Delver Magic Book I: Sanctum's Breach

by Jeff Ianniello

  A gleam of hope rose in Lauren's eyes. "You know what I'm trying to say. You see what I'm going through."

  "Not completely," Ryson responded truthfully. "But I know the look you've had since I met you. Most delvers share that look. When we learn of our abilities, it fills us with as much fear as it does excitement. It is not a pleasant thought to be so different from those around you. Some try to hide their abilities, even forget them. For them, it's a better alternative than feeling isolated and alone. But that's their choice. Being a delver gives me some understanding, but it doesn't give me all the answers to your problem. I know very little about this magic, but I think I see in you the same confusion I once saw in myself."

  Lauren waited impatiently for him to reveal the secret of dealing with this dilemma. She wanted to hear the words that would lessen the tension in her stomach and remove the doubts and fears from her mind.

  Ryson could only offer words which bluntly explained the truth.

  "You may not want to hear this, but I'm going to tell you what I think you should do. I think you should help us proceed. Basically, it's because your problem won't matter to anyone, not even you, if we let the sphere kill us all."

  He bent his head slightly to get a clear view of her face. "You're going to decide in the end whether you want to use these powers or not. You're going to decide now, and you're going to have to decide again after this is all over. You may want to return to life the way it was for you and never cast a spell again. But you know what; you can only do that if you help us now. The sphere's going to kill us, kill us all. It's going to kill everyone in Connel. There'll be no normal life for you to return to. That's why I'm telling you what I think you should do. It'll always be your choice, though, no matter what you do now. If in the future you wish to hide your power, a decision to help here won't change that. Those that are here aren't going to be revealing your secret to anyone. But a decision not to help, well, that'll make your problem meaningless because we'll all be dead, including you."

  He straightened up, pulled his sword again from its sheath. The light returned to its previous state, as did the walls surrounding them. "If you want to place the responsibility of your choice upon me, go right ahead. But I don't believe any of us have a choice any longer."

  Lauren stiffened at these last words. She wiped the remaining tears from her eyes as if their presence insulted her. She threw her hands down to her sides, and again, they formed tight fists. She glowered at the darkness in the distance as she swallowed the last hint of her despair.

  "Fine," she remarked simply but coldly, a single word which signaled a transformation. While not taking a step, she leaned away from them all. Flinging her hands open, as if releasing the fears which previously bound her, she swept loose hairs from her face. She would not look at the delver, she turned to Stephen instead. "We can all go. Tell me when you want me to cast the damn spell."

  "Ummh," he stammered at first. He looked about as everyone now watched him. "I guess we should go now."

  "Very well." Her reply was just as cold, but slightly more biting. The blotches on her face were quickly disappearing, her pallor returned quickly to a healthy pink. She closed her eyes for but an instant. When they reopened, they burned with dark purple flames. She said nothing.

  She focused first on the floor at her feet. Her eyes bulged ever so slightly, and the violet shadows of her pupils grew and threatened to reach out with unbounded fury. She turned and arched her neck, slowly but surely scanning the entire floor under each member. She then passed her view beyond the edges of where they stood. The air hardened with each passing glance. The shell of the barrier became visible. It was transparent, like a growing shield of glass. She turned about and the path of her sight encircled them. The shell grew with each wave of her focus and soon it surrounded them. Finally, she pressed her vision upon the area over their heads. She scanned the black open space from side to side and front to back. With these last glances the barrier was complete.

  With a final pass, her eyes returned to normal and she set them back upon the interpreter. "The field is set. We are completely surrounded and shall not be harmed by any of the dangers you mentioned."

  Stephen rubbed his hands together nervously. With nothing to say to Lauren, and uncomfortable with her gaze, he turned instead to Tun. "If you would, you may open the door now."

  From near the back, Holli called out one last warning. "Won't his arm be singed if he passes it through the barrier?"

  "The barrier will move with him as it will move with us all," Lauren stated with calculated confidence. "Any flame will no more hurt the dwarf than it would the cliff behemoth behind me."

  Tun did not wait for further explanation. His hand speared downward to the ground, and indeed, the violet hardened shell stretched with his movements, revealing its own flexibility. His fingers disappeared to those that watched as he groped for the handle which remained hidden by the illusion of a gem. As he probed, the barrier expanded to encase areas where his fingers pressed upon. A grunt of satisfaction revealed he found that for which he searched. With a savage pull upon an iron ring, he hoisted a stone cover on its hinge and opened wide the passage to the next level.

  Instinctively, he had shielded his eyes from the bright flare which he expected, but no such flame appeared. The opening was as quiet as church rafters. There was no ignition of the air which even now flowed freely into the next level, no sign of explosion or even the smallest spark appeared. The first barrier as explained by the interpreter had failed.

  Stephen looked into the newly created hole with befuddlement. "I don't understand."

  Tun returned the statement with a doubting, accusing stare, but said nothing.

  Stephen felt the need to explain. "I assure you, the opening of this hole should have released a wave of flame."

  "It did not," Tun stated the obvious.

  "Has the passage been opened before?" Holli asked.

