[Diary Entry To Be Added]

The door opened up into a large cavern. The small stretch of masoned wall with the door ended after a few short feet blending almost seamlessly into a natural cave wall. Stalactites hung from the ceiling dangling precariously over a large shallow pool that filled about three quarters of the cavernous room.

“Water,” Calan’dal rasped gratefully letting Arahn guide him to the edge, where he sat and plunged his hands into the cool clear liquid bringing it to his lips and drinking eagerly.

“Convenient,” Morvar grunted with a slightly suspicious tone.

“Here,” said Cathran passing a water skin to Arahn before kneeling down to fill the others at the pool.

“What’s that over there?” Lem asked once they had all drunk their fill, pointing across the pool.

In the centre there was a stone plinth and even at a distance elaborate carvings could be seen on its surface.

“They appear to be elemental runes,” said Calan’dal feeling much better now he gotten some fresh water. “From this distance though, I cannot tell which ones.”

“I don’t know much about magic,” Cathran said sitting down beside the pool. “The old woman had started to teach me about plants and their medicinal uses in creating salves and poultices but she never mentioned the arcane or the elemental.”

“I dabbled with casting in my youth,” Calan’dal said casually, taking another sip of water. “Most elves do. In the city where I was living at the time, the population was mostly human so there weren’t many schools for magical learning. As a result I’m mostly self-taught which is why my mana pool is so limited.”

“Is that why you became so tired?” Cathran asked.

“That’d be it,” replied Calan’dal. “So don’t expect my casting to be a limitless get-out-of-trouble button. I tire with the simplest of spells and my mana takes its sweet time to recover.”

“So,” said Cathran hesitantly. “What was that outside, before we entered?”

“Oh, when our friend here tried to leave?” asked Calan’dal and the girl nodded. “That wasn’t me necessarily. Contracts have their own magic. As the holder I have some control over it, to make or break for example, but the contract will uphold itself with or without me.”

“So as a regular caster you’re pretty much useless then?” Morvar noted a bit sarcastically.

“Yep, that’s me, pretty useless,” agreed Calan’dal cheerfully.

“Contract or not, his magic did kinda save our lives back there,” said Cathran. “You know, those of us who are actually vulnerable to harm? So you’ll excuse me for being grateful.”

“Don’t worry about him,” said Calan’dal. “Magic can be dangerous in the wrong hands and I haven’t exactly done a great job at winning his trust. Let him grumble in peace.”

“Fine,” Cathran said, tough she threw Morvar a disapproving look regardless.

“You want to start something woman?” the troll growled, towering over Cathran’s slender form.

“Come on guys,” said Arahn hesitantly. “Let’s not fight amongst ourselves. We’re all we’ve got down here.”

Cathran swallowed nervously and glanced away just as Morvar made a frustrated noise and clomped off to get some space between them. Arahn let out a nervous breath.

“You alright?” he asked Cathran who nodded after a moment.

“Yeah, I just, I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“What made you so mad?”

“Oh I dunno, I just really hate spiders, you know and I just thought ‘This is it, this is where I’m going to die.’ And then we didn’t and I was so relieved…” she trailed off then scoffed loudly. “If you ask me he’s just jealous ‘cause an old man saved us when he couldn’t.”

“I don’t need a coward’s magic tricks,” Morvar growled darkly from a distance away.

“Oh I know,” assured Calan’dal brightly. “But you will forgive an old man for needing more than just his muscles for protection.”

Morvar grunted but didn’t reply.

An uncomfortable silence descended on the party until finally Cathran spoke up.

“So where now?” she asked.

“Umm, I think we should take some time to recover,” said Arahn seriously glad for the change in topic. “This place seems safe enough, maybe we should grab a quick rest.”

He looked to Calan’dal who nodded. “I wouldn’t say no to a nap.”

