We had been delayed days while I crafted and then mastered the technique to use Cyronax aura effectively, but the results were worth the time spent. Cyronax aura worked were Beleros Aura hadn’t. It perfectly managed to diffuse and destroy the formation arrays that had been placed in our path.

I felt some remorse that the path I created resulted in the forced hibernation or complete destruction and death of anything the aura touched. There may have been other methods to circumvent the maze, I even wondered briefly, after I was most of the way through the trap, if Sidhe could use magic to fly.

That may have been my childlike wonder and delight at the marvels of superheroes, but that didn’t make the question any less valid. There probably was some technology, skill, or magic that made the ability to fly possible. Sidhe were intricately tied to nature aspects. In fact, I even had spells that were related to Air. Was it possible I could have used the spell Air: Gale Force to blast myself into the air and completely ignore the maze?

Possibly, but that wouldn’t have worked for the rest of those traveling with me. I did plan on giving that a try at some point. It seemed certain that controlled blasts at the ground using gale force winds would allow for flight. It worked in Comics.

The worse that would happen while experimenting with this method of flight might be a broken bone or two. I wasn’t too concerned about taking damage. Trying something like this was simply to alluring not to make the attempt, and my regen and healing magic would certainly repair anything that might need to be fixed. After all, the ability to fly was worth just about any hardship.

I knew there were species of Sidhe that were born with the natural ability to fly and had high Air Affinity. It was one of the reasons the Sidhe hadn’t bothered researching flying craft, at least for cargo and transportation. The Seelie were unwilling to linger in those domains where they were not clearly superior.

It would take even the smallest Nightflyer only seconds to destroy any aircraft that could be constructed.

The crystal mine was well camouflaged. An outcropping and stone formation, a sheer cliff, and a path so steep that the mounts had to be tethered at the top of the cliff left with a guard and the only stable hand we had accompanying us. As we descended, a path that even mountain goats might find treacherous opened before us. 

Loose rocks and scruff sage-brush type vegetation cutting and snagging skin and clothing. I laughed to myself at the thought that if I slipped and fell, I might be giving that flying experiment a go much sooner than I realized.

Fortunately, someone had established and anchored a rope path for those braving the descent. Rustic, the rope had knots at evenly spaced intervals to allow firmer grips and allowed us to navigate more effectively during the most treacherous expanses. Using the rope handrails, we traversed the narrow winding paths, slowly. Honestly, it would have been faster to rappel down the side of the cliff, if we’d had known to bring that type of equipment.

I had no background in geology, so I was unable to identify the type of rock or sediment the strata that was exposed was created with. I knew what lava was and that the planet crust was layered, but that was the limit of my knowledge. There were clear and obvious delineations and layers as we negotiated the path, layers that marked the passage of time as wind and water had weathered the exposed stone.

The canyon narrowed at the bottom of the cliff, more a scar cut into the earth than a rift between landmass. The canyon floor barely measured a mile wide and over half that distance deep, the path leading from the top before widening and opening onto a platform. A system that was bisected by a waterfall that spilled and established the head of the tributary that flowed to the Kelpies lake.

The waterway explained how the Kelpies had found the caves, although it seemed strange that they would have bothered to explore this far from their colony. It was isolated. Perhaps that was why they made the journey. 

The pounding sounds of water as the waterfall roared to announce the passage of millions of gallons of water, the spray and fog as water particles vaporized, was augmented by a deep and abiding magical energy that made this area more. I thought it more likely this confluence of magical energy was the more likely reason the Kelpie had investigated this far.

Most of the cave system was hidden behind the roaring waterfall. If we hadn’t known what we were searching for, we might have ignored the slight depression and path that allowed an individual to bypass the falls. Thriving lichen and moss allowed for handholds, while a narrow ledge allowed the party to navigate and pass behind the falls in a single file.

Once we had slipped past the roaring noise and spraying mist of the falls, the opening expanded dramatically. Light crystals had been placed strategically to illuminate the entrance, causing the water vapor to create dancing rainbows as the light was refracted and dispersed.

As we began our descent into the cave system, I expanded my perception. Surprisingly, there had been no guards at the entrance or at the top of the rift. Granted this cave system was isolated but there should have been people stationed to give warning, if for no other reason than the wild animals that might gather in the area.

It didn’t matter how far I stretched my perception; I was unable to detect any life-signs greater than small insects and arachnids. There were obvious signs the cave system had been modified to make pathways easier and lighting more efficient.

