The descent went more smoothly than he expected. It seemed like the dwarves knew a thing or two about this place and took the lead. Through a blasted, stone door on the far side of the city, the group ventured in and entered yet another spiral staircase.
This time however, they had light in the form of pale gemstones, which shone from the walls uniformly. Their footsteps made all sorts of noises as they continued their descent into the first floor.
“A nursery it is, aye. All the lil fellas were kept in this place.” The male dwarf, who had introduced himself as ‘Ur’, lightly glanced at the short woman who walked beside him at the front of the group.
“It is. Not even they were spared from the demons, according to the legends.” This female dwarf, who’s name was ‘Ooh’, briefly glanced back at the man, then back at the others with a raised head.
“You said it was part of your history.” The swordsman, Allen, pointed out.
The blonde-haired man stood no taller than Exrite and sported a sizeable broadsword, which hung loosely from his waist. His steel-plated armour wasn’t as thick around the arms as his legs, unlike the unnamed spearman who was fully clad with the protective metal.
With blonde hair and blue eyes, he gave off a noble impression. But his outgoing personality made it seem otherwise.
“Hah! History for us, legends for you.” Ur laughed.
In their continuous bickering and the spearman’s adamant silence from the back, Bailey, the black-haired mage, furrowed her fuzzy eyebrows.
She found a discrepancy between the layouts of other dwarven cities compared to Karkingram. A nursery should always be on the top layer, amongst other important facilities. What she saw above was nothing but empty barracks – like this was some military state.
She tried to rationalise that it was because things were different a thousand years ago, but it still didn’t sit right.
“Nursery… you said these dwarves were smaller – did that also mean their brains were as well?” Frosty spoke with all seriousness, despite it coming across as a sarcastic joke.
While some laughed, the dwarves seemed rather uncomfortable.
“Who knows.” Ooh shrugged.
They eventually met with a strange, blue light emanating through a gaping hole in the wall. The group didn’t have time to pause and observe, as their main priority was to find Khaos.
Exrite suspected that it could’ve been a shimmering lump of cobalt but was soon disproved as more beams of light entered the staircase. Through small slits in the walls to brick-sized wedges, the light slipped in and cause them to wonder in awe.
Sombre, yet strikingly unnerving was the light.
Soon, they met with a flat path, ending the descent as nothing but a blue haze now surrounded them. Their vision was severely hampered, and all they could make out was the floor and each other. As they followed the dwarves through the fog, Exrite repeatedly stroked the handle of his crossbow.
While his piercing eyes failed to penetrate through the haze, they would surely be the first to strike whatever dared to appear.
With everyone on constant edge, the dwarves were oddly shocked by the scene as they stared ahead.
Have they been here before?
Exrite couldn’t help but to think as he carefully examined the dwarves before suddenly –
“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” A weeping voice cried from somewhere within the haze with an echoey voice.
Everyone shot their senses in random directions. It seemed like everyone heard the voice from different sources.
But Frosty adamantly stared at the side and grit her teeth.
“Ghosts- but they have no soul?”
Her voice sent shivers down the back of some, but the Dwarves seemed entirely confused by what she meant.
The world around them was barren, but in her eyes, it was teeming with death. As if the ghosts heard her, orbs of a fiery red appeared in the hearts of the many translucent ghosts surrounding them.
“Salvation!”
“Save us!”
“Help me!”
“Take us away from this prison!”
“Why were we abandoned!?”
“We shouldn’t have tampered with them!”
“SAVE MY CHILDREN!”
Exrite found himself lost as to what was happening, and so did the others. Their nonsensical voices were endless and taunting, sparking the group to hasten their pace through the straight path they blindly took through the floor.
“Let me exorcise them! I’m sure it’s what they want!” Bailey cried as a pale magic circle formed in between her waists.
“Fuck! Do it! I’m not sure how much longer I can take this shit!” The spearman clammed his metal gauntlets across his ears in desperation.
However –
Frosty heard nothing, other than the initial cry for help. She wondered what was happening around her, as the souls motionlessly stood aside and allowed them to traverse through.
Something was awry, but there was no telling what.
She didn’t know how to explain the phenomena to Exrite without giving her identity away, so she refrained and settled with the group who made haste through the mist.
Every so often, they’d pass through what they thought to be a small archway, or a bunch of left-over rubble from a previously destroyed structure. And every time they did, the dwarves only grew more confused and disorientated.
