The bubble popped at the ten-minute mark. With it went the magical green orbs. Haze motioned them forward. All traces of magic at the doorway had been reduced to nothing. The roots were already curling with hungry ice. Only their light footfalls made a sound in the tunnel.
The tunnel was roughly fifteen feet wide. It curved up and split downward. Warm air came from farther inside. Haze took them up. Within the glacier, no moonlight is shown. A dull glow suffused every surface. The semi-transculent walls and light danced with unknown depths.
A sailor had once told Cutlery to go see the noble's aquarium. In there the walls were made of glass and you could see fish swimming all around. The glacier was like that. Huge rocks, tentacle knots of roots, and even some frozen animals stared through the icy surface. The slow slope of their hall wasn't as slick as Cutelry had expected it to be. Only the quiet breeze made any noise.
After five minutes they reached a doorway. Branches pierced the ice to form a frame. Leaves on thing twigs blocked the entrance. A knobby root acted as a door handle. Haze came to a stop. He eyed the door. He grabbed the knob. Slowly a slight opening appeared and he peered through.
The rest of them watched tensely. Slowly his arm raised towards an empty large sheath on his back. He grabbed at the air above it and pulled like a mime.
A soft metal ringing came from the sheath. He continued to mime having a sword. Did he have an invisible sword? That was fucking awesome if he did. Even if he didn't, his miming was good.
After making eye contact with each of them he let go of the doorknob and raised five fingers. His theoretical sword was at the ready. He lowered a finger. He opened the door a fragment more. Another finger went down. The invisible sword tapped against the frame to push it. The weapon was real!
One more finger lowered. Two left. He stepped one foot inside and lowered another finger. His muscles tensed through his light armor. The last finger fell. A rush of voices came from the other side.
-
Their entrance was swift and quiet. The doors slide open and they ducked inside. Cutlery's eyes darted about. The space was a meeting room. The roof was around twice her short height. A massive table of stone with more than a dozen people sitting around it occupied the space. The left end of the room had a large circular window that magnified a view of the sky through the glacier's ice. Small bobbing brown orbs lit the room.
About half the figures at the table were in fine hooded robes. The other half wore thick cloaks and masks made of white smooth material. The side of the table facing them looked at who was entering. Guards on either side of the door looked at them as well.
"We want a few masked people. You're free otherwise," Haze said in a quiet voice to his allies.
"Who are you?" A white-masked figure said as they turned to face them. Haze raised a hand. A spear of translucent grey smoke erupted from his palm and the figure lurched backward. Their chair hit the floor.
Fish was the first to take the hint. Gill engaged one guard and Asim the other. Fish and Cutlery dived at the table.
Motion erupted in all directions. Chairs flung back. Some screamed with arms raised. Others cast small spells. The guards raised their short spears and shields. Blood sprayed. Cutlery took one figure through the eye. They had just started turning to look at the door. Cutlery saw Fish snap one white masked figure's head with his two hooks around their jaw and forehead.
The meeting attendees darted for a pair of doors opposite the room's large window. A wave of ice rolled along her feet from some kind of blast. Cutlery jerked towards the source and saw one guard firing the cold blast from their palm.
Perhaps that was the ice manipulator.
"Fish, Asim, DOOR!" Haze bellowed as he kicked through a chest.
Asim ducked away from her guard and raised her palms. A golden shield formed over the far doors. The small crowd slammed into it and began pounding. Someone on the other side rattled the doors.
Cutlery leaped to the guard who had shot the blast. Her rapier unleashed a barrage of stabs. He threw a slow punch at her. A second delay later, a spike of ice erupted from the ground and flew at her head. She spun back to let it pierce her armpit instead. It burned like hell as it tore into her.
Gill flowed past her in a blur. He body-slammed the figure into the wall with an ohm coming from the guard. Fish reached the doors and began to pull figures away. Chaos ensued as some fell on him.
Haze raised a palm at the crowd and uttered something in an unknown language,
"Fel." He said. The sound seemed to shimmer.
-
White light shone through the ice below the panicking crowd. The crowd went silent. Their arms slowly raised out from their sides. Their arms stopped when they were straight. They were cross-shaped. Their feet snapped together. A few of them broke through the shimmer and kept moving. The forest of frozen allies slowed them. Fish looked around confused, he stepped out of the glow. Gill and Cutlery continued to fight their guard as the second guard went for Haze.
Asim and Gill fell upon them before they could reach Haze. Both guards went down a few seconds later. Their armor clattered against the ice loudly.
Haze directed them to tie up the stunned crowd and line them up on the wall—the few who hadn't frozen surrendered. A few minutes later the room's only remaining sound was sobbing. All of the surviving meeting members were lined up against the wall.
"All right what's going on here," Haze said to a masked figure. All of them had their arms bound by their now cut-up climbing rope.
The figure said nothing. Haze sighed and peeled off their mask to reveal a middle-aged man with large golden earrings shaped like coins hanging from them.
"A noble! How malicious." Haze said. He forced the man's chin left and right to get a good look at him. "I do have questions for you, but first I want a heretic who lives here. Not some traitor from the city." Haze said.
He walked two people down the line till he reached one of the dark masks in the robe of four colors. Green, blue, white, and gray. It was similar to the ship from before. The colors were slightly different shades but the patterns were nearly identical. Haze smiled and said, "Now, where is the place you keep important stuff? Such as ancient relics?"
The figure said nothing. Their mask was impassive. Haze sighed and yanked off their mask. Two leather straps snapped and their head rolled forward. Haze chuckled.
"It appears he has fainted from shock. The rest of you could take a lesson in what to fear." Haze said. He moved to the neighboring heretic figure.
"Where," Haze asked plainly.
"Deep in the glacier. Below." They said.
"Don't tell them! Everything we've fought for" Another figure near Asim barked. A translucent spear shot through their throat. Their gurgles echoed for a full minute while Haze continued to talk.
"Is it simple to get there? Just go down?" Haze asked. The heretic nodded. Haze patted them on the head and dragged them plus a random white-masked noble out of the line. Both seemed to be feminine under their loose robes.
"This will take a minute. Secure the room." Haze said. Gill and Fish moved to the doors where Asims arcane shield was beginning to fade. Cutlery and Asim moved to the sides of the other. Cutlery peaked through the doors and saw nothing down the long icy hallway.
Haze began to murmur and step in random directions like some kind of ancient dance. After a minute the room darkened. Haze stopped moving and lowered his hands to his sides. Then the floor turned black.
