The Wandering Spire

The cultist triggered the Rune trap and the room was plunged into Darkness and erupted with intense heat. Instantly, the heat was gone and Jeze felt her body become frosted. Mikal was clever and countered the Fire trap with his flash freeze spell.

"Jeze, go through the door!" Ziplocke's voice said in the Darkness.

"Now? Shouldn't we dispel the Darkness?" She asked.

There was chaos all around her as dozens of voices clambered for her attention. What was going on? I need to Shape the Darkness, Jeze thought. Or should I shape away the Affliction? She was so confused, and for some reason, this made her laugh.

"What's so funny?" Mikal's voice demanded. Or a voice that reminded Jeze of the dark-haired Healer.

Am I afflicted with Madness? Jeze wondered. It was settled, she needed to Shape the Affliction aspect. The room shook, and she heard the horrific sounds of bones and flesh being broken and torn. The Goreratpors! The giant beasts must have entered the chamber. They needed to escape! But how? We can't see anything, Jeze reflected.

"Proven! Fall back out the door!" Jeze heard Dunar's voice roar.

"Oh ya!" Helga's voice cheered.

But there were other voices as well. Who did they belong to? The cultists? Since when did the Proven choose to retreat over engaging in combat? Jeze was confused. A thunderous bellow from the Goreraptor sent her into motion and she blindly ran out the door. With her hands she felt that she was in another corridor and a heavy armored body knocked her to the ground.

"Hey! Watch it!" Jeze cried.

Was that Helga, Dunar, or Rolfe? It couldn't have been Mikal. He wore padded armor like her and was not as big. Well, he is only a little bigger than me. Jeze reflected.

"Focus!" She scolded herself.

Or was that Ziplocke's voice? The Goblin was always telling her to focus. The roar of the Goreraptor shook Jeze out of her thoughts, and she continued to run blindly down the corridor. She heard the voices of her team ahead and the sounds of their jingling armor. What was the range of this Rune trap? She wondered.

"Hold up, let me remove this Darkness," Jeze called out.

She felt that she was far enough away from the dark-robed cultists and the Goreraptor. Jeze giggled at the memory of the giant monster turning on the cultists. She finally understood why Ziplocke found that so funny, the look of shock on their faces as the Goreraptor crushed their bones and shattered their bodies! What was I doing again? Oh, that's right, I'm about to Shape away the Darkness, Jeze thought to herself. Or should I Shape away the Affliction? Jeze wondered. The sounds of the others grew faint, and she forgot what she was thinking about and continued to run after them. Jeze blindly felt along the walls and ran down several twisting corridors, with the Proven always just ahead of her. Down one passage, there was a dim light. Finally! They were out of the Darkness spell.

"Jeze! This way!" Rolfe's voice called out.

She ran toward it. When did he get so fast? Jeze wondered. She should have caught up to them by now. Jeze stopped as she became aware. I'm under the Affliction spell! She realized.

"Why did you stop, knucklehead?" Ziplocke's voice hissed from the shadows.

Jeze tapped her Affliction ring and began to Shape the curse. It strained her Will and felt like moving a boulder up a mountain. It was even harder with the distractions.

"Proven, form up!" Dunar's voice barked down the hallway.

"For glory!" Rolfe roared.

"Where's Jezie?" Helga wondered.

"I've always said we should get another Scout," Mikal stated.

Jeze ignored the voices and focused on Shaping the Affliction spell. She found it and pulled it into a greasy red ball of glowing energy. Jeze tapped her Affliction channeling tool again and formed a different set of glyphs with her hands in order to Control the energy. She launched it into the wall, where it splashed harmlessly. The voices were gone in an instant. How did this happen? She wondered. Her Will was strong, but she fell to the Affliction spell. This was a harsh reminder that no matter how much she improved, she could still fall victim to enchantments.

The Rune traps were created by master level casters and despite her training and preparation, those spells still impacted her. Jeze sighed with acceptance and studied her situation. She was alone and she risked pulling out her glow globe. With the light from the orb, Jeze discovered that she was in the middle of a corridor made out of chiseled sandstone.

"I'm still in the Core Tunnels," Jeze observed to herself and wondered, "How long was I running?

It was hard to tell, but she attempted to ping Ziplocke by tapping into her Earth aspect ring. Nothing, and she realized that he must be too far away for her to hear the sound. What was the distance on this ring? She wondered and waited for Ziplocke to try to chime her back. Her ring was silent. It's been so long since she used the spell, and Jeze wondered if she was doing it correctly. She had time, so she pulled out her brother's journal, where he had meticulously recorded dozens of spells. Jeze was convinced she performed the Glyphs correctly, and she wondered if Ziplocke knew how to activate the Chime spell. Jeze was about to put her brother's journal away when something caught her attention. Her brother had written about the Core tunnels!

