Chapter 39-The Tower of Terror
The little brown door swung open as Idus entered. He stepped inside and gasped in wonder at the innards of the tower. Here was a truly impressive sight. There was no stairway in this tower. Indeed, only one level existed at all in the mighty structure. Above him, the cold stone walls ascended upwards infinitely. A radiance the likes of which he had never before beheld permeated the chamber. The atmosphere was mesmerizing. Idus felt joy well up in his breast and had the strange desire to suddenly launch himself into the air and fly, indeed as he stared into the upper reaches of the tower he could make out something flying or floating high in the sky above him, but it was so far up that Idus could not tell what it was.
He took a large gulp, and cast his eyes down, towards the floor; Idus could descry some type of writing on the steps in front of him. Each individual stone had different writing on it; Idus bent down and felt the writing with his hand, as he did so, a deep-earth shattering voice filled the tower. The words it said were not English, but nevertheless, just as Irgen had known; Idus felt he knew exactly what the voice was saying. Somehow he understood, and this is what he heard:
“Before you are the stones of judgment, they are placed here, to guide wanderers, like you, to power, or to misery. Touch them and they will judge you for what you are. For those who are judged to be worthy, a gift will be given. For those who are unworthy, much will be taken away!”
“Choose wisely traveler, for the stones are unforgiving, and yet perhaps they will be extremely merciful.”
Idus stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do. He didn’t like how it said A gift, and MUCH will be taken away. He wasn’t sure if the risk was worth it, but then he remembered what he was searching for, and he thought that perhaps the saying was built to make people frightened, make them think the reward wasn’t worth it, although he was sure that before now, no one had entered the tower, so he considered it a useless, yet terrifying precaution.
He stood on the brink of indecision like this for only a short moment before deciding that if he never tried then he would never do, and if he never did anything, then why was he here? He stepped boldly forward, out onto the steps, and he paused, waiting for the hammer-stroke to fall, but surprisingly nothing happened. A sigh of relief escaped his frightened body into the silent air.
He looked up apprehensively into the open space above him, ready to bolt back to the door if something should occur, but once again there was only silence. He straightened up out of the cowering position in which he found himself, and looked forward again to the center of the tower. Here he saw a large round stone bereft of any markings, which he had not noticed before. Curious at what would happen, he walked forward until he was standing on that stone, and waited.
Once again he found disappointingly that nothing happened, he sighed, he had been so anxious for something after the voice, and now he only found emptiness. He lifted his foot to step on some other stones, and as he did so a loud boom echoed in the closed chamber. The stones cracked beneath Idus, and a bone chilling cold filled the room, panicking, he found he could only stand riveted in his place. He willed himself to move, to do something, to get out, but it was too late; suddenly the stones surrounding Irgen launched into the air extending their cold masses to create a large stone wall surrounding Idus.
He was trapped; the walls around him gave him a claustrophobic feeling he had not had since he had lived in his old house. It was a feeling that he did not like, but he decided that for the time being, he would just have to live with it. After another moment of nothing happening, the stone he was on gave a gut-wrenching jolt and then slowly started to descend below ground. Idus watched horrified as the ground he knew disappeared above him.
Darkness covered his face as he descended lower and lower. Finally when Idus had given up all hope, a ray of light pierced the walls around him. Slowly they disappeared and light flooded the now open hole. He looked down, and saw another large chamber, much wider than the one above him, but not even close to being as tall. There was an echoing clash as the stone Irgen was standing on came to a halt.
He stepped off the stone hurriedly and surveyed the ever changing surroundings, as he did so he felt his heart stop, before him, on a shimmering golden pedestal stood the famed winged sandals of Perseus. Two small golden wings fluttered timidly, slightly lifting the sandal to which they were attached. The sandals were jet black and yet they shone brilliantly with a radiance of their own. Idus gaped in open wonder at the priceless artifact before him. Did that mean he had passed his test? He looked around apprehensively once more, before striding towards the pedestal, as he approached it; he felt expectation begin to grow in him.
