Wandering Spark - Part 58
It was half an hour before sunset when a burning stone lit up the stairway at the bottom.
Neither Varan nor the mage made a sound. Just glanced at each other.
"We need to get down," said Clover.
"Let it be me," Varan said.
The magician looked at him for a long time.
"I'm physically stronger," Varan said, justifying himself for insolence.
"Good," the magician agreed.
They fixed the rope.
"I'll try to illuminate your way," the magician promised.
"Yeah..."
The darkness was unnerving, but it didn’t frighten him. Descending, Varan rested his feet against a stone wall. Above were flying, spinning, and glowing sparks - it seemed, the whole cave is shining like a warm sea.
"Here's a stairway," Varan said, reaching the bottom. "Shell, I proceed?"
"Go," the mage's voice sounded unusually low, the echo repeated it hundred times, moving it from wall to wall. "Only. Nothing. Do not touch anything. Just look.
"Yes."
The ball of flaming algae flew from above, swirling like a butterfly. The dry grass burned but didn’t burn down. When the gift reached the bottom, the cave brightened so much that Varan could see the lower steps of the stone staircase and the narrow passage at her foot.
"I’m going," he said just in case.
A lump of seaweed rolled down the earth as if driven by the wind. Varan stopped - the fireball stopped too.
"Great," Varan approved.
The passage was narrow - such that even skinny Varan would have to squeeze sideways. It's another matter that Varan didn’t intend to squeeze, he carefully thrust his head.
The fireball was bolder. Having passed the threshold, it rolled forward along a narrow corridor. Here and there the puddles are still on the floor. In the far corner lay a dead fish.
"Wow," Varan said.
The ball stopped in front of a stone trunk with a split lid. The crack was shining with the rainbow light; on a large iron lock it was written in large letters: "Maltown, master Soln for the glory of the Emperor." And then lower, in small letters: "You're dead."
Varan stood, unable to look away.
The fireball exploded, scattering smoky stinking stems; a moment before the explosion Varan had time to see how the small letters flow from the lock as an iron fast worm.
Seeing nothing but the red veins on his own eyelids, Varan rushed back. The emperor kept him - he didn’t slip or stumbled on the steps; he immediately found a rope, grabbed it, and it with an unexpected force dragged him up.
There wasn’t enough air. It darkened in his eyes, and the new darkness was much thicker than the usual darkness of the dungeon.
His hands stopped listening. A thin palm grabbed his wrist...
Varan strongly dragged his savior down.
He saw how mage Clover climbed over the edge of the well. How the rope busted...
"You're dead," someone said.
The fall slowed. Now Varana was again dragged upstairs.
The light of the aperture was getting closer. Varan saw a white face above him with tiny, deep-set eyes.
The next spurt threw him over the edge; he almost slipped into the nearby crevice. Clutching the rock with his hands and feet, he stopped himself from falling and froze. The wind was blowing. And there was no more sound.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23 Part 24 Part 25 Part 26 Part 27 Part 28 Part 29 Part 30 Part 31 Part 32 Part 33 Part 34 Part 35 Part 36 Part 37 Part 38 Part 39 Part 40 Part 41 Part 42 Part 43 Part 44 Part 45 Part 46 Part 47 Part 48 Part 49 Part 50 Part 51 Part 52 Part 53 Part 54 Part 55 Part 56 Part 57
Congratulations, you were selected for a random upvote! Follow @resteemy and upvote this post to increase your chance of being upvoted again!
Read more about @resteemy here.