Seekers of the Stone Maker

Lyla felt the weight of her body come back to her. She felt herself being pulled back from a void. She opened her eyes and saw a golden light surrounding her. She looked up at her healer, trying to think of a funny remark to make to Kiki, only to realize it was her sister.

Myla?

It’s a long story. Hold still.

In seconds, her wounds closed, and the light faded from Myla’s body. She helped Lyla up, and she tried to check her surroundings. Various suits of armor had been animated and were attacking. Godfrey was nowhere to be found, and Cecille was vanishing and reappearing in multiple places, surrounded by shadows, casting spells from vantage points.

We need to stop her first, or this will only get worse. Myla stated.

Lyla nodded. She ran, her body feeling like it moved with the wind, with Myla trailing behind her. She felt her feet leave the ground as it landed on the wall, and she let her momentum push her up. Reaching ten feet high, she pushed off the wall and landed on the second-floor balcony where Cecille was standing. Beneath them, Myla threw her daggers to distract her, allowing Lyla to sneak up and not be seen.

She turned her body and pushed with all her might. Leaping into the air, she kicked out with both feet and landed against Cecille’s back. It knocked her off her pedestal, and she hit the banister before crumpling over and falling. Lyla stepped her way quickly up the railing and jumped after her.

Cecille was turned, facing Lyla. Her hands were wrapped around her face in surprise and fear. Lyla smiled as she readied herself for landing on her chest and adding extra weight to the fall, which would surely hurt her more. She could see that Myla was already trying to figure out exactly where she’d land, her daggers ready.

Before hitting her, the shadows enveloped her once more, and in an instant, she was gone. Lyla corrected her fall, tumbling through the air, and landed on her feet.

Where did she go?

I don’t know…

They scanned the first floor and then looked up. Higher on the second-floor staircase, she saw her as the shadows reappeared. Quickly, almost on all fours, Cecille stumbled up the stairs and turned the corner to go further up. Leaf ran over next to them as Mr. Muffins finished off the last of the animated armors.

“Where are they?” He asked.

“They? Didn’t you have Godfrey in there?” Lyla questioned.

“No, it was some sort of clay golem. He hasn’t appeared yet.”

“She just went up the stairs. We can follow, but we need to be careful.” Myla added.

Lyla turned to the rest of the party. They were tired, but it looked like they had found a bathroom and hastily washed off the blue phosphorus.

“She’s up there!” Lyla shouted to them, then turned and started running up the stairs.

She knew that she was the fastest. She skipped steps and ran with all of her might. One floor, then turning to make it up the next. She could hear Myla and Leaf behind her, trying to catch up. She wasn’t sure if the others had left the bathroom yet, but she knew that wasted time would worsen things.

She ran up the second floor, then looked in the direction Cecille had gone. Down the hallway, the only thing she could see was another staircase to the third floor. It was the only way she could have gone unless they had secret passages. Up the next staircase, she moved, finding herself in front of a set of double doors.

Lyla opened the doors and saw that she was walking into a vast room. It looked to her as if someone had taken a study, office, and bedroom and took the walls out between them. On the left, a large bed and small tables sat. A desk and various chairs were placed near a fireplace in the middle. On the right, the walls were covered in bookshelves. Next to the door, on both sides, stood tall suits of armor that looked unusable for ordinary people. They were ten-foot-tall, circular in torso and head, and had very little room in the arms and legs for one to place themselves comfortably. Behind her, the rest of the party followed up, their weapons ready.

“They’re not here.”

The rest of them piled into the entranceway and looked around. Mr. Muffins inspected the armor, a look of shock on his face.

“Is this…? It is!”

“What?” Rhokhishi asked.

“It’s an automaton! This is one of the designs made in Westford. I never got a chance to play with one of these, but you can get inside them and control them with a series of buttons and levers. These look older, though, not the newest model I remember.”

“Can you operate it?” Leaf asked.

“It would take some time to learn how to, but I always wanted to get my hands on one of these!”

“One thing at a time,” Myla jumped in. “We’re not done here.”

Carefully, they all investigated the room. Everything seemed normal, but something just felt off to Lyla. They searched for some time quietly, listening for any sound of their captors. Eventually, Ana piped up.

“Guys, I think I found something!”

Lyla walked over to the bookshelf that Ana was standing in front of. Carefully, Ana pulled some of the books away from the shelf and pointed at one in the middle. She noticed that it had no title or writing on the cover.

“This one seems attached to something,” Ana stated.

