Path of Dragons-Chapter 60Book 9: : Reflection

Elijah crouched in the entrance, the butt of his scythe planted in the ankle deep water as he studied the chamber before him. The room itself was more of a hall, lined with weathered but still strikingly realistic stone statues of water giants. If they hadn’t been monochromatic, he might have thought they were the genuine article. Coming in at a height of fifteen feet tall, they each displayed the characteristics of their particular race. Kelp-like hair and beards, angular faces, and subtle fins on their forearms and calves. Elijah expected that if he looked a little closer, he would find that their hands and feet were webbed as well.

The subject of each statue was equipped with a trident, its tines barbed and glistening with sharpness. Whoever had carved the works of art had been incredibly talented, especially considering how the details had persisted despite the obvious years of weathering to which they’d been subjected.

The base of each statue was hidden beneath the placid and mirror-like surface of the water. Reflections stretched across the hall, creating an oddly hypnotic effect as the mirrored versions came within an inch of touching one another. Completing the scene and casting the hall in an additional air of surreality was the flickering blue light emanating from the coffered ceiling. The recessed panels – lacunae, from what he remembered from art history class – bore glittering and illuminated frescoes depicting water giants battling giant sea monsters.

Elijah almost chuckled when he saw one that looked vaguely familiar. To himself, he muttered, “Release the kraken.”

“What?” Oscar asked.

“Nothing. Just thinking about an old movie.”

“Which one?”

“Clash of the Titans. You probably haven’t seen it.”

“I saw that one.”

“Really? When Liam Neeson says –”

“Who?”

“Liam Neeson. He played Zeus,” Elijah said. “You know, release the Kraken!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Oscar admitted with a frown. “I watched that film a hundred times when I was a child.”

“Oh.”

“What?” asked Oscar.

“I think I see what the problem is. You watched the old version. The original. I was talking about the new one. Well, newer. It’s more than a decade old at this point,” Elijah said. Then, he frowned too. “God, I got old. It seems like just yesterday that came out. Do you think Liam Neeson survived? I hope so. He always seemed like a tough guy.”

“I genuinely have no idea who that is.”

“You’re not that worldly, are you?” Elijah asked. “No – don’t answer that. I’m just adding that one to the list of movies we need to watch when you come to the grove.” He let out a small chuckle. “It sounds like I’m arranging a sleepover. You know, like when I was little, I’d get all my friends together and we’d stay at my buddy Ty’s house. His parents had a finished basement and a huge TV with the latest game systems. We’d have pizza and watch bad movies, and it would be a blast.” He sighed. “I miss those days. Things were simpler back then.”

“I…I never had that.”

“Really?” Elijah asked.

“I didn’t have many friends,” Oscar said, kneeling to scratch Freddy’s ears.

“Well, you have one now,” Elijah said. “Pizza and bad movies. You and me and everyone else. It’ll be great. I just need to find a TV that works. Or better yet, I’ll ask Nerthus to grow a tree-cinema. The acoustics probably wouldn’t be perfect, but if anyone could make it work, he’s the guy to do it. Come to think of it, he could use a movie night too.”

“I…I think we should focus on the task at hand.”

“Oh. Right. You think it’s booby trapped?” he asked.

In addition to the pressure sensitive tiles in the entry chamber, they’d found a few other traps along the way. Some were easy enough to avoid, but others had proven to be quite a pain. For instance, there had been a room that reminded Elijah of the acid vat trap he’d encountered in the Chimeric Forge, though instead of corrosion, the risk was freezing water.

Thankfully, Oscar had noticed a pattern on the walls that he’d seen in the entry chamber, and he’d quickly rearranged the tiles to activate the kill switch. That had been the closest call, but even then, Elijah had only used a third of his ethera healing himself and the pack. It wasn’t pleasant, but they hadn’t really come close to dying.

Something told him that there would be more traps to come.

“Probably.”

Elijah narrowed his eyes and focused on Soul of the Wild. There was nothing beneath the water but blank tiles, so he figured that part was safe enough. Next, he turned his attention to the statues, which were imposing but seemingly mundane. The only issue was that his awareness wouldn’t penetrate their figures or the wall. No matter how hard he pushed, he got nothing.

