Rishmond pulled the fishing net through one hand, tracing the line looking for any more tears or breaks. The sun was bright and the day warm, a perfect spring day. He shifted a bit on the small stool in the sand attempting to alleviate the numbness in one cheek of his backside. Toby sat a few feet away doing the same to another net. The last two for the day. They were almost done.
A few meters away toward the water Halmond and Beritrude worked on the two fishing boats, spreading waterproofing over their upturned hulls. They'd all started early this morning, even before the sun was up enough to see well. They'd pulled the two small boats up to the wooden supports on the beach and cleaned them, mounted them on the supports and begun work fixing small leaks and patching or replacing boards as needed. Toby and Rishmond were tasked with net repair and repainting the live wells and other removable parts. They'd all three been working steadily through the morning, stopping only to have a quick hearty breakfast. Rishmond was excited for the end of the work today as he and Toby had plans to spend the afternoon with friends from the neighborhood.
Rishmond let that thought take him back in time a bit. The fact that he and Toby had friends, and more than just one or two, was something he'd never thought possible a turn ago. Now, since they'd come to live with Hal and Berti, they'd become a family here in what had to be the most wonderful city in the world, in the most wonderful country in the world, there were so many thing Rishmond had never thought possible.
He and Toby had comfortable beds, clean, new clothes, and people that genuinely cared about their wellbeing. The four of them had become a family and the love Hal and Berti had for both of them was obvious. Toby said it felt like home. Rishmond wasn't really sure what that was, but he knew he belonged and he loved his new family, and that was more than enough for him. Well, almost. His lessons with Tybor and the time spent with the kids from around the neighborhood definitely made his new life here perfect.
Rishmond new Toby wasn't as happy about his friendship with Tybour and he wished he knew how to fix that, but Tybour was teaching him about magic, and that was the absolute best thing Rishmond could think of. Toby didn't have a gift for magic at all, not even being able to detect and use lotret. That was actually pretty unusual, most people had at least a little ability with lotret. Rishmond was pretty sure Toby was jealous of the easy friendship between himself and Tybour as well. It wasn't like Tybour wasn't friendly with Toby, but it was pretty obvious Tybour considered Toby just a kid who sometimes hung out with his friend Rishmond.
"Hey! Stop daydreaming slacker! Finish up so we can go exploring with the gang!" Toby's brotherly yell jolted Rishmond from his thoughts.
"Yeah! Well, you missed a whole section! So, who's the slacker?" Rishmond hollered back. Toby looked around at his net to where Rishmond pointed, searching for a section he'd missed repairing. He didn't find anything after several moments of searching and realised Rishmond had been lying.
The small pebble struck Rishmond on the shoulder harmlessly and he laughed, acting as if the small stone had unseated him from his stool. Both boys were excited about their upcoming adventures with their group of friends. The half day absent of chores and permission to be out and about for the afternoon had been granted by Hal and Berti. The group was heading out to a cove about a kilometer north of where they now sat. The rocky shore held tons of tide pools that caught all kinds of different, strange sea creatures. They'd bring back what they could, if it was odd enough. They'd also look for things washed up on the shore, like treasure sometimes. A few weeks ago a boy had found a mechanical thing made of gears and glass. No one knew exactly what it was, but a Wizard from the Library had come out to take and look and had exclaimed over it like he'd found a lost God washed up on the beach. The Library paid the family handsomely for the object and packed it up in a big black box and hauled it off to the mysterious Wizard's Library in Retinor proper, near the castle.
Exploring the beaches and tide pools among the rocks would be great fun, but one of the other boys had secreted a small boat near the cove and the plan was to row out to the forbidden island about a kilometer off the end of the peninsula that formed the northernmost arc of the cove. The island was off-limits to everyone but a select few Wizards, and even they didn't go very often. Several people had died there over the turns, caught in traps and protections put there by the Gods themselves before they disappeared from the mortal realm. One of those was Halmond's and Beritrude's son, Pilip.
About 3 turns argo, he and several kids had snuck out to the island and entered some caves there, Pilip had stumbled into a hidden passage and set off a trap that had killed him instantly. He'd been fifteen turns of age when he'd died.
