As the Salacious Maiden circled the Volanter island, the crew searched for Adalhard’s suggested landing zone.
Adalhard remembered the watery landscape and saw no change in the course of rivers, lakes, and tidal pools. He even saw the rock by the lake, standing firm, as it had for thousands of years.
Though it would be a difficult landing, Sylvia insisted on that space. On one side, trees hemmed in the rocky clearing, and on the other, the land dropped off straight into the lake.
Adalhard considered the proposed spot. He was eager to avoid the aggressive crabs but unsure of the precarious position.
“You’re the one who first suggested it. I say we let her try,” Cernunnos said.
“I suggested it before I really thought about the ship’s size.” Adalhard looked below at the fast approaching ground.
The fit would be tight, but he had to admit, it looked possible. Sylvia and Ginger had been piloting their airship for two years. Adalhard had only ridden with them for days, but in every instance, they proved very competent.
With some reluctance, Adalhard agreed, “Alright. Land on the clearing. If you can’t make it, go into the lake itself.” Adalhard considered the fish below, swimming in clear water. He decided they would be a non-issue for the boat.
“If you do make the clearing, we may end up with a scratched hull,” Ginger warned. “Maybe, we should just land in the water.”
“The ship will hover. Let me try it.” Amid utter silence, Sylvia guided the ship down.
The Salacious Maiden brushed tree tops and snapped a few high, weak branches, but it settled right above the small clearing with a jerk. Sylvia cut her limited propulsion, and Ginger set out their anchors. The ship bobbed, and the balloon cozied up to the trees, leaving them plenty of room to disembark, without an immediate step off the short cliff.
“I’m rather impressed.” Adalhard turned to offer more formal congratulations. He winced.
Cernunnos gave Sylvia and Ginger each a kiss, and the pilots smiled at him.
Adalhard just let it be. He looked at Inez and Eder. The Ferrans barely noticed the landing. They worked at the small table in the cockpit, embroidering several stretchy bands of cloth. The bands were sized for wrists and necks, and all were color coded.
In Suen, the Ferrans had packed materials and tools to make magical cloth. They had spent the trip making useful garments as well as practicing spells for impromptu battles. While they could write new spells and craft magical items with ease, Enchanted Textilers that spent most of their time in the workshop lagged behind other mages in surprise spellwork.
“So, which colors did you assign to us?” Cernunnos asked, looking down at their work.
Inez picked up a yellow set: wrist and neck band. She tossed it to Cernunnos. Eder grabbed a red set and handed them to Adalhard. For themselves, Inez saved orange, and Eder took green.
“Only four sets,” Eder said. “So, no underwater swimming for our pilots.”
“Oh, that’s fine by us.” Ginger dismissed the concern with a wave.
“I am sorry,” Cernunnos apologized again for tricking them into a dangerous trip.
He gave Ginger a hug around the shoulders, and Ginger smiled up at him.
Adalhard averted his eyes. He didn’t need to see Cernunnos handle his romantic relationships with ease. Adalhard reconsidered. Maybe, he needed to see it, observe it, and learn from it. But, he certainly didn’t want to. Adalhard looked back at Cernunnos. The older anthropologist no longer wrapped himself around Ginger.
Instead, Cernunnos held up his yellow bands and examined a magic circle that wove its way around the band. “So, we just wear them when we swim?”
Inez nodded. “They’ll allow us to breathe underwater. We wear them on our wrists and necks. They stretch. The neckband has the main magic circle. The wrist will be the backup. If you wear only the wristband, you’ll be able to breathe underwater, but you might feel winded.” Inez shrugged. “I guess. I’ve never tested them.”
Cernunnos tilted his head.
Adalhard stretched the bands, and his eyes widened at the elasticity. “Well done.”
“Don’t wear them outside the water,” Eder warned before either anthropologist could put on a band. “They help us breathe underwater, but at the expense of breathing air.”
“Oh,” Cernunnos said weakly. “This might be tricky but, still, a big improvement on the last method.”
