Fulcrum of Light (Catalyst Book 2) C.J. Aaron (unputdownable books .TXT) 📖

“Then what are you waiting for?” Ramm pondered. “I’m eager to be free from this tomb.”

After navigating the tight corner, the path opened wider, allowing distance between themselves and the black waters. A narrow sandy beach spread out along the edge of the path. With renewed energy, they hastened toward the edge of the chamber. The pathway again ceased without warning as it ran into the sheer face of the wall. A small pile of rubble collected at the foot of the rock in front of him. Ryl swung the lantern to the right, shining it toward the rocks at their side. The light illuminated a narrow, crudely carved staircase dug into the stone.

The steps of the stairs were steep. Crude markings from the rough tools used to dig out the staircase left thick scars across the faces of the steps. They ascended for several meters before stopping on a flat, natural landing. From there, they pivoted sharply back to the left before reaching a second landing.

Ryl felt the presence of the door. He'd accompanied Kaep, Vox, Deyalou and Ramm on several scouting missions outside the city walls; the door to the city would open on command. Ryl turned back toward his companions gathered on the steps behind him. There was no attempt to hide the anticipation on their faces.

“Shield your eyes, it will take some time to get accustomed to the light again,” he advised. “Be wary, we know not what lies on the other side.”

Turning back to face the concealed doorway, he closed his eyes taking a deep, steadying breath. In his mind he pictured the stone of the mountain vanishing before his eyes. He projected the image outward as he touched the wall with an outstretched finger. The stone rippled with his contact, and the waves bounced when they hit the corners of the door, reflecting back inward. Within moments the entire surface had been disturbed, seething at the hands of the overlapping waves before becoming translucent.

The light that poured through the open doorway was overpowering. The newly risen sun cast its blinding rays directly into the opening. Ryl blinked the tears from his eyes as he stepped back into the darkened tunnel.

The decision was made to progress slowly, although the urge to flee the interior of the mountain was intense. On either side of the blinding doorway and on the landing before the stairs turned there was ample room for all to rest. They leaned against the rough, stone walls, willing their eyes to accept the addition of the powerful, natural light. The process was sluggish. The phrenic’s eyes were the first to adjust to the point where they were comfortable exiting the concealed door.

Surrounding the hidden doorway was a terrain both beautiful and terrifying. They had reached The Crags.

An interlocking maze of jagged vertical pillars and mazelike avenues stretched out in all directions from the near vertical face of the cliff. A slender, natural pathway led down several meters from where the door exited leading between two of the fractured pillars.

The monochromatic landscape of the The Crags reminded Ryl of his fateful journey across the Outlands. The Crags were a mix of tans and yellows. The stone, weathered by the winds that raced through its narrow corridors, looked brittle, though there was little debris strewn across the sandy ground. To the east, many miles in the distance, the sunlight sparkled off the waters of the Sister Lakes. South of the water a long green forest stretched outward across the horizon. His mind immediately thought of the Erlyn, though he knew the boughs of her trees lay many long miles further south.

The sun had risen past midday before the last of the weary travelers was fully prepared to exit the darkness of the tunnel. None desired to linger in the mouth of the cave any longer. Ryl could see that the eyes of the Vigil and Andr still struggled to adjust, yet none complained about leaving the darkness behind.

Inside the tunnel, the atmosphere had been still, damp and cool. The moisture laden air made the temperature feel far colder than it was. Outside, the sun beat down on the road-weary travelers. The air was warm and dry, and the wind kicked up tiny particles of sand off the jagged peaks, whipping it around with a force that stung the skin.

As Ryl led the group down the narrow rocky path into the solitary entrance to The Crags, Vox remained momentarily behind, reclosing the hidden door to the tunnels. All hoped that they’d seen the last of the river's dank passage.

They stopped to examine the stones that stood like sentinels on either side of the narrow entry. Ryl ran his hand across the gritty surface of the rock; the weathered stone appeared stripped clean of any detail. The worry inside him began to grow. Would the marks bearing their passage through the rock maze still remain today? Had centuries of abuse from the punishing weather erased all trace?

They cautiously eased their way into the labyrinth, sliding through a narrow crevice that ran between the jagged rocks. The tightly packed stones, some leaning precariously overhead, imparted Ryl with a profound feeling of apprehension. After the ambush in the tunnel he walked with at least one of the Leaves in his hand.

Though harsh in its own regard, the there was an air of familiarity to the land outside the tunnel. The denizens of the subterranean passage had perhaps never witnessed, nor been viewed by man in the entirety of their existence. In the world above the mountain, the creatures that lurked in the shadows were more commonly understood. Though there was no fear of the Horde this far into Damaris, Ryl maintained a regiment of routine scans with his mindsight.

They followed the winding path between the rocks for a short distance before arriving at their first intersection. Ahead of them, two pathways converged into a small gap between the stones. They paused in the