Rishmond did not want to cause Hal and Berti any problems, but the chance to see a place the Gods had built and possibly feel the magic they must have once wielded there was just too much to pass up. Besides, Cantor and Drak had been to the island several times and knew where to go and where not to, neither of them were dead nor had they set off any traps in their explorations of the tunnels and caverns below the island, so it seemed safe enough to Rishmond, as long as they stuck to the already explored tunnels and caves, besides if he didn't go, Toby would anyway and he had to be there to protect Toby.
He focused on the last of the net he was repairing. Overall not much on this one as it was one of the newer nets Halmond had purchased just last month. He folded the net up neatly as he'd been taught and placed it in the big chest by the small hut that was theirs here on the beach. Toby followed closely behind with his last net as well. They both neatened the nets on the pile in the squat little hut and then shut the door and latched it.
Halmond turned from the boat he was finishing as the two boys walked up. "Nice job men." His voice was rich and deep. He never had to yell to be heard when they were out fishing, not unless a very bad storm came blowing. And he never yelled at either of them when they got up to trouble. He had only to sound disappointed to make both boys strive to be better, mostly. Both Toby and Rishmond had reckless streaks.
Berti called from the boat she was working on, "You boys all done and ready to fly off to some unknown adventure and leave us poor adults to finish up everything you won't be able to get to today?" Her voice was teasing and light. She knew both boys were hard working and grateful.
"Let's tie the boats in and we can call it a day. Latest reports are that the weather is gonna be great for the next few days, but the boats should always be secured, right Toby?" Halmond's voice held a hint of amusement referring to an incident not long ago when Toby and Rishmond had not tied the boats down to their supports and a strong wind had done some amount of damage to both.
All four of them worked together to quickly secure the boats to the maintenance supports, those were dug deep into the sand and rock well above the high tide mark and were in little danger of being blown over by anything less than a full blown hurricane.
When the task was done and the work for today over, Halmond brought both young men over to talk to them. Rishmond looked up into his rough but kind face and felt a calm sense of belonging. It was weird being part of a family. He'd never thought he would be, but he very much enjoyed every minute of it. "You gentlemen behave yourselves. Don't get into any trouble you can't handle, be respectful and kind. You know Berti and I trust you and expect you to carry the honor of our family name." His face was stern and serious, but the definite twinkle in his eyes told Rishmond there was as much humor in his little speech as seriousness. It was the same thing he's said every time one or the other or both boys went out on their own, even just to the small market down the street. Rishmond and Toby exchanged knowing smiles.
"Yes, sir!" They chorused in unison. "The honor of the Bar household shall not be besmirched!" Berti laughed and shook her head. She handed both boys a cloth wrapped package containing their lunch and something to snack on later. The boys stashed their packages in their packs and drew on their jackets, both tossing their pack on to one shoulder before hugging Hal and Berti.
"Be safe and be home before dark. I mean it! Before dark!" Her last words carried across the beach as the boys ran north to the place the gang was going to meet.
Rishmond and Toby ran along the beach, staying where the sand was compacted by the recent high tide, bare feet feeling the slight shift of the packed sand. It wasn't long before the site of their family's little patch of beach disappeared in the distance and both boys stopped to strip off their light jackets and push them haphazardly into their packs. The sun was strong and Rishmond was sweating even in the cool breeze from the ocean. They began to walk quickly along the beach, moving to the top of the low tide wall for firmer footing.
A collection of large, flat rocks near the water line came into view just past a small dune sprinkled with sea grass. Two other boys were already seated on the rocks, eating from their own little cloth wrapped lunches. Rishmond and Toby hurried over to join them.
"Rishmond! Toby!" the younger of the two boys called as they approached. "Hey!"
"Hello, Bollen! Hey, Walm! How're you doing today? Ready for some adventure?" Rishmond greeted the two. Bollen was a small slight boy, 13 turns old with curly red hair and a mess of freckles across his nose and cheeks. He almost always had a smile and was more often than not the reason the whole group had to stop and wait when they were off exploring. His big brother Walm was as much opposite of him as could be, pudgy but strong and a lot faster on his feet than you might think by looking at him. Long dark hair was almost always caught back in a ponytail tied by a spare piece of bright colored string. Walm was quiet and calm almost to the point of stoic. He always seemed just slightly put off by having his little brother around, but was quick to defend him should anyone else mistreat him or disparage him in any way. Making fun of Bollen in a serious manner would soon find yourself on the receiving end of an unexpected punch from Walm.
