Chapter 13: The Sealed Door

Ballan had only a split second to decide what to do before the Cave Terror was upon him. With Daginald's song ringing in his ears, he found himself moving almost automatically. He was filled with a certainty of purpose and a determination of spirit that had only been outshone by fear or adrenaline before. He opened his spellbook to the page he knew he needed, the pages fluttering rapidly as he did so.

A spellbook was just a prepared list of spells. Spells were simply sentences written with runes as the letters, and glyphs as the words. This was no different than carving glyphs into trees to stop Mortrunk - but this time, the trees were in the palm of his hand.

A blast of sonic energy burst from Ballan as he completed his spell, drowning out everything but Daginald's song. Even the creature's high-pitched screeches couldn't be heard over the sound. The entire cavern shook as the creature was blasted backwards - over the tunnel it had burst from, to the far side of the room.

Nearby, Tilda and Holgith got to their feet. Krakkus was already following the creature, eager to engage it, while Daginald circled around to Ballan's side. He offered Ballan an elbow as he continued to play his song, winking as he did so. Ballan accepted the help and got to his feet, ears still ringing.

"The boy's deafened it!" Daginald shouted. "It's as good as blind in the light - press the attack!" He punctuated his sing-song statements with a crank of the hurdy-gurdy, his voice trailing on the final word. Blind in the light…

On the other side of the cavern, Kahya made her presence known by savagely snapping one of the legs of the monstrous creature with a well-placed kick. She was out of reach of its massive claws before it managed to turn to face her, and Krakkus rammed his shield and blade into its now exposed flank. Tilda dropped back to stand with Daginald and Ballan, eyeing the stone door on the far side of the room, while Holgith bellowed and charged the creature.

Clearly caught off-guard, the creature let out a high-pitched whine that increased in volume until it was earsplitting. Ballan screamed and covered his ears as best he could, but the sound seemed to slip through his fingers. Even Holgith's charge was stopped in his tracks as the Cave Terror used the opportunity it had created to batter away its assailants. Kahya went sailing across the room, and it was all Ballan could do to cushion her impact with a swift wind spell before she hit the wall.

Krakkus had dropped his weapon to cover his ears, and the Cave Terror pounced on him, pinning him to the ground. Ballan could see him keeping the creature's enormous mandibles open with his hands, attempting to push the creature back. He scooped up his spellbook - as he had dropped it when the creature shrieked - but the Cave Terror sprouted a dagger from its eye before he could even cast a spell. Ballan had lost track of Tilda entirely in the chaos, but her aim was impeccable. The creature hissed and reared back, giving Krakkus time to scrabble away and collect his sword.

Finally, Holgith fell upon the creature with a fury, hacking away with his axe until it was still. Breathing heavily, he hoisted the creature's corpse into the pit it had crawled out of, and roared in triumph.

Ballan breathed for a moment, letting the pounding in his ears die down.

Daginald's song changed from one of courage and battle to a more calming melody, and Ballan found the tone matched his mood perfectly. He wasn't sure if Daginald was just that good, or if the song was helping him relax. Kahya walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder, thanking him silently for the assistance, and he just nodded. He took a deep breath.

Daginald began to regale those present with stories of other Cave Terrors he had seen or heard of, while using his bardic magic to heal Krakkus and Kahya's minor wounds. Ballan found his magic fascinating, but he would have to question him about how it worked later. For now, they needed to investigate this room.

Ballan looked up at the ceiling - at the small magical lights that lined the top of the walls. He could recognize the spell anywhere. It was the most basic lighting cantrip, something everyone learned while first studying magic. Impressively, it appeared to have been rendered semi-permanent… and set to trigger when people walked into this cavern. What's more, the spellcraft was not ancient. The mana used was clearly drawn from the Sea. This led Ballan to believe that the door - which Daginald had described as 'ancient' - and the lights were unrelated. It stood to reason that the same person who had excavated the tunnel into this chamber was the same person who had set up the lighting.

Looking around the room, it did not appear as though anyone had stayed here for any significant length of time. Nor was there any residual magical energy from the workings of a spell. Combined with the note left behind, this 'Trav' had clearly known they were going to find this place.

"Of all the dirty tricks - and where did he even find a monster like this?" Tilda complained, kicking the chitinous corpse of the cave terror as Holgith dragged it back to the tunnel it crawled out of.

