Chapter 41: Angels and Clockworks

Arcturus had long since done a perimeter of the room. He’d tentatively strolled through alcove after alcove, inspecting these angels for even the slightest glimmer of trouble. He didn’t know any other way to release the fear that wound itself like a serpent around Voidwing’s trembling paws. “They don’t appear to be moving.” He remarked, searching into the blank, stone eyes. He didn’t know what he was expecting, statues if he last recalled could not move. Though what were the chains for if not that? The paladin noted the wear on the chains themselves, clearly from excessive strain.

“Nor do they show even the slightest hint of it.” He added, feeling like a child, leaping at strange sounds in the night.

“And you’re sure?” Voidwing stammered, eyes darting to each statue in the hall, pressing himself against the stone door. “One hundred percent sure?”

The knight sighed, striding over to the ear splayed gryphon with what empathy he could express, stating that was the case. He crossed his arms at Voidwing’s side, trying to maintain a stature of calm for the quivering onyx bodyguard. “They must have been an experiment being turned to stone, discarded when no longer of use.” His brow furrowed over such dark thoughts, wishing nothing more than to behead the lich and be done with it. “His list of crimes to pay for ever grows.”

But Voidwing’s fear would not be deterred so easily. He quivered with ruffled feathers, his eyes apricot seas of fear. “Then if you’re so observant, how come I saw one more?” He jut a wing to an angel looking straight at the door. “It wasn’t doing that before!”

“Sure it wasn’t?” The man gestured to one of the flickering, crimson lights. “And not some trick of the light?”

“Hah, hah, very funny.” The gryphon snapped, eyes like daggers. “But I know what I saw, we gryphons have far better eyes than you…No offense.”

He sighed, “That doesn’t mean you have to get snappy. Fear is a reasonably response to environments such as these.”

“Afraid?” Voidwing scoffed, fluffing up his feathers. “I’m not afraid. In fact, I laugh in the face of the danger!” He laughed several times to showcase his bravado, though with each repetition the proclamation would get weaker as the dread seeped into his mind. Softly, he began to narrate to himself, insisting that his beloved was alright, that the doors would open at any moment and they’d be reunited.

From hind to ear Arcturus searched, finding the gryphon more wound than a coiled spring. Muscles tensed, back poised, talons kneading the stone. One more weight upon the poor bodyguard’s heart was going to snap it. Even now, Voidwing was snapping his beak from angel to angel, trying to catching them ‘in the act’. They didn’t move. “Careful now Voidwing.” Arcturus leaned against the wall, making sure his voice was calm. “Keep winding yourself up like that and everything will snap.”

“I’m not afraid.” Voidwing hissed, “I’m being vigilant and doing my job. Some of us I suppose are more concerned with Nivra’s safety than others.”

He pushed away Voidwing’s accusing wing, “You can rest your beak, knowing I’m concerned.”

“You hardly show it.” Voidwing scoffed.

Arcturus could only scoff at the notion. “Just because I’m not wearing it like my armor doesn’t mean I’m devoid of it. Pray tell, where is the faith in your beloved? Is it so little it troubles you?”

His ears splayed, on either side as he shifted on his haunches. “Course I do, how could I not? But it’s not her I have a lack of faith in…It’s the company she currently keeps.” The gryphon’s tail thumped angrily at the floor, “He’s always had her ear in such matters. Even now I imagine he’s trying to twist her around his finger, turn her over to his way of thinking. Regain the apprentice he cherished all these years.” He searched Arcturus foot to head, his voice cracked, “How can you stand there and be so calm?”

“Things could always be worse.” The man shrugged,

Voidwing reared back, ears stitched to his head, letting out the most frightful chirp, “DON’T SAY THAT!-“

“I speak only truth.” The man strode closer, not ceasing his voice’s calm. “Look around you, sure our predicament looks grim and dour, but there is little we can do of it. Those angels there, I have no idea if they be monsters, constructs, or simple works of creative art. All I do know is those doors are thick and we can’t batter our way through them, nor is there a lock for us to pick. So like or not, we must endure with what’s before us. There are no rampaging dragons, no monsters, or even magical traps. Have faith in Nivra to resist his silvery tongue, she’s grown much in your time apart. Nigel may have had her ear long ago, but not this one tempered by her adventure and experience.” He slung a comforting arm around the gryphon’s feathery neck, pulling the reluctant bird close.

