A mild storm drenched their surroundings as the group huddled beneath an invisible roof that Fellaroth had conjured to keep them dry. A fire had been lit, and hunted meat was slowly roasting, while Jackson told stories about their adventures that had the group in stitches. Off in the distance, atop a small mountain, stood a single castle, isolated from the world and completely untouched by living beings. This moderately sized fortress had several roofed towers, a handful of courtyards, and even a couple of rooftop gardens.
The sun started setting behind them, casting delicate hues of red and yellow onto the castle's façade, enticing Fellaroth to steal the occasional glance at the place he had once, so very long ago, called home.
"…and then Calvin bursts through the door with his sword raised above his head, ready to kill anything in sight, only to find Riegert and I, knee-deep in dead slimes. Never seen anyone shut a door that quickly in my life!" Jackson's animated storytelling had himself and the others in tears when he turned his attention to Fellaroth. "It's quite alright Fell; I can promise you that it won't go anywhere by morning."
"What's that now?" hearing his name mentioned snapped Fellaroth back to reality and left him slightly embarrassed when he realised that he had been zoned out for quite a while.
"The fortress Fell, I can assure you that it will still be there come morning. Wow, you really are keen on that place, aren't you?"
"I'm sorry Jackson, I've thought about that place for a long time now. The thought of it being so close is a little unreal to me."
"I suppose I can understand that, on some level at least. I mean we all have our own goals that we want to achieve, and when that moment finally arrives, and you can almost taste your success, it is a little hard to focus on much else." Said Riegert, now also looking toward the ancient fortress.
Morning had arrived before Fellaroth realised, and now in the light of a new day, he stood in the still wet grass, at the edge of a small forest where they had camped the night before, with his goal of walking in his own castle once again within his reach. He shaded his eyes and stared at the many rooves and gardens of the castle before him and remembered memories that had long since faded from his mind. 'I truly did lead an incredible life. I founded the first human empire and brought peace to its many warring tribes. I travelled this world a few times over, creating beautiful fortresses like this one that functioned as waypoints and gates for my travels. I created new and interesting magics, some of which have been forgotten of course, but they were still my achievements. I can't believe I grew complacent as a God and stopped checking in on this world, perhaps I truly wasn't meant to be a God?'
"You ready to head out, Fell?" Riegert's words were almost completely obscured by the hissing of the dying fire as he poured water over it, causing a cloud of smoke and ash to waft into the air.
"Of course, he is! I doubt he took his eyes off of that place for more than thirty seconds last night." Said Jackson, walking up behind Fellaroth and patting him on the shoulder.
"Well, there's nothing else for it, we might as well head out!" added Calvin, throwing his haversack over his shoulder.
With every passing step bringing the growing castle closer, Jackson and the others soon found that their anticipation and excitement was starting to mount, much like Fellaroth, who at this point had started smiling broadly. Standing at the foot of the small mountain, which had around it a small forest, the group saw a winding path that cut through the forest and made its way up to the castle.
"Does no one else find it strange that no one has come near this place in Gods knows how long and yet that path is still pristine? I mean not a single tree or even shrub has encroached on that path." Asked Riegert.
"Well, assuming he was even half the mage that Fell makes him out to be, he has to have used some form of magic to maintain this path and the castle."
"Actually Calvin, it's a little more impressive than that… according to the books that I have read, this entire castle is literally made from magic!" interjected Fellaroth, revelling in his own genius.
"No, that couldn't be possible. I mean, who would have had the mana reserves to cast a spell on this scale? The magnitude of mana required to conjure something of this size would surely kill a human caster?"
"But that's the genius of it, this castle was conjured on a mountain that is rich with byzanthianite, which as you may know, is a crystalline ore that attracts and stores magical energy. By channelling the magical energy that naturally occurs here, I… HE… was able to not only cast a spell large enough to construct this entire castle but was also able to ensure that it would continue to maintain itself indefinitely!"
"Great, which also means that all of the traps will also be in perfect working order, we best keep our wits about us." Remarked Riegert, who has in his time fallen prey to more traps than he would care to admit.
"You have nothing to worry about Riegert, I will be able to detect any traps before any of us walks into them!" said Fellaroth with the castle's great gate coming into view. Getting closer, the group found that this great 'Lonely Bastion' turned out to be more of a picturesque château than a fortress of any kind. Its so-called great gate turned out to be little more than an enormous ornately carved archway that didn't prevent anyone from entering the castle grounds. The castle's welcoming veneer was quickly lifted as they drew closer and discovered a dead dear just past the archway that granted entry to the castle grounds.