Most of the gang was like that actually. More than willing to make fun of and tease each other, but any outsiders that dared the same soon found themselves in hot water with the whole gang.
"Oy! Y'all a bunch of old thwippits or whut?" The voice came from up the beach, in the direction of the cove they'd be headed to once everyone arrived. Rishmond watched as the unofficial leader of their gang, and the oldest one of them came striding down the beach, long red hair flowing and bouncing with the strength of her exaggerated stride. Cantor was the oldest among them, she said she was 18 turns old, but Rishmond was pretty sure she was closer to 16. Boyish and tough, she'd as soon wrestle you to the ground and sit on your chest as help you learn a new spell or fix a cut on your knee. She was the planner and instigator and the real reason why the six of them would be rowing out to a place the King of Malminar had ordered off limits to everyone. She didn't know how to be scared really.
"Drak's up at the beach already with the boat. We got it ready to go, now we're just waiting on you lot! Let's get a move on! We don't have much time and we've got lots to see! Tide's low too, so we'll be able to see some stuff we wouldn't otherwise!" She was bursting with excitement about this trip. Drak and her had been out to the island a number of times just the two of them, but it seemed to Rishmond that the idea of showing off this forbidden place to a group of her friends really amped her mood.
"C'mon Rishmond!" She threw one arm over his shoulders and scooped up the half of his sandwich still sitting on the butcher paper on the rock in front of him. She took a big bite and smiled a huge smile, barely keeping the sandwich in as she began to chew. "You're gonna love this! Its so cool! The paintings on the wall look like they was done just yesterday. Lots of things to look at and stuff written in ancient words can't nobody understand!"
She leaned heavily on Rishmond and kicked around him at Toby, catching him in his left buttock, not hard, just enough to prod him off the flat rock he sat on. "Toby! You ready for this?"
Toby yelped and smiled, "You know I am! I wanna discover new stuff! Maybe find a new tunnel no one has seen since the Gods were here!"
Cantor laughed, spitting bits of sandwich into Rishmond's hair. "Right! Well, maybe we take it slowly at first." Her demeanor changed to very serious. "Look. The danger out there is very real. People with lots more smarts and much more magic have died out there. The magic use is God magic out there and if you get in its way, it won't matter how much luck or magic you have, you'll be dead or worse." She stepped up on one of the smaller rocks and from there onto the big central table rock. "You guys will do what I say, and go where I tell you. We will all stay together and we will stick to the places we already know for now. Once we figure out some things and we all know our way around, we can relax a bit and see what we can see and do, but until then, we take it easy and careful. Got it? I don't want to have to try and explain to your family why you came back from a beach trip all beat up by me." She scowled at each of them one by one. "Got it?!"
"Yes, Cantor!" all four boys responded. That was no idle threat, Cantor could physically best any one of them in a fight.
"Alright, then let's get moving. You can eat later. We don't want to waste daylight!"
They gathered up their belongings and all headed out over the dunes to the north, Cantor leading with her long exaggerated stride, pulling Rishmond along with her, still munching on the half of his sandwich she grabbed from him. Rishmond lengthened his stride and kept up with her as best he could with her bumping against him and knocking him around with her arm still draped around his shoulders.
"So Rishy, you still hanging with that dreamboat First Mage Tybour?" She grinned at Rishmond, a bit of sandwich making a bulge in one cheek. "He still teaching you magic outside of school?" Her tone was teasing both because of her obvious admiration of Tybour for his considerable good looks, but also because Rishmond had become the talk of Retinor due to the amount of time he and Tybour spent together. Once or twice a week, when Tybour wasn't off on official Wizard duties, Tybour would come around to the house, or send for Rishmond by horse or carriage. Wild rumors flew about the town about what they got up to when together, many of which were proved true enough by the results of some of the magic Tybour taught to Rishmond.
"Yes, you know we're friends and he's teaching me some great magic!" Rishmond began to gush a bit about what he and Tybour had been up to recently. "He's taught me how to move big heavy things with magic! We've been working on freezing water, heating water and causing ice to turn directly into steam! He tried to teach me to... I mean, we've been working on protection spells a lot too. Kinda scary to have Haningway fire arrows at me and throw torches at me from a few feet away, but I've got the hang of it and haven't been hurt at all!"
