Weightlessness took a little to become used to. Small gusts of air, even a slight breeze would move and change the direction of where he wanted to go. Somewhat draining, but useful was the ability to control the flow of air and therefore his direction.

Hyernan floated above the spikes and as he willed the breeze behind him he started to follow the path he had charted out. Steira wrapped her tail around his neck as the winds in the cavern started to buffet the two of them around. As he neared the first quarter of the way across a stronger gust shoved Hyernan up toward the spikes and away from his safe path.

He focused on controlling his errant path and pushed forward again through the gale of wind. He could see the far side getting closer and pushed harder. As he crossed over the sharp stone spikes he could start to feel his magic core depleting. To run out now would result in probable impalement. He continued to focus, hoping that the potion he had downed before starting this crossing would help sustain his core.

The distance shrunk as he neared the opposite platform. He carefully kept near the roof of the cavern, far enough from the spikes to avoid injury, but close enough to avoid the motion of the air roiling beneath his body. When the far platform was within a few body lengths from his location a sudden blast of air shoved his body upward.

Pain lanced through his leg as the gust of air shoved him onto the stone spoke. Though his leg was on fire and he wasn’t sure how badly the injury was he again drew on his core and used the air to his advantage, forcing a strong breeze against his body and then over onto the platform.

"Inrita," he murmured. The magic keeping his body aloft ended and he collapsed onto the granite floor. Without looking at the injury his leg had sustained he fumbled with the catch on his satchel. After a failed attempt he managed to open it up and pulled another vial of red-hued potion out. With a quick twist the stopper came out and he swallowed the contents in one swift motion.

Warmth flooded his body and he felt his leg go numb. With the health potion starting its work he unlatched Steria from his shoulder and sat up, stretching his injured leg out and examining the damage the spike had caused.

“Well Steira,” he said, “It could have been worse I suppose”. The spike had pierced the cloth on his leg and punctured the flesh beneath. Blood flowed from the wound, but even as he watched the potion was slowing the flow of blood and the flesh was starting to reform. Grimacing he picked up his stave where it had fallen on the floor. “Renovo novus," he said and with a flow of magic the cloth on his pant leg repaired itself, even cleaning the blood that had stained it off.

“Much better. Wouldn’t you agree?” he asked Steira as he sat there. As he rested and let his leg continue to heal, he noticed a lever recessed in the wall. Standing up he hobbled over to the lever and saw the ancient glyphs that the Fulneen had used to indicate complete or stop and the opposite of start or begin. The glyphs were flexible in what they could mean. Currently, the lever rested in the begin or start position.

Steira cocked her head and looked at Hyernan. She chirped as he reached up for the lever. “What? I think this is for the winds in this room. Don’t you think it would be much easier to get back across if the air was a bit calmer?”

He decided it was worth the risk and pulled the lever down. A rumble filled the cavern and then a large thunking racket could be heard. Dust and small rocks fell from the ceiling as a barely noticeable crack expanded. With a clank of chains, a long stone bridge lowered from the roof and settled into grooved slots on either side of the room. The gusting of the air stilled to a soft breeze and then silence engulfed the room.

“Ha! See I told you,” he said with a smug grin. Steria shrugged her wings as if to say maybe this time. With a flex of her wings she surged aloft and flew around in the chamber. She liked the open area now that she knew she wasn’t going to be pushed into the spikes. Underground was not her ideal environment.

Hyernan could feel her happiness as she flew about. He rotated his leg and gave a few experimental stomps and was happy to not even feel a twinge of pain. His stomach gave a rumble and smacked his hand on his forehead. While the potion was good at healing the loss of blood and regenerated tissue used up his body’s energy reserves.

One of the side pockets of his satchel contained some preserved foods. He pulled out a bar of pressed grains mixed with the luja fruit, kleden nuts, and sweet thick quiie syrup. It was a calorie-dense food that was perfect for restoring his energy. He also pulled out a strip of smoked blue rotan meat for Steria.

With a mental call to the dragon, he flicked the meat up into the air. Steria gave a shriek and flew by, unerringly catching the meat in her mouth. She circled a few times and then landed on the floor. Growling she tore into her meal. Hyernan grinned at the dragon’s antics and bit into his own dinner. Washing it down with a sip from the canteen attached to his belt.