"Did you find them?" Jeze wondered.

She then thumped her head. He hid the journal in the Old Crone's school before he ventured forth to the Spire. Everything he wrote was about his preparation and research. But, his research dug up some things. Daverius wrote.

The Spire touches many realms. I still do not know its purpose, but it collects treasures from all over. It is said that the inside of the Spire is composed of different landscapes from the different realms it had absorbed over the centuries. Within are hidden dungeons filled with tremendous wealth, but are also filled with traps, Guardians and danger.

Guardians? That last part made Jeze nervous. She was alone and without her team, and her brother was correct about the traps. That meant there was a good probability that there was a Guardian in this Core Tunnel. One that Ziplocke failed to mention. What will she do with the Goblin? Jeze shook her head, and needed to focus on the task at hand. Jeze took stock of her inventory. She had Recovery broths and two Water Bricks. So she was good for several days for food, and Jeze secretly thanked Dunar's foresight to ensure that everyone carried at least one Water brick and food in case they were split up. Jeze sat down and breathed deeply and became attuned to her body. She was tired, and her body was battered with scrapes and bruises, but no serious injuries. Her Will was fatigued from the Affliction curse, and Jeze doubted she could do any serious Rune casting. The memory of how she fought with her weapons and magic came to her, along with a grin.

"I achieved Mastery," Jeze said to herself, and she was eager to try it out again.

Despite her circumstances, Jeze rose to her feet and pulled out her weapons. She attempted a series of practice swings and thrusts while she tapped her Channeling tools and Shaped glyphs. Her spells failed, and nothing happened. She tried it again several times and was nowhere close to recreating how she felt in the chamber against Val and the cultists. Why? She wondered with frustration. Can she ever achieve that state again?

"Must have been the Vitality Spring!" Jeze realized and sat back down.

Or that she was tired and needed more rest. She broke off a small piece from one of her Water Bricks to create enough water for her drink and opened up a jar of Recovery Broth. Between the water and the nutrients from her potion, her body had enough to replenish itself. Jeze needed to rest, and she glanced up and down the long, dark corridors. Where was her team? Were they alright? What type of magic did Val use that allowed her to summon Tier 5 monsters? Ziplocke had called it the Rift aspect.

"Stay focused," Jeze admonished herself.

She was not going to find the answers to her questions by sitting down. But she was not going to do any good without rest. Jeze set up two Security discs some distance down the corridor on opposite ends and rested in the middle. She turned off her glow globe and was plunged into the soft, gentle Darkness where she rested.

One thing Jeze learned while being an adventurer was how to grab sleep in any situation. Such as lying on the cold stone floor in a dark and dangerous dungeon. Jeze woke up and gripped her weapons. She was still tired with a slight headache, but that was all the rest she could afford. Jeze sat still for a moment and listened. Nothing but oppressive silence. When she was confident that she was alone, she activated the glow globe and it bathed the hallway with a silver light. Again, she listened. Nothing. She disarmed and gathered her security discs and then had a decision to make. To go left or to go right.

The Affliction spell had messed with Jeze's memory and she had no idea which direction she came from. She attempted to track her footsteps, but the smooth stone floor and walls offered no hints. Jeze recalled that she knew the Spirit aspect! She tapped the Channeling tool that Raina had given her and briefly wondered how the Spirit Walker and her brother, Ahanu, were doing. Were they safe? Being a Safe Zone Squad, they were targeted by Val and the cultists. Jeze growled in frustration that Val had gotten away. Jeze vowed that she would avenge Seb and Jonah.

"Stay focused!" She admonished herself again.

Jeze had the habit of letting her thoughts wander. She tapped the Rune necklace and shaped the final glyphs with her hands and arms to complete the Spirit Summoning. Jeze felt the energy snap into place and the gentle presence of a spirit nearby. Taking a deep breath, she tapped the necklace again and completed the next glyphs to Control the Spirit so that it would offer guidance. Jeze made sure to be gentle with this part, the way Raina instructed her. Spirits are helpful by nature but are not obligated to be truthful. Most of the time, they would leave if they felt insulted. A few may be mischievous and deceitful.

Raina had instructed Jeze, "You need to have faith and believe that they will help you. That belief is what fuels them. Doubt is like a poison."

As Jeze completed the final glyphs, she controlled her emotions and focused her Will to set aside doubts and fears. As Raina said, Jeze needed complete confidence that the Spirit would guide her truthfully.

Jeze recalled the Old Crones with nostalgia. It felt like a lifetime ago when she studied under them. They trained her on how to manage her Will. Jeze remembered their teachings.

Number One would say, "The mind is an obsessive storyteller."