“How did you dive last time?” Inez knit her brow. “Didn’t you have some kind of enchanted suit, or…”
Adalhard shook his head. “Enchanted items and diving clothes are rarer than you might think. Last time, we had an air tank.”
Adalhard remembered the cumbersome equipment. The large cannister had two tubes, a gauge, and a pressure valve. He hated the thing. He never knew where to grab it.
Adalhard continued, “I asked the Groazan ship to stock a couple tanks just in case, but obviously, we left those behind. Each tank came with two face masks and two handles because we need two people to carry one. And, it’s a limited air supply. When we could get a mage out here, they would cast spells for underwater breathing. Unfortunately, that method has a strict time limit as well.”
“I learned that the hard way,” Cernunnos reminisced. “The mages always leave after a couple of days. Last time, I tried to commission an underwater magical item, but no one would make it.”
“Why?” Eder asked. “They turned down money.”
“Actually, no. My budget was too small at the time, so I asked for it out of the goodness of their hearts. It was before Adalhard became head of the AAH and helped our finances.” Cernunnos nodded at Adalhard.
With bowed head, Adalhard accepted the compliment. The AAH’s finances had not been as bad as Cernunnos made them out to be, but the guild did have money troubles. Sponsors were less than ideal. Companies and governments funded only the parts of projects that interested them, despite the fact that archaeologists could negotiate for better terms. Museums needed price adjustments. Some charged too much; some too little. Worst of all, artifacts to be sold got caught in a bottleneck and delayed to auction.
Adalhard fixed all of that. He wanted his guild to endure. So many people and their families relied on it, including Adalhard’s future family he had yet to build.
Adalhard crossed the cockpit and opened the door. He beckoned, and the team filed outside, onto the deck.
The air was hot and humid. Sunlight radiated from the sky, sparkling across the lake. Trees rustled in the wind and shaded the ship, speckling it with shadow. Across the lake, more trees waved, and rivers flowed.
Just above the clear water, poked the Volanter temple’s spire. Below, Adalhard observed the rest of the temple. Some of it had collapsed, but much of it still stood, settled into the lake floor. By looking at the flora encrusted walls, he could tell where the original water line had been. Everything below that point looked like an underwater garden, not a building. The newly submerged part had yet to establish such robust growth.
Adalhard shaded his eyes. “Unless you have a spell for sun protection, we’ll need sunscreen. The water’s not deep enough, and that is a strong sun.”
“Not to worry. I packed plenty of sunscreen before we left Tagtrum.” Cernunnos smiled. “We wouldn’t want our delicate skin to be blistered, burned, and otherwise, unattractive when we return to the mainland.
“I hate that stuff,” Eder complained. “I’m trying to think of a spell.”
“While you do, I’m not taking my chances.” Adalhard headed inside to prepare for a long day underwater.
Cernunnos, Sylvia, and Ginger followed. Though the Ferrans lagged behind, Adalhard heard their argument.
“Come on,” Inez insisted. “It’s just for today. We’ll write a sun protection spell tonight.”
“I wish they’d told us. I would have made it a priority. It makes my skin crack.”
“Breathing was the priority,” Inez countered.
Eder resisted, but she managed to pull him inside.
A few moments later, Adalhard ventured onto the deck once again.
“Uh, yuck,” Eder complained.
Cernunnos laughed. “It’s not that bad.”
“It dries out my skin. I hate it.”
Inez rolled her eyes. “It’s this or sunburns.”
Adalhard held out his hands. They looked very pale under the mineral protection of the sunscreen, almost as pale as Camellia’s. Adalhard wished that he could stop thinking about Camellia, at least, until the time was right.
Cernunnos held his underwater bands at the ready. “I thank you, Eder and Inez, for all the breaths I am about to take.” Cernunnos put on his wrist band and jumped into the water. He waited a moment and then stretched the neck band over his head. The band shrank into place, and Cernunnos swam back and forth. He waved the others in.
