by F. P. Spirit
“Thank you,” Seth responded with mock gratitude. He cautiously led the party across the room, toward the large pillar. As they drew nearer, an opening appeared in the floor next to it. Steps could be seen spiraling downward, mirroring the staircase that climbed up its side.
Glo experienced another episode of mock déja vu. This is starting to get freaky. Again, the spiral stairs lead downward, just like in my dream. Still, there were no stairs leading upward in that nightmare.
When they reached the huge pillar, Seth raised a hand for them to halt. Glo lifted his head and gazed straight upward—the column towered over them, disappearing into the blackness far above. When he peered back down, Seth was kneeling over the opening in the floor. After a few moments, the halfling stood back up and turned to the others. “It’s pitch black down there.”
Donnie strode up next to him and briefly peered down the hole, then turned around to face the others. “So the obvious question is, do we go up, or do we go down?”
Glo glanced briefly up the pillar once more, then down the dark hole in the floor. The truth was they really did not have enough information to make an educated decision either way—unless there was a clue in those runes across the archway. Glo opened his mouth to voice his thoughts, but Elladan beat him to it.
“Maybe there’s a clue in those runes over the entrance.”
Glo eyed the bard, a thin smile spreading across his lips. “I’ve already deciphered those—they were a bit obscure, but if there are runes over the other three archways, maybe together they might give us a clue.”
Elladan responded with a half-smile. “Couldn’t hurt. I’ll take the arch to the north.”
“Then I’ll take the one to the south,” Glo said with a nod.
Aksel held up a hand. “Hang on a minute. Although the room looks empty, let’s not take any uncessary chances. Seth, Lloyd, you go with Glo. Donnie, Alana, you go with Elladan.”
Seth brushed past Glo. “I’ll take the lead,” he said over his shoulder. Glo glanced at Lloyd who shrugged back at him. The two of them took off after the halfling. Sure enough, the southern archway had runes inscribed across the top. Glo examined them closely, forming a rough translation in his mind. When he was done, Glo peered across the wide room. Elladan still stood in front of the northern archway, Donnie and Alana by his side. Glo turned back to Seth and Lloyd. “Let’s check out the west door.”
The three of them crossed over to the western archway. Glo was halfway through the translation when Elladan, Donnie, and Alana joined them. When he was done, they compared notes, coming up with a full translation of all four doorways. The six of them then headed back to the pillar in the center of the room, and Elladan recited it to the others.
Lord Larketh is the Divine Master of all Constructs.
All hail he who is the sovereign ruler of all that has no rule.
He breathes life into that which never had.
He grants will to that which has none.
He binds the materials of stone, metal and earth to his command.
The Lord Larketh speaks the true name of the earth and calls it his own.
Only by obtaining the holiest heights can one progress to the most glorious depths.
Donnie wore a wry smile. “So, this monument is pretty much a dedication to the Golem Master’s ego.”
His comment elicited a few chuckles. Aksel, however, did not laugh, his brow furrowed in deep concentration. “All except that last line. Only by obtaining the holiest heights...”
“...can one progress to the most glorious depths,” Glo finished for him. He gave Donnie a wry smile. “It is the only line that doesn’t speak to Larketh’s ego.”
“Then it’s a clue,” Donnie said with enthusiasm.
Seth’s mouth warped into a smirk. “Obviously. The stairs leading down are just a sham, leading to a false basement.”
Elladan gave a short, closemouthed laugh. “So the real basement can’t be reached that way. Can’t say Larketh wasn’t clever.”
“Yes.” Glo nodded to the bard. “If we decide to take that statement at face value, then we need to ascend to the top of the tower to reach the sub-basement.”
Aksel paced back and forth, drumming his fingers against his chin. “Sounds very plausible. Larketh was obviously a master builder, as evidenced around us.” He gestured across the enormous room. “Anyone who could do this could easily build a secret chamber in the strata beneath this tower.”
“It is in keeping with Larketh’s nature,” Elistra chimed in. “He was the most secretive of the Thrall Masters.”
Glo gave Elistra a sidelong glance. Once again, that sounded like a personal assessment. It was certainly not common knowledge, at least, not in any of the books he had read on the Thrall Masters. Yet for all intents and purposes, Elistra appeared to be a human in her late twenties. If she was anything else, it would have been revealed during their fight with the succubus. The only reasonable explanation was that she had access to books that Glo had never seen before. He was about to ask her when Seth interrupted him.
“Then it’s settled,” the halfling said impatiently. “We go up.”
Aksel nodded. “We go up.”
Seth spun around and headed toward the stairwell leading upward. “Finally,” he could be heard muttering under his breath.
Chakras
The disc in Lloyd’s hand had begun to glow, growing brighter and brighter until everyone had to shield their eyes
Glo felt a keen sense of relief as the company ascended the stairs. The journey upward had definitely broken the pattern of his dream, where he had descended into the basement to find his friends dead. The large party climbed upward in the same formation that they had taken when entering the monolith—Seth in the lead and Ruka bringing up the rear.
