Book 2 Chapter 25

They moved carefully, working their way over the slick rocks and treacherous terrain as they traveled deeper and deeper. The light of the cavern’s entrance faded quickly behind them as they took a twisted path, the tunnel turning left and right, but always further down. As it grew darker, Tirr raised a hand, lighting a flame that quickly threw back the shadows.

They continued, water steadily dripping off the hanging stones and columns. A low whistle rose through the air around them, accompanied by a slow breeze, that made it seem as if the tunnels were breathing around them as they walked. The atmosphere was almost oppressive, as if chastising them for their interference...

The dripping water collected in small streams that connected over time, growing larger and larger until eventually dropping off a small fall into a large pool. As they stood on the edge, they could see the tunnel continue through the water.

Nerida stepped up quickly, smiling as she moved upfront, “Allow me…” The Priestess said as she stepped down into the water.

As she stepped forward the water shifted away, creating a small pocket around her. She stopped, waiting for Tirr and Maria to come down as well before leading the way, guiding the water around them as they passed through. The water reached higher around them as they followed the tunnel. Soon they were fully enveloped, kept dry within a bubble of air kept up by Nerida until they worked their way out of the water.

A chill in the air met them on the other side and only grew colder as they went further. The walls around them were covered in ice, sparling eerily under the light of Tirr’s flame. Maria couldn’t help but let out a shiver, her breath frosting as it left her.

“Use your Blessing…” Tirr reminded her, increasing the power of his flame at the same time. Her shivering eased quickly as warm light enveloped her. Tirr glanced at Nerida, but she just smiled at him, unaffected by the cold As Tirr’s flame grew brighter it filled the tunnel with light, revealing a strange pattern underneath the ice.

Tirr held his flame closer, running his hand over the ice as he felt the strange indents.

“It’s a wall…” He muttered quietly, before looking around, noticing more signs of human construction.

“Why would somebody build this way down here?” Maria asked, examining the wall for herself.

“If this place is connected to the Water Spirit… Then maybe this used to be a temple?” Nerida questioned as they continued.

“I don’t know…” Tirr replied, frowning as he thought. “I don’t remember any temples like this, but…”

He grew silent as the tunnel opened around them forming into a large cavernous space. Tirr’s flame danced brightly, as it tried to cover the space. They wandered inside, quickly noting the frost-covered tile flooring before the cold suddenly deepened, with even Tirr having to channel his Blessing to resist its sting.

“What is this place?” Maria asked awed by the sheer size of it. “How can something like this exist in the middle of the sea?”

“It shouldn’t…” Nerida answered, looking around, “This shouldn’t be possible, to build something like this… Just transporting the materials alone would be impossible…”

As they walked forward, a large shadow loomed near them. A large boulder, over 7 feet high and just as wide sat on the ground in front of them, covered from top to bottom in frost. As they approached, they saw more shadows, other giant stones, all strewn about the floor of the cavern, as if they were statues in a garden.

The wandered through the strange maze, finally reaching what seemed to be a platform of some kind. Tirr, curious, channeled his Blessing as he jumped, landing atop the stone with ease before stopping as he lifted his flame.

“What do you see up there?” Maria called as Tirr reached the top and disappeared from view. The question hung unanswered as the young god stayed silent.

“Tirr?” Maria asked growing worried. She jumped up herself, grabbing onto the side of the boulder as she clambered up. Seeing that Tirr was alright, she didn’t forget to reach down for Nerida behind her, channeling her Blessing as she pulled the Water Priest up alongside them

Afterwards, she turned to find Tirr still standing in silence, flame raised in his hand. “Tirr…” Maria started, until she noticed the direction he was looking. She followed the light of Tirr’s flames, her own breath taken as more and more details came to light.

They found themselves in front of an enormous stone figure, its body partly encased in ice as it sat with its back to caverns wall. Its parts were obvious, from the giant arms that lay broken at its sides, to the head that seemed more like a strange remembrance of a human. Looking at the titan, Maria realized the platform they had just climbed on was one of the figure's legs. Its sheer size made her step back in fear, putting even Garm at full size to shame…

What stuck out the most about the Titan though, and what Tirr was staring at quietly, was the giant pillar of ice that reached out of its chest, impaling and driving the figure into the wall of the cavern. The air around the pillar seemed to freeze, falling away in a heavy frost.

“Tirr…” Maria started again as she looked over the figure.

“That’s not all…” Nerida said quietly. Tirr and Maria turned in her direction and once again fell silent. Tirr’s light flickered brightly reaching further from their higher vantage point, illuminating the strange boulders they had seen before.

Now from above with enough light to see, the strange sight was easy to put together. They looked over a graveyard, filled with the bodies of other stone creatures like the one they stood on, though nowhere near its size. Their bodies lay broken, pieces of themselves spread about…

“We need to leave…” Tirr began, his body chilled from more than the cold, his mind raced as memories tried over and over to connect, but failed, leaving him feeling uneasy yet unsure of why. But as he spoke the cavern around them was suddenly filled with yellowish light. They turned quickly to see that the stone titan’s eyes had lit with some strange fire. As they tried to back away the Titan’s head shifted with a grating shriek as the centuries-old ice around its neck cracked and shattered.

The giant head lowered itself, its eyes flashing briefly as it looked down at the trio…