The same had been the case throughout the temple. He didn’t know if it was an effect of some method of construction, the materials used to build the structure, or something else he didn’t understand. But the fact was that he felt incredibly handicapped by the limitations.

Still, there was nothing for it but to forge ahead and hope to adapt to what amounted to a less-than-ideal situation.

“Any ideas?” he asked.

“No.”

Oscar was a lot of things, but a fount of verbosity just wasn’t one of them. At times, his blunt nature was refreshing, but sometimes, Elijah wished for someone with slightly better conversational skills.

Despite that, Elijah couldn’t deny that he felt a deep connection to the man. Probably because of the similarities of their attunements, but it reminded him of how quickly he’d latched onto Dat, Kurik, or Ron. Even with their vastly different personalities, there was a common thread between them. And that was enough to foster a friendship.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“Stand back,” Elijah said. “If something happens, come snag me and drag me back to safety.”

Oscar nodded.

With that, Elijah pushed himself to his feet, took a deep breath, then stepped forward. Nothing happened. So, he took another step. And another after that. He was just about to call back to Oscar to join him when he took the fourth step that drew him even with the first two statues.

The ground rumbled before a surge of ethera bloomed to either side of the hall.

It was the only warning he received before those two statues tried to impale him with their tridents. The sound of grinding rocks filled the air as they silently stabbed out. Elijah narrowly managed to avoid those attacks by leaping backward toward the door. But to his horror, the statues didn’t stop there. Instead, they stepped off their plinths and pursued him.

“Dammit,” he growled.

The creatures blazed with enough ethera to tell him that they were not to be taken lightly. Well past the ascended tier. Maybe close to Oscar’s level, if not slightly higher.

With the physical prowess that came from that level, they moved like lightning. Elijah dodged one attack, then slapped another trident aside in a hasty parry. However, he could tell that he was physically outmatched.

“Stay back!” he shouted, only to realize that the door had been sealed, isolating him from his companions. Vaguely, he could hear the dogs whining and scratching at the thick stone door, but he could also feel the ethera running through the obstacle. They wouldn’t soon breach the entrance, which meant he was on his own.

With that in mind, he shifted into the Shape of Thorn.

Something told him that fire and venom wouldn’t do much against those creatures, after all. So, his most defensive form seemed like the best bet.

In the back of his mind, he thought of how vines and roots could tear down even the stoutest structures. He intended to channel that natural trait and destroy the stone creatures before him.

The second he took on the Shape of Thorn, he lashed out with his claws, teeth, and tail. Each blow chipped away at the statues, but Elijah’s aggressive style left him open to reprisal. And when those tridents pierced his scales, they came with a pulse of intense cold that left him numb.

To combat that, he cast Wild Resurgence. It helped, though he knew that if he let the battle go on for much longer, the numbness would spread, and he’d began to flag. He couldn’t allow that to happen.

So, it was without further hesitation that he activated Domain of Vines. At first, he only used the explosion of vegetation to restrain the creatures, but as the effect wore on, he shifted his strategy to tearing them apart. He squeezed them hard enough to shatter boulders, but with so much ethera rushing through them, it took far more pressure to accomplish his goal.

The first sign of success was when one of the arms snapped off and fell into the water. After that, the only question was whether or not Domain of Vines would run its course before the statues crumbled. Of course, Elijah didn’t leave it solely up to his vines. He put his own strength behind the effort, crawling all over the larger figures and using his immense attributes and cultivation to speed the process along.

To that end, he managed to dismantle one of the stone statues before Domain of Vines fell away. But by that point, the remaining statue was already disarmed, with its stone body cracked in hundreds of places. It didn’t take Elijah much longer to finish it off. So it was that when the door reopened and Oscar and the pack came rushing through, they found him standing over a pile of weathered stone.

“What happened?” Oscar demanded amidst the dogs’ barking.

“Stop!” Elijah said, holding up one clawed hand. They all skidded to a halt, churning the water into frothy waves. Elijah had taken a couple of trident wounds along the way, so he’d lost a good amount of blood. In addition, his body felt numb in a dozen places, evidence that he hadn’t avoided as much damage as he’d thought.