“Why are we still here!?”
“Please end our suffering!”
“I want to see my mama!”
The ghosts were still relentlessly crying out.
Bailey silently chattered to herself, the chant consisting of phrases directed to relinquishing the dead as the circle began to fill with various symbols – most notably those dedicated to the Gods. When her light brown eyes broadened, they shone a gentle gold before a wave of light flashed from her waist.
“End despair – return to your creator!” She cried and slapped her clapped her hands.
The only one who could witness the true beauty of such magic was Frosty, who watched the light caress every soul in sight with golden chains before dissolving with it. One by one, they returned to nothingness as only black particles remained in their stead, aimlessly floating in the emptiness of the haze.
Silence returned to them at last.
“May your souls rest with the Children of Balance.”
Exrite could only wryly smile to the heartfelt words that came from the girl.
“No, rest is the last thing they’d get from those damned Gods.” Was something Frosty wanted to say, but she refrained, only smiling when she saw Exrite’s face.
“Woooooh! That’s my brother’s girl!” Allen suddenly exclaimed and ruffled the girl’s short hair between his gloved hands.
“O-oww! Stop! I said stop-!” She became teary and could’ve sworn she saw some strands of her hair caught by the leather material as he backed his hand away.
“That’s some interesting magic. Pretty powerful, if you can wipe out a bunch of ghosts with only a single chant.”
“H-huh? Oh! About that…” Startled by Frosty’s intriguing eyes, the girl timidly looked down at her soft palms. “I think the ghosts were weak to begin with. There’s no way it should’ve worked on that many.”
Exrite chimed in with a nod.
“With that many voices, an area-of-effect type of magic wouldn’t suffice, unless you’re either powerful yourself, or, what you used was at least fifth tier.”
“… it was neither. I’m Sorry.”
“Why’re you apologising? It worked out, didn’t it?” Exrite, yet again, refrained from suddenly offering a head pat.
“You know an awful bit about magic, for someone who ain’t a mage.” The spearman mockingly hummed.
“Better than not knowing.” He replied and continued to survey the haze.
“We should be reaching the exit soon, aye?”
“Just a little more. This floor isn’t anything large like the surface.”
The thought lingered with Exrite for a little while as he wondered why that was the case. Traditionally, dwarven cities were composed of a multitude of floors, with the deepest parts being considerable larger than the upper floors.
It was designed to combat the extreme pressures underground, and to protect the majority of the population in a time of crisis.
However, the dwarves hinted that this city was in fact built the opposite. Why was the surface larger than the descending floors?
Exrite’s narrowed gaze went unnoticed by the dwarves as he silently concluded – they were suspicious.
* * *
Through the smaller floor, the giant man marched with formidable strides. The first floor was a cakewalk for the powerful man, who figured that smashing the walls down in an already collapsing space was a smart idea.
If it works, then it works.
He grinned as he stared up at the aisle of towering bookshelves. They were empty and wiped of all knowledge by an unknown force. Whether it was plundered by previous adventurers who managed to solve the maze or were used to fuel fires.
It would explain the dangerous piles of the reddish-brown powder, which were lazily tucked in between the shelf-spaces. Surely, those were the charred remains of the paper from a thousand years ago.
Khaos wanted to confirm that there truly were no books, and so – he did the one thing he was best at.
He abruptly turned to the side and, with a mere thrust, the bookshelf exploded into a million splinters. The fine powder barely grazed his face as the surrounding space shook with a violent hiss. He shook his shoulders like an oversized dog to rid himself of the fallen dust and entered the gaping mouth of the ancient wood.
On the other side, was yet another aisle.
Upon further inspection, he realised that the slits in between the shelves were far too small to house any normal books, but he didn’t know what to make out of it. The thought of it being something to reflect the size of the tiny dwarves settled with him as he sighed and continued his march.
No real threat had been encountered, other than the pit. He was expecting to come across a strong monster of some sort, or a whole colony of ancient monster down here, but –
There was nothing. Not a soul in sight.
He looked up at the expansive ceiling and was amazed by the many strange glass balls that loosely dangled from its rusted iron chains. There were few that had previously fallen, as evidenced by the few empty chains.
A singular light source was found in the centre of the ceiling. He almost mistook it for a sun at first glance but realised that it was a fiery liquid encased in glass.
