“Yes,” replied Lynol, reaching for her backpack. “I’ll cook us some food. Warm food will help to take the chill away.”
Kalvin wondered what Lynol was going to cook. He doubted if she had an apple pie in her backpack.
Taking a small light cast iron skillet out of her backpack, Lynol began fixing a their food. She’d brought some cured bacon, cheese, and bread for them to eat. She knew they would need all of their energy for what lay ahead tomorrow. A decent meal was just what the two of them needed. Cooking also helped to take her mind off where they were camping.
Kalvin watched Lynol hover over the fire, stealing occasional glances at the enticing curves her jeans and heavy wool shirt did very little to hide. He would just love to take her in his arms and hold her, to feel her warm, soft body up next to his. Chiding himself, Kalvin looked away, not wanting to get lost in a fantasy. This wasn’t the time or the place. He was having too many fantasies about Lynol recently anyway. Maybe Dresdia was right about making sure she was around to chaperone them. Shaking his head, he looked back at Lynol watching her cook. He could hear the bacon sizzling in the frying pan.
“So just what’s supposed to be in this complex the ancients left under Firestorm Mountain?” asked Kalvin, trying to get his mind off Lynol’s captivating body.
Lynol came over to Kalvin, handing him a plate of hot food, and then sat down next to him, almost touching. Her close proximity made Kalvin even more aware of his feelings toward her. Kalvin took several bites of food, trying not to show his tenseness at Lynol being so close.
“The ancients created the dragons underneath the mountain,” replied Lynol, recalling her conversation with Malcon. “Part of the complex deep within the mountain is still supposed to exist. It’s there that he hopes we will be able to find something that might help us defeat Gilmreth and possibly even this other sorceress we have been hearing so much about.”
“What exactly are we hunting for? How will we know when we find something that might be useful?” asked Kalvin, concerned that they might pass up what they needed and not recognize it.
Kalvin was really curious about this old complex of the ancients and the wonders it might contain. He couldn’t imagine anything from that long ago still surviving. He hoped they weren’t embarking on a wild goose chase.
“Malcon has given me some instructions as to what to look for. If we find it, I should be able to recognize it,” Lynol said softly, taking a small bite of her cheese. “The complex is quite extensive, but we are only going into a small section of it.”
Kalvin was silent for a moment as he ate, mulling over Lynol’s words. “I just hope we will be safe; I don’t want anything to happen to you. I don’t like the idea of actually going into Gilmreth’s lair. Are you sure he won’t be able to sense our presence?”
Looking into Kalvin’s eyes, she set her plate down and took Kalvin’s hand in hers. “Don’t worry about that tonight; there will be time enough to worry when we get to the complex tomorrow. Let’s just sit here and enjoy our time together; we don’t seem to get enough of that anymore.” She moved over closer to Kalvin until their shoulders were touching, still holding Kalvin’s hand in hers. They sat in silence for a long time just watching the slowly burning fire.
Kalvin was surprised and pleased that Lynol was so close. He sat their enjoying how close they were and wishing they could spend more time together. He thought about kissing her, but decided with all that was on her mind, now would not be the time.
“We better turn in,” said Lynol, letting go of Kalvin’s hand and standing up. “We’re going to have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”
Kalvin nodded and helped Lynol spread out the two bed rolls.
They were close together and as they lay down, Lynol reached out and took Kalvin’s hand. “I’m glad you’re here with me,” she said.
“So am I,” replied Kalvin, giving Lynol’s hand a slight squeeze.
“Now, let’s see if we can get some sleep.” Lynol closed her eyes and tried to relax. She felt safer just knowing Kalvin was next to her.
-
Several times during the night, Lynol awoke. Each time she used her sorcery to check on Gilmreth, making sure the dragon was still asleep in his lair. She also checked for any other unknown dangers that might be lurking around, such as the cats from their previous trip to the mountain. She noticed that Kalvin was keeping the fire fed. Their sleeping bags lay side by side. It was comforting knowing he was so close.
