Chapter 8: Underwater Palace

  Genno was correct when he told Corin that the undersea vessel would not be pleasant. The five of them were locked inside a small cylinder where none could stand up straight, and there was only enough space for all five of them to sit next to each other and barely move.

  “So I need to create an air bubble around this vessel when we get to the bottom?” Zhi asked Livia.

  “Yes, I assume you are able to do so,” Livia said without taking her eyes away from the glass window.

  They were at a depth where sunlight was minimal. It was hard to see in front of them.

  Corin tried his best to ignore his surroundings, while Livia was enthralled by everything she saw. Simeon snored loudly in a corner, and Nanaua gripped her pike with such intensity that Corin feared she might snap it.

  “I mean, that is very easy for me to do, but I would rather be asked next time than told,” Zhi said as she glanced sideways at Livia.

  “Sure, yes. Of course,” Livia replied. As Corin knew too well, Livia was not particularly adept at giving guidance to others, a fact that he had mentioned to her many times.

  “Livia,” he whispered. “You have to be nicer when you ask for favors.”

  Livia looked at Corin, then Zhi, and then back to Corin. He tilted his head to let her know that she should say something.

  “I’m sorry, next time I will ask before comitting you to something.” Livia said. “I got carried away in the moment.”

  “I appreciate it.” Zhi replied with a smile.

  Corin also smiled at his wife, who seemed not very interested in the small dynamics of relations.

  Their journey under the seas continued without much of note. Livia’s two-bell device was firmly affixed to the outside of the vessel. They hoped it would not ring.

  The vessel stopped, and they reached the underwater structure. None could believe what they saw. Even for Nanaua and Zhi, who were used to the grand floating dragon temples, what was in front of them was unlike anything they had seen before.

  The structure resembled a mountain that shot from the bottom of the ocean floor, but further inspection teased out the differences. The faces of the structure were cut at very precise angles; the edges were too fine to have been created by slow erosion. Another telling point was the light emanating from the structure. The entirety of the structure emitted a faint glow, and at the bottom there seemed to be an opening.

  “Are we in the clear?” Simeon asked.

  Corin did not know when the older man woke up.

  The entire group stared out the window. All that could be seen around the structure were fish. Nothing larger than their vessel was visible.

  “It sure seems that way,” Livia replied still scanning ahead.

  “Interesting," Simeon replied.

  The vessel continued and stopped in front of the large structure. Zhi whispered something and moved her fingers. The water around their vessel receded and they opened the vessel.

  Cautiously, the group stepped outside. Corin was the last to disembark.

  He stepped on the ground and was surprised at how solid it felt. He looked around and was mesmerized.

  The sea around him was being held back by an invisible wall. All around him, the sea continued existing as normal, except for the small bubble he and the rest of the group found themselves in.

  “We need to hurry.” Zhi exhorted, sounding under great duress.

  They arrived at the base of the structure and saw the entrance. It was a small entryway that Nanaua barely fit through.

  As they passed the entry, it was as Genno had said. There was an invisible barrier through which water would not go into the structure.

  Once all were inside, Zhi brought down the wall and proceeded to fall to her knees. Nanaua was there to hold her up.

  “You did well, my dear,” Nanaua said to Zhi, who collected herself.

  Corin quickly brought some food for her.

  “Thanks,” she said as she caught her breath and nibbled on a piece of bread.

  Now inside the structure, they were all silent. Around them there was barely any light. The light from outside the structure did not seem to continue within the structure.

  “Let me start a light,” Zhi said.

  “Don’t. We need you to recover as much as possible,” Livia interjected. “Simeon, I assume you brought the torches?”

  “Of course I did!” Simeon produced a pair of torches and lit them, keeping one and handing one to Corin.

  Now they could finally see the inside of the structure. The corridor was cramped, not leaving a lot of room for someone like Nanaua to navigate. Here the walls were unadorned, all they saw around them was a smooth stone surface.

  “You don’t mind leading the way, do you? I hear you have a natural talent for finding trouble rather quickly.” Simeon smiled at Corin.

  Corin grabbed the torch, and Nanaua followed. She was holding the pike, ready for anything that might come.

  Zhi and Livia followed in the middle with Simeon as the rearguard.

