Prophecies of Cavalon

Chapter 5: Friend or Foe?

Friend or Foe?

Even with two small fireballs to light our way, the pitch black was so thick we could hardly see beyond our feet.

The tunnel twisted from left to right, splitting off into side tunnels every so often.

We only paused at each of these splits for a second or two, only to feel a surge of dark magic from one or the other.

We took that to be Calisto guiding us to her, so we would always follow the strongest surge of magic.

As we went deeper into the labyrinth of tunnels, I noticed Rina was starting to act a bit hurried.

"What is it Rina?" I asked as she caught herself from breaking into a run, "Do you sense something?"

She kept her eyes pointed forward as she spoke to us, "I can't explain it, but it's almost like I can feel Cadence's presence.

Like something is pulling me forward from the very core of my being."

We continued on for another moment, when a terrifying scream echoed from farther down the tunnel.

I would have known that voice anywhere, "Cadence!" I screamed in return.

I spurred Blaze into a gallop and Rina struggled to keep up with us as we raced down the tunnels, barely avoiding the walls as they flashed by in a blur.

All at once the walls pulled away and we came into what felt like a giant room. Even though we couldn't see anything, we could hear the echoes as the horses' hooves clicked on the stone.

We slowed to a stop, not knowing what to expect, when a blinding light filled the room.

We cried out in pain as our dark-adjusted eyes painfully tried to shield us from the glare, and I covered my eyes with both hands to try and not go blind.

I could feel Blaze stumbling under me, and I rolled to the side as he fell to the ground in pain.

I tucked into a ball and shut my eyes tight, crawling around on my hands and knees as I tried to locate Blaze and Rina in the blazing glare.

I found Rina first, her flanks heaving as he muscles clenched in pain.

I soothed her as best as I could, her pain seeming to subside under my hands.

I left her for a moment, feeling around nearby to try and locate Blaze, when the lights dimmed as suddenly as they had come on.

I hesitantly opened one eye and then the other, seeing that the blinding light had diminished to that of normal indoor lighting.

I looked to my right to see Rina slowly getting to her feet, and a quick glance the other direction showed Blaze doing the same.

I groaned as I pushed to my knees and then my feet, slowly straightening as I looked around the cavern.

It must have been at least a hundred feet high, and nearly twice that in diameter.

It resembled a dome in general shape, with magical makings carved into every available inch of rock.

Some glowed a bright orange while others stayed ominously dim.

Even others almost seemed to move with the ones next to them, switching spots on the rock like a crazed game of checkers.

We stood in the rough center of the cavern, the floor decked out with the same magic runes as the walls, though the ones under our feet were arranged in a complex hexagram within an even more complex decagram.