“Doesn’t seem like a city at all.” He muttered and made haste for the spacious centre ahead.
It seemed like every direction was the same when he stood in centre of the room, with a foot on the unusually steep staircase. This place was nonsensical and held little practicality for the dwarves.
He struck the ground with a mighty stomp, leaving an imprint of his metal boots by the staircase before he slowly plunged into the darkness below.
Surely, he’d find answers down there.
Caught in his breath, he felt something slimy brush against his exposed face as he immediately growled and blindly pushed onwards. Soon, the ground became rugged and uneven the walls began to faintly glow a soft green.
Suddenly, he came to a complete stop and stared into the vast space before him.
“What… happened here?”
The scene of an ancient battlefield left him in utter awe and fascination.
Thousands of thick vines had engulfed the entirety of the floor below him, as he stood from a balcony overseeing the extensive place. A central network of vines created a magnificent pillar which perhaps was the reason why the city hadn’t completely crumbled. Beneath, were two stone entrances, and surrounding it – was a sea of skeletons and ancient remains.
He took caution as he studied the floor. The vines may have been their ancient assailants, but upon further inspection, that didn’t seem like the case.
There were skeletons of many shapes and sizes, some in an embrace, and others too broken to make sense of. Various weapon scattered the ragged plains, embedded into the glowing plant-matter.
What the fuck happened here?
He choked when he attempted to utter a curse, far too bewildered by the sight.
This couldn’t have been done by a couple of demons. Was there an invasion?
He gulped, his narrowed eyes surveying the ancient battlegrounds below.
So, the only way is down, huh.
There wasn’t a place his legs couldn’t take him, but here was different. He felt like his presence would disturb the thousand-year-old sleeping grounds of the unfortunate victims. He steeled his heart, clenched his fists and nodded to himself.
The stories suddenly came back to him as he began to make his move.
Demons. Can one really live past a thousand years?
He wondered if he would encounter the fabled demon that brought ruin to this dwarven city. For better or worse – he decided to dive into the final floor of the dwarven catacombs.
* * *
“Let’s rest here for a bit. Don’t think us lads can move on after that ghostly ruckus.”
Ur and Ooh abruptly stopped as they scoured the new floor, where aisles of web-infested bookshelves littered their every direction.
While Frosty and Exrite keenly studied their surroundings, the others tapped their stomachs. A soft growl came from one of them, causing silent chuckles to quickly spread.
“Will crackers be fine?” Bailey asked as she rummaged through a leather bag which tightly hugged her waist.
“Hey- are we really going to rest now?”
“We’ll see whatever comes at us well ahead. Anyway, it won’t hurt to eat something before we head deeper in. Better off prepared in case something pops up.”
Allen casually replied as he watched Frosty slowly approach the entrance of the webbed library.
While she closely studied the shelves, Exrite held his gaze at the sight far above. The sparkling awe in his eyes reflected the bright balls of string which loosely dangled from the ceiling.
A dangerous chill ran down his spine.
“Frosty, can you see anything?”
He called out to her with suspicion as the dwarves stared at him with slightly narrowed eyes.
Realising what he meant, Frosty quickly spun and inspected every direction before presenting a simple yet firm reply.
“Nothing.”
“Strange…” He muttered and kept his gaze on the cocooned lights. “Any idea on what happened to this place?”
“Not at all lad. We’ve only travelled as far as the first floor. Why don’t you catch your breath as well with the rest of us fellas?”
“We’re fine.” Frosty answered in his stead and beaconed for him. “Hey, take a look at this.”
“Find something?”
“Something weird. No book could fit in these shelves even if they were only twenty pages long.”
As Exrite levelled his face, he approached her and too studied the ancient bookshelves. A soft hum slipped his lips as he became intrigued with the discovery, briefly scanning the other shelves in awe.
“I think this place was used to store pre-chanted paper. You know, the magic stuff that you can only use once.” He stated as both Ur and Ooh’s ears piqued with interest. “But to dedicate a whole floor to them… we can only guess what the dwarves were up to.”
There would be no need for so many pre-chanted magic papers, especially for an ancient dwarven race who historically hadn’t used magic at all until the last few centuries. Plus, the manufacture of such items wasn’t in their scope of expertise. The only ‘reasonable’ explanation he could find was, that the dwarves must have stocked up prior to the arrival of the demons from merchants or other nearby cities.
