Sarraya became visible, putting her hand on it tentatively. "It's like it's been polished," she grunted. "I'll bet that it's as shiny as glass in the sun. A black-backed mirror."
"Well, you have any ideas?" Tarrin asked.
"Give me a minute," she said, frowning as she looked up the column. "How fast could you get up there if you could climb it?"
"What kind of question is that?" he asked.
"I think I can do something to give you traction on the wall, but it won't last but a moment," she told him. "It comes down to whether or not you think you can climb up there before the spell effect wears off. It's going to wipe me out, so I won't be able to do it again."
"Oh. Well, it's not very high. If I can move without worrying about slipping, I could go up pretty fast."
"It's the only thing I can think of at the moment," she sighed. "Unless-"
She reached out with her hand, and he felt her use her Druidic magic. Spiderweb suddenly spun out of her hand, and it quickly coated the side of the pillar in a sizable patch. "This would hold you, but the drawback is that it's going to leave a trail of sorts," she said. "They'll know someone was up there."
"I can't have that, Sarraya," he told her. "We'll have to go with the other idea."
"Alright, but it's a gamble."
"Everything we've done so far is a gamble," he shrugged. "Besides, I have some Druidic ability of my own, if you recall. I think that if I fall, I could fix it so I don't get killed when I land."
"What do you have in mind?"
"You'll see if it happens," he told her bluntly.
"I hate it when you want to be mysterious," she muttered. "Alright, get ready. When I do this, you're going to be able to stick to the wall, just like an insect. Keep in mind that the effect is only going to last a moment, so you can't waste any time. I'll catch up once I get my breath, so don't worry about me."
"Alright," he said, putting one paw against the mirror-like stone of the pillar. "Whenever you're ready."
"Get ready," she said, and he felt her again come into contact with her power. He felt a sudden angry buzzing in his paws and feet, which quickly disappeared. "Go!"
It was creepy. He pulled up around his paw, and found that his paw was sticking to the stone. It released when he pulled away, and in a matter of seconds, he found a quick and easy rhythym of motion that allowed him to climb up the wall nearly as fast as a human could run. Tarrin was much stronger and more agile than a human, allowing him to carry his entire weight on one paw or foot, letting him haul himself up the wall by huge chunks with every placing of a foot or paw. The wind pushed against his face, cold air that was too thin, and he almost immediately became winded. But he was mindful of Sarraya's warning, and dug down deep inside, keeping his eyes locked on that ledge that marked the return to safe, level ground.
The tingling in his paws and feet returned what seemed only hearbeats after he began, and he instinctively understood that the Druidic spell that Sarraya had worked on him was starting to fade. He doubled his pace, literally jumping up the stone by leaps and bounds, using his agility to keep his paws and feet within reach of the surface, only to make contact for a brief instant before vaulting himself higher. The upper ledge got closer and closer, and his eyes fixated on it as the rest of him worked feverishly to get him to that point before the spell faded, and he plummeted back to the ground that grew further and further away with each second.
The spell disrupted just as he made his final lunge for the top, causing his feet to slide off the stone just as they sprang to cover the last of the distance. He realized he was going to be short, so he reached out with all his might, stretched out to his absolute greatest, reaching for that sharp ledge. His claws just barely managed to catch the edge of it, and for a panicked moment he scrabbled against that perilous hold to stabilize himself, feeling his claws slide on the hard, smooth stone. But the hooked claws managed to find purchase on the sharp corner of the ledge, and his body relaxed when he felt that he had a hold on it. He blew out a sigh or relief between labored breaths, feeling his lungs cry out for air and his muscles burn from a lack of breath, leaning his forehead on the cool stone and silently thanking the Goddess for strong claws.
By main force, he dragged himself up and over the ledge, then rolled over on his back, rising up briefly to get off his tail, then laid there until he managed to get his breath back. He didn't care who saw him by then, so thankful he was that he simply made it.
Sarraya managed to drag herself up to the top of the spire a few moments later, landing on top of his chest and sitting down heavily. Her tiny shoulders were heaving as she panted, but she looked at him and gave him a mischievious grin. "I see you made it," she puffed.
"Barely," he said in reply. "It gave out on me just as I reached for the ledge."
"Sorry about that," she wheezed. "If I wouldn't have made that spiderweb, it would have lasted a few seconds longer."
"I made it, that's all that matters," he said dismissively. "The only problem now is how to get down."
Sarraya looked at him, then laughed. "We didn't think that far ahead, did we?" she admitted ruefully. "I tell you, Tarrin, you're a bad influence on me."
"I guess it's contagious."
"Well, we can just wait a while and rest, and I can use the same trick to get you down. Since you'll be going down instead of up, you'll probably be able to get to the ground faster."
"Right. I could jump off. That would get me down faster."
She looked at him, then stuck out her tongue at him. "I meant safely," she said archly.
"I'd be perfectly safe. At least until I hit the ground, anyway."
She looked at him crossly, then laughed. "What's gotten into you, Tarrin? You were never this funny before."
"Blame it on the air," he said absently, dislodging her as he sat up. She settled in on his thigh instead as he sat up and looked towards the obelisk. It was about fifty spans high, made of the same black stone as the pillar. But the obelisk was made of blocks of stone, not one piece, constructed with four sides that sloped to a central point, like a pyramid. The sides were relatively steep, and he could see that there wouldn't be much room inside. Probably one very large room, or a few smaller ones. He had the feeling that it would be one room. The place looked like a temple or shrine, and things like that demanded large rooms to showcase the holy objects that they often contained. This place seemed to be little different. He couldn't see an entrance, but he also could only see one side of the obelisk very well. Its shape and design told him that it was four-sided, but he couldn't see the other sides. "No entrance on this side," he noted.
"What side are we on?"
"West, I think," he said, looking up at the Skybands to determine his direction in relation to the obelisk. "West," he affirmed confidently.
"Let's try the north face. Humans have this thing about north. I've never understood why."
"An irrational need to follow directions, I guess," he told her as he dislodged her again as he got up.
"What do you mean?"
"The compass always points north," he told her as she managed to flitter up into the air.
"Ohhh," she said, following him as he rounded the obelisk to get on its north side. "I get it."
Despite Sarraya's concepts of humanity, there was no entrance on the north side of the obelisk. He continued around to the east side, and that was where he saw the doorless opening. It was a wide archway, with a keystone at the top made of a pure, snowy white marble that totally contrasted with the black stone surrounding it. Tarrin gave Sarraya a flat look before crouching down and getting up against the wall, and then creeping along the wall until he reached the edge of that arch. He couldn't hear anything coming from inside, but there was a light emanating from within, a pure white light that was made by no fire, torch, or candle.