Number Two added, "Doubt and fear are stories that it makes up."

Number Three would hiss, "Stay in the present and do not get stuck in the past, for it is done."

Number One continued, "Or the future because it is unknown."

All three concluded in one voice, "Focus only on the now."

The old instructions calmed Jeze, and she allowed herself to be guided by the Spirit. Jeze felt the urge to head down the right corridor, and when she opened her eyes, she saw the faint flickering light that reminded her of a curtain fluttering in a gentle breeze. Jeze allowed herself to be guided by the Spirit aspect and traveled down the winding corridor. She came upon a three-way intersection, and the faint flickering light directed her to take the middle passage. She obliged and continued on. Jeze continued to stay alert for any danger and for traps. Every now and then, she would pause and attempt the Chime spell. She heard nothing and continued on.

The spell ended, and the Spirit faded away. Jeze paused at another intersection. Traveling for so long through a labyrinth of tunnels had created a pool of doubt in her chest, and she did not feel prepared to Summon another Spirit. Not yet, at least. Jeze tapped her ring and Shaped the Chime spell. She perked up and heard a faint sound down the corridor illuminated by the glowing lines along the walls.

Ziplocke did not chime her back, and Jeze controlled the urge to call out. What if Ziplocke was in trouble and he was trying to hide? Jeze Summoned and Shaped shadows to cling to her as she quietly crept along the wall toward where she last heard the sound. The corridor traveled for several meters before it turned, and all visibility was blocked by an opaque blackness. Jeze deduced that a trap was triggered in the room beyond and she Shaped the Darkness aside to reveal a square chamber. Across from Jeze was an opened door where the Rune trap was triggered and the other notable thing in the room was the figure of a man that laid against the wall with his legs splayed out in front. She did not recognize him as he wore a dark gray traveling cloak and black trousers. Jeze noticed that the man had a two-handed sword that rested across his lap. Did the ringing come from him? She wondered. Jeze casted the Chime spell again and confirmed that the noise did come from the man. As far as she could tell, the spell was only known by one other person.

"Daverius?" Jeze called out her brother's name and rushed inside with hope in her heart.

The man's features were obscured by his gray hooded cloak, but he did carry a sword. It was much bigger than what her brother had when she last saw him. Soot covered the man's clothes, and the stones were warm from the Fire aspect that was triggered by the Rune trap. When Jeze neared, the man's hand lashed out and grabbed her wrist. She reacted on instinct and broke free from his strong grip by twisting her wrist and smacking his arm with her free hand in one motion.

"You're real," the man said with a deep chuckle. His face was still obscured by the recesses of his hood.

"Who are you?" Jeze demanded.

The man groaned as he used his long sword to prop himself off the ground. The weapon was nearly as tall as him from hilt to point. Jeze's sword and axe were out, and she took a step back. The flesh on the man's hands were badly burned, but his cloak looked reasonably unscathed. Jeze's sharp eyes spotted the Rune patterns stitched into the fabric, and she realized his cloak was enchanted. He was tall, nearly as tall as the Frostsworn, with a lean build. He was definitely not Daverius, who was much broader in the shoulders and shorter in height.

"The name's Veil," he rasped out and arched to crack his back.

"Why do you have the Chime ring?" Jeze asked.

The man glanced down and Jeze saw that he had dark red eyes and sharp features that consisted of high cheekbones, a pointed nose and a narrow chin.

"The ringing was real, too? Just like you? I thought the Blasted Affliction spell was playing tricks on me," Veil muttered. He had a deep voice, and he looked to be in his mid-thirties.

Jeze narrowed her eyes. She still held her weapons, and she asked in a low voice, "Where did you get the ring?"

Veil chuckled deeply and looked up to the ceiling. "This has to be a joke," he said.

"I will not ask again," Jeze growled.

Veil returned his gaze to Jeze and asked, "Is that right? What then? You will fight me?"

Jeze set her jaw and prepared her body to launch an attack.

"Whoa, calm down, okay?" The man said as he set his blade against the wall and held up his two hands. "See? I'm unarmed?" He added.

Jeze motioned with her chin to his burned hand. "The ring," she said.

"Imagine that, Fate has a blasted sense of humor, don't it?" Veil asked and then sighed deeply. "You know who I got the ring from, and it's a bloody coincidence that years later, I will run into his little pup of a sister."

Jeze lowered her weapons. Her lips quivered. This couldn't be true.

"The only thing any of us knew about Daverius was that he had a sister who he claimed would be a better adventurer than himself. Nobody could believe that cause your brother was on a whole nother level than the rest of us."

"You knew him?" Jeze asked, her voice soft.

"Knew him? I bloody traveled with him for nearly a year. We've been through Hell and back!" Veil responded.