  The corridor they were in was long and narrow, leaving them with no choice but to continue moving ahead. The further they moved into the temple, the more elaborate it became and the larger the passage became. Deeper into it, Corin began to see intriguing designs carved on the walls, reminding him of those he had seen in the dragon temple.

  Some of these were large murals of various leviathans. Each of them as wide as three men and as tall as the wall. The first relief he came across was one he recognized instantly, a massive rocklike creature, and his heart sank.

  That damned Arandu.

  Corin kept on moving, and came across more of the massive reliefs. The next one Corin saw was of a long serpent, a creature he did not recognize. The leviathans were portrayed in a majestic way, the relief around them dotted with what seemed to be other smaller creatures watching in reverence of the leviathan, and small etched symbols atop them. There were more of these reliefs, a large octopus, a large shark-like being. Each of these were presented in a similar way, being revered by furtives and with the strange script above them.

  “That’s the leviathans’ script,” Simeon said as Corin studied the carvings.

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  “Script? You kept mentioning that before. What is that?” Corin asked.

  “A written language. I never learned one myself, but I have seen enough of the draconic alphabet to know the difference,” Simeon said.

  “A written language?” Corin was amazed at the concept. He did not know there could be such a thing as a written language. “Why did you never learn it?”

  “No furtive was allowed to learn the draconic alphabet. If they were even suspected of learning it, they were instantly put to death. Seems the titans don’t like it when furtives begin learning too much," Simeon replied.

  They continued down the hall and came to a large open room ahead. It was massive, and it seemed that there was no ceiling, as the room stretched far to the top. All they could see here were two paths to take.

  As Corin looked around to determine where to go, he was pushed harshly to the ground.

  On the floor, he heard a loud thud as an arrow embedded itself behind him.

  “Archers! Somewhere above!” Nanaua shouted, having pushed Corin out of the way.

  He heard another arrow land somewhere solid and shot up from the floor.

  Zhi conjured a fireball in front of her and looked around. Another arrow came flying by, and Livia pushed her out of the way.

  “It’s no use. We need to move on!” Livia urged Zhi as she grabbed her arm and led the group toward the left hallway.

  As they passed into the recesses of the hallway, they heard more arrows impact the floor behind them.

  Once they were safe from the barrage, they checked on each other.

  “No injuries this time. Next time, we might not be so lucky,” Simeon said.

  “At least we know we’re not alone.” Corin said.

  “Makes sense to me.” Simeon replied. “If this place really holds an artifact that can threaten titans, they would make sure to have some sort of protection.”

  “So much for an easy trek, let’s keep moving.” Corin hurried the group along.

  They reached another expansive spherical room with a domed top that seemed impossibly large. Corin and Nanaua entered by themselves while the rest of the group waited beyond the threshold of the room. They looked around and found no hints of danger. The only thing they noticed was that the entirety of the floor was covered in sand, unlike any other room in the structure.

  Upon all adventurers entering, a bright light began to flicker from the top of the ceiling. At the other end, they saw a sealed door. In the center three dark brown vases stood. They were firmly rooted to the floor underneath the sand.

  “This is odd,” Zhi said, echoing what every other member of the group was thinking.

  Simeon was the first to approach the sealed door. There were carvings on the sides and the top of the door that bore three symbols, all variations on triangles. The first triangle was upright with a straight line running through the center parallel to its base. The second triangle was identical to the first but pointed down. The third triangle had no line running through it and pointed down.

  He studied the shapes for a moment then grabbed his torch and poked the door. No reaction.

  He cautiously brought his hand to the door and touched it. No reaction.

  Simeon moved his hand across the door feeling for any groove or indent where he might be able to grasp any unlocking mechanism but found nothing.

  He ran his hand around the edge of the door, where it met the wall. He was able to stick his fingers in and tried to pry the door open, but there was no discernible reaction from the door.

  “I shall employ my strength,” Nanaua said behind Simeon.

  She too slid her fingers between the door and the wall and attempted to force the door open. Nanaua struggled with all her might, but the door did not move.

  “If we are to get through there, it does not seem as if raw strength is the answer,” Simeon sighed in frustration.

  “So what about these?” Corin asked as he stood next to the three vases.

  The group came over to study them.

  Each of them had one of the symbols next to the door. The left vase had the upside-down triangle with no line, the center had the lined upside-down triangle, and the rightmost vase had the lined upward-pointing triangle.

  “Does this make any sense to you?” Corin asked Zhi.