“We won’t be able to talk underwater,” Adalhard said. “We’ll do our best to communicate.”
Adalhard wore a camera around his neck, enchanted to go underwater. It was not the work of Inez and Eder but a different mage. The expensive camera was a new toy for the AAH. Adalhard hoped to afford many new toys in the near future.
He pulled on his wrist band and jumped in. He felt the water pull him down. He slowed his descent but stayed below the surface. Adalhard took a tentative breath, and just like Inez suggested, he could breathe but felt winded. After a moment, he added the neck band. Suddenly, he could breathe with ease.
He swam out of the way and allowed Inez and Eder to jump in. While the Ferrans tested their work and got ready for the long underwater stay, Adalhard examined the scene.
Underwater, the temple dominated the lake-scape. Though living plants decorated the exterior, he could still see the man-made shape of the temple. Wider than it had appeared above water, the Volanter temple sprawled over the center of the lake. One side stood tall and sturdy, but on a tilt. The other side lay in a ruin on a lower part of the lake floor.
Adalhard swam ahead and led the group to the temple. He rested a hand on one open window frame and peered inside. He identified the room as a living space, complete with curved slab for a bed and, on the opposite wall, a magical heating and cooling system, shaped like an orb in a stand.
Many years ago, they had brought three of the orbs back to Groaza, but left the others behind. It turned out the artifacts were useless without their stands.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Adalhard swam down and peered in another window. Inside, he saw the lower living quarters, decorated with murals of Volanters atop clouds and sitting in the boughs of great trees. Both clouds and trees traveled through space as if to suggest the natural objects were, in fact, spaceships. Adalhard cocked his head in surprise. The paintings showed no degradation. Apparently, they possessed some waterproof qualities.
He pointed at the paintings, and Cernunnos quickly caught on. The older man grinned but waved Adalhard lower, back to the task.
Adalhard swam down. Courtesy of the crystal water, he still traveled amidst light from the lake surface. He peered in a window, knowing he would see the temple’s extensive workshop.
Behind subtle currents, magic circles rippled, and underwater flora waved from the carvings. The plants painted the walls and floor in many hues.
Adalhard gestured for Cernunnos to lead, and the man swam inside. Adalhard followed. He stopped and looked at each circle.
Though, they had studied the temple’s floorplan, they had to determine their location and find their way to the correct circle, likely under a pile of rubble.
Cernunnos tapped a wall, making a muffled sound.
Adalhard turned, and Cernunnos pointed at an interior doorway. He waved for everyone to follow.
Cernunnos led now. He moved slowly towards the center room, careful not to touch the walls. He pointed a magic lantern ahead, illuminating the darkened interior. From the center room, they would find their bearings, and Cernunnos would lead them to the wormhole circle.
Adalhard followed first, wary of the fauna. Several colorful fish passed. The big ones swam as if nothing had changed, but the small ones skittered from the guests, finding places to hide. A panicked pink fish tried to jam itself into a carving, only to find that its tail was all that fit. Adalhard smiled and pointed at the fish. Cernunnos swam ahead and didn’t see, but Inez and Eder did. And, after all, Adalhard’s observation was for the enjoyment of the young Ferrans.
Eder laughed silently. Inez smiled and raised a hand to touch the fish. She glanced a question at Adalhard, and he thought she wanted to know if it was safe to touch.
Adalhard frowned. He needed a way to say yes, it’s not dangerous – but leave it alone. He had no chance to make the communication.
A fat purple fish swam up to them and nibbled Inez’s fingers. For a moment, Inez panicked, and Adalhard gestured for calm. The fish swam away. It wasn’t one of the flesh eaters, and finding her inedible, it searched for something else to eat.
Inez put her hand over her heart.
A muffled bang sounded through the water. Adalhard looked up. Cernunnos had tapped his lantern to the wall. He floated in the passage, with a glare in his eyes. Cernunnos beckoned, and Adalhard led the Ferrans after.
