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Again, he reached out and found the barrier with his hands. He followed
it from left to right and found that it extended from wall to wall. He
continued moving his hands about, trying to find a hole or a break. None
existed. It appeared to cover the entire width of the passage.
Ryson stepped back and glanced around his feet. He spied a small stone
and picked it up. With a slight flick of his wrist, he gently cast the stone
at the barrier. It was an amazing sight. The stone floated through the air
until it hit the barrier. It jolted to a stop in midair and dropped straight
to the ground. It barely made a sound upon impact with the invisible wall, but
its thud upon reaching the ground echoed through the crevice. Shaking his head
with puzzlement, he turned and climbed back out into the open air. He stood
outside the crevice considering what he had found. He could not, however,
divine a reasonable explanation.
Of course, the unreasonable reared up with disturbing
possibilities.Magic. Was this yet one more case of something he could not
fathom? He was growing weary of such explanations. Just once, he would have
hoped to venture upon something of a more conventional nature, something which
might not seem so implausible.
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Ryson wondered if Lief might explain this phenomenon. He checked the
elf's progress. The elf was closing on his position, yet he was still several
paces away.
Ryson sighed. He looked further up the mountain. He continued to sense a
strong attraction from a point near the top. He felt no danger, only a
summoning. The pull was strong, and he greatly desired to move further up the
mountain. The existence of the barrier, however, created an anchor which kept
him in place. He waited at the mouth of the crevice until the elf reached him.
Lief did not appear winded by the climb. He stepped up to Ryson with
diligence, and he immediately noted the concern on the delver's face.
"What have you found?" the elf demanded.
"I'm really not sure," the delver responded without shame in admitting
his confusion. "I started checking out the hole and I couldn't see the bottom.
I wanted to see if it led all the way into the mountain, so I started walking
into it."
Lief listened carefully as he stepped up to the break in the mountain
wall.He peered into the shadows as Ryson continued.
"I got a few steps inside," the delver explained, "then I hit something.
It was like a wall, but it's invisible."
If the presence of the invisible barrier alarmed the elf, he did not show
it. It was the breach which held his concentration, a break in a mountain
which was supposed to be indestructible. "Did you see anything or anyone? Did
you hear anything?"
"Didn't see or hear anything," Ryson responded simply.
Lief would wait not a second more before further examination of the
tunnel.
"Let's take a look," he stated bluntly.
The elf stepped slowly forward. Ryson followed behind.
Ryson pointed to an area a few paces forward. "The barrier's just ahead."
Lief stopped before he took more than three steps into the crevice.
"What's wrong?" the delver asked pensively.
"Don't you feel it?" the elf's agitation was clearly apparent on his
face. His hands shook slightly and he wrung them together as if hoping to
remove an unwanted film.
"Feel what?" Ryson questioned as he watched the elf with growing concern.
The elf's voice remained firm, but within his tone of both strength and
impatience, a hint of fear became noticeable for the first time."The magic. It
is pouring out of this hole."
"You can feel it?"
"Yes. Yes, I can. This does not bode well. I should not stay here for
long. Quickly, show me this barrier."
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The two continued forward. Ryson walked with outstretched arms until he
found the invisible wall.
Lief walked up to it and examined it quickly.
"It is a force field," he stated. "It will block our path. We don't have
the power to break it. Long ago, magic casters surrounded themselves with
these invisible fields of energy to protect themselves from arrows and stones.
They could concentrate upon their spells and release them through the force
field. It will keep us out, but it won't prevent the energy from flowing to
the outside. That's why the magic is able to escape. Follow me now. We need to
get back to the free air."
Lief stepped quickly upward.As he broke out into daylight, he stepped to
a safe distance away from the breach.
"Are you alright?" Ryson asked with obvious concern as he followed.
"Yes, the magic is more dispersed out here, but none of this bodes well.
The power of the sphere is being funneled out of the mountain through that
crevice. It is just as I feared. Unfortunately, I still don't know why. I can
only imagine that some horrid creature has found the power to dig through the
mountain and break through the diamond walls. It must be down there now
directing the power through the tunnel it made."
"I don't think so," Ryson responded. "I checked the walls of the tunnel.
It didn't look like a dig. Also, the force which made it pushed out from
within the mountain, not from here inward."
The elf's frown grew just as his eyes widened. "Are you sure?"
"Absolutely.I saw the way the rock was broken. All the angles indicate
the force came from the inside and pushed out."
"But that doesn't make any sense. I know the sphere is still inside
there. I can feel the magic pouring out. Why would this cavern exist if that
is so? If it was used as an escape route to take the sphere to a safe place, I
would understand. But the sphere is still there!"
"I can't explain it. I just know what I saw."
"Fire upon all of this!" the elf said in frustration. "This has become
too much for me. I need council. I must return to my camp and explain what we
have seen. Although I am already in debt to your service, I ask that you
accompany me. You will help me in forcing the truth upon them."
"I'll go," Ryson said quickly, "but I want you to come with me up the
mountain first. There's something up there I need to see. I think you might
need to see it as well."
Lief actually groaned.The weight of his problems became more visible with
each second. He shook his hands out in front of him as he animated his
consternation.
"We do not have time to go on a delver hunt! Don't you understand what
we've found?! Sanctum has been breached! We do not yet know why or by whom."
"The answer may lie up there," the delver replied, taking no offense at
the elf's outburst. While he had only knownLief for little more than a day,
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Ryson already accepted the fiery spirit of the elf's personality.
Lief eyed the delver harshly."Fire upon you!Now you leave me no choice. I
could not leave now if I wanted to! I'm aware of your powers and your great
senses. By telling me an answer is so close, I could not do anything but
follow you to whatever you seek! I only hope what you say is true. To waste
time now may be more than foolish, it may be fatal." The elf paused. He sighed
and groaned simultaneously. He brought one hand to his forehead as if trying
to wipe away his problems. When he spoke again, his tone was forceful, yet
sincere. "I will not hang that upon you, though. I will only ask you to probe
deeply that which you feel. Is it merely curiosity to a story I spoke of which
attracts you, or is it something more? Examine closely! Do you truly believe
it is something related to what we now face or is it simply the hold of a
legend?"
Ryson took the request with great seriousness. He shut his eyes and stood [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]