Katerin was content with her quiet life of studying the arcane, and wanted for nothing in her life. She had friends, family, and plenty to do.
But life has a way of changing people--a way of pushing them to do things far outside their comfort and ex...
Arnet turned his focus back to the orb and watched them walk. He was amused at how long it took them to figure out the halls were not normal, but neither were they a maze. He had enjoyed creating this trap for them. It would wear them out, put them on edge, and maybe even cause them to turn on each other, should they wander long enough.
Finally, they stopped walking in circles. Marking their passage with ink, and he smiled again. Maybe the girl deserved more credit, after all. Ink would not solve it, but many of his pets had spent days walking this same trick, slowly losing their minds. "Are you sure?" he asked. "There's ten of them." He grinned at his thoughts. Ten new pets could be fun.
"Ten?" Byron asked, standing and coming to glance at the crystal. He studied the faces, never showing his surprise. Graiden, Juen'tal, Ge'henna's brother.
"Get rid of those." He gestured to the Uhma'zarhins, then turned his gaze to Ge'henna's brother. "Leave him, though. I want him here."
Arnet smiled and moved the crystal to the side of the table, pulling a large ruby from his robes. He closed his eyes and began chanting, the volume of his words rising and falling.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
They walked for hours more. Tracing their path and making small amounts of progress. Finally, they found the end, they thought. A large room, empty save for another door.
Katerin's sigh was cut off by a harsh popping sound, followed by a light clink. She spun to see them all staring at the ground. The Uhma'zarhins were gone and in their place was a large ruby, the size of Katerin's fist. Juen'tal watched it warily as Graiden moved up and picked up the gem.
"What... was that?" she asked.
He stared at it and could only shrug. "You're the one with arcane knowledge." He handed her the gem, and knelt to the floor, searching for any sign of the Uhma'zarhins.
It was hot to the touch, almost burning her skin, and magic flowed around it. But she had no clue what it was or what it had done. It was far more powerful than she was. Her stomach knotted. "We need to find our way out of this," she said quietly, before that can happen again.
"Your system seems to be working," Graiden said as if trying to reassure her. But she only seemed to deflate that much more. He squeezed her arm. "We won't get stuck here."
She nodded, keeping her thoughts to herself. "Can you hold onto this?" She handed him the gem. "I can study it later, but we need to keep moving."
They continued walking, marking every turn until she was convinced it might never end. Turn after turn, the lighting and look of the halls stayed the same. No doorways or anything else changed until the hallways gradually grew wider again. Wide enough for three to stand side by side. The silence was driving them all mad. Nothing besides their footsteps could be heard. The tight halls continued, never changing, and Fykes occasionally began humming until a plethora of angry glares silenced him again.
