A wooden bolt shot its way down the empty stone worked hallway but nothing happened. “Looks clear Igneous,” Mace said as they all piled around the threshold to it. In the distance they could hear the clear echo of more rushing water, this time a bit less aggressive.
“Still,” Igneous began. “It doesn’t mean there isn’t something already prepared for us. It could be a different kind of trap,” Igneous said.
“Would you like me to fly down?” Kara asked from behind. “It seems suited for celestials after all. If an arrow didn’t trigger a trap then I shouldn't if I just don't touch anything.”
“No,” Igneous said shaking his head. “If we're going to get across were all going together. Were not making the same mistake.”
Hilliph walked up to the entrance of the long hallway and said, “Let's just see if we can find these ‘traps’.” He held one of his long swords out in his magical grip and bashed the wall with the hilt a few times till a rock fell loose. “This should do,” he said as he threw it with his magical grip, arcing it down the hallway bouncing of the stone worked floor until it came to rest somewhere in the middle.
For a moment they waited but nothing happened, “Welp,” Joel said soft tension, “looks like this one is clear after all.”
He took a few steps forward. “Joel don’t…” Igneous came about to stop him but then the floor opened up with Joel disappearing beneath as he fell into darkness. “No!!!” He shouted as he was helpless to do anything.
Acting quickly Kara dove down into the pit after him. Speeding down she flew under his falling body unfurling her wings taking the weight of both of them. This act slowed down considerably but they still ended up crashed to the stoney floor below in a heap. Comming to a rest Kara clawed at the stone floor with her hooves saying, “Dammit Joel!” as she tried to get out from under him
“This doesn’t normally happen.” he said rolling off her, letting her free. He took a few steps away, and beneath his hoof, felt something hard easily break with a loud snap. “What was that?” he nervously asked.
From above Mace shouted, “Guys? Are you alive alive?” He was peering over the edge trying to see through the blinding darkness that started just a short distance below.
“Sadly,” she answers back as she looked around the dark pit they had fallen into. She didn’t see any way up for Joel. Looking over to him she said, “wait here and don't do anything stupid please.” She began to fly up but as she did the trap door as long as the hallway suddenly closed trapping them down in the darkness together.
“Kara!” Igneous shouted as he began to bash the floor with the hilts of his swords.
“Stand back Igneous,” Mace said as he loaded an explosive bolt ready to let looses on the ground.
Hilliph held out a hoof stopping him and said, “Don’t! You may harm them just by the explosion alone.”
Igneous looking up to him angrily said, “What do you suppose we do? We can’t leave a Falconer behind.”
Hilliph’s horn glowed and from his bag came a wooden flask. Positioning himself over the ground he said, “Let me see what I can do.” The cork then flew off and Hilliph spilled the liquid over the ground and as it sat there the floor began to slowly erode away.
After a minute there was a metal on rock sound and they saw a claw protrude from the ground, “Guys?” Kara said looking through the small hole.
“Kara,” Igneous said as he ran to where the hole in the ground was, “Are you and Joel alright?”
“Yes we're fine. Can you not get this vault open?” she asked.
Igneous looked back to see Mace pouncing on the ground with his hoofs roughly where Joel stepped trying and open up the trap floor, “Yea I think it's not going to open,” Igneous answered.
Kara scratched at the hole again hoping that she could somehow make it big enuff for her self to fit through, “Taff this isn’t going to work.” she said. She then called down to Joel and asked, “Is there a way out of here?”
“I don't know it's really dark.” he said as he ran his hoofs across the wall trying to find a doorway or some way out.
Igneous withdrew a sword and hit one of the glowing crystals on the roof causing a decent sized chunks to break from it. “Try this,” he said as he dropped it down to him.
Now that the chamber was lit Kara and Joel could clearly see where they were. It was a vastly empty stone room with nothing except a few cobwebs and a bone skeleton of some other pony who happened to fall into the same trap. Joel picked the rock up with his mouth and looked around with it.
Scanning around he found that their was a break in the wall that was just big enuff for them to maybe squeeze through, “I think I found a way out.” He slowly poked his head through and saw that it lead to another room much different looking less hostile all togeather. It had what looked like prison cells with iron bars and chains. “Yep we got our way out I think.”
“We can’t split up,” Igneous said.
