Firebrand

It was Pity Killed the Beast

Since they had arrived one day early, the small band had to spend a day waiting for the convergence. Master Fenrick kept them busy with various exercises as demanded by their teachers back at the Lyceum. In between, they gathered firewood and filled their waterskins, and they explored the ruins further. The latter did not yield any results as such; anything of value had long since been removed. Only the subterranean chambers remained.

"What do you think is behind?" The question came from Maximilian. He stood in the moon chamber with Martel and Eleanor, all three of them staring at the stone door.

"Probably just the wine cellar." Eleanor giggled at her own jest.

"There could be all sorts of magical artefacts," Maximilian speculated.

"If so, don't you think all that would have been looted long ago?" Martel asked.

"Maybe they saved a little enchanted sword for me," the mageknight suggested, wiggling his eyebrows.

"I would admire your optimism except for how delusional it is," Eleanor retorted.

"Imagine if any books remained," Martel considered with a dreaming voice. "Think of all the knowledge we might gain."

"I am pretty sure the rats would long since have devoured any paper or parchment," Maximilian told him.

"What rats? Haven't you noticed, there aren't any animals around," Martel pointed out.

"I would not be too sure about that. I heard something scuffle around yesterday when Master Fenrick first showed us the room."

"You think you could hear rats scurrying about from the other side of that?" Eleanor threw her head towards the heavy stone door. Her voice carried a heavy tone of scepticism.

"I will have you know, my hearing is exquisite," Maximilian defended himself.

"Well, so is my sense of smell, and I can smell that lunch is ready." Martel, never one to miss a meal, left the moon chamber as the first; the other two followed after.

~

For the rest of the day, the students found it difficult to focus on their exercises; as night-time approached, their anticipation slowly rose. Still, they had to wait until the sun had set and the sky darkened. Only then did Master Fenrick gather them to take them all into the star chamber.

"Spread out," he commanded them. "Surround the stone and keep your eyes on it."

As they watched, the stars rose in the night sky until the three brightest stood arraigned directly above the gap in the ceiling. Faint light reached the top of the obelisk, gently illuminating the top, while the rest remained the same, dark colour.

"Now watch this." Fenrick stepped close to the stone and placed his hand upon its surface. Slowly, light travelled from the top of the obelisk down hitherto unseen veins until it reached the tip of his fingers. Once the connection had been made, the light began to spread through the rest of the obsidian stone until it glowed with white light. "I was born under the star of Glund." He pulled back, removing his hand, and the stone lost its lustre. "Marche. Try."

Hesitating slightly, the mageknight removed his glove, took a step forward, and placed his hand against the obelisk. Again, the light travelled down from the top to reach his fingers and turn into a soft, blue glow.

"The star of Perel. Unexpected, but it happens. Now another."

One after the other, they all stepped forward to touch and have their star revealed. When it came time for Eleanor, the obelisk became alighted with red.

"Malac. Not a surprise for those with martial inclination." The same happened for most of the mageknights, except for Cheval, who also had blue.

Martel waited as the last, letting the acolytes have their turn first. Once he finally placed his hand against the obelisk, a moment passed where the stone remained the same dull hue, and he feared to be revealed as a fraud without magical skill. Then, the light spread down the veins and finally began to fill the room with white luminescence.

"A fellow child of Glund. I did wonder if there would be any. We do seem fewer in number, at least in groups of mages more inclined to the martial arts." Fenrick observed Martel as he stepped away, and the stone returned to its dormant form. "Now, as we are fortunate enough to have a full moon, allow me to demonstrate the brilliance possessed by the wizards of Archen."

~

The group ventured into the moon chamber. The light of that celestial object entered the room from a gap above, as in the previous space, but with a key difference. Rather than a singular beam of light, it became scattered into three separate rays, each of them striking one of the sigils on the ground.

Master Fenrick arranged for Maximilian to step onto the symbol that represented the rogue. "The jester for you." He gestured for a girl, Elaine, to take the position of the warrior. "Martel, if you would please." He gestured towards the third sigil, showing the sage. The novice quickly stepped over to take his place.

Entering the moonlight on his designated spot as the third and last, the very thing happened as promised by their teacher. With a grinding sound, the stone door slid to the side, disappearing into the wall.

"You may step away. The door only closes once you activate the mechanism again," Master Fenrick explained. He summoned a flame and let it drift towards the now open doorway. The light illuminated many more symbols on the inside of the frame, continuing down the revealed corridor. "If you are wondering, the inscriptions serve as a barrier to prevent passage. Though not for humans." Stepping forward, Fenrick extended his hand to reach past the doorway. "The barrier is not to keep us out, but to keep something in."

"What?" breathed Eleanor.

"We do not know. Nobody has ever passed this threshold and returned." Master Fenrick turned around to look at his students. "Let me stress that. Death has claimed every single mage who ever dared to go beyond this door. I trust none of you are so foolish to even contemplate the idea. Maximilian, Elaine, and Martel. If you would please return to the sigils."

The three students did as instructed, and the stone door closed again.

~

Back at camp, a fire burned to provide warmth in the cool spring evening. The students sat around, catching some heat before it was time to sleep. "I promised Mistress Rana I would gather some rare herbs for her potions while the moon is strong. I assume that I can leave you alone for a bell," Master Fenrick considered. "Should there be any doubt, let me be clear. You are all forbidden from leaving the camp while I'm away. Do not enter the ruins."

The youths murmured their assent. Fetching a bronze sickle, their teacher disappeared into the dark night.

The students glanced at each other. "So, what do you think is down there?" Maximilian asked.

"Maybe a dragon, sleeping on a hoard of gold and jewels." Alain, the third boy among the mageknights besides Cheval, sat with a dreaming expression. As the son of a minor noble, his family could barely afford to pay for tuition at the Lyceum, yet they were too proud to have the Empire pay for his education.

"There could be a whole library," Martel reiterated, still imagining the same thing as this morning.

"I doubt it is books that kill everyone who enters, except from boredom," Maximilian snorted.

"I am not afraid to enter," Cheval declared with an arrogant voice. "Master Fenrick just told us that to frighten us like little children. I bet there is absolutely nothing left beyond that door."

"Easy boast to make when we can't leave the camp," Martel pointed out.

"I will show you," the mageknight declared. "We can go there now. Open the door and I will go through."

"We are not allowed to leave camp," Martel mumbled.

"Now who is afraid?" Cheval asked with contempt.

"Master Fenrick made it very clear we should not cross that threshold." Elaine crossed her arms.

"We do not have to cross it, but are you not tempted to get a better look? The symbols on the door keep us safe while we are inside the chamber. We just need some better light to look down the corridor," argued Maximilian. "Martel is good at creating light. He can send a flame down to illuminate the place while we all watch from a safe distance."

"We shouldn't leave camp," Martel reiterated.

"Master Fenrick will not know. He is gone for a whole bell. It will take us ten minutes to the door and ten minutes back," Maximilian claimed. "Come on, Martel, we need you to open the door."

"You are wasting your time. Who ever heard of a scarecrow with courage?" Cheval smiled.

"Nothing wrong with being sensible," Eleanor chimed in.

Martel looked at the other students. Some regarded him with condescension, some with expectation, and one with pity. The last hit him the most, coming from someone he wanted to impress.

"Let's go."