“You haven’t seen her grow.” Voidwing tentatively spoke, his voice soft, “There have always been glimmers of him over the years, a cruel logic to his method of thinking. You’ve seen her need to succeed, means necessary, if it means going back on her word or-“

“Handing over friends for a better outcome.” Arcturus sighed.

He nodded, side-eying the door behind, feeling more helpless than he’d ever been. “So, who knows what I’ll get when she returns? Will it be this hopeful, more thoughtful Nivra you speak of? Or one that once more hears the whispers of a silver-tongued, undead serpent?” Lowering his beak the gryphon shook, staring at his talons, wishing he had the strength to rip the door before them asunder. He covered his eyes, releasing a frustrated chuff, slamming his tail upon the stone.

All hard questions, the knight knew, but wouldn’t let his companion fall into such despair. He’d been hopeless as he before. “That is why we must have faith. She asked Veledar for forgiveness, befriended me. Does that sound like the acts of this cruel, logical wizard?” He smirked, “The dragon of mine is a great judge of character...Well…Mos the time anyway…But the point still stands, I beseech you to stay strong for not only Nivra’s sake but your own. She won’t let us down.”

How the paladin’s words soothed the stampeding heart of the gryphon. Voidwing sighed, his ears finally perking as the overwhelming dread of their predicament lifted its darkened veil. He rose with confidence anew, ignoring the angel’s blank expressions, trotting around the room to survey the exits. There was still just the one they’d entered, the one Nivra had left, nothing had changed. He approached, giving their hardened exterior one last scrape for good measure. He grumbled to himself with an indignant chirp, knowing without the wizard’s touch they’d remain shut. Defeated for the moment he returned to the knight, plopping himself down in an aggravated huff.

“Was it fruitful? Arcturus asked innocently.

“No.” The gryphon groaned, his silver tuft tail slamming down with a dramatic thump. “Whoever built this place were far better than dwarves.”

“Don’t tell Merlia that.” Arcturus leaned against the stone, peering down to the gryphon who’d begun to trace circles upon the floor, narrating softly to himself. Perhaps all his fear had not yet subsided. “I have some painting equipment back home if you ever wish to paint…You need not dull your talons.”

“No thanks.” He quipped, ears flicking. “I prefer the precision of my talons to the awkwardness of a brush. If you believe it, we had a painter back home, used a brush!”

“Whose to say you can’t dip your talons in the paint?”

Voidwing gave a beak parted smile, the thought not occurring to him. “You know…I think I’ll take you up on that offer. Sure, your dragon won’t mind me stealing your time?”

The knight laughed, “He’s not the boss of me Voidwing.”

“Oh-“ He nervously chuckled, “Perhaps you’d like to tell him that.”

“He’s not! Stop making that face, or we can get into a lengthy discussion how the woman YOU love is your ruler.”

The air filled with waves of joy as they laughed and chirped away the atmosphere around them. Talk soon shifted to stories from their past, putting to rest their lingering dread over what outcome Nivra would undertake. Voidwing’s was about how he almost started an incident with a minotaur diplomat by knocking over a treasured collection of sacred daggers.

“My ears couldn’t pin fast enough to my head, I couldn’t speak as I scraped the floor to retrieve them, which of course made everything worse.” The gryphon chuckled, shrugging with his wings, “I’ve never seen Nivra apologize so quickly, I thought she’d started speaking in tongues.”

“Oh, were talking of embarrassment now are we?” Arcturus scoffed as the gryphon jut a wing to his chest, insisting it was his turn to share.  “Fine, like most my stories it goes back to Rothdell.” In detail he recounted how during some leave, Skywing had dragged him off to a dancing trope of gryphons.

“And how exactly is it embarrassing?” Voidwing rose a suspicious brow, tilting one ear to the side.

