Hamen approached it reverently, his hand outstretched but not quite touching the swirling green aura.
He circled the pillar until he found what he sought—a small cavity in the otherwise smooth surface, just large enough to hold a man's closed fist.
Within it rested a bracelet, suspended in the air without support. Crafted of the same light-drinking metal as his key, the bracelet was adorned with a single cabochon stone that pulsed with emerald light in perfect rhythm with the energy surrounding the pillar.
Hamen hesitated only briefly before reaching into the cavity. His fingers closed around the bracelet, and he withdrew it from its resting place.
For a heartbeat, nothing happened.
Then the green energy surrounding the pillar surged like a tide breaking against cliffs. It roiled and churned, suddenly wild and uncontained. Hamen stumbled backward, bracelet clutched in his fist, as the emerald light coalesced into a single, blinding stream.
