“Karreg Amberbeard was the greatest Dwarven Artificer of his generation. One Night, he had a dream. In it, he had forged an item of such beauty and power that when he awoke, he rushed to his forge, intent on making his dream a reality.”

Chapter 49

Wil tumbled downwards through the snow, finally rolling to a stop in a large snow drift. Picking himself up wearily, he brushed the snow from his armor and cloak, before continuing his way up the steep slope.

He had been making his way steadily upwards since he had left the ancient church. First, he had traveled through the dense forest, until it became increasingly sparse. Eventually it gave way to barren, snow swept rock and desolate cliff faces.

Focusing on his footing, Wil was practically climbing vertically at this point in his journey. The steep path so unstable and uneven that he was often crawling forward on all fours to prevent himself from sliding downwards.

The storm had grown worse as he traveled, the dark grey clouds roiled overhead, and the heavy winds threatened to knock him sideways while he climbed. The snow barely had a chance to fall before it was carried away in the strong gusts.

Wil was once again thankful for the Ursine cloak, there was no way he would have survived in this weather without it. His face had grown numb from the cold, despite the heavy hood pulled low over his head.

He was forced to constantly circulate his mana internally, strengthening his limbs and hands, any lapse in concentration would cause him to slip and fall.

Hauling himself over an overhanging ledge of sharp rock, he lay panting on the cold ground. The wind whipped around him. He hadn’t rested in hours, and the climb had almost completely drained him.

“What happened to the others?” Wil wondered aloud. He hadn’t seen any signs of a single living thing on the mountain, even the forest had been deserted.

Worried that he was lost, Wil stood and looked around him. He had made it to over the ledge and onto a flat section of rock. The cliff continued to extend upward in front of him, but he could see a path through it, as if the cliff had been split in half by a river or stream.

He walked forward, into the passage, thankful that the high walls on both sides of him blocked the endless wind. The narrow passage extended for hundreds of feet, twisting and turning. The footing beneath him was icy and had large, worn and rounded stones, like a frozen riverbed.

As he walked, the clouds above him gradually lightened, until he could finally see the sunlight coming through the light grey cloud cover. When the exit appeared in front of him, the clouds were gone and he could see the yellow sun burning brightly in the sky, the first time in weeks.

Standing at the exit, he was stunned by what lay in front of him. The wind had died down, and the sun was shining on a clear crystal lake, completely frozen.

As he stepped on the ice, he could clearly see the lake bottom through the frozen, flat surface. There were no imperfections or snow covering it at all.

The sun shone brilliantly overhead, creating a shimmering across the crystal lake, reflecting the vividly blue ice all around Wil.

“I’m in the eye of the storm.” He said to himself, looking up at the clouds above him. They formed a perfect circle around the lake, swirling darkly around the bright sun overhead.

He walked carefully out onto the ice, slowly as to not fall as he did so. Looking down, he could see that the lake was frozen solid, he could even spot some fish encased in the ice.

“This is the lake that feeds the waterfall. It shouldn’t freeze, it's warmed by the mountain’s fire.” He mused quietly, continuing to walk until he was in the center of the lake. He could see that below him, the lake was much deeper but still frozen through.

The ice was a dark blue color, and he could see an opening in the lake bottom that extended deep into the stone below it, where the heat from the mountain would travel upwards, warming the lake.

As he stared downwards, he felt a heat emanating from his pocket. Reaching in, he removed the heavy gold coin out of his pocket. He opened his palm to reveal the coin, curious at the strange warmth.

The sunlight shone brightly on the coin, glinting in the light. It felt warm in his hand and grew hotter as he held it up to the light.

With a flash of intense heat, the coin burned in his palm. It felt like holding onto a burning piece of metal, glowing red from a blacksmith’s forge.

“God’s Bones!” He swore, flicking the coin away from him in surprise. Where he had held the coin, a seven-pointed sun symbol branded his palm. He cradled his injured hand as he watched the coin skitter and roll across the ice.

The coin rolled down the frozen lake, slowing as it moved before spinning quickly and falling flat against the icy surface. From the distance, Wil could make out the seven-pointed sun symbol on the face of the coin, the same as the mark on his hand.

Warily, Wil approached the coin as it lay harmless against the ice, no sign of the heat it emanated remained. Before he could take more than a step forward, an intense column of fire rushed downwards from the sky, it was as if a piece of the sun had fallen and struck the gold coin where it lay.

He raised his arm to protect his face as he stumbled backwards, slipping and falling on the ice as he did so. The intense heat flashed in front of him, driving away the cold. He shut his eyes tightly against the sudden extreme light.

The roar of the descending flames was deafening. The sound drowned out his scream of terror as the fire slammed into the icy lake.

As quick as it had arrived, the column of flames extinguished. Wil could feel the heat fade, and the cold wind quickly began to blow. He cautiously opened his eyes, blinking rapidly to clear the spots from his vision.

The sunlight had retreated, and the circle of clear skies were rapidly filling with dark grey clouds. Whatever force that had cleared the skies had dissipated, either in defeat or because its purpose was fulfilled.

The wind picked up and heavy snow began to fall around him as Wil picked himself up off the ground, staring at ice in front of him.

The column of flames had burned a wide hole deep into the ice. As Wil stood on the edge, he could see that the opening led down into the darkness, well beyond the depth of the lake. The fire had drilled into the mountain rock, leaving behind a smooth, mirror like edge.

Wil stared into the darkness below, holding onto his injured hand. The fire had come from the yellow sun above, a flame sent by the Sun God himself to open the ice below.

“Am I supposed to go down there?” He asked, looking around him for a sign. After waiting for several minutes, the only sounds were from the gusting wind and blowing snow around him.

With a loud sigh, Wil gathered his mana around him, lifting the weight from his body as he prepared to descend below. He decided to place his trust in the God, even though Wil had never been a devout believer, the signs were clear of the divine intent guiding him.

He stepped carefully off the edge, and began to drift slowly downwards into the darkness, his Mana buoying his body. It was if he was being carried by a heavy current or floating downwards through water.

The spell allowed him to reduce his weight and float downwards. It was something he had learned after his fall in Whitewater, he was determined to never experience a similar thing again. He had spent hours reviewing the spell matrix on the trip north.

With his Mana shimmering around him, Wil drifted through the opening. First passing the icy lake, then the rock of the mountain. Taking a small portion of his mana, Wil created a small orb of light to glide down with him, lighting the way below.

As he fell slowly, the mass of the rock around him pressed against his senses. He felt stifled by the pressure, like the weight of the entire mountain pushed down on him from above.

With nothing but the small orb of light to accompany him, Wil floated downwards, descending deep into the mountain.