I know, I know—I sounded like some mustachioed villain from a daytime TV drama about to lure the beautiful damsel into some dark corner of the tower so I could have my way with her. But that wasn't my intent, and I think Liara could sense that.
"This isn't me just being nice. I need you as much as you'll need me," I admitted.
"Why would I need you?" Liara countered.
"Because I meant it when I said I could help you jump over that wall you're stuck behind," I answered.
No, I wasn't being altruistic. The things written down in the journal required a guide that had access to places a newbie novice like me couldn't get to without arousing suspicion. It was just easier to make Liara a willing accomplice.
It took her another half-minute of contemplation, but once she finished weighing the pros and cons in her mind, the decision to become my ally showed clear in the growing curiosity alight in Liara's face.
"Alright, I'll take you down there…" Liara took my hand and shook it. "But you better not be wasting my time, Wisdom."
After we shook hands, Liara wasted no time leading me to the tiny alcove hidden behind the bar. Carved on its back wall were the same leaf-like geometric patterns of the tower's facade; two bowed trees shaped to look like… "Is this a secret door?"
My eyes widened with delight. "Please be a secret door. Please be a secret door…"
Liara pressed her 'bronze' badge against the very center of the carving, and we both heard the soft click that preceded the wall sliding backward to reveal the dark passage beyond it.
"Yey," I whispered excitedly.
Liara glanced sideways at me before rolling her eyes. "You are a weird human boy."
"That's a compliment," I replied.
Truthfully, I knew there was a hidden passage somewhere in the tower's base. It had been written down in the journal. However, I didn't know where the entrance to this passage was. Divah could be sparse with her intel at times, which made having an accomplice necessary.
Liara pulled at the golden chain around her neck and brought out the hearthstone she kept hidden underneath her leather vest. It lacked a metal sheen as mine did but there was a hint of reddish-brown mixed in with the clear crystal. Proof that Liara was well on her way to becoming a proper copper-ranked adventurer.
The sight of it made me wonder why she was in such a rut. Clearly, she was talented enough. So, it wasn't that. I doubt Liara would tell me if I asked her though. I would have to discover her secrets for myself if I wanted to make her a proper companion.
"Kenaz," Liara whispered.
Light flared out of the hearthstone and illuminated our surroundings, revealing the spiral staircase that led down into the tower's basement.
Yes, she did just call on the same 'torch rune' that I used to blow up my blood and distract Doomsday back in the Crucible. Runes had many functions. They were that versatile.
Liara and I moved down the spiral staircase that took at least a half-hour to traverse. There was another narrow corridor at the bottom that opened up into a low-ceilinged chamber reminiscent of a castle's underbelly; a series of interconnected arched stone passages that one could easily get lost in.
"Nice basement," I said. "It's sufficiently creepy…"
"Don't leave my side," Liara insisted.
"I won't," I replied.
Apart from Liara's hearthstone, what little light guided our way came from the soft glow of the light-emitting gemstones hanging at intervals along the arches. More than once, I saw locked wooden doors along our path which I likened to a series of buttons one needed to hit to execute a secret move in a classic fighting game—left, right, right, left, right, left, and a turn—and then we found ourselves standing in front of two iron doors covered in protective runes.
I whistled appreciatively. "Not every day you see the 'Aegishjalmur' displayed like this..."
The aptly named 'Helm of Awe'—a realmsverse symbol of protection in the form of a circle with eight tridents emanating from its center—dominated the surface of these iron double doors.
"This might be a challenge to unlock," I deduced.
Liara's eyebrow twitched upward. "You think you can bypass an aegishjalmur?"
"I've picked up a lot of interesting tricks in my time with Divah." Once again, I patted the journal strapped to my belt. I was about to pull it out and read through one of those 'tricks' Divah taught me, but Liara got in my way.
"As much as I would love to see you try and fail"—Liara grabbed my wrist just as I was about to place my right hand on the door—"I'd rather no one found out we were here without permission... Besides, there's an easier way to get into the chamber beyond."
She pulled out her badge again and then pressed it to the door.
"You have administrator privileges?" I guessed.
"I'm one of the tower's peer counselors," Liara answered.
"So, you don't just act as a guide, you literally provide guidance?" My brow furrowed. By the All-Father, did I just luck on the first sap—person—I chose as my accomplice?
Liara was too busy whispering the magic words needed to unlock the arcane security system blocking our path forward to answer. Once she finished her chant, the glowing wards receded into the iron similar to how a puddle of water was absorbed into the sand. Then the doors swung inward to reveal the chamber beyond.
"Thank the gods I met you early on," I whispered.
The chamber we stepped into was like being transported back to that garden that dominated the center of campus as it was also a place of verdant grass and healthy flower shrubs. The sky above—yes, the ceiling was an actual magical sky—wasn't like the starry sky of Yggdrasil but an aurora of blue and green and yellow hues. This seemingly optical illusion reflected the light of a single small pool at the very center of this secret garden. It was a pool that glowed with an inner light. Here was one of the hidden sources of power peppered across the realmsverse, one that constantly released magical energy into the ether.
Liara noticed the wide-eyed look on my face and asked, "Is this the first time you've seen a fairy well?"
"No," I replied.
"Well, I've brought you here like you asked..." Liara crossed her arms over her chest. "So, what now?"
An impish grin on my face when I replied, "Now, we both get to reap the rewards..."