Halls of Power (Ancient Dreams Book 3)

by Benjamin Medrano

  “Good enough,” Xaris grunted, looking at the others for a moment and smiling thinly. “You all know what to do.”

  They nodded, and each of them took a moment to pull the hoods that shrouded their faces farther forward. It was time to kill a dungeon.

  His thrown dagger plunged through the thorax of the gigantic, foot-long wasp, felling the creature as Daniel slipped past one of the thorned bushes, feeling like it was almost easy. He grinned as the humanoid bush lumbered about, trying to catch him and failing.

  Eric swung his axe with a grunt, his swarthy skin now the color of sandstone with the presence of his earth spirit. His axe split the bulbous plant attacking him in two, spilling sap onto the ground as it sagged downward on the walls. Eric began to speak, laughing. “You know, for being the second floor, this isn’t—”

  “Don’t you dare finish that sentence!” Eileen cut him off, her voice fierce as she held an orb of roiling flames in her hand. “The last thing we need is for this to get worse!”

  The mage punctuated her comment by launching the ball of fire past the others at the tree bearing bright crimson fruit, and Daniel blanched, bracing himself. The impact of the fire bolt detonated the fruit on the firestorm tree in a deafening blast of flames, sending a wave of pressure washing over the rest of them even as it disintegrated a pair of nearby shamblers. Fortunately the explosion was over as quickly as it began, leaving the room mostly clear.

  Sayla, the shorter brunette of their group, chose that moment to cut the vital joint of a shambler’s leg, sending the plant creature toppling into a giant flytrap that pulverized it. Wiping her daggers clean, Sayla spoke softly. “Yeah. The dungeon may be busy, but that doesn’t mean that this couldn’t be worse. Remember what Joe said about the water floor?”

  “Right, water jets that let the fish hit you damn near anywhere in the room.” Eric blanched at the thought, shaking his head. “Sorry, sorry…”

  “That and water blasts that can cut through wood, traps that can drown you, and other things like that. Sure, it isn’t as much of combat threats as we’re facing, but it’s less forgiving of mistakes.” Daniel agreed with the others, sighing as he stretched. “Still, I do think we’re doing well, considering how short of a time it’s been since we started training.”

  “Very true.” Eileen nodded, and looked at Eric and Sayla as she asked, “Do we want to keep going, or stop?”

  “Umm… I think I could keep going for another room or two,” Eric responded after a long pause. “I wouldn’t want to keep going much farther beyond that, though.”

  Sayla nodded her agreement, smiling thinly. “I can manage that much. We’ve definitely gotten better. Remember when we couldn’t do more than three rooms?”

  Eileen smiled in response. “We’ve come a long way since then. What did we find this time?”

  “Just a single violetroot. Our luck isn’t too good today.” Daniel sighed, collecting the blossom. “Still, every bit helps.”

  “Very true,” Eileen agreed, and their effective leader pointed at the exit. “Eric?”

  “Of course,” the man replied readily, taking the lead as they headed for the next room in the dungeon.

  Fate watched the tapestry with bated breath, his eyes fixed on the thread of Sistina. As the deity who watched over Destiny, it was his duty to remain impartial in the flow of events in the mortal world, and yet in this particular case, he found it difficult to maintain his distance.

  On the one hand he disliked Sistina immensely, for once already she’d escaped her Destiny, the events set in motion by the royal magi of Everium having rewritten her role and causing the course of the entire rest of the tapestry to change. The other side of the matter was that her very existence had already prolonged the length of the tapestry by an immeasurable period. How the entire series of events had occurred was something that even Fate was having difficulties determining. It was as though someone had interfered and hidden the evidence. The problem was that he didn’t see how that was possible.

  Still, at this moment, Sistina’s thread had reached its weakest point. If it didn’t break in the next few months, nothing short of another Godsrage could damage it. As he watched, Fate murmured under his breath, “The question is, which result do I wish for?”

  No one answered him, but he never noticed the slight shimmer to a mirror on the wall behind him.

  Pausing, Lily looked around the garden with a frown when she heard Kitten growl. Not seeing anyone, she looked at her young panther and asked, “Did you hear something, Kitten?”

