“I don’t like this world,” Heidel said as she crawled to her knees.
“I’m starting to agree with you,” Brodnik called above us.
“Let’s just get off this slope,” Kull said, “then maybe we’ll like it a little better.”
When we finally made it to the valley’s floor, only a dim light was left in the sky to guide us toward the ancient fortress. We walked on a wide road constructed from paving stones, though most were broken up. In some places, the road had disappeared altogether.
Small, one-room structures dotted our path. They were constructed of bricks and had roofs of thin sheets of slate. Most of them were weather worn. Some were missing walls or had caved in, though a few looked untouched by time.
The buildings could have been houses, though they didn’t look large enough for a family. However, since I knew nothing of this world and so little about the creatures living here, I wasn’t sure what the building’s purposes were. Maybe they weren’t houses at all.
Ahead, a shadow loomed as we neared the structure we’d seen from the top of the mountains. The building could have easily been fifty stories tall. Its dome soared into the sky. As night replaced dusk, we found the entrance to the building—a wide, gaping crevice that seemed to stretch endlessly inside. Fog trailed along the ground, making tendrils snake across the floor. Grace trotted forward, sniffing the ground, then circled back toward us and sat at Heidel’s side.
She patted the wolf’s head before looking back up. “You sure you want to go in there?” she asked her brother.
“Yes. We still haven’t found anywhere else to take shelter.”
“I agree,” Rolf said. “It’s too dark to try and find somewhere else. We’ll have to make camp here. It’s the only option we’ve got.”
“But we’ll need to be careful,” Kull added. “We may not be the only ones trying to take shelter here. There could be any manner of beasts hiding inside. Keep your weapons close.” He worked his jaw back and forth as he stared pensively into the opening. “I don’t like this,” he mumbled to himself.
“If you don’t like it, then we should stay out here,” Heidel said. “We’ll shelter in one of those smaller structures we saw.”
“Nay,” Brodnik said. “We’d still be too exposed. If we were attacked, we’d be trapped inside. Plus, not all of us would fit inside one of those hovels, so we’d have to split up. I’d rather not make that mistake.”
“Perhaps we should see what’s inside this place first,” I interjected, “and then decide if we’d like to stay.”
Heidel nodded. “Yes. Good idea, Olive.”
I stood a little taller at Heidel’s compliment. I wasn’t sure, but it may have been the only compliment she’d ever offered me.
“Very well,” Kull said. “We’ll see what’s in there first, but we’ll need light.”
“I think I can handle it,” I answered, turning to the staff, wondering if I could manage a simple spell. I whispered a word of magic, attempting to ignite the staff’s blue jewel at its apex. Magic streamed from my hands and into the staff, but when it reached the jewel, it faded. I tried again with a different spell, but had no luck. The staff seemed to be resisting my magic, though I had no clue why.
Curses. What good was I on this quest if I couldn’t even handle a simple spell?
Heidel let out an exasperated sigh. “I brought lanterns.”
And the moment ended. Whatever good impression I’d made on Heidel was gone. Just once I’d like to be able to impress at least one of Kull’s family members, but that wouldn’t be happening any time soon.
Heidel removed three elven lanterns from her bag and passed them around.
“Are these fey lanterns?” I asked, studying the gold wire artfully wrapping the glass cylinders.
“Yes. I found them in Maveryck’s things. Thought they might come in handy.” At the mention of Maveryck, her voice grew quiet, her eyes distant. She gave lanterns to Kull and Brodnik and kept one for herself. As she ignited the glowing blue flame inside the glass case, I noticed that she held the lantern with reverence. She must have seen me looking at her, so she cleared her throat and turned away from me to pat Grace’s head. I tried not to notice the tears in her eyes.
“Shall we enter?” Kull asked after the lanterns had been ignited.
“Yeah,” I answered. “I’d like to get this over with.”
We stepped into the fortress, the fog muffling our booted footsteps. In the light of the lanterns, shapes appeared. Large piles of broken rubble lay strewn about, but in some places, tall pillars stretched upward. Our tiny lights didn’t glow bright enough to illuminate the ceiling.
We crossed into an area where half the roof was missing, making the light from the broken moon spill into the chamber, revealing a depression in the floor with surrounding steps, like an amphitheater. At the center of the sunken area, we spotted a small hole.
Taking the steps down, we stopped when we reached the hole. Overhead, the band of broken moon rocks shone surprisingly bright. As I stared at the twinkling bits of moon rocks, I was taken aback by their beauty. Even in a world like this, splendor could still be found if one knew where to look.
“Can you see what’s down there?” Heidel asked as we crowded over the hole.
“It’s too deep to see anything,” Rolf answered.
“If a civilization lived here at one point,” Brodnik said, “they’d need water. This was most likely used as a well, but there’s no way to know for sure.”
“Yes, there is,” Rolf said. “Toss something down there and listen for a splash.”
“Do you really think that’s a good idea?” I asked.
He shrugged, then found a small pebble and threw it down. After a few seconds, we heard a splash.
“You shouldn’t have done
