Luckborn

"Woah!" Otter yelped as his torch was immediately extinguished.

Jasper reached for his sword again.

"Otter!" Erin stepped forward, drawing her bow.

"Don't shoot!" Otter warned. "I'm fine."

The water curled around Otter, binding his arms to his side and forming a bubble of air around his head. Then it began to rise, lifting him with it.

The others watched in awe as he ascended toward the opening in the ceiling. Within seconds, he had entered the vertical shaft. Without the light of his torch, Otter could see nothing. But he could hear wind howling around him. That he could hear it through the layer of water told him how strong those currents were. He was glad they hadn't tried to climb up here. The turbulence would have torn them from the walls and sent them plummeting into the pool below. But the elemental seemed unaffected and continued to rise in a narrowing column upward.

A light source came into view—something small and glowing with a dull white light hung suspended in the center of the shaft, also unaffected by the high winds. Otter tried to reach for it, but found his arms pinned tightly to his sides. He felt a bubble of panic form in his chest, but he calmed himself immediately.

The elemental allowed the item, which Otter saw was a small amulet, to pass through it undisturbed and continued rising, finally depositing Otter on the lip of a narrow tunnel leading away from the shaft.

The elemental didn't linger.

With a roar like falling surf, it pulled itself downward again, slipping through the shaft in a reversed cascade until it was gone.

Otter looked around.

He stood in a short hallway carved from pale limestone, lighter in color and feel than the previous chambers. A soft breeze moved through it—dry, constant, and strangely calm after the howling updraft.

Behind him, the vertical shaft yawned wide, still wind-lashed.

He was about to reach for another torch when he realized he didn't need to. A dim orange glow suffused the tunnel.

"There's light up here!" he yelled into the void below, though he wasn't sure the sound would make it through the violent winds. "If you can hear me, I'm going to scout ahead!"

There was no response.

He turned around and walked toward the source of the light.

The tunnel ran straight for about twenty feet, then angled sharply downward. The air grew warmer with every step. Not just warmer—hotter. The stones beneath his feet radiated faint heat, and a subtle red pulse flickered along the walls, brightening with each bend he passed.

Then he stepped into the Fire Chamber. It was the only appropriate name for this room. And now, he was certain this place was a temple to elemental forces. It was the only explanation.

The room was circular, with blackened stone walls that shimmered from the constant wave of heat rippling through the air. At its center, encased within a ring of flame, rested something small and stone-like. Otter could see no source of the fire, no fuel. They just existed. The flames undulated and flickered, but showed no sign of burning out.

He shielded his face with his arm and stepped closer—barely. His skin prickled, sweat popping instantly across his brow. Another step, and he knew he'd start blistering. The fire was magical, no doubt. And far beyond anything he could snuff out or cross alone.

There were no visible traps, no signs of guardians. Just the unwavering heat protecting what lay beyond.

Then he heard a chirp.

Otter blinked. Chirp chirp.

It was coming from his pack.

He slung it off his shoulder quickly, confusion furrowing his brow, and unbuckled the top. The chirping got louder. Curious—and a little alarmed—he pulled open the carved wooden box that carried the salamander.

The little creature had grown more alert with every drop of the mana potion Otter had fed it, but now it was positively buzzing with energy.

As soon as he opened the box, the critter leapt out and dropped to the stone floor, hesitated just a heartbeat as if sniffing the air, and then scampered directly into the flames.

"Wait—come back—!" Otter cried as he lunged forward instinctively, but the heat knocked him back with a blistering gust. He staggered, covering his face with both arms. "No—! Stupid! You'll die in there!"

But the salamander didn't die.

After a moment, it reappeared—striding back out through the wall of fire like it had just gone for a pleasant walk. It blinked up at Otter with shiny black eyes, tail curling behind it. Its skin was still glowing faintly, but it didn't look hurt. In fact… Otter swore it had grown. Just a little. Longer limbs. A more defined, reptilian head. It shimmered faintly with heat, radiant like coals that refused to cool.

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Otter crouched, trying not to spook it. "Look at you," he said. "What was it that old man said? You were reborn from fire and magic? Does that mean you're immune to fire?"

The salamander blinked up at him and flicked its tail.

Otter's gaze shifted to the stone protected by the curtain of flame, then back to the salamander. "I wish you could understand me. I'd ask if you could get that stone for me. I think it might be the key to unlocking this place."

To Otter's surprise, the salamander chirped once, then turned back to the fire. It darted forward without hesitation, its little body weaving like a flame given legs.

Otter leaned as close as the heat would allow, shielding his eyes with one hand, trying to catch sight of it through the blazing ring. The flames parted around the creature, not even singeing the faintly glowing sheen of its scales.

A moment later, it reached the center. The salamander paused, tail flicking twice, and cocked its head, studying the small stone. It was half the size of Otter's fist, but that was still significantly larger than the salamander's head. It tried to pick it up in its jaws, but couldn't get a grip. It circled the stone, then placed its little front legs on it and pushed. The stone rolled about an inch. Then the salmander pushed on it with the flat of its head. It rolled some more.

