[SleepingDragon]: 268.The Staff of Illidon.Chapter Five- Inside

Chapter Five- Inside

The party stared in disbelief at the pile of fallen rock. Chad had spoken truly. The way back up the stairs and out of the cavern was effectively sealed. As far as William knew from his studies, there was no other known way in or out of the ruins. It seemed as though they were trapped.

“What do we do now?” Mari asked after several awkward moments.

“I suggest we explore.” Chad replied. “Perhaps there is another way out of here.”

William didn’t bother to tell them he wasn’t aware of any. They were already disgruntled with him. Since exploring was what they would need to do in any event, he simply agreed with them.

“Good idea.” He quietly concurred.

“I wonder what caused that rock slide.” Chad mused aloud.

“It was the staff piece.” William looked down in his hand at the piece of petrified wood he still held. Mari and Chad both followed his eyes with theirs. “It is what killed the other traveler as well. This is indeed a part of the staff of Illidon. This piece holds the power of the earth, but without the rest of the staff, its powers are uncontrollable and unpredictable.”

“Then it could set off another landslide at any time? Mari inquired.

“I don’t believe so.” William said honestly. “It did so because I probed it with magic. I believe the man we found must have been a mage who was doing much the same thing. Or perhaps he was trying to use the staff to defend himself.”

“At any rate wizard, let’s get something clear.” Chad spoke up. “No more touching things until we’ve explored everything. I don’t want to go up in flames when you find the piece that holds fire magic or flying through the air because you’ve discovered wind.”

“I agree.” Mari said. “Let us leave things as they lie until we’ve an idea what we’re facing here. This cavern appears to be a fool’s paradise. Small wonder people do not escape it.”

William didn’t like the idea much, but since he’d just almost killed the lot of them, he was forced to concede the point. They did let him place the earth piece into his pack, since he already had it, after extracting a promise from him that he would not try to use it or ‘probe’ it in any fashion.

They then set about exploring the courtyard, hoping perhaps to find other ways that might lead out. They did find several stairways leading off the courtyard, but every one of them without exception was either sealed in stone or led a short ways up into the rock before running into a dead end. Within an hour, they found themselves back by the large rock pile again. If there was another way out, it did not lead off the courtyard.

They had noticed only one set of doors that led into the main structure, near to where they stood. All agreed a rest was in order before they explored inside. They sat and took food, letting the torches burn on the stone floor while they did so. William then extinguished them with a light water spell and they did their best to nap in the cold, dark cavern, all of them leaning against the same large pillar.

None of them slept long and they all slept lightly. The sound of rocks settling echoed loudly in the chasm, phantom enemies in the dark that only really existed in the mind. It did not take long for each of them to realize how truly cold it was there, once they had put out the torches and stopped moving about. They were shivering before long, and William’s teeth began to chatter. Finally, they decided they were not going to get much rest and set about to take care of the business they had come for.

William lit the torches and they made their way over to the set of doors they had noticed earlier. They were not locked and one was ajar. It opened inward as Chad pushed on it, but stopped moving before it was completely open. Something was in the way.

“Give me some help with this.” Chad said.

They hung the torches in brackets that were on each side of the doorway and all three of them pushed the door together. A loud scrape was heard as the door finally gave way and moved. When it was open, they retrieved the torches and examined the obstruction.

A pair of corpses lay upon the floor, one in old armor, and the other in a leather vest. It could not be told if they were both men or if one was a woman. They had been there long though, for they emitted no odor. There was nothing to indicate why they were dead.

“What do you suppose killed them?” William asked no one in particular. No one answered.

Chad turned the smaller one over with his foot. A piece of parchment rolled out of the vest and onto the floor. After receiving nods of approval from each of his comrades, William picked it up and unrolled it.

“It is a map.” He informed them. “It shows part of the outer courtyard and a good bit of the structure we are in.” Chad and Mari peered over his shoulder and looked with him.

