inner space of the Tower. It was carved with elemental scenes, like the entryways onto the four lower bridgeworks. I wonder if there are concealed halls for the other three elements up here somewhere , Lian speculated to himself as he gazed at the compellingly beautiful earth scenes of this fifth and final Earthhall. The lack of symmetry at this level bothered him, for Firavon had been enamored of the architectural concept.
The Great Doors entered the Tower from the south through the Earthhall, and the ramp began there. The ramp then circled counterclockwise past the Firehall, then the Airhall, and finally the Waterhall before beginning its ascent. When the ramp eventually crossed the first bridgeworks, actually the second set of elemental hallways, it first encountered the Firehall, then Air, then Water, and then Earth. When it climbed to the point where it crossed the bridgework that concealed the scrying chamber, precisely halfway up the six-hundred yard Tower, it first met the Airhall. The ramp at the level containing the third bridgeworks, four hundred and fifty yards above the floor, first crossed the Waterhall. Here at the top, the first entry cycled back to the Earthhall.
He could still hear a struggle taking place in the center chamber, a reminder to be as quiet as possible.
There was a throng of statues now, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to pass between them without causing a commotion.
“I fear that you might have to find another way, Highness,” said Lord Grey. He’d already made it abundantly clear that he could see despite his location in a sack contained within a backpack.
“I agree, but unless you know another way . . . ” Lian faltered. He wasn’t sure what they were looking for up here, but had hopes that his two eldrich companions would figure something out.
Fortunately, before the corridor became impassable, he reached the end of it. One of the statues had fallen across the doorway, and had recently shattered into powder and shards when the door had slammed shut. Pieces of that statue were scattered widely about.
“Did I do that?” Lian asked.
“Most likely. I can assure you that no one has Sealed the Tower since before the rebellion,” explained Lord Grey. “I would have heard the infernal din it makes.”
Lian nodded. “This will open for me, right?”
“As long as you carry the Key, Your Highness,” the skull said. “Once you pass through that doorway, it will be quite difficult for your pursuers to apprehend you, unless there are open passageways that I am unaware of that permit access to the upper floors. I confess that I do not know the entire design of the Tower.
“With a great deal of magical ability and stamina, as well as a willingness to risk encounters with malevolent defensive wardings, it is possible to penetrate these inner doors without possessing the Key, but it’s dangerous and time-consuming. I know of a Castellan who once Sealed the Tower and locked himself into his quarters. The door to his chambers had to be defeated, at great cost to the mages and their guards. When they finally managed to reach him, he was trying to destroy the Key. In its larger form, as it was when you found it, it is theoretically not invulnerable. However, Firavon built better than the mad Castellan was capable of breaking.
“I remember that several of the higher ranking mages were concerned that the Key might be cracked deep inside where they couldn’t detect the flaw.
“Alas, I digress, and my rhetoric may very well get you killed,” the skull admonished itself.
Lian approached the door and glanced back at his fresh footprints in the powdered statue fragments.
You’d better use up a little of that magic I gave you and remove the traces of my passage , he said mentally to Gem.
She replied by singing a few short melodic syllables, breaking into bell-like chords which sounded like wind chimes in the breeze. His footprints were smoothed away by a gentle zephyr
The Great Doors entered the Tower from the south through the Earthhall, and the ramp began there. The ramp then circled counterclockwise past the Firehall, then the Airhall, and finally the Waterhall before beginning its ascent. When the ramp eventually crossed the first bridgeworks, actually the second set of elemental hallways, it first encountered the Firehall, then Air, then Water, and then Earth. When it climbed to the point where it crossed the bridgework that concealed the scrying chamber, precisely halfway up the six-hundred yard Tower, it first met the Airhall. The ramp at the level containing the third bridgeworks, four hundred and fifty yards above the floor, first crossed the Waterhall. Here at the top, the first entry cycled back to the Earthhall.
He could still hear a struggle taking place in the center chamber, a reminder to be as quiet as possible.
There was a throng of statues now, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to pass between them without causing a commotion.
“I fear that you might have to find another way, Highness,” said Lord Grey. He’d already made it abundantly clear that he could see despite his location in a sack contained within a backpack.
“I agree, but unless you know another way . . . ” Lian faltered. He wasn’t sure what they were looking for up here, but had hopes that his two eldrich companions would figure something out.
Fortunately, before the corridor became impassable, he reached the end of it. One of the statues had fallen across the doorway, and had recently shattered into powder and shards when the door had slammed shut. Pieces of that statue were scattered widely about.
“Did I do that?” Lian asked.
“Most likely. I can assure you that no one has Sealed the Tower since before the rebellion,” explained Lord Grey. “I would have heard the infernal din it makes.”
Lian nodded. “This will open for me, right?”
“As long as you carry the Key, Your Highness,” the skull said. “Once you pass through that doorway, it will be quite difficult for your pursuers to apprehend you, unless there are open passageways that I am unaware of that permit access to the upper floors. I confess that I do not know the entire design of the Tower.
“With a great deal of magical ability and stamina, as well as a willingness to risk encounters with malevolent defensive wardings, it is possible to penetrate these inner doors without possessing the Key, but it’s dangerous and time-consuming. I know of a Castellan who once Sealed the Tower and locked himself into his quarters. The door to his chambers had to be defeated, at great cost to the mages and their guards. When they finally managed to reach him, he was trying to destroy the Key. In its larger form, as it was when you found it, it is theoretically not invulnerable. However, Firavon built better than the mad Castellan was capable of breaking.
“I remember that several of the higher ranking mages were concerned that the Key might be cracked deep inside where they couldn’t detect the flaw.
“Alas, I digress, and my rhetoric may very well get you killed,” the skull admonished itself.
Lian approached the door and glanced back at his fresh footprints in the powdered statue fragments.
You’d better use up a little of that magic I gave you and remove the traces of my passage , he said mentally to Gem.
She replied by singing a few short melodic syllables, breaking into bell-like chords which sounded like wind chimes in the breeze. His footprints were smoothed away by a gentle zephyr
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