They spread out each finding their own corner of stone floor to lay their bedrolls. The goblin twins fell asleep pretty quickly, huddled together in a pile for warmth. Not too far away Morvar sat leaning against the stone brick wall, arms crossed loosely over his ches. He hadn’t bothered with a bedroll or blanket, not seeming to be bothered my the cool air of the cavern. Arahn helped Calan’dal get comfortable before lying down himself at the elf’s back. The bedroll wasn’t much, but it muffled the cold of the stone floor just enough to allow him to grow drowsy.

“Cathran?” he mumbled softly as the gril tiptoed passed him to sit down at the water’s edge. “You should sleep.”

“I’m not tired yet,” she replied just loud enough for him to catch her words. “I’ll sleep later.”

“Alright then,” agreed Arahn, before rolling over and letting himself drift off.

When Arahn woke a few hours later Cathran was still sitting at the edge of the pool looking out across the water. She had her arms wrapped around her knees and seemed lost in thought. Arahn got up and approached, sitting down beside her.

“Hey,” he greeted softly. “You still can’t sleep?”

“No,” she replied. “I think my sleep schedule is out of whack.”

“Yeah, I’m not surprised,” Arahn agreed. “You can’t tell what time it is down here. For all we know it’s still the middle of the day.”

“Hmm,” replied Cathran still staring across the room. Arahn followed her gaze to the engraved plinth rising up out of the water. “I was thinking of going over and seeing what it was. The water isn’t very deep and I can swim well enough.”

“It might be nothing,” Arahn pointed out.

“Maybe,” Cathran agreed though it didn’t seem to discourage her. “But I feel like if it was put there, then it must be something. Maybe there’s something on it or in it, something we can’t see from here.”

“I see your logic,” agreed Arahn. “But considering where we are, it could be something terrible.”

“We won’t know unless we check,” said Cathran standing up.

“I really don’t think this is a good idea,” said Arahn catching her elbow. “Maybe we should wake the others? Maybe Morvar can…”

“I don’t want him,” Cathran objected shaking off Arahn’s hand. “I can get over there without his help.”

Cathran waded into the shallow water shivering slightly from the cold, the water coming up her middle. She reached the small island and pulled herself up onto the plinth. Standing she was taller than the carved stone, able to look down and see what it contained.

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“What is it?” called Arahn curiosity getting the better of him.

“Water,” Cathran replied. “But it’s the clearest I’ve ever seen. It’s almost like, it’s glowing.”

Cathran stared into the water’s depths, seemingly mesmerised by its contents. The water in the font was crystal clear and yet at the same time it appeared to be filled with billions of sparkling dots, as though the surface of the liquid were a window to the heavens. Her hand, almost as if without her knowledge went to the water skin at her hip. She emptied out the pools water and filled it with what was in the font.

The moment she did so the dark water around her erupted in a flurry of activity as creatures the size of large dogs started crawling up the rock towards her. They had wet scaly bodies the colour of dead flesh and long writhing tentacles for legs. Their snouted faces were split into wide grins full of jagged teeth that looked almost too big for their mouths. They carried sharp spears made of bone in their clawed, webbed hands.

Cathran’s scream of fright woke the rest of the party who were at Arahn’s side at the water’s edge in moments.

“What is she doing?” Lem demanded terrified, long fingers buried in her bushy hair.

“Stupid girl,” Morvar grunted, picking up his mace and heading for the water’s edge.

“Wait!” Calan’dal exclaimed. “Don’t enter the water, there will be more below!”

“What are those things?” added her brother.

“Grindylows,” explained the elf. “Savage creatures. They swarm people wading in the shallows and pull them down into deeper water to kill them.”

“Well if you can figure out a way to magic them away go ahead,” the troll snarled, wading into the water. “Until then, I’m going to actually do something!

Morvar plunged his free hand beneath the surface of the water and pulled back, fingers wrapped around the throat of a squirming creature.

“Where did they come from?” Arahn asked.

The creature in Morvar’s grip thrashed, wrapping long tentacles around the troll’s wrist. Though they didn’t have the strength to crush his stony flesh, the slime its tentacles were leaving behind was sending and acrid smell into the air.

“How they got here ain’t the problem!” Evan snapped before leaping from the shore to Morvar’s back and pulling out his dagger.