Inside a dark room, Cernunnos stopped. It was the center room. Adalhard recognized it – one half of it anyway.
Magic circles wrapped around the cavernous space. Less flora grew on the circles, suggesting they had been cleaned or that sunlight could not filter this far into the temple interior. Huge pillars supported the center of the room, and that was all Adalhard recognized.
The opposite side of the room looked like the remains of a house torn in half. The floor fell away, and the walls ended in jagged lines. Rippling light penetrated into the ruin, touching a handful of circles.
Cernunnos and Adalhard exchanged a glance. They knew the wormhole circle would be in the collapsed portion, but they had not expected the damage to reach all the way to the central room.
Adalhard swam to the edge and set his magic lantern against the wall. Cernunnos swam to his side, and both men surveyed the ruin.
Below, Adalhard expected to see a pile of rubble and braced himself for a dig. Instead, he found the temple collapsed – not in a heap – but in a line. The lower portions of the temple were rubble, but they were not buried by the upper remains. As it fell, the top of the temple had traveled further, while the lower remains stayed close to the intact building.
Adalhard grinned, and to his surprise, Cernunnos hugged him. Adalhard barely recovered from the embrace when Cernunnos pulled a brush from his belt and pointed at the area most likely to harbor the wormhole spell.
Adalhard regained his composure and gestured to Inez and Eder. With his hands, he let them know where they would be and motioned for them to get to work and protect the dig site.
Inez and Eder nodded.
The whole team swam out into the open lake. While Inez and Eder floated above, Adalhard and Cernunnos swam down. They carried their light with them and swam the length of the lower floors. Some walls, floors, and ceilings remained joined and offered little pockets of intact temple. Adalhard and Cernunnos checked each one, shining their lights and brushing suspicious circles. Together, they brushed and scraped and searched for the carving.
Adalhard hadn’t worked for long when he heard the hum of magic. He paused and gestured to Cernunnos that he would swim up to check on the Ferrans.
Cernunnos nodded and kept working.
Adalhard started up.
In the open water, Inez and Eder floated. They paused and stared at the upright portion of the temple, ripped open to reveal a cross-section of its interior. All around them magic circles imprinted within the water. The circles didn’t float, but seemed to just hang there, eerily untouched by the currents.
Adalhard recognized one circle as a shield spell. Another spell looked unfamiliar. Adalhard studied it and wondered at its purpose.
Before he could catch the Ferrans’ attention, a fish swam through one of the circles and activated a shield. The offending fish swam away, leaving a wall behind itself, blocking its companions. Colorful little specimens bounced off the shield’s surface, followed by an entire school that flew head over tailfin back from whence they’d come. The confused fish returned to the shield, bonked into it again, and boinged away.
Adalhard watched the cloud of fish sail into the distance and shot a questioning gaze at Inez and Eder. They had spotted him and stared back. At his look, Eder just shrugged, and Inez swam to replace the spell.
Adalhard supposed it couldn’t be helped. The fish would swim, and Adalhard appreciated the magical protection. So, he just waved, pronouncing the Ferran’s free to protect the site at their discretion. Even if it meant a bad day for a few fish.
Adalhard felt a tug on his sleeve. He turned to find Cernunnos beside him, wide-eyed and smiling. Cernunnos pointed down to an intact section of temple. He gestured for Adalhard to come on and swam down.
Adalhard followed. He reached the ruin and set his light just inside the entrance. Inside, cracks ran through the walls, and rubble lay on the ground. Holes peppered what would have been the ceiling, but the old floor and most of the walls seemed intact.
Cernunnos swam to the far wall and gestured, again, come on.
Adalhard kicked his way deeper into the temple and joined Cerunnos.
On the wall, he read the Volanter inscription: for the creation of direct paths from one point of space to another. Distance to be determined by first and tenth ring connections, and second and eighth ring symbols. Center to represent exit point.