But that raises even more questions, like; how did they know they were coming in the first place? Or, better yet, why was this place barren of the magic chants and replaced with nothing but red dust?
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“Ack! Why’re the crackers so soggy!?”
Allen’s voice erupted with muffled displeasure, which was ignored by the two.
With an outstretched hand, he grabbed a pinch of the fine powder and sifted it through his fingers. The feeling and its colour reminded him of a particular substance.
Explosive powder.
When the realisation hit, the sudden stench of sour-iron invaded his nostrils as he threw what powder remained from his fingers. He backed off in a distorted coughing fit as he cringed in pain to the powerful smell.
It was everywhere.
The narrow orifices of the shelves bled with the intoxicating powder. Even on the floor, mounds of it gathered in a dormant rest.
“What’s wrong?” Frosty asked, bewildered by his sudden fit.
“N-nothing.” He growled as his coughing subsided.
In between his shallow breaths, he clutched onto his knees and stared up at the unaffected Frosty.
His balance was almost knocked from him as he desperately retained it. The smell was unexpectedly excruciating, and he was concerned whether Frosty was putting up a front or, she genuinely couldn’t smell it.
The gazes that jabbed his back caused him to swiftly turn to the others who too were fine with the air. Their worried stares caused him to immediately realise two things.
One, he was the only one aware of the smell, and thus, the true nature of the powders. And two – they were all under the effect of an illusion magic.
He kept the thought to himself for the moment. There was no telling what would happen if they all found out that they were in a room filled to the brim with explosives.
The only mage he was aware of other than Frosty, was Bailey. But he didn’t think the shy girl would be the sort to pull off something like this. Frustrated at the thought, he sighed and discretely hid his anger as he once again reached for the powder.
“The air’s a bit stuffy down here. Let’s try not to use fire magic and burn through the sparse breathing air we have on this floor.”
His lie was sound to Frosty, but she didn’t believe him for a second. The others seemed oddly satisfied with his response. Indeed, the lower one went underground, the less breathable air would be available. But what they all didn’t know, other than perhaps Bailey and himself, was that ‘air’ was also a key part in the creation of fire magic.
As the chatter returned from the seated group, he grasped a handful of the powder and sent a side-long glance to Frosty.
“Can you stand on the other side, please?”
She blankly blinked as she wondered if he was still in his correct frame of mind.
“Hey. What’s going on?” Her whisper was sharp as her leather boots squeaked with the few steps she took beside him. “You started coughing out of nowhere, and now you’re back to touching that stuff.”
Her body completely blocked off his arms from the vision of the others as he swiftly pulled the cloth bag from his back pocket.
“Frosty, I’ll explain later. But right now, I’m going to need you to cut this into small patches for me.”
She sensed the urgency in his voice and complied, but not without questioning his motives.
“Something you can’t tell me right now?” She briefly glanced back at the others who were in the middle of a light meal, too focused on eating to be drawn to them.
Other than the smiling dwarves, who were Exrite’s main suspects for the time being. It seemed like even they didn’t know what this powder was, and he was going to test whether this was the case or not.
And to do that –
“Thanks. Hold the patches a bit loosely like that, and I’ll pour it in.”
“Like this?”
Her handwork made it easy for Exrite to pour the handful of powder into the small cloth patch. She connected each corner and tied them into tiny balls which she curiously presented to him.
“Perfect. Just a few more.”
In the middle of their silent whispers, Allen drew his attention to the conspicuous duo. From his perspective, it looked like they were sharing a moment of intimate love; a kiss.
With a smile, he called out to them.
“Exrite, you lucky man!”
“Oi! Doing that sort of thing here ain’t the wisest of ideas!” Ooh also noticed, shortly laughing.
For the moment, the duo didn’t know what they meant by that, but after the creation of the second ball, Frosty vented a sigh of frustration. She knew well of what they were thinking, and so did Exrite to a certain degree.
While they held no feelings akin to love for each other, it was still a bit awkward for them. Frosty had no need for love and thought of it as something short-lived and easily destroyed.
The thought of bandit couple she slaughtered back on their trip of the capital appeared for a split second. With a growl, Exrite chuckled and slipped the dangerous ball away into a pocket.
“Do you really hate me that much?” He joked.
“Huh? Do you want your soul ripped out?”