They wound their way up the staircase, around the huge pillar, toward the stone ceiling far above. Seth carefully scanned each step as he went—a few steps below the ceiling, he signaled a halt. The others waited in silence as the halfling scrutinized the stairwell ahead. Seth reached up and ran his hands along the ceiling above the stairwell until abruptly he stopped. A faint click could be heard followed by a barely audible, “Child’s play.”
A thin smile spread across Glo’s lips. It was definitely one of the halfling’s favorite phrases. Seth glanced over his shoulder and whispered, “Blades,” indicating the kind of trap they had just avoided. Seth resumed his slow ascent, disappearing into the ceiling above. The others followed one by one. The staircase continued to wind upward through solid rock. After what seemed like forever, the stairwell opened up into another dark area, the light from Glo’s staff illuminating a large circle around them.
The chamber appeared empty, nothing visible in the radius of the light except for stone floor and the stairway continuing its path around the pillar upward. Elladan and Aksel sent out more globes of light, brightening the room. It turned out to be another vast chamber, stretching the length and width of the monolith, except that this area had a number of pedestals spread around it at regular intervals. When viewed all together, the pedestals formed a large circle around tall central pillar.
Seth addressed the group in a soft voice. “You guys can check those daises out if you want. I’m going to examine the stairwell above—just don’t touch anything until I get back.”
Aksel gave him a grim nod. “Agreed.”
Seth disappeared up the staircase, his small form reappearing farther above as he spiraled upward, then disappearing once more. Meanwhile, Aksel detailed his plan to investigate the room. “Let’s split up into two groups. Lloyd, you go with Glo and Elistra. Alana, you come with me, Elladan and Donnie. Ruka, you keep watch on the stairs.”
Ruka stood up as stiff as she possibly could, and gave Aksel a mock salute. “Got it, chief.”
The little cleric p
aused in his tracks, raising an eyebrow. “Um, let me rephrase that. Ruka, can you please keep watch on the stairs?”
A wry smile crossed the young teen’s lips. “Will do.”
Glo, Lloyd and Elistra set out in one direction, while the others headed out in the exact opposite. Lloyd went first, cautiously leading the way across the dimly lit chamber. As they approached the pedestals, Glo observed that each one had a small disc upon it, and that each disc was emblazoned with a colored symbol. The disc directly in front of them was green, the one to the left yellow, and the one to their right blue. When they reached the middle dais, Glo examined the green symbol closely—the emblem on it looked strangely familiar.
“Where have I seen that before?” he murmured softly.
“It’s a chakra symbol.”
Lloyd and Glo turned to face Elistra.
“What’s a chak—ra?” Lloyd repeated the word slowly.
“It’s a spiritual energy point on the body. There are seven of them, running from the groin up to the top of the head.” Elistra illustrated by running a hand up her torso, stopping at different points along the way.
Lloyd’s eyes widened slightly and a small smile came to his lips. “Oh. you mean the seven gateways of power.”
A small frown crossed Elistra’s brow. “I guess you could call them that. You know of them?”
“Yeah,” Lloyd said with a nod. “As a spiritblade, we learn to channel their energy—well, the first, third, and seventh that is.”
A knowing smile spread across Elistra’s face. “Ah, yes, body, mind and spirit.”
“Uh huh. That’s how a spiritblade can do the things we do, by combining body, mind and spirit.” Lloyd stood there grinning brightly at both Glo and Elistra, obviously quite thrilled at being able to discuss this topic with someone else who would understand.
Lloyd was not wrong—Glo was also familiar with the seven chakras. He was perhaps not as well versed in them as Elistra, but he definitely knew about them. They were an integral part of psionics. One of his mother’s books was devoted to chakras, meditation, and the focusing of spiritual energies. From what Glo could recall, each chakra was numbered and had a specific purpose, symbol, and color associated with it. “So the symbol on this disc in front of us, that’s associated with the fourth chakra?”
Elistra smiled sweetly at him, her violet eyes lighting up at his understanding of her field. “That’s correct. The first chakra is red, the second orange, the third yellow, the fourth green, the fifth blue, the sixth purple, and the seventh white.”
“And each has a particular meaning then?” Lloyd asked, mirroring Glo’s thoughts.
“Body, emotion, mind, heart, voice, sight, and spirit,” Elistra recited, as if she had repeated that same list many, many times before.
Lloyd bent forward for a closer look at the disc. “So this is the heart disc?”
“Yes.” Elistra nodded, a touch of amusement graced her lips as she watched the curious young man gaze intently at the little disc on the pedestal in front of them.
After a short while, Lloyd stood back up and spun around slowly to his right. “So if the fourth one is here, then the fifth one should probably be over there...”
Before they could say another word, Lloyd strode off toward the next pedestal in the circle. Glo gave Elistra a quick glance. She shrugged at him and the two of them took off after the impulsive young man. Sure enough, when they reached the next pedestal, there was a disc with a blue symbol upon it that was associated with the fifth chakra. Glo glanced at the next pedestal in the circle and observed that the disc on it had a purple colored symbol. “So each of the pedestals has a colored chakra disc on it.” Glo scanned the room carefully, counting eight pedestals in all. “Hmm, eight pedestals and seven chakras. That’s strange.”
“What do you want to do?” Lloyd asked him.
