Eternal Beasts

The Master Library of Tara Hill

Thankfully, despite being in that absolute darkness, the nomad leader could breathe normally. And that, all by itself, was enough to keep him from descending into panic.

The downward motion was steady right to the end. Which, apparently dropping out of the antechamber's ceiling, has Seth dropping the rest of the way to the floor, a distance of nearly a meter. He hung in space a moment then landed with a jarring impact.

"Burn me!" the nomad pathfinder grumbled as he steadied himself in the dark. "Thanks for the warning, Timothy!"

There was a stirring in front of him. Then, in a rush of motion and color, a ball of golden light appeared in front of him.

- Can you hear me, Pathfinder Seth? - Timothy's voice spoke from the ball.

"Yes," Seth said as he looked around the fairly simple stone box he found himself in.

One end had a staircase descending into darkness. The other, a staircase going upward. But it only ascended a meter or two before it was choked closed by tightly packed rubble.

- Where are you? -

"In some sort of antechamber, with a blocked staircase going up, and another going down."

- That sounds like the approach, - Timothy's voice indicated. - How is your air? Breathable enough to continue? -

Seth took a careful sniff.

"Other than it being flat and dusty, it seems to be," the veteran pathfinder replied. "Without being refreshed with air from the outside, though, I can't see that remaining the case for long."

- Then we should hasten our efforts, - the wizard firmly suggested.

"Right." Seth looked at the ball of light with a frown. Then, on impulse, he reached out to take hold of it. Only mildly surprised to find it cool to the touch, Seth smoothly threw it down the descending staircase. And he smiled in satisfaction when it arrowed downward without resistance while keeping a constant distance between it and the walls around it.

"Descending now."

Traversing the stairs, he found another set beyond a short landing. So down he threw the line again. And again at the next landing.

Until he found himself standing at one end of a relatively short hallway, with a heavy door at the other end.

"Looking at a door," he reported. "Is that the first ward?"

- No, - Timothy's voice replied from the orb. - You managed to phase in past the first ward. That's the second one. The library entrance will be beyond that. -

"Okay. Will Jared's key get past this ward?"

- Of that, I'm uncertain, Pathfinder, - was Timothy's reply.

"Okay. Let me try something else." Seth paused to gather his thoughts. Then:

- Honored Watcher, can you hear me? -

- Pathfinder Seth! - the Watcher's voice said into his mind with not a little relief. - It's good to hear your voice, albeit somewhat sooner than I expected. I sense things haven't gone exactly to plan in Tara Hill. -

- Not quite, honored Watcher, - Seth admitted then quickly explained what had transpired since they had portaled into the valley.

When he was done relating how the vahndim had acted to save them from the Harbinger ambush, he could almost feel the Watcher mulling that over. When the ancient entity spoke again, it was with a definite thoughtful tone.