Her abrupt response made him laugh as he struggled to fill the final cloth pouch with the fine powder.
“Sorry, sorry.” The laughter still remained in his voice.
With the final pocket of explosive powder finished, he felt the side of his thigh and counted them aloud.
“- and three.”
She folded her arms as she watched him shove the cloth bag into his back pocket. Whatever was going through his mind, she wanted to know. As much as she trusted him, it wouldn’t hurt to be on the same page.
Struck by the thought, a soft clicking sound emerged from behind the bookshelves. The group made it hard to hear what it was, as Exrite blankly blinked in response to the shallow noise.
“Did you hear that?”
“Hear what? Look, just tell me what the fuck is going on.”
Instinctively, he looked up and only saw the ceiling high above. The strange, giant ruby that hung from the centre of ceiling gave of a violent light – but that was the least of his worries.
The noise emerged once again, this time directly on the other side of them. Immediately, the leapt away as Frosty summoned her magical scythe, while Exrite aimed his pre-loaded crossbow at their previous place.
When the others saw this, their chatters quickly subsided as they brought themselves up with haste, dusting themselves clean from the powder.
Exrite gestured for them to keep quiet with a single hand.
The croaks became louder, as sudden snaps and slushing caused them to hold their ground. Allen carefully unsheathed his silver broad sword, as did the unnamed spearman. The dwarves shuffled back slightly, taking their battle-axes in both palms.
“Frosty, stay here. I’m going to check the corner.” Exrite whispered as he followed the aisle back to the group.
“Be careful.” She stuck the blade out in front of her in anticipation of the enemy.
Before he could pass the silent group, he uttered:
“Avoid fire at all costs.”
His parting words were quiet, but the message was clear. Bailey nodded and began mouthing a chant to prepare for whatever creature laid on the other side.
Apart from the mages, all eyes were on him as he reached the entrance of the aisle and firmly pressed his back against the spine of the shelf. He held out a finger to the group, messaging to wait a moment as he checked the tightness of his crossbow’s string.
Satisfied, and acknowledging the loaded bolt, he took in a deep breath and swiftly shoved his weapon around the corner first, followed by a fraction of his body.
A sense of disbelief flooded his veins as he immediately pulled himself back with broadened eyes. His ticking heart seemed like it would scream an alarm at any moment now, as he tried to make sense of what he saw.
It was a giant spider-like creature, which was clad in black armour and serrated spines. On the back, he noticed the strange emblem resembling a skull embedded into the creature. But most importantly –
The river of red that pooled beneath it wasn’t simply water affected by the light of the ruby – it was blood. Without a doubt. The snapping and slushing were undeniably the bones and innards of an unfortunate victim that had arrived earlier than them.
With this knowledge in mind, he attempted to relay this information.
However –
“See, the first floor wasn’t so bad, was it? The limeite’s as good as ours!”
“Yeah, don’t know how people end up missing from this place. Bunch of weaklings.”
“Bunch of fraidy-cats they are!”
Their voices were terribly loud and caused mixed reactions to spark from the group as the watched another group of five enter the floor. Exrite swiftly peaked around the corner again and was relieved to find the spider still in the middle of its meal.
In that moment, he rashly judged that the spider didn’t have a sense of hearing. Or at least thought so.
But that didn’t matter. Before he could cry out to the others, one of the oncoming adventurers unknowingly brushed against a single strand of web.
In that moment, all their suspense and eagerness to either avoid or surprise attack the creature went to waste. He angrily threw himself away from the corner as loud stomps approached with lightning speed.
Sliding on his feet, he watched the black blur pass and pounce onto the unsuspecting group. It only took a single swipe with its front legs to kill two of them. Not even a scream left their dying lips.
No time was spared at all. The crossbow was primed and ready.
With the armoured spider in sight, he fired at abdomen of the spider. The iron bolt pierced through, causing a horrific wail to shake the room as it rose on its hind legs.
But he wasn’t the only one taking pre-emptive shots.
“- Wind blade!”
Fired from a green magic circle high above, five crescent blades launched towards the spider. A few missed the massive target, and smashed into the yellow stoned-floor. The explosion of rubble shrouded the creature momentarily, as the cries of the adventurers brought Allen to into fit of rage.
“Fuck! Isn’t there anything we can do to save them!?”
He shook Exrite but failed to break him out of his intense focus. Rather than feeling concern for the adventures, Exrite was more worried about the creature itself.
