Chapter 5 Part 4

They carefully mounted the spiralling ladder formed by the vines. Avery went first climbing all the way to the top, testing the vines strenght. When he reached the top he called back down. "Only one at a time,"" he advised. "I don't think it’ll break, but let's not take any chances. It seems secure enough."

Calista climbed nimbly to the top. She had matured quite a bit in the recent weeks. A great deal of the baby fat that was common to young women had yielded to the sleek muscle of a huntress.

Armegon followed by Ultrecht and Ruk all took turns making the ascent. They arrived on a platform similar to the bough and vine canopy of the forest proper, except that there were also walls of living wood as well. Over the centuries seed had fallen onto the first level of wood and taken root in the platform. The trees and vines that had resulted had formed a miniature forest at that level in turn. "Oh this is fantastic," was all Avery could say.

"We are definitely going to get seeds and vine clippings before going back," Ultrecht agreed. "The only word I can think of that applies to this is, sculpture."

"I must agree," Ruk admitted. "Such a sight would be a wonder of the world."

"If I tell Nikki about this, she’s liable to want to move here permanently," Avery laughed.

"The sooner we get out of here the sooner you can start packing," Calista advised with an edge in her voice.

"Okay, okay," Armegon said submissively. "Sheesh!"

Avery scouted the way around and about the walls of the platform. Soon he located a break in the ceiling that led upward.

"Why don't we simply cut our way up?" Calsita asked.

"We’ll have to be very careful about what vines we cut," Avery answered. "We don't want to cut a vine loose that’s holding the floor we are standing on together."

Calista made a silent "Oh," of comprehension. Good point, she thought to herself.

Avery climbed the vines until he reached the natural break in the ceiling. With his free hand, he drew his long dagger and then cautiously poked his head up and through the hole. Without delay, the rest of his body jerked upwards a full meter and his legs kicked wildly.

Armegon took a running jump and was halfway up the vine wall when Avery came plummeting down. Luckily Ruk was directly below him. The minotaan dropped his ax and caught the falling half elf.

Ultrecht immediately had his own dagger out and cut the blue-green vine wrapped around the ranger's neck free. Avery sucked air for several long moments as Armegon dropped back to their level.

"In case you haven't figured it out," Avery gasped between breaths, "there’s company waiting for us up there."

"Okay so what do we do?" Ultrecht asked.

"Well," Avery rubbed the whelt rising around his collar. "The level above us is similar to the one we’re on. "Let's try to find another place to go up. Maybe there won't be any of those blue vines there."

They searched for a good thirty more minutes before it was concluded that there were no other natural openings. "I would guess," Armegon offered, "that our task is to determine the best location to cut our way up."

"Almost as if the whole thing was a trap?" Ultrecht agreed.

"So the most obvious answer would be the wrong one." Armegon added.

"So where do we go?" Ruk asked.

"I think it’s time to take matters in our own hands," Armegon said with a hint of a smile on his face.

Ultrecht glanced at Avery and the two added their smiles to Armegon's. "I think they’re up to something," Calista warned Ruk.

"All right," Armegon said. "Let's brain storm this thing."

Ultrecht began. He sat on the floor and crossed his legs. "Okay," he said thoughtfully.

"Every time we’ve entered a Tower we were faced with a guardian to bypass and a task to perform. We can assume the forest was the task, and the vines are the guardians. That means whoever designed the defenses of this Tower are not going to make our access too easy."

Armegon joined Ultrecht. "They are going to have considered all of the choices and options that normal people would consider in this situation. We have no magic. We do not know what vines we may freely cut and what vines we may not cut. The only upwards leading passage is guarded."

Avery sat down as well. "We must do something totally unexpected and off the wall."
Ruk was getting into the spirit. "A front assault?"

"A good thought, but hardly unexpected," Armegon countered. "Desperation would bring that option into play."

"Just out of curiosity," Calista asked. "Does anyone have a hook?"

"A what?" Ultrecht asked.

"A climbing hook."

"A grappling hook," Avery whispered thoughtfully. "Now there’s an idea!"

"I don't..." Ultrecht was cut off.

Avery explained. "We can use grappling hooks to climb up the outside of the Tower. The walls are wood and vine, so hooks will hold very easily to them."