He felt his trembling arm reach forward and grasp one of the sandals, as he did so, another boom filled the room, and the step which he had ridden down began to slowly climb skyward. Panicking, Idus grabbed the other sandal and ran full tilt towards the rising step, but by the time he reached it, it was out of his reach. He looked about the room; there was no other way out. He was going to be trapped. There was no way out.
“STOP!” He yelled hysterically, but nothing happened, then he remembered the useless burden in his arms. He went to drop it, but then he remembered the burden was the sandals. Hope flooded him again as he ripped his shoes off his feet and slipped the sandals on.
The step had almost reached the opening now. Idus knew it was now or never. He jumped upwards and the sandals got a life of their own, he shot like a bullet through the air, as he reached the sliver of an opening, he dove forward, flattening himself onto the stone, his winged sandals flapped purposefully, and they just managed to squeeze his body through the hole as it closed behind him. Elated, he took off again and flew upwards, back into the mighty chamber above him; up, up, up he went until he could make out the object above him.
A large light from above illuminated the object. It glittered and shone brilliantly in this superior lighting. Two bright silver hafts, stuck out from a large, black shaft which ended in a menacing point. Idus rose upwards and reached for the shaft of the great battle axe. As he did so, a light shone on the wall. Panicking, Idus grabbed the axe and flew down towards the earth. As he reached the ground he stole a glance at the light on the wall, and saw to his astonishment another engraving. Hastily he turned and flew back towards the wall. He reached it just before the writing faded back into the wall. Quickly he read what he could, but most of the inscription was already gone. What was left read: “I, Poseidon, leave this word of caution…Each man must one day make a choice…Power…Honor. Hate or virtue. Idus in the past chose wrongly, but to the one who sees this now, not all hatred is a sin, and not all enmity results in pain. This blade has a strange power, but I fear it must be wielded in the darkness. Only then may it fulfill its true destiny.” Idus tried to take in all of the faded lettering. He hit the wall frustrated at his cowardice. He had missed most of the message and what was left to him only seemed like a riddle. Dejectedly he returned to the stone floor. Once there, he slowly plodded outside wondering what the engraving had meant.
Once outside, he examined the shaft of the great axe and found written in some type of crystal the word “Thor” lining the shaft. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, Idus could test the weight of the blade, and he found it to be extremely light. Even now as he carried it, it felt like an added appendage to his body, and not just some object which burdened the muscles. He cautiously slipped the axe into his belt, and patted it lightly. As he touched the blade, he felt a strange new power rush through him. Lightning and thunder flooded the sky, as Idus lifted his arms upward, the new power rushed through him. The blade had found a new master.
Poseidon’s word of caution, written on the wall centuries before, mainly landed on deaf ears if Idus had been able to read its entirety this is what he would have read:
“I, Poseidon, leave my last word of caution on this great battle axe befor
e you. It was not forged by the Greek gods, and as such it has powers which will not be found among any other weapons. It serves its master well, but I fear that it has a mind of its own. Each man who wields it must one day make a choice. I fear that its mind is not only strong and powerful, but also malignant and terrifying. I fear that it will try to influence its master’s will, to the point where it may enslave it, but it may not be so. It gave Idus great power, which was what he desired, he did not fear to use it because he himself was powerful, but over time I think the constant struggle with its will, caused Idus to shun society and honor, and in turn drove him to a point of madness, at least to a point where the quest for power became an end to itself.
After Idus’ death, it received even more power, and now even I fear and tremble to use it. Hate or virtue is what will dominate this blade. Idus in the past chose wrongly, but to the one who sees this now, not all hatred is a sin, and not all enmity results in pain. This blade has a strange power, but I fear it must be wielded in the darkness. Only then may it fulfill its true destiny. I leave this last word of advice to whoever desires this artifact. It is powerful, and it is dangerous, only those who resist its endless call for more power will be safe from its grasp. Remember the power is in you, not the weapon, use it for good, use it for selfless service, and an ending of this war, and it will not destroy you. Do not, and it will torment your soul. Remember that the power inside yourself will suffice, do not hearken to its voice!”
Poseidon’s solemn warning ended and the lights went out inside the Tower of Air.