That morning, each of us woke up about half an hour before we usually did.

We didn’t really need to say much of anything to each other. Instead, in a nearly perfect unison, we each skipped our meal, took apart the camp, and headed out towards the waters of the lake.

The excitement was almost palpable - and even Roger barely slowed down below a jog, as the five of us made our way towards a cave along the shore, and found a boat that was stored away.

And then, just like that, our band was off.

There were four seats on the boat, and four oars for rowing. And so Praxa, Aaron, Roger and I each took a seat, with Lily sitting on top of Praxa’s lap.

The skies right then were clear, and beautiful… and you could see the light of the early morning sun glittering across the water, as a few small birds darted and weaved their way through the sky.

And then, for two more hours, we made our way ahead, until we were over the very center of the lake. We had agreed before that Praxa and I would explore through the waters, while Roger kept guard, and made sure that no one discovered us rising back up towards the surface. So once we were all in position, Roger channeled the magic that he possessed, and began to cast a series of spells over me and Praxa.

The first spell increased the weight of our bodies, while the second gave us the ability to breathe naturally in the water, and a third spell made it so that we would experience a smooth, and gradual ascent when we rose back up, so that we wouldn’t end up being injured.

Once we were ready, Praxa and I stood up, and stepped off of the sides of the boat, as we sunk down through the lake and towards the surface below.

As we fell through the sparkling waters, the two of us held each other by the hand, and did our best to fall straight down, without veering off from side to side. We’d already lined up with the center, so if this really was the canyon, then that should place us right above the vault.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Looking down, I saw many different rocks, and ruined ships, and other forms of debris littered across the ground. But nothing that I saw was as tall as the vault that I had seen in my dream, or as wide. Then, I turned around, and tried looking behind me, and to my side. But while the rocks at the bottom were large, none of them seemed like they might be large enough to contain the vault.

And then, I felt a gentle tug on the sleeve of my shirt.

I tilted my head towards the side, and looked at Praxa.

There was a look of deep concentration and focus on her face right then. And she was pointing down, deep towards the bottom of the lake, in a corner that I hadn’t looked towards yet… where a huge, oddly rectangular rock resided, almost lost among all of the debris below.

I felt my heart beating faster. It was hard to tell from this distance – but the dimensions of that rock could hardly have seemed more promising.

I began to push down now, eager to land onto the floor of the lake. And as soon as our feet touched the sand, Praxa and I ran over towards the rock, and began to feel around the sides, brushing away the sand and the dust that had accumulated over hundreds of years.

At first, the two of us didn’t find anything at all.

But then, I noticed that on one side of the rock, the layers of sand and dust were especially thick. And as the two of us dug through it, and cleared it all away… we soon found a large, black metal slab, buried beneath the sand.

The slab of metal had the image of a fruit tree upon its surface.

As she saw the image, Praxa gripped my hand, and squeezed me tightly. I felt her fingers trembling in my own, as I slipped the glove off of my right hand, and pressed the mark on my palm against the metal.

At first, nothing happened.

But then, a bright, blue light exploded off of the door, as the whole floor of the lake around us glimmered in the light. Afterwards, the metal began to slide out of place, and the sand beneath us began to tremble, as an enormous chamber was slowly revealed to us.

The water was already starting to flow inside the opened door; so. as quickly as we could, Praxa and I jumped through the door, as the entrance behind us closed back up once again.

At first, there was a kind of stunned, and awe-struck silence. But then, the two of us broke out into excited, and contented laughter, as we gripped each other by the hand, and held each other close.

And then, the two of us took a single step forward.

Before us was a place that was unlike anything that either of us could have imagined.