"How do we get outside?" Ruk asked. "We can't cut our way out for the same reason we can't cut our way up."

"We go back down to the ground," Avery said excitedly. "That’s the best part. The whole interior of this Tower may be a trap. This Tower was meant to be scaled from the outside. Cal's arrows can reach well up to this level. Then she can climb up to the top of a rope and fire another arrow. We can work our way up."

"How do we get in?" Calista asked. She was not sure she wanted to make that much of a climb.

"There has to be an opening for the magic beam to get out. That’s our ticket in."

Armegon and Ultrecht conferred quietly then nodded. "It’s worth a try," Armegon said finally.

They returned unimpeded to the ground. Ganatar met them expectantly He was somewhat dismayed at their report that the way up was practically impassable.

"It is getting sort of late," Ultrecht pointed out. "I think we should wait until tomorrow to start this ascent. I don't want Cal halfway up the side of this thing when it gets dark."

"You're right," Armgeon agreed much to Calista's relief. "One more evening won't make a difference."

They rested that night but slept little. Many of them were anxious to leave the realm of Towers, and sunless skies. It was almost as if the freedom of their home beckoned over the gulf between worlds.

As soon as the daylight returned sufficiently to see, Calista and Avery rigged a half dozen of arrows with strong cord. "The cord won’t completely hold our weight," Avery explained. "But it can be used in climbing to bend branches and it’ll hold Cal. She can climb up and attach the ropes so that the rest of us can follow."

They all gathered at the perimeter of the tree ring. Avery spoke to Calista carefully outlining where to set her arrows so that they would hold her weight as she climbed. When all was ready, the ranger patted her on the back and stepped back.

"Relax, Cal," Ultrecht advised. "There is no rush. We have all day."

Calista took a deep breath and let it out. She notched her arrow and set her stance. Then she took another breath and drew the arrow to anchor and aimed. She exhaled half way then held her breath. Correcting her aim ever so slightly, she let her drawing fingers go lax. The bow thrummed with a deep resonant sound.

The arrow launched in a high arc which intersected the wall of the first level of the Tower just above a large bundle of vines. "Perfect," Avery commended. "That ledge will be a good place to shoot from."

Avery and Ruk held the dangling cord taunt as Calista climbed the fifty meters upwards to the lower edge of the platform. She then wedged herself secure by looping her legs into the tangled vines. They supported her easily.

Calista set herself and then pulled the cord up after her. At the end was a satchel with a pair of long coils of rope. She attached one end of the rope securely to a fairly thick vine and limb cluster then dropped the bag to the ground. The sack tumbled gently trailing rope like a spider descending from its web. When it reached the ground, Avery tested the anchor with a couple of hearty tugs then he began climbing hand over hand.

Calista side stepped along the wooden ledge several meters and drew forth a second arrow. She detached the cord from the first arrow and set it to the second. By the time she was ready to fire again, Avery had joined her. Together they selected her next target.

About forty meters higher and over a fair deal was a thick limb. Avery suggested she aim for the wooden secondary trunk it grew from. He felt that the limb could hold them one at a time, so she would have to choose her next target on her own.

Calista aimed and fired. Again her aim was testament to her training and teachers. The cord and arrow embedded themselves solidly into the wood. Calista took a second rope and tied it about her waist. Avery held the other end. The plan was for him to feed out the slack as she progressed. When she reached the far limb, she would tie it off. Avery would hold the rope in case she fell before she reached her destination.

Calista secured her bow and arrows and then swung out onto the cord. Avery used the rope tied to her to prevent any unnecessary swinging and reduce the tension on the cord. After a few moments, Calista reached the limb. She called back that she needed a moment to rest and Avery waved that he understood.

Calista rested far a good quarter of an hour before she felt ready to climb again. She pulled a third arrow and fastened her cord tightly to it. Not too far, perhaps thirty meters above her was another ledge, similar to the first. Calista set her bow and fired a perfect shot. Attaching the loose end of the cord to the limb she was standing on, she made the thirty meter climb with breath to spare.

