Luckborn

"What does that mean?" Levi asked.

"It means we need to go. Now. And we need to move fast." Without another moment of hesitation, Otter led them all down the stairs.

The air grew damp as they spiraled downward, the stone beneath their boots slick with condensation. The light from their lanterns caught flashes of more strange markings etched along the stairwell walls—symbols that pulsed faintly as they passed, then faded.

Otter relayed Blackwood's message in full as they went.

Sage swore. "This is what I warned you about, Otter. If Caelum is sending someone after us, we're in big trouble."

"Yeah, I get that. Let's just hope we can stay ahead of him."

At the bottom, the staircase opened into a long, vaulted gallery. Its walls were lined with alcoves—hundreds of them, each housing a statue. The figures were humanoid, but stylized: tall, elongated, with blank expressions and arms held out before them, as if they were aching for something.

"What are these?" Erin asked.

"They seem familiar," said Sage, "but I can't place them."

"Kaosborn?" suggested Jasper.

Sage shook her head. "No. I don't think so. They seem… I don't know… godlike? If that makes any sense."

"I don't see an exit," Jasper pointed out. "Should we go back up?"

Erin brushed some dust from her sleeves. "Where does the compass point now?"

Otter checked. The needle had begun to move again—slowly, subtly shifting to the left wall of the gallery, where the alcoves ended in a flat stone panel embedded into the wall.

"There," he pointed, already walking.

The others followed, quiet and tense. As they approached the wall, the compass pulsed once, then stopped.

"Another door?" Jasper asked.

Otter shook his head. "I don't think so."

He stepped up to the stone panel and raised his lantern.

The panel was flat and smooth for the most part, but the top left corner looked unfinished. Or maybe damaged. There was no handle, no mechanism. Just stone.

Erin stepped beside him. "What do you think it is?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "Maybe a puzzle. Whatever it is, we need to figure it out. And fast. The compass is pointing directly at it. I need to think." He dropped his pack on the ground and fished out his notebook. He put his back against the wall and slid into a sitting position.

Jasper and Liora took a few steps away and stood watch. Levi came over and sat next to Otter. Erin, Milo, and Sage began inspecting the surrounding statues.

Otter opened his notebook to the passages he'd found in Emrys Gale's journal and reread them. There must be a clue somewhere about what to do.

The path is hidden, but the way is near. To the one who understands, its bearing shall be clear.

Did that have something to do with it?

"Do you see anything helpful?" he asked Levi.

"Maybe. Look at this passage." He pointed to the one that read: Answers thou seek'st within these pages, yet none hast thou found. For how may I answer, knowing not the question? Thus, no answers shall I bestow. Instead, I leave thee a question, dear reader. Shall you stand in the shadow of their will, bound by the choices of men long departed? Or shall you seize what lies beyond their grasp — the truth obscured, the path untread? The choice, as ever, remains yours. "That bit about seizing what lies beyond their grasp. Do those statues look like they are reaching for something just out of reach?"

Otter looked up at the statues. Then he stood. "Yeah. They do."

Levi stood too. "What do you think they're reaching for?"

"Good question. Hey guys, spread out. Let's look at these statues from different angles. See if they're reaching for something."

Everyone looked at the statues with renewed interest. Otter moved closer to the next alcove and peered up at the statue within. The face stared blankly past him. Unlike most statues he'd seen—weathered or cracked—these were perfectly preserved. As if untouched by time. The stone looked almost… oiled.

Jasper approached one and turned around, facing the same way it did, looking with its perspective. Milo seemed to be comparing angles of several outstretched arms.

"Anybody see anything?" Otter asked.

"I can't tell," said Jasper. "It's too dark in here, but it looks like this one is reaching toward the ceiling. Like out in the middle there."

Otter craned his neck. The walls stretched up and curved toward each other, but the top of the gallery was concealed by darkness.

He jumped to his feet. "The truth obscured! We need to shine a light up there."