The description continued, but Adalhard couldn’t understand it. He knew the Volanter words but did not understand the magic. Adalhard nodded at Cernunnos. He gestured above to suggest they should let Inez and Eder know they had found it and in such a fortunate place too. This dig would be minus the digging.
Cernunnos swam towards their exit to inform their mages. Adalhard began.
Adalhard and Cernunnos brushed dirt and flora from the circle. As he worked, Adalhard thought of Camellia, specifically the times he spoke to her and entertained romantic ideas. One of those times had been recent, immediately after his rise to AAH chair.
Adalhard had considered nearly every unmarried woman in the AAH. They were the people he spent years getting to know. They were his colleagues and his friends.
Annalena was pretty. Adalhard remembered the fair-haired historian. But, she was too young and naive. And sought after, he added. Annalena was married now, and Adalhard had not mourned the event.
Liesa was less lovely, but older and more experienced. Adalhard remembered the raven-haired anthropologist. But, she’s so stubborn and strong willed. Adalhard recalled several arguments between them. Apparently, someone in the AAH appreciated that strong will because Liesa had married a calm and yielding historian.
Then, there was Camellia, lovely and quiet and intelligent, and present at his congratulatory dinner two years ago.
Adalhard cleaned the outer curve of the circle, but his mind was elsewhere.
She stood across the room, staring out a tall, peaked window. Adalhard crossed the floor, passing the small food table and several chatty historians.
“Camellia. It’s been a long while. I don’t think I’ve seen you for five years.” Adalhard expected a warm smile, lively eyes.
“Mmmhmm,” she answered, not taking her eyes off the window.
Adalhard frowned. “Have you been in Groaza long?”
“Two weeks.”
“I see. I’ve been at headquarters every day, but I haven’t seen you. Have you been visiting family?”
“Yes, my father’s farm.” Camellia looked down at her full drink.
After a terse and dead-ended conversation, Adalhard had excused himself. At the time, he thought she seemed entirely uninterested. And an uninteresting, flat conversationalist. But, now I know. She was just...depressed.
Cernunnos tapped Adalhard’s arm. He raised his hands to his eyes and mimed a photograph.
Adalhard touched his camera and looked at the circle. It lay clear.
Adalhard and Cernunnos both swam back, and Adalhard took the photo. In addition, Cernunnos began to sketch the circle on his underwater slate – a backup, just in case the photo did not turn out. Adalhard produced his slate and copied the technical instructions in Volanter, word for word.
Before he could really settle in, he heard a noise. Adalhard looked at Cernunnos, but the older man concentrated on his sketch.
Adalhard swam out and looked for the Ferrans.
Outside, the Ferrans seemed bored, floating guard. With the little dig site surrounded by protections, Inez and Eder hovered further off, and as far as Adalhard could tell, they played jokes on fish.
Inez conjured a simple circle. The two-ringed spell settled in place, and Inez retreated to watch the result. She nudged Eder, and both siblings watched as a long, silver fish swam through the circle’s center.
The spell executed, and the fish received a bubble of protection. Little fish bounced off the magic shell, and the silver fish tried to snack on a nearby school, sending tiny fish pinging in all directions.
While Inez continued to laugh silently, Eder’s eyes widened, and he performed a spell of his own. His bubble of protection trapped a small school of flesh eaters, and Adalhard was glad to see that one of them cared about everyone’s safety. When Inez paid attention, her mouth dropped open to see the angry little buggers, banging around inside. Inez and Eder cast a spell to float the bubble far away. Magical currents took it.
Satisfied, Adalhard went back to work.
Inside the ruin, Adalhard and Cernunnos transcribed the spell. With a practiced hand, Cernunnos sketched the circle. He focused and worked slowly. He made a point to transcribe the spell upright, which for him, meant floating sideways. Adalhard’s task of copying the Volanter words was easier. Soon, he copied letter by letter, and his mind journeyed elsewhere.