He poured some water into a cup and offered it to the miniature dragon. Steria looked up from her meal when she felt the offering emotion through their link. With one final growl, she swallowed the last of the rotan meat and accepted the offered water.

Hunger and thirst satisfied and injuries all healed Hyernan felt like it was time to continue on, deeper into the tomb. He gestured to Steria and she flew by him, banked with her wings and after circling around landed back on his shoulder. He was glad the enchantment on the pad to lighten her weight was holding up.

The exit to the air cavern was another carved door. This door had intricate engravings on one side. Hyernan pulled out his map of the tomb and compared it to the carvings on the door. With the Fulneen gone for centuries understanding of their glyphs had disappeared. He could only guess at some of the meanings. One emblem he did recognize was the glyph for fire. That one concerned him after the last two enigmas both came close to killing, or at least seriously injuring, him. As a precaution, he pulled out his stave and muttered, “ignis prohibeo“.

To stop flames from harming something the fire needed to be commanded. By prohibiting fire around his body, he could prevent being burned. The downside to that spell was the constant minor drain on his magical core. If fire did flare up it would stop before consuming him, but that would use more of his core and would not prevent the air from being depleted.

Soft light from the magical orbs of light continued to illuminate the carved granite tunnel. As he hiked deeper into tomb, he could feel a growing warmth. The tunnel started to smooth out and looked less carved and more... melted. Steira lifted her head and gave an inquisitive sniff. Through their empathic link, he felt her sense of recognition and a hint of concern. The white light cast by the magical spheres started to be replaced with a dull orange-red glow.

Cold cavern air was soon replaced by a warm draft of air from deeper within the tunnel. As Hyneran continued to walk forward he saw the carved stone open up again, only instead of a cavern full of sharp stone spikes, this cavern was full of molten rock.

Streams of melted rock poured out of the walls and fell, forming lava falls and pooling below. Carved towers of basalt rose from the cavern floor forming steps that could be traversed carefully to cross the magma surging below.

“Would you look at that Steria,” Hyneran said, “The floor really is lava.”

Steria rolled her eyes at Hyneran and with a flex of her wings lifted herself airborne. She flapped a few times and then carefully started to explore this new room of puzzles. Hyneran sat down on the stone floor and crossed his legs. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the link he shared with the miniature dragon. If he focused hard enough, he could see what she was seeing through her eyes.

Darkness was all he could see at first and with a feeling of vertigo he could see. Dragon eyes were not like human eyes, and the first few moments were always a bit queasy feeling as the colors shifted and his inner ear rebelled at the fact that he was sitting still and yet seemed to be moving.

Dark stone streamed pass and he could see orange and yellow light dance around as molten rock swept by underneath. Steria pumped her wings, gaining altitude. As she neared the center of the cavern a warm updraft of air carried her further up and he could now see the entire cavern laid out.

Uplifted basalt stone created paths that a careful, and daring, adventurer could leap from step to step. As the dragon circled above Hyneran could see a pattern within the stone paths. While it looked like a clear path could be taken through the streams of lava, there were several traps as well. A step in the wrong direction would lead to a stone pillar that was lower than the rest, trapping whoever landed on it. Other paths looked unstable or seemed to have only thin layers of rock.

Concentrating Hyneran severed the vision through the dragon’s view and opened his own eyes. Quickly, before what he had seen disappeared from memory, he sketched out the cavern and the routes through the maze of stone pillars and paths. While he knew he could use the dragon’s vision again while out in the cavern as he traversed the complicated labyrinth time was of the essence. Even from here the heat from the roiling lava could be felt. Sulfur gases vented from cracks in the walls and some of the pillars would fade in and out of view as clouds of noxious gasses concentrated briefly before sweeping away again.

Looking up he saw Steria still circling above and through their link he could feel her encouragement. There was nothing else to do but move on. Hyneran gripped his stave and muttered, ”Kyro ventus“. A coolness filled the air around him and the oppressive heat faded. There was a limit to the time that the air chilling spell would last, but in the meantime, it meant he could navigate his way through the stone paths without feeling like a fresh rotan steak grilling in an oven.