He'd almost slipped up in his excitement and let the secret out about Tybour teaching him to portal. Definitely not something Tybour was supposed to be teaching him. There were strict rules about what could be taught at what age. The Wizard's Counsel was pretty strict about a lot of things and portal magic was one of them. It was considered very dangerous. An incorrect calculation or a mistake, even just losing concentration at the wrong moment could hurt or even kill someone, the Wizard or some innocent person who just got caught up in the spell. Opening a portal was like cutting reality with a giant razor blade and things in the way of that blade didn't fair well. Rishmond had first hand experience with that from the first day he arrived here in Malminar, the opening and closing of a portal had to be done carefully and exactly.
That wasn't the only part of the whole lesson that Tybour had warned Rishmond to keep quiet. It had taken Rishmond several days of trying before he got any results attempting to use a portal spell. Tybour had said this was not unusual as the spell was complex and the concept difficult for some to fully grasp. It often took new Wizards several months of supervised, careful work before they were able to generate a viable portal. More practice once they were able to make one to make one that stayed open and didn't randomly close, or change output location unexpectedly. On his second try at portal magic, Rishmond had achieved success, just not in the traditional way. Tybour had told him to concentrate on a place he knew, a place he could picture in his mind and create a connection between where he was and where that place was, sort of like imagining a string between the two places, a string of magic, concentrating on that feel of the two places being joined. The lesson was interrupted by a soldier entering the room, taking Tybour's attention away from Rishmond for just a moment, and in that moment Rishmond had found himself at the destination he'd fixed in his mind.
He stood in the small kitchen in the west wing of Wizards Library. It was empty of anyone this time of day, one of the reasons he'd chosen it as his destination. The smell of sea air and a warm summer breeze in a grassy meadow mixed oddly with the smell of grease and food cooked earlier in the day. The smell of the magic was different than that he'd smelled when other Wizards portaled, and he didn't remember the swirling opening, or stepping through into the kitchen.
Rishmond had spent a few minutes to raid the pantry a bit. There were always cookies and jerky and he was feeling a bit hungry as it was nearing lunch. He got himself a cold glass of milk as well, wishing there was some sweet acradious brew left, but it didn't stay around long. He left the kitchens and headed up the hall to the stairs back to Tybour's laboratory. The stairs were narrow and circular with shallow steps that were often uneven. Their depths varied inconsistently. Tybour had said it was to give advantage to defenders trying to keep invaders from climbing the stairs. Rishmond was used to them by now and climbed quickly. He was excited to tell Tybour what he'd done, even if Tybour had already done it, it wasn't what he was being taught, so he must have discovered one of the secret Wizard ways of getting around. Tybour was going to be proud of him!
He'd exited the stairs through the small door at the end of the hall to find Haningway and several of the Phoenix company Wizards rushing about like a host of devils and monsters were descending upon the castle. Tybour stood at the end of the hall outside the door to the laboratory, his head bent near to Ele Walsing's speaking urgently to her. Rishmond turned to one of the Wizards near him and reached out a hand to grab his arm. It was Walsh, a young man Rishmond often trained with when Tybour wasn't around to teach. "Walsh? What's going on?"
"Hey Rishmo... Rishmond! Hey! Where have you been?!" Walsh grabbed on to his arm and half turned him as if checking to make sure it was him. "Tybour says you disappeared! What.. Never mind!" Walsh turned and yelled up the hall at Tybour, "Hey! I found him! He's here and he appears to be alive and well!" The entire hall went silent for a full second before everyone began to talk at once, crowding around Walsh and Rishmond.
"What the hell? Where did you go? Where have you been? Did something take you? Did you run off and not tell anyone? The frag man!" Questions and comments came faster than Rishmond could make sense of them least of all answer them.
"Hey! You're gonna trip us both up!" Cantor's insistent hollar brought Rishmond out of his reverie and back to the here and now. They'd arrived at the little cove they were going to be sailing from. Drak stood near the water at the bow of the boat there, just out of the waves. Cantor removed her arm from about Rishmond's shoulders and stepped away a bit to glance back at the two following. "Let's go!" She glanced at Rishmond before breaking into a run to cover the short distance to the boat.
