Prologue: Hidden Chamber

The cave air was dank and musty, and smelled of rotting corpses and bat shit. Water dripped quietly from stalactites hanging ominously overhead. There was very little light coming off of the chemicals on the cavern walls, but the few torches that burned with magical fire enabled the wizard to see past the shadows into the inner chamber hidden deep within.

Very few people in the whole of Rune-Midgard knew of this place, but those few were enough to set the wizard to worrying. He didn't want anyone else getting his or her hands on what he was after, not when he'd gone to so much trouble collecting the needed items to obtain it. That thing was his, and he would not suffer it to end up in someone else's grubby paws.

The end was in sight now, and the wizard stepped into the chamber of rock. Here the air was strangely clearer, an indication that whatever lay within was still there, undisturbed. A smile found its way to his face. He brushed aside a stray strand of hair from his eyes and reached into his cloak for a spellscroll.

He had to admit, the entire set-up was brilliant. Not only was the object he sought entrenched in the deepest and least-explored regions of the Payon caves, it had been placed under a powerful spell of invisibility. Fortunately, he'd thought of that possibility, and now he opened the scroll and read aloud from it.

"Let that which had been hidden be revealed, and let that which had been unseen now be seen. Unto this caster thy power unfold, unto this caster thy will be told."

He released the magic. All at once, the inner chamber glowed with a faint, bluish light. The light grew too much to bear, forcing the wizard to shield his eyes. After a moment, he lowered his arm and stared with a mixture of awe and triumph at the dark blue orb sitting on a shattered bit of rock jutting out from the earth.

The Eye of Odin.

An unholy lust kindled in the wizard's eyes. "Yes," he whispered. "I've got it."

Just then, there was a startled yelp from outside the chamber. The wizard whirled around, staff at the ready, but the yelps magnified into snarls and sounds of fighting issued from without. Then, after several tense minutes, a swordsman stepped through the opening, covered from head to toe with bites and deep scratches.

The swordsman and the wizard both let out ripe curses.

The newcomer looked up in surprise. He had dark brown eyes and a typical warrior's build, and a silly-looking eggshell cap on his head. Wisps of red hair stuck out from beneath the protective headgear. His sword dripped with black blood.

The wizard glared at him. "You defeated the monster?" he asked incredulously.

"'Course I did," the swordsman answered grumpily. He was eyeing the wizard warily. "Who're you?"

The wizard drew himself up indignantly. "That," he growled, "is none of your business."

The swordsman shrugged. "I'm going to take that, if you don't mind." He indicated the blue orb.

The wizard raised his staff. "No, you will not."

The swordsman gaped at him incredulously, and then his expression became one of rising anger. "I beat that monster outside with my own two hands, and that means I have the right to whatever item it was guarding. I don't know how the hell you got in here, but you obviously cheated, so that thing—whatever it is—is mine."

The wizard laughed. The impudence of this young rascal was nothing short of hilarious. "Will you fight me as well, you foolish twit?"

"Who're you calling a foolish pregnant goldfish, you pansy-ass, flabby-limbed charlatan?" the swordsman roared, lifting his sword. Taking two long strides, he closed the distance between him and the wizard and swung his blade at him.

The wizard leaped back. "Ice Wall!"

The enchanted wall of cold, unyielding ice materialized before the swordsman, and his blade crashed harmlessly against it. Shouting obscenities, he began hacking away at the barrier.

The wizard turned, smiling smugly to himself. He snatched up the glowing orb and turned, intending to smash the wall and the swordsman with a couple of sizzling lightning bolts, but then the wall of ice burst inwards, sending sharp slivers flying through the air. The wizard yelled in surprise as several of them embedded themselves into his face and chest. The orb slipped from his grasp and bounced on the rough cavern floor until they came to a stop at the swordsman's feet.

"Hah!" the swordsman exulted, picking it up and tucking it safely into his belt. "That's what you get for stealing someone else's treasure."

"Stealing?" the wizard hissed, eyes narrowing into dangerous, hard slits. He raised his staff. "It is you who stole from me, swordsman. And I do not take too kindly to thieves."

"Go burn down Morroc, then," the swordsman replied coolly, sheathing his sword and turning away. "See you around, you pansy-ass wizard wannabe."

The wizard lifted the staff and pointed it directly at the retreating swordsman's back. "Lightning Storm!"

The swordsman turned around. He'd never heard that spell before, and so he was shocked to find that a literal storm of lightning was racing toward him faster than any monster's swift claws. There was only a split-second to move, to save himself, and in that split-second he twisted desperately away.

Chunks of rock shattered and flew in all directions as the lightning spell smashed into the chamber entrance. The wizard spat out another curse and crouched low to the ground, avoiding the whizzing projectiles. An eternity seemed to pass before it seemed safe enough to look, and when he did, the curses streamed in earnest from his lips.

The passage to the hidden chamber was blocked by piles of rock. The wizard snarled and sent another lightning spell, this one less potent, at the annoying blockade, hoping that the swordsman was buried—and dead—beneath the pile. When the smoke cleared, however, the miscreant was nowhere in sight. He had managed to flee, taking the precious magical item with him.

The wizard resisted the urge to release another destructive spell and stepped out of the chamber. On the ground were splatters of fresh, red blood.

A grim smile appeared on his face. At least he'd managed to hurt the bastard before he got away. The wizard looked around, then, knowing that a monster much like the one that had been guarding the entrance to the chamber would soon appear, he tucked his staff beneath his cloak and stalked out into the pervading gloom.