Helbram’s eyes remained fixed to the ceiling above. The lights embedded into the stone felt dim to his tired eyes, and he could have sworn that they were multiplying the longer he stared at them. This turned only to be a result of his fatigue, for he soon saw the figures of two Leaf’s looming over him.
“You look like shite,” the half elf said in a blunt tone.
Helbram snorted, “What a shame, here I thought I was looking rather dashing.”
“Dashed against a stone, more like,” Leaf reached down and wrapped a hand around his arm, “Come on, we’re not finished yet.”
The warrior allowed the archer to pull him up into a sitting position. He waved Leaf away after that, doing his best to ignore the dull ache that gradually grew sharper in his chest. He took off his helmet and rubbed his eyes, noting that Elly had taken the place of his archer companion. He looked down and noticed too late that her hand was gripping the blade protruding from his chest.
The dusk elf tore the blade from his armor with a brisk tug, and fire flared through his chest, “Agh, the hells was that-”
He stopped when he saw Elly toss the blade to the side and gather Aether at her fingertips. She tapped the area around his wound, and as the Aether washed through his armor he felt the pain in his chest start to recede.
“I do not possess the skills of a Healer but I do have some experience with such wounds…” Elly said. Blue Aether gathered around two of her fingers as she brushed them across his cut. The pain reduced further, and Helbram could feel the gash of the blade start to seal itself. It felt cold, disconnected, like ice that was melting into his chest, which was a far cry from the fire that would flare in his wounds when he healed them with Ether. When the injury was fully sealed, Elly tapped his chest and gave him a reassuring smile.
“There we are, so long as you don’t fight any large magical constructs to the death you should be right as rain,” she said.
Helbram chuckled and stood up with a grunt, “Given our current pace I would not be surprised if three more came out of the stonework.”
“Gods… no more jinxes please,” Jahora said as she stood next to him, “Are you feeling alright?”
“Like I have been smashed to a thousand pieces,” he said with a sigh, “But still standing, as fortune would have it. What about all of you?”
The three of them made unsure gestures.
“I’m afraid that spell was the last of the magic I can do for some time,” Elly said.
“Likewise,” Jahora said, “Fairly certain a stiff breeze would knock me over at this point…”
Leaf held up his empty quiver and his pickaxe, which showed cracks all along its wooden handle, “You’re not going to get much from me, that’s for certain.”
“Brilliant,” Helbram said with a smile, “I dare say the Gods themselves will quake at the sight of such fearsome power.”
He walked over to the Goliath as he smacked his face, which pushed back some of the darkness that pokes at the corners of his vision. The giant of stone and metal lay still against the ground, the crystal at its chest cracked and bleeding small wisps of light from its fractured surface. He admired the golem for a moment, a chill creeping up his spine as the size of it finally dawned on him now that the rush of battle no longer carried him. He shook his head and directed his gaze towards the sword that protruded from the Goliath’s waist. Its pale metal gleamed in the light, revealing the scaled pattern across the blade’s profile. He felt a certain amount of admiration for the sight, but it was replaced by a sinking feeling in his chest as he followed the sword towards its tip. With a heavy sigh, he pulled the blade from the construct, grimacing as the warped and bent tip of the sword revealed itself.
“Please, just let this be a dream…” he muttered to himself.
His chagrin was interrupted by the familiar sliding of stone against stone. His head turned towards noise, seeing that the door at the far end of the room was now open. Glances from the group were thrown about, sharing an expectation that a ball of light was about to apparate and berate them. To an odd mix of relief and disappointment, nothing appeared, and Helbram shared a nod with the rest of the party before they formed up. He once again took point, but it was evident that the formation was more a formality rather than anything practical.
“I miss Bessie,” Leaf said in a tired tone.
“What, the Auroc?” Helbram asked.
“It’s the fur,” the half elf explained, “Run your hand through that and all your troubles go away.”
“I feel like I’m missing something here,” Elly said.
Jahora made a flippant gesture, “I’d say it’s a long story but it isn’t really, I’ll explain later.”
Elly shrugged and continued on, her dragging steps in cadence with the rest of the group as they moved forward.
