36 Temple of Archanos

The waterfall was only six feet tall and was the result of a stream flowing down the mountainside. It was simple to navigate the rocks and find the cave entrance. The entrance was the size of a typical doorway. I entered the cave and began to travel down a long tunnel. I traveled for about five minutes, and the tunnel opened up into a small room. This room was made with carved stone and had four pillars that surrounded a circular mosaic upon the floor. I took a moment to inspect the room in detail.

It appeared that some primitive creature was living here, and it occurred to me that it may have been the gnoll interceptor. There was a bed made of straw and the remnants of some past meal in the form of bones and sinew. There was no trace of the previous occupant.

The pillars were covered in runes from top to bottom, with over 200 on each pillar. Between the runes, each pillar had a different elemental design that decorated the surface. One pillar was water, one earth, one fire, and one air. The circular mosaic in the center was split into sections that further represented the other forms of magic that exist in the blank. Illusion, enchanting, necromancy, light, nature, alteration, conjuration, and many more. Around the very center was a circle that had nothing in it. It was blank.

I wondered what this place was? What was the point of this room? To keep people out? Why was Skye leading me here? How did she know about my family? I guess I could understand needing information if you were trying to use prediction software, but how could she have information from ten years ago that the police don't even have?

This place held a treasure and this room appeared to be a puzzle. The theme seemed to be elemental magic, but I knew very little about magic in blank.

Skye said I have all of the things I need, so I must have something that will work here.

I accessed my inventory and looked through it while trying to come up with something. I had an idea but was interrupted by a change in air pressure in the room.

Someone was here!

I focused and closed my eyes, listening for any movement. I made no sound and a second later I heard an exhale of breath behind me. I silently equipped my weapon and swung it at the noise.

"Whoah! Waaaittt!", said a mans voice and I halted my blade in mid-air.

The man was using some form of active-camoflage, for which he dispelled. His body appeared with my blade was inches from his throat.

" Who are you?", I demanded.

The man was blond and wearing a casters robe. He had a magic wand in his hand, which he held up in a defenseless posture.

"Don't hurt me! My name is Tidalus Maximus, but my friends call me Tide. We just met, but we can be friends....right..", he gulped.

I thought for a moment and removed my sword from his throat.

" Possibly. Tell me why you are here and I'll consider. "

He smiled and began to talk non-stop about his current state. He had been coming here for the past week trying to figure out this room. He had received a similar set of treasure maps but had no idea how to solve the puzzle. The runes on each pillar match up to actual spells but there was no relavance to this. He had found that the runes could be pressed and that one from each pillar would stay pressed in. Finding the right combination had proven to be impossible for him. He was at his wits end and as he told his story I began to feel sorry for him. His information was invaluable to me though so I told him we would try and figure it out together. When I asked what was inside he also had no idea what to expect, but he was dying to find out. He was 18 like me and had been desperate to play blank. He was about a month older than me, but we connected by having downloaded similar apps on the virtual private space. I was not the only one who had been training, this guy was like the spell-casting version of me. He aimed to be the greatest mage in the world, which was admirable. He had a good spirit, full of enthusiasm and drive, but he tended to talk to much.

"Hey tide, can you show me how to use a magic scroll? I think I have one that might help us solve this problem. ", I said as I pulled the detect magic scroll from my inventory.

" Do you have a soulstone? "

"Will a minor soulstone work?"

"Depends on the level of the spell, if it's level 1 or level 2 a minor soulstone should be sufficient. "

I pulled the minor soulstone from my inventory. "Ok, now what do I do?"

"So the concept of magic begins with the basic circle, which represents the gateway to the realms of magic. The lines drawn in the middle of the circle represent coordinates to a particular existence in this plane. It requires the power of a soul to activate this rune and bring magic to life. My soul is infused with the illusion element, so when I cast a basic rune it creates an illusion spell. The soul stone bridges that gap, allowing for it to substitute for soul power. The soulstone has no element until the user decides on a spell. "

"Thanks for the magic lesson but how do I use it?"

"Oh, you just touch the stone to the scroll."

I laughed and did what he said. The scroll had a rune that looked like a crooked s and it glowed brightly as I touched it with the soulstone.

Detect magic active, 5 minute duration

The stone and scroll dissapeared after I used them. The Magic took effect and I saw the room differently. Skye had said that I had all I needed, I think she meant this scroll. It stood to reason that whatever mechanism opened the doors was most likely held with magic. If that was the case there should be a magical presence near the runes I should have to push.

I gazed around and found that I was correct. Upon each of the pillars there was one rune that glowed with a blue aura. I pressed them in one at a time and was stunned at what the runes looked like, or rather what they spelled. Each of the runes depicted a capitol letter within its circle.

M-E-T-A

Meta!

As I pressed the last rune the mosiac began to open up revealing a spiral staircase leading down.