Shadow Forms

Dem padded softly into a large rectangular room. A sudden woosh of air followed by a bitter, acrid smell and a flash of light from above drew his eyes upward. A dozen brass lanterns, hanging from fine linked chains, hung down a meter from the vaulted ceiling; they lit consecutively, giving light to the darkness.

The floors, ceilings, and walls were dark as night but lacked the shine of obsidian; Dem guessed it was some variant of granite. A large circle was carved into the center of the room; its measurement was oddly familiar. Reflections cast on the floor caused Dem to pause as his sharp eyes began to pick out hundreds of gold-embossed etchings.

After studying the images for a moment, he understood. "It's a training diagram." Starting near the entrance, the images weaved back and forth like a giant snake, tracing a large circle that slowly shrank until it ended on a single picture in the exact center.

The familiar sight he noted earlier was on the floor beneath the ceiling: a circle carved into the granite. "Ten meters across, just like the Sybasi circle," Dem said as he studied the rest of the room. The walls were lined from floor to ceiling with shelves. Two large weapon racks were on the far side of the room, near brass etching that covered the entire wall. 

A closer examination of the wall shelves revealed them to be stocked with old texts and parchments. However, there was a singular display case where an odd-looking armor was stored on a wooden mannequin. "Looks like it's falling apart." The armor was charcoal gray, like smoke from a green wood fire; its gossamer texture was thin enough to see through. 

Dem examined the lock on the display case before checking the weapon racks for anything useful. "No dust or rust; it's like they were just placed there." 

A black wooden box barely the size of his hand grabbed his attention. It was kept shut by a simple hook clasp. Dem opened the box, smiling, when he saw four brass rings engraved with various leaf designs. "Kinda nice; I'll give one to Ai." 

Dem slipped one of the rings on and immediately stumbled backward. "This..." An image of an empty but spacious compartment formed in his mind. "I know what this is..."

Back when Dem was still roaming the streets of Thaigmaal, he had watched from the shadows of a nearby building as one of the Tempre Mage Warriors reinforced the barrier that kept the city's temperature relatively comfortable during the day. While setting up, he produced several large items, seemingly out of thin air. Later in the tavern, he had heard a merchant discussing it; the powerful or wealthy had access to rings that could store items. The merchant said they were ungodly expensive and, once commissioned, would become family legacy items to be passed down through generations. 

As a former street rat, the potential uses of something like this would have been endless. "How does it work?"

Dem grabbed one of the spears from the weapon rack and held it in one hand. He tapped it gently against the ring, but nothing happened. "How do I get it to go in?" 

The spear instantly disappeared from his hand. The gears in his sharp mind started turning. The storage space image in his head now contained a spear. "I wanted to store it and was able to. AHHH...."

A sudden burning sensation in his hand caused Dem to wince. The brass ring he wore glowed brightly, burning into his flesh like a red-hot branding iron. His attempt to remove the ring was pointless; he could do nothing but watch as the pain shot up his arm to the rest of his body, causing him to kneel on the floor. 

"Is it trapped?" Instinctively, Dem grabbed his dagger; better to lose the finger than fall prey to an insidious magic he didn't understand. 

Just as he decided to remove his index finger, the pain stopped. "It disappeared?" The ring he had been wearing was no longer on his hand. "But then, why do I feel it?"

Dem ran his fingers over his ringed hand. He could feel that the ring was there but was no longer visible. A quick tug showed that he was still unable to take it off. "How is this a legacy item if it's stuck on my finger?"

Of the possibilities rushing through Dem's mind, the most likely was that the magic in the ring created a bond with the wearer and could only be moved upon death. "I suppose that would make sense. Let's see if it still works."

Dem willed the spear to appear; his face broke into a wide smile when it did. He stored and summoned it several times before being satisfied that he could easily take out whatever he could put in the ring. 

"Obviously, this is all mine." Dem walked down the length of the weapon rack, placing everything inside. "I wonder how much the ring holds." 