  Tun took but a moment to inspect the rock cover which was in his hand. "No. The break in the seal is fresh. This stone has not been moved in ages."

  "I don't understand." Stephen agonized over the mystery. The culmination of events was quickly taking their toll on his youthful enthusiasm. Being inside Sanctum, following Tun through the first maze, dealing with Lauren, and now the deficiency in his own explanations; all of this drained from him his normal exuberance. He was growing tired. It was late and he had not slept. The pain of riding horseback all day now sunk in his legs. He heaved a heavy breath in exhaustion. He could not decide what to do next, and the decision to move onward had to be made for him.

  "Let us not question it further," Lief advised. "If the seal has not been previously broken, there is no true danger to us. It may simply be that over time, the substances placed in this tier offset each other. Let us just be thankful and move on."

  "I think that's wise," Ryson echoed the sentiment.

  Stephen shrugged, but accepted the directive.

  Without any dissent, the group moved down a second set of steps. The protective shield moved with them just as the light filled their path. Jon set another light gem at the opening and Ryson's sword doubled and redoubled its radiance. Again, there were four segments to the stairway, each comprised of ten steps, and square platforms of heavy granite bricks divided the sections.

  Stephen took the lead, but Tun decided to stay near the front rather than drop back with his brother. The lack of fire had him questioning the words of the interpreter. It fueled his misgivings, justified his doubts, and the dwarf prince wondered what else might contradict Stephen's revelation of the human secret. He moved behind the interpreter, filled with suspicion and eager to challenge any further discrepancies.

  Stephen, himself, descended with curious eyes, grasping for an explanation to the lack of flame which should have greeted them. He peered into the tier with every opportunity, affording more attention to the surrounding area than the steps which bore him. There was no void to block his vision. The open sp
ace of the tier bathed in the light from Jon's gem and Ryson's sword and it held another alteration from Stephen's description.

  There was at first glance, that which was expected. The ceiling overhead remained safe and solid. It was well supported by the very walls of the mountain as well as by thick stone columns. The pillars were wider than the cliff behemoth and stood the test of time far better than the brick walls constructed by the humans.

  Here waited more of the unexpected for the interpreter. There were no sections in this room, no division of space. Most of the walls which divided the room into chambers were reduced to rubble, or even clay dust. Only two or three remained partially standing, and they were crumbling and unsteady. With the decay of the brick, the tier now took on the shape of a wide open expanse rather than a space divided by separate chambers.

  There could, however, be no denying the previous existence of the brick walls. If not, Tun would have been more than willing to challenge the interpreter's truthfulness, but even the stubborn dwarf could not ignore the crumbled remains. Their remnants verified the existence of chambers in an earlier time and served to confirm Stephen's knowledge of the waiting obstacle.

  Other evidence existed as well. Vapors rose unsteadily from puddles of dark liquid. The air shimmered in several places with hazy clouds. The floor was hidden, encrusted with a thick fog which crystallized in many areas. And to everyone's dread, each corner radiated a light from its own source. Collections of small pebbles, no larger than fingernails, gleamed with a greenish orange glow. It reminded them all that the absence of the flame did not constitute the end of all dangers. Most of what the interpreter warned indeed waited within these walls, and it remained as deadly as he explained.

  Still, the absence of the walls, the removal of the chambers, constituted a shift from the original obstacle. Lief offered the change a possible explanation for the flames which did not materialize.

  "If the walls which separated the gasses collapsed, could this not have caused changes which might explain the absence of the flames?"

  "I guess it's possible," Stephen muttered. He had stopped at the bottom of the stair case and surveyed the now open space from an even level. "I'm not a scientist. I'm not sure what would happen if some of these gases mixed with each other."

  The thought troubled the elf guard. "Does that mean you are not sure if we are safe where we stand? Is it possible the barrier will not protect us?"

  Stephen frowned, but shook his head. "No, I didn't mean that. I honestly believe we are safe. As long as the barrier remains air tight, I can't believe anything will hurt us. It's just that I wonder if any of the dangers exist anymore. The air may be as clean to breath as the air outside. All the different gases might have neutralized each other, just as it did to the gas which was supposed to ignite on our entry."

  Ryson looked nervously toward the glowing stones in the far corners of the tier. He spoke with urgency. "It looks like there's at least one thing that's still dangerous here. The rocks you spoke of still glow. So unless anyone really wants to poke their head out to see if the air is free of poison, I suggest we keep moving."

  "You're right," Stephen allowed as he shrugged yet again.

  Before they started, Ryson questioned Lauren. "How are you holding up?"

  "Do not fear the rocks, delver" the sorceress replied almost laughingly. While she did not wish to respond to the delver, she found his apprehension somewhat fulfilling. "The barrier will hold, and though I am tiring, I will last."

  "Alright." He dismissed the strangeness of her reply as he urged the rest to move without delay. "If she's getting tired, we should move as quickly as possible."

  It was Holli who called out one last question. "Stephen, do you know of any traps which we must avoid?"

  "There was no need for traps," Stephen conceded. "The gas and the stones would be enough to stop anyone."

