The Golem stumbled forward, its mechanical metal legs clanking loudly on the stone floor. Gilreg and the others were able to easily get out of the way as the Golem smashed their weapon hands into the ground kicking up bits of stone. It was clear that a hit from this thing would be highly fatal. The Golem shook and rose up to its full height and turned to face the group. It prepared for another assault. With a roar, Booger slashed at it hard with his heavy spear, and it clanged loudly against its metal leg. There was barely a scratch as the large orc’s arm shook from the blow. The prince quickly stumbled back as the Golem slammed a hammer hand, creating a small crater where the orc was standing just moments earlier.
Arrows and fire darts struck the Golem. Raine was extraordinarily accurate and was hitting the creature’s “eyes.” But her arrows bounced off them, some of them snapping. Nulrok’s flame darts left scorch marks, but the creature appeared unfazed. It stuttered, clanked, and then charged again. The group scattered away in the nick of time as the Golem barreled into the stone wall, creating an indenture. The walls held, but some rubble fell off. The creature stood over the doorways as it began to rise again to its full height.
“The hallway!” Exclaimed Gilreg.
It was dark, and the light from Nulrok’s spell did not extend further down. The group stood at the entrance, hesitant to enter the unknown. From behind, the Golem’s head turned on its neck to look at them, and then its body followed and spun around.
“Can you extend the light further down?” Asked Gilreg.
Before the goblin mage could answer, Tassarion stepped forward. The elf closed his eyes and held up his hands. The glowing sphere Nulrok had bound to him shook and floated down the hallway. It went about 15 meters before it shook and stopped. But this was enough to illuminate the remainder of the passage. The group saw it go for 30 meters and ended with a metal door.
“Impressive,” observed Nulrok.
“Thank you,” Tassarion said with a grin that Shaymus found to be arrogant.
The Golem shook as it prepared for another devastating charge. Without further discussion, Gilreg led the others down the hallway. The Golem began its charge, its metal legs pounding hard into the stone. It shook the building as it moved. They reached the door just as the Golem was halfway through the circular chamber. The Golem will be entering the hallway soon and will be splattering them all shortly after, as the hallway is much narrower than the chamber. This afforded them no space to dodge. The door was locked!
“I will engage it. You all run past it.” Booger said solemnly and hefted his heavy polearm.
“Idiot! We die together,” Shaymus snarled and stood next to the prince, her blades held at the ready.
The Golem was now in the hallway, lumbering forward. An inevitable force of destruction.
“The markings on the door are the same on the staff. Nulrok, use the staff!” Raine shouted.
The white-haired mage focused on his staff. The markings glow red, and he waved the staff over the door. The markings lit up in green light, and the door opened with a click.
“Hurry inside!” Gilreg barked as he pushed the door open.
The party rushed in and slammed the door shut. A few moments after, the metal door shook with tremendous force as the Golem slammed into it. But the door held. The guardian began pounding on the door.
“This is not going to hold for much longer,” observed Raine.
Gilreg scanned the room they were in. It was a small square chamber filled with rotting debris and cobwebs. He didn’t have time to examine the piles. He scanned the room for exits. To their left, up near the ceiling, was a rusted metal grate. In front of them were two doors. BOOM! The Golem banged again, trying to break in.
“Check the doors,” ordered Gilreg.
Tassarion opened a door. The floating ball of fire illuminated a small room filled with rotting sacks. Large cracks and fissures could be seen running along the walls and then behind the decaying crates. The smell was horrendous. There was fecal refuse left recently, and before the elf could close the door, a pair of giant rodents rushed out of the piles.
“Ahhh!” The elf shrieked as he stepped back and sliced one of the giant rats in half with his blade. The other slammed into his chest, their sharp fangs aiming for his throat.
Shaymus stabbed it in the back, and the rodent fell, twitching to the floor. Scurrying noise could be heard as more of the ravenous creatures were preparing to go after the group. Booger slammed the door shut, and they could hear scratching. A lot of scratching! On the opposite side of the room, Raine had removed the grate. It opened into a narrow passageway that appeared to run adjacent to the large circular chamber they had just fled.
BOOM! The Golem slammed again into the door. Dust fell to the floor, and a piece of metal broke free. Raine had made the decision and climbed into the opening that was behind the grate. Shaymus and Tassarion followed. Both skillfully clambered up the wall and into the passageway. Their thin frames fit easily. Nulrok was next, with some difficulty on the climb, but could traverse the passageway without trouble. Booger had a really hard time. For a terrifying moment, it appeared the large prince wouldn’t fit. He eventually squeezed in, and Gilreg quickly followed. At that moment, the Golem burst into the room. Gilreg crept deeper into the narrow passageway and peaked out. He saw the Golem smash the adjacent doors open and was swarmed by a horde of dog-sized rodents. Their sharp teeth were useless against the metal, but their sheer numbers buried the Golem in a horde of stink and fur. Gilreg silently replaced the grate, fearing that the rodents would be able to pursue them. They were still distracted by the Golem and attempted to eat it. The Golem was smashing them into grotesque piles of meaty pulp. Gilreg retreated after his group.
