No sooner than Damon had reset the course on Myr’s advice did their final destination draw into view. He recognized the island from the vision she’d shown him even before it was more than a splotch of black against the horizon.
It was still alight, still pumping out smoke and fire, so much that night seemed to shift upon them as they drew closer. The one upside of that was soon taken advantage of by Lilian, who was much less oppressed by the sun’s light under the veil of clouds.
The island wasn’t all that large, no more than the size of one of the modest mountains in the Malagantyan that could be easily scaled and descended in a day. He suspected that its apparent size was deceptive, given how much rock must be hidden underwater, but it was still uplifting, rendering their goal suddenly achievable, visible, even.
Everyone was out on deck once Vel had guided the ship as near to the island’s tiny little beach as they dared approach. Damon turned, setting a hand on his sword.
“This is it,” he said. “Honestly, I have no idea what we’ll be facing once we approach the Ocean Klykia. Myr says it’s inside the mountain, within an artificial cavern, of a sort.”
“We need to be ready for anything,” said Malon. She looked pale, though noticeably recovered after spending some time in her cabin. “Everyone should be ready for a fight. Even you, seta.”
She looked at Vel, who nodded slowly. Ria had her spear and was testing both its tip and the edge of her new throwing dagger. Lilian had a short sword that she’d found in the ship’s armory, one of Avarice’s ostentatious but serviceable weapons.
“We should bring food and water, as well,” said Damon. “Bedrolls. I think we can manage within tents. Something tells me we won’t lack for warmth or cover inside.”
He eyed a stream of active lava that flowed from the mountain’s tip like a river of glowing orange. There was a massive, continuous plume of steam from where it met the ocean that they would do well to avoid on the approach in the dinghy.
They packed everything they needed. Malon insisted that they all dress in layers, so Damon pulled a shirt on over his tunic. It wasn’t until they set the dinghy in the water and descended to it, one by one, along the rope ladder, that what they were doing truly became real.
“Will there be monsters inside?” asked Vel.
“Yes,” Myr whispered to Damon.
“Maybe,” he said, trying to spare her the anxiety. Probably a bad idea. “Myr thinks it’s a real possibility, Vel. But we’ve faced plenty of monsters before, and we’re all together this time.”
He held her hand. Ria set a hand on his shoulder, her face serious but strangely excited. She wasn’t one to shy away from a fight, especially in pursuit of a good cause.
“We’ll go slow,” said Malon. “Given how long we spent journeying here, it’s not as though another day or two will truly put us out. We’ll take our time, stick together, and get this done.”
It felt good to hear her resolve, to feel it resonating among the others in the group and binding them to their task. They would do this. They had to.
There was a pillar-shaped rock half exposed on the beach which they secured the dinghy to. Damon took off his boots to avoid soaking them as he waded ashore. It only took a moment to find the right path. A ledge had been cut into the rock, switchbacking upward toward the mountain’s peak in an obvious way.
Unfortunately, it also seemed to lead straight past the lava stream, but he figured they would find a way to deal with that when it was time. In a single file line, they set off. Damon at the front, followed by Ria, Lilian, Vel, and Malon.
The start of the trek was suspiciously easy. The path even had steps cut into it, though examining the dark, somewhat porous nature of the rock left Damon wondering if perhaps the lava had been somehow made to cool into the shape rather than chiseled.
Eventually, the ledge did narrow. Damon had to sidle across a gap where it looked as though a section of stairway had collapsed or eroded away. A corner at the next turn was blocked by a massive fallen boulder which he had to scramble up.
He helped the others, laying on his stomach and leaning forward to offer them each a hand. In defiance of most mountains, the higher they went, the warmer the air became. Damon could taste stale, sulphury smoke with each breath.
They were at the last stretch of path before the lava stream was stiflingly hot. The molten rock pulsed so bright with orange light that it had an aura about it, intensified by heat shimmers above and to the side.
“There,” whispered Myr. She had a way of pointing without pointing with her whispers, and he immediately saw where she was indicating.
Directly behind the lava stream was a hidden opening, an archway presumably leading to their destination. The lava crossed over the gap with effortless smoothness, not splashing like a regular waterfall would, but simply blocking the way. A door of fire to seal off the Ocean Klykia. The preciseness of it was galling.
“This is part of what I meant,” whispered Myr. “Only you can get past this, Damon. Building a conventional shield to block that much heat would be the endeavor of a decade, assuming anyone knew to come here and suspected what lay within this tunnel.”
“It’s going to take a lot of ice,” he muttered.
The others looked at him, and he gestured toward the tunnel until they saw it as clearly as he did.
“This is unreal,” said Ria.
“Can you really freeze that much heat, Damon?” asked Lilian.
“I suppose we’re about to find out,” he said.
“But… it’ll simply start flowing again once we’re inside,” said Vel.
“I’ll have to block it again on the way out,” he replied. He didn’t point out that it meant that if he somehow died or became lost within the dungeon-like cavern into which they were about to head, the rest of them may well be trapped. They could infer as much on their own, no doubt.
“We trust you, solas,” said Malon.
“Good,” he said. “Be ready to sprint at the tunnel on my mark. I can open the way, but probably for no more than a few seconds, half a minute, at most. Move fast. I’ll be right behind you.”
Everyone nodded. Damon cracked his knuckles and walked closer to the lava. He could feel it against his face, chapping his lips and drying the moisture from his eyes. Tickling his nose, even. He focused his will, letting the cold suffuse his being to bring himself into balance.
He reached out further than he normally would have attempted, pulling cold from deep within the surrounding rock, deeper within the ocean. Adding water to the equation was unnecessary. There was actually quite a bit of steam, along with condensation born from the way the heat affected the ocean currents.
Damon exhaled cold white breath and set his hands down on the warm rock underneath him as he began in earnest. It didn’t look like much at first, a slight slowing and dimming of the lava, despite him having sapped half its heat.
He clenched his jaw, sweat beading on his forehead as he pressed forward with his will. He couldn’t block the lava completely. It was asking too much, picking a fight with the fires within the earth, a fight which ten of him couldn’t have won.
Instead, he simply shifted its path, freezing a curve into the well-worn rock tread the lava slid through. He froze lava and ice into the black obsidian stone beneath, creating a blockage that forced it far enough to the side of the tunnel to allow them to pass through.
It was far from the flashiest feat he’d ever accomplished with Myr’s enchantment and his will, but it was truly a masterpiece. The others didn’t wait for him to tell them to go, which was a relief, since he couldn’t have broken concentration for long enough to say a word.
He took off after them, still holding onto his spellcraft, but knowing it would fade as he split his attention between moving himself in the magic. It held for just long enough. He dove forward, landing awkwardly on his stomach, too distracted to even roll right. The lava hissed as it resumed its course, but they’d all made it through.