“Right now we don’t have much of a choice Igneous,” she said. “Just take the book with you. The next room isn’t a trap, I already read about it.”
“Just watch your step.”
“I’ll do fine,” she said before she flew down to where Joel was leaving Hilliph, Mace and Igneous behind.
“I wouldn't worry Igneous,” Mace assured. “Karra can handle herself.”
Looking down the hall to the next water roaring room Igneous said, “I’m worried that your little trainee might get her killed.”
He chuckled and said, “That stallion needs some work. I’ll see to it he is back in shape by the time this missions done.”
Hilliph walked ahead of them and said, “This ‘mission’ just might take longer than you expect. I wouldn’t start making plans just yet Mace.” They walked to the end of the of the hallway and to the opening of there next trail. As they looked they saw that there nothing but a server with a pool far below where water was draining down into a vortex. “I'm assuming this is where the water from the last room is going,” Hilliph suggested.
There was a ledge at the far end of the room but there was no way to reach it. No platforms nothing. “How are we supposed to get over there?” Mace asked gingerly peering over the edge.
“Can't you just use a string shot Mace?” Igneous asked.
He shook his head and said, “There's nothing for it to bury itself into Igneous. Everything's rock.” He kicked a lossen pebble down and watched it fall into the spinning vortex below. No doubt if they fell they would be lost forever not mention dead.
Hilliph’s horn glowed and a two black tower shields that were the same in shape but different in design. “This is going to be dangerous.” he said.
“What's the plan?” Mace asked.
Kara had crawled through the crack Joel had discovered recently. As she picked herself up she found themselves on the inside of a cell room. Joel spat the rock on the ground and said, “that taste bad.” He licked his own fur before saying, “How are we supposed to get out of this?” He examined the metal work and at the bolts that held the framework in place to see if he could answer his own question.
She flew up to the corner and started using her claws to scratch at the rivets. “This isn't going to work,” she casually said after a fruitless effort. Sitting herself down next to Joel she began to think along.
A minute passed by and Joel sprang up saying, “I have an idea.” He pressed his chest button with his hoof and his crossbows sprang up. He switched his shot to an explosive bolt and hammered in the next shot. “This might be a little dangerous,” He said as he put his hoof over the lever and pushed down very hard followed by two quick pushes and the arrow popped out of the flight grove onto the ground. He did this a second time and then he took them both and shoved them between the metal door frame and the wall it was attached to.
“You're going to let loose with an explosive bolt?” she asked as she watch him work while idly scootching closer to the crack in the wall.
“Nope.” he responded as he switched both crossbows to a string shot. “I'm going to create a controlled explosion.” He popped the string shots out of their flight groves and attached the hooks to the shafts of the explosive arrows. He flicked his ears back giving the rope some slack and he began to back himself out through the hole in the wall. “Your might wanna go first,” he said to Kara.
“Exactly how are you going to make them explode,” she asked as she squeezed herself through to the next room.
“When I pull on the string shots they will snap the tips of the explosive arrows off causing the explosion. Want me to explain how the door is supposed to fall off.”
“Let's just find out way out of here.”
He crawled through and sighed, “Just cover your ears or something.” He then raised his ears and Jerked his body sideways pulling on the arrows. There was a deafening boom along with a tremor that shook both Joel and Kara. After Joel’s vision straitened and his hearing came back he said, “I cannot believe I shot one of these near Igneouses face.” He said as he slowly stumbled back to his hoofs. “I had those things in my mouth.” He looked at the wall that separated them from the explosion and he saw that there was a huge blast mark that cracked the entire wall.
After Kara pulled herself up she looked at the wall and said, “I think only one was needed.”
“For once I agree with you.” They crawled back through the crack in the wall and found that not only did the doors get blasted off but also the cell in front of them and the two next to them as well. Joel walked out of the cell and looked down both ways of the hall they were in, “Do you know which way leads out?”
“I don’t,” she answered, “However I wonder how the others are doing.”
Igneous called over the edge, “Are you alright Hilliph?” He looked down to see that he was hanging down near the waters vortex but he was still alright.
“I'm fine!” he shouted. “Just pull me back up.”
Igneous looked back to Mace who planted his hoofs down as he held Hilliph by one of his string shot arrows. “Pull him up.”
