by Pirateaba
It was actually a staff in two parts. Twisted metal—or was it stone?—snaked upwards, dividing, becoming thin tendrils of metal which eventually tapered off into nothing. A foot of space, and then the tendrils reappeared, moving in the opposite direction, reaching the top of the staff which was set with a huge aquamarine gemstone. The two pieces of the staff were perfectly connected, as if there was steel in the place of air.
“It even looks magical. Ancestors, look at it.”
“I have to touch it.”
Pisces breathed the words and Ceria thought the exact same thing. Ksmvr looked doubtfully around the room.
“Should we check for traps first?”
Neither mage heard him. They ran forwards, jostling each other. Ksmvr walked after them, staring around.
“I would like to try one of the swords. Do you think that would be acceptable?”
Pieces and Ceria ignored Ksmvr. They practically fought each other to be the first into the room, both reaching for the staff.
“Intruders.”
The voice was soft, but full of malice. Both Pisces and Ceria froze, hands reaching for the staff. They looked around, and saw something appearing in the center of the room.
Flames licked into being, and then coalesced. Air became fire, and the fire itself knitted together to become a solid thing, a shape, a figure made out of the white-hot flames. A man, or what looked vaguely like a man stepped out of the air and stared at Pisces, Ceria, and Ksmvr.
“You are trespassing in the personal sanctuary of Warmage Thresk. Identify yourselves or be destroyed.”
“Oh no.”
Ceria breathed the words, her heart tight in her chest. They’d forgotten. In their haste, they’d forgotten the golden rule of adventuring. Never let your guard down at the end. That’s when the worst trap starts.
The fiery creation looked at her, eyes burning blue in its formless face.
“Who are you? Why do you enter this place? Answer, or I will burn you asunder.”
Something was burning in the center of its chest. A jewel? Ceria squinted at it as Pisces stammered a reply.
“We are ah, Wistram mages, here to consult with Warmage Thresk on a matter of great importance. We apologize if we are disturbing—”
“Lies.”
The fiery eyes burned. The construct opened a mouth and showed them insides full of red flames that burned against his incendiary white-hot exterior.
“No one may enter this place safe for Warmage Thresk or those of his blood. You are thieves. You will be burnt to ash.”
He raised a hand and extended it towards the three. All at once, the heat in the room grew until it was practically an inferno in of itself. Ceria shouted at the same time Pisces did. Both mages extended their palms out.
“[Frozen Wind]!”
The spell blew freezing cold air towards the apparition for a moment. Just for a moment, that was all. It barely halted the rising temperature of the room, but it gave the two mages and Ksmvr the moment they needed to dash out of the room before they were cooked in their skins. Ceria gasped as she ran down the corridor; her skin felt burnt from the second they’d been in the room.
“Pisces! Use the skeletons!”
“Right. Defend me!”
He called out to the skeletons as the three adventurers rushed past them. The skeletons charged the fiery being—and immediately turned to ash as they got too close. Ceria didn’t even bother to swear; she just pumped her arms and legs faster.
“[Frozen Wind] had no effect!”
She screamed at Pisces. He shouted back, face pale.
“I know! That thing’s way too powerful! We have to retreat!”
“There is no escape!”
Flames burst out of the ground in front of them. Pisces, Ceria, and Ksmvr skidded to a halt as the fire wall blocked off their exit. This was no ordinary [Fire Wall] spell either; the flames were not just red or orange, but white-hot like the construct, and the stone cracked and melted where the fire touched.
“Dead gods.”
They turned and saw the apparition of flames. It was walking towards them, slowly, nonchalantly, as if it had all the time in the world. Ceria grabbed Pisces’s arm.
“Do you have any spells you can use?”
“Me? You’re the ice specialist! You do something about it!”
Ceria gulped. The hallway was large enough to dodge the flaming being, but he was walking faster now. He was reaching out to them, and a sword of blue flames grew in his hands.
“Ksmvr, Pisces! Distract it!”
“Me?”
“Acknowledged.”