-
It was early afternoon of the next day. Lynol and Kalvin stood staring apprehensively at the open entrance to the mysterious labyrinth, which lay hidden beneath Firestorm Mountain. The sun shone brightly, and the air this high up on the mountain was cold and fresh. According to the information that Malcon possessed, the underground complex of the ancients lay deep within. Lynol wondered just what could have survived after so many years. She had learned so much in the past months, only now had Malcon felt Lynol was ready to explore the complex.
“Remember,” he had said, giving Lynol one of his enigmatic looks with which he was so proficient. “The ancients of the Golden Age built the complex. Their science, their sorcery, created the mysteries hidden and protected deep within. Be cautious, Lynol, you have grown much stronger under my tutelage. You have become a truly powerful sorceress, but you will be extremely close to the dragon’s lair. Use your powers as little as possible lest Gilmreth or the sorceress Jalene detect your presence. They must not become aware of your existence. Our strongest weapon is the fact they don’t know about you. Don’t do anything to risk that upon the mountain. You should be safe enough during the day while the dragon sleeps.”
“This looks dangerous, Lynol,” said Kalvin, frowning with concern and peering around at all the rocks and boulders strewn about the slope. “It looks like something moved these stones,” he added seeing the blackened scorch marks on some of the boulders, the stench of dragon fire still prevalent in the air. “Is Gilmreth asleep in his lair?”
Kalvin felt extremely nervous about being on the mountain and their close proximity to the dragon. But there had been no way he was going to allow Lynol to make this trip by herself. Just getting up to the cave had been difficult enough.
Lynol turned away from where she had been gazing into the large cave entrance. They had started their ascent as soon as the sun was up to ensure that they reached the cave on Firestorm Mountain in the late morning. It had taken them a little longer than expected, and it was now early afternoon. They knew Gilmreth should be sleeping. They had plenty of time to search the interior.
Dresdia had been extremely disappointed at not getting to come when she overheard Lynol speaking to Kalvin about it, but Lynol had convinced her it was just too dangerous. When Dresdia realized how close they would be to Gilmreth she had acquiesced without further argument, though she was extremely worried about Kalvin and Lynol.
Having Kalvin along was risky enough, but Lynol needed someone along she could trust to help in her search. Besides, she had enjoyed the long, quiet evening together with Kalvin. It was some alone time they’d both needed very badly.
It had given them time to talk. They’d sat underneath the cliff holding hands sometimes talking or laughing, and other times just sitting quietly enjoying each other’s company. Her studies had severely limited the amount of time they’d spent together. Fortunately, Kalvin and Dresdia both understood the necessity behind Lynol’s stringent study routine.
From their camping site, they’d followed a winding path leading from the base of the mountain up to the cave. Lynol suspected the path might once have been an ancient road, which served the massive complex beneath Firestorm Mountain. It allowed them to make remarkably good time in reaching the cave entrance. The entrance had been farther up the mountain than she had expected.
Fortifying herself, she reached out tentatively with her mind toward Gilmreth. She could sense the dragon asleep deep within. “Yes,” she replied to Kalvin’s question. “Gilmr
eth’s asleep and should stay that way until tonight, perhaps longer.” Lynol shuddered and withdrew her mind from the sleeping dragon. She took a deep breath, trying to relax. Touching Gilmreth’s mind always made her feel so unclean afterward.
“I hope so,” responded Kalvin, peering into the black maw of the cave’s entrance. “I don’t want to encounter the dragon inside this mountain.” He wasn’t sure how safe they would be. Just because Gilmreth was asleep now didn’t necessarily mean he would stay so.
“Point taken,” Lynol said in agreement, sliding her pack easily off her back and to the ground.
Reaching inside, she took out two glow bulbs, one of which she handed to Kalvin. “These are from the Golden Age. When properly stimulated, they furnish a bright light, which will allow us to see inside.”
Lynol had gotten the glow bulbs from Malcon’s underground crypt, which was full of various artifacts gleaned from shattered ruins during Malcon’s long years of searches. Some of the artifacts worked, and others did not. Fortunately, these did. She had tested them in Malcon’s crypt under Malcon’s careful instructions.
