Fractures in the Vault

The air in the subterranean junction remained thick with resentment, the echoes of the recent shouting match between Vane and Kaelen still clinging to the damp stone walls. Fuming from the clash and needing to clear his head, Kaelen had stormed off down the vaulted corridor away from the makeshift camp, leaving the others scattered between the storage alcoves and the hidden conduit chamber.

Working in the oppressive gloom with only a flickering mage-light to guide him, Kaelen swept his inspection tools across the ancient load-bearing pillars. The stone here was heavily encrusted with strange, jagged crystalline growth, and as he pressed his palm against the primary keystone, he felt a deep, alarming vibration. Hairline fractures spider-webbed across the archway, actively humming in sync with the pulsing dark glass veins Vane had uncovered earlier. His grim measurements confirmed his worst fears: the subterranean vault was under immense, unnatural stress, held together by a razor-thin margin. Any magical disruption or sudden severance of the energy flow through the outflow conduit would instantly shear the keystone and bring the entire ceiling crashing down.

Returning from the lower vault struts with his jaw set and anger radiating in every stride, Kaelen marched straight back to where Vane was studying the conduit. Without a word of preamble, he shoved his hastily scribbled survey notes directly into Vane's field of vision, demanding an immediate, absolute halt to any reckless plans to tamper with the dark glass veins before they buried themselves alive.