Helbram’s sword was raised only by the slightest of degrees, yet felt as heavy as the boulder, and from the way they could only manage to creep forward he could tell that they were all on their last legs. He stopped to pick up his hammer as well, tying it lightly against his back with a half hearted knot before he slipped on his helmet once again. They maintained some semblance of formation as they continued forward, only to walk through the door into another empty room, this time with no door at its end.
“If the arse offers us a rest I’m collapsing on the spot,” Leaf muttered.
“Likewise,” Jahora agreed.
Helbram and Elly shared a snort, and the Weaver opened her mouth to say something before she was cut off by a bright flash of light at the center of the room.
“I must say, tis quite a feat to have made it this far,” the voice said from the orb, “for ones foolish enough to fall into such a trap in the first place I expected you to fail at the first trial, but here you stand, hale and hearty I hope.”
Helbram let his sword fall, its ragged tip scraping against the stone to replace the sigh he was too tired to form.
“Alas, my dear intruders, you have one more trial to overcome before you are granted your freedom.”
Leaf groaned.
“But fear not! For it is only a simple riddle… Answer it and you shall have your release.”
As the voice spoke, Helbram felt a shift in its tone. Gone was the flippant cadence, replaced by a weight that straightened Helbram’s back as he heard it. The others did the same, and in a moment their exasperation was replaced by anticipation.
“I am that which rests within the breath of the morning breeze, that which stone aspires to be. I am what rests before lovers’ first kiss, that moment that hangs between certain failure and success. I am time’s foe, the soul that lies beneath the dream of ambition itself. I am what echoes throughout history, and what every empire desires, is me… what am I?”
The orb fell silent, letting its words hang over them.
Helbram did the only thing that made sense to him, he sat down.
“Pardon, a bit too tired to think standing up,” he said as he removed his helmet again.
“I agree,” Jahora said as she plopped on the ground, “tis bit of a sour move to present this question to us when our minds remain so addled.”
“Twas most likely the point,” Elly said with a sigh, “but sitting sounds like a wonderful start.”
The dusk elf joined them on the floor, but Leaf remained standing, tapping his foot as the frown on his face grew wider.
“I feel like the answer is obvious,” he said, “that sort that makes you angry when you finally figure it out.”
“Perhaps… but by all means throw out any ideas,” Helbram said as he tapped his chin.
“Well that’s just it isn’t it?” Leaf threw out his hands in annoyance, “The damned thing is so long that only one word would be able to fit it.”
“Yes, but perhaps it would be better to address things piece by piece…” Elly suggested.
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“Where do we start though?” Helbram leaned back and focused on the ceiling, “a few phrases in there are deliberately obtuse, namely the first one. Resting in the morning breeze certainly sounds poetic, but that could mean a variety of things.”
“True… gods know what rests before lovers’ first kiss,” Jahora snorted, “Well there are a few choice words, but I hardly think those are the answer.”
“Would it be that were the case,” Elly said with a smirk, “it would cast a different light on many things, that’s for certain.”
“What about what stone aspires to be?” Leaf asked, “All things considered I would say it does quite a good job of being rock.”
“Stone does have weaknesses,” Helbram said, “Namely weather, and men armed with hammers and too much time on their hands.”
“Invincible then?” Jahora suggested, “It would match with what every Empire desires.”
“But only that,” Elly drummed her fingers against the floor, “I suppose in a very wide interpretation it could fit to be time’s foe.”
“It doesn’t match with ambition though. It could be one ambition, but it wouldn’t be what underlies all ambition…” Leaf leaned against a wall and tapped the back of his head against it, “That leaves one last line to address.”
“Yes… what echo’s throughout history…” Helbram rested his chin against his palm, “Also open to many interpretations, too many…”
Leaf covered his face and growled, “Gods this is going to take forever…”
The group paused, then shared a collective groan.
“I told you, now I’m angry,” the half elf sat down and crossed his arms, “Just tell him the damned answer.”
Helbram turned to the others, “Anyone care to do the honors?”
Jahora let herself fall flat against the floor, “Too tired.”
Elly smiled, “I think it should go to you, you are the one that felled the Goliath.”