Drak greeted them all silently, jutting his chin out and head up in a mute greeting. He was taking his duties as guide and protector on this trip very seriously. Typically Drak was hard to shut up once he got to talking. He was always full of information, trivia mostly, about everything around. When he wasn't talking, he was reading, more than any Wizard Rishmond had met yet. It didn't seem to matter what he read, not to Drak, he read anything he could get his hands on and sometimes things that he shouldn't have his hands on. He was smart too and a great friend. He knew a lot about magic and spells at least the theory, he wasn't very good at using magic, he could do it, he just wasn't very good at it.
The group wasted no time, throwing their things into the boat and helping to push it out into the water. They all climbed aboard and began rowing the kilometer out to the island. The ocean was calm so the rowing was easy and the trip uneventful. It struck Rishmond as odd that there were no barriers or protections to keep anyone from rowing out to the island. With it being off limits by official proclamation from King Malminar, one would think the King would have had some Wizard put something around the island to keep people from doing exactly what they were doing now. He said as much to Cantor.
"They tried that at first, but you know how there's the protection around Malminar that keeps Warlocks out? Well, seems when they set up barriers and magic to keep people off the island, it interfered with the border, and it kinda made the island a sorta beacon for undesirables. A few Warlocks over the years were drawn to the place and the Wizards decided it was best to just let the God's protections continue to protect whatever is out there under the island. No one watches the place either. Guess they figure the magic that's set out there will keep things safe enough, as it has done for over 300 turns. And the signs and warnings on the island itself seem to work well enough to keep everyone away... Everyone but us that is!" She elbowed Rishmond in the side and grinned like she'd just saved the world from Demons.
They reached the island and had to row around to the far side to get to a small natural jetty jutting out into the ocean. Drak and Cantor had hammered a couple of steel bars into the rock as a place to tie the boat up. They all worked together to dock the boat against the rock, setting some battens to keep the hull from striking the rock and getting damaged. They all scrambled out of the boat and onto the fairly flat rock. Leaving the oars in the boat and grabbing their packs, the group made their way up the rocky shore. Several big signs were spaced along the shore of the rocky little island, each one repeating the same message in at least three languages. "Beware! This island is under the protection of the King of Malminar. This island contains dangerous high level magics and will kill you. Do not shelter here, do not explore here, do not stay here. It is forbidden by the King of Malminar and the Malminar Wizards Counsel to step foot on this island."
The island was small, not more than two kilometers at its widest and a bit less than 3 kilometers long. Roughly shaped like a crooked teardrop with the little jetty they'd docked to a jut off the fat part. The whole island kind of curved slightly around the jetty protecting it slightly from the bigger waves of the ocean and hiding the boat from the distant shore. A single tree grew from the highest point of the island, a twisted, gnarled thing, more trunk and branches than leaves. How it survived out here exposed to the salt water and wind was a mystery to Rishmond. This was were they were headed. The entry to the caves beneath the island was nestled in the thick, twisted roots of that tree.
The group arrived there in short order, scrambling over the sharp, damp rocks that made up the island. It appeared to be one solid rock, the surface of which was pitted and split creating sharp edges and ridges that were easy to turn an ankle on. Falling to your hands would cause cuts from the sharp rocky edges, you learned quickly to protect your skin from the rocks. Even Toby wore boots and thick pants to scramble about on this island.
They arrived at the door to the caverns. The door that used to block the entry was now but broken hunks of splintered wood, still weathering the wind and water when it should have disintegrated many years ago. Legend says one of Malminar's Wizards discovered the door over 200 turns ago and that the door was as strong and whole on that day as on the day it was installed. The Wizard had spent days trying to disarm the traps around the door so he could open it safely. When he'd thought he'd finally removed all of the traps, he'd opened the door only to be vaporized by a blast that tore the door to pieces and killed two others on the island.
The rocky surfaces around the door definitely looked as if they'd been smoothed by some extreme heat, melted smooth around the doorway and several meters out between the two big roots of the tree that framed the entrance. The roots also appeared to bear the marks of an explosion and fire, the wood around the doorway and surrounding the path to the entrance smooth and polished.