Arcturus laughed, “Turns out it was an exotic trope, and these were elaborate mating dances. You can imagine my surprise…” The knight’s cheeks flushed as he perfectly recalled their captivating movements with their limbs and feathers, “Especially when Skywing tried to practice what they did.” He nudged the gryphon who’d frozen stiff, eyes wide. “Oh come now, I know it’s not exceedingly funny, but it”

Voidwing slowly pointed with a wing to the angels. What could have been mistaken for an artist’s handiwork could no longer. The chained victims had pulled their bindings tight, their faces twisted into shapes of pure hatred. Pointed fangs rested within their slender mouths, faces all staring intently to the pair. The crimson light above began to flicker, threatening to vanish.

“I told you! I told you!” Voidwing shrieked, his heart leaping out of his chest. “They can move!”

Arcturus drew his blade with a wicked hiss, muttering a few words of power to bring a brilliant, white flame to life. He held it close, backing up against the feather fluffed gryphon, eyes never leaving the silent, malevolent stares of the angels. All that calm he’d been cultivating was hastily evaporating, “I did admit they could have been monsters.”

Dread became the norm between the fleeting moments of the lantern’s flicker, where light brought safety tainted by what the darkness had brought. In shadow’s protective cloak the angel’s chains would tug and stretch, letting out a nightmarish shriek that each time would leave Voidwing leaping for safety. The angels wailed and roared with inhuman sounds, like a tumbling mountain slide foretelling your doom.

Lucky for the knight and quivering gryphon, it appeared as though the bindings meant to hold these horrific creatures were doing their job. Though with every passing flicker of the light’s, Arcturus’ grip upon his sword would tighten, the gryphon’s muscles would be ready to pounce, how long could they hold this up without cracking? They swiftly counted the malevolent figures, knowing there would be no fighting so many.

“Stay calm…They can’t shed their bindings.” Arcturus stated calmly, despite his stance insisting battle was to be had. Those green eyes were already scanning the angels, looking for a perfect target to strike. “Had the crown not prepared you for such matters?”

Squawking indignantly, Voidwing dared not glare upon the man, lest their angel problem would advance. “Fighting humans, gryphons and grounded monsters, yes! Trapped in a wizard’s dungeon, surrounded by moving stone angels? Sadly that wasn’t in the training.”

“Perhaps we should add it to the curriculum.” Arcturus gestured to advance, striding to the door they’d entered, further away from the angels. “It would seem we should thank Nigel for his quality chains.”

“I’ll be sure to tell him when he see him again, I’m sure he’ll love it.” He pushed himself against the exit, not quite certain what the human was playing at. This wasn’t any better than the other, the door refused to open! He hastily snuck a peek at the stoic knight, finding a smirk upon his lips.

“I already have you believing we’ll survive this. I’ll count that as a victory.”

That was when one of the angel’s chains snapped, letting it’s clawed hand free. It reached out towards them, bloodlust within its blank eyes. With every further blink of the lights it reached for it’s other wrist, savagely tearing at the steel. What time they had was swiftly running thin, as more angels began to tear their chains from the walls.

“I apologize for false hope.” Arcturus grit his teeth, brandishing his magical blade. “It would appear as though combat will find us this day.”

“There they stood, resolute and brave. Ready to defeat-“ Voidwing began, stuttering through his quirk, but just as the darkness seemed ever consuming, a door shot up to their left, where none had been before. Light streamed in like the dawn, casting away what shadows remained. Not caring where it led or what waited within, Voidwing trilled his relief, tears almost in his eyes as he threw all caution to the wind and dashed for freedom. “Make haste Arcturus, the gods shine upon us this day!”

“Voidwing wait!” The man yelled, caution screaming at his mind, but he took one look at the grim prospects around him, knowing to stay would be certain death. Gritting his teeth, he stowed his sword, racing after the gryphon’s hind paws. Together they passed beneath archway, tasting the fresh, mountain air of freedom. Neither could grasp what runes lined the door before it crashed down behind them with a resounding thud.

They found themselves in a sprawling hallway, dangling chandeliers with orbs of sapphire light floating precariously above. Walls were lined with cascading crimson-violet mists, recreations of the chaotic masses they’d seen before. Beneath their feet the ground broke and splintered, glowing with the orange-red light of a forge. Peering within, one could see lava flowing steadily along, thankfully not gracing such a place with it’s overpowering heat. Despite all this there was a sense of calm fluttering around them, whisking through their limbs and slowing their racing hearts.