Being a hero for people you knew little about, especially if they were careless, was a death wish.
Unfazed by the man’s cried, he swiftly reloaded the crossbow with enough magnificence to cause Allen to stagger back in awe.
“The abdomen of the spider is soft, like any other spider. Frosty! Take the front, you guys, try to get behind it!” He immediately began to delegate his plans as Frosty dashed by with speed incomparable to the spider’s initial burst.
“W-who do you think-!”
“Bailey, stay in the back with me! We’ll provide support from here!” His confident voice was like a gallant light in the pits of their despair.
In the midst of chaos, he had a plan of action.
“Do as he says spearman!” Ooh cried and swung her battle-axe.
“Shit!” Allen growled, watching Frosty leap into the air and swing her deadly scythe into the intoxicating haze.
“Hurry the fuck up!” She growled, leveraging her weight into the strike as it made contact with the hidden spider.
Blistering sparks of blue shot violently from the clash as the surrounding haze dispersed into nothingness. At the tip of her blade, were the metal mandibles of the creature’s horrific mouth which contained hollow, translucent teeth.
She spun to the side with what was left of her momentum, slipping in underneath the spider and threw her palm against its plated underside.
But before she could cast her magic, the spider disappeared from her sight. Above her, she watched the spider blindly charge the group ahead with a relentless roar.
She slammed her fist into the pool of blood beneath and winced.
The tremors of each clacking leg shook the floor as Bailey managed to finish a cast just in time.
“- Stone shield!”
The floors erupted with rugged, yellow stones which attempted to block the path of the spider as they desperately sprinted down the wide aisle. Exrite mumbled incomprehensible words as he fired a bolt backwards.
But that did little to the thick, frontal armour of the spider. More than anything, it enraged it as it climbed around the wall and leapt into the air.
The walls continued to rupture from the ground behind them, allowing them to create some distance from the spider. However –
Its shadow morphed into a ball as the legs disappeared entirely. The jagged spines protruded as the spider curled itself into a spinning ball. Dust, the explosive powder – everything was left in a shredded mist behind it as it chased the group, dodging the walls as it trailed even the walls of the shelves.
There was no escaping its pursuit, and its speed only increased as more time passed. Soon, it would tread and crush them to death. The spearman glanced behind with panic infused in his eyes as he managed to fuel his haste. Ahead, he found a large opening on the side of the aisle.
The spider traced the walls on his side, smashing through all of Bailey’s attempts to block it. With a sidestep, he dove in and immediately stuck his spear back into the opening.
With sheer luck, it connected with the underside of the beast. But to his despair, he was tugged back through as it passed, the momentum sending him crashing against the other side of the shelves.
His thunderous impact marked the final stone wall, which was erected right behind them. They abruptly stopped in their tracks, Exrite skidding back slightly as they watched the spider smash through the wall with an incredible bounce.
Finishing his chant, a pale magic circle suddenly formed above them. He grinned and fitted another bolt into his crossbow.
“- Barrier!”
The spider suddenly faceplanted into the invisible dome surrounding them. Its mouth oozed with a foul, white goo as the fleshy innards relaxed and revealed a singular eye which poked at the barrier.
So you’re not blind.
As much as he wanted to shoot the eye and put an end to this madness, he had no choice but to maintain the barrier. After all – this was a tier three physical barrier. There was no discrimination between what could enter or leave, with the exception of magic.
And Bailey was already working on her next cast.
The roar failed to faze her, unlike Allen who rattled his teeth and held his sword high. For the most part, the dwarves were struck with awe in their endeavours against the beast.
From here, they could see a large crack on its back, most likely left by one of Bailey’s wind blades from earlier.
It arched itself upwards and held its front legs high like pincers as it prepared to strike the barrier with all its might. Even Exrite knew that the barrier wouldn’t hold against it –
“Bailey! Another stone wall here! Make it as pointy as you can!”
“What are- o-ok!”
She realised that questioning him was futile. The look in his eyes were unwavering, even in the face of death. admiring the look in his eyes, she took a stance and began chanting once more.
“Mother of the sacred lands of Six Point, aid the world above with yours beneath. Unsheathe your blade – stone barrier!”
As the ground below quaked and ruptured with the giant, serrated pillar, Exrite dispelled his barrier with a smile.
