52 Missing

Markos pushed to standing coated in a layer of grim. He let out a low whistle as he looked over the large serpent. Caelyn was likewise covered in blood, sweat and dust on top of the beast, working his sword free. "What a mess," Caelyn tsked, flinging viscous crimson fluid from his blade. "Did it bite you?"

"No. Its venom burned me a bit." Markos searched the room with his addled senses, Caelyn's soul burned brightly before him but Iliana's intense presence was absent. He looked around the chamber hoping to see her emerge from where she'd been hiding during the confrontation. A chill ran over his spine. Iliana had squared off in the face of the aphotic, she wasn't the type to cower while they did all the fighting. Why couldn't he feel her presence? "Is she shielded right now?"

"It's all made of maraium but even still we should still... sense one another." Caelyn hopped down, his browed furrowed in worry as he looked towards the alcove. "Iliana?"

When no answer came, Caelyn's eyes blazed a bright blue as he intoned something under his breath. Markos didn't understand what was being said but he felt the pull of his friend's intention as the lines of Caelyn's exposed tattoos glowed red in response. Whatever impact the maraium ink in his skin had in suppressing Caelyn's power, Markos wasn't able to tell but the surge of heat that licked against his skin as a wave of power washed over him indicated it wasn't enough. Caelyn turned his head, frowned and hurried towards the alcove. "That doesn't make sense. Over here, help me."

Markos nodded, following with his sticky sword out as they ran. Caelyn slid to a stop, his boots still slick from the viper, in front of the open chamber. It was generous to call it a chamber, it felt more like a small closet carved in solid maraium but it was empty. His eyes widened as Caelyn swung around to check the backside of the statue.

Markos inspected the alcove, sheathing his sword before pressing his hands against the walls and ceiling. "There has to be a door or another trigger point." He remarked as he searched. There was nothing that indicated that Iliana was ever there. He couldn't feel her presence lingering in the air, the scent of her soap was absent. He only caught whiffs of fresh death and stale air.

A loud thump of Caelyn's frustration outside didn't ease Markos's panic. She was gone. How had she been spirited away? They'd been distracted. Had someone sent that creature after them? Markos's chest felt tight, with a crushing sense of dread. "Who summoned us here?"

Caelyn reappeared at the doorway, his expression fraught. "The Fleur had a report from the Whisperers that there was elf movement into this temple." He frowned. "It's normal to get orders that vague. We're meant to find the deeper truth or what's happening."

"We sensed the elves on the other side of the temple when we got here but... do you feel them now?" Markos traced a symbol carved into the stone idly.

Caelyn paused and turned his head. "No." He paused. "It's all weird here. Magic is bouncing from everything but there's no single source. I only sense you." He closed his eyes for a moment, his lips thinning into a tight line of concentration. "Wait. There was that pulse of the Word we sensed earlier deeper inside this... thing."

Markos traced the carvings more deliberately with his fingertips, feeling deep spiraling grooves. "I think it's coming from this." He pointed to the carving. Caelyn squeezed in beside him, squinting down at glyphs as he tried to make sense of what they were.

Realization dawned in Caelyn's eyes. "This is like the symbol on the door. Two spheres perched on the points of an uneven triangle. It reminds me of a glyph of a person holding a sphere." He rubbed his temples in frustration. "It's... uh..." His eyes lit up. "It's the symbol of the first children! This represents them directly." He tapped the symbol beside it. "This elaborate spiral is the Word."

"If this was on the temple doors, maybe we need to infuse it with our breath to open another door." Markos proposed, remembering Iliana transferring her energy into the doors to grant them access earlier. "Maybe we can't sense her because she's been taken deeper into the temple while we were occupied with that snake?"

Caelyn's voice was strained, his hand shook with contained rage. "Then we didn't sense the beast earlier because it entered through another door above us." He ran his hand over his hair, not caring about the muck spreading further. He placed his right hand on the symbols opposite of Markos's hand on the left. "I don't like it but let's open this thing up and get our girl back. On three, push your breath into your hand touching the wall."

Markos was fearful for what might have taken Iliana while distracting them. If it had entered from somewhere else, it might mean that something directed it. It might have meant that someone lured them here under false pretenses. If Caelyn and Iliana were seen as trouble makers, maybe this had been a ploy to draw them out or maybe kill them. He placed his hand on the glyph and quickly prayed that it wasn't too late. "Ready."

"3. 2. 1." The air hummed as the carvings on the wall filled with blue light as it spread out from the templars in a brilliant burst.

Blinking as their vision cleared, the men stared upward at the largest piece of heartstone they had ever seen, suspended below the ceiling of a cavern that's height was reminded him of something fitting a giant to worship their gods. Soft blue emanations of the giant gemstone cast the chamber in an eerie light that penetrated all shadows save one.

A gigantic figure was curled below the stone, its scales gleamed light opalescent in shifting shades of the rainbow as their gaze moved over its form. Feathery white wings curled around the being like a blanket as it slumbered upon a dias of elaborately carved onyx stone and encrusted with red gems. A broad head more like a lizard than a snake rested on a long neck, touching its tail. Its even, noisy breathing filled the space around them with a rumbling gust of wind.

"Dragon," Markos whispered, his eyes wide. It dawned on Markos that the reason why this temple had been so large might have been to allow the dragons to walk through it. There were no records of how big the First children were. If this temple was dedicated to the First children, just how big were they? "It's a ruddy dragon."

"The scrolls talked about the First binding dragons to their service and using them to control the demons." Caelyn swallowed as he moved closer to Markos, lowering his voice. "Never heard of one with feathers. I don't think this is the demon dragon we're looking for." His jaw tightened.

Markos opened and shut his mouth, shaking his head. "Where is she?" Something tugged on Markos's senses, pulling his attention from the dragon in the center of the chamber to something behind them. He turned, tapping Caelyn on the shoulder as they quietly followed the sensation.

They walked for a few minutes, not leaving the glow of the stone. A ruined grey stone structure jutted out from the maraium walls. An elaborate carving of the a yawning mouth of a stone beast that reminded Markos of a monstrous cross between a dire wolf and a grizzly bear. The passage was large enough for the men to walk side by side, extended over a doorway. To see where it led, they'd have to enter the creature's mouth.

Markos looked to Caelyn uncertain of what it was. Caelyn examined the carving for a minute before shrugging. "I feel it coming from inside there. She's nearby."

Markos frowned. "It's like being swallowed again." Caelyn patted him on the shoulder as they walked together through the entry way into a familiar warmth, greeted by the scent of burning oak and pine.

In the center of the small room was a campfire with a pot of boiling liquid resting on a spit above it. A large bedroll was off to the left of the fire. The camp felt freshly made but there was no one here but them. Other sides of activity were a blanket pulled over a lumpy object near the bedroll. Markos stepped closer to the fire to examine what was cooking. It didn't make sense to Markos. They had left their gear with the horses in the temple. Iliana didn't have any gear so who did this camp belong to? They couldn't sense the others but what did that mean?

Caelyn checked the room for where Iliana might be hiding. His hands pressed against the smooth grey walls, hoping for another hidden compartment. "Iliana?" Caelyn called. His voice didn't echo and they could no longer hear the snoring of the dragon. "I feel you but I can't see you," he worriedly commented into the wall.