Cautiously, Lyla pulled at the book and felt what Ana was talking about. It was almost as if a lever was attached to the book, with the tome being the handle. Looking around at everyone else, they readied themselves by the bookshelf, and she pulled.

She heard a clicking sound from behind the bookshelf, then a THUNK. As she pulled a little more, the bookshelf moved toward them like a door on a hinge.

“There’s a secret way behind the door. Be ready,” She said.

She pulled quickly, swinging the bookshelf quickly outward, and looked beyond. Inside was a dark, stone, circular staircase leading up to another floor. Listening, they could hear the sound of glass clinking. As she stepped in, she saw a slightly ajar door at the top, with a firelight emitting out.

They quietly went up the stairs, listening for anything or anyone above. As they reached the top, Lyla tried to see through the doorway but could only see a wall. She stepped up to it and tried to open the door slowly. It didn’t make any noise, so she opened it just enough to slide her body through. Lyla looked to everyone behind her, nodded, and then jumped through the doorway into the room, ready to fight with everything she had.

She didn’t expect to see Cecille in a throne-like chair, surrounded by tables with various vials and weaponry. Her husband, Count Godfrey, stood behind her, wrapped in shadows, holding a large glass bottle in his hands, his eyes white and lifeless. Cecille smiled, then spoke quietly, at almost a whisper.

“I never would have imagined that you all would have made it this far. When Kadra commanded me to marry this buffoon, I never would have thought I’d end up in this cold, desolate, ridiculous castle.”

“What are you doing to him?” Lyla asked.

“He’s under my spell. Just like how his stepmother is under my curse.”

Behind her, the rest of the party walked in cautiously. Leaf stepped forward slowly, trying his best not to worsen the situation.

“Why did Kadra send you here, Cecille? What was the plan with all of this?”

“It’s quite obvious when laid out,” She waved her hands into the air as she spoke as if pulling strings from various places. “Zidingris needed to strengthen herself. She was weakened from the last battle, and the cold climate and lack of population made it difficult for her to grow stronger. By coincidence, Godfrey, my naive husband, was attending Westford Academy in hopes of bringing light and warmth to these peasants. Kadra realized the opportunity and requested me to take on the task of marrying this idiot. Then, his father died, meaning we could move back here and start our plans!”

Cecille stood, and Lyla saw a look of anger on her face.

“It would have been perfect if not for his stepmother. She was a mage from Berkton and was already trying to find ways to build here. This would have ruined Kadra’s plans, so something had to be done. So, I cursed her, convinced Godfrey that magic was the reason for all of it and that anything arcane needed to be cast away. As we built our new village, I waited. As time passed, I would pick one or two travelers and send them to Zidingris. Once she was strong enough, I started the Anti-Arcana Association. It was all rather brilliant. Getting rid of mages ensured that no one would know what Zidingris truly was, and it kept me as the most powerful person in Aramore, where nothing could stop our rise. Then, Ana showed up with the Archmage. I knew we wouldn’t be strong enough, but with Zidingris’ help, we’ve managed to subdue magic through blue phosphorus. It was the perfect chance to take out the Archmage. Even further, she could steal the power that an eladrin from the fey realm held, then from the Archmage, and have the rest of you as the finishing touches of her needs, and then she could truly bring about her plans.”

Lyla stepped forward again. She was only ten feet away and trying to get closer. If she could stun Cecille, there was a chance they could free Godfrey. If they released him, they may have a chance of stopping her.

“What are Zidingris’ plans?” she asked, trying to keep her distracted.

“I haven’t the faintest clue, but it is what Kadra asked of me, and I happily obliged. Don’t take another step.”

With a slight raise of her finger, Godfrey lifted the glass bottle above his head. The liquid inside bubbled and steamed, and Lyla realized it had to be boiling hot. Godfrey had nothing on his hands, so it must burn into his skin painfully. Whatever spell she had on him was immensely powerful.

“Unfortunately, it seems that Kadra’s plans have changed. With her all-seeing, she knows you are here and what is happening. She seems not to care whether you come to Zidingris dead or alive, so I think dead will be easier to explain away.”

She raised her hands above her head, then brought them down quickly. Lyla tried to rush forward, but it was too late. Godfrey threw the bottle down and smashed it against the stone floor. As it hit and sprayed outward, fire erupted with a concussive force. Lyla was sent back. Her feet were knocked off the ground and into her friends. She watched as the shadows took to Cecille. Behind her, Godfrey was thrown into the air, broke through the large glass windows on the wall, and plummeted to the castle grounds.