One Groazan Spring, historians and anthropologists worked to set up a traditional spring festival for the Presereme museum.
The headquarters sat on the edge of the lawn, facing the cobbled street. The museum loomed behind it. Both buildings faced away from each other as if back to back, sharing the small courtyard.
A small back door beckoned from headquarters, and a large backdoor stood open behind the museum. People came and went through both entrances, but it was the museum that disgorged Camellia.
Warm air greeted her as well as three other emerging students. All came to help the experienced members with the preparations. Cernunnos walked to the steps and engaged his seventeen-year-old student in conversation. He led her away.
Under a large tent, Adalhard worked among the men, winding ribbons around a tall maypole. The women wove wreaths.
Soon, Cernunnos sat among them, weaving as he told a story. Beside Adalhard, a coveted camera rested on the table. All of the students eyed it, only allowed to touch that equipment with supervision. Adalhard looked up to find Camellia’s slender hands around the device.
“Hey,” he called in a good-natured tone.
Camellia’s eyes widened, and she snatched the camera. She ran with it, reaching the stairs where she had set her wreath. She tried to line up a good shot of her creation, but before she could take the picture, Adalhard caught up. She darted out of his grasp, leading him on a chase. Each time she tried to line up a new shot, he chased her off. When Adalhard caught her, they were both laughing.
“Camellia!” Cernunnos scolded. “Come sit back down. You’ve got at least two more years before you can handle one of those.” Cernunnos looked at Adalhard. “Make it ten!”
Camellia bowed her head, still smiling. She handed the camera to Adalhard and headed back to Cernunnos.
I realize now he didn’t mean the camera. Adalhard smiled.
If she had not been so young, he might have pursued her then, but someone else got there first. Sorin.
He remembered the intimidating vampire archaeologist. I wonder how Cernunnos felt about that match, and I wonder...if Sorin treated her any better than her father did. Sorin’s life and relationship with Camellia had ended just before Camellia made her now infamous wall art.
Cernunnos tapped Adalhard on the shoulder and held up his slate. On the blank side, he had written – you’re really out of it today. Some fish is going to eat you.
Adalhard shook his head.
A strange roar sounded, and Adalhard and Cernunnos both looked up. Cernunnos stowed his slate as did Adalhard. They had finished their transcriptions, or at least, the most important parts. Extra information would have to wait. If, they could get it at all.
Adalhard peeked out. Overhead, he saw Inez and Eder. They hovered below their protection spells, and a shadow passed over them.
Adalhard looked up to see the white underbelly of a long shark, probably eight feet in length.
Inez froze. She also watched as it swam over the toppled ruin, not entering their minefield of spells.
Eder floated a short distance away. He pointed at the shark and, with what Adalhard felt was unwarranted fear, gestured wildly for Inez to look.
She did.
As the shark swam further from her, and consequently Adalhard, he could see something above it, riding it: a merman. Sleek and lean, the merman possessed familiar tentacles.
Again, the shark swam over, working its way lower.
Inez and Eder hid behind their spells, and each began to cast. Adalhard guess their spells would be designed with a specific, whiny god in mind.
The aquatic cultist steered the shark. The shark wove around the magic circles with a wide, predatory stare, until its tail bonked one. The sudden activation of the shield spell upset the shark’s trajectory, and it sailed through a bubble spell. Now, the cultist and shark were trapped inside, drifting a few feet from Inez.
Cernunnos grabbed Adalhard’s arm and pointed at Inez. He clearly worried about her safety. Adalhard watched her. Inez seemed unhurried. She called her magic circle into being, a gold inscription that shimmered and encased her body in a shield.
Farther from the enemies, Eder pulled off the same spell. The golden shield might protect them from infection. Adalhard watched as Eder swam down to find and protect Adalhard and Cernunnos. Inez began another spell. Almost a minute passed, but Inez willed another magic circle into being. This one was ice blue, and just as the trap bubble – holding the shark – burst, the new magic circle exploded into a tangle of icy strands.