Seekers of the Stone Maker
Waiting Inside the Barrier

Rhokhishi caught Lyla as she flew back to her and spun around to shield her from the blaze.

“Thanks, Kiki.”

She smiled back, then helped Lyla up. Looking around, everyone else seemed okay, pushed back against the stone wall, and awake. Lyla ran to the window and looked down. With a loud gasp, she took a few steps back and turned to the party.

“Godfrey… He’s…”

Rhokhishi walked forward and scanned the castle grounds. Godfrey’s body lay on top of a giant statue three floors below. Its stone sword pushed through his back and chest. Red stained the white snow beneath him. Rhokhishi moved away from the windows and to the rest of the party.

Hours moved by as they searched every nook and cranny of the castle, trying to replace any clue to where Cecille was while also taking inventory of the various items they had seen. Books, weapons and shields, potions, and more. While it was clear that some of it was magical, some things were worse. When they explored the kitchen, they found all the food had rotten in hours. When they felt they had explored everything they could, with no sign of Cecille, Rhokhishi followed as everyone met at the foyer and walked to the front doors. Mr. Muffins tried to pull the door open, but something seemed wrong.

“The door is stuck.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know. The door just isn’t moving. Look.”

Mr. Muffins tried again to pull the door. It didn’t seem to budge. Rhokhishi walked forward to help, but even her strength wasn’t enough.

“We can go through a window then,” Leaf offered.

“There’s no windows on this floor. We’d have to drop from the second floor if that’s what we wanted to do,” Myla added.

They made their way up the staircase to the first window they saw. Ana reached forward and tried to open it, but it would not move either.

“Any luck?” Leaf asked at the bottom of the staircase.

“No, it’s stuck, too,” Ana replied.

“I’m tired of this,” Leaf frustratedly grumbled.

Leaf walked over towards the front doors again. Pulling out his spellbook, he held his hand out and started speaking an incantation. His staff sparked with energy. As he finished the last word, lightning struck out from the staff and shattered against the door. It splintered up, then faded. He stepped closer.

“What the…?”

Where the lightning had struck the door, something resembling shattered ice appeared. Leaf stepped up to it and placed his hand on it. In shock, he jumped back and looked up to Mr. Muffins.

“There’s a barrier on the door.”

“Barrier that resembles ice?” Mr. Muffins asked.

“Yeah.”

Rhokhishi walked down the steps and examined closer. It did look like the door was untouched, but a skinny, transparent sheet of ice was layered over the doors. The area of the ice that Leaf hit was scratched, but it didn’t look broken. As she inspected it, she felt colder, as if something breathed a cold gust around her.

“Do you think this was-”

“Zidingris,” Lyla finished.

Rhokhishi turned to look at Lyla but noticed she wasn’t looking at the door. She was looking up to the second-floor balcony. Gazing above, she saw why Lyla’s eyes were open wide, a look of worry on her face.

Standing with her hind legs on the balcony and the front two on the first floor, the white dragon’s body took up a third of the space. Its wings were pulled close to its body, but Rhokhishi could tell they were massive, more extensive than some ship sails she had seen. It’s neck curled towards them, her nose only fifteen feet away. Zidingris spoke to them without words, hearing a voice that chilled Rhokhishi’s insides.

You have only delayed me. I will be strong again, regardless of your involvement. When I am ready, you will come to me. I will freeze the flesh off your bones slowly. I will ensure you feel every ounce of energy leave your body and corrupt your soul with my frozen tundras. That is if you don’t die of starvation first…

Fog rolled out from Zidingris, making it impossible to see. It dissipated as quickly as it came, with the white dragon vanishing. Rhokhishi looked around, trying to sense if there was any more danger or surprises for them to handle, but it seemed safe again.

The first day went by slowly from there. The party stayed close to each other, but without any way of leaving, they tried to take care of their wounds and stay ready. Rhokhishi took the first watch, but it was clear that sleep wouldn’t come to any of them just yet.

The second day went by easier. With Ana’s bag of food, she made something for everyone, and they all went about the castle, replaceing various tasks to keep themselves busy. Rhokhishi spent most of her time with her pet but walked around the castle and kept an eye on the rest of them. Lyla performed a passing ritual for Godfrey and the guards. Myla worked on poisons and potions. However, Mr. Muffins was the only one to return to the third floor. He mentioned wanting to work out the automatons and spent most of his time up there, making blueprints and writing various facts in his book.

Now and then, he would pass by one of the guest bedrooms, where Ana would go from time to time and spend time alone. It made sense that she would need time with all the information she learned, so Rhokhishi did her best to give her space.

The third day was the worst. Leaf had grown tired of studying. They had all combed through the castle. There were no secret entrances or exits. There was no way out. They had food, but it would only last for so long. As frustrations and worries rose, it was clear that a plan needed to be made. The issue was there was no plan. They were stuck, and there was no way out.

As Rhokhishi sat on the bottom step on the first floor, she ate the dinner Ana had made. A slight sparkle from the sun hit the floor and mirrored into her face. She moved away but stopped when she noticed something on the lit floor. Setting her food down, she walked over and inspected it closer. Roughly ten feet across, the foundation had changed slightly. Ice had formed in this area, making a large circle with various sigils and scripts inside.

“You all might wanna look at this,” She called out.

They all made their way over. Leaf choked on his food as he tried to talk. He gasped heavily and took a drink of water from his flask, then looked back at the group, a look of shock and worry on his face.

“That’s a teleportation circle,” He said matter-of-factly.

“To gods’ know where,” Muffins added.

“I mean, it’s made of ice. Do you think it’s her?” Myla asked.

“It has to be. Zidingris is calling us to her,” Leaf answered.

“Should we go?” Ana looked around at the party, looking for any answer other than the one she knew would come.

Mr. Muffins looked around the foyer, gesturing to the castle as a whole.

“It’s either this or starve to death.”

“Well…” Lyla started, then paused.

“Well?” Rhokhishi looked over to her.

“We just need to be careful. Zidingris is one of the Hounds. Ramona was, too.”

Rhokhishi placed her hand in Lyla’s and gave it a slight squeeze.

“We’ll be careful.”