The weatherbeaten velen skipper stood at the helm of his steam-powered ship and carefully guided it toward the base of the almost impossibly tall, razor-edged tower that caught the blue ocean’s reflection and the glint of the mid-morning sun.
On deck with him, a pale-skinned and slender man wearing a hooded cloak that fell to his feet, stood resolute, shading his bright green eyes with a long-fingered hand. A raven sweep of bangs fell across his forehead and his face was androgynous and a touch arrogant.
His other hand rested on a rapier at his waist. As he looked up, he spoke in resonant tones. “Thank you Captain. It was your navigational skill that got us here in one piece. I am grateful to you.”
The scarred, blue scaled velen gave him a questioning look. “I ain’t sure you oughta thank me, Zacharias. I ain’t go no idea why ye’re wantin’ to come to this Vis-cursed place at all.”
His younger companion’s full lips quirked into a wry smile. “I ask myself that question all the time, Captain. I’m seeking something but I don't know if I truly wish to face the consequences of finding it.”
The leathery face of the sea captain wrinkled into a frown. “Ye are mighty strange, boy. Mighty strange and no mistake.”
The silken-skinned man beside him grinned now. “You have no idea how true that is, Captain. No idea at all.”
A small party made up of one velen, one other laicar, a demvir and an enlil began to swing themselves and their gear onto the narrow platform at the base of Adamas Cor. The youthful laicar’s spare frame was deceptively strong as he easily lifted and hauled all of the gear that was needed for him and his companions.
Once they’d unloaded, the pale man spoke to the captain. “We’ll await your return in the agreed upon three month period. If we are not here when you return, wait three more months. If after that you don’t hear from us, assume we’re dead and report it to the authorities in Terminus.”
The captain raised one furry eyebrow at his younger companion. “Alright, lad, if ye say so. I can still take ya outta here, if ye change yer mind.”
One long-fingered, pale hand patted the velen on his broad shoulder. “That is a kind offer, Captain, but I’ve come here for a reason and I can’t turn back now.”
The battered seafarer shrugged. “Well can’t say I didn’t try ta help ye. I hope we’ll meet again.”
The razor-blade figure of the lanky young man hopped easily from the boat and cast off the lines before the captain turned and began motoring away, spinning the wheel and putting on steam.
Now Zacharias turned to his motley crew, flashing them a roguish smile. “Well that’s over with. Now let’s take a moment to suit up and talk tactics. Remember what we’re about to walk into, lads and lasses.”
The demvir in the party, a towering and sleekly metallic specimen, strode over to stand beside Zacharias. He leaned in close, lowering his voice. “So how much are you going to tell this lot about what we’re looking for?”
The lean, feral-looking young man smiled icily. “If I told them all of it, do you really think we’d keep them with us?”
Beltis, the demvir, shook his head imperceptibly. “What are they going to do once we’re in there and they face what’s waiting?”
Zacharias shrugged. “I picked them for their resilience and adaptability. I suspect they’ll survive although I will admit that they might not be all that thrilled about the situation.”
Beltis sighed and turned back to the task at hand. Zacharias strolled over to the enlil member of the group, a tall and powerfully built woman with wild purple and green feathers, a raptor’s hungry look and a rifle strapped across her back. Her keen gaze rose to meet the pale youth’s laconic expression. “What were you and metal boy whispering about over there, Zach?”
Her lanky companion shrugged. “Oh just commenting on what we might find in there,Iris. Nothing secret in that.”
The brilliantly coloured enlil gave him a hard glare. “There had better be things in there that are gonna pay for all of this. We were all promised rewards and I plan on getting everything I’m owed outta this.”
Zach flashed her a grin exuding confidence. “Oh you’ll get all of that and more out of it. I told you once already that what’s in there will change Araevis. I showed you the research!”
Iris snorted. “It’s easy to flash papers at us, I wanna see concrete shit.”
Her lean, sharp-edged companion pointed at the needle of crystalline glass. “Once we step in there, the doubts are going to vanish.”
The sharpshooter raised an eyebrow at him but said nothing.
He turned his attention next to a particularly taciturn and decidedly imposing velen who was honing the points of a rather fearsome-looking trident. “What say you, Afarus?”
Afarus rolled his heavily muscled shoulders. “I say the sooner I get in there and start breaking heads, the better!”
Zach gave him a crooked smile. “Oh there’ll be plenty of that sort of thing, have no fear!”
Having made the rounds of the soldiers, he turned his attention to a gangly laicar woman with wildly tufted hair who was busy jotting observations in a notebook while consulting a device set up in front of her.
Zacharias looked at the machine and then towards the researcher. “Is it working as it should, Graciela?”
