The cold, rocky floor of a cave was the first thing Liam felt as he began to awaken. He felt it before he saw it, although the dark shadows of the cave made details nearly impossible to ascertain for the sage.
A pale green light flickered and shined to his left as he groggily got to his feet, an ache resonating in his head, in time, with his heartbeat. It pounded at his ears and he could feel it in his chest. He lumbered towards the light barely noticing the rising rocks all around him that he used as support on his way towards the light.
When he reached it, he realized that the light was pouring off a short man, thin and covered in glowing tattoos alongs his arms, bare chest, and legs. His ears and nose were long and pointed in an exaggerated fashion the way the puppets of Storm Elves from the far away Westgate were. The being was standing over a short table flipping through three different books rapidly. There was a raised dais with two short steps, one made of white stone, the second black.
“G-Glitters..?” Liam croaked out through the headache, quieter than he liked. The words seemed to be swallowed up into the cavernous darkness that was all around. Liam’s eyes were drawn to the center of the large dais where a rocking chair creaked for a figure in flowing robes, a wide-brimmed hat in his lap.
The glowing figure snapped his head towards Liam and exclaimed, ‘Ah you are awake Liam. I am glad you made the journey so easily,’ came the familiar voice of the magical spirit.
“Journey, to where? What is going on…?”
“I will answer that for Glitter-under-the-Stars,” came a voice resonating with power, and was not swallowed by the darkness. The figure rose from the chair and doffed the hat in a fluid motion that seemed oddly out of sync with Liam’s vision.
The hat cast shadows along the face of the figure, hiding his features, the robes also hid his body and movements. It is like watching a cloud of fog roll over the water, thought Liam.
Liam stepped onto the white step, then the black one, and struggled to stand tall.
“And w-who are you exactly?”
“The mystery of my identity should be solvable, based on the reports of the simulacrum. You reside in your own body deep within the well of your mind, not yet awakened. However, I have quickened the process slightly to allow this to happen. The structure is being maintained by your servant, Glitters-under-the-Stars, who is also working to aid the protection of your body…and the book…” spoke the figure, who took several steps towards Liam watching his ascent onto the dais with a curious tilt of his head.
“You handle the steps well, I am curious…how did you obtain the book from the tomb?”
“I…I…What tomb?” Liam replied with defiance in his voice, pushing the discomfort deep into his belly the way the Sect had taught him.
The figure chuckled, “You attempt to distract me within your own mind, which I have entered. You have no defenses from me, beyond your guardian here. But I shaped this one, I placed it here, and I designed the wards in the tomb. I have seen the book before and was aware of the tomb being open. Do not play the fool with me, young sage.”
‘It is best that you describe the events, Liam,’ counseled the glowing spirit who Liam counted as an ally and friend. ‘We do not have long.’
***
Aris heard the hooves of the charging steed just before the first bowstring snapped an arrow behind her, she whirled around, raising the warhammer in a swiping motion as she stepped away hoping the arrow was not headed towards her. As the fog cleared she saw the rider and exclaimed with a shril of excitement, “Tor!”
She watched as he plucked a second arrow from his mouth and drew it and fired again, this time a scream accompanied the arrows’ piercing thump. Aris watched as Tor reined in the horse and spun off the saddle, landing near the figure he had shot at close range and slammed a large hand of muscle and bone into the face of the bandit.
Aris darted across the field, back towards the outhouse where she knew Liam would be…then she saw his body, slumped at Tor's feet with the bandit, Larry.
“No!”
She ran fast, but Tor was there, and he kicked Larry once more, near where an arrow had pierced the bandit’s side. She watched as Tor moved to Liam, eyeing the staff, now dark near him, marveling at the oddness of it, and the large ornate book strapped to the sage’s back.
“Glitters!” She shouted, “Where are you?!?!”
Tor whipped his head towards Aris, his frowning face lightening in a soft smirk, “You call him Glitters, now!?!”
The strange man, stood motionless as Liam told him of the finding of the tomb and the decision to go in alone, his capture by bandits (including the man who knocked Liam unconscious: Larry), and the rescue from Aris.
“It was Aris who figured out we needed a key, she was the adventurous one. I was seeking knowledge. Secrets long forgotten. After we got inside, I could feel the power of the place, like it was a sacred site, not a random tomb. There are places like that all over Tommen’s Rest, little pieces of the past. When Balinor ruled. But nothing like this.”
Glitters turned to watch Liam’s detailed explanation with keen interest, noting the skill and phrasing.
“When we reached the interior arches I knew this was something special. Danika’s Star. The Greystone. I was in awe, and so we pressed on.”
The wizened man in the hat, nodded once for him to continue, but was like a statue otherwise.
“We found the staff, the room where a wizard was buried. I was afraid to disturb it, but when I spotted the traps, I went back for the staff, Glitters helped us past them.”
“But what about the Book, Liam. How did you get it?” The voice seemed calm, but there was an urgent need to understand that rumbled in the subtext, a tone of force.
“I.” Liam sighed. Then continued.
“I knew I could get it. Just like I knew about the tomb was uncovered before I was ever there. These two images kept haunting my dreams, for several nihts before I got there. I had…foreseen it.” Liam struggled through the last words, rolling around the concern of the confession that he had known it in a preternatural way.
“Yes, yes. It is a common sign of pre-awakening. But HOW did YOU get it?!” Said the man in the hat, raising his right hand, pointing at Liam, and forcing willpower into the words, commanding him to answer.
Liam’s head swam, his legs grew weak, and he almost fell to his knees. There was power, real magick being wielded in this cave. In his mind. Why do I fight him?
“Aris was afraid!” He shouted at the wizard.
“She couldn’t even get close, but I could. Because I was supposed to, I knew it! I just walked forward, the light around the book, around the pedestal…it flickered out. Then it was in my hands. Before I could even think, we ran out of the tomb! We took it and ran!” Liam shouted at the wizard, falling to his knees, two large wet tears ran down his face.
The two figures on the dais looked at each other, the wizard in the hat spun towards the table, flipping through pages with hast in one of the books, seeking a long-forgotten detail.
Struggling to breathe he finally asked the question that haunted him since he first saw the symbols on the archway in the tomb.
“What is it? Did I do something terrible?”
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