The young wizard nodded. He’d practiced this trick on his magic items in front of his friends so he wasn’t worried. After a moment’s concentration, a rusty and stubborn looking iron door materialized nearby in the rock. Only he could see it until he pointed it out to the others, tracing its shape and describing it to them. Lorian started to approach it when Matt stopped him.
“Wait,” he said, aware that the detection spell hadn’t abated. “There’s more.”
The elf cocked an eyebrow. “Can you discern its nature?”
Matt pursed his lips, but he wasn’t the one who could sense something and the staff wasn’t passing along impressions. “Not really, no.”
“There is a spell for it. It is called the Omni-Eye and reveals the details of an existing spell. Did you learn it?”
The wizard remembered seeing it but hadn’t memorized it. He shook his head and the elf made him stand back. Matt watched eagerly, hoping to learn something from the guy he considered the master to his apprentice, but aside from a few gestures, there wasn’t much to see.
“Interesting,” Lorian remarked. “Anyone who touches the door will be transferred inside the castle to the dungeon and an alarm beacon will light in several guard rooms.”
Matt grunted. “You got all that from that? That’s pretty cool. Could we use it to get inside? It would certainly save time.”
“You mean trigger the spell on purpose?” Lorian asked, eyebrow cocked. “Yes, but we can’t risk the alarm, though it’s unlikely anyone inside would know what it means. Still, being trapped in the dungeon is a real possibility.”
“True,” the wizard conceded, disappointed. Being teleported places seemed like fun, but that really depended on where you arrived and who was waiting for you. “Can you disarm it?”
Lorian nodded. “Can you?”
Matt made a face. “Somehow I knew you’d ask that.”
The elf stepped aside and added, “Nothing will happen if you fail, so do not be concerned.”
Except I’ll look stupid, thought the wizard. He shook his head, trying to block out the thought. He had just succeeded a minute ago and still felt good, so he closed his eyes and reached out to the staff. He’d done this many times now but finding the right impulse to awaken required concentration. He searched with his will, blanking his mind and letting his desire guide the staff. At times like this it seemed his lack of concentration helped him, for his mind picked up on the staff’s subtle responses. Images formed in his head and he couldn’t resist focusing on them, which helped him grasp the staff’s power. Opening his eyes, he reached forward with one hand and a ray of light snaked out to engulf the door with a slight flash before retreating into his hand. A twirling ball of light hovered there for just a moment before fading to black and puffing out, smoke curling into the air.
“Excellent,” Lorian congratulated him. Anna and Eric gave a smattering of applause. Pleased but embarrassed, Matt indicated no other spells were on the door.
Rognir took the lead, remarking, “This will lead up a slope, through storage rooms, and by several hallways we can ignore, though we had best be wary of anything that’s taken up residence since the castle was abandoned.”
His comments reminded Matt of role-playing games where monsters lurked in every room and traps could lie anywhere.
“What about traps?” Ryan asked, watching an elf hand out unlit torches. He donned his golden helmet, leaving the visor raised.
The dwarf put on his own helmet. “There shouldn’t be any in the lower areas, not from dwarves anyway. I can’t say what the humans did after we built it.” Eyeing the lance, he added, “That shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Where will we come out?” Eric asked.
Rognir gruffly answered, “Let us not waste time. You will see soon enough.”
After heaving the door open, Rognir and Lorian led the way with lit torches, the champions in the middle with Morven right behind, other elves bringing up the rear. Matt remembered to light his staff, experimenting with changing its brightness, radius, and beam. He was starting to think this was all very cool when they soon found their path blocked once again.
Anna observed, “Somebody really wanted to keep people out.”
“That somebody was Soliander,” noted Lorian.
Matt thought that the bluish metal door looked quite new; it had been fused with the stone all around it, not just cut into place. The walls, ceiling, and floor had even bowed inward as if to grasp the door. He saw no handle or hinge. Only a fist-sized, circular hole lay in the center, with several notches cut into the otherwise smooth circle of it. The door looked familiar, though he’d never seen anything like it. Not even realizing why he did it, Matt lowered the staff, placing the lit crystal into the hole. It didn’t fit at first because he hadn’t lined up the prongs holding it, but once he did it slid right into place. The door gave a brief pulse before turning transparent and releasing the staff. He put one hand against it, but his flesh passed right through it because it was now only an illusion.
“How did you know to do that?” Ryan asked.
The wizard looked blank, but then a spark of realization lit his eyes. “A hunch. The symbol on the door looks like one I saw during the magic test Lorian gave me, though I don’t understand why.” After a moment, he added, “It also doesn’t explain how I knew what to do.”
“Something to ponder later,” advised Lorian, gesturing for them to pass through before it closed. They stepped into an empty storage room beyond and the door turned solid behind them. As the others followed Rognir, Lorian quietly observed to Matt, “Only Soliander could make it past that.”
“Or someone with his staff,” corrected Matt, wondering if the elf was trying to tell him something.
