Book 1 - Part 47: Mazes and Meanders
Unsurprised by the voice’s reluctance to complete his end of the bargain, Jack decided to look around a little more. The cauldron in which the flame burned caught his attention particularly, as it was covered with marks and patterns similar to the ones he had seen on the columns in the previous room and in the entrance corridor of the ship. What especially caught his eye was a large marking on the side of the cauldron. It was the eye design from the pillars. The evil, zap-happy eye - only much larger than the previous ones. He glared at it.
The eye simply stared back, but this time no surprise bolts of green electricity flew out angrily at him. Good. I had enough trouble with your little friends already, I don’t want to have to bring the house down around you, too.
Ignoring the eye, he instead followed the patterns made by the strange markings. Here, as in the long entrance corridor, they were everywhere. They covered the floor, the walls, and the high vaulted ceiling. He even noticed them on the various gargoyles in the room. Following the patterns, he observed another odd effect the central flame had on the surrounding surfaces. Rather than casting a green glow on its surroundings, the flame’s light turned everything it touched to a deep, blood red.
I hate magic. He felt sure that the effect was caused by the flame, and that there was nothing wrong with his vision. Just to make sure though, he blinked. He did a double-take and blinked again, as the red reflected light had now changed to a deep purple.
I really hate magic. Just more of the trickster’s illusions.
Having adjusted to the purple light, he returned to studying the patterns and markings - some of them reminding him of ancient runes or writings he had seen before on archaeological trips. They formed interesting, and sometimes very intricate, maze-like patterns. He was actually quite impressed by the beauty of some of the designs: criss-crossing dragons, eyes of many shapes and sizes, and complex mazes and meanders.