The map showed that the building they were in was hexagonal in shape. It featured a large hall not far from where they stood with a larger chamber behind that. A pair of stairways led off each side of the hall, probably upwards. There was a corridor, which they appeared to be standing in now, that lead around to each side of the hall in two wings. Many doors were shown leading off the corridor. No part of the upstairs was shown on the map.

“What do you make of it?” Chad asked.

“This,” Said William, pointing to a large square on the map, “Is probably some sort of main entry hall, and this larger area beyond it is likely the royal chamber where the throne is. All of this is a portion of a larger palace, most of which is now destroyed. These are wings. Maybe for sleeping rooms or servants’ quarters. The upper part, not shown, may resemble the wings on each side but is probably open above the entry hall.”

“Where should we go first?” Mari asked.

“We plan to look at everything.” William answered. “Why don’t we start with the main hall?”

All concurred and they soon found another set of double doors that let into a large chamber. As they suspected from the map, a pair of staircases led upward on each side of it. What the map had not shown however, was a large block of dust-covered stone in the very middle of the room. They approached it cautiously.

“Wait!” Mari pulled up short as they were nearing the stone. “There is something here…on the floor.”

Chad and William held torches so that they could see what she meant. On the floor, where she had nearly stepped, was a large red gemstone covered almost entirely in dust. Looking around, they saw that it was not the only one. Within an arms length of the first stone was a blue stone that was otherwise identical. Looking around further, they soon discovered a green one to match and one that appeared to have no color at all.

“Nobody touch any!” Chad insisted. “We don’t know what they will do.”

“I do not image they do anything by themselves.” William asserted. “Look here.”

William held the torch to the large block of stone where there were four recesses exactly the shape of the stones. They were all in a row. Below this was a long groove about the length of a man’s arm. It was ornately fluted on one end.

“Look.” Chad observed. “There is some sort of queer writing above it.”

“It is old Illidonian.” William told them. “Not many can read it.”

“I hope you can.” Mari said.

“You are in luck.” William smiled. “I have studied the old languages.”

“What does it say, wizard?” Chad asked.


“Herein lies the staff of Illidon
Too powerful for any one man to hold
Divided now in four locked chambers
Spells protect them, powers old
Not only four, a fifth there is
A crown and key that lies herein”


“’A crown and key that lies herein’?” Chad asked. “Is there something hidden in this block of stone?”

They all moved slowly around the stone, looking for any indication of a door or some way to get inside it. After several moments of searching, they had found nothing. It appeared to be a solid block of stone. Neither could they move it with all their combined might.

“’Herein’.” Mused William. “Perhaps ‘Herein’ does not refer to the stone but the palace. If so, it could be anywhere.”

“I think you may be right, wizard.” Chad agreed.

“What of the rest?” Mari asked. “It appears the gemstones go in these holes. Perhaps they open the stone somehow.”

“Yes, the gems go in the holes.” William said. “But in what order? They are not lying on the floor because this is a riddle easily solved. There is also the groove that would appear to hold the staff pieces. In what order do they go? Let me see something…”

William loosened his pack and removed the staff piece from it. He held it to the torchlight and examined both ends.

“See here.” He said, looking at one end of the piece. “There is a hole in this end but not an ordinary hole. It is square shaped. The other end is flat. This is an end piece. Probably the bottom since the top of a staff is usually irregular somehow. If the stones correspond to the pieces then red would mean fire, blue, water, green, earth and the clear one would be wind. Other staff pieces may have different shaped holes and pegs, indicating how the staff is to be assembled. The topmost piece will have an irregular end.”

“So we need the other staff pieces to find the key and this crown?” Mari asked.

“I don’t know.” William thought aloud. “It would appear so, but what good are the pieces without a key to make this thing work?”

“Well, wizard.” Chad interrupted. “Let’s have a look around the rest of this place and see what we find before you start testing this lock thing or whatever it is. Maybe we’ll find something useful.”

William, having no better suggestion, nodded in acquiescence.

“Where do we start?” Mari asked

“I don’t think we’ll find anything on the floor in the throne room.” William replied. “Why don’t we start with the left wing?”