The small woman moved with practiced ease as she worked the device. “It is indeed reading energies from inside the tower. It’ll need some tweaking but we’ll do that once we go in. Just make sure you protect me while I use it!”
The slim, tall young man swept his arm past the three warriors who were still readying their weaponry. “As you see, that won’t be a problem. I don’t think I am too shabby in that regard either.”
Graciela frowned. “Even still, we are potentially facing grave danger once we go in.”
Zacharias inclined his head. “What else am I paying you for? It’s the old thing about great risks and great rewards.”
The spry woman stared hard at him for a moment and then went back to her task, adjusting knobs and dials while muttering to herself all the while.
Once the pace of activity had slowed, Zacharias gave a sharp whistle. “It looks like we’re ready to get into the tower. I want Beltis to be the first one in. I’ll send Afarus in next and then Iris. She can cover any longer range threat. I will have Graciela beside me, the device will be on the self-propelling cart and we’ll go carefully.”
He paused to take a breath and went on. “I’m not expecting any immediate threat but we’re dealing with Adamas Cor so who knows what we might face. Everyone be careful and pay attention. We can’t get anywhere if we’re dead.”
The group arranged itself as Zach had indicated. They began to proceed slowly up the ramp. Iris swung her rifle into a ready position and Afarus tested his trident’s grip. Beltis had a cutlass at his waist that he drew forth and a key in the other hand.
As he stopped in front of the door, he slid the key into a recessed lock panel and gave it a twist. There was a momentary pause and then the great crystal door began to open in eerie silence. The interior was a cool aquamarine shade, lending a tranquility to the scene that was deeply deceptive.
Iris swept her rifle around, sharp enlil vision seeking a target, while Beltis slowly lead on with Afarus towering beside him. The silence was oppressive, worrying in the stillness that surrounded the group.
It was Zach who stopped the group with a word. He stepped forward and stood still, emerald eyes narrowed. He slid onward and whispered to himself as he drew his narrow rapier and began pushing it ahead of him. It seemed to hover in air until it made contact with a seemingly invisible wall.
“There’s an illusion here. We need to be careful. I believe if I touch this and say this dispelling incantation, we should reveal what is hidden.”
His hand slipped out cautiously and he muttered under his breath. There was a shimmer and the seemingly empty corridor was split by a chasm, narrow enough to jump, but looking down Zach could see that it plunged down into impossible darkness. Without checking, they would have all fallen into that void below them.
Afarus swore and spat. “Bastards! I hate shit that I can’t see!”
His slender companion chuckled. “There will be plenty of that in here, I’m sorry to say.”
Each of the group made the jump, Beltis carrying Graciela’s equipment and stood, glancing back to make sure no attack could come from behind them.
Zach motioned for Iris to come stand beside him. “I need your eyes up high, watching our blinds while I make sure we don’t run into more trickery.”
Iris nodded, systematically sweeping her eyes from side to side, vigilant as the lanky, tall young man concentrated on what lay ahead, magically speaking.
It wasn’t long before the whole party came to a halt as Iris let out a piercing whistle. Her rifle swung out, tracking a target. “What…the hell is that?”
A figure was floating down toward them, in a serene drift that seemed propelled by a wind none of them could feel. It was clad in white robes that flared out around it as it fell downward. Iris glanced at Zach. “Should I take the shot?”
Her alabaster-skinned companion shook his head. “No. Everyone stay alert but take no action. I sense no illusory magic at work.”
The figure came to rest before them in one elegant motion. It was lithe, graceful and tranquil as it moved slowly toward them. It was walking but the motion had a spectral quality to it.
It stopped ten paces or so from them and raised a pale hand in greeting. “I have not seen you in this place before. Are you newly come to Adamas Cor? I bid you welcome but I must ask your business here.”
Zacharias smiled and left his expression open. “May I ask about your identity first? I am curious as I didn’t know this place had a guardian.”
The androgynous figure in front of them inclined its cowled head in acknowledgment of the request. “I am not a formal guardian of this place. I suppose you would say that I am more of an observer of the spiritual and material activities here.”
Zach paused for a moment before he spoke. “We are here seeking an understanding of the energies and beings at work in this place. We are explorers and knowledge questers.”
The being in front of them was silent for a few moments before it spoke again. “Many seekers come here. I sense the focus of your purpose, yet I am not entirely sure you are telling me the whole truth.”
The rest of the group glanced at Zacharias, waiting to hear his response. He didn’t flinch or blink. “I have reason not to give everything away to you. I have no reason to trust you, I don’t know you after all.”