“How come the fire does not burn us?” Shaymus asked in awe as Nulrok’s spell was much closer to each of them in the cramped passageway.
“I concentrated the mana on it to exist, not to generate heat,” the mage explained.
“But it’s fire. It should burn,” Shaymus insisted.
“It’s magic, Shaymus. Let’s move on,” said Raine.
The passageway that they were in was incredibly cramped. For Tassarion and the goblins, they had to crawl on their hands and knees. For Booger, it was especially miserable, and he had to crawl on his stomach. Their packs were always getting in their way. It was dusty and filled with spiderwebs. Nulrok kept scratching as he felt things were crawling all over him. It was a massive relief for everyone when they came upon another grate. The sounds of the Golem faded in the distance.
“I don’t care if there are two of those golem things outside. I can’t be in this blasted tunnel any longer,” growled Booger. The ordinarily good-spirited orc was now extremely grumpy.
“It looks clear,” Raine said finally. The sharp-eyed goblin studied the next room through the grate for some time. She motioned for Shaymus to assist her with removing it.
The two silently pushed out, twisted, and brought the metal grate inside the tunnel. It was a painstaking process to avoid making any sound. Then, Booger sneezed loudly, and Shaymus glared at him.
“Sorry,” he said.
“Shhh,” Raine shushed the orc.
She was listening intently. When it was clear no golem was rushing into the next room, the chieftain’s daughter exited the passage and climbed down. The others followed and found themselves in a small square room with a single door at the end. The disturbing feature was the piles of bones in the corners. Most of the bones appeared to be from the rats that they encountered earlier. Mixed in the pile were larger bones.
“Those are Dragonspawn,” observed Tassarion. That raised more questions than answers. They each glanced at the door. Whatever ate, the Dragonspawn could be in the next room.
“I think the passageway is some sort of ventilation system for this building. We could, in theory, continue along in it to find an exit,” Raine said as she looked back up at the small opening they had just exited.
“I’m not going back in there,” Booger said firmly with his square jaw set that told everyone that this was not up for discussion.
“It’s cooler down here. Let’s put our armor back on then,” Gilreg said.
After they all suited up, Raine went to listen by the door.
“Can you,” Raine said to Nulrok and then motioned toward the floating balls of fire and asked, “Turn them off?”
“Dispel them?” The mage asked.
“I do not want to be in the dark,” stated Booger.
“There is no point for us to be quiet if everyone can see us. Stop being a baby,” Shaymus snarled to the orc, and he looked down.
Raine dug into her pack and brought out a rag. She held it over her glowing orb, and it dimmed the light considerably. Raine motioned for the others to do the same. After the lights were dimmed, she silently opened the door. It was very dark, and the small amount of light from Nulork’s muffled spell showed that It led to a small corridor that opened up into a larger room ahead. The light stopped at the end, and the other room was blanketed in darkness. It was very quiet.
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“I’m going to scout ahead,” Raine whispered and crept down the short corridor. Her sword was held close to her body.
Gilreg readied his shield and sword. He chose his sword because it was more suited for fighting in narrow hallways, as he could stab more effectively with it than his axe. Booger readied his spear. The orc wouldn’t be doing much swinging, but his weapon did have an edge for thrusting. Shaymus drew her blades, and Tassarion readied his scimitar and buckler.
They crept slowly after Raine into the corridor. She was about two meters ahead at the opening, peering into the next room. She could barely discern that the room was wider than the corridor she was in and long. It extended twenty or so meters ahead of her into more inky darkness. There were several bits of furniture. Not decaying furniture, she noted with some alarm. Something resided in here. Or something, as she spotted to her left and to her right what appeared to be bed mats. Lining the center of the room was a long wooden table with benches on either side. On the table was one of the giant rats. It was dead, and its body ripped open as it was clearly being eaten. She crept further in. The others were behind her at the entrance. In the dead silence, the sound of Booger’s armor rang out like a gong. There was no helping the orc, she thought to herself.