"Don't touch the tree as you enter, touching the tree will cause splinters in whatever you touch it with, painful splinters that are very hard to remove. Not fun. I spent a week sick because of them," Cantor instructed as they approached the doorway. "Once inside, touching the roots or wooden forms that look to be made of the roots isn't dangerous at all."
Drak stepped first through the entrance, walked a bit into the darkened interior and picked up a torch from a small pile on the floor. He spoke the words of a fire spell and sparks ignited the oily grapest caked on one end of the wooden torch. The rest of the group filed in after him, each picking up a torch and lighting it from Drak's. Cantor was the last to enter.
The day outside was warm and a bit muggy, with very little wind, but the air here in this chamber directly beneath the tree was cool and much drier than outside. The smell was pleasant, a mix of dirt and wood and a musky smell like acradious blossoms. The smell of the sea was completely absent.
The chamber was not large, big enough that they could all stand in it without crowding, but only just. Two archways lead to stairs going down into the rock and darkness. Rishmond knew where they'd be heading, Cantor and Drak had told them all enough times as they planned this trip over the last month. Down the passage to the right to the first landing and then down the tunnel off the landing to the left. This would lead to the first wonder, the cave of rainbows Cantor called it. A large cave with walls lined with crystals of all kinds and colors. The light from torches was supposed to make them dance and cast rainbows around the cave like a magic light show. That's where they'd leave their packs so they didn't have to carry them around everywhere as they continued on the tour Cantor had planned for them. The goal would be to pass through several caves with the paintings on them before ending in a cave deep beneath the ocean's surface where a whole wall of the cave was like glass and they could watch fish swim by the island and observe the colorful coral on the bed of the shallow ocean here near the island.
Cantor lead the group down the steps, winding deeper into the rock. The spiral stairs came to an open landing about six meters down from the entry chamber, Cantor turned to the left and entered the tunnel there. The tunnel angled downward slightly. The walls were smooth and painted, depictions of people on the sea in small boats, or pictures of large ships without sails creating a wake on the open ocean with no visible means of propulsion. Depictions of Merions, Humans, Gods and Hippocampi near beaches or interacting on boats, some even with Humans swimming in the sea with Merions and Hippocampi. The images were as bright and sharp as any newly painted image Rishmond had ever seen, except for in a few places where a growing root had pushed through the wall and caused a small chunk of stone to fall away.
The Cave of Rainbows was everything Cantor and Drak had said it would be. The light from the five torches danced and played off the thousands of multicolored crystals covering the walls of the natural cavern, from deep indigo to sunset red, all the colors danced and sparkled. Tiny rainbows formed in the air and on the faces and clothes of each member of the team. The ever shifting lights seemed to dance to some unheard festival music, swirling first in one direction and then changing on a whim to circle in the other direction. A few crystals in the walls were much bigger than the others, bigger than Rishmond's head.
Rishmond found one in particular fascinating, a large deep blue crystal as big as his head. It was multifaceted and seemed to be polished to a high sheen. It stuck out from a chalky looking bit of stone that was not as soft as it looked. It was low on the south wall and the more Rishmond gazed into the crystal the more positive he was that something was trapped inside it. He held his torch closer to the crystal to get a better look. A shadow moved within, distorted in the flickering torch light. Suddenly a face grinned at him from deep within the crystal! A woman's face, grinning at him in a mad distorted way! The face rushed toward Rishmond and a high pitched sound split his left ear. Rishmond fell back away from the blue crystal as Cantor fell to the floor of the cave, laughing a high-pitched laugh and kicking her feet in utter amusement at her prank on Rishmond.
"Oh my! You shoulda seen your face! And you jumped like a startled hopper!" The others joined in laughing at Rishmond's fright. Rishmond grinned, and laughed at himself as well, letting the protection spell around himself fade quickly. Unlikely anyone else would have noticed the spell, but Rishmond thought for certain the others would smell the odor of the spell. Tybour said few Wizards could actually detect the odors of spells, in fact he said spells didn't actually have any smell, but instead some Wizards olfactory senses were triggered by magic directly with no actual smell in the traditional sense. The same with the taste associated with spells, just the magic making a Wizard think he could taste the magic. Tybour wasn't great at explaining anything that didn't directly interest him, and as long as being able to smell and taste a magic spell gave him an advantage, Tybour didn't really care about the why. The smell of metal, oil and leather was beginning to fade as was the taste of tree bark in Rishmond's mouth.