Kalvin took the glow bulb Lynol handed him. He didn’t ask where she had come up with such a strange and wonderful creation. He figured it must be from the underground crypt where she spent so much time with the simulacrum.
Lynol had taken Kalvin into the crypt this past spring and introduced him to Malcon. He had been awestruck upon realizing to whom he was talking. It also explained Lynol’s rapid growth as a sorceress. Kalvin had felt much better knowing Lynol was learning sorcery from the greatest sorcerer since the Golden Age. He still felt twinges of jealousy at the limited time he spent with Lynol due to the simulacrum’s stringent time-absorbing teaching sessions.
Holding the round globe in his hand, he marveled at its texture and how light it felt. It was perfectly smooth, milky white, and almost cool to the touch. There was so much that they had forgotten through the ages, Kalvin realized while gazing at the small apple sized globe.
Lynol took out her amulet and turned to face Kalvin. After concentrating briefly, the two globes began to glow. “Come on,” she said, reaching out and taking Kalvin’s hand. “Let’s get going; we don’t know how long we may have to be in the mountain. I want to be back out before there is any chance of Gilmreth awakening.”
Kalvin followed Lynol into the cave, soon leaving the sunlit entrance far behind. They descended into the cool depths of the mountain, searching for the underground complex of the ancients. He looked at the glow globe he held, marveling at the light coming from it. He wondered if anything could still be intact in this mountain complex.
After all these years, Kalvin doubted if anything useful could be found, and he wasn’t sure just how safe he and Lynol would be so close to Gilmreth’s underground lair. Malcon thought that part of the complex might still be protected by the science of the ancients, but Kalvin didn’t see how that could be. What could protect anything for thousands of years? Kalvin noticed that their two lighted globes cast a pale radiance off the smooth stone floor and walls surrounding them. The light was a welcome relief in this dark tunnel that seemed to go on and on forever.
“This is unreal!” exclaimed Kalvin stopping to touch one of the tunnel walls, marveling at its texture. It looked like stone but felt unbelievably smooth. It was hard to comprehend that the large tunnel was man made and so well preserved. “How could something like this have existed for so long with no one knowing about it?”
“Firestorm Mountain has always been off limits,” Lynol replied, her light blue eyes visible in the shining light from the globes. She eyed the massive tunnel walls. In front of them, the glow from the bulbs faded away into darkness. “Everyone has always stayed away because of the poisons of the Worldfire, which the mountain is supposed to be permeated with. Probably the entrance was sealed up with all those stones that are lying about, so it would not have been easy to find.”
“What about us, are we being exposed to those poisons?” Kalvin asked concerned, recalling the stunted twisted trees and strange plant growth, which existed sparsely on the desolate slope of the mountain. “Are we safe here under the mountain?”
“Yes,” Lynol replied glad that Kalvin was with her. “The poison for the most part has long since faded away.” Turning, she looked off down the tunnel. “Somewhere up ahead, this big tunnel is supposed to branch off, we want to take the smaller one.”
Kalvin walked next to Lynol, holding her hand. They walked in silence down the long tunnel their footsteps echoing off the walls. Kalvin couldn’t help noticing Lynol’s newfound confidence. He smiled and cast a sidelong glance at Lynol. In the past year, she had changed markedly, not only had she continued to fill out, becoming a beautiful young woman, but also her self-assurance had increased tremendously. No longer was she the frightened skittish young girl of his childhood, this person next to him was very different. But then again, she was a Sylvar, the first Sylvar sorceress in many long generations.
After a period of time, the long tunnel finally branched. To the left a small tunnel led off into darkness. The larger tunnel continued sloping gradually down, Kalvin stood in the center of it frowning. Lynol held up a cautioning hand.
“This place stinks,” Kalvin stated in a low tone not wanting his voice to carry, peering into the distant gloom with obvious distaste. Suppressing an involuntary shudder knowing what the awful stench signified.