  They were in the main gardens of Beacon’s palace, and the plants were coming up as quickly and verdantly as they had down in Sistina’s dungeon, which satisfied the young gardener. It would be horrible to go back to normal plants after the luxurious experience of the last two years, but at least she wasn’t going to have to worry about that much. She and Kitten were examining the hedgerows, the panther looking for an unwary pigeon, and no one else was in sight.

  Even so, Kitten was sniffing at the air, his tail lashing unhappily about something. Lily frowned and knelt down next to him. “It isn’t playtime, you know. What’s wrong?”

  As the panther growled more, Lily followed her pet’s gaze and frowned. Kitten was looking at the small rotunda that held the stairwell that descended into Sistina’s cavern. The strange thing was that the door was slightly ajar, which wasn’t normal. Standing, Lily slowly approached the door, murmuring, “That’s odd. I didn’t see anyone earlier… what do you think? Should we check and see who’s downstairs, Kitten?”

  The feline quickly dashed toward the door, stopping a few steps down and looking up at Lily intently. Lily smiled, murmuring, “I’ll take that as a yes, then. One moment, you little scamp.”

  She took a moment to pick up one of the living lanterns that Sistina had made, a simple wooden branch wrapped around a glowing orb, and began to descend the stairs, thankful for the heightened endurance that living in the dungeon had granted her.

  “We’re close enough.” Rene’s voice broke the silence as the four assassins descended the seemingly eternal staircase.

  Xaris stopped, his legs complaining at the sheer number of steps they’d come down, and looked at the gemstone Rene was carrying. When within a dungeon’s mana field it would glow red, green, or blue, and at the moment it was glowing blue. Green indicated they were within half a mile of the core, while blue meant they were within a thousand feet, which was close enough to use the aetheric disruptor.

  “‘Bout damned time,” Edward gasped, glowering at the gem. “How many stairs do they need? We’re almost at the bottom of the mountain again!”

  “Shut up,” Oliver growled, looking at Xaris. “Boss?”

  “One moment,” Xaris murmured.

  The man pulled out what looked like an oil lamp, with a large green mana stone at the center, glowing with internal light. Below it was a reservoir of silver liquid, barely visible through the leaded glass around it. This was the moment of truth, and he took out a thin gold key. Set into the brass column connecting the mana stone to the reservoir was a tiny keyhole. Inserting the key, Xaris took a breath, then turned it, tiny cogs moving almost effortlessly within the device.

  All at once the liquid rushed upward, wrapping around and coating the crystal like a liquid skin that began to shine with a white, resplendent light. A faint sensation almost like the drone of an insect’s wings teased at Xaris’ ears, and he winced as the light grew brighter and brighter. Only moments passed, but he could feel the magic surging in the disruptor. With a brilliant white flash of light, the crystal and liquid exploded, but that was a mere side effect as the gem vanished into the aether with the explosion.

  It was like someone rang a gong, and Xaris almost stumbled for a moment, then grinned broadly. “It worked! Go!”

  They all began to run down the stairs with all the speed they could muster, knowing that what had happened would bring a swift response.

  A sudden spike of mana within the du
ngeon distracted Sistina, even as restricted as her senses were in her physical body. She quickly finished with the slave brand in front of her and retracted her attention just enough to start searching for the source of mana. It was awfully close to her cavern, but it was in the stairwell connecting it to the palace. Why would a mana—

  Sistina was barely starting to puzzle things out when what sounded to her like all the voices of the hells suddenly screamed in her mind, and a titanic psychic fist hit her in the stomach over and over again. The roiling mana of her domain was betraying her, attacking her psyche as she reeled, buckling under the assault. If it continued, her mind would shatter under the strain, so she did the only thing she could as the mental pain wracked her. She retreated to her tree and confined herself within it, allowing its secure borders to shield her from the agony. As her mind began to recover, Sistina wondered where the attack had come from.

  Phynis stumbled slightly as something seemed to explode in the distance, ringing like a gong in her head. Blinking, she looked around in confusion, asking, “Desa? Did you feel that?”

