Grey dura 7

I had only thought of one way to bypass the runes without triggering the alarm.

Manifesting aether into my hand, I formed a single claw. I also wrapped myself in a barrier of protective aether before kneeling down next to the plinth. Lining the claw up with the runes—starting with those responsible for creating the alarm effect—I slashed at the stone.

As the claw gouged into the marble, a bolt of vibrantly blue lightning leapt to my hand, burning through the layer of aether and scorching my knuckles before I could react. Reinforcing the aether, I focused on redirecting and channeling the lightning, forcing it to skitter and jump across the surface of the barrier.

It travelled up my arm, across my chest, and down my other arm. If I let the super-charged electrical current fly off into the room, I was likely to blast a hole in the wall or destroy one of the other dead relics. Instead, I pressed my hand firmly over the remainder of the runes so that the lightning bolt travelled in a circle, slamming back into the same runes that conjured it.

The marble split with a loud crack.

I froze, my heart racing, listening hard for any indication the noise had been noticed.

Thunder was rolling in the background, and I could hear Haedrig’s argument with the guards through the walls.