Bloodsword: War of the Leaf

Sun Reaver

“Great,” Lax said with a frustrated grimace.  “More magic!  And with our only magic user unconscious.”

“Was unconscious,” Tev growled softly, stirring on Feral’Sath’s shoulder, “and, with this headache, I think I would like to stay unconscious!”

“Quit complaining and give us a hand with this door, would you?” was Lax's tart response.

Tev threw a hard look over at Lax as he tapped Feral’Sath on the shoulder to let him down.

“Do you want to give this whole blood magic thing a try, Lax?” he asked acidly and Lax quickly threw up his hands, capitulating.

“Thought so,” the human muttered, pain still flickering through his body as he settled on his feet.  Whatever that weapon was that the Silver Hawks had used down in the hallway, it had pounded him good.  With his head throbbing like it was, It was difficult to even concentrate enough to summon the blood magic.  But he knew that if they didn’t, several dozen Silver Hawks would come racing down the hallway they had just traversed, most likely armed with more devices like they had faced down in the dungeon.

“What’s beyond this door?” he asked, grimacing as he carefully stood, nursing sore muscles.

“Something the big Solavar called a Sun Reaver,” Joran supplied, with a glance over at Kora, who nodded in confirmation.  “It seems that the Silver Hawks have built some sort of magical device beyond that door.  But it takes magic to get through to even look at the damn thing.”

Nodding his understanding, Tev stepped forward, willing strength into his limbs by shear brute force.  Thanks to the effects of that weapon, he felt as though he wasn’t able to summon the full power of the blood magic.  But he could feel its remnants coursing through his veins.  With luck, it should be enough to do what he thought might work.

“Kora, I think I overheard you say the Solavar touched some sort of symbol on the door?” he quietly asked, eyes narrowing as he examined the hundreds of symbols that had been carved into the double doors.

“Aye.”  The stocky Ajanti woman replied from where Lax had leaned her up against the wall.  “Somewhere on the right hand door.”

“The right hand door?” Tev stepped closer, eyes narrowed as he scanned over the indicated portal.  “Well, let’s just see which one of these symbols actually are magical, shall we?”  he said under his breath as he began to focus his will.

Touching the door lightly, the human drew a small question mark on the cold metal.  Flaring slightly, the question mark absorbed into the metal, giving the entire door a soft red glow.  By the light of that glow, several symbols began to glow of their own accord.  Some glowed red, some blue while others green.  Only one glowed with a white light.  The one that sat in the middle of a flat plate.

“Not to point out the obvious, but this door is heavily warded.”  Tev pointed out with a soft voice.  He indicated the red ones.  “Those would trigger some sort of automated weapon, something that would catch us unawares and destroy us before the door would open.  Those.”  He pointed to the blue ones.

“Would sound an alarm that would alert the Silver Hawks to our presence here.  Not that they really need that, since they already know, but there you have it.  And those.”  He pointed to the green symbols.  “They would let us in but not back out again, trapping us inside to hold until the Silver Hawks came and got us.  That.”  Tev smiled and touched the only symbol that glowed white.

There was a soft chime and silently the doors swung open to reveal the vast chamber within with its strange stone alter.

“Is the key that lets us both in and out.”  Tev finished, stepped forward gingerly on protesting legs.