Again the pale, diaphanous figure was silent for a few moments before replying. “It is a fair answer. I will only say this to you - whatever intention you bring to this place has an effect. Be aware that there are consequences to the choices made here.”
The lean young man facing the shrouded figure gave it a twisted smile. “Oh I am well aware of that fact. We’ll treat this place with the respect any semi-rational person understands it deserves.”
Their enigmatic interlocutor again inclined the cowl it wore. “Very well. I shall visit you again in short order, to view your progress.”
Now the being rose again, climbing into the vastness that soared above them, becoming lost in the blue shadows that waited for it. Zach turned to the party around him and shook his head. “I guess there’s no time like the present for the oddness to start.”
Having encountered their strange acquaintance, the little band made their way deeper into the recesses of the jagged spire. A pervasive, oppressive feeling filled the air and left them nervous and rattled. Everyone was on high alert, weapons primed and eyes roving.
Zach strode along, lanky frame flowing, as Graciela fell into step beside him. “I need to set up the device. I want to get some readings before we go much further.”
The lean young man flipped his bangs out of his eyes. “Okay. I think we’re about to move into a chamber of some sort here. It’ll be a good opportunity to stop and take stock, so you can set up then.”
The feeling of a colossal, echoing space grew more pronounced and as they turned a corner, they found themselves staring at a massive room. The vaulting heights were wreathed in mist and the room was full of icy illumination.
After Zach called a halt, Afarus and Iris went on patrol while Beltis set down Graciela’s device and walked over to the slender young man with his emerald eyes focused on the chamber. “So boss, what’s on your mind?”
The angular man pursed his lips and remained silent for a moment before answering. “I don’t like the feeling I’m getting here. I can’t sense any magic but my intuition tells me it’s around. We need to be ready, I think an attack is possible sooner rather than later.”
All of the members of the little group not involved in the device set up circled Graciela as she worked. Their senses were keyed up and the feeling of dread continued to grow in them.
It was Beltis who first noticed that something was wrong. He stood up straight and was about to call out when he found himself unable to move. He was seized and frozen in place. Zach next found himself unable to move. Iris tried to fire a shot at the suddenly approaching shape but was frozen mid-motion. Graciela collapsed in front of her device.
As they all stood, rooted to the spot, a grating and metallic voice filled the air. “We have found you. We will now take you, for there is much to show you.”
One by one, the members of the group fell to the ground, blackness welling up to take their minds away and leave them in an endless sea of darkness.
On deck with him, a pale-skinned and slender man wearing a hooded cloak that fell to his feet, stood resolute, shading his bright green eyes with a long-fingered hand. A raven sweep of bangs fell across his forehead and his face was androgynous and a touch arrogant.
His other hand rested on a rapier at his waist. As he looked up, he spoke in resonant tones. “Thank you Captain. It was your navigational skill that got us here in one piece. I am grateful to you.”
The scarred, blue scaled velen gave him a questioning look. “I ain’t sure you oughta thank me, Zacharias. I ain’t go no idea why ye’re wantin’ to come to this Vis-cursed place at all.”
His younger companion’s full lips quirked into a wry smile. “I ask myself that question all the time, Captain. I’m seeking something but I don't know if I truly wish to face the consequences of finding it.”
The leathery face of the sea captain wrinkled into a frown. “Ye are mighty strange, boy. Mighty strange and no mistake.”
The silken-skinned man beside him grinned now. “You have no idea how true that is, Captain. No idea at all.”
A small party made up of one velen, one other laicar, a demvir and an enlil began to swing themselves and their gear onto the narrow platform at the base of Adamas Cor. The youthful laicar’s spare frame was deceptively strong as he easily lifted and hauled all of the gear that was needed for him and his companions.
Once they’d unloaded, the pale man spoke to the captain. “We’ll await your return in the agreed upon three month period. If we are not here when you return, wait three more months. If after that you don’t hear from us, assume we’re dead and report it to the authorities in Terminus.”
The captain raised one furry eyebrow at his younger companion. “Alright, lad, if ye say so. I can still take ya outta here, if ye change yer mind.”
One long-fingered, pale hand patted the velen on his broad shoulder. “That is a kind offer, Captain, but I’ve come here for a reason and I can’t turn back now.”
The battered seafarer shrugged. “Well can’t say I didn’t try ta help ye. I hope we’ll meet again.”
The razor-blade figure of the lanky young man hopped easily from the boat and cast off the lines before the captain turned and began motoring away, spinning the wheel and putting on steam.
Now Zacharias turned to his motley crew, flashing them a roguish smile. “Well that’s over with. Now let’s take a moment to suit up and talk tactics. Remember what we’re about to walk into, lads and lasses.”