Arcturus turned, hands finding the smooth stone of their salvation. There were no handles, key holes, knobs of any kind. There would be no way to return, though why they would was beyond him. Where they truly safe? He turned to Voidwing, the gryphon staring through him, chest rising and falling like waves of the ocean. The knight sheathed his blade, “You could have led us to our deaths. Who knew where this door led.”

“To freedom and life.” Voidwing scoffed, clacking his beak to the man’s stern stare. Settling down his hinds he peered to the hallway that seemed to stretch as far as his eye could see. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, “Anything better than that room.”

Biting his tongue at the fact, Arcturus chose not to press the point any further. He apologized for the hasty remark and instead praised the gryphon for his quick thinking. “Though were have we been led?” He softly laid a hand upon the wall, “Have we been led astray? To another trap? How did you activate the door? You didn’t even utter a word!”

That was an interesting question, Voidwing didn’t know the answer himself. He ruffled his feathers with a soft clack. Perhaps their plight had awoken some door with thought alone, or an otherworldly force was guiding them. “Would you take gryphon magic as an answer?” He said sheepishly. “Or a good spirit helping us?”

“In a lich’s lair?” Arcturus scoffed, shaking his head. “If you believe such a thing, you truly are an optimist. No, I think it’s just another scheme by our host. Which lends support to your theory over his true intentions.” He gestured to the hallway, “Which means we should press on, shorten the time he has to sink in his claws.”

He tilted his head, giving the man a confused look. “How are we to do that? You said it yourself, we don’t know where this hallway leads. Who knows if it won’t just lead us to another death-room? Filled with say cactus monsters that like to smack poor gryphon’s in the balls.”

“Discarding that imagery.” Arcturus quivered, trying to shake free the thought, “Staying here won’t be help either.” He thumbed back towards the room, “And unless you have a key hidden in those feathers, we aren’t going back this way. Let us hope the path we find leads us to them. Unless you have a better idea?”

He shook his head with a defeated chirp, “I suppose I don’t.” He stood, pinning his wings when Arcturus surged past him, determination in his step. He trotted to the man’s side, keeping his eyes peeled for any signs of movement ahead. “Stay safe Nivra.” He whispered to himself, steeling what remained of his ragged nerves. For the moment he did what Arcturus suggested, putting faith into the woman he loved. Hopefully she would prove up to the task.

*

Out of yet another of the laboratory’s menagerie of rooms Nivra departed. Her brow was furrowed, cheeks the color of a rose, a stark contrast to the thick smears of blueberry filling on her robes. “What do you even have a room filled with pies for?” She fumed, whirling around to face the disinterested face of the lich.

Though his bones and tattered robes were equally as sullied, the undead magician seemed of little concern. “It was someone…Else’s.” He replied flatly, staring off, lost within his memories. “No matter the frequency in which I delete it, it always emerges again.”

“I rather liked that room.” Axton added, brushing the crumbs from his robes. Before the door shut behind him he flicked his finger, guiding the chest with the dragon orb through. As the stone slammed shut Nigel turned to him, interest flickering across his inky black eyes.

“It’s you that likes it?” He remarked coldly before turning on his heel, “No wonder it keeps returning! This place picks you over me! I swear it’s sole intention is to vex me at every turn.”

Nivra quickened her pace to keep lockstep with the seething wizard. The place trying to vex him? That had to be absurd. She searched the walls of fine granite, admiring golden engravings that flowed like a great river across the surface. Into tributaries they split, twisting back and forth to form various shapes. She found herself spying a gryphon in such a thing, her heart darkened. She hoped Voidwing was still safe. “You speak as this place is alive.”

“Because it is.” He stated.

“Excuse me?” She stopped dead in her tracks, poor Axton, not expecting this, bumped square into her back side. He fell, sputtering out an apology as his cheeks burned. “Not only are we in a pace, rumored to be crafted by a fairy tale of wizards, but you expect me to believe this…Structure is alive?” She tentatively ran her hand along the cold stone, anticipation hounded her heart, expecting it to bite her. Thankfully, it did not. “That has to be madness, it’s only stone and magic.”

