The heat intensified, searing my skin. All around me the chamber shook as the Flame erupted in a burst of scarlet, sending a rain of hot rocks tumbling from the ceiling. I shielded my face from the falling debris. A living flame snaked up before me in a twisting column of fire, taking on an almost humanoid shape. It towered over me, searching my face with it's smoldering eyes. "Your archmage hides from me still. Did he not tell you, disciple? I have scorched whole armies at his master's command, and then he resorted to his tricks. Dylizadon used his magic to capture me here, where his master had none!"

I blinked, surprised, knowing Fyresdotter labeled Dylizadon an interloper. "He is not my archmage! I have no master." I retorted, staring boldly at the Flame.

The Flame hissed in disbelief. "Do not play games with me! Only Dylizadon and his disciples know of this place. Now tell me where he hides! or I shall burn it from your lips!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," I insisted. "I serve no one. I came here by chance alone."

The Flame snarled, but seemed unable to determine if I told the truth. At last it rumbled. "Then how come you are here? if not by the guidance of magic?"

My mind raced, trying to come up with an answer that would not reveal my true intent. "You mentioned the archmage's master?" I ventured, trying to shift the focus of our conversation. "Why does Dylizadon serve him?"

The Flame bellowed in anger but soon answered in a bitter hiss, "Dylizadon's master defeated me through trickery alone, having no sorcery of his own to call upon, He compelled the archmage to seal my essence in that orb! When you arrived you broke the spell with your touch."

I realized the secret of the Flame's defeat was cunning, Dylizadon's magic simply finalized the Flame's imprisonment. Trickery may be the key to capturing it once again. I had to keep it distracted while I devised a trap from what little resources I could find in the chamber.

"Your former defeat stings your pride still, doesn't it?" I taunted the Flame. "To be outsmarted by a mortal with no magic, only quick wits...that must grate on you"

The Flame growled, burning hotter. "I was not outsmarted by a mortal,"

"Who is the archmage's master?" I pressed.

"You tread a dangerous path, human! you ask too many questions!" The Flame roared. "You will soon realize my pride has not forgotten, nor has my rage at being tricked into that hideous prison, but I'm free thanks to stupid human curiosity." The Sacred Flame stared at me and laughed before saying. "Do not provoke powers beyond your comprehension!"

While the Flame raged on, I discreetly scoured the chamber, searching for anything that might contain the Flame long enough to move it. My eyes fell on a broken geode, a stone filled with jagged crystals, as large as my head. It must have fallen from the wall while the Flame raged. Its hollow center gave me an idea. I lifted the geode and turned to the Flame.

"I could take you to Dylizadon, if you desire," I proposed.

The Flame crackled, flames flaring bright. "The archmage Dylizadon, who trapped me here? You would deliver me to him?" The Flame snarled suspiciously. "And why would you help me now,"

I spread my hands out in front of me seeking to quell the Flame's suspicion. "I seek no aid or alliance only to end your captivity here, by whatever means necessary. The archmage Dylizadon is an enemy to me as much as you."

The Flame hissed, wanting to believe yet it was still wary of deception. "You would turn against your own to free me? For what purpose?"

"For vengeance, and an end to tyranny," I replied lying. "Help me defeat our common foe, and you may unleash your fury upon him without bounds."

The Flame wavered, tempted by the prospect yet sensing Carter's cunning. "Your offer is tempting, but how might we leave this place with my power intact?"

Carter held up the geode. "Within this vessel, I can transport your essence beyond this chamber. Once we have reached Dylizadon, I will release you and you can do as you please with him."

"Know this, should you cross me, no magic or weapon nor distance shall save you from my wrath." The Flame crackled it's threat.

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"You have nothing to fear from me!" I said. "My word is honorable."

The Flame hissed, "Very well, You will take me to the archmage."

Then it began to flow slowly into the hollow of the geode. A tendril of living flame slid through the open rock, winding itself around the exposed crystal. It explored every facet of the stone before allowing more of itself to follow. Like a snake, it poured itself into the empty geode. It's fire rolled and twisted, filling the space with burning light. Wherever its flames spread, they left behind small tongues of fire clinging to the geode's inner surfaces, refusing to go out. The geode shook in my hands, I placed the two halves of the geode together and allowed the Flame to transit within an endless fury. The friction of its heat inside the stone became to hot to hold, that I set the rock on the chamber floor. The Flame had worked itself up so much that when I placed both halves of the stone together the heat generated fused the stone into one. When the geode cooled there was no evidence of what it contained. The additional luck I received in the Inner Sanctum certainly helped complete this challenge.