Pisces gaped at her. But Ceria was backing up. Ksmvr ran forwards and slashed at the monster—his sword melted before he got close and he stumbled away, keening in distress. Just the proximity to the fiery being had cracked his carapace with the heat.
“Pisces!”
He gulped but ran towards the fiery being. It swung the sword at him, but Pisces took a step and his form blurred. He dashed around the construct, nimbly avoiding it as it swung twice more.
[Flash Step]. It was one of Pisces’ old spells, and Ceria was relieved to see he hadn’t forgotten how to use it. Pisces danced back, keeping a very large distance away from the fiery being as he let it approach him. He dodged and wove back and forth with nimble steps, careful not to let it corner him in the corridor.
“A spell would greatly be appreciated, Springwalker!”
Ceria didn’t even bother to reply. She was focusing, trying to call upon all the mana she had left for an attack.
Her best spell was [Ice Spike], but if she concentrated, Ceria could fire one shot from all five fingers. She drew mana into her skeletal hand, calling on all her reserves.
The apparition lunged forwards, and Ceria heard Pisces scream. The fiery blade hadn’t touched him, but the creation had moved too close and Pisces had been burned by the heat emanating from the being. He leapt away with the [Flash Step] spell and then collapsed against a wall, moaning. Tendrils of smoke rose from his burnt side and hundreds of blisters appeared like magic on his arms and legs.
“You will be burnt.”
The construct walked forwards, blue eyes burning. Ceria shouted.
“Turn and face me, you damn Golem!”
It turned. There was no fear in the construct’s eyes as it saw Ceria approaching. It raised its sword and lowered itself to charge, but Ceria didn’t give it time to do so. She raised her hand and shouted.
“[Ice Spike]!”
Five wicked shards of ice, each as long as Ceria’s arm burst from her hand, shooting out like ballista bolts at the fiery apparition. The ice flew towards the flaming creature, struck his outer flames, and screamed as the ice evaporated into steam instantly. The fiery construct blinked once, his flames not even dampened by the spell.
“Oh Ancestors.”
Ceria backed away from him. The construct advanced, sword at its side. It had no fear of her, not even wariness.
“You will perish.”
“Not her. Turn and face me first!”
This shout came from the side. Ceria heard what almost sounded like a sigh coming from the fiery thing, and then it turned. Yvlon stood with her shield and sword in hand, facing the apparition fearlessly.
“Face me, thing. I will not run from you.”
Ceria’s heart leapt in her chest, but her mouth opened to shout a warning as she scrambled backwards, away from the fiery being.
“Don’t block its flames! It’ll burn through your armor!”
Yvlon heard the warning as the creation hurled white flames at her. She dropped her shield and rolled. The fire missed her, but from the way Yvlon cried out, Ceria knew she had to have felt the intense heat of the fire.
“There’s no way to block against it!”
“The door.”
Pisces moaned and Ceria saw that he and Ksmvr had pulled themselves into the small room. The construct froze, and then he seemed to grow larger, as if in rage.
“No one may enter the treasury.”
“Then come and stop us if you can!”
Pisces shouted, and the guardian obliged. He hurled more fire, but this time Ksmvr and Yvlon pulled the door up, the door that had proved unbreakable, and blocked the fire. The white flames dissipated as they struck the innocuous wood, and the guardian hissed.
It was distracted, and ignoring Ceria for the moment. But she was caught between a hot place and the wall of flames it had created. She glanced at them as she stared at the guardian. Nowhere to run. But she wasn’t about to abandon her friends.
Think. The construct had to be powered by something. No spell could ever power such a being for long, not without the mage supplying mana. Then where was its power source?
The thing she’d spotted in the chest. Ceria squinted as the construct advanced. Was it—yes there it was! She saw something glowing in the chest. Some sort of mana stone. But how could she strike it?
The construct hurled fire, but Yvlon ducked behind the wooden door she was using like a shield. She darted out, baiting the construct as it swung at her, but dove backwards again. She couldn’t get near enough to strike, not that her sword would have hurt the guardian, but she was occupying it as it advanced. In a few seconds though, they would be cornered.