“Gilmreth,” replied Lynol, coming to stand next to Kalvin peering into the darkness and repressing a shudder. In the distance, she thought she could faintly hear water dripping. “That tunnel ends in Gilmreth’s lair. If we continue down this main tunnel, we would come face to face with the dragon.”
“We definitely don’t want that,” said Kalvin grimacing, visualizing the horror that lay at the tunnel’s end. The hair rose up tingling along the back of his neck. Shaking his head, Kalvin stepped back, turning to face Lynol. “Gilmreth can’t sense us can he? The dragon can’t detect your sorcery?”
“I don’t know,” Lynol replied uncomfortably and more than a little concerned. Even Malcon’s simulacrum had been worried about this. With Lynol actually inside the complex, there was a remote possibility the dragon might be able to sense her presence if she was forced to use her sorcery. She didn’t even want to try to see if she could sense Gilmreth, to make sure he was still asleep, they were just too close. “Let’s take the smaller tunnel. We will be safe in there. The tunnel is too small for Gilmreth to enter.”
“Sounds like a good idea,” replied Kalvin. Taking one last nervous look down the larger dark tunnel, he followed Lynol into the smaller tunnel feeling relieved once they were safely inside.
The two walked shoulder to shoulder down the small tunnel, a chill at their backs thinking about the horror that lay at the end of the large tunnel. Lynol stopped and slid her backpack off her shoulders. Reaching inside, she took out a small diary written in the flowing script of the ancients. It was the same flowing writing they had found on the wall next to the sacrificial altar.
“Can you actually read that?” Kalvin asked curiously, looking at the strange flowing script the author of the small book had written in.
“It’s the writing of the ancients, the people of the Golden Age,” replied Lynol, skimming through the pages searching for the reference she was seeking. “This is a diary from a sorcerer who lived in this complex.”
“He actually lived here!” exclaimed Kalvin, finding it hard to believe that anyone would want to live underground, a wrinkle of curiosity upon his face. This diary was something else that must have come from Malcon’s crypt.
“Yes,” Lynol replied as she turned the pages. “His name was Ramael, and he helped create the dragons. For some reason, he was banished from this complex. Malcon found this diary in some old ruins, probably where Ramael died during or right after the Worldfire.”
“Created the dragons,” Kalvin said, amazed at the thought. “I can’t believe the forces these ancient sorcerer
s tampered with. Was there anything they couldn’t do?”
“They couldn’t stop the destruction of the Golden Age,” Lynol reminded Kalvin as she continued to look through the diary.
She had read much about the Golden Age in the crypt. She’d studied about its towering cities, amazing machines, and even its dangerous weapons. Much of it she didn’t understand, nor did Malcon. They could only speculate on some of the meanings.
Finding the page she was seeking, Lynol read several passages, which described this section of the complex.
“We need to continue down this tunnel,” she spoke, placing the diary back in her pack. “It shouldn’t be much farther.”
Lynol stood back up and they continued down the tunnel. In a short time, they started to come across myriads of open and closed doors that hinted of other rooms as well as tunnels that led off in other directions. At the top of each door was an inscription similar to the writing in the diary.
“This place is huge,” muttered Kalvin, stopping and staring into an open room. His glowing light showed the room was empty save for a single chair with a broken leg leaning haphazardly against one wall. “There’s no way we can explore all of this in one afternoon!”
“If the diary is correct, thousands of people once lived and worked here,” Lynol said softly, her voice sounding loud in the silence of the long dead complex. “This place used to be home to a lot of people.”
“Thousands?” replied Kalvin, feeling astonished and trying to imagine that many people in one place. That was more than lived in all the towns and villages on their side of the mountain. He knew that only in Draydon were there that many people.
“I wonder what happened to them?” Kalvin said curiously, looking at all the doors along the tunnel. “Wouldn’t they have been safe from the Worldfire here under the mountain?”
“I don’t know,” Lynol replied. “At the sacrificial altar, the paintings showed them leaving the complex after the Worldfire. Perhaps they couldn’t survive here under the mountain.”
Gilmreth the Awakening Page 29