"On it." Milo folded several flaps of his lantern down to direct the light into a tight beam and pointed it upward. The light was faint by the time it reached the ceiling, but it was enough to reveal a pattern carved into it.

As Milo slowly swept the beam back and forth, Otter could make out what looked like a burning torch entwined with vines in bas-relief.

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Sage gasped. "That's the symbol of Elarion!"

"I'm guessing that's significant," quipped Jasper.

"One of her aspects is Knowledge, a light in the dark."

"Good enough for me," said Otter. "Now, how do we get up there?"

Jasper scanned the chamber. "That's at least thirty feet up. Maybe more. And the walls curve inward."

"We've got climbing gear," Erin pointed out. "Ropes and pitons."

"Sure," Levi cut in, "but climbing up a wall is one thing. Climbing across a dome is another. There's nothing to anchor to."

Otter glanced toward the statues. "What if we form a human pyramid, just to get someone high enough for a closer look?"

Jasper and Liora exchanged a look, then shrugged in unison. "We'll brace," Liora said.

Jasper crouched down, feet planted wide. Liora stood before him, and they placed their hands on each other's shoulders, forming what they hoped would be a solid base. Otter laced his fingers together, and Erin placed one foot in it. He boosted her up so she could climb on top of Jasper and Liora's shoulders. She wobbled briefly before finding her balance.

"Okay, Milo, you're the lightest. If you can get on my shoulders, you might be close enough," Erin said.

Otter boosted Milo up, and the fledgling Spell Lord grabbed onto Erin as he tried to climb up. But Milo was no Scout. His movements were awkward and clumsy. While the two fighters were strong enough to support the weight, Milo struggled to stay upright, leaning into Erin, knocking her off balance, and they both fell.

Erin groaned from the floor. "I'm not trying that again."

"Not unless one of us weighs thirty pounds and can fly," Levi muttered.

Sage stared up at the bas-relief, stroking her chin. "Why, exactly, do we need to get up there?"

Otter shrugged. "I don't know. I thought there might be a button we need to push. Or maybe there's writing on it. It's hard to see way up there, even with the lantern."

"Hmm. The torch represents the knowledge aspect of Elarion—the light in the dark—maybe we need more light."

"I have torches," offered Levi, pulling one out of his pack.

After a few moments, he had three torches lit. Their flames illuminated much of the chamber, but the ceiling was still awash in flickering shadows, obscuring the details of the carving above.

"We need to get them closer," Otter said, casting his gaze around.

"Piggyback?" suggested Jasper.

Levi approached a statue that stood several feet taller than he. "Look at their hands. Shall you seize what lies beyond their grasp? The torch up there is beyond their grasp, but they are reaching for it, right? What if we put torches in their outstretched hands?"

Otter inspected the statues with renewed interest. "Yeah. I think you're on to something. Their fingers are slightly curled. And they're taller than we are. Think you can climb up there?"

"That, I can do." Levi scaled the smooth stone statue before him with ease, scooted out along its arm, and wedged his torch between its fingers. He slid down and did the same to the statue opposite. Everyone gazed upward.

"I think it's working," said Erin. "It seems a little brighter up there. Maybe try two more."

Levi obliged. As soon as he placed the fourth torch, something happened. The carving began to glow. Not all of it, just the flame of the torch. It appeared to be absorbing the light that was shining on it, then re-emitting it. As it did, the light slowly spread away from the stone flame in wisps and spirals until it lit up a flowing script carved into the stone surrounding it. Now that they were illuminated, the letters could be clearly seen from where they stood.

Turn thy gaze not where light has shone,

But where the hidden truths have grown.

For in the cloistered shadows hid

Altheris, what once was known.

"What does that mean?" asked Liora.

Otter grabbed his notebook and started writing. "Another riddle."

"Classic Altheris," Sage said. "Shadowy, poetic, and frustratingly indirect."