Crystal light arrays were spaced evenly, illuminating even the most obscure shadow, while the trail had been cleared of debris and formed. A slope had been hewed and widened to allow passage to occur up and down the path at the same time.

"Irvin," I said when we’d spent almost a half-hour searching for people with no results, "contact your father and find out if the Herd knows what is going on with the people that should be stationed here."

Irvin was quick to find out that Duke A’Daoine had Blayney recall everyone that had been stationed at the mine and dungeon. Those people stationed here had abandoned tools and gear in their rush to comply. Irvin was informed that A’Daoine’s people would be here within the next couple of days to claim the mine, assess the impact mining the Silinium would have on the environment, and determine how or if to harvest the dungeon for resources.

That made sense. The mine really had nothing to do with me. If there hadn’t been reports of enslavement and a Knocker community and Duchess being held captive, I wouldn’t have modified my travel itinerary to investigate in the first place.

It did cause me to pause in skepticism.

If everyone had been recalled, who was guarding any Knocker captives?

"Where is the dungeon entrance?" I asked our guide, choosing to ignore the question and continue our investigation.

"We are almost there, Your Highness," he replied. Our destination eventually began to expand, branching paths and deeper tunnels being ignored as we continued to follow the main avenue.

"The large Silinium Geode to the right opens to a path that leads directly to the dungeon opening," our guide said, leading us unerringly through the catacombs and mining channels.

The Geode was impossible to miss. Easily twenty feet tall, the base encased in igneous and sedimentary rock. The metal refracted light as efficiently as any diamond or gemstone. Facets and surface scoured and formed by water in the same manner as stalagmites and stalactites.

Most noticeable, the metal deposit was affecting the ambient magic and small ley-line that was spiraling down the cave system. Drawing the energy in and super-charging it somehow. The process seemed to take the energies from the ley-lines, cycle them, and then disperse the collected energies, increasing the ambient magic exponentially.

The results were reminiscent of a thunderstorm. An ozone smell in the air, and an electrical charge that caused the fine hairs on your body to stand. As particles were continually cycled, they would invariably collide, giving rise to those electrical charges.

"Caraid, is it supposed to do that?" I asked.

"Why would anyone want to mine Silinium if the benefits to the environment are so large?"

"This Geode is immense. At least five or six hundred tons of materials just in the metals that can be observed. Certainly, there has been much research done to test at what rate removal is possible without impacting the surroundings?" I wondered.

"Then how do they explain the metal appearing on other planets? Why did Sidhe evolve only on Talahm?"

"If Silinium can only be found on Talahm, how did the other Pantheons construct Portal systems?"

"I don’t see any tool marks, nothing to suggest this node has been mined," I said aloud, not sure if anyone else might have insight into why that might be.

"There wouldn’t be unless the intention was to destroy the mine," Lohne explained.

"This is a main Silinium node hub. It has branching roots that open into lesser geode deposits. It is those lesser deposits that are probably being mined.

"If you mine the main node, you risk damaging the growth properties inherent in the metal."

"Silinium’s ability to grow and restore mined ore was the impetus behind botanists hybridizing plants and gene manipulating them so that they produced metals and resources," she explained. "No one would risk damaging the rootstock of this vein. Not only would there be ecological consequences, but they would be destroying future financial considerations."

“It’s easier and makes more sense to harvest the seed stock the Silinium branches produce. Fist sized sprout-lings that can be harvested, and even transplanted to grow in other locations.”

"The dungeon entrance should be close. They always spawn near great nexus of magic, and Silinium nodes and ley-lines are as about as powerful a nexus as you can find, on any planet," Uron informed us.

Careful scouting allowed us to map out the remainder of the cave system. We found where the mining was being conducted, and an area that had been protected behind a formation to blend into the surroundings and deceive the eye. It was easily recognized and neutralized since we knew that the dungeon existed.

Once we broke the controlling array, what had been a featureless wall transformed into a passage that skirted the Geode, a hall that snaked behind and led to a stabilized portal, pulsating with energy. The obvious entrance to the dungeon.

As we approached the portal, the System was kind enough to supply the name of the dungeon.

[You are about to enter a dungeon instance.]

[Dungeon Information: CERN the site of the Hadron Collider.]

[Location Earth: Geneva Switzerland]

[Level - 0]

[Proceed Yes/No]