The lich turned to her as one might a naïve child, “But you’ll find magic has a life of its very own. The weave is a tricky creature to tame and bend, but it has numerous secrets to behold. I envy you in a way, the path before you are new and exciting.” The lich heaved a heavy sigh, longing for days long since gone.

“Path? Like the one that lead you to lichdom?” She gestured putrid skin, decayed muscles and exposed bones. “I may not be aware of the specifics, but I know it requires dark deeds to accomplish. Ones to chill anyone’s heart.”

“Bah.” The mage scoffed, “Dark for those of lesser minds and narrow views perhaps. I put little thought in what those people think of me. For them, their death is a great release, free to join their loved ones in the heavens beyond. Me? I was destined for fire before I could even walk.”

“That’s what you use to justify your deeds upon others? That you suffer so others must give up their lives for you to continue? What gives you the right?”

“The magisters give me the right.” Nigel hissed, a storm starting to rage within his sockets. “After what they’ve done to our world…Your world Nivra…The suffering they’ve inflicted to not just their own people, but others around them.”

“Shandalar wasn’t a magister…Why did she have to die?”

“The elven woman?” Nigel sneered, “Her order was birthed from it’s death throes of the magisters. I’d kill a thousand of her kind to free myself from fate’s cruel grip. Spare me the shocked expression my youthful apprentice, you’ve not seen the horrors of this world, the cruel truths laid bare upon my soul. Those people were…Are monsters. They enslaved the weak, exploited the helpless. Their order was built upon the backs and blood of their slaves. It must be dismantled, destroyed, everyone who supported it terminated. Only then will justice finally be done.” He gestured her forward, but she didn’t follow.

“How will that heal our kingdoms? Bring peace instead of war? Rothdell no longer has slaves, their people are not abused, non-magicians even have normal lives!”

“Spare me your excuses.” He hissed, “They exist as second-class citizens, exploited by those above them, the ruling hierarchy of the magicians. Make no mistake Nivra, any mistake or excuse they can make is directed to non-mages. Their slaves have simply become their prisoners.”

“You yourself are from Rothdell, I remember your tales. Are you not just like those you despise?”

“I am NOT like them.” Nigel wheeled around, his gaze like the sun. “To them I was a weapon, a tool, discarded when no longer useful. Do not speak to me as if that makes us morally equals. I once tried to forget their cruelty and live a normal life, one in merriment.” He had to reset his jaw with a crack, “But they showed me it was violence they only understood.”

“And what of the normal people? Those that get hurt because your actions?”

The lich turned away from her, “Such a weakness leaves it free for your enemies to exploit. I once thought like you, but the magisters got clever. Leave the innocent free of your wrath, they stick their libraries and laboratories within hamlets and towns. Inside they hired the ignorant masses, believing the lies of their masters. It didn’t stop me.”

For a time they walked in silence as Nivra let Nigel’s words fester between her ears. He always a man of facts and figures, data at its rawest form. Would she have the same in his place? Pushed to the limits of her morality? She furrowed her brow, not wanting to linger upon such dark thoughts, telling herself she’d have at least tried to keep casualties to a minimum. “There had to have been another way.”

This time it was Nigel’s turn to stop, turn to her with curiosity. “No, there wasn’t child. I don’t relish the day you learn that lesson, but I do wonder. What will you do when you take the throne? Will you not challenge their cruelty, their need for revenge? Know this, they will not wish for peace, they will seek vengeance.”

“You don’t know that.” She replied softly, his words like a thousand bees in her skull. To this he only scoffed.

“I’ve had years to come to know them, understand how they think. I do know them Nivra, and that is what troubles you. It’s why I wished to impart my knowledge onto you, like I did so long ago with my son. Your father had the will, but not the strength to follow through with what I wished. He was a fool, wished for uniter and acceptance. He looked to you and saw a weak girl, I found a powerful magician to rival my own talents. She just needed a chance to shine, not waste her time with tricks learned to her by the Rothdellian magician.” The lich sneered the last part, making sure she heard the distain in his voice. “You deserved far better.”

