Iceblade Ascendant

14: LURE

Zephyrle narrowed her violet eyes as she studied the darts flying across the passage, her mouth turned downward into a grimace. There was a moment of dread silence as her words sank in. What a load of shitty luck, running into an iron-filled dart trap. Iron was poison to the Beltharin. The chemicals within the ore, once melted by hot bloodfire, caused havoc within a fire elf's body. Being hit by an iron dart could prove fatal. Breathing in deeply, she felt the bloodsap flowing through her, seeping into her core. There was a flicker of purple energy as her vision was enhanced. Every detail stood out in stark detail: the cracks in the stones on the passage floor, the carved engravings on the wall-braziers, the serpentine creepers slithering down the walls. Looking up, she could see that the gallery above was infested with green plantlife, bioluminescent bulbs shedding a dim, blue-white light. What at first had resembled a crumbling, stone corridor void of life for a thousand cycles, was, up above, another world teeming with new growth.

"Up there," Zephyrle told the others, "there may be a way out."

Jaewyn glanced up momentarily then returned her attention to the darts.

"First we have to get past this trap. If I just had my shield..."

"Don't worry, I'll take care of this." Kalethe pointed Isaku at the wall vent. "Isyrynar Shadarius, Arcturius Thellanos!" An icebolt shot from the azure blade and smashed into the vent, freezing it over in an instant with a thick layer of ice.

"Thanks Kal," Jaewyn lifted her chin at the warlock. Zephyrle stared at her friend, and the way she was looking at the Antharin. It was as if Jaewyn were deciding whether to be thankful or annoyed at Kalethe for depriving her the opportunity to work their situation out herself. Perhaps he wasn't such a heartless bastard after all...

In response to Jaewyn, Kalethe grunted and looked away.

"Forget about it. I apologize about before... I didn't plan on getting stuck down here." He looked back at Jaewyn. "Let's just get a move on."

Jaewyn raised an eyebrow and switched her emerald gaze to Zephyrle.

"Is there a way up Zeph?"

"I'll soon find out," Zephyrle replied casually, striding confidently down the corridor, kicking aside the scattered iron darts with her boot.

Her eyes scanned the walls, searching for potential footholds. At the end of the corridor she could see a set of large doors, wrought entirely from brass and dominated by the skull and claw sigil of Deathclaw Dungeon. Two massive cogs were slightly visible, protruding across the lower surface of the doors. The whole area above and around the doors was a mess of pipes, vents and metal cylinders, no doubt used in some way to power the doors. Thick, mechanical rods attached to a panel in the wall, encrusted with exposed cogs and gears, disappeared into fittings between the stones.

She knew better than to simply take hold of the handle: it was obvious the door was locked, perhaps even trapped, and operated from elsewhere. She'd raided enough ancient temples and jungle-choked ruins to know that. Near the door there was a suspicious section of wall that was slightly less vine-cloaked. It was scuffed, as if someone had scrambled their way up to the gallery.

"Stay here, kay," she instructed the others, not taking her eyes off the plants above. Taking a step back, she launched herself at the scuffed section of wall, effortlessly leaping up.

Once at the top, she stood up straight and surveyed her surroundings, smiling inwardly. It'd be good to have a moment to herself. With the others around she hadn't had any opportunities to...liberate any of the shinies she'd spied lying around. What harm would it do if she helped herself to a couple dozen gemstones or a few handfuls of floryns? Surely here, in this ancient Atlantyan dungeon, there'd be some treasure just waiting around for her to rescue it. The gallery's floor was ancient, cracked stone, criss-crossed with snaking, leafy tendrils. Above the ceiling was lost amidst a mass of vines, roots and rocks. No escape through the ceiling, then.