Pathway and Guardian

See how the forest is thick against the slope, there in the foothills?" Coryn asked, pointing toward the foot of the mountain.

"Yes," agreed Jenna, pausing and leaning on the staff that she was carrying. Dalamar too came to a stop, resting on his haunches as they looked down the steep slope.

"It wasn't there last night," the White Robe pointed out. "Last night that was a dry plain for as far as I could see."

"Then Wayreth has, at last, come to us," Jenna said, with a surprising rush of relief. "We have no time to waste!"

Coryn looked back at the lofty ridge they had descended. The summit itself was already out of sight behind the mountain's shoulder. She knew that they had negotiated the steepest parts of the descent, which had so far taken much of the Night of the Eye and half of the following day. The sun was slipping into the afternoon, and the air was growing more humid, and warmer, as they came down from the lofty elevation.

Though they had gone without sleep for a whole day, none of the three had wanted to rest on the mountaintop. Now, the sight of the forest they sought, the wood that surrounded the Tower of High Sorcery, infused them with new energy. They worked their way down the slope as quickly as possible, stepping sideways, Jenna leaning heavily on her staff while the more agile Cory and Dalamar skidded ahead, waiting just long enough for the Red Robe to catch up.

As they neared the ground, they could see the full vast-ness of the forest and smell the verdant wood-a mixture of pollen, foliage, and rot. Coryn recognized with certainty the forest that had provided her with a path to the Tower. The trees were tall, gnarled, and majestic. Those strands of moss still looked like beards, as if venerable old men formed a great congregation in the thick of the woods. Occasional birds hooted and cawed, though she did not hear the distinctive avian summons that marked her first visit. This time, though, she thought she imagined a layer of mist or vapor deep in the woods, lurking between the trees, collecting as a miasma in the hollows.

A path became apparent as soon as they reached the edge of the wood. Jenna seemed to find a renewed sense of youth and vitality as she strolled along, and Coryn found she had to hurry to make sure she didn't fall behind.

"How long has it been since we treaded these pathways?" mused the Red Robe, regarding Dalamar with an almost affectionate sidelong glance. "It feels as welcome and familiar as ever, I admit."

"Certainly there were many times I felt we would never be here, never find this place again," Dalamar acknowledged. He smiled wryly. "Even as recently as a few days ago."

Coryn was content to follow her two companions in reverent silence. Birds cried out familiarly in the depths of the woods. But that mist was an oppressive intruder, she sensed, growing thicker and ever more poisonous as the Master of the Tower lost his battle with the sorcerer Kalrakin.

The trail was not long, and though it seemed to grow dark, that was only the effect of the dense canopy overhead. After perhaps an hour of steady progress, the wizards saw a brightening in the twilight murk. Another hundred steps brought them to the bright, sunlit clearing where the twin spires of the Tower of High Sorcery clawed their way into the afternoon sky."

They saw at once that the Tower had suffered physically-was pocked and scarred in dozens of places-and even more, they felt its pain.

"It's suffering-more than ever," Coryn said quietly, looking at the lofty structure. In several places balconies had been torn right off of the outer walls, leaving splintered remnants of beams and gashing, angry wounds in the smooth face of the black stone. In her mind's eye she saw the Tower trembling and shivering with agony.

"Such appalling savagery!" Jenna said sadly. "And this tower has withstood the ravages of the world for thousands of years!"

"It has been damaged badly since I took the Test," Coryn said.

"The wild sorcerer is a tumor, rotting it from the inside," the Red Robe declared.

"We must cut this tumor out," said Dalamar determinedly.

Jenna took the lead, Coryn to her left and Dalamar to her right, as they strode purposefully into the clearing and approached the spiderweb glow of the magical gates, the golden and silver wires looking feeble and frail. Through the airy barrier they could see the foretower between the great spires. But something else was different, and with a gasp of surprise Cory realized what it was.

"The door where I entered-it's not here anymore!"

"It looks as though the stone of the foretower has been melted down to cover it up," Jenna observed through a tight, angry grimace. "That was the only door on the ground level of the Tower."

"I will kill that sorcerous bastard, so help me Nuitari, if it's the last thing I do." Dalamar's words sent a shiver down Coryn's spine.

She had a strong feeling they were being watched, and she glared up at the structure, scanning every aperture, looking for the brooding, hateful visage of Kalrakin.

Instead, her attention was drawn to an ominous stone sculpture standing just off to the side, screened by the courtyard wall. All three gasped in unison as they realized they were looking at a giant-sized stone statue.

"What is that?" she asked, feeling a stab of fear.

"A golem-of stone. He made it from marble that he tore right from the body of the tower," Dalamar explained, his words clipped, his voice cold. "It is further blasphemy-if I could send that cursed sorcerer to the Abyss for ten thousand years, it would still be inadequate punishment!"

"Be careful!" Jenna warned sharply as the dark elf strode forward.

Dalamar didn't appear to hear; certainly, he took no heed of her warning. He raised both hands straight out before him, uttered a word of command, and spread his arms quickly to the sides. Immediately the feathery gates parted, opening the way into the Tower's courtyard.

At the same time, the golem moved. Coryn could scarcely believe her eyes as the stone giant stepped forward with a smooth, fluid stride-just as if it were made of supple flesh and not rigid stone. The great arms swung easily, while the block of a head turned to regard them with impassive majesty, like the cliff of a mountainous summit acknowledging some puny, insolent climber. The overhanging brow shaded unseen eyes within twin caves underneath. Coryn could feel them boring into her, appraising and menacing.

The dark elf, meanwhile, seemed undeterred; he had already advanced through the opened gate, with Coryn and Jenna scurrying after.

"Spread out," Jenna urged Coryn, as soon as the two of them had entered the compound.

The White Robe needed no urging. She sprinted to the side, casting through her mind for a spell, some incantation to smite this giant. Fire? Ice? She discarded these as useless-how could they hurt stone? Strangely, the next thing that came into her mind was mud-yet how would mud be helpful?

Dalamar showed no hesitation. He was already spellcasting, his right hand extended like a pike, finger pointing at the golem's marble chest. In the next instant, a bolt of lightning crackled, sizzling outward from the dark elf, lancing into the body of the stone creature. Coryn smelled the acrid tang of charged air even before she saw the brilliant spear of light. She watched in awe as the bolt seemed to wrap itself around the guardian, tearing at the hard rock of its flesh, searing and burning with thunderous force.

The golem took a step backward and shook itself, and just like that, the lightning bolt was gone. It had torn out a chunk of the monster's flank, leaving a black, smoking scar. But the magical creature was not visibly hurt-instead, it lowered its head and sprang toward the dark elf, landing with a ground-shaking thud right next to where Dalamar was standing.