“I’m going to summon another wind to push us along more quickly,” he told Alia and she responded by snuggling into his arm to his gratification.
“ Do you mind,” she asked nudging closer to him, and he indicated that he did not. “You’re so warm,” she said and pressed her body against him, which only seemed to intensify his own inner heat. “It must be a perk of being a master of fire.”
It was, but Byrn did not tell her, preferring to let her draw her own conclusions.
In this way, Byrn and Alia made their way across the lake in about an hour instead of the day it would have taken to walk around it. Alia appeared happy to disembark from the ice raft, but the ride was over all too soon for Byrn.
From this point the pair of magicians would need to search on foot for the sewer’s entrance. They did not speak much as they spent the next hour or so moving up and down the shoreline that was in the general direction of Baj. The view of the prison was largely obstructed due to the tree line that blocked their view. Each magician reflected on the events that transpired in Colum four years ago and their decidedly different roles in that fight.
The sun was setting while the magicians continued to search along the edge of the lake looking in any area that had an overgrowth of plants or forestation leading into the lake, believing that the sewer entrance must be hidden, but the tunnel’s entrance still eluded them.
The moon grew fat in the sky overhead. It was a cloudless night and the moon’s reflected light in the lake helped to light the night as the hours passed. It was hours later and they were discussing where to set up camp for the night when Alia found the sewer run off hidden behind some large bushes and an overhang of rock and dirt. The pipe was large enough for a single person to enter hunched over, but was blocked by a metal grate. Byrn tested it and found that it was held securely in place.
“ I was beginning to doubt that it was here at all,” Alia told him. The relief in her voice was undeniable and Byrn did not have the heart to tell her that he was thinking the same thing.
Instead, he simply agreed, “It was very well hidden.”
“ Can you burn through the bars?” Alia asked looking over Byrn's shoulder as he examined the grating.
“ I think so, but maybe we should wait until morning. The flame or smoke could draw someone’s attention.”
Alia considered their options. “We should do it now. If we burn through the bars now, then someone might see the glow of the flames, but if we wait then we run the risk of being spotted by any patrols that might pass through here.”
“ I do not relish the idea of being caught unaware or staying awake all night and being too tired to properly defend ourselves should the need arise,” Byrn conceded, “Can you move back by the bushes? I don’t want to risk accidentally burning you.” After Alia moved a safe distance away Byrn created a fire dagger and pressed it against the top of the middle bar. He held it and moved it slowly against the bar as he willed a constant flow of magic through the construct. Unlike an actual dagger there was no resistance as the fire construct licked against the bar, but it still took a minute before the top of the pole was melted through. Byrn was pleased to see that only a few small clouds of smoke were created by his cutting and he hoped that no one would see them rising.
Byrn was halfway through the bottom half of the bar when Alia reappeared from the bushes. “There are some people approaching in a small boat. How close are you?”
“ Not much longer. Did they see you?” Byrn kept working on the bottom end.
Alia considered the question briefly, “I don’t think so. It is probably the glow of the fire that is attracting them.”
The bar fell into the sewage tunnel with a loud clang. Alia hissed at the sound and sneaked a peek through the bushes. “They are looking this way,” she whispered. Then added,
“ Do you mind,” she asked nudging closer to him, and he indicated that he did not. “You’re so warm,” she said and pressed her body against him, which only seemed to intensify his own inner heat. “It must be a perk of being a master of fire.”
It was, but Byrn did not tell her, preferring to let her draw her own conclusions.
In this way, Byrn and Alia made their way across the lake in about an hour instead of the day it would have taken to walk around it. Alia appeared happy to disembark from the ice raft, but the ride was over all too soon for Byrn.
From this point the pair of magicians would need to search on foot for the sewer’s entrance. They did not speak much as they spent the next hour or so moving up and down the shoreline that was in the general direction of Baj. The view of the prison was largely obstructed due to the tree line that blocked their view. Each magician reflected on the events that transpired in Colum four years ago and their decidedly different roles in that fight.
The sun was setting while the magicians continued to search along the edge of the lake looking in any area that had an overgrowth of plants or forestation leading into the lake, believing that the sewer entrance must be hidden, but the tunnel’s entrance still eluded them.
The moon grew fat in the sky overhead. It was a cloudless night and the moon’s reflected light in the lake helped to light the night as the hours passed. It was hours later and they were discussing where to set up camp for the night when Alia found the sewer run off hidden behind some large bushes and an overhang of rock and dirt. The pipe was large enough for a single person to enter hunched over, but was blocked by a metal grate. Byrn tested it and found that it was held securely in place.
“ I was beginning to doubt that it was here at all,” Alia told him. The relief in her voice was undeniable and Byrn did not have the heart to tell her that he was thinking the same thing.
Instead, he simply agreed, “It was very well hidden.”
“ Can you burn through the bars?” Alia asked looking over Byrn's shoulder as he examined the grating.
“ I think so, but maybe we should wait until morning. The flame or smoke could draw someone’s attention.”
Alia considered their options. “We should do it now. If we burn through the bars now, then someone might see the glow of the flames, but if we wait then we run the risk of being spotted by any patrols that might pass through here.”
“ I do not relish the idea of being caught unaware or staying awake all night and being too tired to properly defend ourselves should the need arise,” Byrn conceded, “Can you move back by the bushes? I don’t want to risk accidentally burning you.” After Alia moved a safe distance away Byrn created a fire dagger and pressed it against the top of the middle bar. He held it and moved it slowly against the bar as he willed a constant flow of magic through the construct. Unlike an actual dagger there was no resistance as the fire construct licked against the bar, but it still took a minute before the top of the pole was melted through. Byrn was pleased to see that only a few small clouds of smoke were created by his cutting and he hoped that no one would see them rising.
Byrn was halfway through the bottom half of the bar when Alia reappeared from the bushes. “There are some people approaching in a small boat. How close are you?”
“ Not much longer. Did they see you?” Byrn kept working on the bottom end.
Alia considered the question briefly, “I don’t think so. It is probably the glow of the fire that is attracting them.”
The bar fell into the sewage tunnel with a loud clang. Alia hissed at the sound and sneaked a peek through the bushes. “They are looking this way,” she whispered. Then added,
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