“Not without a significant amount of help,” Helbram said, “But I must admit, I both thank you and curse you for the gesture.”
The dusk elf giggled, “I see you too did not wish to stand.”
“Not at all,” Helbram stood up and stumbled forward as his legs almost gave out from under him. Sitting down had been a mistake, evident by the lead in both his legs and arms. He straightened his back as he approached the orb of light, looking directly at its center like he would meet any other person’s gaze. The orb did not speak to him as he stared at it, waiting patiently for his answer.
“Eternity.”
The orb flared at his answer, “Yes… Eternity.”
The voice was forlorn, wanting. It was a tone that caught Helbram off guard, but he had no time to question it, for the orb continued to grow brighter, and all he could see was light.
___
He woke to the gaze of Agatha staring down at him. His eyes locked to the elderly woman’s, noting the passive expression on her face as his vision cleared.
“It appears that you are the first one to wake,” she said in a calm tone, but there was a weight to it, a gravity to the voice that hid a question he felt compelled to answer.
“The others should be following soon,” He said.
Agatha’s expression shifted to a smile and she placed a hand on his shoulder, “Thank you.”
She turned away from him, but Helbram could see her back straighten as the sag in her shoulders started to lessen. The reason for this was evident as the elderly mage stood next to the unconscious body of Elly. She knelt down and grabbed her student’s hand, giving it a small squeeze before nodding to herself.
Helbram turned away from Agatha then, letting her have her moment as he made note of both Leaf and Jahora who, like Elly, were laid against a wall. Their eyes remained closed, but they were breathing calmly, and no traces of their trials were evident on their bodies.
After he confirmed his comrade’s safety, it finally dawned on him how bright the room was. Gone was the artificial light of the dream, instead replaced by a warm glow that he could only associate with the sun. This glow was spread through a chamber that towered two stories above him, but was far wider than it was tall. The room was carved from the same marble that greeted them in the Goliath’s chamber, but its structure was guided by a more deft hand, possessing curves and flourishes that were almost drowned out by the sea of shelves and books that lined the walls and bled out into the room itself. It would have felt cramped, but the height of the room and its open design lent itself to a space that gave off the illusion of boundlessness to his eyes as they wandered towards the waved edges of the chamber. The shelves themselves were made of a brighter stone, thicker at each corner to display various carvings etched into their make. Each shelf had a singular symbol as the main display, surrounded by designs made to illicit some element of the outside world. He saw one symbol nearly swallowed by flames that, were it not for their stone make, would have been indistinguishable from the real thing. Another looked to be swallowed by waves that washed around it, his eyes believing that the depiction of water would soon start to leak from the shelf itself.
It was too much stimulus to take in at once to his unconditioned eyes, and he cut his sight towards the far walls of the room, only to be met by a visual symphony that forced him to shut his eyes. As he opened them back up, he was greeted by stained glass windows, but rather than the rigid designs he’d seen before, these appeared to blend more like paintings, and he would have been fooled into thinking so were it not for their translucence as light shined through them. Within these windows were cities he could not recognize, men in armor designed by hands long lost to history clashing against beasts he’d not even heard depicted in legend. There was a rush in his chest, a fluttering that he’d long thought had been smothered by time and age. For a moment, a comfort and warmth had returned to him, and he felt as if he was listening to his grandfather read to him once again.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Agatha said as she approached him, “Now that we are in less dire circumstances I can take it all in…”
The elderly woman took in a deep breath then made her way to one of the shelves.
“I must say… tis cruel to show such fonts of knowledge, but to lock them away.”
Helbram gave her a quizzical look, and the elderly woman rapped against one of the shelves with her staff. It collided against the shelf with a pulse of pale Aether, and Helbram could see the briefest flash of a Virtue Lock appear before fading.
“Each shelf is like this,” Agatha said, peering through the room with eyes suffused with purple light, “Each with a different combination, set by minds from throughout Ruhian civilization.”
“How can you tell?” Helbram asked.
She perused the shelf with a hand on her chin, “I recognize some of these works, compiled all together in one convenient location, mixed with titles I don’t recognize from author’s I thought I knew everything about,” she smiled, “It is both supremely enticing and frustrating all at once.”