In time the hallway grew on either side, eventually breaking for a river to stretch from one side to the other. With crystal clear waters it appeared quite deep, jagged rocks adorning it’s bottom. The only way across seemed to be a thin path of rocks, slick from the water’s egress. Simple enough if one could keep their balance, but there was a practical cloud of insects flying about in the way. Nivra stared, her skin already starting to crawl.

“Still not fond of bugs?” Nigel remarked, casually striding across the rocks like he’d done hundreds of times. Mosquitoes clung to his flesh, finding nothing to drain out of his blood-less corpse. He reached the end with a sigh, turning back with expectation within his eyes. “Are you coming child?”

“Course I am, it will take more than a few bugs to frighten me.” She stammered, knowing the color had drained from her features. “I’m just not fond of the biting, I quite like my blood where it is.” She extended a hand, buffeting the cloud of insects with a burst of air. Wings bent, tiny bodies went hurtling far away, the cloud was broken. She took her first step on the rocks, making sure she would not slip, to her dismay the insects suddenly sprung to life anew. Evidently this would not be as easy as she thought. “These are not normal mosquitos.”

“Why would they be?” Nigel mused, “This was a Storyteller facility.”

“But mosquitos?” She wrinkled her nose, “That’s the best they could think of? You’d think it would be-“

“Filled with one of the deadliest poisons known.” The lich interrupted with a toothy grin, “One bite and you’ll be brought to end. No cure to be had.”

She had to tighten her hand to a fist to cease the trembling in her arm, course it would be this strange. “Surely there can’t be no cure.” She laughed to hide her fear, returning to the shore where she nudged at Axton’s side. “You wouldn’t put your current apprentice at risk.”

“But he’s not as risk, he’s quite aware of the solution. Let’s see if you can deduce it.” Nigel mused, taking on the aura of a teacher once more. “I have complete faith in you.”

“Is now such a time for such things? The others are trapped within that dungeon!”

“To which the sooner we solve this the sooner they are saved. I assure you they are quite safe.”

Stitching her brow together she shook her head, of course they would be. Taking a deep breath she composed her stature, patting at her satchel, whispering that everything was going to be fine, she didn’t need anyone’s help.

“Talking to yourself?” Nigel called, a hint of amusement in his tone. He’d always teased Voidwing about it.

“Habit.” She shot up, cheeks bright red. With a nervous laugh she shifted her leather satchel behind her, already starting to twist a rune through the air. If wind wasn’t good enough, she just needed stronger. “Don’t you worry, I have just the brute force required. Fireball!” A ball of fire swept across the river, evaporating every bug caught within. The flames swept around the magicians in the hall, not harming a hair upon their heads, courtesy of Nivra’s evocation specialty.

“See?” She beamed with pride, even giving the lich a toothy grin, “Nothing Fireball can-“ The bugs, one by one, popped back into existence. In a breath she was back to square one, the air buzzing with life. She frowned, “Evidently more thought is required.”

“Which ever does remind me. What will you do for not so easy problems when you take the throne?”

“By not so easy, I assume you will bring it back to Rothdell. You are obsessed.”

“Only for the good of my homeland Nivra, just as you yours. Believe me when I say those monsters will never cease. They will hound you till the ends of the earth, bring the war back to your doorstep. Even when you think you can escape…” The lich’s voice grew soft, turning round to admire the emptiness of the hall. “But kicking and screaming they drag you back. My question to you future queen, what will you do if they refuse to return your brother? Or use him as leverage against your rule? What then?”

She bit her lip, loving to say she would remain strong and composed. That she would diplomacy a deal that would work for all parties, that peace could be achieved with niceties. But by Nigel’s piercing look, she doubted it could be that simple. Her spirits darkened before averting back to the problem at hand, everything meant little if she couldn’t cross a simple trap meant to stop her. She began to pace, caressing her chin as she mentally tried spell after spell. The lich, thankfully not pressing her on his previous question, instead letting it stew and fester within her mind.

