A Monster Life

48 - What's Shaking?

'How's the mapping coming along?' asked Ulric while Valdys added another piece to the map of the tunnels She had spent time on it in the kitchen since the first reports came in from the spirits exploring the underground.

She looked up at him. 'The chamber we found is probably the centre of a maze of tunnels.' She pointed at several open endings in a tangle of parallel lines on the paper. 'This is as far as our friends could go without losing orientation. There might be a huge maze underneath our feet but we have no way to tell right now. Also, it might have been unintended by the ones who built it in the first place. I would've placed the entrance we found a lot further from the chamber if the entire maze was meant for keeping the ring piece safe.'

Ulric nodded. 'Those things must have burrowed more tunnels through the years.'

'Indeed. And another question that poses, is just how many of those worrisome worms are in there.'

'I don't mind if there are hundreds, as long as they stay away.'

Valdys chuckled. 'Agreed.'

Ulric stretched, and looked at Valdys and Kaui. 'Ready to descend into wormness?'

Kaui chuckled and pat her satchel. 'I packed everything I might think is useful, Master.'

Valdys stood up. 'I went over the books from the tower again, so I hope I have everything I need in my head.'

***

'Are we safe to go?' asked Ulric as he looked left and right into the tunnel where the passage down at the stairs linked up to. Two golem spiders hung a little farther on either side to illuminate the tunnel.

Trixy chittered her affirmation after receiving the all clear from the spirit guarding the passage.

'Let's go.' he said over the link to Kaui and Valdys, and Elzbieta nodded.

They followed one more spirit who acted as their guide, even if Ulric and Elzbieta already knew the way. It floated at a short distance in front of them, and the two spiders followed closely behind it to provide light again.

A shiver went down Kaui's spine. 'I really don't like this place.' she said. 'Cold and dark gives me a sense of dread.'

Ulric rubbed her back. 'I can imagine, cutie. I think you'll feel a little better when we reach the chamber. where Iphi is waiting for us.'

Inside the chamber, she did feel a little better but the sense of dread still hinted at its presence in the back of her mind. The puzzle of the cube helped to distract her though. 'It does look like the material I've seen before.' she said while she used her flashlight to illuminate the inside. 'It's not as pure because there are specks of dust or grains of sand in it. It was likely made in haste.'

She pulled back from the cube and Valdys held her hands close to it while closing her eyes. 'I sense similar magic as there was on the tower's front door. I should be able to unlock the cube from the pedestal.'

Kaui pulled out flasks, jars, and alchemy tools from her satchel. 'I think I can make something to dissolve the cube without damaging the piece inside.'

'I have every faith you two can do it, my dears.' said Ulric. 'Just let me know if we can do anything.'

Valdys sensed the magic embedded in the cube as a twirling aura in colours matching the type of magic used. Not the same colours that she saw every day with her eyes, nor alive in rainbows. There were no words to describe the them, but she understood them, and better with each boost to her tallies and addition to the knowledge of her library. She picked one colour, traced it back to its origin, and mixed it with the colour she conjured to neutralise it. One by one, she matched the strands of colour with their opposites, turning each into not black nor white, but into the colour of void. She had to make sure the colour matched perfectly, because she sensed the powerful spell underneath, and one mismatch would trigger its destructive force.