The ledge was much wider than it had appeared. Even Ganatar would have been able to comfortably stand on it. Calista lowered herself and set her bow down and peered over the edge. Avery was on the tree trunk she had just vacated. Over to the left and further down, Armegon and Ultrecht shared the first ledge and Ruk was starting the climb from the ground. Calista wondered if they would have enough rope.

A tug on the cord drew her attention to Avery who had affixed the far end of the cord to a rope. Calista pulled the cord in and tied the rope to a more sturdy anchor. Soon Avery had joined her.

Within an hour, they were all standing on the wide ledge. Ganatar watched patiently from the ground. Ruk had collected the ropes as he had ascended and they were ready to begin their second series of climbs.

"That looks like it might be a large platform over there," Armegon pointed high up and to the left.

"We'll try for it," Avery agreed. "I figure it to be about three hundred meters higher."

That’s an awful long way up," Ruk said nervously as he stood flat against the side of the trees. "If I never climb another staircase again, it will be far too soon."

"We still have a fair way to go," Armegon replied.

They rested for several more moments before continuing the climb. The remaining parts of the ascent took even longer as many of the ledges and limbs would not hold more than a single person at a time. Eventually, however, Calista finally stood on the balcony opening.

The spread before her was very similar to the ones in the other towers. The dais was occupied by a short fat cylinder made of black material. Seated atop this was a large round crystal with many small triangle shaped facets.

Calista spared only enough time to verify that she was alone in the balcony before she lowered the a rope. Soon afterward, Avery clambered up and stood beside her.

"How hard do you think it’ll be to get back down?" she asked.

"About as hard as jumping," Avery guessed. "Remember, once the Tower is activated, we can use magic."

Ultrecht was next to reach the top, and he was followed quickly by Armegon. Ruk took a little longer as he had to stop and collect the rope after reaching the top of each one. When he finally reached the top, they allowed him a little time to rest while they explored the balcony.

"Well I found the control room," Armegon said emerging from an archway near the now familiar tapestry. "We’re all set except for one small thing."

"No key," Calista guessed.

"Right."

"So we have to wonder about towards the lower and upper levels until we find it?" Ruk asked.

"That’s about the size of it," Armegon respond as he set about igniting a torch.

"Well what about the vines?" It was clear that Ruk did not care for the autonomous plantlife.

"We’ll deal with them as best as we can," Avery answered.

Ultrecht scouted a split in the vine-wall and reported that the blue-green vines did not seem to be present at the moment. Avery joined him and drew his dagger. "Well let's get the show on the road," the ranger said ducking through the slit.

One by one they followed with Ruk bringing up the rear. Armegon and Avery led the way. They wound their way through the maze of botanical walls until they reached a dead end.

"Well it looks like we’re in for a game of trial and error," Armegon said. They back tracked and started again on a different side passage. It too came to an abrupt end.

After a third failure, patience was beginning to wear thin when the fourth passage too came to an end. But on the fifth attempt the passage ended in a opening in the side of an old hollow tree trunk. A preliminary investigation showed the interior of the trunk was not rotten and in fact was climbable.

"Almost as if it were meant to be like this," Ultrecht observed. "These must be what they use as stairs in this Tower."

Avery took the torch and braced his back against the interior of the hollow tree and inched his way upwards. When he reached the top, he passed word that it was safe for the others to follow.

As they exited the tree, they were in another level of the Tower. This time, there was no maze. There was a veil of thick vines cutting part of the level off from view, but the rest was open.

The ladder tree continued on upwards through the roof. Avery explained that he wanted them all to climb one floor at a time so as not to risk separation. He reported that he had already investigated the thick veil near the center of the level. It surrounded the large light collecting mechanism that was the core of the Tower.

Avery reentered the tree trunk and moved on up to the next level. The others followed in order. When they reached the top, there was a significant amount of light filtering in from above, and Armegon hypothesized that they were near the Tower's top.

The level they stood on was not quite as open as the previous one was, but neither was it a maze of vines. Since the tree trunk went no higher, it was decided to explore the level.
"Remember what we are looking for," Ultrecht reminded them all. "No keepsakes and no fooling around. Let's find the key and get out of here."

Avery wandered off to the left with Armegon while Ultrecht Calista and Ruk ventured to the right. With the faint light breaking through the broken ceiling, there was no need for torches and they felt relatively safe in splitting up.

