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Ephaltus decided on the port city of King’s Cross. He had considered Seahorn to the north since King’s Cross was the capital of the six kingdoms and the home of the king himself; however, too many bored guards roamed the streets and docks of the city looking for things to do for his liking. He was in a hurry to ferry the Vestian channel to the island of the Sunken Lands, and Seahorn was much further away. He navigated the streets successfully avoiding the guards until he at last came to the ship docks in the eastern quarter. There were guards here too, but they were busy harassing the captains of the moored ships to notice him. How he loathed the king’s guardsmen, the vicious lot of undesirables that they were. He spied a ship at the final berth with men loading crates into the hold with the designation Arn stamped on one of them. Arn stood for Arnost. He made his way to the gangplank and stepped up next to the ship. “Permission to come aboard.” He said to the nearest officer.
“Who asks?” The officer replied.
“A simple traveler looking for passage to Arnost.”
“You got money?”
“Of course. I would be happy to negotiate a price.”
“We ain’t cheap, friend. Arnost is a treacherous voyage with the cities sunken beneath the waves jutting up all over the place.”
“Yes, but are you not already going there regardless of passengers?”
“You tryin’ to get smart, friend?”
“No, merely pointing out the obvious.”
“The odd what?”
“No, the obvious. You know what, never mind. I can pay you twenty gold.”
“Twenty gold! Say, how much you carrying?”
Ephaltus learned long ago to travel with an enchanted purse. It has an infinite amount of gold, as all Tourney Masters do, but the money only appears in it to him. When anyone else looks in it, the purse appears empty. “I have about twenty gold and a bit of silver and copper. You will get the lion’s share of what I brought.”
“I ain’t no liar!” The man was about to get physical. “I always share with the crew.”
“No, it’s an expression. Lion’s share means you get almost all of my money.”
“We are an honest crew. We will only need about fifteen of your gold. Keep your five for Arnost. You will need it there.”
“All right. Fifteen it is.”
“Well, come aboard then. Permission granted.” He turned to a young boy swabbing the deck. “You, cabin boy.”
“Yes sir?” The boy scrambled to the officer’s side. “Show this man to the passenger’s cabin below.”
“Aye, sir.”
The officer held out his hand.
“Oh, yes, of course.” Ephaltus removed his purse and counted fifteen gold into the officer’s hand.
“This way.” The boy beckoned.
Ephaltus followed him below. “How long is the voyage to Arnost?”
“About two days if the wind’s with us, three if not, probably three days.”
The boy showed him a small cabin with a hammock for a bed and a storage chest nailed to the floor. There was a port window and a mirror on the wall, but nothing else. It was a very sparse cabin for fifteen gold pieces.
The ride across the Vestian channel to the island went by without incident, and Ephaltus arrived in Arnost safely. The forest north of Arnost was the only vegetation of any import on the island. Other than Arnost and a few scattered villages, the rest of the main island consisted of the ruins of the lost civilization of Aubria. Since almost everything had to be imported to Arnost, the cost of living there was very expensive. The main island and the smaller island surrounding it were considered some of the most beautiful places known to the six kingdoms, but most people could not afford to travel there to visit.
Arnost was old but had been partially reconstructed over the years and now was a beautiful, ancient and exotic city. Ephaltus marveled at the marble gateway from the docks to the city proper. The first thing he did was acquire lodging at the Golden Ibis Inn, which was named after the birds that live near the water on the island. The accommodations here were of the very finest money could buy. The rich from the six kingdoms paid handsomely to visit the island, so almost nothing was cheap or cheap in appearance. Once he was settled in his room, he looked over the materials he had gathered about the island and used a location spell to guide him to the ruins he needed to visit.
The location of the ruins was deep in the only forest of the Sunken Islands, so he waited until first light the following day before he traveled there. The way was difficult, but surprisingly there was a well-worn path most of the way. Many visitors had hiked to the ruins as it turns out, but none knew of the place’s significance. It took some fairly powerful magic, a location spell, to find the doorway into the chamber where the scroll of the Cryonias was rumored to be kept. Once he was in the chamber, after using a spell to get the hidden doorway opened, he found that his magic became null. No matter how powerful a spell he tried, none would work. Somehow, magic was negated completely in this place.
“Hmm, good thing I brought a tinderbox and flint.” He said to himself. He lit a torch the old fashioned way, and it disintegrated in his hands, almost burning him. It seems hundreds of years made the ancient torches brittle. He exited the chamber due to it being too dark and tried to think of an alternative light source. He lit the top of his staff, but as soon as he entered the chamber, the magical light would go out. He scoured the surrounding area until he found a hole in the top of what he estimated must have been the chamber below. He cupped his hands and dug it around the hole until he could see inside. The chamber was well lit now. He rushed to the entrance and descended into the chamber. The light was reflecting off a large mirror into the chambers beyond. Since it was morning, he had several hours to explore before the sun moved too far west to strike the reflective mirror.
Inside the long, now well lit chamber, he came to what looked like an alter. Upon the alter was a plaque with strange writing on it. Since he could not use magic, Ephaltus had no way to read the writing. It was not in any language he understood or read. He examined around the shiny tablet for any traps or abnormalities and finding none with the naked eye, he touched it. Immediately he regretted it. The room began to spin, and he became disoriented. He closed his eyes and when he opened them again a second later he was in a chamber surrounded by stars. The floor appeared to be glass and there was a desk ahead of him. He approached the glass desk and looked at the tablet there. The letters began to shift until they settled into something he could read. It read: Greetings to anyone who made it this far. You are seeking the lost seventh god. He does not wish to be found, nor do we wish for you to find him. Around you is the abyss. You have two choices. First you can stay here and die of starvation and thirst, or second you can jump off the platform into the abyss, never to be seen from again. Congratulations on finding the chamber of the god Cryonias. It’s just too bad for you that you did. The tablet was signed Cryonias, god of the abyss.
Ephaltus tried to use magic to no avail. He could not teleport. He could not use any magic at all. He couldn’t even use the stone he brought from the Arsenal of the Way to contact Marlee. He was truly trapped.