Wizardland

"Come on," Aiden ushered Al to follow after the other two, making sure to keep up with them.

"This isn't funny," Cole complained.

Al followed behind them, scrunching her little nose. "Yeah, I'm comin'."

"Sorry, Cole. I like to joke a bit." She smiled and continued running behind him. "Do you see a light ahead? I didn't think we went that far into this cave."

"We're getting closer. The footprints are brighter." Raine smiled and continued leading. "So what's our plan of action after we find them? I don't think we have much time left."

"We'll improvise," Erik suggested, though his tone held a bit of doubt in it.

Aiden followed after them, making sure to keep his footsteps light enough so they weren't heard. He said, "We find them, talk to them, and finish this before it starts to get too nasty."

"I don't. I think this cave's magic is altering the route. It wants us trapped here for some reason," Cole said.

Al sighed. "S'already nasty..."

"Huh . . . well . . . that's definitely not a good thing. Should we stop and try to figure out a new way out?" Esther slowed her pace until she came to a stop. "I hope the others are doing better than us."

Raine stopped. "We have a problem." She looked down to see the footprints shining bright, but they stopped right there. "The footprints end here."

"Lovely," Erik sniped out before lowering his nose to the floor, trying to sniff out their scent. His ears twitched and he wagged his tail slightly. Then he looked up at them. "Any one of you here familiar with magic seals or anything?"

Aiden raised an eyebrow while crossing his arms. "I'm slightly experienced," he admitted. "Why?"

"I wish I knew how to use magic better," Cole said with a sigh. "Seems like the right spell could get us outta here."

Al watched them. "Seals...like walruses?"

"It seems so. Should we just stay here until we can figure out another plan of attack? At this point walking won't do us any good." Esther sighed and tilted her head a bit. "I wonder if this 'test' will actually show us something."

"If the seal has something to do with water, then I can take a crack at it. What about you, Erik?" Raine looked around to make sure she didn't miss any clue. She looked down to Al and smiled lightly. "The seal we're talking about isn't an animal. It's like an invisible barrier and the only way it'll go away is if someone knows a way to break it."

Erik tilted his head, examining the seal. He said, "I can try, but let me try to examine its properties first."

"You can do that?" Aiden questioned, looking at Erik curiously. "Just how much experience do you have with that?"

"I was thinking the same thing, but I don't know what it would possibly teach us. I don't even know if this is still part of the test." Cole sighed.

"Oh." Al frowned. "Would a hammer work?"

"That's true . . . oh well." Esther smiled and sat on the ground. "Let's talk and then we can try and figure out a way out of here. Maybe knowing more about each other can help find a way out."

Raine smiled down towards Al. "The barrier can't be broken through physical means. It has to be broken with the right type of magic."

Erik nodded in agreement to Raine's words, keeping his gaze focused on the seal. Hesitantly, he pawed at it and tilted his head to the side. "We'll figure out what the right magic means once we inspect its properties." He gave the others a sidelong glance. "I doubt any of you would like to suffer the consequences if we get this wrong."

"Nope," Aiden piped up. "I really don't want to end being electrocuted or something."

"Sounds like something out of a story. Friendship saving the day. Maybe. This whole test is crazy." Cole sat beside her. "So...what will you do if you become a full-fledged wizard?"

"There's a chance this barrier thingie'll shock us?" Al looked less than thrilled.

Esther tapped a finger against her chin. "What will I . . ." She snickered to herself before turning to look at Cole. "I don't know. I just want to be able to understand my powers. What about you?"

Raine looked down to Al and lightly pat her head. "It'll be alright. Let's take a moment and analyze this barrier then. We need to find a way to dispell it." She squinted her eyes and looked at the barrier. "There's no sign of water around it so I don't think it's powered by the elements."

"So the chances of us being electrocuted as nil," Erik remarked as he took a few steps back before kicking dirt onto the seal. It sizzled and he watched as it soon turned into smoke. "But it's a trap, that's for sure. Anything that touches it will turn into smoke."