She stepped back from the shelf and directed her gaze towards the center of the chamber. Helbram followed her eyes and found himself staring at a large obelisk that spired halfway up the chamber. All the light from the windows fell upon this towering stone structure, and the shelves themselves orbited around the obelisk as it stood solemnly at the core of the chamber. The area around it was empty, and the obelisk itself remained bare of the many details that adorned the rest of the structures within the chamber. Agatha walked towards the spire, and Helbram followed after her, his footsteps echoing through the open room as he rushed to catch up with the older woman.
He may not have carried any of the damage from the dream on his body, but he still felt heavy as he moved. He stumbled for a moment, and was now aware of the shield that hung from his back. When that dawned on him, quickly drew his sword from its sheath, sighing in relief when he found the blade unblemished.
“Thank the gods…” He muttered to himself.
He shook his head and stowed his weapon, catching up to Agatha with a brisk jog. The elderly woman was examining a small carving that was only visible now that he was closer to the structure. It appeared to be a passage of some sort, but Helbram could not read it.
Agatha must have sensed this, for soon after he joined her she began to speak.
“Within lies my greatest creations, that which stands as the culmination of all my work. Yet, it is against all my wishes for them to ever wake. For if they do, then it means all we have done is lost,” she read.
“Is this in reference to their disappearance?” Helbram asked.
Agatha shook her head, “No, it isn’t. I believe it speaks about this library being lost…” She looked at the Obelisk again, “Tis strange, I do not sense much from within the obelisk, but I can’t help but feel intimidated from Azator’s words alone. The scholar in me wishes to crack it open and see what happens, but the common sense within tells me to leave such things alone.”
“I would say that common sense should prevail today. And for many days after, for that matter,” Helbram said in a tired voice.
Agatha laughed, “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to follow such instincts,” she turned around and a smile washed over her, “Ah, look who decided to finally wake up.”
Helbram turned, seeing Elly, Leaf, and Jahora were all back on their feet. They walked towards him and Agatha with dragging feet, still feeling the fatigue of the dream as he had.”
“Goodness, any slower and I’d believe you all to be walking dead.”
“I might as well be… I feel like shite,” Leaf said with half mutter.
“I just need a nap, absent of dreams this time,” Jahora said with a groan.
Elly’s eyes kept darting around the room, her face much brighter than the two that walked at her side. Wonder was clear in her eyes, glaring through the fatigue that dragged the rest of her body down, “I wouldn’t mind staying up a bit longer…”
Agatha snorted, “Not in your condition, entracing as this sight is we’d best get back to town. There will be plenty of time for research later.”
The elderly woman was quick about taking a spot at her apprentice’s side, and while Elly was pouting, the dusk elf followed the guidance of the hand placed at her back and began to march towards the chamber’s exit.
Helbram moved to follow them, but before he could he felt something hit his chest then fall to the ground. It landed with a clatter, and when Helbram looked down he saw a single coin on the floor.
“Oh come on, I expected you to be quicker than that,” Leaf said with an exasperated tone.
Helbram picked the coin up from the ground, “And this is for?”
“Don’t tell me your memory is fading in your old age,” the half elf said in a coy tone, “We made a bet and I’m honoring it.”
Realization flashed across Helbram’s face and he snorted, “I should have made a larger wager.”
“Yes, it’s your loss there.”
“Don’t forget about our bet!” Jahora chimed in, “I expect my payment next week.”
Leaf frowned, “Well no need to sound so confident about it. I’m going to relish taking your money.”
Jahora scoffed, “We’ll just have to see about that.”
The two continued to bicker as they marched towards the exit, their tones more jovial rather than angry.
Helbram moved to follow after them, but stopped to look around the room once more. He let the wonder overtake him once again for a brief moment, relishing in the discovery. He took in a deep breath and let it go, feeling the grin that was coming over him. He spread his arms out, letting it all wash over him as the realization of what he accomplished dawned on him
“Oi! If you just keep standing there we’re going to leave you behind!” Leaf yelled from across the room.
Helbram laughed and let his arms drop.
“On my way.”