Chapter 21: Plans of action.
Heatherfield.
The Guardians were waited anxiously for Caleb to arrive at Will's apartment. Irma was slumped into an arm, chair in a bored fashion. Cornelia was fine, tuning her makeup. Taranee and Hay-lin just sat on the sofa nervously each trying to think of something encouraging 'to say but not coming up with anything. "While Will was pacing back and forth about the living room. She had been edgy all day and the fact of not being able to do anything at this moment was slowly driving her insane.
"This is crazy we should be doing something not sitting around doing nothing!" Cornelia finally said breaking the seemingly endless silence.
"I know Cornelia but we need a plan we can't just go rushing headlong into Phobos's castle not when he has the Sentinels and the only weapon capable of defeating them," Will said trying to calm her fellow Guardian.
"We beat them last time didn't we?" Cornelia reminded Will.
"Yes and they nearly destroyed half of Heatherfield in the process not to mention we barely had enough strength left to fight by the time we were finished,"
"Besides Caleb is on his way with a plan. So we just gotta sit tight for the moment,"
At that moment the group was startled has the front door was, kicked open. The girls jumped collectively in shock and turned to see Caleb or more accurately Caleb legs and what appeared to be a large pile of dusty scrolls above them covering his entire torso and finally his head bobbing up from behind the pile trying to see were he was going.
"Um what's all this?" Irma asked has the pile 'was dumped onto the coffee table in the middle of the room.
"Maps." Caleb answered simply.
"Maps?" Will repeated taking one to examine.
"Yep. Every entrance to the palace every route and hallway and sewer access is marked on these," Caleb explained.
"These could take hours to go through!" Irma complained.
"Could but won't." Will corrected her pulling out the heart of Candracar.
"Spread all the maps across the floor," she instructed. The girls did so until the array of dust rolls of paper covered most of the living room floor.
"Ok here goes," Will 'said. The others looked at her confused. Will closed her eyes began concentrating the maps spread about the floor with covered in a pink liquid like energy substance. The liquid then began to form a column of pink light in the middle and the group watched in amazement has a holographic representation of the castle appeared detailing every route and chamber entrance and exit. Everything displayed on the collection of maps had been combined and transformed into a three dimensional map for the group to study.
"Wow." Hay-lin said simply has she stared boss eyed at the miniature palace.
"This is a new trick," Irma managed to say has she stared at the illusionary image.
"A little something I've been working on," Will explained.
"I tried with a picture a few weeks ago and then worked out I could do a similar thing with maps and graphs and stuff," She explained. The others stared at her and she grinned sheepishly has if it would somehow stop their stares.
"This looks pretty accurate," Caleb said examining the image.
These routes will be heavily guarded," He explained pointing to the corridors that appeared to lead along to throne room bypassing the mess hall on route.
"But these sewer routes hardly have any protection," He said pointing to a tunnel in a large network which fed right up into the palace.
"Hey were this one go?" Will asked pointing to one route.
The girls stared at the point Wills finger was indicating.
"It looks like 'its directly beneath to the throne room lie a tube or elevator shaft," Taranee said.
Do they even have elevators in Metamoor?" Irma asked dumbly. The others shot her annoyed glare.
"But it doesn't lead anywhere," Will said ignoring Irma's comment and she was right the shaft simply went down and about a foot before the floor the image simply trailed off into nothingness.
"Must be something Phobos wanted to keep secret so he never included whatever that shaft leads to on the palace diagrams," Caleb reasoned. It was a safe assumption Phobos palace was likely littered with trap doors and other booby traps that the girls rarely triggered because they usually flew a foot or so off the ground when travelling the palace and so never triggered any hidden switches.
The group spent the next hour arranging their plans every from leaving time to necessary supplies and access routes was planned. After a while the intercom buzzed. Will answered and heard her mother's voice.
"Will honey its me I'm coming up," The voice said.
"Err…ok mom," Will 'replied frantically signalling her friends to clear up everything scattered about the room. She rushed over and 'use the heart on the 3D diagram and watched has the image was sucked into the crystal orb. The door opened a split second later and a 'some what suspicious Susan Vandom entered to discover Will and her friends all frozen with what appeared to be dusty old scrolls.
"What's going on here?" She asked suspiciously.
We…were…'err…playing dungeons and dragons! It's a school project!" Will said desperately stumbling for words anything to satisfy her moms curiosity.
"Well ok," She said seemingly satisfied.
"I'm sorry but your friends will have to leave now I'm about to start making dinner," Susan said has she carried her groceries through to the kitchen.
Wills fellow Guardians and Caleb filed out one by one Will saying goodbye to each in turn.
"So how do feel about meatloaf tonight?" Susan asked grinning hopefully at her daughter Will grinned nervously back.
"Sounds great," she answered.
Metamoor.
Phobos watched has the worshippers chanted their strange incantations and spells to whatever deity they worshipped. The Sentinels were being recharged for their next battle. The guards removed several shrunken corpse who had been offered has sacrifices to awaken these creatures from their slumber. One of the worshippers approached Phobos.
"The Sentinels are ready to be re-awakened my liege," He said in a dead monotone voice.
"But I must caution you that after their power drains they will require an enormous amount of energy to reawaken a third time." The worshipper explained.
"Don not concern yourself," Phobos replied.
"After the Sentinels have completed their assigned task I will be able to power them indefinitely," He said his facing twisting into a cruel grin has he spoke.