Page 78 of Dark's Savior

Before Aly could say another word, he slipped inside. Cursing, she decided it was better to wait than to follow, in case something did happen and she had to call for help.

A few excruciatingly long minutes later, Ryziel returned, waving her inside.

"No traps that I can sense, or they are no longer working." He let the door close behind her, and she was only partially comforted by the thought that it couldn't lock them in, since Ryziel had broken the door. It was a small comfort as the room had no other doors or passages to leave it by. A dead end.

"So, what now?" Aly asked, looking around and finding nothing but an empty room except for a stone block against one wall sporting a mural of some kind and a few of what looked like chain-links dangling along each wall.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Ryziel said, studying the room for himself. "But something tells me there is a hidden door or opening in here somewhere. We just have to figure how to open it."

Aly’s eyes went for the only possibility in the room: the stone block against the wall. Ryziel drew his eyes over to it as well. "Yes, that would be my guess too."

"How do we open it, though?" Aly approached it with him. The mural etched into the block was of a lady whom she was sure was Yurza again, only this time, she had two children beneath her, each holding what looked like a set of stars. Ryziel carefully placed his hands on the mural, looking over it. There didn't seem to be any hidden keyholes or levers, but Aly figured they might not hide a door the same as a human would. As Ryziel checked the mural, Aly went about studying the rest of the room. There were no markings on the walls. Unlike in the rest of the Keep, the smooth stone was curved, with no obvious cracks or crevices that could hint at the outline of some door. The floor was also covered by water, so she couldn't make anything out under her feet. She went across one side and checked one of the chain-links, cautiously pulling at it. Her eyes followed it up to the ceiling, where she saw a wide round shape like that of the moon cut into the stone. She stared up at it curiously then looked back at the chains.

"I think there’s something up on the ceiling," she said as she returned to Ryziel's side by the mural. He nodded his head, deep in thought as his hands continued to slide along the block.

"See here?" He pointed to the three stars that the two children and Yurza held in their hands. "Look." He pressed his hand against one of the stars, and the stone piece sunk into the stone block.

Aly's eyes widened. She went over to one of the other stars and pushed on it, and it too sunk into the stone. They looked at each other then over to the third star—the biggest star—being held by Yurza. Together, while keeping their hands on the other stars, they pressed on it, watching it slip back into the stone.

There was a rumble, and the ground began to shake. Ryziel immediately shot over and brought Aly against him. As he pulled her away from the stone mural and into the center of the room, the chain-links around them began to tighten, and the floor below them began to rise.

Aly gasped and clung to Ryziel as the water sank then slid and fell in a roar across the edge of the floor, which was now no more than a circular slab that the chain-links lifted up toward the ceiling. Mist from the water blew into her face, and the smell of iron hit her nose. Ryziel's arm held tight around her waist as they peered upward and saw the ceiling open up above them.

They waited until the stone slab entered through the roof then came to a shuddering halt, bringing them into a completely different chamber. Ryziel lifted her off her feet to pull her off the stone slab, which was now in line with the floor. Aly looked down at it curiously.

"Too bad they couldn't have used that method for all the damn stairs in this place," Aly remarked with a twinge of bitterness. "Pretty sure the people living here would have liked an ancient elevator to take them between floors."

Ryziel chuckled. As he set her on her feet, he motioned for her to wait again as he checked the room. Aly circled around to get a good look herself and was startled to find it so...bright.

If by bright one meant coming out of a nearly pitch-dark cavern to a place that looked like dusk with the full moon.

High above, there was a narrow opening that seemed to go on forever. The ceiling and the room in general were nothing like those others places she had seen in the Keep. Instead of stone or marble, here it seemed to be made of some translucent blue rock or perhaps even crystal. Walls that shined as if by their own power.

"How...?" Aly breathed as she tilted her head back to look through the opening. She felt Ryziel come to stand beside her, looking up at it as well.

"An ancient trick. They used reflections to cast light down all that way from the surface. It seems whatever the interior is made of absorbs that light."

"It's beautiful." Aly dropped her head to look around the rest of the chamber. Rows of arched columnways made up a web-like maze around them. Along these columns were piles of objects, from chests to suits of armor. "What is this place?"

"I think," Ryziel said, picking up what looked like shiny red and blue gems, "It's a treasury."

Aly took one gem in her hand and held it to the light. It flashed a beat of red as she rolled it in her fingers. She dropped her hand and looked around the room, now stunned. "I think you’re right."

Ryziel brushed his arm against her. "Come." He started down one columned path, and she followed.

"But how can this still be here after all this time?" Aly asked as they explored, her eyes drinking in all the shiny objects around her. "Wouldn't Coria or something have found this place and ransacked it?"

Ryziel shrugged. "Perhaps Coria or something never thought to look. And if they did, they didn't get far. The guardian likely saw to that."

Aly brows furrowed. "What guardian?"

"The one we passed outside the chamber below us," Ryziel said, searching around as if looking for something.

Aly looked up at him, alarmed. "You mean the tree?"

"Yes."

She stopped to seriously think about that for a moment then caught back up to him. "Why did it let us pass, then?"

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