The Iron Mage

Part 10: The Corpus Arcanum

As soon as Reinhardt had spotted the tracks on the road, he had ordered the group to head into the forest. They had stopped only when Reinhardt had been convinced that they couldn't be spotted from the road. He had immediately ordered Elín to survey the area. Just before they had left, Reinhardt and Kharan had exchanged a worried look. When the pair returned from their reconnaissance mission, only Reinhardt and Jekaterina were waiting for them. Immediately, Reinhardt jumped up. "So? What did you see?" he inquired. "Well, it was like you feared. Someone is currently excavating the ruins," Dane said, sensing the anxiety in Reinhardt's words. "There were no standards or anything, so I couldn't tell who was organizing it. I'd assume the project to be a private one, so at the very least, the White Order doesn't seem to be involved." Reinhardt nodded, stroking his beard nervously. "I see. Do you have any clue as to how far they have progressed? Were they already in?" It was apparent that Reinhardt was uncharacteristically worried. Then again, it was understandable. They had come so far, yet it seemed like someone was going to pass them by right at the goal line. "The man I assume to be the one responsible for the operation did say something about getting inside in a day," Dane answered, only now realizing what all this meant. There was no way the ones excavating the lair would give the body to them. Indeed, it seemed like his dream of regaining a body was about to be dashed. Surprisingly enough, Reinhardt took the news well. In fact, he breathed a sigh of relief, even it was a bit strained.

"Then I suppose there is still some hope for us," Reinhardt mumbled crossing his arms. He seemed to be deep in thought. Jekaterina, meanwhile, didn't seem to be too bothered by the whole ordeal. She was currently sitting nearby, sketching an image of a plant into her notebook. "Where are the others?" Elín asked. Before Reinhardt could answer, however, Kharan and Milo emerged from the forest, atop their mounts. "We found it! By my beard, we found it!" Kharan exclaimed. Reinhardt nodded and joined the dwarf on the mountain dragon's back. "Excellent. But we need to get moving immediately. Our competitors are almost inside themselves, as it would appear." The expression of glee disappeared from Kharan's face, replaced by a stern look of determination. "Hey, you. We're going, and that means that you have to move, too," Milo sighed. He had ridden next to Jekaterina and had shoved her lightly. Now with even the scatter-brained mage in tow, the group headed out. Kharan led them toward the mountain. As they neared it, they could hear the sounds of pickaxes hitting stone in the distance. Soon they reached a narrow and very old trail, almost imperceptible due to the vegetation that had sprung up. "It is exactly like my father's notes said. There is a secret entrance at the back of the old fortress," Kharan explained as they moved along the trail. The incline was quite steep, so Jekaterina's and Milo's horses struggled to move in places. Meanwhile, the mountain dragon and Elín's horse, Frost, showed no sign of slowing down. Finally, they reached a dead end. Kharan dismounted and walked to the mountain's side. He dug up a bizarre-looking object from his bag, and after some fiddling about, the stone rolled away, revealing a passage. "Even the key works exactly like he described," Kharan said, triumphantly holding up the object in his hand.

The hallway Kharan had revealed was pitch black. While he and Elín would have likely managed just fine, Jekaterina, Dane and Milo couldn't see anything. I wouldn't be surprised if Reinhardt could see in the dark... Then again, why can't I? I mean, how do I see in the first place, it's not like I have eyes? Well, questions for another time, Dane mused as Kharan hefted his large back-bag from the mountain dragon's back. After some shuffling around, he pulled out a portable version of the lamps Dane had seen at the dwarven city's outskirts. He twisted a knob on brass housing that covered the glass container, which contained the ball of moss itself. Soon it lit up, lighting the way. Jekaterina was looking on with an enamoured expression. "How does that work? I sense no mana from it, but somehow you were able to turn it on so easily!" Kharan shook his head, starting to walk down the passage. "Sorry, lass, but I can't tell you. Unfortunately, us dwarves are very secretive about our inventions," he said, in a somewhat apologetical tone. Jekaterina was visibly disappointed yet made no effort to pry the secret from the dwarf. Most likely, this was due to the fact that they were about to enter a lair no human had laid their eyes on for the last century. "What shall we do with our horses? I don't know about your 'dragon', but I doubt the horses would be very happy staying inside..." Milo asked, peering down the dark hallway. "Let's leave them here for now. I don't think anybody will come around, and we won't be staying in there for long, anyway," Reinhardt answered, after some deliberation. Milo nodded and started tying his horse's reins to a nearby tree. Both Milo's and Jekaterina's horses seemed unsettled by the presence of the mountain dragon, but Frost didn't seem to be bothered in the least. Leaving them outside was somewhat risky, but Dane couldn't be bothered to worry about that. The only thing he could think about right now was how close his new body, and life, seemed.