RAVEN'S GAMBIT | Part 15: The Shattered Nine
The rusted spiral staircase groaned beneath the weight of the united group as they descended, torchlight flickering across the slick, fungus-lined walls of the flooded corridors below. The air was thick with moisture and the scent of rot. Sir Cedric Lightbringer led the way, his armor wet to the knees, Zel Dorne close at his side, silent and observant.
They reached a junction of decayed stone and brackish water.
“West, north, or east,” Sir Cedric murmured aloud, his eyes scanning the gloom.
“East?” Zel suggested, watching the tension tighten across his brow.
“East it is,” Sir Cedric agreed, raising his sword high to reflect the torchlight.
“But didn’t the last two survivors warn about green slime in the east passage?” he asked, pausing.
“Yes. They did,” Zel replied.
“Watch out for green slime, everyone,” Zel called to the group as they trudged through the ankle-deep water.
The corridor ahead reeked of mildew. Slimy streaks shimmered across the ceiling and upper walls. Kaela Virell stepped up, her eyes narrowing.
“Time to clean house,” she said, casting Burning Hands in sweeping arcs that scorched the slime-covered ceiling. The flames hissed and popped as they met wet rot and clinging algae.
“That should do it.”
They pressed on. Another fork met them, but they turned east again, then south. Finally, they reached a short flight of stone steps that rose from the water toward a swollen, damp wooden door. Sir Cedric Lightbringer grunted and pushed against the sodden wood until it gave with a wet, splintering creak.
Beyond lay a square room of about thirty feet on each side, the floor thick with mud. Suspended from the ceiling by adamantine wires were nine shimmering silver globes, each roughly two feet in diameter.
“What’s this?” Sir Cedric asked in awe.
Kaela Virell cast Detect Magic, but the spheres revealed nothing.
“They’re coated with lead from the inside,” she muttered. “I can’t read them.”
She reached out and shook one gently. A dull rattle echoed from within.
“They hold something.”
Sir Cedric sighed. “Break them open.”
Velkryn, the vampire fledgling, nodded and approached the first globe. With a grunt, he slammed a clenched fist into it. It shattered, raining shards of lead and glass. A key fell to the mud, and for the briefest moment, two wraithlike shadows flitted across the room before vanishing into the corners.
Velkryn picked up the key. Then he shattered a second globe. Another key clinked to the ground, along with a potion vial, which he caught deftly.
He moved to the third globe, smashing it with enthusiasm.
This time, the result was different.
The globe burst—and a howling air elemental exploded forth, a towering vortex of rage and violence. Before Velkryn could react, he was pounded into the mud, his undeveloped vampiric body torn apart by the elemental's fury.
“Velkryn!” Kaela shouted, loosing a Magic Missile, but the spell fizzled harmlessly through the creature’s windy form.
“OPEN FIRE!” Marcus “Tank” Rourke bellowed, raising his M4 and unleashing a burst. Arrows flew. Blaster bolts streaked. Spells arced and hissed.
Lysandra Vex charged with her rapier, narrowly dodging a cyclone fist—until the next slammed her into a wall, killing her instantly.
Through the chaos, Bran ‘Brick’ McGraw calmly raised his Colt Dragoon and took aim. With a thunderous shot, the bullet pierced the swirling mass between the eyes. The elemental shuddered—and exploded in a silent burst of wind.
Only the dead and the silence remained… and the two shadows still watching.
Jorek Inkthane wiped blood from his cheek. “So… why are we still breaking these things?”
Sir Cedric didn’t answer immediately. “We need the keys,” he said simply. “Keep going.”
Taya Vex counted nervously. “We’ve opened three. Six remain.”
“I’ll do it,” the paladin said grimly.
The fourth globe fell to his sword. A key and a potion vial. The fifth: eleven glass gems and a key. The sixth shattered, and something gray slopped to the mud—ooze.
Sir Cedric slashed but missed. Spells and bolts flew. One of Kael “Fingers” Vire’s rays struck true, vaporizing it.
He didn’t gloat.
The seventh globe revealed a wand and yet another key.
The eighth globe was different.
When it shattered, a ring fell with the key. The ring shimmered and spoke, not with words, but a collective voice in their minds:
“Stop before you pick me up. I function as a ring of invisibility but will also grant my wearer one wish spell each year. My only drawbacks are that I permanently consume just a little vitality per year, and I can have only one wearer. Once I am removed, all powers vanish. But if you would take me, you must put me on before you depart, because I can leave this room only while worn.”
Everyone stared.
“I said you chose me,” Sir Cedric warned, his voice calm but iron. “Do not allow greed to poison our unity.”
Kaela Virell, breaking the tension, shoved the ring beneath the mud with a well-placed boot.
“Sounds too good to be true anyway.”
The tension dissolved in a collective breath. Sir Cedric retrieved the key and moved to the final globe.
It shattered with a crack, spilling pearls, turquoises, a ruby, and a final key.
Then the shadows attacked.
Two formless beings of darkness, silent and cold, surged from the corners. One fell upon Dr. Elias Finch, draining the warmth from his bones. The other clawed at Kara Dhex, who rolled and fired her blaster in panic.
"Form ranks!" Sir Cedric shouted.
The chamber erupted again in gunfire, spellwork, and chaos.
But unity held. And Raven, watching from above, nodded once.
"Let the trials begin…"