I stepped out onto the suspension bridge, grasping the cables on either side. The bridge tipped and teetered under my weight. As I inched across, I ignored the flames licking at my feet. My arms ached from pulling myself along, but I pushed myself toward the opening in the chamber wall, the sooner I was off this bridge the better. Nearly halfway across, I heard one of the cables snap. I bolted for solid ground, but the bridge dropped out from under me, almost tossing me into the pit. I threw myself at the rock wall and grabbed onto what was left of the bridge. When the bridge settled against the wall, I pulled myself up onto a solid ledge. Looking over my shoulder, I was stunned to see the last of the bridge fall apart and tumble down into the lava. I checked my pack to be sure the geode was unharmed and then strode toward the opening in the chamber wall.

On the other side I found Cliff, Tyler and Sam standing just as I left them, Queen Fyresdotter flickering by their sides. It seemed as if I had only left seconds ago.

"You Majesty," I said, striding up to the fireling. "I believe I have completed your test."

"You bring me a worthless stone, when I asked for the Sacred Flame?" She responded.

"I have captured the Flame, it now resides here," I said, laying the geode at the Queen's feet. I was eager to receive the Sword of Flames and depart for the next trial. The geode rocked from side to side at her feet. The captive entity inside was bent on escape. Fyresdotter inspected the stone, she waved a warm hand across the hard uneven surface. Where she touched the stone revealed a transparency through which the Sacred Flame could be viewed.

Fyresdotter looked straight into my eyes and murmured with satisfaction. "None before you have been cunning enough to capture my sibling. A trick well played as he has always been attracted to things that sparkle. Now, for your hard work I will present you with your reward."

The Queen drew from the shadows the Saber. Embers seemed to ripple down the length of the blade promising to burn whatever it touched. A leather wrapped hilt harbored a polished amethyst set in the end of the grip. It glowed with a violet flame but gave off no heat. The blade itself looked like melting gold and amber, but held its shape. Inside the blade there seemed to be trapped spirits of sparks and ash spinning in a celestial pattern.

"This now belongs to you," Fyresdotter said, handing the saber to me. "Use it wisely and with care, for it has the power to destroy all that it touches."

The imprisoned Sacred Flame raged in its crystal confines, seething at being tricked into a cage of glass. Vengeance was inevitable, a reckoning that would burn the human's world an his sister's kingdom to ashes.

"You cant hide from me! I will find you!" The Sacred Flame boomed, fracturing the rock surface.

Fyresdotter lifted the stone and whispered to it. " Revenge is now mine, dear sibling." She looked at the four adventures with a wicked smile, before she and her firelings faded into the darkness.

Congratulations, adventurer!

By conquering the Fire Trial, you have gained: Inferno's Edge (Active Ability)

Ignite your blade with eternal flame, dealing massive fire damage with each strike. Uses: 3,

Recharge: Long.

Well done.

But your challenges are not yet complete. The Queen has departed, leaving you with the second test: Seek the Glacial Star, heart of winter. This rare object holds the power of ice unending. Capture its frigid radiance, and the Glacial Star has the power to encase all within an impenetrable permafrost - a power not seen within this age.

Tread carefully, lest you lose much on the road ahead...

A carved door to our left groans open with a harsh grind of rock on rock. The warmth of the corridor where we now stand turns frigid as frozen air flows outward to us. It is laced with the scent of freshness, of juniper and pine. Tyler steps into the new environment followed by Cliff, Sam and myself. A cavern of ice spreads out before us, glittering spikes descending from shadows overhead. In the distance snow covered hills dotted with conifer trees stretch to the horizon. A river of ice cuts through the seemingly endless valley. This is a place of serenity. Yet from the corner of my eyes, shapes flash, when I turn to seek them out something whispers close into my ear. A warning.

"Not all angels take heaven's form."