  “I… I did, but I have no idea what it was,” Desa replied, and both of them flinched as a sudden sensation of confusion and pain hit them.

  “That… that was Sistina! What in the hells just happened?” Phynis paled as she rushed toward the throne room.

  Desa didn’t bother replying, chasing after her queen as they ran to see if Beacon had been attacked.

  “Oh, fuck me sideways with a broom!” Albert spat, dropping the crystal he was engraving without a thought of damaging it, instead looking at a crystal that had just flared blood-red on his desk with the mental explosion. “Shit!”

  He didn’t even pause, standing and grabbing his combat belt from a peg on the wall, Albert rushed into the main room of the Guild, strapping the belt around his waist. Seeing a half-dozen adventurers there, including his sister Penelope’s group, each of them discussing the sound, he snapped out, “To arms! Into the dungeon, now!”

  “Albert? What’s going on?” Penelope asked, but even as she spoke, she and the others were grabbing their weapons from where they rested nearby. No adventurer wanted to be caught off-guard, so even if they didn’t have their armor, they were always armed.

  “That was an aetheric disruptor,” Albert said grimly. “Someone’s trying to kill the dungeon.”

  For an instant no one answered, but the shock on their faces was palpable. It was Darak who spoke first, hefting his axe as his skin took on the color of granite. “Then let’s rip the bastards to shreds.”

  Two wasps fell from the air abruptly, causing shock to ripple through Daniel. His surprise deepened as he saw the flower-girl sag over, along with the remaining thorn shambler and the wolf. It had all come an instant after the strange, bell-like magical sound swept over them only moments before, and Daniel asked, “Does anyone else know what that was?”

  “No, but I’m not going to miss out on their weakness,” Eric replied, bringing his axe down on the wolf without remorse.

  “Something’s wrong. The others haven’t ever mentioned something like this happening before.” Eileen spoke warily, looking around in obvious distrust. “Don’t drop your guard.”

  Nodding, Daniel closed on the others, tense as they waited for the trap that they were certain was coming to spring. The tension went on and on, with all three others at the ready, before they heard the sound of boots echoing from the tunnel they’d already come through.

  The other adventurers burst into the room at a run, and Daniel’s jaw dropped at the sheer number of them, including the Guildmaster. Even more astonishing was Sina in the lead, who nodded to him breathlessly, indicating ahead of them. “This way!”

  “Danny, get your ass into the back of the line and follow!” Darak bellowed, his voice serious. “The rest of you, too!”

  “What’s happening?” Daniel asked, automatically following the eclectic group of adventurers.

  “Someone’s trying to kill the dungeon. We need to stop them,” Joseph panted, the cleric barely keeping up with the others. He glanced at the others in worry.

  “Why are you so concerned?” Eric asked, frowning. “I know that dungeons are important, but—”

  “Someone stole a Guild device for disabling a dungeon. That’s bad, Eric,” Penelope interrupted. “This could undo everything the Guild stands for, and erode trust in us. We’ve got to deal with this, now!”

  Daniel’s blood chilled at the thought, considering the rest of the city, and what would happen to Sina, before trying to run a little more quickly.

  Chapter 18

  “Too damn many stairs, then we find this? Sure, the dungeon rooms were similar, but this is ridiculous,” Rene exclaimed, staring at the enormous garden-chamber of the dungeon.

  The massive chamber was lit by glowing orbs and a crystal patch in the ceiling, and the extensive gardens were both wild and carefully shaped at the same time. Near the center of the room, they could see a gigantic weeping willow with branches nearly brushing the ceiling two hundred feet above, motes of light drifting around the white-barked tree.

  “Shut up, Rene. We knew this entire trip was going to be weird,” Oliver retorted, looking at Xaris. “Boss? Where are we going?”

  Their leader glanced down at the seerstone, only to find the thin spindle pointing directly at the enormous tree. Nodding toward it, he spoke calmly. “It’s the tree. It’s a good thing you brought that axe, Edward.”

