutched the wall to support himself as he panted for breath. Sweat dripped down him, soaking him as thoroughly as Sideb’s spray of water had what seemed like a lifetime ago. He had run perhaps a few hundred yards, but with the drain of his Spellstones, it felt like ten times that. The thin blue light made his hands look even paler than they already were. His limit closed in relentlessly upon him, the tide of exhaustion threatening to pull him beneath it, and he was no closer to his goal than the moment he had entered the room. Still, he braced himself to battle, to fight as hard as he could in the hopes of winning against…
No, even in his own head, he knew that thought for the madness it was. Defeating so many golems was an impossibility. He. Could. Not. Win.
It was all his fault. He understood that now - the golems weren’t trying to kill him and he should have realized that. Instead he’d panicked and now stood to lose everything. Was this it then? Was this how it would end, ten years of preparation crushed underfoot by a horde of golems.
Dalmarn’s infernal gloating filled the cavern. “Are you giving up, oh honorable lord?”
They were closing in now, the nearest less than twenty paces away, but Rian drew his Spellstone one last time. If this was how it ended, he would face it in a manner befitting a Miel. He would not give up and cry, pleading for a second chance. He would remain calm, he would plan and he would find a way out. Taking a deep breath, he tried to ignore the golems closing in.
Alright, even if he were fortunate enough to defeat them, in less than a minute another twenty would trigger. There was no way he could destroy them all, but… he wasn’t required to defeat them, was he? The only requirement to pass the Second Trial was to touch the emerald. The golems were between him and his goal but they were slow. Although his body already ached from the exertions, if he could make it past the horde, he could probably make it long enough to reach the emerald.
The golems closed in further. Ten paces, nine, eight -
Rian’s legs shook, panic screaming at him to run for the exit, but he stood still. He would fail if he ran into another one of those bubble rune traps and there were only a few ways through. If only it weren’t for this damn moss!
One golem leaped for him, a hateful snarl coming from its crafted mouth as it brought its fists down.
He ducked, running under the attack and forward. He still had no idea how to make it through to the emerald but he was out of time to plan. He charged forward, dodging past one golem then another. He was quicker and more agile than his rocky foes but there were a lot more of them than he and he was no warrior. Soon enough, he slipped in a dodge, the moss giving way beneath him and sending him sprawling to the floor.
One of the golems reared up to stomp him down, two more closing in around them.
He had no choice but to blast it, rolling out of the other two golems’ blows with a mixture of desperate dodging and pure luck. Four spells to go and far too many golems remained, but he thought he spotted a gap in their ranks. He hesitated for only a moment before racing for it.
Sweat dripped down his neck as he passed one golem then another. Soon he was almost to the gap.
A golem charged at him from the side, fists driving in from multiple angles.
Rian hesitated - every spell used would drain his stamina further - then took the chance and dived past the golem’s blows.
Three of the four fists whistled past him as their owner couldn’t stop its momentum, but the fourth slammed into Rian’s shoulder, sending him spinning to the floor to land in a groaning heap.
Pain, everything was pain. Rian’s vision swam as his arm bent at an odd angle. He touched it with the other only to let out a shout as the jostling movement sent agony shooting through him.
It was impossible to tell if it were broken or merely dislocated, although it didn’t really matter now. The only mercy was that it wasn’t his primary arm. Blinking away spots, he struggled to his feet before the golems could get to him and raced forward.
They were indeed closing in, their tide having only grown in numbers from more runes triggering, but they were closing in from behind. He’d made it past the horde for now and, until he ran out of stamina, he was faster. Perhaps fifty yards of trap-filled moss was the only thing between him and victory.
Now what though? He would have only one shot at this - there was no way he’d b
e able to squeeze through that horde again - and if he stumbled into the same sort of trap as last time, he’d be finished. If only this moss wasn’t there, then… oh!
A golem dropped down next to him, courtesy of another rune. Getting to its feet, its massive arms reached for him.
He ducked his head, just managing to dodge before unleashing three Force Waves in succession. Each wave ripped through the cavern, shredding moss and grinding against rock before bursting in a mighty explosion.
The golem paused, seeming almost confused as it wound up for another blow.
Rian couldn’t blame it - three spells from directly in front of the construct and not so much as a single smudge marred the golem’s rocky body - but then, he hadn’t aimed for it to begin with.
Dodging past the construct’s attacks, he ran forward onto a path free of moss with all the runes clearly visible thanks to the spells that had scoured it clean. His lungs ached and his legs wobbled, but he pushed onward without stopping.
The golems chased him, their footsteps impacting the stone in a thunderous rage, but there was no stopping him this time.
His body sore and aching, he seized the gem… and promptly staggered, panting for air.
The cavern fell silent save for his heavy breathing. The golems, now forty in number, were motionless, their frozen bodies only serving as monuments to his victory.
He did it. He had passed the Second Trial. If there had been the slightest strength left in him, he would have let out a shout, but as it was, a weak cry was all he could muster. Only one more trial remained though, then magehood would be his.
Footsteps approached, lighter than any of the constructs.
Dalmarn stepped in front of him, his hateful face lit up in the pale light. “So, it appears you managed to succeed after all,” He surveyed the deactivated golems with narrowed eyes before grumbling, “Shall I bid you congratulations?”
Rian’s body was a wreck and his arm felt like he’d dragged it over hot coals, but even those pains felt like nothing in the wake of his triumph. He had won. Perhaps it was his own imagination, but those dark robes no longer loomed over him quite so much and the mocking smirk on Dalmarn’s face had fallen to a mere sulky glower.
The Mage Trials Page 11