The laughter died down as the light in the chamber suddenly shifted, the rainbows seemed to converge on Rishmond, forming into a single brilliant rainbow arching over Rishmond's head. A clear beautiful tone, like a clear bell rang through the cavern, echoing from the walls. The sound faded into momentary silence followed by a cracking sound like a large tree falling in a great wind. Across the chamber opposite the exit archway, a new opening suddenly appeared, crystals and rock moving magically aside. A series of odd snapping sounds was followed by lights illuminating the new opening and a set of stone stairs heading downward.
"Is this normal?!" Rishmond grabbed Toby's shoulder, pulling him with him as he moved them further from the new doorway. The entire team backed away, gathering together instinctively behind Rishmond as he held both arms out as if to protect the whole group. Cantor was just behind him and Toby. "No! This has never happened before! We should leave," she said breathlessly. "We don't want to be here if a trap goes off. This is God magic and we shouldn't mess with it... "
A noise came from the new opening in the cavern wall, like a small rock being kicked down a rocky path. A moment later a squat, squarish crystal... shape, like a person but squared and cut from crystal, no more than four feet tall, two ams and two squat fat legs, or a reasonable semblance thereof, climbed the last step to the landing just beyond the entrance. It paused for a moment before making its way in an odd rolling, waddling movement through the opening and into the Cave of Rainbows.
The group of five youngsters huddled tighter together, Rishmond felt hands on his arms and pulling at his shirt, he wanted to back way further but was prevented by the press of those at his back. He kept his eyes on the crystal golem before him expecting to have to react to an attack at any moment. He bent his elbows and pointed his open palms at the creature.
"Hello. Welcome to Denisisie's Hall. You may call me Torg if you wish, or you may give me a name you are more comfortable with. I am a crystal construct left here to guide the worthy to an audience with Denisisie, however, she is not here at the moment, but she has left a message and you may wait in comfort in her lounge until she returns. I have sent notice that a worthy one has arrived. She should be here soon, I am sure."
The little crystal person spoke strangely, its voice monotone and staccato. Rishmond watched its face, a collection of different crystals forming eyes and a nose against the grayish quartz that appeared to make up most of its body. Its mouth was just an opening, a crack in the crystal that moved and reformed with the words it was making.
Rishmond watched, fascinated as lines of magic flowed within its semi transparent body. He was able to track the magic as it moved, watching the flows change and adjust to move the different parts of its body. A dark, roughly circular blob filled the top part of its head, like a hunk of obsidian glass. Silver sparks erupted and died over and over deep in the dark crystal, like distant fireworks on a dark night.
"Not to worry worthy Wizard, the runes and protections beyond this entry have all been deactivated by me and your way forward with me will not be hindered. I will lead the way and no harm will come to you or your companions. You have proven your worth by the might and skill with which you cast a complex and difficult spell. However, if you have any companions not in this room, you should tell them to return to the surface and wait as the runes and protections throughout the complex will be reset and reactivated."
The little crystal golem turned and stepped back through the opening to the top of the stairs. Its head swiveled around 180 degrees and its eyes locked back at Rishmond, waiting.
"What the hell is that?" whispered Toby loudly. "I've never seen anything like that! Rishmond, what did you do? Is he talking about you? Did we set off some trap?"
"What did you do, Rishmond? Did you do something?" Cantor spoke calmly but firmly, attempting to quell her own fear as much as calm the rest of them. Her hand gripped Rishmond's arm tightly, to the point of discomfort.
"Perhaps we should just return to the surface and leave it,' said Rishmond quietly, turning his head toward Cantor but keeping his eyes on the little crystal creature across the room. "Let's just back out slowly and then leave. He said if we had others they should leave before the protections were reset. If we don't leave now, we may never be able to." Rishmond stepped back a little and turned slightly toward Cantor. He lowered his voice and leaned in, pulling Toby in as well, the rest of the group gathered close. "He called himself a construct. I've read about them. There aren't any around any more, but they were once used by the God's as simple servants and guardians. This one apparently doesn't know about the Blessing. He thinks the God he served is still around and coming here to meet with us. What happens if he doesn't let us leave until she gets here? We'll be here forever. We need to leave now."