Standing on the edge of the walkway leading from the previous cavern Hyneran eyed the first basalt pillar. The dark, black stone looked sturdy enough and with a sigh, he ran forward and leaped from the edge. With a thud, he landed on the pillar, barely stopping before falling over the edge. This... was going to be more difficult then he had originally anticipated. ”Statera amplio”, he muttered, forcing more of his magic into his stave. As the spell took affect he could feel his balance and agility improve. The magical core within his body was starting to deplete faster than it was being restored. At this rate, he knew he would need to hurry through the cavern.

With another leap, he landed on the next pillar. This time the landing was light with no wasted effort. Another bounding jump landed him on one of the larger bunch of rocks. He carefully pulled out the parchment map that he had sketched earlier and examined it. From here there were two paths that he could take. Both involved moving downward toward the lava and then back up. The easier path didn’t dip quite so close to the heat of the lava below.

Sliding the parchment back into his jacket pocket he made his decision and started to climb down the rough stone. As he neared the bottom he could see a pillar of basalt that had fallen and formed a bridge between where he now stood and another upthrust of rock closer to the center of the room.

Hot air washed over him as he started to cross the horizontal pillar. Even with the cooling effect of the spell, the warmth from the molten rock could not be denied. Carefully he navigated across the rounded stone. This may have been an easier way, but it wasn’t faster. Sliding one foot in front of the other his leather boots kept his feet protected from what he was sure was a stone hot enough to fry an ailern egg on.

Jumping off the end of the stone walkway Hyernan felt quite grateful to be away from the treacherous crossing. He started the upward climb toward the center island of stone. Within his body, he could feel the magical core continue to dip down. Hurrying he flung one of his arms up and managed to find a thin crack to slip his hand into. Pulling up he continued to search for crevices and small jutting rocks to continue climbing on.

As he placed a booted foot on one of the small ledges and pushed upward only to find a smooth surface with nothing to grip. Further up the rock face, he could see a wider crack in the rock beyond what he could reach. Grunting with effort Hyernan flexed his knees, and with a heave pushed hard and lept upward. Fingers desperately grasped and flailed trying to find the crack he had seen. Gravity had started to re-assert its dominance and started tugging him back down to the boiling lava below when his fingers found the crack. It was wide enough that he was able to shove his entire arm inside it and lock his body into place.

Lungs heaving he paused for a moment before continuing his journey up the rock face. The last leap had helped carry him closer to the top. A few more minutes of pulling, grunting, and shoving and he rolled over the edge of the top and onto a flat surface.

Steria swooped down and with a flare of her wings landed next to Hyernan where he lay exhausted. She lowered her head and nuzzled his chest while softly crooning and sending encouragement through their link. Hyernan reached up and scratched under her chin. A soft rumble came from her chest as she enjoyed the attention.

With a sigh and a small grunt, Hyernan stood up. From here he could see the three paths leading in the direction he wanted to travel. Careful consideration needed to be applied though to choosing the correct path. One of the paths was quick and led almost directly to the exit, but was more complicated and quite dangerous. Another path was safer and slower, which at the rate his magic was draining would not work for him. The third path he remembered looked safe and fast but contained traps designed to lure the unwary.

“Well Steria, quick and fast it is. Wish me luck girl, I’m going to need it.” And with that being said Hyernan started to leap from pillar to pillar, barely pausing in between jumps. Lava fell from the ceiling and added to the danger of the path he was traversing. Steria flew near him, avoiding the falling melted rock, as she followed along.

Two-thirds of the way across Hyernan had to navigate a narrow stone walkway between to pillars too far apart to leap across. Slowly, and with as much caution as time allowed he balanced his way forward. At the midpoint, he realized this was one of the traps that had been laid on the path as the middle of the stone walkway crumbled. Both ends of the stone slipped off the pillars of basalt toward the waiting lava below.

Steria felt the spike of tension and then fear through her link and banked hard with her wings, angling her small body toward Hyernan. Drops of molten rock splashed on her wings and she hissed in pain as she continued to dive toward where she had seen her companion last. As she neared him she watched as he frantically jumped toward the far pillar, hands outstretched as the walkway fell beneath him.