[Severed Divinity] 77. The Queen’s Palace

Isen had expected Allezin’s secret entrance to be more mundane, like a servant’s tunnel. The reality defied expectation.

Allezin ran around the palace, stopping before a random tree that Isen couldn’t have distinguished from any other. The palace yards were filled with well-manicured trees, all of them identical in any way that mattered.

Allezin pressed his foot on a rock near the trunk and the dirt hollowed out, revealing a passage. Allezin jumped into it without hesitation.

Isen held on for dear life as they plummeted, his stomach rising to his throat. They fell for a stomach-clenching twenty seconds before their speed slowed, and they came to a stop. Allezin stepped into a chamber only lit by a small ridge of dim red lights that barely illuminated the room past the length of Isen’s arm.

The slowing effect hadn’t felt natural—Isen wondered if it was built into the tunnel itself. Maybe it would work for some people and not for others. Isen could imagine a twenty second fall turning lethal for cultivators or mages who jumped blindly.

The chamber they’d arrived in was perfectly rectangular and mostly empty save for a few cargo boxes. Allezin moved swiftly for the attached hallway, sprinting until he came to a square door. He pressed his hand to a panel and it glowed. Then, the door slid to the side, revealing a small room. Allezin entered and the door closed behind them; then the room ascended.

It was a lift.

“Drop the cloak,” Allezin said.

Isen complied. Allezin had moved quickly, so around a minute had passed. Isen was tired, but not fully exhausted, and focused on cycling as much energy as he could.

“We’re entering the palace proper,” Allezin explained. “If anyone, Welco or otherwise, is here, we’ll know soon. Most of the palace is heavily restricted and inaccessible without the queen’s active permission. That forces everyone into the reception area.”

“What if Welco isn’t here?” Isen asked.

“If no one is present, we return to the gardens to watch and wait. If others are about, you should run and hide. You’re resourceful enough to figure something out.”

It sounded like he wouldn’t be able to return on his own, then—he wasn’t recognized by whatever enchantments were on the lift, not like Allezin was.

The scent of danger and opportunity were strong, warring for dominance.

“Cloak!” Allezin commanded. Isen reactivated it just as the lift door opened.

The invisible fighter proceeded slower than before, cautiously inspecting the cavernous reception room. High, frescoed ceilings welcomed them, illuminated by glowing crystals that hung from above, glimmering like stars. Sumptuous furniture filled the space.

A towering set of white stone double doors overshadowed everything else. Who needed doors that big? They were large enough for the most massive of tier three monsters. Even Erasmus would have had plenty of space.

And the doors... were open. Just a crack, large enough to fit a single person.

Isen felt Allezin’s body tense. Then, the man shot toward the door and slid into the gap.

Everything was starting to make sense. Whatever was in the cosmovault granted access to Lumina’s palace. As for why Dray hadn’t used it immediately... It apparently came down to them needing a mage. That had been why Celavee met with Jorin and Kelsina.

Now that Isen thought about it more, it seemed likely that the drayavin forces had already entered the palace, only to find themselves stuck at some juncture, unable to access the queen’s legacy. They had needed Welco to help... and now that he had their key, he didn’t need them.

Welco could seize the legacy himself. Maybe he still planned to help Dray, informing them about how to access the legacy. It would be too dangerous for him to monopolize, and Isen knew that giving the Aranites unfettered access was the true concern.

But if Welco went in first, he would get first pickings. He wouldn’t need to barter with Celavee. He wouldn’t need to worry about being betrayed when Dray finally had what they desired.

As Allezin rushed through the dark corridors, it became apparent he didn’t know which way to go. The other side was maze-like, with countless corridors and rooms. The first few turns, Allezin proceeded with confidence, but at some point, he’d stopped for seconds at time, mentally deliberating.

Lumina had probably told him how to go earlier, but in the labyrinthine space, he’d become disoriented.

A shadow mage like Welco, with his shadow puppets, was well-equipped to scout the palace and discover the right way. Without Lumina feeding Allezin directions, Isen doubted the cultivator would find Welco, not to mention the queen’s legacy.

Isen held shadow cloak as long as he could, but he eventually had to drop it. Allezin stopped and shielded him against the wall, hiding him from sight.

“Allezin,” he whispered, “this isn’t working.”

“... I know. I’ve never been here before. She warned me it was confusing, but this is worse than I thought.”

“Why is it so... maze-like?” It reminded him of the depths. Almost organic, with pathways branching and merging seemingly at random.

“She mentioned something about an experiment from long ago,” he said, the words lacking confidence. “I don’t know.”

Isen cycled while contemplating his next steps. He knew what he wanted to do, and recognized how opportunity and danger both surrounded the choice. It was one that couldn’t be taken back.

“Let me lead us,” Isen finally said. He didn’t know if the sixth sense would take him to Welco directly or to wherever Lumina’s legacy lay—and it didn’t really matter.

It would take him where he needed to be.

Isen couldn’t see Allezin’s expression through the man’s invisible helmet. “You know how important this is,” the warrior said. “Can you... actually do it?”

“Yes.”

“Then go.” Allezin stood, no longer covering Isen with his body. He dropped his own invisibility and pulled out his spear, extending it to its full length. “If you see Welco’s shadows—”

“I’ll let you know.”

Isen’s entire body felt jittery. He was fully revealing this part of himself to a tier three other than Ros. What would Allezin think? He must have already suspected that Isen had some kind of preternatural pathfinding, given his ability to find the sheltering refugees—including Lumina Eldrassin—during the Shevenar attack.

And if Allezin knew, Lumina certainly would learn of it. Then what? How useful was his ability to someone like Allezin, or a tier four like the queen?

He forced such thoughts out of his mind as he set off down the corridor. Now that he wasn’t piggybacking on Allezin and moving at a blistering clip, he could take in the surroundings.

The halls were narrow, with tall, ten-foot ceilings. They were filled by all sorts of random rooms, most of them closed, all possessing a code marked on the door.

Allezin probably knew the code to look for, assuming Lumina’s workshop had a similar entrance.

Isen didn’t bother asking for it. At this point, he was tired of hiding. If he was going to reveal his ability to save Eldrassin, then he’d reveal it. His ability would bring him to the right place, door code or not.

The few doors that were open seemed mostly empty... which was probably why they weren’t closed. Isen wanted to try one of the closed doors, just to see what lay on the other side—or to see if the door was locked—but he held back. He didn’t want to accidentally trip some kind of defense system.

They proceeded for ten minutes before they came to another lift. Allezin placed his hand on the scanner and the door opened.

“Do you know which level?” Allezin murmured. Unlike the previous lift, this one had a series of numbers indicating floors, each accompanied by a small hollowed dome. There was a little white marble next to them.

Isen had never seen a lift like this before, but he let his instincts guide him. He grabbed the marble and pressed it into the socket next to the elvish sigil for ‘three.’

Allezin’s helmet was trained on him the entire time. Isen turned to face him as the lift moved, descending this time. “Did I get it right?” he asked.

Allezin didn’t say anything until the lift stopped moving. “Third floor, door 129.”

Isen nodded and exited the lift. The scent of opportunity wafted around him, calling him forward.

Only a few seconds outside, however, he saw it: a shadow that wasn’t a shadow.

They were no longer alone.