"I don't think the Cave Terror belonged to anyone." Ballan commented, frowning as Holgith heaved the creature into the darkness below. "It heard us, and attacked. In fact…" He glanced up at the ceiling. "We'd probably have been a lot worse off without the lighting."

"What are you saying - he knew we were going to be attacked?" Tilda gave him a doubtful look. "That sounds an awful lot like a trap."

"Maybe he did." Ballan replied. "But if that's what happened, it was pretty stupid of him to set up lighting for us. From what you've told me, I don't think he's stupid."

"He already knew we were going to be here." Kahya pointed out, indicating the note Trav had left behind. "Perhaps he possesses some amount of foresight. Divination magic?"

"Maybe…" Ballan shook his head. He was getting caught up on small details. "These things will add up eventually. I think we need to ask ourselves - what was Trav doing here?"

One at a time, everyone turned to look at the large, partially open stone door.

It gave Ballan a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Well, let's go have a look, shall we?" Daginald urged, and began trotting forward once more. Wordlessly, they followed him towards the door.

It was opened wide enough for a person to step through, but not so wide as to be entirely ajar. It was like whoever had opened it had just slipped in… or out. No footprints were left on the stone floor, and the door itself was entirely featureless besides the carved circle. There were not even any handles. Holgith found the door easy enough to move, however, widening the entryway a little more. Nothing else happened as they stared into the darkness beyond. Ballan conjured a bit of light, and sent it into the darkened hallway.

"I don't recognize this architectural style at all." Daginald mused as they stepped into the strangely dust-free hallway. "Not Dwarven for certain, but it's not even Avonian. Hells, I'm not certain any of this was even worked with tools." He placed his hand on the smooth stone of the wall, shaking his head. "If magic was used, twas so long ago that it's faded."

The hallway itself was not very long, and terminated in a small set of steps descending towards another, partially open door. Both walls of the hallway were decorated, and Ballan raised his small, floating light to get a better view of what he was seeing. One wall simply depicted some sort of… idyllic natural paradise. Trees, streams, lakes, the sun shining overhead. The style was incredibly detailed, as if the stone had simply been shaped into the depiction using magic. The other wall was split into three pieces, each with its own mural. Unlike the other wall, these murals were simple and… abstract.

The first mural depicted a single circle, surrounded by twelve stars… or maybe starbursts… And nothing else. The second mural showed a door - or at least the shape of one. The circle stood in the center of the door, unbroken. A closed door, then?

The third mural was destroyed. Enormous gouges had been rent out of it, as though by the claws of a beast. Stone littered the floor around.

"The work of the Cave Terror, perhaps." Kahya mumbled, studying the murals alongside him.

"There's no language." Ballan said suddenly, furrowing his brow. "Whoever made this place - they didn't write anything down. There's no key or plaque, or description."

"Maybe they wanted to keep whatever this is secret?" Tilda pointed out, but Ballan shook his head.

"Then why record anything at all?" Ballan looked at the shapes again. What did it mean…?

"Come take a look at this!" Krakkus urged from the bottom of the steps at the far end of the hallway. Ballan could hear the other door being opened further by Holgith, and followed the sound of Krakkus' voice.

The final chamber in this strange place was smaller than the cavern outside. It was almost perfectly round, with a large pedestal in the center. On the pedestal, there was a depression - clearly meant to hold an orb of some kind. The orb, however, was missing.

There was nothing else in the room.

Ballan looked around blankly for a few minutes. Tilda did the same.

"…What the hell were you doing here, Trav?" Tilda muttered eventually, shaking her head. "Ballan, do you think Boots would have anything to say about this place?"

"Boots always has plenty to say, no matter the place." Ballan replied immediately. "But yes, I think he'd be very interested in learning what we've found here." He was getting a strange sense of deja vu, like he had been here before. Yet, he recognized nothing. What was this place? Who built it? Why didn't they write anything down?

…And why did he feel like he was supposed to find this? Ballan could not shake the feeling that they had been led here, deliberately… but why?

They investigated the strange room for another half-hour or so, but there really was nothing else to glean from it. No magical residue, nothing… Time had robbed them of any evidence of what had occurred here. It was obvious to Ballan that this Trav fellow knew something more about this place. They had followed his trail here, after all.

Well, the plan was still to find him.

"I've had my fill of this sunless hole." Tilda griped, a sentiment that was heartily echoed by Krakkus. Ballan took one last look around the room, then exited the strange structure with the rest of his cohort.