Raine’s sharp eyes noted that each bed mat area had personal belongings beside it. She saw, with some interest, piles of books. No clothes, but each area had a small stand with what she could only describe as a glass ball resting on it. It was too dim for her to really tell what it was. She counted six of what she had named “sleeping spaces.” Three on each side of the room, with the table running along the center. She was near the middle of the table, next to the dead rat. She saw at the end another door. In one of the middle sleeping spaces across the table, she saw a large round boulder. If she were to stand next to it, it would have come up to her waist. It had odd ridges along it, like it was made out of segmented plates of stone. Confident that the room was empty, she motioned the others to come in.
They removed the covering on their lights and walked into the room. They didn’t make a lot of noise, but they were undoubtedly less quiet. With the increased light and sound, the boulder suddenly unfolded to reveal that it was alive! It was some creature that folded up into a ball when it slept. Its back was armor plates the color of stone. It rested on two clawed feet, its body slightly hunched forward, its head had a long narrow snout, and two small ears protruded from the top of its head like a rabbit’s. Its chest and stomach were the same color as its armored back but appeared more vulnerable. It had two arms and hands. Its eyes were pupilless black dots.
“An Armordillo Mage!” Exclaimed Tassarion. The elf stumbled back into the short corridor.
The rock-colored mage made no sound. Its narrow mouth opened slightly to show rows of tiny sharp teeth. It moved its hands in circles, and they began to glow with red crackling energy. Raine felt pressure build up inside of her head and dizziness. She needed the table to support her from falling. Booger, Shaymus, and Gilreg grasped their heads in pain.
“It’s Cursing us!” Tassarion said. He hesitated to leave the room or helping his comrades. In the end, his honor held up. The elf charged the Armordillo mage.
The snouted creature turned and waved its glowing red-clawed hands toward the elf, and his graceful movements became clumsy. Tassarion tripped over a chair and stumbled to the ground. Nulrok felt the pressure in his head, but he was able to shake it off. This was magic similar to what his shaman had used, except it showed red energy.
“Nulrok, do something!” Gilreg cried through gritted teeth.
The mage snapped out of their musings and began casting. Nulrok launched fire darts at the creature. It curled into a ball as the mage’s magic struck its armored back. The Armordillo Mage rolled rapidly toward the far door. Nulrok’s fire magic rained down around it, kicking up debris and scorching its back armor. The creature unfolded again to open the door. It waddled through and slammed it shut.
“My head hurts,” said Booger.
“Why am I dizzy?” Shaymus asked as the pale-eyed goblin tried to walk a few steps without stumbling.
“We are cursed,” Tassarion answered.
“Curse magic?” Nulrok asked. He was interested.
“How long will this last?” Said Gilreg.
“For a while,” the elf responded.
“Wait, the old elf said you were able to remove curses,” Shaymus said as she managed to stand without stumbling.
“Yes, but we need to get out of here now!” Tassarion exclaimed.
Raine had grabbed some of the books and stuffed them into her pack. She still felt dizzy but was able to function. She made her way to the door and listened. After the initial effects, the others also had gotten used to the odd feeling. They were able to make it, with a few stumbles, to where Raine was listening. She opened the door and saw the tracks of the Armordillo Mage.
“It’s bleeding. You wounded it, Nulrok. It went that way,” Raine said, and she pointed to their left.
They were in a large intersection. Two smaller passages went to their left and right. Ahead of them was a wide dark opening. The walls were a mixture of hardened sand and carved rock. Behind them was the worked stone of the building they had entered from the Scorched Plains. It ran up and disappeared behind the hardened-looking sand. This was different from the smooth stone blocks of the building they were in.
“It looks like we are in a city that was buried,” Nulrok observed.
“Why is the sand not falling on us?” Gilreg asked as he looked up. About a dozen meters above them, they saw the dome-shaped ceiling that looked to be made of hard-packed sand, very much like the floor that they stood on.
“No time to ponder. We need to head out of here,” Tassarion reminded them.
“The Armordillo mage went down that narrow passageway. I say we take the larger one,” Gilreg said, pointing to the wide opening ahead of them.
The group nodded in agreement, and they made their way. The passageway opened into a cavern. A cavern where it felt like the sand would give away at any moment and come crashing down.
“Why didn’t you mention anything about Armadillo Mages?” Shaymus asked Tassarion.
“We hardly see them.”
“Useless!”
“I don’t see you offering any assistance,” Tassarion retorted.
“Enough!” Gilreg barked, and the two stopped. The goblin warrior asked, “Tell us what you know about them.”
“I never saw them physically attack anything. They use curse magic to make our lives miserable, and they often flee like the one we encountered just did. They are more annoying than dangerous.”
“It does not sound like they will come after us. Let’s focus on getting out of here,” Raine suggested.
They came upon a wide stone archway with etchings along it. It was held up by intricate pillars. Through it led to stone steps climbing upwards.
