Chapter 12 – Welcome, My Darling!
Stefane hurriedly opened his satchel and rummaged through it, puling out the oft looked upon sketch of his true love. His gaze swept back and forth between the two drawings.
Daelynn peered over his arm.
"The escroll below her shoulders is written in High Common Script. It says Cora, not Corinna. There are differences in hairstyles and jewelry, but they both sport the same small beauty mark below their left ear", she noted. "You mentioned that the Brilliane Academy is a family business. Could this rendering be of Corinna's grandmother or a great-aunt?"
"Yes! Of course. That must be it', answered Stefane. "Their resemblance to each other is startling. Both are so beautiful."
As it appeared that Stefane was going to start mooning over his lady-love again, the dwarf and elf moved aside.
Joining Daelynn by the doorway, Garlt spoke quietly.
"I'd a' sworn those two drawings were of the same person. But thet aside, there's another matter thet concerns me, Herald."
"You refer to the apparent fact that several young mages of the Brilliane Academy have all found their way to the Witch's Claw over the last few centuries", asked Daelynn? "And died here?"
"Aye. Is it some sort o' graduation test or hazing ritual", asked Garlt? "If so, it's a deadly contest."
"Like none I have ever heard", averred Daelynn. "I suspect any answer lies at the end of this hallway."
Led by the dwarf and his lighted axe, the companions followed the wide passageway for a hundred yards. It ended at a set of large, closed, brass double doors.
"Maybe we should knock", suggested Garlt.
"You think so", asked Stefane?
The dwarf sighed loudly. "No, lad. Thet'd be plain stupid."
"Lights out", commanded the Herald, drawing her short sword from its sheath. "Let your darkvision guide you. Master Garlt, once the doors are open, move to the right. I will take the left. Stefane, wait a breath, then follow me."
Elf and dwarf both turned to looked at the human.
"No spells!" They said in near unison.
Reluctantly, Stefane nodded, tightening his grip on the Rod.
The dwarf pushed hard on the lefthand door. It slowly swung open. A faint light spilled into the corridor, disrupting darkvision. Garlt swore, then pushed forward and slipped inside.
Immediately behind him, crouched low, came the elf. A breath later, Stefane passed through the open doorway.
The young mage found himself on a wide landing made of sturdy wood that ran to the left and right, forming a concentric ring running around, and several feet above, the stone floor of a large, circular chamber. Narrow, fluted pillars, unevenly placed throughout the chamber, supported a high, vaulted stone ceiling. Six broad stairways, evenly spaced out around the chamber, led down to the chamber's floor.
More than a dozen globes of diffuse light floated in the air, illuminating the room. The light globes were slowly drifting, causing shadows to move, merge and mingle. The edges of the room were poorly lit but the center, where the globes were more numerous, was as bright as day.
Stefane saw Garlt, up on the landing and to his right, hugging the shadows. Daelynn was nowhere to be seen.
The young mage was about to move to the left when his eyes were drawn to the middle of the room.
Scattered across the room's center area, which was some fifty feet in diameter, were several tables of various heights and sizes, many holding glass and metal containers. Laid out in an orderly fashion on two of the tables were an assortment of books and scrolls. To one side, a small steaming cauldron hung above a brazier.
On the table closest to him lay a body dressed in a fine robe and leather boots. Stretched, dried skin and sinew partly covered the skull and hands; the arms, folded across the chest, as the bodies in the trap room had been. However, the robes that adorned this body were not those of a Brilliane mage.
There! Movement near the center of the room.
A few yards past the table that held the corpse, Stefane saw a short, red-robed figure, half hidden by a set of tall glass beakers, hunched over a workbench. Forgetting his instructions, the young mage slowly descended the set of stone steps in front of him. Holding the Rod of Vines tightly, he stepped closer, moving to one side to better see who or what was working at the bench.
Stefane was five yards from the table that held the corpse and ten yards from the red-robed one when the figure suddenly turned, alerted by Stefane knew not what. The small figure gasped and threw back the robe's hood.
"Stefane?" The petite blond woman's blue eyes were wide in surprise. "How? We heard no alarm. How did you...?"
"Corinna?" Asked an incredulous Stefane. "How came you here?"
Glancing to her left, the young woman espied an armoured and armed dwarf standing in the shadows.
Quickly hurrying up to the young man, Corinna held out her arms.
"My darling", she said, eagerly. "Welcome. I am so happy you made it here! I knew you could find us! Who is your friend?"
Stefane clumsily attempted to embrace his lady-love, but Corinna drew back, offering only her cheek for a chaste kiss.
Stefane, stammering, repeated his questions. "Corinna? How did you get here? What is this place? We… we found bodies."
"Yes, yes, my dear. I know. I will explain. But please tell me first, who is your friend?" She indicated the dwarf with a nod of her head. Pausing, her brow wrinkled. Turning quickly and looking into the shadows at the far side of the room, she corrected herself.
"Should I have said 'friends'? There is someone else back there, is there not?"
Stepping out from concealment offered by a pillar, the Herald walked forward into the light.
"My apologies, Lady Corinna. I did not wish to intrude upon your reunion with Stefane."
"Aye", agreed Garlt. "Would o' been a touchin' moment, I'm sure, if the two o' ye weren't so surprised."
"I assure you Master Dwarf and Lady Elf, you are safe here. There is no need for weapons", Corinna smiled a stunning smile as she spoke, moving beside Stefane and taking his free hand. "You know my name. My Stefane has told you about me? Did the three of you meet on the road?"
Daelynn sheathed her sword, stepped forward, and offered Corinna a slight bow.
"Daelynn. Herald to the King's Court."
Grumbling, Garlt inelegantly clambered down from the walkway to the floor.
"My name is Garlt Gemfinder", he stated, flatly. "For dereliction o' duty in the face of the enemy, I were drummed out o' the Royal Guard an' banished from me uncle's kingdom. For a century I'm to have no trade with dwarven folk, an' may not mine. I be cursed to tell all who ask about me craven cowardice."
"What a tale that must be, Master Gemfinder", exclaimed Corinna, her large blue eyes re-assessing the dwarf. "Welcome, to you both."
Corinna looked up fondly at the tall young mage. "Stefane, I know you have many questions. Please sit down on this bench. Master Dwarf, there is a stool just beside that table. Herald, there is a chair behind you. Make yourselves comfortable, please."
Stefane obediently sat down while the dwarf tugged at the stool, moving it closer. Daelynn made no attempt to access the chair but leaned against the table that held the corpse, crossed her arms, and looked expectantly at Corinna.
"Very well", said the woman, her warm smile cooling slightly. "Stefane has told you of his quest? To recover the 'Tome of Mysteries', yes? It is a test…"
"One that several of yer Academy's students have failed", asserted Garlt. "We saw the bodies."
An odd smile played across Corinna's shapely lips. "Truly, they were successful. And received their reward."
"Which was?" Inquired the elf.
Corinna turned to Daelynn. "To be with me", she answered.
"Some of those bodies are centuries old", replied the elf.
"So am I", retorted the woman.