“I have a way.” She finally grabbed by the shoulder, pulling him against her. With a flick of her wrist and a word of power, she’d found the runes hidden in the wall. As the magic left her fingertips everything vanished, the water, the pads, frogs, and even the bugs. They were left, quietly in the hallway.

“That’s…certainly a way to do it.” Nigel remarked coolly, “It took my son several tries. I believe his solution was a brief teleport?”

“Blink.” Axton mumbled softly. “I think blink.”

“Ah, there we are. He jumped to the ethereal realm!” Nigel turned, chuckling to himself. “Now-“

Lights suddenly sprung to life around the hall, filling the stone shades of crimson. Stone gears thundered through the wall, ancient machinery springing to life. Walls shook and quaked as their stones began to rearrange themselves into new patterns. Dust fell from the ceiling as Nivra pressed close, hands instinctively springing up to ward off whatever would come. Silence finally came when the final gear locked into place, the last particle of dust swaying down, the princess’ heart threatening to leap from her chest. Nigel was a perfect example of calm.

“What happened?” She panted, whirling around, not finding anything different about the hallway.

“A security measure.” The lich stated, “It would appear as though it detects more intruders. This is a bit excessive for only one intruder.”

Hidden alcoves revealed themselves, crawling up the stone walls. Inside where beings of metal and gears, ticking away like some horrid clock. They were thin as a skeleton, glass baubles adorning their limbs. Instead of a head they had a see-through dome where a network of gears and springs toiled away in a mockery of life. From this dome came an intricate tower of white, resembling the rising sun. These beings rose tall, the air filling with the sharp stench of oil and metal. They spoke with an electric voice, striding into the hall.

“Attention. You are not permitted, what life you have will be terminated.” One stated, free of emotion, rising and extending a metal clamp instead of a hand. Electricity sparked across the two prongs, telling of their doom. “It is perfectly reasonable to experience duress. You will feel a slight tingling sensation, then death.”

“Nigel?” Nivra shouted, adopting a combat orientated stance. “Can you shut this down?”

“Once it’s started, it can’t be stopped. Not from here anyway.” The mage hissed, “They won’t harm me or Axton. You will have to destroy them on your own.”

“Great. I’ll consider it another test.” She groaned, pressing forward with a fireball, doubting lightning would prove effective. The force sent the first few clockwork beings flying back, their skulls cracking open upon the stone.  A path cleared she pushed forward on Nigels’ heels. The sound of whizzing steel bit at her ears as new clockwork creatures were forged to replace those that perished. With a startled yelp she managed to narrowly avoid an electric clamp meant for her.

“Do be mindful of the clamps.” Nigel warned, “They do in fact sting.”

“I’ll keep an eye out!” She stumbled back into the wall, insisting to her bag that she was fine. So, what if her heart was pounding, her death but a single clamp away? The bulwark of steel marched towards her, unphased by her struggle to continue her existence.

“Remain calm while your life is extracted.” The clockwork warriors dully stated as Nivra pushed them back with a volley of spells. Still, them came, seeming to climb out of every inch of the stonework. It was a slog of a time but she made it to the hallways end, to her limbs it seemed like a mile. Panting at the door she turned to face their pursuers, pressing back her hair from her eyes.

“See?” She wheezed, “This is sort of the trap I was expecting.”

“Through here, they shouldn’t be able to follow through the door.” Nigel gestured ahead.

“You’re certain?”

“I’m always certain girl.” He barked to the stone, bidding it to retreat upwards out of fear or respect. Unphased the undead wizard pressed forward, joined by Nivra and his apprentice. At another hiss it slammed shut behind him, bringing a state of calm and darkness.

Were they safe? Nivra thought, her heart pounding in her ears. She steadied her breath, noting death had not yet found them. But what of the others? They were not magicians as she, they had no spells on which to defend themselves. Could a knight with no armor and a gryphon fight off those metal warriors? Was it just their room that had been affected? She snapped to Nigel, laying these concerns at his feet.

The lich merely shrugged in the darkness, commanding his apprentice to summon his light. “If they haven’t wondered, there should be nothing to worry about.”

“And if they have?” Nivra asked her voice cracking, already dreading the answer.

 * * * * * * * * *

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