Dem's laugh echoed in the stone room as he emptied the room. He had taken every item that could be picked up. "Nothing else here; time to leave."

Dem suddenly sensed a presence when he stepped toward the double doors leading to the bridge outside. Leaping backward with both daggers drawn, he spotted a figure within the Sybasi circle. 

The shadow stood motionless, standing in a familiar position with smoke-like daggers held in either hand. Dem circled the figure with his blades ready; however, it was unresponsive to his movement. 

"It's some derivative of the Advanced Neutral position." Dem waved his hands in front of the image; it remained still until the young street rat inadvertently touched the shadow.

The shadowy figure stepped to one side and crossed its daggers in a blocking pattern. 

Dem waited several seconds, but once again, the shadow stood motionlessly. "It moved when I touched it." He passed a hand through the shadow, and it moved, resuming its original Advanced Neutral position. 

A few trials showed Dem the pattern. The shadow would execute the blocking move when you touched it and then resume its original position if touched again. 

"It's an instructor," Dem decided. "But why does it only show one move?" 

Frustrated with his lack of progress, Dem left the shadow instructor and circled the room, looking for anything else he could take. "Looks like I've taken everything. I guess I should get back."

Dem stopped one last time to study the shadow; there was something... His eyes glowed slightly as his enhanced vision pulled the details sharper into focus. 

"There is a texture hidden in the shadows. Almost like a web or gossamer." Dem accessed his ring and pulled out the armor case where he had seen the same pattern. 

After opening the case and removing the mannequin, he touched it gently, sure it would fall apart at the slightest brush of his fingers. The armor disappeared in a puff of gray smoke that immediately enveloped Dem. The cloud hovered and spun around him for several seconds as he swiped and tried to escape the odd phenomenon. Suddenly, it sunk into his skin, chilling him to the bone as his vision blurred and he felt himself collapse to the floor. 

The sound of coughing woke up and caused Dem's consciousness to stir; he turned on his side and spit out blood since the hacking noises were coming from him. Nothing had changed in the room; the shadow figure was in its original spot, while his sudden collapse knocked the armor case down. 

"Time to go," Dem decided to return to his group and walked casually toward the door. The moment he stepped back into the circle, everything changed.

His body flew towards the shadow instructor and assumed a position that superimposed its presence onto the figure. Dem started to move, unable to stop himself, grimacing while trying to control his fear. Slowly, he progressed through the odd Sybasi form. 

The form progressed through several movements before changing to a second form; this pattern continued as Dem began to study the steps. After the third form, it sped up and began repeating. Unable to speak or move, Dem let go of his fear and threw his mental focus into the circle.

The pattern continued before stopping at three rotations. It was then Dem's body assumed an Advanced Advantage position and began a new set of forms. 

Dem lost himself in the movements as time dragged on, and the different forms continued to present themselves until, finally, he was released after what had to be several hours. He collapsed onto the floor, exhausted beyond anything he'd ever experienced. 

The sound of labored breath was loud in the tomb as the street rat turned onto his back, staring at the ceiling. "I... I remember everything. How is this possible?" Dem glanced toward the shadowy instructor; it had disappeared entirely. In its place hovered two daggers that were steeped in shadow. 

Dem whistled softly. Despite his misgivings, he approached the weapons. "These are mine," he gripped the hilts momentarily, feeling the warm textured handle before both weapons disappeared in a cloud of smoke. "What? NO!" 

************

Ai squinted at the door that had just closed. Immediately, she turned toward Yanz, who was running to get Huntmaster Dern. "Never mind, he's already out!" 

Telo breathed a sigh of relief. Dem had only been inside for a few seconds; perhaps the inside had collapsed. 

Dem strolled casually across the bridge where his friends were waiting. He must have been gone several hours; why were they still here? The sound of horses caused his eyes to turn east, where a group of riders were approaching. "Captain Rubai and his hunters," Dem swore under his breath.