  “I don’t recall seeing that anywhere,” Zhi said.

  Corin looked at Simeon.

  “I’m not remembering anything specific. It looks too vague,” Simeon said.

  The group looked inside the vases and found them completely empty as well.

  Livia studied the vases from every possible angle. Looking from the side, the top, and from different sides of the room.

  “Any luck?” Corin asked.

  She continued furrowing her brow. He knew this meant she had not in fact had any luck.

  Simeon was the first one to actually try touching the vases. Like the door, he poked at it with the torch. That produced a loud resounding noise, indicating that the vases were empty.

  “Maybe we need to fill these up,” Zhi said as she looked at the sand around them.

  “Do you think so?” Corin asked.

  “Well, what would you suggest?” Zhi replied.

  “Might as well try it,” Simeon added. The three of them grabbed some sand and stood next to a vase each. “Ready?”

  Corin and Zhi nodded.

  “Go,” Simeon said.

  The three of them dropped the sand in unison.

  Everyone in the room waited quietly to see what would ensue. To their surprise, nothing happened.

  “Maybe you need more sand,” Nanaua suggested.

  “Maybe,” Zhi replied. With a wave of her hand, three large pockets of sand were lifted off the ground. They floated above the vases with enough sand to fill them.

  Zhi quickly directed to each vase and let them fall.

  Much to the surprise of the group, the sand fell into the vase and left no trace.

  “It should be full,” Simeon muttered.

  But upon inspection, they were completely empty.

  “We are getting nowhere,” Corin sighed in frustration.

  The rest continued studying the vases and put different items in. Zhi conjured up water and dumped it into a vase, no effect. Simeon lit a piece of wood on fire and threw it in. They looked inside afterward. No trace of it could be seen.

  “Maybe we are not meant to go this way,” Nanaua suggested.

  “Nanaua, if we are being prevented from going this direction, then the reason might be because the artifact is down this way,” Simeon countered with kindness but some exasperation as well.

  The group hovered around the vases, and Corin stepped back. He tried to look at the vases from every possible angle. Much like his wife earlier, he had no luck.

  He rubbed the pendant.

  Cyril, what would you do?

  Corin thought for one moment.

  No, what should I do?

  A memory flashed in Corin’s head. He remembered as a young boy when Cyril gave him a wooden soldier as a toy. Corin immediately took to the toy, and took it out around the town to play. He spent the entire day playing all around town with it, going from place to place imagining his wooden soldier fighting invisible enemies. The day flew by until it was late, and Cyril started shouting his name for Corin to come home.

  Corin had not realized how late it was and dashed home. He arrived and hastily began helping his brother prepare dinner. Afterward, he was so exhausted that he went straight to sleep. The next day, when he woke up, he went to grab his wooden soldier but could not see it. He realized that in his haste to come back home he must have left it somewhere in town.

  He went out into town trying to find it. He spent hours retracing his steps from the town to the house and despite his best efforts was not able to find the toy. Later in the day, Cyril found him crying in an alley and asked Corin what the problem was.

  “The toy you made me, I was playing with it yesterday, and when I heard you calling I ran home and forgot it. Now I don’t know where I left it. I looked all over town,” Corin mumbled amidst his sobs.

  Cyril was quiet and thinking.

  “I hope you’re not angry with me,” Corin said.

  “Of course not. I am trying to think of where to look,” Cyril said.

  “So you have looked all over town?” Cyril asked.

  Corin nodded as he kept sobbing.

  “How about inside?” Cyril asked.

  “What do you mean?” Corin replied, confused.

  “Have you looked inside our house?”

  Corin realized what Cyril was asking and ran back home. He had only given a cursory glance in the house before heading out. Inside their home, Corin found the toy quickly in the kitchen, put away along with their utensils.

  Corin felt a certain feeling of lightheadedness.

  What an odd memory.

  Corin looked around at the group and at the vases.

  Inside?

  Corin looked at the three vases again. He approached the one nearest to him, the right-most vase.

  Without warning he stuck his arm inside.

  “What are you doing?” Livia asked, bewildered.

  Corin moved his hand around, trying as best he could to see what could be inside the vase.

  He did not reply to Livia, and the rest of the group stared, wondering what sort of madness had overcome him and also if he might find something of value.

