Zalan was brought out of the dark abyss and onto solid ground next to Nold. They were still somewhere deep within the heart of the mountain. Zalan was kind of hoping he would see the sun once he got out of the dark chamber. All he had was Nold’s dim fire to light the area. Nold looked him up and down and nodded to himself, satisfied.

“Just a few cuts and bruises? Are you still able to call upon your power easily enough?” Nold asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Zalan said.

Nold knelt down and stuck his head into the open trapdoor. Zalan waited for a few seconds, trying to understand what Nold was doing. Nold turned his head slowly one way, then the other.

“Elemental! I wish to speak with you!” Nold called into the darkness.

He waited, receiving no response.

“Nold?” Zalan said, trying to refocus him on getting to Rep.

“Elemental! I am here for you! I will soon be equal to you!” Nold beckoned it. He sighed, disappointed, and looked up at his student. “Are you certain you saw an Elemental down there?”

“Yeah, what do you mean ‘equal to it?’”

“I was trying to entice it to allow me to accept its challenge. Are you sure it was down there? I can not see anything.”

“Yeah, I’m sure. Can we go now? Why are you wasting time when you said Rep was just up ahead?” Zalan said impatiently.

Nold looked back down the hole for a few more moments, confirming there were no creatures issuing challenges that he missed.

“I will return soon! Be prepared for what I will be capable of!” Nold called.

Finally, he stood with mild frustration on his face. He looked at Zalan and regained some of his enthusiasm. A fresh smile stretched across his mouth.

“Let us go on ahead,” Nold pulled him along. “Watch your step, there are a few more traps I have marked with sand.”

Zalan and Nold passed through a small passage. Zalan could see that the path ended up leading to the largest open space he had seen within the mountain. Nold had left many arrows of sand on the ground to point to areas in which Zalan shouldn’t touch while walking. It was a lot easier than following Nold’s exact footsteps like they did earlier.

“Is Rep okay?” Zalan asked.

“He lives. But you will see his state soon enough,” Nold said, stepping forward into the new open area.

The passage emerged into a massive chamber. The ceiling was high and looked like a piece of the mountain had been hollowed out over hundreds of years of erosion and decay. There was a formidable gold table sitting in the center. On the other end of the chamber entrance was a pool of water; a channel that brought in many more Artifacts and larger pieces of debris. This seemed to be the largest current leading inside the Island of Remains, and had the most Artifacts bubbling up at the edges of the pool. Zalan was certain that bodies could float through that current. A few feet away from the pool was someone tied tightly in glowing chains, lying unconscious on the ground.

“Rep!” Zalan screamed, rushing forward.

“No!” Nold pulled Zalan back by his tunic. Zalan pulled against it, ready to tear his tunic further if he needed to. “Those bindings are Shackles of Stasis! If you try to disturb him, the chains may constrict his blood flow and kill him.”

Zalan stopped pulling against Nold and stared in shock. The chains over his best friend shined brighter for a second, showing the power they had over him. He squinted in confusion as he looked around the Shackles of Stasis. It was covered in burn marks, unnatural sand formations, and broken stone. There were similar signs all over the chamber, even on the walls and some parts of the ceiling. Marks of old blood stained several spots on the floor. Zalan’s first conclusion was that several battles had been fought here. He looked at the golden table. It could also have been the case that people were killed here in some sort of bloody ceremony.

“Nold, what is this place?” Zalan asked, feeling disturbed. He suddenly felt like he should leave.

“This is the most central point of the Island of Remains. Some of the most powerful Artifacts flow into this chamber. One of my favorite places on the island,” Nold said, sounding uncannily sincere.

Zalan looked at him, feeling uneasy in his presence. He had a hard time shaking it off as Nold’s usual eccentricity. Something about it was different this time. Nold looked totally at ease in this unsettling place. He shivered, and he didn’t know if it was because the chamber was cold or his feelings were overwhelming him.

“How do we get Rep out of the chains if we can’t touch the Artifact?” Zalan asked. He took a few steps closer to Rep.

“That is simple. We can use this other Artifact here. It can redirect abilities so perfectly that it will break the chains,” Nold presented the golden table taking up most of the space.

Zalan continued to walk toward Rep. Nold grabbed the back of his tunic again, but this time Zalan shook him off confidently.

“I’m not going to touch him, I just wanna make sure he’s okay,” Zalan said.

“I am certain he would be better if you helped me free him.”

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“Can’t you just use the Artifact and unbind him yourself?”

“No, it requires two users.”

Zalan knelt down right in front of Rep. He looked injured, like he had a hard time with the Leviathans once he landed in the water. Or maybe some other monster attacked him while he was drifting to the island. His face had various cuts and bruises and the parts of his arms that weren’t covered by chains had a few burns. Zalan stared in confusion. Did Rep try to imbue himself and burn himself? They were fairly large burns, about the length of his arm. Zalan was mostly grateful to see Rep breathing faintly. His mouth was covered with chains, but his nose was free. With the use of the Homeseeker, Zalan would be able to bring Rep back to full health. Rep was going to be okay.

He stood up slowly and turned to his mentor. Nold beckoned him quickly, pointing to and presenting the golden table with an open palm. Zalan looked at the large Artifact with confusion. It looked way too big to do something as small as get rid of some chain.

“What did you say this was called again?” Zalan asked.

“It’s a… Freer. It frees someone bound by any magic or constraints,” Nold said quickly.