He climbed nimbly over the troll’s shoulder and down his arm before plunging the sharp weapon tip into the grindylow’s soft belly. Morvar grunted in appreciation shaking off the limp creature. Where its tentacles had been there was long raised lines on the troll’s skin.

Freed from the creature’s grip Morvar crossed the pool, the water barely reaching his waist while Evan rode on his shoulder, dagger raised and at the ready. They reached the small island in moments, descending on the group of attacking beasts with fist, mace and steel. Morvar ripped a squirming creature from where it had wrapped around Cathran’s arm, trying to drag her off the rock and into the water. Several grindylows lunged at his arm in order to reach their friend, while several others went to his armed hand. Even from the shore Arahn could smell something burning as whatever poison the grindylow’s had in their tentacles burnt into Morvar’s wrist.

The troll roared in pain this time and the chunk of metal flew from his hand to disappear beneath the surface of the water. Enraged by the attack and the loss of his weapon, Morvar lashed out with both fists tossing failing bodies against the rocks and back into the water.

At the sudden display of ferocity and the downing of many of their allies, the remaining grindylows paused. With hisses and bared teeth they slowly fell back into the water, their narrowed eyes glaring furious at having their prey stolen. Morvar wrapped one massive hand around Cathran’s thin waist and tossing her over his broad shoulder, before wading back through the pool to the shore. Thankfully this time it seemed the grindylow’s had learnt not to risk it and did not attack again.

“What were you thinking!?” roared Morvar letting Cathran fall from his shoulder to hit the ground with a gentle thump. “Stupid woman!”

Calan’dal knelt down next to her and quickly checked her over for injury. She had the same marks on her wrist that Morvar did, so he washed the remaining grindylow slime off with some water.

“It’s not poisonous is it?” asked Arahn concerned.

“Well, I mean yes obviously it’s not good for you,” said Calan’dal. “But it’s more of a shock than anything. It makes the muscles seize, you know, to stop you being able to fight back. More effective on small children. Keep the welt clean and they’ll go down in a few days.”

Cathran sniffed loudly her eyes welling up with tears. Now that she was back on solid ground and the shock was wearing off, the realisation of what had happened was starting to sink in.

“I…I…” she stammered hiccupping slightly around her tears.

“You’re an idiot is what you are!” interrupted Lem, her high pitched voice cracking with stress. “You trying to get yourself killed!?”

“Hold on,” Arahn protested. “I don’t think this was her fault.”

“Come on!” scoffed Evan.

“I’m serious!” the human insisted. “The way she was looking at it… she couldn’t sleep.”

“You think she was enthralled?” asked Calan’dal, then elaborated when Arahn looked confused. “That some magical force was compelling her to act, to go out into the water?”

Morvar gave a growling grunt of displeasure before stomping off.

“How are you feeling?” asked Calan’dal slowly.

“Sore, but ok I guess,” said Cathran. “I’ve gone and made him mad at me again though.”

“Oh don’t mind him,” dismissed Calan’dal. “He’ll be fine. What did you take from the island?”

Cathran took the water skin from her hip. “There was this bowl of water, but it was so clear. It felt like I had to take it.”

“Did it look different from regular water?” Calan’dal asked now getting very curious.

“It glittered, not like there were things in the water but, but like each drop was filled with stars… it was beautiful.”

“Do you know what it is?” Arahn asked Calan’dal who hummed in thought for a moment.

“Ooh, there’s a bunch of things it could be, but I couldn’t say unless I went over and looked at it closely.”

“If you do I’m not coming after you,” growled Morvar tersely.

“Well obviously,” Calan’dal agreed readily. “Don’t worry, I have no intention of having any of us cross the pool again.”

“Can’t you check out the stuff she already took?” Evan asked pointing at the water skin.

“Well, I wouldn’t be able to tell much unless I poured it out and then we would have wasted it,” Calan’dal explained, not missing the way Cathran unconsciously held the skin tighter at the suggestion of throwing it away.

“What should we do with it then?” asked Arahn.

