They reach a dead end after a half hour of traversing through the 11th floor.
"Great... Does anyone have any ideas?" Sir George sighed as he looked at the bland stone wall.
"What do we do now?" Percy asked as he looked around the wall, seeing if there was a secret passage, but he was coming up empty.
"I didn't notice any other pathways that would have led to another way down. Unless one of you noticed?" Quinus asked as he looked at Rya. "Rya, can you see the flow of ether?"
"Give me a sec... I'll see where the ether particles are flowing from," Rya said as she looked at Quin.
"Okay, we'll stand guard and make sure nothing comes sneaking up on us," Quin said as he gave her a nod.
'Okay Rya, time to work your magic? Just remember what Nils taught you.' Rya thought to herself as she closed her eyes and began to focus. It took a minute before she could sense the eerie green ether particles again.
'I did it! Now let's see where they're flowing from now?' Rya asked herself as she opened her eyes and saw the green particles flowing throughout the cavern, bumping against the cave walls of the hallway. It didn't take long for her to spot the ether flowing out of this five-foot section from the large dead-end wall in front of them.
"Huh? That's weird," Rya said as she looked at the wall with a perplexed expression.
"What's wrong?" Sir George asked as he and the rest of the party gathered behind her.
"The ether is flowing out from the middle of this wall," Rya said as she pointed at the spot in the stone wall.
Quinus and Percy moved closer to the wall to get a better look.
"I think I can feel airflow coming from here. But this wall is solid," Quinus said as he touched the wall and pushed against it a couple of times to see if it would budge, but it didn't move.
"So, how do we open it?" Sir George asked as he walked over.
"Pff! Of course, there's a hidden passage in a labyrinth. So cliche," Rya said while shaking her head.
Percy and Sir George gave her confused looks, while Quinus' interest in Rya grew.
"What is she talking about? What does cliche mean? She is so strange," Percy whispered into Sir George's ear.
"She's a dark elf. And it might be best not to ask her questions about things we don't know about, and we probably don't want to," Sir George replied with a concerned look.
"Oh, good point. It's probably something best left alone," Percy nodded.
Quinus cracked a smile and Rya just realized she used an "Earth" saying to people who have no clue what it means.
"Well, that doesn't help us get past this wall, though," Sir George sighed as he tapped the stone wall. That's when Percy had an idea.
"Do you think it's an illusion?" Percy asked as he looked at Quinus.
"Well, I've never seen an illusionary wall before. I guess we'll find out if it is," Quinus said as he took his sword into his hands and swung it into the wall.
*SWISH!*
"Wow!" Quinus lost his balance when his sword passed through the wall with no resistance. The illusion disappeared and a passageway was revealed.
'Wow!? That's creepy that illusion can feel real,' Rya thought to herself while Quinus regained his composure and sheathed his sword.
"Yeah, it's an illusion alright," Quinus said as he examined the passage before the illusion reappeared.
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"I'll be damned!? Well done Percy," Sir George said as he tried to touch the wall again but this time his hand passed through the stones as if they weren't there.
Rya just stood there staring at the wall. "So we just go through it?" She asked Quinus.
"Well, you said the ether was flowing from here right? It looks like the only way to continue, so let's go," Quinus said as he stepped forward and moved through the fake stone wall.
"Haah... Here we go." Rya said as she followed Quin.
Sir George nodded to Percy as they followed after Rya.
Once they passed through the illusion they found themself in front of a spiral stone staircase leading down to the lower level. The staircase was wide enough for two people to walk side by side but there wasn't that much natural illumination. It was too dark to see all the way down to the 11th floor.
"Hey, do you smell that?" Rya asked the group.
"Smell what?" Percy asked as he sniffed the air but couldn't tell what she was referring to.
"Something smells like rotten eggs," Rya said while she sniffed the air, raising her head a little. "It's strong, it must be coming from the lower floor."
"I-It could be a goblin nest? I hope it's not," Sir George said as his face turned grim for a moment.
"Let's just hope it isn't the stench of death and it's something else," Quinus added while he looked at Sir George.
"Do not hope with goblins, my lord," Sir George said as he shook his head.
"So if it's a nest, that means there are captive women?" Rya asked and looked at Sir George.
"Aye... Yes, my lady. Brood Maidens, most likely," Sir George said as he glanced down the stairwell but he couldn't see past five feet in the darkness.
"It's not a pretty sight, Rya. You might want to steel yourself." Quin said as he pulled his long sword.
"No time like the present," Rya said as she drew her short sword. "Let's go."
As they descended down the stairwell Quinus, Percy, and George started to smell the foul stench that Rya had a whiff of earlier.
"Uh! I don't know how you're able to stand this foul odor with your elven nose, Lady Rya," Percy said as he looked around the open landing as they walked halfway down the staircase.
"Well, it's not easy Percy. But I have little choice," Rya said with a grimace look plastered on her face.
"That smell is horrible," Quinus groaned as he held his nose.
"Let's focus on our mission, gentlemen and my lady." Sir George said trying to act stoic but he couldn't hide his revulsion from the smell either.
"Alright, let's move and be quiet. There might be goblins waiting for us," Quinus said as they hurried down the rest of the stairs and entered the 11th floor of the Labyrinth
The three continued down the stairs in silence until they came across a small crude wooden door that led to a large hallway. There was only one light source that lit the hall and it was coming from a single torch hanging from the ceiling.
Rya stopped in front of the door and gave a quick glance over her shoulder.
"I'll take the lead, Rya," Quin said with a concerned look.
"You think something's gonna jump out on us?" Rya asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I don't believe we are going to be attacked... Since we haven't been jumped by any goblins earlier," Quinus said as he reached for the latch. "But you might want to avert your eyes," He opened the door and stepped inside.
As they walked into the next room they found the source of the foul odor. It was a group of a hundred people chained to posts lined up in uneven rows with their hands and feet tied behind them as their lower halves were ripped open from the insides out.
"By the Goddess. What in the seven hells is going on here?" Quin said as he blinked back tears at the sight of all those poor souls. At the same time, Percy's face became a few shades paler when he was confronted by the horrors of a goblin nest of this size. Sir George looked like he had seen the same thing countless times before.
Rya covered her mouth and nose as she saw the horror scene in the room. She had seen the aftermath of a battle before on television, but she had never seen anything this gruesome in real life.
"I prayed to the goddess, in hopes that I would never see a sight like this again... But, It seems they went unanswered," Sir George said as he looked down at the blood-covered ground.
"H-How did the goblins capture so many women? I don't understand," Rya said as she took a deep breath. Realizing she was almost one of the many females that were trapped in here.
"Goblins captured people who were unfortunate enough to travel through their realm, that’s why we need to end this dungeon core at all cost," Quin stated with a stoic look.
"So, killing the dungeon core will stop them from spawning more of these goblins? If that's the case... Then you have my magic, Quin," Rya said with a determined face as she looked at Quinus.
The prince took a deep breath and nodded at her before turning his attention toward Sir George.
"We should check and see if there are any females alive. And if they are Brood Maidens. Then we can put them to rest," Quin said with a sympathetic look toward the rows of women.
Sir George nodded and looked to Percy, "Yes, it's the least we can do for them, my lord."