The demvir in the party, a towering and sleekly metallic specimen, strode over to stand beside Zacharias. He leaned in close, lowering his voice. “So how much are you going to tell this lot about what we’re looking for?”
The lean, feral-looking young man smiled icily. “If I told them all of it, do you really think we’d keep them with us?”
Beltis, the demvir, shook his head imperceptibly. “What are they going to do once we’re in there and they face what’s waiting?”
Zacharias shrugged. “I picked them for their resilience and adaptability. I suspect they’ll survive although I will admit that they might not be all that thrilled about the situation.”
Beltis sighed and turned back to the task at hand. Zacharias strolled over to the enlil member of the group, a tall and powerfully built woman with wild purple and green feathers, a raptor’s hungry look and a rifle strapped across her back. Her keen gaze rose to meet the pale youth’s laconic expression. “What were you and metal boy whispering about over there, Zach?”
Her lanky companion shrugged. “Oh just commenting on what we might find in there,Iris. Nothing secret in that.”
The brilliantly coloured enlil gave him a hard glare. “There had better be things in there that are gonna pay for all of this. We were all promised rewards and I plan on getting everything I’m owed outta this.”
Zach flashed her a grin exuding confidence. “Oh you’ll get all of that and more out of it. I told you once already that what’s in there will change Araevis. I showed you the research!”
Iris snorted. “It’s easy to flash papers at us, I wanna see concrete shit.”
Her lean, sharp-edged companion pointed at the needle of crystalline glass. “Once we step in there, the doubts are going to vanish.”
The sharpshooter raised an eyebrow at him but said nothing.
He turned his attention next to a particularly taciturn and decidedly imposing velen who was honing the points of a rather fearsome-looking trident. “What say you, Afarus?”
Afarus rolled his heavily muscled shoulders. “I say the sooner I get in there and start breaking heads, the better!”
Zach gave him a crooked smile. “Oh there’ll be plenty of that sort of thing, have no fear!”
Having made the rounds of the soldiers, he turned his attention to a gangly laicar woman with wildly tufted hair who was busy jotting observations in a notebook while consulting a device set up in front of her.
Zacharias looked at the machine and then towards the researcher. “Is it working as it should, Graciela?”
The small woman moved with practiced ease as she worked the device. “It is indeed reading energies from inside the tower. It’ll need some tweaking but we’ll do that once we go in. Just make sure you protect me while I use it!”
The slim, tall young man swept his arm past the three warriors who were still readying their weaponry. “As you see, that won’t be a problem. I don’t think I am too shabby in that regard either.”
Graciela frowned. “Even still, we are potentially facing grave danger once we go in.”
Zacharias inclined his head. “What else am I paying you for? It’s the old thing about great risks and great rewards.”
The spry woman stared hard at him for a moment and then went back to her task, adjusting knobs and dials while muttering to herself all the while.
Once the pace of activity had slowed, Zacharias gave a sharp whistle. “It looks like we’re ready to get into the tower. I want Beltis to be the first one in. I’ll send Afarus in next and then Iris. She can cover any longer range threat. I will have Graciela beside me, the device will be on the self-propelling cart and we’ll go carefully.”
He paused to take a breath and went on. “I’m not expecting any immediate threat but we’re dealing with Adamas Cor so who knows what we might face. Everyone be careful and pay attention. We can’t get anywhere if we’re dead.”
The group arranged itself as Zach had indicated. They began to proceed slowly up the ramp. Iris swung her rifle into a ready position and Afarus tested his trident’s grip. Beltis had a cutlass at his waist that he drew forth and a key in the other hand.
As he stopped in front of the door, he slid the key into a recessed lock panel and gave it a twist. There was a momentary pause and then the great crystal door began to open in eerie silence. The interior was a cool aquamarine shade, lending a tranquility to the scene that was deeply deceptive.
Iris swept her rifle around, sharp enlil vision seeking a target, while Beltis slowly lead on with Afarus towering beside him. The silence was oppressive, worrying in the stillness that surrounded the group.
It was Zach who stopped the group with a word. He stepped forward and stood still, emerald eyes narrowed. He slid onward and whispered to himself as he drew his narrow rapier and began pushing it ahead of him. It seemed to hover in air until it made contact with a seemingly invisible wall.
“There’s an illusion here. We need to be careful. I believe if I touch this and say this dispelling incantation, we should reveal what is hidden.”
His hand slipped out cautiously and he muttered under his breath. There was a shimmer and the seemingly empty corridor was split by a chasm, narrow enough to jump, but looking down Zach could see that it plunged down into impossible darkness. Without checking, they would have all fallen into that void below them.