"You're right," Cantor whispered back. "Let's back slowly away and then run when we get out of here."
"What if the message he sent to Denisisie is what the God's have been waiting on to return?" Drak's whispered question caused Rishmond and Cantor to both whip around and stare at him in surprise. The whole group stared at Drak for long silent moments. "What? I'm just saying...," Drak protested, shrugging. "I don't know, has anyone ever asked one of the God's servants to ask them to come back?" His whispers caused Rishmond to forget about watching the construct and when he remembered he spun quickly around to locate the little creature. It still stood, waiting, just through the opening on the landing at the top of the steps that descended down further beneath the island.
Rishmond watched the magic flow in the little crystalline body. It seemed slower, almost as if the thing were resting. The silver sparks in what Rishmond assumed was its mind were fewer and further between. It appeared to be resting, waiting on their response. Could this be the key to bringing the God's back to the mortal realm? Why now? Why here? Then again, why not here? Out of the way, not a place anyone would think the key to bringing the Gods back would be. And why now? What had he, or maybe another of the group, done to cause this servant of a God to come to life? He was kind of sure it was him, the golem had definitely seemed to address him. Golem? Where had he heard that word before? And what made him think it applied here? Something Tybour had said during one of his lessons. He'd think about that later. Golem seemed to fit well enough for now.
"Ok. Here's what we should do." Rishmond had made a decision. "I think it wants to talk to me. I must have done something or triggered something and now it thinks I am what it needs or wants. I will go with it and the rest of you will go back to the surface. Get off the island and wait for me a few meters offshore, keep an eye out and be careful. If I am not out in an hour, head home and tell Tybour what happened here. He'll know what to do and if anyone can come get me, he can." Rishmond held up his hands to quite the protests as the started. "Look, I know it isn't great, but who is the luckiest of us? I don't think this golem, I think that is what they used to be called, wants to harm me, but I also don't think it's all that smart and could cause someone harm if there's any issue or anyone makes a mistake. The less of us around to make a mistake, the less likely it will happen."
Toby's grip on Rishmond's arm tightened. "No. I won't leave you. Besides, if I showed up at home without you, I would never be able to leave the house again and Halmond would tan my backside. I'd do a lot of things for you Rish, but I ain't takin' a lashing for leaving you behind." Toby's words were brave and joking, but his tone betrayed just how worried he was, not just for Rishmond's life, but for all of them.
"Yeah. I'm not leaving so you can go see some fantastic part of the island without me and with a guide to its treasure." Cantor too was scared but trying to be brave.
The others echoed similar sentiments, some more brave than others, but all put their loyalty to the group and each other before their own fears.
Rishmond tried to protest, to come up with reasons they should go that would make them forget about any dangers to himself, but they were all as stubborn as he was and their harshly whispered protest eventually won out.
Rishmond turned back to look at the crystal golem still waiting for them, "Alright, we're coming with you, all of us. There are no others on the island or in the caverns. When we are ready to go, will the protections be disabled so we can go safely?"
Rishmond watched as the flow of magic in the things viens picked up pace and the golem answered, "We will provide safe passage to the surface, yes. Not to worry, we have no intention of harming you, and as a worthy Wizard, you have all the protections you will need and that will extend to your servants and attendants, Wizard Rishmond. Please put aside your fears, all of you, you have all been judged worthy with Wizard Rishmond and will be treated well as friends of the God Denisisie." It became apparent that the little golem had heard every word whispered in their little huddle. Or at least most of it.
Toby tugged a bit at Rishmond's arm, "Are we sure we want to do this? I definitely want to see more. I'm good with it. Are we all good with it?" Rishmond looked around the group, meeting the gaze of each and each nodded in response.
"Looks like we are agreed then. Let's go meet a God." Rishmond turned toward the newly formed archway and lead the group of six adventurers after the golem as it began to descend the steps further down below the island.
As the group followed the small crystal golem down the stairs into the God Denisisie's chambers, the shattered crystals and broken stone in the floor of the cavern where Rishmond had landed due to the scare Cantor had given him began to flow and repair itself. Bits of crystal moved of its own accord back to where it had been shattered apart from its whole, melding back together and becoming whole.