“A Freer?” Zalan repeated, sounding skeptical.

“I did not name it.”

Zalan began to take small steps toward it. Something was nagging at him, feeling off about the situation. There were other Artifacts that had washed into the chamber, but this big table was the only way to free Rep? It wasn’t adding up in his head.

“How is this any different from the other Artifacts we can find?” Zalan said, voicing his thoughts. “If there’s a Reversal Stone, maybe there was still time to get it off of him by reversing time on the chains.”

“No, no, I already looked through the Artifacts. Come to this table already,” Nold said, growing impatient.

“But what does the table do that the other Artifacts can’t? Like, I can see there’s a Bone Gauntlet over there. That might be able to destroy the chains,” Zalan pointed to the Artifact next to the pool of water.

“Only if you wish to destroy Rep as well,” Nold scoffed. “I already told you, the table can redirect power to a single point. It can break the chains without affecting Rep at all. This is the safest way to free him. Hurry now.”

Zalan could see what was making him so uncomfortable by Nold’s words now. He had never shown any particular interest in Rep’s well-being before. He never outright hurt him, but he never seemed to be as worried about Rep as he was about Zalan. Zalan was trying to figure out where the sudden change came from. Nold would brush it off as caring about him, but Zalan was trying to see beyond the expected explanation.

Zalan reluctantly walked over to the golden table, looking at the several intricate etchings over it. It looked as though it was written by several different races in languages he had never seen before. Zalan had never thought to wonder where Artifacts came from before. He always assumed they were a part of this realm as much as the monsters were. But he had seen that monsters were born from eggs in the Cliffs of Shadow. The gargantuan gold table made him wonder how Artifacts were made. Where did they come from?

“How does this thing work?” Zalan asked, keeping a few steps away from it.

“Simple. You must willingly offer it some of your power. And also think of the chains,” Nold said, as though it was an afterthought.

“How do I know I’m thinking of the right chains?” Zalan said, worried he might waste the Artifact.

“The Artifact will know!” Nold snapped. “Now offer it your lightning and we can all be free.”

Zalan took a glance over his shoulder to the unmoving Rep. Another thought struck him.

“Rep is one of the smartest people I know, at least when it comes to Artifacts. How would he get himself caught in the shackles? Did he not know about them?” Zalan asked.

“I do not know!” Nold said, annoyed. “He was like that when I arrived! Do you wish to free him or not?”

“Yes! Fine,” Zalan sighed.

He raised his hands slowly, measuring how much lightning he wanted to zap it with. Nold licked his lips nervously from the other side of the table, raising his hands as well. Zalan breathed in and prepared to blast.

“Mmm!”

Zalan flinched and Nold looked tense. Rep had mumbled from his side of the chamber. Zalan lowered his hands and looked back at him. Nold gripped the golden table tightly.

“Rep! Are you okay?” Zalan asked.

“Mmm!” Rep hummed urgently. His eyes were wide.

“I think it will be easier to understand him once he is free of his chains,” Nold said intensely. “Let us hurry.”

“Right, yeah,” Zalan turned back to the golden table with hands raised.

“Mmmmm!” Rep stretched the mumble, sounding panicked.

Zalan lowered his hands once more. Nold groaned and placed his fingers at his temples. Zalan realized Rep must be concerned about being left behind.

“We’re not leaving you tied up. We’re gonna use this Artifact to free you in a sec,” Zalan said.

Rep’s eyes bulged widely, struggling to break free from the chains. His eyes flitted wildly between Zalan, Nold, and the golden table. A flurry of emotions crossed his face with every point his eyes landed on.

“Don’t move around so much, Nold said the shackles might cut off your blood flow,” Zalan said.

“Stop talking to him and blast the table with lightning!” Nold demanded.

“He looks freaked out, though,” Zalan peered to get a better look.

“Of course he is! He is bound by an Artifact! He will be fine once you use the table and free him!” Nold snapped urgently.

Rep shook his eyes side to side urgently. Zalan squinted in recognition. Rep was trying to shake his head, but he could only move his eyes.

“Is everything okay, Rep?” Zalan asked.

Rep darted his eyes from side to side. Zalan knew to listen to the uneasy feeling in his gut. Something was definitely wrong. Nold’s explanations weren’t adding up, and he’d worked himself to a frenzy. Thoughtfully, Zalan took a tiny step away from the golden table.

“He is trapped in an Artifact, of course it is wrong!” Nold snapped. “Listen to me and it will be better!”

“Do you know what kind of Artifact this is?” Zalan pointed at the golden table, his eyes on Rep alone.

“Listen to me!” Nold sounded menacing now.

Rep blinked once.

“Is it a Freer?” Zalan asked.

A mound of sand covered Rep’s face, preventing him from answering. Zalan stared in confusion and anger. The only thing that could have made the sand move like that was Elemental Sand. Zalan wheeled around at Nold, whose hand was raised after having cast his Elemental Sand Power. Zalan’s teeth grit, an immediate feeling of betrayal sinking into his heart.

“Let him go!” Zalan demanded.

He began imbuing himself with lightning. Zalan had always had a feeling something was off with his mentor, and now he had full confirmation. But it was worse than simple eccentricities. Nold had gone insane and could no longer be trusted. There was a twitch in his smile. A slight wind picked up from under him as Nold spoke gravely.

“Now, you will listen to me,” Nold said, his voice dripping with evil.