“Is that light at the end?” Asked Booger. Gilreg nodded.
“Look at these depictions,” Nulrok said.
“Should we be stopping?” Shaymus asked, her two blades at the ready as she scanned the darkness behind them from whence they came.
Raine, who was usually the one who preferred to keep moving, didn’t answer as she studied the remarkable markings that were etched along the stone. They showed the different races and what appeared to be large humanoid-shaped beings hovering above them. Then it seemed to be a conflict. Goblins were fighting each other. Then a few goblins and elves were fighting against all the other races, including other elves. Above the goblins were creatures that Booger described as giant Envoys.
“These are dark elves,” Raine pointed out to Tassarion. The green-haired elf nodded.
“I bet you regret making fun of us,” Shaymus said, poking the elf in the rib.
Tassarion scowled back at the pale-eyed goblin, but then his features softened. The depictions were ancient, and perhaps his thinking was wrong.
“I do regret what I have said,” the elf finally stated. Shaymus’s grin faded. She hadn’t expected an apology, and she didn’t know what to do, so she just walked away. Booger came and patted the elf on the shoulder.
Further, along the sides, Nulrok discovered an interesting set of etchings. He called out to Raine to come to look at what he had discovered.
“Those are Armadillo Mages,” Raine observed, and the white-haired mage nodded.
“It looks like they were on the side of the goblins and dark elves,” the mage said.
“But then they hid,” Raine shared her discovery as she went further along the wall.
“I found orcs!” Exclaimed Booger. He was on the opposite side as everyone else. The etchings he looked at showed orcs fighting against humans, elves, and dwarves. Above the “high races” were giant beings bestowing their blessings. The orcs did not look to have won the conflict.
“These giants, are they the High Race gods?” Raine asked. Nulrok and Tassarion came over to study them.
“I think so. This here looks to be Caeriggnas, god of the Blue Flame,” Tassarion said, pointing to one of the giant-looking humanoids with a symbol of a flame on their breastplate.
“The drawings continue up the stairs,” Nulrok pointed out, and the group hurried up the steps.
“I knew the city where we found Booger was a goblin city,” Raine said as she came upon depictions of a large, prosperous city where goblins lived. Then later, it showed its destruction by the so-called “High Race Gods.”
The pictures show the gods guiding and giving their blessings to Humans, Dwarves, and Elves as they waged war against Goblins, Dark Elves, and Orcs.
“Does anyone notice that all the ‘High Races’ have collars around their necks?” Observed Gilreg. Looking closely at the pictures, it appears they were wearing collars.
“Look here!” Raine exclaimed. At the top of the stairs was a final picture of a giant Envoy handing a Chalice to a human-looking figure. The human appeared to have just finished drinking from the Chalice, and their collar came off.
“Adventurers can break from their oaths with the gods by drinking from the Chalice,” observed Tassarion, his narrow eyes opened wide. He turned toward Gilreg.
“That was why the powerful adventurers were after you. The gods do not want that Chalice to be loose in the world where it can undo their hold over the High Races,” Tassarion said with excitement.
“You think this is the same Chalice?” Gilreg asked, motioning toward the one he kept in his pack.
“Yes!”
“Hey everyone, we made it out,” Nulrok observed. They were so engrossed in studying the stone mural that they failed to notice that they were at the top of the stairs. It opened into a large cavern that led to the outside, and sunlight bathed the entire area.
Raine was unsure if her intense focus on the mural or the curse still lingered that dulled her abilities, or a combination of the two, but she failed to hear the sounds of battle and the fact that a group of adventurers entered the cavern to their left. She readied her bow.
“We are not alone,” she hissed to the others. They looked up.
A group of adventurers came through the opening at the far end of the cavern. The largest one, a human, was holding an Armadillo mage by the throat in one massive hand. He had short dark hair and swirling blue tattoos around his eyes on his broad flat face. He wore a worn breastplate with a symbol of an axe surrounded by fire, and in his other hand, he carried, surprisingly, a large battleaxe.
“What the feck are goblins doing here?” The large human growled as he tossed the dead Armadillo Mage to the side like it was a sack of clothes.
Behind the man were three other adventurers. Another human with brown robes and a holy symbol around her neck depicting a book and coin. A tiny-looking dwarf, whom Gilreg recalled were gnomes, wore thick spectacles and a heavy jacket with many pockets filled with vials and potions. The final was a human woman with onyx black skin. In her corded muscled arms, she carried a wicked-looking chain that wrapped around her body and twirled the edges with evident skill.
“Any chance you can remove our curses before we fight them?” Shaymus asked Tassarion.
The elf shook his head as he readied his buckler and scimitar.
“Useless,” snarled the pale-eyed goblin.