It was finally time. They traveled to
Mandala as fast as they could, and when they reached the city, they found it in
an uproar. The people were panicking; the mighty cone of Mount Hellena
Bas-Crysalli, which had been quiet and smokeless for decades, was showing signs
of dramatic activity! Pyre did her best to calm the populace, but her nerves
were just as keyed. Was this Acheron’s scheme? Ignite the volcano and bury
Mandala in lava? Clara felt this didn’t make sense, but Pyre was done with
talking. They had to head to Mount Bas-Crysalli immediately!
The enormous mountain was indeed smoking
dangerously as they approached. Seles half-expected Clara to express fear over
their coming task, but obtaining magic had done wonders for the girl’s sense of
confidence. She approached Hellena Bas-Crysalli without fear.
They saw immediately why they couldn’t have
attempted this rescue mission without the help of the elements. Mount Hellena
Bas-Crysalli was a miniature world unto itself, covered with the cracked and
disjointed heights of old lava banks and the huge, deep gouges of old lava
flows. Everywhere huge boulders blocked the way, and treacherous igneous rock
formations made walking even more difficult. Trying to climb the mountain on
foot would have taken weeks.
At last Seles summoned Faience to him. The
great earth spirit had recovered power during her rest, and using that power,
she created a long, smooth tunnel straight up the mountain, as close to the
center as she dared place it without disturbing the volcano’s building
pressure. They ran up the path; Faience warned them to summon Rogalian before
going further and then disappeared, once again drained. Seles did so, and
Rogalian wrapped them all in a shield impenetrable by heat, although he warned
them that this protection wasn’t strong enough to stand up to magma and
entreated them to be careful.
As ready as they’d ever be, Seles, Clara,
Niay, and Pyre ran into the heart of Mount Hellena Bas-Crysalli.
No comments:
Post a Comment