Novel Full Chapter 1925 A Spark in the Morning
Chapter 1925: Chapter 1925 A Spark in the Morning
— Kat —
After digging their way out of their shelter the next morning the group got moving swiftly. Some food was eaten, but it was more of a snack really. Digging out hadn’t been an issue either. Despite their entrance being buried and more snow being added to the top of their sleeping area… it was just snow at the end of the day. Pushing their way out was a simple thing, if somewhat chilly for two party members.
They found some more small structures on the way, but the important find came after about two hours after breakfast. Down in the bottom of one of the holes was a glass dome set into the side. It didn’t look like too much, and the roof was covered in snow. Kat had nearly missed it on her flight over. Only the slight gleam from the metallic door and the slightly lighter snowfall had allowed for her to spot it.
Lily and Hedera were napping, so if not for that slight gleam it would’ve been missed. As Kat flew down, she wondered if this was a full town or just an outpost of some kind. They were told most towns were completely encased in glass domes to keep the winter chill out while allowing for light to make its way inside. This glass dome was maybe large enough for one mansion or a few small houses.
There was always the chance that the rest were set into the mountain. It was hard to tell. Even with the snow visibly melting on top of the glass there was enough there that it would take some time to see inside if it was left to naturally dissipate. Deciding not to overcomplicate things, Kat simply dropped down in front of the door and, after looking around a bit for a doorbell of some kind, knocked loudly against the metal.
The loud bangs seemed to echo throughout the whole area, bouncing against the snow and enhancing the sound. It wasn’t a pleasant thing to listen to… but it did make sure that whoever was inside would hear them. A minute passes and Kat steals a glance at Hedera, who seemed unphased. Another two minutes passed. Still no sign of anything changing. “How long do you suggest we wait?” asked Kat.
“At the very least we should start clearing away some of the snow,” suggested Hedera. “Best see in side and try to spot someone. It’s not like it isn’t melting, but if we can get an idea of if anyone is on their way or not…”
Kat nodded. She hadn’t wanted to risk causing some obscure offence to what could ostensibly be an unknown culture. Kat could see that as an amusing thing Thyme setup, where melting the snow prematurely was asking for worse weather in the future or something. Still, it was best to check before taking any more extreme measures. Snow clearing was easy with Kat and Lily working together. Mostly with Lily’s help.
As the snow came away though… Kat’s frown grew. Even with the snow removed the glass was tinted in such a way that not all that much light was getting in. It was a milky white that blended in with the snow somewhat and what light did manage to get through was minimal. As such it was hard to tell what, if anything was going on inside. Kat expected to be able to see at least a few shapes moving around… but nothing. No sign of lights inside the place either.
Kat moved off to the side, brushing away the snow and scraping the little bits of ice that were still clinging to the glass. Pressing her face up against it for any sign of light, even deeper into the mountain… was met with nothing. If there were lights inside, Kat couldn’t see them. If there was any movement… Kat saw no sign of it. “I’ve got nothing at all here. What’s the plan?”
“Break down the door?” suggested Hedera with a shrug.
Kat rubbed the bottom of her chin thoughtfully. “I’m not sure I can. With just Rank 2 strength… and even if I wasn’t limited like that… it’s a very solid door. Lily, do you think you could pull it off with your shadows?”
The door in question looked like one for a bank vault. It was a heavy metal thing with a big wheel in the centre. It also had a slit through the middle for scan cards or something. The hinges weren’t visible as an obvious weak point to go messing around with. They might be on the other side of the door… or perhaps it didn’t use them at all. There was no obvious way the door opened. It could fold down like a drawbridge for all Kat knew.
[I’m not sure. I could give it a god but where am I meant to grab it by? The handle? Surely that would give way before the door does and then we could be in real trouble. I’m not sure I could pick the lock either… because it seems to just be an enchantment checking against cards. Perhaps if I knew more about those I could do something?]
Can’t you sneak your shadows under the door, maybe around the edges and pull from there?
[Probably not? Normally if I concentrate I can get a vague sense of the nearby shadows around but I’ve got nothing on the other side of the door. I mean, I can and should try but I’m betting that something is going to prevent them from sneaking through.]
Kat shrugged and Lily sat up in Kat’s arms so that she could make a proper attempt. Giant hands of shadow reached out from Lily’s sides and tried to sneak in through the barely visible gap in the door’s sides. Lily soon ran into a wall. After sneaking the shadow fingers inside it was like they’d found a solid wall instead of a gap… and it had to be intentional. It wasn’t as soon as she touched the door, nor was it when she first tried to reach through the cracks. It was specifically when her shadows tried to stretch past the halfway mark for the door.
Lily retracted them while shaking her head. [No good chief. I can make an attempt at pulling from the wheel if you want?]
Not right now, or at least, not yet. “Hmmmm… seems like getting in is going to be a bit of a challenge. Lily can’t get past some sort of barrier the door projects. Let me try something though…” Kat moved up to the door and pressed some demonic flames up against it. Ice started to form quickly so Kat soon cut her power off and scraped away the ice. Only to find a barely marked door. Kat frowned and pressed a thinner flame against that specific spot.
Sparks shot off the metal almost like she was welding, but Kat could see it. A miniscule mark… and it had taken her a good five percent of her reserves to make the two attempts. Shifting to the side, Kat tried the same thing on the glass and it frosted over immediately, and not just that one patch either but a large swath of it.
Kat cracked the ice easily and looked at the glass underneath… and it was hard to tell if anything had been done to it at all. Repeating the test just got the same result. A large amount of ice, perhaps more than if she’d been freezing water with the same amount of power… but not much, if any damage. Kat was pretty sure there was a bit of a mark but nothing major, less than the door if she’d even managed anything.
“Ok that’s not what I expected… why is the glass better at dispersing my demonic energy than the metal door?” asked Kat.
“I’m not sure… but does that leave us with any way in?” asked Hedera.
“Well there has to be SOME way. I refuse to believe that time would just leave a clearly marked locked door with no way inside. We could perhaps try digging through the rock? It wouldn’t be fast… but assuming it isn’t just ice all the way in I still think we can get inside. Just might take a bit. I do wish we had a proper set of digging equipment… hmm… I doubt we can just ask Timmy to open the door right?” said Kat.
Hedera shrugged, “Timmy, open the door.” Timmy remained in place. “Alright… not sure if he’s not trying because it’s too hard or not trying because it counts as an orb challenge but about what I expected,”
“I guess the question is… IF we bother or not?” Kat offered to the air. “Breaking inside might give us some clues, and if it’s a real town we can drop the node of in there and be set. Something however, tells me that it’s not going to be so easy,”