Lyndon Hardy - Master of the five Magics

Aeriel reached for Alodar's arm. In the quiet that followed, he muttered, "The second one today. It only can mean that they are toppling the towers, one by one. Either our remaining defenders above give them difficulty or they seek to level Iron Fist on some mad craze. It is well that they have not yet discovered any entrances to these chambers."

Aeriel released her grip and breathed deeply. "Come," she said. "We were going to the second level."

They reached the tower in a short while. Descending through a hole in the floor, they climbed down to the next landing. Retracing their steps one level down, they returned to a chamber under the keep. It was deserted and built similarly to the ones above and below, except that instead of a slab or water pool, a massive stone column ran from floor to ceiling.

"It certainly is not needed to support the vault," Alodar said. "The other two chambers have the same span and the ceiling runs free from wall to wall. Yet strength is somehow the essence of that column. Look at it, not a seam anywhere, a monolith of granite. It could withstand the blows of many a mangonel and give up not a single chip from the shock."

"If it does not support, is it indeed even secure?" Aeriel asked.

"Yes, the base penetrates below floor level. From the look of it, it also projects up into the ceiling as well."

Alodar stepped back to survey the column but found himself instead watching Aeriel as she inspected the stonework. Her eyes darted first to the ceiling, then to the floor, and finally scanned the length slowly for any crack or seam. She looked back at Alodar when she was done, and her eyes widened as she realized what his focus of attention had been.

"Excuse my boldness, but you are most pleasing fair," Alodar said without thinking.

"Oh enough, Alodar." Aeriel raised her hand as a slight color came to her cheeks. "I have seen the effect of the queen on too many men not to know what truly constitutes beauty. Let us concentrate on our search."

Alodar nodded and motioned to the archway, suddenly pleased with himself for what he had said and the reaction it had caused. Without another word, they left the chamber and returned to the flanking tower. As they began to climb down to the bottommost level, the ground shook again like a blanket snapped taut on a newly made bed, and the rumble echoed about them so that neither could speak. As the reverberations died, a man-at-arms poked his head through the opening to the level above.

"Lady Aeriel, come quickly to the queen's bidding," he shouted down. "A strange occurrence in the central chamber."

Alodar and Aeriel quickly reversed direction, following the man back to the queen. Everyone of their small band was there, filling the room, and all heads looked anxiously upwards towards the huge vault of the ceiling. Vendora was where Alodar had seen her last, but now she stood propped against Feston, leaning heavily on the arm he wrapped around her.

A sudden streak of motion caught Alodar's eye. He turned his head upward to see several large drops of opaque liquid ooze out between two of the massive stones. They fell and spattered against the rusty slab at the chamber's center and added to the messy orange slurry of their predecessors.

He frowned in concentration. Nothing from thaumaturgy certainly, he thought. But what had Periac told him of the other arts? What would seep through what no mason could chisel in a week?

"Solvent!" he yelled as the answer struck him. "And it looks high grade. Everyone out! The ceiling is going to collapse. That is how the towers were toppled. They are dissolving the mortar between the stones."

No one moved. All were transfixed by the slowly increasing tempo of the drip and the widening pool on the chamber floor. Before Alodar could say more, the giant keystone in the center of the vault began to slide slowly down and away from the rock which surrounded it. It gathered speed; with a cascade of liquid on every side, it fell away entirely, into their midst. With a resounding crash, it hit the slab and sprayed liquid and splinters of rock in all directions. The crowd screamed and sprang alive, bolting for the passageways, shouldering one another aside in their haste.

Alodar and Aeriel moved to one side to let them pass, their eyes on the queen across the chamber. Feston, with his grip still on Vendora's arm, spun her towards the nearest exit and pushed her ahead. Periac recovered his balance from a brushing blow and plunged after the queen. Festil immediately followed, almost catching the thaumaturge's cape with his long running stride.

Alodar looked again at the ceiling. Through the new opening, Bandor's men were lowering a rope ladder and several were making ready to descend. He glanced over his shoulder into the passageway from which he had just entered and then hesitated no longer. Grabbing Aeriel's hand, he raced across the room, avoiding the many small pools of solvent which were now working on the seams in the floor. As he passed the slab, his eyes was caught by its now shining brilliance. The bath had cleaned away the rust and a good portion of the iron as well.

He stopped suddenly and looked again. The shine was not from the iron alone.

"Look, Aeriel," he exclaimed. "In the center of the iron, a disk of copper! It is not a solid iron slab, after all. Beneath the rust is this circle of copper in a yoke of iron. A circle at each level. The copper here, the column below, and a well at the bottom of it all."

Three circles of the same diameter! One above the other. In a flash the castle's secret came to him. He looked again at the rope ladder. Two men were already gently swinging on it. He grabbed Aeriel again and ran off after the others. He had the answer. If there was only enough time to use it.

The Hero's Reward

THE passageway blurred by and Alodar glanced back over his shoulder. Bandor's men were already in the tunnel after him. He increased his speed; the drawn swords shining in the torchlight gave his legs urgency even beyond what he had felt two days before when the outer walls had fallen. He squeezed Aeriel's hand tighter, and they rapidly closed on Vendora and the others up ahead.

They caught the queen just as they entered the small room under the corner tower. The panicked flight momentarily stopped in a mass confusion of waving arms and shouted directions.

"Up, up to the surface. It is our only chance," yelled Festil as he tumbled Periac down from the stairs and started to climb.

"No, no father," Feston boomed louder still. "See the stonework. We must go down." As he spoke, he yanked Vendora out of the way of dripping liquid that began to ooze from the ceiling and pushed her through the opening in the floor.

Everyone clambered after. As Alodar brought up at the rear, he saw the small group disappear into the passageway that led back under the keep.

"We will make our stand around the pillar," Festil shouted back to the three soldiers who now ran with him. They drew their swords as they raced, and Aeriel instinctively started to follow.

Alodar grabbed her by the arm and held her back. "Our only chance lies below," he said. "Let us hope that Feston and the others can hold them off until the spell is finished."

He plunged down to the bottom level, pulling Aeriel with him. The staircase seemed to spiral for an eternity and his heartbeat almost drowned out the clank of mail and shouts of the chase that now filtered down after them.

Finally at the bottom, he raced for the central chamber, scarcely noticing the diminishing noise as the hunters chose to pursue the quarry one level above. In a moment they reached their destination and saw the serene pool at the center. Alodar looked rapidly about. They were alone.

"Quickly, Aeriel," he said, "your ring. No, no the unadorned one. Gold is not the best choice and we must at least make the shape as similar as we can."