A few moments later, both salamander and stone emerged from the flames.

"You can understand me! That was amazing!"

The salamander gave another short chirp, clearly pleased with itself, then scampered in a lazy loop around Otter's boots before settling back near his pack.

Otter reached for the stone, then stopped. It must be incredibly hot, and he didn't want to burn himself. He rumaged in his pack for something to protect his hand and found the dirty and still damp shirt he'd worn during the storm. Using it as a makeshift glove, he finally picked up the stone.

His shirt steamed a little, and Otter could feel heat radiating from it, but was surprised that it was not nearly as hot as he'd expected. He turned the stone over and over, inspecting it. It was dark and veined with faint lines of molten orange that shifted like lava in slow motion beneath a thin, glassy surface. Sigils, faint but deliberate, were etched around one end.

"I bet this is special," he muttered to himself, then wrapped the shirt around it and tucked it into a pouch on his pack within easy reach. "And you. I bet you're hungry after all that work." He unstoppered the mana potion and poured a few drops onto the salamander's back, watching as the silvery mist sank in.

It chirped at him again.

"I guess it's time I gave you a name, eh, little guy?" Otter thought for a moment before chuckling to himself. "How about Newt?"

Newt blinked up at him.

Otter shrugged. "Okay, Newt. Time to go. Back into your box."

Newt climbed back into the little box and lay down on a patch of moss. Otter shook his head in wonderment as he replaced the lid and secured the box in his pack.

Otter saw no other exits from this chamber and decided to head back toward his friends. He hadn't been away long, but the lack of communication was surely causing them concern.

As he moved away from the ever-burning fire, he found it difficult to see once more, his eyes having adjusted to the relative brightness. Curious, he removed the stone from his pack and was delighted to see that it cast a muted orange glow in the tunnel. It wasn't bright light, but it was enough to make out the shape of things.

Retracing his steps, he marvelled as the muted orange glow of the stone painted the walls in a warm, pulsing light.

The sound of the updraft reached him first—a low, ceaseless rush like an underground storm bottled in the earth.

He stopped at the lip of the shaft and peered down. He couldn't see the bottom, but knew water poured in from the side of the shaft, creating the waterfall cascading into the pool below. Violent winds surged upward in unpredictable bursts, tearing stray droplets from the ceiling and flinging them into the darkness above. The only thing he could see was the glowing amulet, suspended in the center of the shaft just a few meters below.

It was tantalizingly close. Just low enough to make leaning out useless. Otter studied it for a long moment, rolling the stone in his hand. The amulet's faint white glow winked in and out of sight as it rotated, catching in the orange light like two stars passing in the night.

He reached for the rapier at his hip. Maybe, if he could snag the chain…

He crouched low and leaned as far over the opening as he dared, extending the blade toward the spinning trinket. The wind instantly caught it, batting the tip aside as though it were a feather. He tried again, this time bracing his arm against the rim for stability, but the gusts slammed the steel away from his target before it came anywhere close.

Otter sat back, sighing. "Alright… not the subtle approach, then."

He rested his elbows on his knees, eyes fixed on the floating amulet, and felt the warm stone pulse faintly in his palm. This whole place had been built to test and guide intruders, or so he thought. Four elements, four trials. They'd seen one item in each chamber, all impossible to reach—except the stone in his hand.

The chisel was trapped. Whatever lay at the bottom of the pool was guarded by an elemental, which—while it had helped him reach this spot—had prevented him from reaching the amulet. And the stone was protected by fire. Yet, the stone was now in his possession.

There had to be a connection.

He turned the stone over in his palm, remembering the blistering air of the fire chamber, the way sweat had instantly burst across his skin. What was that trial about? It had to be physical fortitude—resilience, maybe? He knew Sage could cast a type of elemental resistance spell. Maybe that was the intended solution.

So… what was this one testing?

He stared at the amulet as it spun lazily in the wind. The shaft itself was a hazard—unpredictable gusts that could smash a climber against the walls or fling them into a fatal fall. The amulet wasn't just difficult to grab; it was daring him to go for it. To put himself into the chaos and trust that it wouldn't kill him.

The water elemental had no problem navigating the shaft. Why was that? He thought about their ascent. Was there a clue there? He remembered being lifted through the exact center of the shaft. He'd heard the howling wind, but never felt it. What if this shaft only had strong winds on the outside? That would certainly prevent anyone from climbing up or down, but leave a path for safe travel if you could levitate. Or fall.

Maybe this was a test of bravery.

A leap of faith.

"Alright, Newt," he whispered. "Let's hope I'm right about this."

He stepped to the edge of the shaft, took a deep breath, and jumped.

***
I want to explain why it's taken me so long to post this chapter. This week was tech week for a show I've been rehearsing all summer, and our first week of work days at school. All of which means I have had no time to write this week.

The show opened last night, so I should have a bit more time in the evenings this week. Hopefully, I'll get another two chapters done this week.

Thanks for your continued support and patience.