"I'm no expert on the matter, but something about this situation is giving me cause to believe that this entrance might be, and bear with me on this one… a trap!" said Calvin, pointing to the dear that had been sliced in two, more theatrically than was necessary.
"No offence Fell, I know you're named after this guy and that you have a great deal of respect for him, but this guy was clearly deranged! I mean who in their right mind builds an entryway as inviting as this one, with nothing at all that would prevent innocent people from simply wandering through it, and then make it into an immediate death trap! I mean we haven't even crossed the threshold of the castle grounds yet, and already it wants to kill us!"
"I have to admit that this was overkill! Why don't we test it and see what happens?" Said Fellaroth, who had at this point long since forgotten that he had even created such a trap, or in fact the reason why he might have created such a thing to begin with. He then picked up a stone and tossed it through the open archway. Seconds later the stone landed in two pieces on the other side of the archway, leaving the group utterly dumbfounded.
"Did anyone else see that, or was it just me?" asked Riegert, still staring at the stone.
"I can scarcely believe it myself. It happened so fast that I'm not entirely sure that I actually saw what I think I saw!" stammered Calvin.
"Well, I saw an enormous blade fill this archway in a fraction of a second and then disappear just as quickly. It was like a guillotine from a horror story!" said Jackson.
"Then it wasn't just me!" remarked the other two in unison.
"Are we sure we still want to do this? I mean it's not too late to turn back, is it?" asked Calvin, after witnessing that terrifying display.
"Since when are you so scared of an adventure?" asked Riegert.
"Since the adventure is clearly a suicide mission! We haven't even passed the entry point yet and we have already found our first dead body. That should be reason enough for us to leave!"
"That dead body is a dear Calvin, it's not like it was an adventurer lying there."
"Yes Riegert, but if it weren't for that dear, one of us could be lying there right now. There was no sign or even a hint that this archway could have been a trap! And just to reiterate, we haven't even made it onto the castle grounds yet!"
"Don't you go worrying about all this Calvin? We're just going to need to take it slow and I'm certain that I can get all of us through this place in one piece!"
"Care to prove it?" asked Calvin, gesturing with both hands for Fellaroth to lead the way.
"Very well then, you may follow me!" said Fellaroth. Walking through the archway without fear. Calvin and the others held their breath and looked away as they heard the giant blade slam down. After a moment's hesitation, they finally looked toward the archway, only to see Fellaroth standing unharmed on the other side. Looking up, Riegert saw that Fellaroth had conjured a barrier that was actively holding up the blade. "It's perfectly safe, I can assure you of that!" said Fellaroth, prompting Riegert and Jackson to quickly dart across the opening, leaving Calvin still staring at the massive blade. "That barrier won't last forever Calvin, it's now or never!"
"That's not fair Fell, you know how much I dislike this place!" said Calvin, as he too dashed across the opening.
"It's also not true by the way. As long as we are here, that barrier will last forever! I'm tapping into the magic that is stored in the byzanthianite, just like Fellaroth had done all those years ago."
"You know how to do that?" Calvin could do little to hide his admiration for Fellaroth upon hearing that he was able to channel the mana that surrounded them.
"Well yes, I can feel the flow of the mana in the air and ground around me, it's just a matter of allowing that mana to flow into me and then channel it out through a spell."
"You speak as though it were so easy, but you're talking about some of the highest tear magic in existence. If every mage could channel the mana that surrounded them into their magic, then we would never bother to measure a caster's mana reserves!"
"And you speak as though you know exactly what you are talking about. Are you sure you're not a mage?"
"I'm not, I just had a deep interest in magic, that's all. Call it a fool's interest."
"There's nothing foolish about wanting to understand one of the driving forces of this world Calvin."
"There is when you have no talent for its use, nor any mana reserves to speak of."
"I suppose, it's better to have a good understanding of something and not be able to use it than it is to be able to use a thing and have no understanding of it."
"Spoken like a true mage!"
"I'm sorry Calvin, it was never my intention to…"
"It's quite alright Fell; I came to terms with my lack of magical ability a long time ago. Now why don't we head inside this castle and see what other imaginative ways Master Fellaroth thought of to kill people!"