Tower of the Moon

Chapter 22

    From darkness, the world slowly grew light. This cold world looked like it was on the verge of winter. The trees were barren, the grass and the ground a muddy brown.

    The wizard, Cole, Etsel and the shadowcats broke the circle and looked around.

    “Where are we?” Etsel asked Cole.

    “I’m not exactly sure,” he said.

    The wizard ignored their questions and packed up his brazier and the teleport deck. Cole never saw him carrying a satchel or anything so he was never sure where he kept all these things.

    Even after Cole had stolen the Namriaan for the wizard, still he didn't trust Cole. The wizard had put the Brinnian bands back on, preventing all magic. The thought made Cole feel dismal, as did their current mission.

    “This way,” said Brokk. The shadowcats followed, wordlessly. Cole sighed and walked after them.

    Etsel followed last, guarded closely by one of the shadowcats.

    "What about Rissa?" asked Cole quietly so that Etsel wouldn't overhear them. "I got the Namriaan. When will you let her go?"

    "When our work is done," said the wizard.

    Steal the Namriaan. Deliver the Namriaan. The list kept getting longer. Would the wizard really let his sister go?

    They followed a path through the barren land up to a sheer cliff wall in which was a cave entrance.

    Inside, the narrow cave was only dimly lit by the ambient light from the outside. The wizard did a quick spell to summon a bright, magical lantern. The cave looked partly lived in by some creature. Bones lay in the corners as well as small nests made of twigs and rags. The wizard only gave these things a cursory glance and continued to the end of the tunnel, where they came upon a stone doorway.

    The two shadowcats rolled back the large, round stone door. They all went into this musty cavern and the cats shut the door again.

    This semi-circular cavern looked almost natural but Cole was sure it had been carved out of black rock. The floor was fairly smooth and well worn in places. At the far end lay another door, this one of solid metal.

    It was locked. The wizard used his wand, chanted a few words and it opened. This doorway led to a long stone corridor. It did look like it had been used in recent time.

    The cat went first, then Cole and the wizard. Lastly came Etsel, followed by the shadowcat. As they moved forward, Cole slowed down.

    “Cat!” he said.

    The shadowcat stopped and turned to glare at him. Cole still couldn’t tell these creatures apart—or which was the male and which was the female, for that matter. Cole stepped in front of the cat and stared down at the stone floor. They looked odd and he realized there was an illusion over them.

    “I think there’s a trap, here,” said Cole. “There’s an illusion cast on the floor.”

    The wizard came forward and investigated. “Very good, Cole. You’re right. Keep to the right side,” said the wizard. They continued on, avoiding the trap.

    If this place was lived in, it wasn’t well kept. These halls had been passed through but were not clean in a livable sense. Debris littered the place here and there.

    “Who lives here?” asked Cole.

    “I’m not sure anyone does,” said the wizard as they got to the end of the hall. A large grate prevented them from going further. There was no lever on this side of the door to open it. Through the grate, Cole could see a hallway with a large set of double doors on the other side.