“Oh, I think it’s safe enough where it is,” Calan’dal assured. “I don’t think we need to worry about it if we’re careful.”

“We should move on,” said Morvar after a beat of silence.

“Indeed,” agreed Calan’dal, thankful for the change of subject. “We’re not safe here as long as there are grindylows. They’re water dwellers but they have been known to crawl to shore in the past after a meal.”

Around the edge of the pool there was a thin rocky path which connected the door they’d come in from and another similar one on the opposite side of the small cavern room. They walked around the pool, Morvar in the front as usual but this time Cathran hung back at the end of the line, as though she was trying to avoid him.

The door opened onto a bare stretch of corridor with no windows, doors or any decorations except that every few bricks along the wall at head height glowed like lamps. The hallway was about 20ft in length and turned left at the far end. From the entrance to the hallway they could see a little passed the turn, including another wall indicating the passage doubled back on itself.

As they walked down the hallway Lem came to a sudden stop nearly tripping Arahn over.

“Wait!” she cried urgently thrusting her hand as high as she could to stop them moving around the corner. “I can hear something.”

“What?” Morvar grunted, frozen in the motion of stepping around the wall.

“I can’t, it’s—” she paused eyes closed, bat ears twitching. “I can hear, wood creaking under tension.” Lem’s eyes snapped open. “Bows! I can hear bows being drawn.”

“Archers,” summed Calan’dal with a grim nod. “Waiting for us to move into the other hallway then…” he trailed off.

“Can you tell exactly where they’re standing?” asked Morvar his voice serious.

“I’ll try,” said Lem slowly stepping backwards along the wall ear pressed against the cold stone, listening hard. She repeated this several times moving up and down the expanse of wall, face screwed up in concentration before finally coming to rest a few feet from the door. “Here. The archer is standing here.” Morvar nodded and motioned to them.

“Stand back,” he ordered and when they had obeyed he moved to the opposite wall.

Hunching slightly he faced one broad shoulder at the stone bricks then, like a ball shot from a cannon he surged forward. There was an explosion of stone and dust, followed by Morvar’s roar and a snapping sound from behind the massive gash the jotun had torn in the wall. As the dust settled Arahn edged closer to the hole, grip tight on his sword. He could make out Morvar’s towering form holding something in one hand before letting it fall with a thump to the floor.

“Morvar?” Arahn ventured stepping over the rubble.

“It’s clear,” the troll responded, the twins clambering through the broken wall almost as soon as the words were out of his mouth.

They stood in the hallway curiously staring at the body on the ground. It appeared human and had a woman’s figure. Its skin was pale grey and shiny, like polished stone, hair and clothes appeared to be carved from the finest marble. It lay stiffly and there were cracks around her neck and shoulders where Morvar had struck her.

“What is it?” asked Lem.

Calan’dal nudged the stone woman a few times with his staff, before pursing his lips. “She’s very well made.”

“Well made?” said Arahn. “Something made her?”

“Yes,” replied Calan’dal. “If I’m right, and you know I usually am, then she’s a kind of stone golem.”

“What’s a golem?” asked Evan.

“Constructed life forms,” replied Calan’dal. “Built from different materials, in this case carved from stone, then given the illusion of life through some arcane process.”

“Typical magi,” snorted Morvar. “Always trying to play god.”

“I can’t imagine making something like this would be easy,” said Arahn.

“Oh definitely not,” agreed Calan’dal. “We’re talking a serious long term investment, both in raw materials and the energy spent during the animation process.”

“Do you think there will be any more of these stone golems?” asked Arahn.

“Can you hear any more?” asked Calan’dal directing his question at the twins.

The pair of goblins walked back along the hallway they’d bypassed by smashing a hole in the wall, ears pressed against the stone. After a moment Lem pulled away and nodded.

“There’s another one here,” she said patting a hand against the wall.

“This hallway must snake back on itself, with a golem guarding every corner,” summed Cathran. “I wonder how many there are?”

Morvar raised his hands with a serious expression and punched his own palm.

“We’ll find out soon enough,” he said with a grimace.