*Thik thik thik* the sound of the nail being hit by a hammer sounded in the tunnel, beneath it a gapping hole that one could not see the end of.
The nail was tested so it wont come loose. The rope was then tightly fixated on both themselves and the nail to keep them from falling.
They made themselves ready and started their downard climb, being careful to not slip on the rocks nor to lose balance they went until he bottom.
There they left behind their ropes and climbing equipment, all they could think about right now was that weird dwarven altar that was close by.
'Just three rights and one left, then it should be there...' thought Ralph when looking at his map.
When they could see the entrance tothe cave cointaining both the lava lake and the altar, everything went dark, and before them was a warning.
-- Here lies the devil's friend, Bhurk Avingad, the warlock that tried to summon the demons from the fire realm, be warned to not disturb this site and let loose this evil on the world.--
Thus said the warning and so the illusion ended and was once again before their eyes the room with the lava pool and the altar.
"Hmmm do you believe in this? I dont see no demons... also there is only a statue inside, the guy should be dead, maybe he had some teasures?" said Ralph with greedy eyes, wanting to find treasure and new interesting things.
"We should try and see, but it is better to be ready for a quick fight in case there is something in the lava lake, also we dont know of the traps inside, this is where we should use other means to look inside that room, lets try the energy detector, the infrared scan and also the deformity wave detector to check for concealment." said Noah with a serious and thoughtful expression.
"Always such a perfecionist, not that it is bad in this situation... but having Mr. Perfect around really sours the mood of this exploration... can you please bring back my friend the Mr. Prankster or the Mr. Adventurer so we can enjoy this more?" said Ralph rolling his eyes at how serious he became everytime he encountered a problem... Even if right now was the right attitude to be careful and meticulous he couldnt help but find not taking any risks boring just like lessons from his teachers.
Not even noticing the annoyance in his friend's face he proceeded to take out the equipment and use it to find that not only there were traps inside, but also the energy level of the altar was quite high, it could not even tell what type or source it was, so naturally he assumed it was magic.
Knowing where the traps were he proceeded to try and cast earth magic where he detected the wave distortions, only to find out that his magic would not work inside this cave...
"Can you cast anything? My mana doesnt work as it should..." said Noah with a frown trying to figure out how to solve this.
"You are right! We cant use magic inside, this is quite the find, the treasure should be a good one, Im sure." said Ralph rubbing his hands while looking around to find a chest or hidden door where the loot might be.
"Just do this the old way, throw some stones on it and see how it goes..." (Ralph)
Coming back with stones Noah proceeded to throw them at every spot he found that was suspicious to see if the traps would trigger. And lo and behold, it actually triggered not only traps but the cave itself started to get hotter and hotter, while the entranced closed at the same time....
+++++
'So long have I been here, so long have they betrayed and sealed me... I hope my brother took care of my wife and children... its the least that guy owes me for all the times i got in trouble because of him. But atleast its not that bad having some time on my hands, i got to discover so many things after this isolation... if only i had someone to share it with...'
For many years Bhurk stood alone in his cave, in the dark of stone and with only being able to feel mana and the connection with the Origin of all things that gave magic to the world, knowing that even thought he had such profound knowledge and couldnt share it with his family and friends was the biggest regret he had in his heart.
'Even if i came back i think the kids wouldnt even know me, nor would my wife forgive me for leaving her to go in search of more power and knowledge.... atleast with me disapearing it means those bastards shouldnt do anything to them, would be too much of a hassle for them to deal with my wife's family, and im already gone so they have no reason to try anything...' and so went his thoughts for the last 15 years, thinking on magic, breathing magic and feeling magic, even with all this knowledge he couldnt get out after countless attempts, giving up is normal after so much failure, one can only live with so much disapointment, but not being able to even end his own life for respite led him to use his apparently endless time to learn magic, the only thing that kept him from going insane in his boredom and loneliness.
One day he was mindlessly going deeper into the Origin and was interrupted by a presence, something that he still could not believe... something actually was close to him in the physical world!
+++++
"Oh this is bad, very bad, Mr. Perfect take the wheel and get us out of here!" said Ralph while trying to think of a way out, he would always joke more the worse his mood was, its a coping mechanism even himself was aware of, but he still liked that about himself.
"We should try the altar, its the only thing that could do something right now, the equipment shows that all other disturbances are gone, only the altar has energy..." said Noah eith grimace.
And so both went and tried in all ways they could to interact with the dwarven statue, touching it and pushing it didnt do the trick, only when they went and injected mana unto it did something happen.
They found themselves again on a black space floating around, the only difference this time was that there was a dwarf, a shocked dwarf that was looking at them with shinning eyes filled with hope.
"You... Who are you both? How you found this place? Does that mean i can finnaly get out?!" said the dwarf with a voice full of emotion.
"Wait... where are we, who are you? and what you mean with 'getting out' ?" said Ralph overwhelmed with the fact that a dwarven ghost was talking back, not only it was their first time seeing another race, but it was on a dangerous situation and it was a ghost to make it worse...
"Uhhh... Mr. Dwarf, can we please wait to talk after you help us not die? We are going to be cooked in just a minute if you dont help us..." (Noah)
Being overly excited at the prospect of leaving this place and finding his family he quickly forgot that the situation in the physical world should be filled with traps by those that sealed him. Not wanting to see his last chance at freedom being lost he quickly scanned the room and started to lower the temperature inside, while at the same time seeing that the same restriction that sealed him was now gone on the room.
And thus they were expelled from that black space and came to find themselves sitting in the room before a dwarf that had tears in his eyes and a cooling aura that would flow out of him.
"Thank you... Thank so much... I dont quite know how long have i been stuck in this place, but i have a debt with you both, may i know how can i repay it?" said the dwarf looking at them
"Ohh! I know how, you have treasure hidden here right? Could we have it? that would be a good payment!!" said Ralph with his eyes shinning at the prospect of treasure.
"Im afraid there are no treasures left in this place, all of it was most likely taken when i was sealed, but i can teach you both magic, its the most precious thing i have at the moment..." said the dwarf while rubbing his cheek for the first time in 15 years.
"Magic? It would be the best repayment." said Noah enthusiasticlly, knowing how limited both him and his people's knowledge of magic should be, afterall they had only a couple of years of being able to use magic, while the native races should have long traditions and profound knowledge on the subject.
"Very well... but first let me introduce my self... I am Bhurk Avingad, the third mage of the Hammer Council of Thelaburg, you may not know about my situation, but i have been freed from being sealed for atleast 15 long years, i shall teach you both until you both can be atleast be considered mages worthy of the Council." said a determined Bhurk with renewed hope.
"My name is Noah, this is Ralph, what kind of magic can you teach?" said an impatient and expecting Noah.
"Well, first off i can teach what is mana and where it comes from, and what is the nature of magic, i guarantee you that none in this world know as much as i know this." said the proud Dwarf.