Attondel watched as the two women slowly rose on the gusting wind of the tunnel leading upward to the fortified hold of Tyar Besil. Clutched by the blade close to the hilt, Obsidian's black surface prickled against his palm, signalling him that something had caught his sentient blades attention.
"Master, another approaches through the stone at speed!" Obsidian's grating voice heard only in the Goliath's mind rang with a tone of urgency.
More urgency than usual.
Attondel turned a weary eye upwards, spinning the massive great sword with such ease that it may as well have been a willow switch. It's gleaming back blade, nearly seven feet in length coming to rest upon an armoured shoulder.
A moment later Attondel's true sight caught the almost imperceptible ripple in the stone ceiling. To him it was as obvious as tidal wave approaching the shore as his eyes seldom missed even the most minute detail, especially when it came to stone.
He widened his stance slowly and raised his free muscled arm close to the hilt, ready to grip and strike.
There were no tremors, no dust fell from this strange event. It behaved as if the rock was a pool of clear water reflecting a mountain range that had been disturbed by a solitary pebble.
A moment later a small, lithe form sprang out of the stone and landed in a kneel, one arm stretched out to the side, the other hand with the naked palm flat against the stone. The rippling ceiling near instantly returning to its solid state.
He noticed the black bracers first, around supple wrists, shining and flawless. Familiar, like his blade.
"Attondel, well met." Came a cool feminine voice, devoid of any emotion. Flat, calm, tranquil. His attention returned to the form before him. A moment of contemplation brought remembrance.
"Helenrae," boomed his baritone voice, a stark contrast to hers. "What are you doing here?"
She stood slowly, running one open hand down her chest to her hip, straightening the small crease in her flawless attire.
"My final test awaits. Lord Samular has dispatched me to aid you in your task." She replied in that cool, controlled voice.
A crimson hood of velvet, complete with a veil leaving only her mouth and angled cheeks and chin visible adorned her head. This extended into a fine robe of a durable looking fabric, adorned with beads and small polished stones.
She suddenly cocked her head and pointed away from their position, through the wall. As if lending an eat to an unseen whisper.
"Your companions are suddenly close to here."
"That would be Morthos," He stated nonchalantly as the howling wind that blew up the shaft to the ancient dwarven kingdom became still. Now filled with only an eerie silence.
"It appears my companions have completed their task and closed the air portal." Attondel deduced.
"We should rejoin your party and continue your task." Helenrae suggested as a hand went a black rod fastened to her waist. It extended by three feet almost instantly as it entered her grasp. She tapped it once against the floor, then once against the nearby wall, allowing a small echo to escape. Then she turned and walked further down the hall with a confidence of a person who had lived down here all her life.
The Gloliath's gaze went quickly back to Helenrae and her forearms that were adorned with those black, gleaming bracers.
He couldn't see a seam, or a crease, and he knew that they were most certainly made from same gleaming stone that Obsidian was wrought.
He dismissed his speculation and focused again upon his surroundings.No questions now. He knew there would be time for that once they had rejoined the vanguard.
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