Rune Seeker

Just over six hours later, the party packed up and passed through the second set of large doors. As soon as the last person passed, the doors rumbled closed, but nobody paid any real attention to them, their eyes focused on the room in front of them.

Compared to the last two rooms they’d seen in the Forge ofUr’Thul, this room was… plain. The usual bridge led to a round, wide central area, with more round areas off to each side of it—Why do they look familiar?—before continuing as a bridge to the next set of doors. No clear obstacle course or challenge.

“Oooooooh,” Odi said dramatically, his hand coming up to rub the bottom of his scaly chin.

“What’s oooooooh?” Yanily asked.

“This is a rare trial indeed. The Urn must think very highly of you.”

“You know, Odi, I’ve been wondering,” Hiral said. “You mentioned before the trials are different for everybody taking them, but you knew what to do for the spheres in that last one. And you obviously know what this trial is. What’s going on?”

“Excellent question,” Odi said, striding forward and then spinning on a heel to face the entire party. “As you may have noticed, trial one had two parts to it: the obstacle course and the spheres. The spheres are always there, and cycling is important to everyone, but the first obstacle course part varies by who enters. Our records indicate there has been duplication in the past, but it’s surprisingly rare, considering how many young apprentices pass through.”

“And this trial?” Hiral asked.

“The second trial is more straightforward in that there is only one challenge. Our records have shown just over a hundred different variations of it, with some being very common, while others—like this one—are exceedingly rare. Honestly, it’s been so long since we’ve seen this challenge, I’d begun to think it was either a lie by the person claiming to have passed through it, or lost entirely.”

“This…” Odi spoke loudly and dramatically, his arms stretching wide above him, “… is a trial…” He gave another spin…

“… by combat,” Hiral finished quietly, finally recognizing the circular areas off to the side of the central area.

“… BY COMBAAAAAAAAAT!” Odi finished, only to cough and twist his head back to glare at Hiral. “Kind of stole my moment there.”

“Ah, sorry,” Hiral said, tearing his eyes away from the circular platforms to look at the Lizardman and the party around him. In response to their questioning looks, he explained, “These platforms are like the ones in that Time Trial up in Fallen Reach I’ve mentioned a few times. If it’s the same, it will create opponents made out of solid light.

“A lot like the image of Dr. Benza,” he said more quietly. “But, less detailed and more solid.”

“I thought you said there weren’t any monsters?” Wule said to Odi.

“These aren’t monsters,” Odi said, practically spitting the last word. “You really should see somebody about the unhealthy obsession with… Never mind. The constructs you’ll face are learning tools.”

“We just have to defeat them to move on?” Hiral asked.

“Oh, ho, ho, ho,” Odi said, lifting his hand in front of his long snout as he chuckled. “If only it were that easy. No, no, no,” he added with a wave of his hand, pointing at part of the distant circular wall. “Do you—literally—see the writing on the wall?”

“The writing?” Hiral asked, but he followed the Lizardman’s gesture.

Now that he was looking, there was something etched into the stone. It didn’t exactly look like writing—at least, not in any language he knew. There were characters that reminded him of runes, but not the same kind he used. Glyphs? No, that wasn’t it either. And the structure wasn’t the same as a sentence. There appeared to be multiple lines of it at the same time as it continued from left…

“It’s music,” Seeyela said. “It’s music, isn’t it?”

Odi’s hands gently met in a small clap above his shoulder. “Exactly,” he said. “This trial will teach you each a lost fighting style based on the Primal Symphony.”

“The primal what-now?” Wule asked.

“Truly, you are all very lucky. The Primal Symphony is the music the world—the universe—made when it was created. Some even say, the music that created the world.”

“What does that have to do with a fighting style?” Seena asked, but there was a bit of eagerness in her voice.

“Growers and their cheat fighting styles,” Hiral mumbled to Right beside him, and the double nodded.

“Inspiration for forms of combat has historically come from many different places,” Odi said, taking on his lecture voice. “Animals, the waves, the sway of the trees, too much alcohol, and I’m sure that tiny spoon has even spawned some truly devilish… ahem. Where was I? The Primal Symphonyis no different, in that it was inspiration for powerful styles of combat.

“However, unlike learning from a mundane animal’s movements, these fighting styles, these Chords of the Primal, carry with them a touch of the power that shaped… well… everything.”

“And we learn them by…?” Yanily asked, practically salivating.

“By stepping on the discs. One per… though I suspect you two will need to go with Hiral,” Odi said to Left and Right.

“Oh, we get to be part of the fun this time?” Right asked.

Odi’s lips curled back to reveal dozens of curved, razor-sharp teeth, in what could only be described as one of the most frightening smiles Hiral had ever seen.

“Fun,” Odi said. “Yes, I’m sure that is what you’ll call it when it’s finished…” He chuckled, then burst out in a full-bellied laugh. “Yes… yessssssss… fuuuuun!” And then, just like that, he stopped. “I mean, it will be no problem—at all—for such a skilled and not-toddler party.”

“Why don’t I believe you at all?” Hiral asked flatly.

“Believe me or not, now that this trial is before us, the only way forward is passing it. Best get to it.” Odi strode ahead to the middle of the large central platform.

The party followed him with only minor grumbling, standing in the middle and looking at the six disc-like areas connected to the platform. Like the last trials, there was calm water spread around the sixty-foot-diameter discs, and all the way to the wall several hundred feet away.

“Does it matter which one we each go to?” Hiral asked.

“Do we have to leave our gear behind again?” Yanily asked, staring at his spear longingly.

“Oh, I encourage you to bring your weapons and gear with you. You’ll need it.” Odi practically whispered the last part.

“Are we all going to learn the same style?” Nivian asked.

“Unlikely,” Odi said. “What fits you best is likely very different from what the others would benefit from. The Urn has delved into the depths of your depraved souls…”

“Depraved?” Wule quietly asked.

“… and determined the… the… most… dynamic of… of… dangerously delectable… determinations!”

“You really doubled down on the D-words, didn’t you?” Hiral asked.

“Wasn’t as easy as it looked,” Odi responded, breathing heavily.

“Didn’t exactly look easy…” Nivian pointed out.

“Determinations?” Yanily asked.

“Probably rewards,” Seena answered.

“Why didn’t he just say that?” Yanily asked.

“Didn’t start with a D?” Right said.

“Can we kill something now?” Yanily finally said, throwing up a hand.

“Sounds like the best thing I’ve heard in a while,” Seena answered, turning to look at the discs. “Be careful the first time, folks. We don’t know we’re up against.”

“How tough can it be?” Wule asked.

Odi burst out in maniacal laughter.