[SleepingDragon]: 268.The Staff of Illidon.Chapter Ten- Realization

Chapter Ten- Realization

“Go ahead wizard. Take it.” Chad said acquiescently. “Why backtrack? Just don’t try that probing trick on it, all right?”

William knelt, prying the staff piece from the corpse’s icy grip. He held it to the torchlight to examine it. It had a square peg protruding from one end and a round hole in the other.

“This piece fits with the one we have.” William observed. “This is fortunate. We may be able to construct one half of the staff if there is need.”

“What will that do?” Mari mused.

“I presume it will increase the power of the individual pieces, as well as the wielder’s control over them.”

“Great.” said Chad, sarcastically. “Now you can bring the entire mountain down upon our heads exactly when you want to.”

William did not respond. He put the staff piece in his pack with the other and continued with the search of the room.

“Let us move on.” He said flatly, when the exploration had turned up nothing.

The company turned right once they were in the corridor and set about examining the other rooms in the wing. When they had found nothing but broken furniture and cobwebs in both, they backtracked to the rooms in the front of the hallway. The search of these rooms was unsurprisingly fruitless as well.

“We must now explore the last wing.” William announced. “It is on the upper floor, as you know. Be cautious when entering the main hall. Make directly for the first staircase.”

The comrades nervously moved through the archway into the main hall, bearing toward the stairs as the wizard had directed. They could see small flames dancing through the still open doors at the end of the hall, evidence of the dragon’s breathing. They could smell the acrid stink of it. The dragon made no move to advance on the party, however. It seemed that the wizard was correct. The beast appeared to be bound to the throne room.

Safely up the stairway and onto the balcony, they stopped for a much-needed breath.

“It seems you are right again wizard.” Chad said.

William smiled in return, but said nothing.
After a moment, they passed through the doorway that led to the right wing, and again made directly for the middle room in the corridor. Here, they discovered something that surprised them all. There was indeed a block in the room. It was open but not broken. A slab of stone in the front was dropped down upon the floor and a square space was inside the rock. It was completely empty. There were no remains of travelers. A search of the room also turned up nothing.

“Someone had the right idea here, it seems.” Chad said, looking at the open block.

“Yes.” William said, thoughtfully.

“They had possession of the crown?” Mari asked.

“I presume.” William said. “Though perhaps they found a way to open the chamber with magic. Recall the riddle. ‘Spells protect them, powers old’. In any case, there is one piece of staff unaccounted for.”

“Maybe in one of these other rooms?” Mari suggested.

“Let us hope.” The wizard said.

They exited to the corridor and began examining the remaining rooms. Again, they met no enemies, not even one of the large arachnids. It seemed that all else had become quiet in the structure once the dragon had awakened. They also found nothing of use, and when they had come to the last empty room, they sat upon the floor in quiet contemplation.

“You’re going back to the throne room.” Mari said to William at last. It was not a question.

“There is no other way.” He replied softly. “We have checked everywhere else.”

No one spoke again for a time. Chad dug in his pack and handed out rations. They passed the water skin around in silence, each keeping their thoughts to themselves.

“How did a dragon get in there anyway, wizard?” Chad asked finally. “It doesn’t make sense. How could anyone live in a place with a beast like that?”

“I do not believe they lived with it.” William said. “Rather, it was summoned on the eve of the destruction of this place, and bound by magic. It has been here long.”

“It must be sick of this hole.” Chad spat.

“Yes.” William said, raising his head, a gleam of realization in his eye. “Yes! We must loose it!”

“What!” Chad exclaimed. “Are you mad, wizard!”

“We must set it free so that we can enter the throne room and explore.” He returned.

“I’m sorry I opened my mouth.”