fireball he again started leading his group across the stone bridge.
Einar knew what he was looking for, but the others did not, for Serena had entrusted only him with the secret. He was searching for one of Failee’s untried spells, written just before she had been killed by theJin’Sai. Serena had been told about the spell by the Heretics during one of their sacred communions. The spell was nearly perfect for their needs, provided it could be found. Serena had also given Einar the description of the chamber in which the spell was hidden, and the incantation needed to reveal its secrets. All of this information had come to Serena by way of the Heretics.
Although the spell represented one of Failee’s crowning achievements, it had never been tested. Because of this, Einar and Serena doubted that the spell would work the first time it was tried. That was rare among new spell formulations, even when its author was as brilliant as the First Mistress. Testing and refining the calculations would take time, Einar knew. The spell’s unproven nature was also why his forces had been ordered to conquer the Ghetto of the Shunned.
Coming to the bridge’s end, Einar saw a door in the facing rock wall. Unlike most in these lower regions, it was constructed of iron. Just above it, an Old Eutracian inscription lay carved into the rock. Deep wall crevices lined either side of the intriguing portal. A circular staircase carved into the rock wall led down into the darkness from the bridge’s end.
After brushing aside the mildew and cobwebs, Einar read the inscription. Smiling, he turned to face the others.
“We’ve found it!” he exclaimed.
Everyone let go a cheer, but Einar knew that his work had just begun. A chamber this important would be protected by the craft. Unless he could avoid Failee’s traps, everyone would be killed.
Einar looked at the door again. It seemed simple enough. An iron slide bolt across its middle lay waiting to be shoved to one side. But Einar remained wary.
Looking back, he saw Reznik and the consuls standing in single file, awaiting his orders. He beckoned Reznik closer. Holding his torch higher, the Valrenkian examined the mysterious entryway.
“What do you make of it?” Einar asked. “Our prize lies on the other side.”
Reznik rubbed his chin. “That’s difficult to say,” he answered. “If I wanted to safeguard something behind that door, I would set my trap here. But that isn’t the question, is it? The real riddle is the trap’s nature, and how it can be overcome.”
“Precisely,” Einar answered. “Look back and tell me what you see.”
Puzzled by Einar’s demand, Reznik did as he was asked. “I see what I expected,” he answered. “There are seven consuls, some holding food, water, and torches.”
“And what else?” Einar asked.
“The stone bridge, of course,” he said.
Einar nodded. “Yes-the stone bridge-the only way to approach the door.”
“Do you believe that the bridge is enchanted?” Reznik asked. “That seems so obvious.”
“Obvious perhaps, but highly effective,” Einar said. “I would wager that this seemingly innocent slide bolt is the key that starts the process working. After that, there’s no telling what might happen.”
Standing back from the door, Einar considered his options. Finally he looked back at Reznik and his consuls.
“I want you to hover in the air!” he ordered. Guessing that this might be beyond the partial adept’s gifts, Einar cast Reznik a questioning glance. The Valrenkian shook his head.
“Climb onto my back,” Einar said. He didn’t have to ask Reznik twice.
One by one the consuls hovered above the bridge. Einar did the same, taking Reznik with him. Pointing to the slide bolt, he called the craft. Grinding loudly against the door, the bolt started moving. Then it unexpectedly stopped before finishing its length of travel.
Surprised by the bolt’s stubbornness, Einar raised his power. With a loud bang the bolt finally shot the remaining way across the door face, the sound reverberating through the cavern.
At first nothing happened. Then there came a strange scratching sound. As it became louder, Einar and his consuls hovered in space, awaiting their fates.
Screeching madly, hundreds of vicious bats suddenly swarmed from the wall’s crevices. Glowing eyes and furious wings careened in the darkness; yellow teeth snapped and tore at the consuls’ hands and faces. Two consuls accidentally dropped their supplies as they tried to wave the bats away.
“Stay calm!” Einar shouted. “It will be over soon!”
Almost as quickly as they had come, the bats disappeared. Then a rumbling noise started. Just as he had feared, Einar looked down to see the bridge cracking apart.
Traveling the bridge’s length, a dark crevasse split the stone formation in two. Then the fingerlike cracks clawed at each of the chamber’s sidewalls, separating them from the bridge. With a mighty groan the entire structure crumbled away to plummet into the darkness.
Still hovering in place, Reznik and the stunned consuls looked down. After what seemed an eternity they heard the bridge pieces crash against the cavern floor. Wasting no time, Einar pulled on the iron door handle. Its hinges protesting loudly, the door slowly gave way. Beyond the entryway, only darkness loomed.
Einar looked back at his consuls. “Follow me!” he said.
He glided inside. Using his feet to find the floor, he landed gingerly. Reznik left Einar’s back to stand beside him. The consuls entered next, feeling their way along in the darkness. Glad for the respite, they placed their remaining provisions on the floor. As they all stood waiting for Einar’s next order, an eerie silence flooded over everything.
Knowing that Failee would have provided radiance stones for such an important chamber, Einar waved one hand. As his suspicions came true, he smiled. The radiance stones embedded in the room’s ceiling soon cast their sage-colored glow over everything. Looking to his consuls, Einar saw that most were bleeding from having been bitten. They started tending one another’s wounds.
As the room came alight, Reznik scowled. Have we come this far only to be tricked? he wondered. Worse yet, how are we going to go back? He glanced over at Einar. Oddly, the lead consul seemed unperturbed.
The room they had risked their lives to enter was small and unimpressive. About five meters square, it held no books, scrolls, or furnishings of any kind. The walls were constructed of rough fieldstones, held in place with common builder’s mortar. Each stone had writing on it. There was no apparent exit except the door they had just used.
Reznik turned to Einar. “Whatever you are searching for isn’t here,” he said. “We’ve been tricked! Worse, how are we supposed to return to the Recluse?”
Einar smiled. “Do not worry about that,” he answered. “If I’m right, there is at least one way back. The First Mistress’s traps were clever, weren’t they? As I suspected, the slide bolt was what activated them. The bats’ purpose was to force intruders to fall to their deaths. If the bats failed, the collapsing bridge would finish the job.
“Anyway,” Einar added, “not only is there a way back, but what we seek is indeed here. We search for a craft formula, written by the First Mistress. The formula was never recorded in the Vagaries scroll because it remains unproven. The burden falls to us to refine it. Because of its importance, Failee chose to record the spell on a far more permanent medium than fragile parchment.”
Reznik looked around. “Do you mean to say that-”
“Yes,” Einar interjected. “The formula we seek is hiding in plain sight, recorded on these wall stones.”
“But there are so many!” Reznik protested.
Einar smiled. “Not really,” he answered cryptically.
Einar recited the needed incantation. As he finished, some wall stones started moving. Grinding against one another, randomly selected stones started sliding forward from the walls. When the process was finished, more than two hundred had come forward. Calling the craft again, Einar concentrated harder. As he did, each selected stone’s engravings glowed with azure. Fascinated, Reznik walked closer to examine one.
There was a number written in Old Eutracian at the stone’s top edge. It showed the stone’s particular order in the formula, he guessed. Below that was a glowing symbol that would be one part of the overall calculation. Backing away, he saw that each stone had been marked with a different number at its top, and either another number or craft symbol below it.