Exiting was simple. They paused for a moment to repair the broken barricades leading into the old quarry with a mixture of magic and muscle, and then Daginald escorted them quietly back out of the amphitheater. Ballan found himself blinking the sunlight out of his eyes for several minutes before he could see properly. They took a break to get their bearings, during which Tilda decided to go over next steps.

She produced her map and splayed it out on a bench next to her, pulling out a bit of charcoal and crossing off the Mason's District.

"Trav knows we're looking for him, that little stunt in the underground cave proved that." She pointed out, hands on her hips. "Which means he's not in the Mason's District at all, most likely."

"Ye'll want to case the Merchant's District next." Daginald pointed out. Tilda grimaced.

"We've got a bird-shaped problem that's gone to ground in the Merchant's District." Tilda pointed out, and Daginald raised an eyebrow. Tilda just shook her head. "I can check out the Merchant's District alone. Easier without you lot traipsing around behind me, to be honest." She jabbed a finger at Ballan. "Go back to your tower and tell Boots what we found. He may have something interesting to share."

"I think it's important we keep this discovery on the down-low." Daginald piped up. "We wouldn't want Malcom's people finding out about… whatever it is." Ballan furrowed his brow.

"Malcom. Lord Malcom - that noble we met at the chapel?" Ballan drummed his fingers against his spellbook. "It was his guards that arrested you and Krakkus, correct? And he said he was also looking for Trav. Why is he so interested in all this?"

Daginald and Tilda exchanged a glance, but it was Daginald that eventually spoke.

"Lord Malcom is the true power behind the Wardsworn." Daginald explained. "The entire organization is in his pocket. The Archbishop commands them nominally, but… Lord Malcom has the authority to command them as he sees fit." Daginald grimaced, not even bothering to play his instrument as he told the story. "And that's just what's obvious. The man is secretive, careful… and protective of his secrets. People that snoop too much, never get the chance to snoop again."

"Someone to avoid, then." Kahya commented resolutely. Tilda nodded.

"As long as we stay beneath his notice, we'll be fine." Tilda reassured everyone. "But it's true - he's definitely looking for Trav."

"Does he also want the crystals, do you think?" Krakkus asked.

"If he did, he just would've bought them from Trav." Tilda scoffed. "Or taken them. Or any number of other things - no, he probably wants them returned, just like the Archbishop. Trav must have taken something else from him. Something he wants back." She scuffed her foot against the ground as she said this. "And of course he's got us caught up right in the middle of it."

"I am hungry." Holgith complained, which started a laugh out of Ballan. The orcish man gave him a puzzled look, but Ballan just shook his head. Holgith certainly had a way of reminding them of the simple things…

"I suppose that's enough strategy for now." Ballan informed everyone as Tilda rolled up the map. "I'm heading back to the tower to tell Boots what we learned."

"Holgith will return with you, and get something to eat." Holgith proclaimed. Daginald offered to assist Tilda, while Krakkus said he had some errands to attend to. This prompted Tilda to furnish him with a series of warnings, during which Holgith, Ballan, and Kahya quietly exited the amphitheater.

On their way back to the tower, they managed to pick up some fruit for Holgith to eat, and Ballan was struck by how… normal everything felt. The last few weeks had been a hurricane of activity and adventure. His leg was mostly mended, and he was in the middle of the city, purchasing fruit from a stall for a friend of his…

The contrast to their adventure below ground was stark. There was so much danger, just outside this small veneer of civilization… But here, at least, there was safety. Or something like it.

Why, then, did that idea fill him with unease?

"It's strange." Ballan commented to Kahya, as they approached the tower. "I've taken it for granted that we don't want the wrong people to have the Arcanum Crystals." He shook his head as he spoke. "But… are the people who had the Arcanum Crystals before the right people?" Ballan gestured at the tower, and at the walls of the nearby university. "They were just… storing them, right? Couldn't something good have been done with them?"

"It has been my experience that those with power rarely choose to give it up." Kahya commented. "But I have been wondering the same thing myself." She glanced around the city dubiously. "I have been an outsider to this my entire life. Now that I have seen it…?" She frowned. "It makes me uneasy."

"I feel the same way." Ballan agreed, glancing at Holgith. The orcish man was unperturbed, which was a small comfort. "I've been wondering what this Trav fellow wants with them. Tilda said he hasn't sold them, so…"

"Do you think he wants to do something good with them?" Kahya asked, and Ballan just shook his head.

