The Tail of the Sword and Shield #Wattys2020

Chapter 14: He Found Jewelry

In thirty minutes they made it to the Center of Justice. The building as still standing but it was missing a large section of the roof. The building huge, with tall walls made of sandstone, the building formed a large circle. They walked inside the building.

Inside the arena, there was a partially broken staircase leading up from the arena floor to the balcony. From Volsair's perspective, there was some sort of a stone podium on the balcony. That's gotta be where the orb is hidden. he thought. He slid his sword just ever so slightly out of its sheath with one hand

"I'm ready for anything." Cordelia said, slipping her scarf from around her shoulders, she wound it up then tied it around her waist.

Volsair glanced over at Cordelia. He knew what it meant when she had her scarf tied around her waist. Her tied up scarf meant she was expecting trouble. He also couldn't help it that his cheeks grew hot right then. How could her Siren magic appearance affect him in that respect, if he had already liked how she looked?

Volsair smiled to himself. "The balcony, there's a podium of sorts." He pointed out to Cordelia. "I wonder if there's a control switch or something up there."

Cordelia and Volsair carefully ascended the falling apart stone stairs. When they got to the landing between floors, they had to help one another up what remained of the last flight of stairs.

The balcony had rows of wooden benches, most were broken, what ones that remained together, looked weak at best. The stone podium had a divot in the center of it. The divot looked like a disc the size of Volsair's palm would fit.

Volsair walked up to the podium, his cloak silently moving with each step. All was quiet as he aligned and pushed the disc he had found into the divot.

There was a clicking then a grating sound, like old hinges that were being forced open. Then, like in a bad tale told by an experienced bard, all hell broke loose.

The circle in the center of the room rotated with a continual click, click, click, click, click, as it lowered below the floor and out of sight, even from the balcony. Then the deafening sound of rushing water came pouring in from grates near the walls. The water level rose quickly to the landing of the staircase, in a roiling bubbling froth. The water seemed the most agitated in the center of the arena.

Suddenly, two gigantic blue-ish grey hands shot out of the water, sending spray into the air. The hands made a swiping motion, that collided with Volsair and Cordelia sending them over the rail into the torrential waters below.

They both resurfaced about thirty feet apart from one another. Volsair was having problems treading water.

***

Even though the landing in the water had knocked the wind out of her, Cordelia was able to yell, "LOSE THE ARMOR OR YOU'LL DROWN!" her lungs sending waves of fire through her with each word.

***

Volsair's chest and lungs burned from the fall. Even though he had healed from the joust he felt the pain a new from the collision with the water. He felt himself begin to sink, the water overtaking him. Then like a life raft in a storm, he heard Cordelia's orders. In a half-daze, he fumbled with his armor clasps. His cloak went first, then his pauldrons, then his bracers, and finally his sword. He felt naked without his sword, but if it meant he would live then, he could do without his sword.

Volsair was lighter than before he removed his armor. He was still fully clothed, but he felt considerably lightly. Then something grabbed both of his legs, pinning them together. Volsair barely had enough time to blink when he realized he was dragged underwater before he could draw a breath. Water flooded his nose and throat, threatening to fill his lungs.