Glo thought it over. The others were still on the far side the room. “Well, we’ve seen four pedestals so far, ranging from yellow to purple in color...”
“Chakras three through five,” Elistra corrected him.
Glo gave her a brief smile. “Three through five. So let’s see what the others have found.”
They crossed the room, rejoining Aksel, Alana, Donnie and Elladan. They compared notes and found that seven of the pedestals contained a colored disc with the symbol for each chakra. The eighth pedestal was the oddball—that one contained a disc with all the other colors combined, fanning out from the center of the disc in small wedges.
Elistra stood over the multicolored disc, a single finger resting on her chin. “This is indeed odd. It appears to be a combination of all the chakras in one.”
It appeared as if she was going to say more, but was interrupted by a familiar voice from behind them.
“Well, the way up is blocked.”
They all spun around at once. Seth stood there with his arms folded across his chest.
Aksel eyed the halfling curiously. “Blocked?”
Seth’s expression remained impassive. “As in solid stone. The stairs appear to just end at the ceiling.”
Elladan stepped forward and peered up toward the top of the tall pillar, shaded in the darkness far above. “Well, there has to be a way up. We are no where near the top of the monolith.”
“Hmm,” Glo murmered softly, steepling his hands in front of his mouth. “A puzzle then.” He spun back toward the pedestal behind them. “Perhaps these discs are the key. The question is how...”
Seth strode up next to Glo and eyed the rainbow disc on the pedestal. “Someone want to fill me in?”
Glo and Elistra repeated everything they had found, or surmised, so far concerning the pedestals and the discs. When they were finished, Seth squinted at the two of them.
“Whatever. I don’t know much about all this chakra mumbo jumbo. I’ll leave that to you. Meanwhile, I’ll check this pedestal for traps.” The halfling knelt down in front of the dais and began to search around.
“Elistra...” Lloyd said the seeress’s name tentatively.
She turned to face the young man, a delicate eyebrow arched. “Yes?”
“Remember when I said spiritblades use three of their chakras?”
Elistra pursed her lips and nodded. “Uh huh.”
Lloyd’s expression grew sheepish as he continued. “Well, the truth is that most of my energy comes from the first one. The energy from the other two are not as strong, but they seem to help with flow and control, if that makes any sense.”
A warm smile spread across Elistra’s lips. “It more than makes sense. Your first chakra provides the physical power to do the things you do. The third and sixth help you to stabilize and direct that power. In truth, you resonate the most with your first chakra, though.”
Resonate? For some reason that word sparked something in the back of Glo’s mind. He turned to Elistra. “Did you say resonate?”
The seeress squinted at him curiously. “Yes, resonate. Certain individuals resonate more with specific chakras depending on their talents and interests.”
The thought in the back of his mind suddenly came rushing to the forefront. “I’ve got it!” Glo exclaimed enthusiastically.
They all turned to stare at the wizard. Elladan raised an eyebrow and cocked his head to one side. “Got what?”
Seth let out a derisive snort. “I think he’s finally snapped.”
Glo put his hands on his hips and glared at the halfling darkly. “Perhaps I have, but I also think I have the answer to this puzzle.”
“Well, don’t just stand there. Spill it!” Elladan urged him.
Everyone gathered close around the elven wizard. “Okay then, based on what Elistra just said, someone might resonate with a specific chakra. So what if each of these discs are some kind of key?”
Aksel’s hand w
ent to his chin, his brow furrowing deeply as he considered Glo’s theory. “If each disc is a key, then how exactly does it work?”
“It’s actually quite ingenious. In order to unblock the staircase, a person has to resonate with the discs.”
The little cleric stroked his chin as he deliberated over Glo’s words. “You may be on to something there.”
“Well, if anyone cares, the pedestal is clean.”
They all turned to see Seth had finished examining the dais. Everyone stepped forward, crowding around the pedestal to get a better look.
Donnie bent down and eyed the multi-colored disc curiously. “So, how do we use these discs then?”
“Why don’t you pick it up and find out?” Seth said to the slight elf, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
Donnie stood up and cast an acid look at the halfling.
“That is probably the idea,” Glo said with a slight nod.
Seth folded his arms and stared at Donnie with a self-satisfied smile. “Told you so.”
Donnie eyed the disc, but instead of reaching for it, he stepped back and proffered it to Seth. “After you.”
Seth waved a hand at the slight elf. “Nah. I don’t resonate with rainbow.”
Donnie glowered at the halfling, but was interrupted before he could form a reply.
“So what happens if we pick up the wrong one?” Elladan asked the seeress. Elistra wrinkled her nose as she considered the possibilities. After a short pause, she answered his question. “Probably nothing. Either you resonate with the disc or you don’t.”
“Well, I’m game,” Lloyd declared with enthusiasm. “I already know I resonate with my first chakra.” The young warrior spun around and strode toward the next pedestal in the circle, the one with the red disc on it. The others followed close behind. When Lloyd reached the dais, he bent down to grab the disc. Before he could grab it though, a small voice interrupted him.
“Forgetting something?”
Lloyd spun around to face Seth, a sheepish grin on his face. “Um, sorry.”
