Felarya's Nightmare

Chapter 21 - Appearances can deceive

            They spent hours walking and rummaging through that bag, but finally they arrived at their destination;

Div: "Finally... We're here! Let's go inside, quick; I don't want to stay out here!"

            And then they entered what appeared to be a pyramid that closely resembled the Aztec pyramids, but much larger, built for the giants themselves. When they entered, Div bent down and opened the bag, and they all got out; without wasting any time, Richard reviewed the plan with them, and they all agreed on the steps.

            Following the plan, Idril and Richard would guard the entrance while the rest of the group stayed with Div, exploring the ruins of the pyramid in question. Richard and Idril remained at the entrance while the rest of the group entered the ruins; an air of suspense and nervousness hung in the air, and Idril sensed it, asking Richard about it.

Idril: "Hey... I know what we're doing seems kind of random, but at least we're doing something good, right?"

Richard: "Yes... I'm just a little nervous... I don't know how I'll react if some of those giantessess come... I'm scared... But I want to protect everyone here and that will be my goal now, I can't get distracted." Richard says while examining his golden armband on his arm and still feeling a little of the heat from that thing.

            Meanwhile, inside the ruins, Div and the rest of the group are exploring, finding enormous halls, small rooms, chairs, tables—things that seem to have been abandoned for decades.

Pita: "Wow! This place is huge! Do you know where this pyramid came from or what it's for, Div?"Div spoke softly while curiously resting his hand on the wall: "I don't know... but maybe it was some kind of temple or place of knowledge... Built by people who wanted to preserve the knowledge or culture of something or someone, but it seems it didn't work out very well..."

Nixa asks Div: "So, where did you get that fabric?"Div: "It was in that room... (She points to an open doorway leading directly into a room) I found a statue that had this cloth (patting her bag with her hand) serving as a cloak, but if we go in, the others will probably come."

Vigara approaches the entrance mentioned by Div, and while the others followed behind her, she stops them, putting her arm in front of them and says: "There's something here... not a blocking spell, but a detection spell... That's why you were attacked, Div, when you passed through here, this door sounded like an alarm and they came."

Lis sees the entrance and it seems normal, and says: "Well... is there any way to disable this?"

Vigara: "I don't know... I don't see anything, isn't there another entrance to this room, Div?"

Div: "Unfortunately not, but I think it's best if we look at other rooms; maybe there will be an answer there."

            Everyone looks at each other and nods in agreement with the plan, and meanwhile, at the entrance to the pyramid:

Idril: Man... this is complicated, look, I thought I was going to spend my whole life in that city living like a bum and now look at me!

Richard: "Are you going on an adventure?"

Idril looked at Richard with disappointment and disdain: "I'll die like a bum, thanks."

Richard: "Hey, sorry about that, but it's not my fault!"

Idril: "Yeah... I know, and that's what bothers me. I can't blame anyone, I just hope I'm alive the next day... What a change of plans, but tell me, what's that bracelet do?"

Richard glances at the bracelet, which hasn't changed at all, and says, "Oh, I don't know, Saknesh said this was some kind of containment, a filter."

Idril: "SAKNESH?? I'm a fan of that guy, he makes incredible equipment, he's like an official government blacksmith, but if he couldn't tell you, maybe I can."

             Showing a proud smile and turning up his nose, he asks Richard to come closer and show him his bracelet. Richard does so, and while Idril look clooser, he begins to touch it as if he were touching a book, reading letter by letter, and says: "Look, this is more of an artistic interpretation than a functional one. It looks like a battle. This jewel could be you or something valuable that these creatures are fighting for... Perhaps a battle that this bracelet will actually activate? I don't know... But try doing something with that fire there."

            Richard manages to launch flames about 6 feet away as if it were a flamethrower and says: "Wow... I barely used any force... Let's see if this works" and he makes a bow and arrow gesture and in his hands, a bow of fire and an arrow appear and he aims at a nearby rock. The flaming arrow-shaped projectile only grazes the rock, but it was enough to leave marks on the stone.

            So, observing the temperature of his projectiles, he noticed that the heat didn't bother him, even though he felt it. He could make well-crafted swords, crossbows, and shields, as if he had the power of a Green Lantern, but with blazing flames that quickly dissipated because he didn't concentrate much. Richard looked at the quiver of arrows on Idril's back and said, "Wow... I didn't even realize you had a bow and arrows until now..."

Idril: "Ah yes, that's right... I only used it in emergencies, I went years without touching it... it's a family trait, from one that doesn't belong to me."

Richard: "Is this bow a burden for you?"

Idril, looking at the bow in his hands and smiling, said: "HA! I wish... I'm so proud of this bow... I made it myself... when I was about... 180 years old, still very young, with my father. He simply gave me a piece of wood and said: 'Today you're going to create a bow that will be yours forever!' I thought he was joking and I started making and cutting that wood the way I thought a bow should be made. Wow, what a horrible thing it was! Hahahaha! But when I said I was finished, my father took the bow, inspected it, and said: 'Okay, now it's yours,' and when I held it... The bow shone, and I felt like it was another part of my body!"
Even though the bow looks thick and poorly made, it's very malleable, and when I grew up I asked my father this question and he simply smiled at me and said, "Don't worry about it, boy! Just look, focus, concentrate and unleash your potential," and I felt that even though I didn't have answers... I felt that was enough. A few years later he passed away; the healers and doctors said it was poisoning or something toxic he touched. I never knew the answer... But I know he's okay now."

Idril looks up at the sky, closes his eyes, and hears branches and leaves rustling in the distance. He immediately warns themselves to hide behind the wall at the entrance to the pyramid. Hearing Idril, Richard immediately listens and hides with him. He sees that Idril is fully alert and asks, "Idril... what did you see?"

Idril, completely focused on the background of the forest, says quietly: "Not what I saw, but what I heard. I was kind of far away, but not that far..."

Richard: "Maybe some animal... right?"

Idril: "I don't know... I can't risk it."

Then they see a deer emerging from the woods, alert and eating the grass, and they relax and breathe a sigh of relief when a giant elf lands on top of the deer. She was about 23 feet tall and wearing no clothes. Idril and Richard were caught by surprise and returned to their hiding places, only listening to the elf chewing on the deer. Richard looked at Idril and saw her wide eyes, her breathing ragged, and Richard quietly asked: "What happened?? Are you okay??" and Idril looked at him with eyes that seemed to have come from the most psychologically horrific horror movie ever made and said: "I.... I didn't hear her.... She was practically invisible and I can't hear her even though she's 650 feet away... She's practically invisible to us...."

A female voice that seemed to come from the Elf said: "You'd better hurry up with whatever you're doing there... They're coming..." and a huge jump could be heard going away.

Richard looked at Idril and said, "We have to warn them..." while Idril looked at him and he nodded, completely worried, and so they ran inside the pyramid in search of their friends to warn them.