Fortunately, he’d kept Wild Resurgence going the entire time. Still, he shifted back into his human form and summoned his other healing spells to hand. He had to utilize some of the lessons he’d learned in the Crucible of Flame to banish the foreign ethera, but by that point, he’d mastered that technique – at least to the point where it didn’t give him too much trouble.

It still took a few minutes to complete the process. During that time, Oscar and the dogs waited patiently as water gushed from Elijah’s pores. Finally, though, it was complete, and he opened his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he said, “That was not pleasant.”

“What happened?” Oscar asked again.

“I’m not sure. The statues just came alive. I have no idea what caused it.”

Oscar joined him as he once again crouched at the entrance. He narrowed his eyes, studying the hall, but there was no indication as to what had caused the statues to awaken.

“I’m going to try something. Get the dogs in here. Just past the door.”

The pack followed his directions as he shifted into the Shape of Venom. Once that transformation was complete, he climbed the walls. They were oddly slick, and he had difficulty maintaining his grip. In the end, Shape of Venom’s ability to stick to any surface won out, though. Once his position was secure, he set out down the hall.

And to his surprise, none of the statues reacted – not even when he reached out and scraped one with his claw. For long minutes, he studied the hall as he tried to figure it out. He conjured, then discarded a dozen different explanations, but even after almost half an hour, he came no closer to an explanation.

What’s more, when he considered carrying everyone across as he stuck to the walls, he quickly realized that that just wasn’t possible. It took everything he had just to support his own body weight. If he added even a few pounds, he’d fall free.

It was only when he saw the reflections that he realized what he’d been missing. It clicked together, seeming obvious in retrospect. After all, the first statues hadn’t activated until he’d disturbed their reflections.

But before he could say for sure, he needed to test it.

With that in mind, he returned to the entrance, where he explained his theory to Oscar. The pack leader wasn’t completely onboard with the logic, but considering they didn’t have any other ideas, he agreed that it was the only way forward that didn’t include destroying the statues – a dead end considering just how durable they were.

And considering that the second set seemed stronger than the first, Elijah reasoned that, by the end of the hall, they would be scraping the edge of demigod status. Maybe even exceeding it. Fighting them all just wasn’t an option he wanted to consider until he’d exhausted all other possibilities.

He approached the other statues, stopping only a foot away. From the center of the hall, they didn’t look like anything but the inanimate objects they currently were. But he knew how much power was there.

He stepped forward, and his foot fell just beyond the reflections. Ripples of water touched them, but aside from a subtle quiver, the statues remained entirely stationary. Elijah let out a slow breath, then continued on.

Using the same strategy, he stepped over each reflection until, at last, he reached the end of the hall, where another door loomed. It slid open, revealing another room full of water. In the center – maybe fifty yards away – was a whirlpool. Oddly, it left the outer edges of the room entirely undisturbed, which Elijah found so incongruous that he couldn’t help but stare at the scene for a long minute.

But in the end, he yanked his attention away and carefully returned to Oscar and the dogs.

“It worked,” he said with a proud smile. He knew that his conclusion had been a leap of logic, but the fact that it had worked left him feeling more than a little satisfied with himself. “So, we don’t want to touch the reflections. If we do, the statues will activate.” He looked at the two smallest dogs – Ray and Escobar. “I’ll carry them.”

Nobody objected, and to Elijah’s surprise, the following trek through the hall went off without a hitch, and soon enough, they found themselves facing the whirlpool.

It didn’t take long for them to recognize the only way forward.

“I really don’t want to go in there,” Elijah said before glancing at the ceiling. Across the domed surface were simple words. Elijah read them aloud, “To master silence is to hold power. Fail, and death listens closely.”

“What do you think it means?” asked Oscar.

“It means to keep the noise down,” Elijah reasoned. “Beyond that…not sure. You ready for this?”

“Not really.”

“Me neither,” was the response. He took a deep breath, then shook his hands out before saying, “Let’s do it. No hesitation. If you get into trouble, find me. I’ll probably be the giant turtle.”

Without further hesitation, he crossed the room and leaped into the whirlpool.

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