Calista and Ruk followed Ultrecht around a tree trunk and came face to face with a wall of vines. They had turned and were following the wall seeking a break when a vibration rattled through the entire Tower followed instantly by a blast of thunder.

Avery and Armegon were carefully penetrating a veil of vines and found themselves in a dark and gloomy chamber. The light was much much dimmer and they decided to retreat when a burst of brilliant blue erupted from the darkness. An arc of lightning sizzled the air around them and charred the floor before them. The resulting thunderclap knocked both halfelves to the floor. The immediately following silence was deafening.

Slowly, from the deep shadows, a large creature emerged. It was of avian origin supporting the curved beak and shiny spear-like talons of a giant bird of prey. The deep set eyes were huge like those of a night hunter. The beast wore a bright crest and a streaks of blue and red plumage decorated its breast. The beast approached testing it's wings and stirring a strong gale with each flap.

"Begone from this place," it spake. "Be grateful for the life still within you and leave here."

Armegon was the first to regain his tongue. "We mean you no disrespect or harm, and we are indeed trying to leave."

"Think you to test me?" the bird creature hissed. "Down you go by the same route in which up you came!" Again the wings sent the chamber swaying. "You came up not through here nor shall you find the way down."

"We came up by scaling the outside of the Tower," Armegon explained. "We hoped to find a less difficult way down."

The bird considered a moment. There was a hint that the creature was impressed by something. "You climbed the outside?"

"It was the only way to bypass the vines that strangle and kill," Avery added.

"A clever approach," the creature acknowledged. "Yet why did you scale the wall to my prison in the first place?"

"We needed to ..."

Armegon cut Avery's explanation off. "Your prison?"

"Aye," the creature said. "Like so many of the other free peoples, I was imprisoned here when I opposed the gods in their revolt against the Creator."

"Just like Ganatar," Avery whispered.

"Who are you?" Armegon asked finally.

The creature drew itself to an impressive height and posture ruffled its feathers fearfully and proclaimed in a proud voice. "I am 'Sounder of the Charge', leader of the Covey of the Reich Island and last of the Kilobels, the thunderbirds." For emphasis the great beak opened and a deafening blast of solid sound shook the Tower like a sledge. As an exclamation, a pair of lightning bolts shot from the large eyes and danced about the chamber safely away from the halfelves.

"It was I who rallied my people to fly beside our brothers the Pheoni and fight in the Creator's name. For my actions, the gods gracefully spared my life so that I could watch my entire race be put to death and then I was imprisoned here to live forever with that memory." The prideful thunderbird deflated and seemed somewhat smaller than before.
Tears slid down Avery's cheeks as the story unfolded.

"Is there anything we can do?" he whispered.

"Sounder of the Charge," Armegon called. "We’re from the outside. We came here to free the Emerald Monocerous and return him to his people against the god's wishes. Lend us your aid and return with us."

The thunderbird stared at Armegon for many long and hard until the moment was broken by the sound of Ruk calling in the distance. They had obviously heard the noise and were coming to the rescue.

"Have you seen the green unicorn?" Sounder of the Charge asked disbelievingly. "It is said that only a slayer of gods can free the imprisoned ones."

Avery responded enthusiastically by drawing Liberator from its scabbard and displaying the talisman for all to see. "Spread your mighty wings and visit the ground, noble one, and let you own eyes bring to you the joyful news. The day of your freedom is at hand."
The thunderbird's eyes grew even wider at the sight of the red and blue blade. Slowly the creature lowered its head to eye level with its visitors. It peered closely into first Armegon's then Avery's eyes.

"After all this time," the voice was a delicate whisper. "After all this time."

Ruk rushed into the room with battle ax ready. "Do nothing," Armegon warned. "We are among friends here." Ruk skidded to a halt and Ultrecht and Calista rushed in behind him. They too stopped when they saw the creature.

Armegon reached out slowly and placed a hand on the bird's crown. "Go and look below."

