“While the Mithril heated, Amberbeard led an expedition deep below to find a gemstone. He had dreamed of a Diamond, locked away in stony depths of the mountain. It was this jewel that would give his creation its power.”

Chapter 51

Wil floated gently downwards into the dark below, the small orb of light his only companion as it drifted slowly around him. He had fallen for several minutes before the smooth, narrow walls sudden expanded.

He landed on a barren stone floor, his small ball of light unable to brighten the new area he found himself in. He was surrounded by darkness, his halo of light only extending a few feet around him.

He summoned the orb to his hand before channeling his Mana into it. Pumping the small ball of light with greater amounts of energy, the halo of light gradually expanded, becoming blinding in the darkness.

He released the orb to float above him and looked around at his newly lit surroundings.

He was in a massive stone hall, the ceiling so high that it was lost in the darkness that his light couldn’t reach. He stood near a set of immense stone doors. It had dwarven runes climbing them, engraved in gold. In the center of the doors was a large carving of a crossed hammer and axe.

The door had long since been sealed shut. Wil could feel the magic from the runes tightly binding it. The pressure from the Mana holding the door closed prevented him from even approaching them for a better look.

Turning away from the sealed doors, he began to walk down the hall. The wide room was lined by enormous stone statues, depicting dwarven warriors with axes and sword. Each had a shield with the same symbol carved on the front, a fortress next to a running waterfall.

Wil was amazed by craftsmanship of the statues, even by dwarven standards it was incredible. Each so lifelike it was as if they would come awake at any moment. They all wielded large weapons, armor and shield forged from metal, without a hint of age or rust.

As he walked, the statues seemed to almost watch him with their stone eyes. He had to remind himself repeatedly that they were not alive. He had reached out with his Mana to test for a response, but it seemed the statues were mundane.

Walking through the darkness, Wil could feel the air around him grow colder. When he stood by the doors, it was tolerable, but as he walked past the statues, the temperature steadily dropped.

Frost gathered on the stone floor under his feet and on the statues around him. Their metal armor, intricately detailed, were covered in a thick layer of hoarfrost.

Ahead of Wil, some of the statues had finally succumbed to the extreme cold. They had toppled and shattered, scattering stone chips, debris and chunks of armor. Even the strong dwarven metal, forged from the fires of the mountain’s heart, had become brittle and weak from the cold.

Crushed stone and metal pieces crunched under his feet, echoing in the silence as he walked.

As the temperature plummeted, Wil pulled his Ursine cloak tighter around him, attempting to ward off the intense, icy air. But even the magical cloak, able to withstand the harsh northern winter, was unable to resist the unnatural chill that was emanating from ahead.

The cloak gradually lost its glimmer, its Mana slowly suppressed by whatever was causing the cold.

Wil reached the end of the hall, not a single statue still stood in this section. In front of him, the hall ended in a series of stairs. After dozens of steps, they leveled off and in the center was a stone throne, gilded in gold and gems.

Sitting on the throne was a desiccated, ancient dwarven corpse. Dressed in fine, shining armor, it had clearly rested here for many years. On its brow was a beautiful crown, made of a silvery white metal. It held a large clear diamond in the center, nearly the size of Wil’s clenched fist.

The gem sparkled in the bright light of the orb that floated around Wil, as he approached the throne. Stepping careful up the stairs, he could see that behind the throne was a large cavern. Curious, he sent the orb of light ahead of him in order to see what lay beyond the throne.

The cavern was enormous and deep, with black lave rock covered in a thick layer of ice. He had found the heart of the mountain. The burning fires that the dwarves cherished and wrote songs about, had frozen from the unnatural cold.

He walked closer to the throne, and the temperature continued to fall, until every breath he took was difficult. He could feel an aching in his lungs from the cold air, and his hands were gradually turning numb.

White mist was coming from the throne, falling around it and gliding across the stone floor. Every step Wil took was a struggle as his attention was drawn to the figure sitting on the throne and the bejeweled crown it wore.

Wil was entranced by the way the light shone and twinkled on the gemstone, and as he neared, he could see himself reflected there. A thousand faces, all his, stared at him from within the diamond.

He no longer noticed the cold, or the way that he had to struggle to lift his boots from the ground, the thick leather sticking and freezing to the floor. His thoughts were entirely on the crown and the beautiful gem that it held.

After what felt like an eternity, he stood in front of the throne. With agonizing slowness, he reached towards the gem. His leather armor cracked and froze, and he had to circulate every shred of mana he had to force his arm forward. A layer of frost covered him, but he had long become too numb from the chill to notice.

Inch by inch, his hand moved forward, until his fingers brushed against that cherished gemstone. It was like feeling the soul of winter itself, burning his fingers with its icy surface. His numb fingers gently closed around the gem, and the branded seven-pointed sun on his palm touched the diamond.

With a flash of light, He could no longer see the throne or the crown in his hand.

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The giant stone hand slowly emerged from the ground as they looked on in horror. Archibald and the rest of the humans quickly retreated from the area. The mages amongst them prepared a large spell matrix, combining their Mana into the construct.

The stone creature rose from the ground and its massive head finally emerged. It had brightly glowing eyes, made of two large emeralds. Reaching its full height of over twenty feet tall, the creature focused on the humans below it.

“Earth Elemental!” One of the mages screamed, recognizing what the Bugbear Shaman had summoned with its remaining strength.

With a loud roar, it lifted one of its gigantic stone limbs, preparing to crush the intruders.

The mages released their spell, the pressure of the casting causing gusts of wind to swirl around them. With a massive rush of Mana, a solid ball of pure energy flew forward, slamming into the Elementals chest.

Like an ocean wave crashing over a rocky outcrop, the energy swept pass the creature. It barely hindered it as it continued to punch towards the ground.

Its stone fist, powered by the Elemental’s considerable weight and strength, smashed into the ground as the humans scrambled to get out of the way. The blow split open the ground and large cracks spread out in all directions from the impact.

Several of the wounded, unable to move fast enough to avoid danger, fell into widening cracks. Archibald could hear their echoing screams as they fell.

Allard gripped his axe tightly in both hands and fed a considerable amount of Mana into the weapon. Those who stood near to him could hear the metal screech and strain as it tried to contain the massive amount of energy. The blade glowed white hot with the destructive forces within it.

Allard lifted the weapon high and heaved it at the Elemental with every ounce of strength he had. The weapon sped toward the stone creature with enough force that it gouged out the rock beneath it as it passed.

With a massive bang, the axe buried itself in the Elemental’s head. The Mana enhanced blade sunk deep into its stone flesh, before the energy couldn’t be contained in the weapon any longer.

A gigantic explosion rocked the plateau as the axe exploded, taking half of the creature’s face with it. It crashed onto the ground and lay still.

Allard knelt on the snow-covered ground, panting rapidly from the exertion the attack at caused. The humans cheered around them at the Elemental’s death. The wind picked up and the clouds roiled and swirled overhead.

The cheering continued unabated, with small groups coming up to congratulate Allard. He was jostled back and forth as people patted him on the back and praised his strength.

The praise died when the Elemental stirred to life, slowly climbing back onto its feet as its emerald eyes turned and focused on the Northern Bear.