If only they could bypass the flames—
“Use the door!”
Ceria screamed at the others. The guardian turned its head, but she pointed, heedless of the danger.
“There’s a gem in its chest! Use the door and smash it!”
“Got it!”
The three adventurers backed away from the construct, holding the door as a shield in front of them. It hesitated, aware of the power of the door to mitigate its flames.
“You will not stop—”
All three Horns of Hammerad shouted as they rushed towards the construct, pushing the door forwards like a huge shield. At the last moment, before they got too close and were burnt alive, they let go of the door. Ksmvr kicked it forwards, and the massive wooden section of wood fell slowly towards the flaming guardian.
The fiery being took one look at the falling door—
And dodged. He stepped swiftly to one side, avoiding it. Not swiftly enough; the door crushed his left side and the guardian howled in what sounded like true agony. But he was not dead. Ceria saw the gemstone in his chest, a pulsating emerald stone the size of her fist. But already the flames were swirling around it, growing, rebuilding his body.
“For Byres and honor!”
Yvlon shouted as she charged forwards. Ceria saw Ksmvr and Pisces trying to drag her back, but the armored woman ran at the fiery guardian. It raised its flaming sword, but she cut through it. Her own silvery sword was mere metal, but for a brief second before it evaporated, the metal was still strong. And it struck the gem at the construct’s source.
“Aaah!”
Ceria heard Yvlon’s scream first, right above the crack of the gem breaking.
She howled at her silver armor glowed red. The sword melted as it dropped from her hands and she stumbled away. Her silver armor was melting over her hands, making the young woman scream.
And the construct howled too. It reached for the gem, and then it faltered. The flames in its eyes went out. It tried to step towards Ceria, stumbled. Then it looked up at her and roared.
“If the secret of this place cannot be protected, then everything will be destroyed. And you will perish with it!”
It stood up, and stumbled back into the treasury room. Ceria shouted.
“No!”
But it was too late. The construct fell to the ground, and the white hot flames began to spread. It was engulfing the room! The flames were spreading, reaching outwards into the corridor. The guardian was trying to burn the treasure—and the Horns of Hammerad with it.
“Get away, everyone! We have to run!”
Pisces and Ksmvr ran away from the intense heat, shouting in pain. They grabbed Yvlon, who was still clawing at her smoking arms, and pulled her towards Ceria. She turned to run—
And saw the white-hot flames, still burning, a solid wall blocking their escape. The flames had diminished somewhat, but they were still so hot that Ceria knew touching them would sear her to the bone in seconds.
Pisces and Ksmvr stopped beside her, burnt and smoking. They stared in horror at the flames blocking the entrance, and then at the fire slowly engulfing the treasury room, making its way down the corridor towards them.
“What do we do, Captain? A spell?”
“One of the walls?”
“We can’t tunnel through that!”
“The trap below!”
Pisces shouted, and Ceria looked. Yes, there! The opening in the floor was still visible. She grabbed Yvlon’s legs—the woman couldn’t even move as she still screamed, and all three adventurers ran towards it.
Ceria nearly fell off the bone staircase, but Ksmvr caught her and they rushed down the stairs, already feeling the heat overhead. Ksmvr and Pisces laid Yvlon on the floor and she screamed again, trying to pull her melted armor off. But the metal had fused, and her arms were still smoking. Ceria caught her breath and reached for a potion, but Ksmvr was faster. He poured it over her arms and into her mouth while Pisces poured the last of their water over Yvlon’s arms. Steam rose and she stopped thrashing.
She was alive, for now. Ceria diverted her attention upwards. She could still sense the heat, and she knew the flames were spreading. And that fire—it was magical flames, of a Tier she’d never seen before. It would burn away everything upstairs. The treasure, the swords—everything.
“No, no, no! We were so close! It can’t end like this!”
Ceria shouted in despair, but she knew better than to go up. Ksmvr reached for her, but Ceria knocked his hand away. She hammered the ground as she screamed in desperation.
