The Seven Steps of Dawn

The cavern opens into a round chamber where damp stone glitters with mineral frost and the air tastes of iron and wet earth. Sixteen stepping stones form a broken ring across a shallow pool, but seven of them are carved with the symbols of moon, wave, seed, fang, ember, eye, and sun, each worn smooth by ages of careful feet. A black doorway waits on the far side, and whenever the water is disturbed, a low thunk echoes under the floor as if the room is listening.