  Holli addressed the entire group with a stern warning. "Still, there are liquids which might prove deadly if we touch them, and the brick walls that still stand remain in danger of collapsing. I suggest you steer us clear of such obstacles. Do not become careless in haste to reach the next level."

  "Very well," he approved. "I'll take us down a center path. The door waits at the far end, over there." He pointed off in front of him.

  The faint outline of the door was visible at that point only to the delver and the elves. Their keen eye sight allowed them to cover the great distance. While Lief and Holli could make out only a meager trace of the stone door, Ryson obtained far greater detail, and with it an answer.

  "There's where your flame went," he announced suddenly.

  Stephen, about to take weary steps forward, stopped himself as he shot a confused look at the delver. Indeed, all eyes were now on Ryson, and all waited for an explanation.

  He spoke without hesitation. "The door's damaged. It's shifted off its hinges and there are scorch marks all around it."

  "Has it been opened?" Holli questioned in a near demanding tone.

  "I don't think so. It looks like something pounded upon it from the other side."

  Holli looked toward Lief. "That is the delver tier."

  Lief responded with equal grimness. "We still have no idea what waits for us there."

  Again, Holli questioned the delver before they proceeded. "What do you think happened, Ryson?"

  "It's hard to say from here. Some kind of force hit the rock door, damaged it, and shoved it from its original position. I guess when that happened, it broke the seal. The flame we expected when we opened this door already occurred around that one. There's scorch marks all around the cracks."

  Tun became frustrated in listening to this babble and being unable to see that which the delver described. "Let us move forward and we can all take a look," he demanded. "If there is damage to the rock, it is fitting that my brother and I inspect it as well."

  "That's a good idea," Ryson agreed. "I'd like to get a closer look myself."

  They moved forward over the flat rock floor. Stephen led, but there was no true need for his direction. A path through the center of the tier led directly to the door. It contained no obstacles as the gas emitting liquids and the crumbling walls remained off to the sides. They remained grouped together, but not out of fear of a misstep. They wished only to refrain from stretching the limits of the shield that protected them from unseen hazards. They formed more of a haphazard cluster within Lauren's magical field and abandoned the long snaking line which brought them through the dwarf tier.

  The broken stone door called to them as well, both as a mystery and a path of freedom from the stones. As they passed pillar after pillar, and beyond several pools of foaming liquids, it became visible to even the weakest eyed traveler among them. The scorch marks were clearly present and the cracks near the hinges verified Ryson's earlier report. The last few steps were taken in near trot as all wished to examine the door as well as put this tier behind them.

  Tun took an authoritative step forward to examine the damage in the rock. At his grunting request, Jon joined him.

  Jon took greater care in feeling the rock and examining the cracks, and he announced his observations to them all. "The force which broke the stone came from the other side. It did not press upon the door directly. It was also not a hammering effect. Whatever it was, it came in the form of a steady stream of great power. The force broke the seal and allowed air to rush through the cracks. Air continues to flow through even now."

  "How long ago?" Holli requested with a calculating expression.

  "Recently," Jon explained. "Within this season."

  Holli nodded her head with approval. She swerved about on her heals assessing their location within the tier. Her eyes cast first to the stone stairway across the rock floor and finally upon the ceiling.

  Lief noted her reaction. "You are aware of something?"

  "I believe so," she said firmly, but remained unsatisfied with her visual inspections. "It would be clearer if I knew which direction we fac
ed."

  "We face south," Jon replied quickly.

  "Are you sure? How can you tell from within? With all the tricks played upon us in the tier overhead, it was impossible for me to keep a lock on our direction."

  "I know the path as well as my brother," Jon answered simply. "I always knew what direction we were headed. I also know the general construction of Sanctum. Even though this door was sealed by the humans, its foundation was built by the dwarves. Trust me, we face south."

  "Then I know the cause of the break in that door," Holli responded with hard edged certainty. "It is the result of the tunnel which the sphere created to funnel the tainted magic to the free air."

  Ryson's eyes shot open wide with enlightenment. "She's right! The breach in Sanctum's wall was on the southern slope. If the break in the wall went straight to the core it would have to break through the tiers at some point. It must be right beyond this door."

  "That would coincide with my findings," Jon stated in agreement.

  "There is only one way to be certain," Tun stated almost belligerently and with definite impatience. "Let us open the door and see for ourselves."

  "Wait! That might tell us what we need to know, but we don't know what else waits for us beyond this door," Stephen reminded him.

  Holli repeated the need for care over haste. "The interpreter is correct. The delver tier awaits us now. We can not be certain of what dangers it holds."

  "And we won't find out by standing here," Tun answered obstinately.

  It was Ryson that ended the short debate, ended it as he realized the new danger they faced. He took a deep breath, and held it. He waited, as if sampling the air in his lungs. "We can't stand around her much longer no matter what," he said with a new sense of urgency. "We're running out of air."

  Focus came away from the broken door and upon the very air that surrounded them. Many sniffed the air. They sensed nothing different, but they could not deny the logic of the danger. The barrier was airtight. It surrounded them all, ten of them breathing the same trapped air. It would certainly not last indefinitely.