"I'm not sure." He led them up the steps to the tower, and placed his hand on the door. "But the crystals have been falling into the wrong hands. Maybe it doesn't matter what he wanted."

He pushed open the door, leading Kahya and Holgith inside, and then momentarily forgot what he was talking about, so shocking was the sight that greeted him.

Boots sat in the center of the room. Well, he was in a seated position, but he was actually floating nearly four feet off the ground. His legs were folded beneath him with his arms at his side. His robe billowed around him, and his eyes were closed. Books, cutlery, furniture, dishes, foodstuffs, and various implements swirled around him at dangerous speeds. Occasionally, he would exclaim in understanding, or snap his jaws around a floating piece of food. As everyone entered, he cracked an eye open to regard them, and everything suddenly came to a silent halt.

With as much speed as they had been orbiting Boots, the objects returned to their proper places. Save for the food, which piled up on a plate in front of Boots.

"Hello, hello!" Boots greeted them enthusiastically, floating to the ground and plucking a pastry off the plate in front of him. "Just doing some light reading, you understand! You all left before I awoke this morning, so I was catching up on my books…" He gestured at the voluminous shelves around him.

Holgith had already approached as things calmed down, and helped himself to the various baked goods on Boots' plate. Boots didn't bat an eye at this, instead extricating himself from behind the table to approach Ballan and Kahya.

"I trust your venture into the city was illuminating - where are your other friends?" Boots asked, and Ballan explained the situation. Holgith remained on the ground floor as Kahya, Boots, and Ballan walked upstairs to have a seat.

Ballan explained in detail what they had discovered beneath the quarry, and Boots sat with rapt attention as he did so. After he finished describing the door and the room, Boots scratched his nose contemplatively, deep in thought.

"I've never heard of anything quite like it - I shall have to investigate myself!" He declared, and stood up. "Later, of course. It's far too late in the day for such activities." He waved a large paw, and several tomes appeared in front of Ballan. "Field study is all well and good, but you are still my apprentice and there is theory you must master as well!" He patted the books on the table with a massive paw. "Tonight, you study!"

Ballan looked at the four massive tomes with something between excitement and horror.

"…I don't suppose you can teach me that whirlwind of thought trick?" Ballan asked. Boots just laughed, clapped him hard on the back, and trundled upstairs. Ballan looked helplessly at Kahya, who gave him a sympathetic look, but also excused herself to study the totem she had been given.

Ballan glanced at the tomes.

There were five of them. He only recognized one - a sort of dictionary of glyphs and runes called the Daeromnuncumbar - a dwarven word. It was widely regarded as a complete record of every glyph and rune ever discovered. The other four tomes were The Founding of the Arcanum, A Veiled Sea, Parted, Theoretical Magicks, and Alteration Fundamentals.

He set the Daeromnuncumbar aside. Undoubtedly, he would have to review the contents as time went on… Boots had given him nothing specific to study, which meant there was quite a lot in these books that he wanted him to learn. Ballan set his jaw, and dutifully picked up the first book in the stack - A Veiled Sea, Parted.

It was a tome on the source of all magic - The Astral Sea.

Ballan found himself swiftly engrossed in the tome, and lost the rest of the evening to his studies, taking notes. The Veil was an invisible and intangible barrier between the Astral Sea and their world. Notably, there was enough mana in the Astral Sea to flood the entire world and then some, if the Veil should ever be pierced. Although, the book indicated that such a thing was theoretical at best - and practically impossible otherwise. The supposed amount of energy needed to do such a thing fell swiftly into the realm of fiction.

When he finally decided to look up from what he was working on, the hour had grown late. He had not seen Tilda return, but he had been aware of Krakkus returning. He closed the tome and looked at his notes… and saw the beginnings of something. A spell. His… own spell, something simple he had devised. A homebrew for taking notes. He just needed to change a few things…

Minutes later, a new page was inscribed in his spellbook. He cast it, and a small, floating quill appeared. Completely physical. Then, as he began to speak, it jolted down towards the nearest paper, and began writing down everything he said. Ballan let out a cheer - the quill wrote down 'Wooo!' - and then quickly cleared his throat. It was late, and his hand ached - but that was a problem for past Ballan now.

In the future, Ballan resolved to solve all his problems with magic.