The spider, which was still in the middle of preparing for its strike, helplessly fell onto the spiked pillar and impaled itself straight through. The acidic stench caused the group to back away as it broke free from the ground and toppled on its back, its legs desperately squirming to rid itself of the embedded rock.
“Allen, Ur – Ooh! Now’s your chance!” Exrite realised that his plan from earlier was no longer needed, seeing as the spider was already in a helpless state.
Even leaving it alone now would be fine. The exposed innards and cracked exoskeleton spelt its defeat. The shaky Bailey dropped to her knees as the dwarves passed her with terrifying war cries.
“Aye! Go for the legs!”
“Go for its bottom! Screw this behemoth till its dead!”
Allen simply stood there in silence as soft breathing came from his niece below him. Even now, he couldn’t muster the courage to finish off the helpless beast.
He looked over at Exrite, who brushed off excess rubble from his attire and calmly approached the head of the spider.
“I thought… he was a swordsman as well.” He was barely able to utter.
The creature’s death woes were music to Frosty’s ears as she approached them with the spearman, who could barely walk on his own. She helped him with only a hand clutched onto his arm. There was no need for her to offer anything more.
“Heh. Using defensive magic like it’s offensive. Shame your capacity’s non-existent. You’d make a great mage.”
“Yeah. It took a while to chant the whole thing.” His calm demeanour remained unchanged as he stared into the gaping eye of the spider. “I’m lucky I didn’t end up with a mana overload.”
While the mandibles did try to reach for him, he simply stared down the sights of his crossbow and took aim for the eye.
The creature didn’t know better and stared back at the barbed tip.
“Idiot. Why didn’t you at least have the magic barrier following you, rather than throw it all at the last second?”
“I overestimated the spider. I thought that maybe if it saw it, it’d be a bit more warry. But look – its staring at the bolt like it’s food.”
On that note, he pulled the trigger and burst the eye like a balloon. Instantly, what remained of its legs curled into its body as it shivered in its final moments.
Exrite studied it for a bit longer as Frosty dropped the man beside Bailey. He wondered how Khaos managed to get past this without alerting it.
Something wasn’t adding up.
As Allen reached down for the swordsman to support him, Exrite moved to the baffled dwarves and clipped the crossbow back to his belt.
“Any idea what this is?” He asked the two, who looked at each other briefly before responding.
“No clue. We’ve never come this far.”
“Likely the reason why so few made it past to gather the limeite below, aye?”
He took their answer to heart, but still was unsure whether he could trust them or not. And so –
“Well, I know it’s not much, but take this. It’s salt from my homeland. Thanks for helping us get through this far.” He pulled the small balls of explosive powder and offered it to the dwarves, who gladly accepted it and shoved it into their pockets without a second thought.
… So they didn’t know about it being explosive powder as well.
That was all he needed to confirm their innocence. While he felt slightly guilty about his lie, it was absolutely necessary.
Frosty hummed and slapped the back of his head for that lie, instantly turning away as she crossed her arms. More than anything, she wanted to know his motives.
Suspecting that was he case, he could only answer with:
“Soon Frosty.”
* * *
Their departure from the second floor left a bitter taste in their mouths as they descended down the steep staircase. A faint light sparkled from the walls as they followed the dwarves in the tight space. Allen and the spearman trailed slightly behind, as Baily looked sick.
The deaths of the adventurers was something entirely out of their hands. Secretly, she blamed Exrite for not telling them about the spider earlier, but then immediately felt guilty.
She knew well that he did nothing wrong. If he yelled, there was a chance that he would’ve died instead of the group. There was nothing wrong with self-preservation.
The length of the staircase wasn’t spectacular. Already they could see the bright light at the end. When they passed through, a scenery unlike any before filled their eyes with astonishment.
Life returned to the lost girl as she stared in awe at the luscious plains in front of her. A single orb of light shone from high above with majesty comparable to the sun.
“Holy shit! Even chunks of cobalt!?” The spearman was ecstatic.
“Protruding gemstones as well… but there’s no limeite?” Allen wondered as she scanned the limited area from the balcony they stood from.
“Deeper. The split passage way in the centre leads down to the dwarven treasury. The fellas never liked being parted from their belongings, even in death.”
Ur’s explanation was music to their ears.
Not only was there limeite, but treasure as well.