  Corin searched and searched and could not feel anything. In fact, the inside of the vase felt completely empty, as if nothing had been poured in.

  He pulled his hand out and looked at the group.

  They were awaiting an answer. Corin shook his head.

  “We might have to turn around,” Livia said.

  Corin placed his head on the edge of the vase, and sighed in frustration.

  WHOOSH!

  The sound echoed around the room as the vase suddenly started glowing white. It hummed as if something inside gave it energy.

  Corin instantly jumped back.

  The rest of the group stared in amazement.

  “What did you do?” Livia asked, surprised.

  “I…don’t know,” Corin replied.

  Zhi shouted from across the room, “Look at the door!”

  All turned to look. The etchings of the upward-pointing triangle glowed around the door.

  “So these are the keys to unlocking the door,” Simeon said as he looked at the vases.

  “But how?” Nanaua asked.

  “Corin, my boy, what exactly where you doing?” Simeon asked excitedly.

  “Well,” Corin began as he placed his face to the rim of the vase. “I placed my face here and sighed.”

  “Ah-ah-ah! I see,” Simeon gasped.

  “You breathed into the vase and provided air. This symbol here, it must stand for air.” Simeon pointed to the upright triangle. “So these other symbols must mean something else.”

  “In magic, we have the three domains, the three deities. Air for the dragons, sea for the leviathans, and land for the giants,” Zhi said.

  “Yes! That must be it!” Simeon replied almost instantly.

  “But Zhi already tried filling the vases with water. None of them reacted,” Livia said.

  “True, true.” Simeon went quiet as he thought.

  “Is there anything else to the three domains? Anything we might be missing?” Nanaua asked.

  “There are three domains of magic. Three domains inhabited by titans. Three domains full of life,” Zhi said.

  “Life! That is what we are missing. When Corin breathed into the vase, it was not just air. It was his breath! Breath of life.” Simeon got excited once more.

  “Zhi, can you conjure up some water and hold it right here?” Simeon asked as he went to look in his bag.

  Zhi did as asked, conjuring up a large water sphere in front of her.

  “Here!” Simeon pulled out a small pouch from his bag.

  “I see,” Livia said softly.

  “Salt?” Nanaua asked.

  “Of course!” Simeon poured some of it in the floating sphere.

  “Try it!” he urged Zhi.

  “Which vase should we try?” Zhi asked.

  “The left,” Nanaua answered.

  Nobody else questioned her call, and Zhi followed.

  As soon as the saltwater entered the vase, a loud WHOOOSH echoed around the room, and the vase glowed. The downward-pointing triangle etching on the side of the door started glowing.

  “How clever,” Livia said and smiled at Simeon.

  “I can’t let you be the only clever one here," Simeon replied with a grin.

  “So that leaves land,” Corin said.

  “Already on it.” Simeon’s excitement could not be contained. He brought out some potatoes from his sack.

  “You are going to feed it potatoes?” Livia asked.

  “No, these are my potatoes! It happens that these are covered in soil.” Simeon grinned as he held them above the vase.

  He rubbed off all the soil into the vase, but there was no response.

  “Do we not have enough?” Zhi asked.

  “I don’t believe that is the issue. I barely breathed into the first vase, and it responded,” Corin replied.

  The group fell back into thinking.

  “What else is significant to life on the land?” Livia asked.

  “Leviathans thrive in the salty ocean. Dragons thrive in the airy skies. But giants walk on land! So what are we missing?” Corin asked.

  Simeon pondered quietly. He seemed to be having a conversation by himself. The group was curious to hear the details of the conversation, but he mumbled, making it impossible to hear it.

  Simeon quieted and went to his bag.

  “Did you figure it out?” Nanaua, Zhi, Livia, and Corin asked in unison.

  Without looking, Simeon replied, “That we shall see.” He pulled out a red stone that shone bright as if it were burning.

  “A gem?” Nanaua said.

  “Yes, a gem. Legends say that giants’ hearts are made out of large, pure gems. If that is the case, then perhaps it could mean this is our last key.” As soon as Simeon finished speaking, he threw the gem into the vase.

  The resulting WHOOOSH from the vase and its glow instantly confirmed Simeon’s suspicion.

  The last etching around the door lit up, and the massive stone door slid open.

  The group rejoiced at their success. As they prepared to continue, Corin turned to Simeon and patted his back. “I knew bringing you along was the right call.”