| 250 Restoration of the Tellandra Injured but alive you stagger to your feet and survey the treasure vault. With the Dragon Windhammer's demise the light in the cavern has dimmed and only a dull red glow from flowing lava and molten metal illuminates the destroyed interior. To your left, the vast but lifeless body of the great Dragon lies silent. All about you the ground is broken and scarred, great flows of molten rock and metal slip noisily through rifts in the floor, and cascade like fiery waterfalls down into the depths far below. To the extreme right of the vault, standing on a stepped platform is the fractured remains of the Tellandra. As you move forward towards the pillar your injuries begin to take their toll. The rigours of the quest, the many combats you have endured, and the confrontation with Windhammer have all left a mark that will take many weeks to heal. It is your chest that provides the most concern. It feels as if ribs have been broken and the pain of these fractures grows with every step you take. Stepping as carefully as you are able you half walk, half limp towards the Tellandra. Clouds of pain are beginning to numb your senses, and it is not until you are within a stones throw of the platform that you realise a fast flowing river of lava will forever separate you from your goal. Through a massive crack in the wall of the vault, a waterfall of molten rock spews down into a deep pool and then flows along a series of wide ditches. These ditches cross the floor so as to block any access to the platform upon which the pillar stands. With every step you take towards this barrier the heat intensifies. You can get no closer. Standing there amongst the destruction, the pain and the shimmering heat you cannot accept that you are this close to both success and failure. For some time you consider your plight. You cannot go back. You cannot go forward. All seems doomed to failure. It is when your thoughts begin to deepen towards despair that you notice the words carved into the uppermost step of the platform. "Naman Tor VarShem Toluth". As you read the words you mouth them to yourself. Something hidden deep amongst your memories recognises the words. Through the pain and the heat you realise you have your answer. Leaning against a pile of upright stone you raise your hands and intone as loud as you can these words of power. "Naman Tor VarShem Toluth!" Instantly the vault is silent. Time stops, lava freezes in mid-flow, heat disappears and you are paralyzed; a great power holding you immovable. From your feet you feel a slight vibration. You cannot look to see what is happening, your eyes are fixed directly upon the Tellandra but you can feel power, a vast power ready for release. With your eyes focused on the pillar you are witness to something miraculous. As if by some unseen hand the broken shards of the pillar begin to lift from the platform and affix themselves, one by one, to the main column of the Tellandra. With each pieces return to the whole an aura of rainbow light grows, pulsing with increasing intensity. From deep blue, to red, and then shining incandescent white, the aura brightens and then explodes outwards like a new sun, blasting light throughout the cavern, illuminating every corner of the vast treasure vault. Without warning the paralyzing hold of the magic disappears and you fall to the floor limp and fatigued. Around you the magic changes. The Tellandra is now whole, a bright fountain of light surrounds it and a shaft of swirling white magic extends upwards into the vaulted roof above. Like some invisible giant playing in clay, the great rifts in the walls of the cavern close up, the many cracks made by the great serpent heal and disappear. Within minutes the magnificence of the Deep Vault is restored. Trying to raise yourself from the floor is difficult. Using your axe for support, you stagger to your feet and wonder at the transformation that has occurred about you. The Dragon's body has gone, the great lava flows have faded away, and the cavern has been swept clean of all debris and treasure. It is as if all is again brand new. Faintly, at the edge of your hearing, you sense a great tumult being played out in the many corridors and halls of the fortress. All is quiet here, but you can feel the magic scouring the passages, removing any trace of the Horde's presence. As you turn about and survey the scene the only thing that is unchanged is the Tellandra. Upon its platform the pillar is resplendant in white, glowing with magical radiance. You feel a great power before you, waiting and watching. Not knowing whether there is anything further to be done you take a moment to check yourself over and find that you are as badly injured as you feel. Then with the voice of a thousand ages the Tellandra speaks. "Halokim". The voice is loud but kindly. "By right of conquest the Tellandra has been restored to the Dwarvendim. Because of you the gates of Maenum will hold. Because of you this great fortress will be scoured clean of the corruption of the Horde. Because of you Magic and Lore has been fully restored to your people. For all this you must be rewarded. Name it." You are at a loss. Not fully understanding all that has taken place about you, it is difficult to think of anything at all. Then you feel the collar at your throat. "Can you remove this accursed collar?" "As you command so shall it be." The Tellandra brightens slightly and the metal collar evaporates as if it were smoke. "Halokim Vesh, no man has done what you have and asked so little in return. To honour the success of your quest the Grand Circle of LoreMasters have asked that the following be artificed." Again the Tellandra brightens and fades. Nothing seems to have changed but you search the room and see the most extraordinary sight. Across the eastern wall of the cavern a vast sculpture has been wrought. Set into the solid stone is a 20 metre high, 100 metre long carving of yourself in desperate combat with the great serpent. The magic of the Tellandra has captured in the living rock the moment when Windhammer is mortally wounded. You cannot help but be impressed and somewhat flattered. "Not bad for a filthy stone-eater," you think ruefully. In the end all you can say is "Thank you." But the pillar is now quite. Turning to the entrance of the vault you begin your slow return to the world above. A good sleep, a good meal and some attention for your wounds are all you can think about at this time. What you do next will, of course, be another story. __________________________________________________________ Home | ReadMe | Instructions | Inhabitants | Map of Northern Kalborea Quick Find Page| Email | Book Two - Earth and Stone