The thunderbird stood erect again easily ten meters tall and flapped it's wings. Tilting its head back, it loosed another peal of thunder which blasted the ceiling from the Tower. Vines and limbs were ripped to shreds and flew upwards revealing the bland sky beyond. With two powerful beats of the wings, Sounder of the Charge shot into the sky and wheeled about in a dive towards the ground.

"What was that?" Ultrecht asked with awe.

Armegon just shook his head. There were no words to describe the creature with which they had become acquainted. "His name is Sounder of the Charge, and he is a thunderbird."

Ruk hung his head. "I thought those were just stories," he muttered. "The old ones used to speak of the great warbirds, the Pheoni and the Kilobels. It shames me that I didn’t believe them."

A glimpse of motion above them drew their attention to the skies. Sounder of the Charge had returned. "True," the creature cried triumphantly. "It is true. After all these centuries the time has come. The reign of the charlatans has come to a close."

Sounder of the Charge landed and bowed his head. "Your words were true. Speak of what you wish and if within my power I will grant it, only take me with you when you leave."

"We seek nothing more than the key to the Tower's magic," Armegon told him.

"Ah," Sounder of the Charge sighed. "That is but a simple task." He nodded towards Ruk.

"You, child of Minota, seek in yonder shadows for the quarry lies hidden in the darkness." Ruk trotted from view and was gone for several long moments.

"We would rather not spend any more nights in the forest than possible. We can stay here tonight and depart in the morning," Armegon told the Kilobel. "Still it will take some time to get out of the forest."

"Nonsense," Sounder of the Charge objected. "Is there not a user of magic among you?"
"There is to be sure," Armegon answered. "But our magic will only operate after the Tower is activated and then only within a certain distance."

"And there shall you succeed. For if this truly be the fourth Tower as yonder unicorn told me then your magic may very well function clear to the edge of the forests. The range increases with the awakening of each new Tower."

"Then we will find out tomorrow," Ultrecht said. "If we find the key, that is."

"That’s not a problem," Ruk said emerging from the shadows. In his hand was the prized object.

Sounder of the Charge leapt back into the sky with the promise to wait for them with Ganatar on the ground. They watched him go. "Another mouth to feed," Ultrecht said.

"I get the feeling," Calista replied, "that he’s more than capable of feeding himself."

Excitedly they hurried back to the hollow tree and descended the couple of levels they had come upwards through. They wound their way back to the balcony and then through the archway. It was even as the daylight was growing dim that they entered the familiar chamber that housed the giant collector and the familiar machinery.

They wasted no time. Ultrecht confidently walked over to the control table and set the key upon the tripod. The object fell into place with an audible click and immediately a ringing sound began to build. They all hurried back to the balcony and waited for the inevitable beam to begin.

As the ringing increased in strength the vibrations could be felt through the floor and walls. Everyone was alert and apprehensive when the air in the balcony grew charged with raw barely controlled magic.

Suddenly the mirrored disk above the crystal wavered and bathed the crystal in a warm green light. A split second later and the smaller mirrored disk on the outward facing side of the black cylinder belched forth a blast of emerald light which reached out through the fading light and caressed the distant horizon.

Armegon wasted no time. He and Ultrecht gathered everyone near the edge of the balcony. Carefully staying away from the beam, they worked their arts.

Avery was the first to feel the magic. As Ultrecht tapped him on the shoulder, the ranger confidently stepped off the balcony and gently floated towards the ground. The last time he had tried that particular spell had been during a wind storm. This time, however, the magic worked as advertised. Like a feather, Avery dropped and lightly touched the ground to find Ganatar and Sounder of the Charge waiting.

Soon the others also made their landings and the company made camp in the fading light under the brilliant beam that seemed to reflect the color of the abundance of life in the forest.

Sleep well, my friends," Armegon advised. "Tonight we’re watched over by magic and we have a long day ahead of us. Tomorrow we head out for home."

A comfortable fire was built and the food stores were attacked vigorously. All were confident that soon they would be out of the prison world. Calista laughed when Ruk mentioned that he was looking forward to a sunburn. She laughed because she too missed the suns.

She spent the night dreaming of moons and stars and suns and a sleeping boy/man named Sam who was had seen beyond the beauty of other girls and beheld her inner qualities. She resolved that the moment she had him in her arms again, she would ask Nikki to help her have a baby of her own.