Becoming the Sorcerer

Step 12: Something Found

A shiver crept up Aldin's back as he stepped through the portal, the moonlight bathing the rugged landscape in a ghostly silver. The rest of the group stepped out, Melissa, Delphine and Luna, their expressions were tight with anticipation.

"Everyone good to go?" Aldin broke the quiet.

"Yep," Luna responded, her eyes scanning the dark crevices between the rocks as the portal closed behind her.

"Just keep focused and stay silent. Any sign of us could ruin everything," Melissa cautioned, her voice serious.

Aldin wiped his clammy palms on his pants, trying to steady his nerves. He didn't know why he was so nervous, but his heart was racing and his gut felt like it was in knots. Delphine noticed his discomfort. "You're the sorcerer here, Aldin. Stand proud. He doesn't know the force he's dealing with."

Luna managed a shaky smile. "You've got this, Aldin."

Melissa's voice grew somber. "Before we go any further, there's something you need to know."

"Is this the time?" Delphine asked, clearly anxious to proceed.

"It's important," Melissa said, locking eyes with Luna. "If things go south, there's an envelope with your names on it among my things. I love you."

"We should get moving. Time isn't on our side," Delphine urged.

Luna nodded and cast an illusion spell, cloaking them from sight.

Approaching the mountain's base, Aldin noticed a solitary cabin. He signaled to the group to slow then creeped up along the side of the trail leading to it. He approached from the side and peeked in—the fire burned without fuel, an eerie sight.

"That's strange," he whispered, feeling the unnatural chill of the flames.

Suddenly, the cabin disappeared, replaced by a vast opening in the mountain. A stairway plunged into darkness. Aldin glanced back to see a note where the door had been. He read it, the words sending a cold dread through him.

Aldin's hands shook as he held the note, its words seeming to writhe and twist in the dim light:

Venture down the stairway deep, where secrets in the mountain's heart do sleep. I await in the shadows where few dare roam. Come alone, or fear will be sown.

C.

He stood straight and waved at the rest of his group. They all appeared from further back in an instant. A quiet pop he had never noticed sounded as Luna's portal appeared next to him. He handed her the note. They all got a chance to look at it before anyone spoke.

"What the hell is this? Is he just playing games with us or what? What's with the stupid poem?" Luna asked.

"Stealth is out the window, but there's no word on the children," Delphine remarked, handing the unsettling note back to Aldin.

"We move forward," Melissa stated, her resolve clear as she began their descent.

Aldin was engulfed in an unusual silence, the guiding Voice now silent for over a day. As they descended into the darkness he tried to connect to the Collective. He did so repeatedly along their trek. It was a long way down a slope then eventually led to a long tunnel. The collective kept showing them walking on and on. He eventually stopped checking due to the monotony of it.

"We're approaching the end. A tunnel stretches before us," Melissa called out.

Leading the group, with Luna and Aldin behind her and Delphine at the back, they moved cautiously. Just as he was about to check the Collective again and without warning, a sharp pain burst in Aldin's head, sending him sprawling to the ground. His vision blurred, he could only watch as Delphine turned on Luna and Melissa, a few fleeting flashes of light were all he saw. Struggling to stand, Aldin's efforts were in vain. As his sight faded, Delphine delivered a brutal kick to his face, plunging him into darkness.