Afarus swore and spat. “Bastards! I hate shit that I can’t see!”
His slender companion chuckled. “There will be plenty of that in here, I’m sorry to say.”
Each of the group made the jump, Beltis carrying Graciela’s equipment and stood, glancing back to make sure no attack could come from behind them.
Zach motioned for Iris to come stand beside him. “I need your eyes up high, watching our blinds while I make sure we don’t run into more trickery.”
Iris nodded, systematically sweeping her eyes from side to side, vigilant as the lanky, tall young man concentrated on what lay ahead, magically speaking.
It wasn’t long before the whole party came to a halt as Iris let out a piercing whistle. Her rifle swung out, tracking a target. “What…the hell is that?”
A figure was floating down toward them, in a serene drift that seemed propelled by a wind none of them could feel. It was clad in white robes that flared out around it as it fell downward. Iris glanced at Zach. “Should I take the shot?”
Her alabaster-skinned companion shook his head. “No. Everyone stay alert but take no action. I sense no illusory magic at work.”
The figure came to rest before them in one elegant motion. It was lithe, graceful and tranquil as it moved slowly toward them. It was walking but the motion had a spectral quality to it.
It stopped ten paces or so from them and raised a pale hand in greeting. “I have not seen you in this place before. Are you newly come to Adamas Cor? I bid you welcome but I must ask your business here.”
Zacharias smiled and left his expression open. “May I ask about your identity first? I am curious as I didn’t know this place had a guardian.”
The androgynous figure in front of them inclined its cowled head in acknowledgment of the request. “I am not a formal guardian of this place. I suppose you would say that I am more of an observer of the spiritual and material activities here.”
Zach paused for a moment before he spoke. “We are here seeking an understanding of the energies and beings at work in this place. We are explorers and knowledge questers.”
The being in front of them was silent for a few moments before it spoke again. “Many seekers come here. I sense the focus of your purpose, yet I am not entirely sure you are telling me the whole truth.”
The rest of the group glanced at Zacharias, waiting to hear his response. He didn’t flinch or blink. “I have reason not to give everything away to you. I have no reason to trust you, I don’t know you after all.”
Again the pale, diaphanous figure was silent for a few moments before replying. “It is a fair answer. I will only say this to you - whatever intention you bring to this place has an effect. Be aware that there are consequences to the choices made here.”
The lean young man facing the shrouded figure gave it a twisted smile. “Oh I am well aware of that fact. We’ll treat this place with the respect any semi-rational person understands it deserves.”
Their enigmatic interlocutor again inclined the cowl it wore. “Very well. I shall visit you again in short order, to view your progress.”
Now the being rose again, climbing into the vastness that soared above them, becoming lost in the blue shadows that waited for it. Zach turned to the party around him and shook his head. “I guess there’s no time like the present for the oddness to start.”
Having encountered their strange acquaintance, the little band made their way deeper into the recesses of the jagged spire. A pervasive, oppressive feeling filled the air and left them nervous and rattled. Everyone was on high alert, weapons primed and eyes roving.
Zach strode along, lanky frame flowing, as Graciela fell into step beside him. “I need to set up the device. I want to get some readings before we go much further.”
The lean young man flipped his bangs out of his eyes. “Okay. I think we’re about to move into a chamber of some sort here. It’ll be a good opportunity to stop and take stock, so you can set up then.”
The feeling of a colossal, echoing space grew more pronounced and as they turned a corner, they found themselves staring at a massive room. The vaulting heights were wreathed in mist and the room was full of icy illumination.
After Zach called a halt, Afarus and Iris went on patrol while Beltis set down Graciela’s device and walked over to the slender young man with his emerald eyes focused on the chamber. “So boss, what’s on your mind?”
The angular man pursed his lips and remained silent for a moment before answering. “I don’t like the feeling I’m getting here. I can’t sense any magic but my intuition tells me it’s around. We need to be ready, I think an attack is possible sooner rather than later.”
All of the members of the little group not involved in the device set up circled Graciela as she worked. Their senses were keyed up and the feeling of dread continued to grow in them.
It was Beltis who first noticed that something was wrong. He stood up straight and was about to call out when he found himself unable to move. He was seized and frozen in place. Zach next found himself unable to move. Iris tried to fire a shot at the suddenly approaching shape but was frozen mid-motion. Graciela collapsed in front of her device.
As they all stood, rooted to the spot, a grating and metallic voice filled the air. “We have found you. We will now take you, for there is much to show you.”
One by one, the members of the group fell to the ground, blackness welling up to take their minds away and leave them in an endless sea of darkness.