Exrite smiled and stared at the beautiful blue stones with gentle eyes. He brought a hand to wrist and felt for his pulse. The monotany the ticks were rather calming, as was the feeling of the gears passing through his veins.
“Oi! What’re we standing around here for then!? Let’s get that treasure and be off with it!” Ooh cheered the group as they joined in with smiles and laughter.
Down the stone staircase, they arrived on the lime-green plains and made their way for the large entrances in the centre. The doors were shut, and made them believe that perhaps they would be the first to delve into the dwarven treasury.
However, Exrite and Frosty were still searching the floor for Khaos. After all, none of the rare metals mattered if they couldn’t find their missing friend.
“Wait. Aren’t we going to find my brother first?” Frosty asked with a worrisome voice as the group stopped by the two entrances.
“Give it up. He’s dead. Dead. No one man could survive against that thing, and you know it!” The spearman spat, annoyed by the resurgence of their planned goal when they were so close to the fabled limeite.
“What if he’s already ahead of us?” Allen wondered as he stared at the doors. “Oh but… the doors are still shut.”
“He could’ve shut them behind him.” Bailey added.
“That’d make it harder for us to track him down then. Surely he’d want to keep it open for us to follow.” Allen’s response made a lot of sense, but…
Khaos wasn’t known for using his brain. Without Exrite and Frosty, he was just a rampaging juggernaut.
The possibility of Khaos already at the treasury waiting for them wasn’t entirely out of the question.
And right now, it seemed like the only explanation to the two.
“He better be down there. I shouldn’t have to make myself clear as to why.” Her fiendish eyes struck them with terror as they reluctantly complied.
While in high hopes to find the missing Khaos, the dwarves pulled the doors opened and revealed a golden flight of stairs leading to the city’s treasury. Its sweet smell perfumed the air as they delightfully followed them in.
When Frosty finally entered last, the doors automatically shut themselves behind them.
“See! He’s probably already waiting for you there!” Allen laughed with high hopes as Frosty too felt a little more relieved.
But she wanted to see him for herself.
Soon, they traversed through a mighty hallway containing nothing but mounds of gold coins, as other golden structures jutted from the piles and corners of the spectacular place. The red carpet in the middle was untouched, and their footprints would be the first in over a thousand years.
Such a thought brought Bailey to stare up at the elegantly carved pillars that kept the place standing. The hallway composed of many pillars – a row following the carpet, and another between them and the walls.
The sheer magnitude of the place even left an impression on Exrite. The dwarves were indeed Corozin’s masters of the stone. There wasn’t another race that could come close to creating such wonderful architecture with the natural material.
At the end, they reached a vault made purely from all of the most valuable metals and gems Six Point had to offer. From limeite to diamonds, to even the legendary carbodix, which were used as the hinges of the vault door.
The incredibly powerful metal was fabled to reflect any and all magical properties. Even a sliver of it would be enough to deflect tier three magic with ease.
At the foot of the supermassive door, they gazed up in awe as the dwarves approached a floating magic circle just before it.
“This is it, aye. Finally, may those fellas rest in peace.”
Ur’s sombre voice brought everyone to silence as they watched the metallic gears shift and spin with quaking clatters and clanks.
It opened inwards with surprising speed as steam blew from the hinges. When it finally locked into place on the other side of the wall, only a veil of white light stood in their way from the treasures beyond.
In the midst of their silence, the spearman began to laugh. He broke free from Allen’s aid and dove straight into the light with hysterical laughter.
The others quickly rushed in to chase him, and when they finally emerged from the other side –
Everyone’s reactions were mixed to the figure that stood in the centre of the room. The dwarves elegantly strolled to the middle, where the spearman repeatedly kissed the giant ore of limeite like it was a touching reunion with a long-lost lover.
But none of that mattered to them.
It was the girl who stood idly before the limeite, smiling with an elegant face who robbed them of their senses. She looked to be in her late teens, or even a very young adult at that. Her black hair and light-purple eyes struck them with awe.
All except for Exrite, who’s broadened eyes and shaky breaths left the dwarves grinning as they stood beside her.
This… why… why is she here…?
He crumbled to his knees as fought back the urge to vomit on the unsoiled platform below. The painful nausea and throbbing in his chest caused him to wince as he stared at the girl with nothing but disbelief.
After all, it had been ten years.
Under his breath, he could only utter a single word.
“Lizzo…”
The girl’s face suddenly lit.