“It won’t end.”
Pisces’ voice made Ceria look up. The mage was standing, robes burnt, skin blistered, but determined. A fierce look was in his eyes and he raised both arms up, his voice growing deeper.
“Arise! Arise and heed my call! Go into the depths of flame and bring me a ransom of gold and magic! Go now, treasure seekers! Go, fallen comrades!”
The room trembled. Every bone in the room—from the staircases to the bones Pisces had left untouched, began to shift and come together. Skeletons rose up, and began running the instant they were formed, before they were even fully formed. Ceria stared as they dashed up the staircase of bone. Up.
She knew what they had to be doing. The skeletons dashed into the room and snatched up burning objects, heedless of the flames that cracked their very bones. Over half fell before they could return, their bones catching fire and literally disintegrating from the heat.
But some—yes, some made it out of the room, and what they took was scooped up by other bony hands, brought back. Burning skeletons fell down from above and Ceria and Ksmvr shielded their faces as burning bone fragments crashed to the ground around them. More skeletons ran up, and Pisces shouted, his hands pointed up as sweat poured from his brow. He gasped, pointing, as more skeletons emerged, even more burnt than before, falling into the pit.
And then the fire grew more intense, and not a single skeleton returned. Ceria saw the last burst into flames even as he climbed up into the tunnel above, and Pisces collapsed on the ground. Ceria rushed over to him and found the mage breathing hoarsely.
“The heat—”
It was growing hot. So hot. Ceria lay down on the cool stone and saw Ksmvr cradling Yvlon. Her arms—didn’t look right. Melted silver intertwined with flesh, and she was unconscious. Pisces lay on the ground next to the burnt bone. Slowly, Ceria looked around.
Scattered objects. Burnt things, barely recognizable. A small sack, the one from the mage’s desk, strangely unburnt. A cracked sword, blackened by soot. A buckler almost cut in half.
Worthless things. And no staff. Ceria despaired, and felt her eyes stinging. If she had water in her to cry, she mi
ght have. But then she saw a skeletal hand, holding something. Ceria crawled over to it, and saw a burnt tome.
A book. Its cover was gone, and half the pages. Ceria brushed aside white ash and saw a page and glowing symbols. She clutched it to her, holding it dearly as the heat grew even worse, and air became a luxury, then a memory.
Slowly, Ksmvr collapsed to the ground, still holding Yvlon. Pisces didn’t move, and the stairway of bone fell to the ground. Ceria didn’t even look up as something struck her back. She couldn’t. She just held the book and breathed in. Out. In. Out. In—
It was so hot.
3.08 H
She woke up quietly, without screaming. Ceria opened her eyes and sat up. She was in pain, but she didn’t cry out. She just took a deep, wavering breath in the silence of the pit and knew she was alive.
Her skin felt burnt. Not just burnt; damaged. The heat from above had cooked her like an egg. But she was still alive, so it was clear that the magical flames from above hadn’t managed to spread to below.
The half-Elf sighed, and felt something move on her chest. She looked down and saw the book. Part of it was white ash that fell away as she lifted it up. But the other half—
“Ah.”
It was magical. The page that lay exposed under the dust shone, the intricate, spider-web writing that made up the magical spells glowing like saffron under her gaze. Ceria breathed lightly and the ash fell away. She looked at the spell and felt the magic reach out to her, whispering. For a second Ceria just looked at the third of the spellbook and believed in magic, believed in legends and dreams and even heroes. Then she put the book down and looked for her friends.
“[Light].”
The shimmering azure orb cast into light the fragments of scorched bone, the black tar-like substance on the walls, and the armored young woman sitting cross-legged in the center of the destruction. Yvlon sat silently, head bowed, staring in quiet contemplation at her arms. Her golden hair shone slightly, but the reflection off the melted silver of her arms shone even brighter. It flowed, like an ocean of metal.
“Yvlon.”
The other woman didn’t look up as Ceria staggered over. She just lifted her arms—with effort.