  “Huh. I guess so,” Edward murmured, producing what looked like a simple hatchet. “It was mostly on a whim, since they said the dungeon was a dryad. Somehow a tree became the dungeon, though? That explains a lot.”

  They quickly began rushing through the cavern, following the gently curving paths that led toward the tree, and Oliver laughed, his eyes glittering as he added, “I thought this would be hard, but a tree? We’re the Blood Flame assassins!”

  Xaris glanced at Rene in the back, but the woman seemed to be doing well, though she was looking malevolently at Oliver. The head assassin suppressed a sigh, making a mental note to ensure the two were separated after this. The problem with making an assassination team of the top members of the Guild was that there were too many egos competing for primacy. At least their task was almost over.

  Only a few minutes passed before they were close enough, and Xaris stopped. “Edward! Cut it down, we’ll set the upper branches alight. Then we’ll set the stump on fire.”

  The other man didn’t reply, flicking the axe in his hand. It glowed for a moment, and then grew in his hands, the head overlaid with a spectral blade a dozen times larger than normal, fire wreathing it. As Xaris and the others began to chant, each of them weaving spells of fire, Edward plunged through the curtain of swaying branches and swung the axe with all his strength. The sound of the axe hitting the trunk echoed through the cavern almost like metal striking metal, but the blade bit an inch into the wood.

  Xaris’ eyes went wide in surprise, partially at the toughness of the wood, but mostly because the tree’s branches suddenly came to life, lashing out toward Edward as they shone with golden light. The man barely dodged the attacks with a cry of shock, and Xaris changed his target, aiming for the cluster of branches that held the hanging canopy nearest him.

  A bolt of blood-crimson flame left Xaris’ hands with the speed of a diving hawk, homing in on his target perfectly. The bolt of fire exploded in a violent fury, and Xaris’ eyes narrowed as he saw the tree resist the flames for an instant. But the heat was too potent, and a portion of the branches shattered, their ends catching fire. Oliver and Rene each launched their own bolts of fire, setting the tree even further alight as Edward dodged more of the frantic attacks of the falling branches, hammering his axe into the trunk with every chance he got.

  The three giving Edward support began to cast their spells again, and Xaris smiled thinly.

  Sistina was blind and in agony. Something was attacking her trunk, carving bites of bark and wood from her with every str
ike, and she had tried to defend herself with her branches, but the attacker was too agile for her to catch save by accident. She thought she’d clipped someone once, but a more pressing concern were the blasts of flame that kept hitting her. She’d already lost at least four large branches, and a quarter of her upper branches were alight, removing much of what she could use to defend herself. If Sistina could reach outside herself to see, she might be able to defend herself, but every attempt had met that mind-shattering chaos in the aether.

  Remembering the first time she’d seen an axe, Sistina could only bitterly remember how horrified she’d been. If it weren’t for the mithral she’d integrated into her trunk, she’d already have been felled. The only thing it was doing was prolonging her agony, and a hint of resignation and sorrow overwhelmed her. What would happen to Phynis and the Jewels? Would they be safe if she died?

  As her trunk began to crack under the agonizing assault, Sistina did something she hadn’t done since before she’d been captured by Kathyria. She began to pray, not for herself, but for those she loved and cared about. She prayed to any god that would answer that they would be safe.

  “Hurry, this way!” Phynis told the others, her eyes wide with barely suppressed panic.

  She could feel the pain from Sistina, and it had taken her precious moments to realize that her beloved was under attack, and not in her dryad body. Even when Sistina had lost a body to the ghouls infesting the Academy, Phynis hadn’t felt anything. But now she was feeling roiling waves of pain and fear from the dryad.

  “How’re we going to reach Sistina?” Diamond asked, rushing into the unassuming conference room near Phynis’ rooms. The Jewels were all there, as was Farris and Desa. “It’s a long way from here.”

  “Sistina built an escape route into this room. It’s a long slide that she warned would be extremely fast, and designed to slow me down toward the end,” Phynis explained, finding the two hidden buttons on one wall and pressing them. As she did, a portion of the wall slid inward, then rolled to the side, revealing a dark tube just wide enough for one person. “It’s the only way I can think of to get there in time.”