Jasper crossed his arms. "So… what? We stop looking at the ceiling?"

"I think it's metaphorical," said Milo. "Light has shone—like, known knowledge. And we're supposed to turn away from that somehow?"

Liora frowned. "But turn what?"

Levi took a slow step toward one of the statues, eyes narrowing. "Turn not thy gaze," he murmured. "Wait. What if it's not us it's talking about turning?"

Otter turned to him, brow furrowed. "Go on."

Levi gestured at the nearest figure. "These statues—they're all facing the light, right?" He spun in a slow circle.

Otter's eyes widened. "But the riddle says the truth isn't where the light has shone."

"It is hidden in the shadows," Levi said, voice rising. "So what if we need to turn them? Make them face the walls. The dark corners. The places light hasn't reached."

"That makes so much sense," Sage said, stepping toward another statue. "It's not just metaphor—it's literal."

Otter moved quickly to the nearest figure and examined its base. "I don't see anything. No grooves. No sign of it ever having been moved."

"Why would it?" Erin had moved beside him. "If this place has been hidden for hundreds of years, there's no reason for them to have been moved."

"Well, let's see if we can do it."

Jasper joined him. Together, they heaved on the statue. At first, it didn't budge, but after another push from Jasper, it broke loose from centuries of calcification and began to rotate. Soon, they had it positioned so it faced the wall instead of the center.

Across the room, the torchlight flickered—as if in response.

"Alright," Otter said. "Let's turn the rest."

When he and Jasper turned the next statue, a hissing sound came from the ceiling, and suddenly a gout of flame shot down from the torch carving. Everyone but Liora threw themselves clear just in the nick of time. Liora screamed as fire poured over her, searing her left arm and leg before she got out of the way.

The flame sputtered and went out as quickly as it came.

Liora collapsed to the floor, writhing in pain. Sage ran over, and a soft blue glow appeared around her outstretched hands as she cast Cure Minor Wounds. Immediately, the angry red burns began to fade, though not completely. As Sage's magic wove through Liora, the pain in her voice turned into a soft gasp of gratitude. "Thank you," she whispered, her breath shaky but steadier now.

"Traps," Levi groaned as he picked himself off the floor. "I should have known."

Patting out a few cinders clinging to his uniform, Otter knelt next to Liora. "Are you okay?"

"A little singed. I'll be okay thanks to Sage."

Otter felt a surge of shame and anger well up inside him. "We need to be more careful! We know better than this. I know better than this."

Erin came over and put a hand on his shoulder. "You're right. We do know better than this. All of us. None of us thought to check for traps. Now we will."

Otter took a deep breath and stood back up. "Okay. Let's regroup. We've made some progress, but we've been stuck in this room for too long."

Levi snapped his fingers. "Right. I'll see if I can figure out the trap mechanism and deactivate it." He started inspecting the last statue they'd turned.

"Why did that one set off a trap, but the first one didn't?" Milo wondered aloud.

"Good question," said Otter. "Is there anything different about them?"

Milo turned his attention to the first statue, examining it from various angles as if memorizing every detail about it, then looked at the one Levi was inspecting. "Same height. Same pose. Same expression…wait. No, it isn't. Look." He pointed to the face of each statue.

"I see it!" shouted Otter. "It's the eyes. They're open on the first statue and closed on the second one. The riddle says 'turn thy gaze.' We have to turn the statues with open eyes."

Levi breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. I have no idea how this thing works."

"Only one way to find out if that's right," said Jasper. "Everybody stand aside." He stood in front of another statue with open eyes and heaved on it. It slowly pivoted until it faced the wall.

Otter held his breath, but there was no hissing sound and, thankfully, no pillar of fire. One by one, they moved through the gallery, noting each statue with open eyes, and turned them. Some gave way easily, others required two people. The stone was old, but it was meant to move.

Before they could turn the final one, a voice echoed through the chamber. "Halt!"