ULTRAMagic Interlude (Bonus Chapters)

Chapter 32

Sometime after dinner, Dragoslava and Desislav were winding down for the night. The meal was nice and they were pretty happy with their progress for the day. Both of them relaxed in Dragoslava's room as the calm night carried on. Desislav was lying in bed and watching television while Dragoslava was at her desk, writing. Things seemed too peaceful, however. It was not that something bad was about to happen, rather something interesting.

Desislav was enjoying a documentary about the Descendants of the far north when the television began to mess up. The channel had gone to static, as if the signal had been cut. He wanted to tell Dragoslava, but something kept him from doing that. A new scene appeared on the screen, depicting a strange sight. An indigo flame was bouncing about in a city he had never seen before. And just like that, the scene was over. Desislav was brought back to reality by the sounds of the documentary.

"Drago, did you see that?"

"See what?" She asked as she paused her writing.

"That... the interruption."

"There was an interruption? All I heard was the documentary."

Desislav got up. "No, there was a... give me a second." Putting together what he saw was bothersome, but he managed to come up with something coherent. "It was a giant cavern, a colossal cavern. One that is too big to describe. And there were upside down towers, carved into the rock. All of it was suspended above a white void..."

"Stop, Desislav. Do you know what you just described?"

"Um, do you?"

She nodded. "That sounds like The City of the Abyss."

"What's that?" He wondered.

Dragoslava got up from her chair. "It's an ancient city beneath The Iron City. Our ancestors used it to commune with the gods. Obviously it's a sacred place and we can't just go down there. Unless... What else did you see in your vision?"

"An indigo soul fragment."

"Alright then..." Dragoslava went to her closet and grabbed her pack. "Dad and Englehart aren't going to be thrilled, but I think we just got an invitation."

Dragoslava quietly led Desislav to a building near Corentin's house that opened up into a great cavern. This was known as The Ancient Cave. It was noteworthy for where it led to and the glowing, purple crystals throughout it. The walk through the cave was peaceful, with the only other sounds being flowing water and cave critters scuttling about. Eventually the two came to a giant, stone door that was covered in runes and symbols.

"Amazing. So how do we get in?" Desislav inquired.

Dragoslava began operating a series of rings, lining up the symbols. "This lock. It's a riddle, with the question written in the language of our ancestors. It always changes, so you can't just memorize the riddle. The king is the one responsible for teaching the language to certain people among us, so you need to talk to him or someone he trusts. It's not the easiest to learn, but it's very similar to Descendian..."

"You're not speaking English?"

"No, but I have been learning it for a while now."

"What? Then how are you...?"

"Magic..." Dragoslava took a second to cease her translation spell, confusing Desislav. The words she spoke sounded so close to English, but were completely unrecognizable to him. "Don't worry, most Descendants speak English. I've just been lazy."

"I see... so what did the door say?"

Dragoslava giggled as she finished. "I can't tell you, you silly goose. It's a secret. I can say it was pretty funny, however."