Mace started to back up and he asked, “What was that? It nearly got Hilliph killed just then.”
“I’m sure Joel set off that explosion. He is the only one here other than you who could have.”
After Mace finally pulled Hilliph back over the ledge Hilliph said, “That dafted explosion broke my concentration.” He summoned the same two tower shields and place them over the open air again. “Maybe this time we won't have any disturbances.” He stepped onto the first shield and it wavered a bit over the open air.
“Do you wanna take a minute Hilliph?” Mace asked, “You can take the time to catch your breath.”
He laughed and said, “I may be old but i'm not a feeble pony.”
“Right, you're the expert.” Mace gave him a little slack so that he could make the next step. Hilliph then rotated the shield around to the front of him so that he could take another step. His eyes were closed as he tried to drown out all distractions so that he could make it across. He repeated the process over and over till he finally made it across and to the other end. He let his shields disappear and he turned to face the others. “are you coming?”
Igneous hooked himself up to Mace making sure that he would not come unfastened. “This is going to hurt. Isn’t it?”
Mace twisted his chest button to were it looked the crossbows in its current place and said, “It depends on how hard you hit the wall Igneous.”
“I hate doing this with you.”
“Personally I think it never gets old.” He inched himself closer to the edge and peered down over what they were about to swing over. “Just remember,” he began, “there is nothing to fear but fear its-” he was cut off when the very edge of the ledge he was standing on collapsed beneath sending falling prematurely. The slack caught up to Igneous and he got yanked over the edge head first along with Mace and together they slammed into the wall on the opposite side. Mace took quite the hit to the head and body and pretty much all over.
“Dammit Mace.” Igneous shouted. Apparently the wall gave Igneous a beating as well despite the armor he wore. “I said to watch your step.”
Mace planted his hooves against the wall trying to regain his composure. “I could not have know that Igneous.
“Are you alright down there?” Hilliph said from above.
“As much as we're going to be,” Igneous answered. He didn’t like to just hang there doing nothing but the way his armor harnessed him almost prevented him from being useful in the slightest. All he could do was hang there as Hilliph and Mace did all the work.
Kara and Joel had found their way out of what must have been the prison cells. The hall they were in opened up into a wider room were in the middle there was a statue made of stone that had a pony, an Earth pony who was heavily armored standing boldly with what looked like chains wrapped around the entirety of its body. It didn’t seem as if he minded but as if they were meant to be there. “Who is this?” Joel asked as he slowly walked up to it. “Was he an infamous criminal or something?”
Kara flew up to the statues head which by comparison was much bigger to Karas in scale. “I’ve read stories about him in the book,” she said as she put her hoof on the snout of the statue. “He is Ashur the gate keeper of the Hexer fortress. He guarded all of the Hexers magic, books, weapons and everything.”
Joel walked around the side and asked, “Why is he in chains?”
“There his weapons. He was one of the only ones who could wield a chain weapon.”
“I thought you would need to be a Unicorn,” Joel said as he walked around to the back of it.
“Not when you're a Hexer Joel,” she answered.
Joel was wondering why there would be a single room with nothing but a statue in the middle of what must have been there dungen. Looked at the ground and saw that there were scratch marks going backwards. “I think this gatekeeper is keeping something hidden.”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
Joel ran around to the front of it and said, “Look for something that seems out of place. Normally it would be something like a switch or lever.” He looked the statue up and down to see if anything wasn’t symmetrical with its counterpart.
“Is it this?” Kara asked as she straightened one of the cuffs that were attached to the chain. There was a clicking noise and the rock statue began to slowly move backwards revealing a hidden stairway.
Joel looked down and said, “Just like I said. I knew there was something.”
Kara landed at the side of Joel and asked, “How did you know that.”
“Um, Telhish Menishin,” he answered. A clever cover up for television although one would wonder why he would even bother in the first place. “He had a ton of stories to tell.” He walked down the flight of stairs making sure to kick the glowing rock down with him illuminating the passageway. When they reached the bottom there was a door with a little plaque on it with words that Joel couldn’t read. “What does this say Kara?” She looked at it for a few moments taking her time to decipher the words and symbols, but then she appeared to freeze. Joel noticed this and asked “Are you alright? What does it say?”
She turned to him and said, “I think we just found the magic of Noriphmy.”