When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I hadn't noticed any movement in the city besides those flying things. There actually wasn't any movement at all, just a slight breeze that caused some of the mushrooms to sway gently. It felt surreal and otherworldly.

Wait… wind?

I stopped, looking around and trying to decide where the soft breeze came from. After a moment, I'd decided it came from deeper in this massive cave system, and I continued on, wondering about the implications of where it was coming from. It smelled bad, like stale meat. As I took the final, rather excruciating step, I noticed a fine pattern in the stone pavement; angular lines crossing from one side to the other, appearing to have no beginning or end. A quick look around showed that the doorway of the building ahead of me was too small to enter upright but that it had intricate carvings on the sides. There was no door, but one glimpse at the runes told me that might be as it was supposed to be.

I took a look up the stairs but didn't see Libidi yet, and gritted my teeth. It would suck if Dibidi died. I'd only known him for a short time, and not taking into account his awkward desire to drain my pain, he seemed like a nice guy. Besides, with what Rathica had done, he was one of few people I could fully trust to have my back. Deciding to move as fast as my throbbing head and burning arm would let me, I turned towards the nearest mushrooms and shuffled forward. From above it had looked like they just grew from outside the city, along the walls and inside, but from this angle I saw the neat stone gardens they nestled in. If anything, the mushrooms had originated from here and grown down.

When I reached the angular edge of the stone garden I saw more finely cut carvings in the stone. They depicted small, squarish people working on stone, which made me grin as I pictured dwarves carving out dwarves of stone carving out stone. Clambering on into the garden, I stretched out a hand while my fingers flickered into the Share lifeforce spell.

The side of the mushroom was dry as paper, then a whoosh of life energy surged from it, so thick my breath caught. A second later, I clearly felt the bones in me writhe and squirm as they pulled back to their proper spots. I gently pulled my arm out from the belt and raised it to see the thick puffy, darkening bruises shift and heal in record-breaking time. An infernal itch came from the back of my head, and I barely stopped myself from scratching it, two hands raised and hovering. I clenched three fists though the wounded arm hurt slightly as I tried to resist the temptation.

It lasted for a few minutes, the longest I'd been tempted with for a while, then the flow of energy dulled, and the itching faded. My arm felt great, and I quickly inspected myself. There was some damage to the leather harness that held my breastplate, and I desperately needed a bath again, but beyond that, I was in great condition.

"Est," a soft cry came from the stairs, and I looked up.

Libidi was moving down the stairs, her brother in her arms, as she took slow and deliberate steps. She was looking at me, tears streaming over her face.

Oh shit!

I rushed towards the stairs, my delight at the absence of pain dulled by a sudden fear of what I'd find. Running up the stairs three steps at a time I saw Dibidi's arms hanging limply down, his skin even paler than usual.

"Is he?" I hissed as I raised my four arms and gently took the body from Libidi. To me, he weighed as much as a child, and I moved down at a faster pace than Libidi had.

"I don't know," she said, her voice colder than I'd heard it before.

"Damnit," I grumbled, rushing towards the lowest levels.

A shadow moved from the right side of the bottom of the staircase, stepping into view. It was an insect no taller than my knee, with massive double mandibles on a face covered in dark green shells that ran down and split along its back. Slightly translucent membranes hid behind the large shells.

"I'll kill it," Libidi hissed, and she ran down the stairs at a breakneck speed that I wasn't sure I could duplicate.

The insect scuttled up the stairs, just large enough to handle the steps, and behind it another showed up. I gently pulled Dibidi close with three arms and aimed at the insect that just had appeared. My bolt flashed in the dull teal light, then punctured an inch into the shell before coming to a wobbling halt. The insect clacked with its mandibles and rushed forward, ignoring the bolt.

Fuck, I need more stopping power, I thought as I switched hands.

Libidi reached the other one and jumped up and over it, so close I could see its mandibles snap at her, inches from her arms. The Basilwood dagger she held sliced through the back shield, creating a deep gash from which white ichor sprayed out. The insect she'd targeted clacked as the first one had, turning around slowly, while the second one was almost upon her.

I raised my other arm, and this time I aimed for the opening between the mandibles. This time I didn't even see the bolt move before it struck one of the mandibles and ricocheted into the dark opening. The insect froze, then thudded on the stairs and slid down.

Libidi jumped up the side of the railing beside the stairs, back across the insect, and sliced into the same opening she had made with her first attack. Her entire dagger and hand disappeared inside, and a bigger spraysplurt of ichor geysered up behind her as she landed a few steps below me.

"Keep going; they don't hunt in large groups," Libidi hissed, her eyes on Dibidi.

I continued, and when I reached the twitching insect she had killed, I kicked it in the side and across the low railing like a football.

"You know these things?"

"Fluid," she said as she fell in line with me.

"Are they from Leralion?" I asked, starting to wonder what all these things were doing here.

"No," Libidi said as she rapidly continued down the stairs. "They exist in particular areas of the Howling Forest, where there are trees big enough to create a perpetual gloom that is deep enough. They don't like light."

Dammit, I need to get fire or lightning magic, I thought, not for the first time. It was really time to bite the bullet and spend an ungodly amount of time learning some type of fireball. It would have made my day a lot easier in both fights I'd just had. Too bad the only place I knew where to get it was now locked until Rathica opened a new doorway to it.

One of the things she needs to make me here, I thought as I realized that probably meant there would be no more using the Library as a shortcut.

We reached the bottom of the stairs, and Libidi kicked the other bug away while looking around. Her face was frozen in concentration, her cold eyes scanning the dark entrances to the buildings around us.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

I looked at Dibidi in my arms. His eyes were hollow, and I couldn't detect the slightest movement from him. I put my free hand on his neck and hissed.

No pulse, I thought, as I looked up. Libidi was staring at me, and behind the coldness, I could see the despair.

Shit!

I hurried to the stone flower garden, moving as fast as I could without jostling Dibidi, stepping in as soon as I reached it. I put my hand on the first mushroom in reach and cast Share Lifeforce, trying to funnel the lifeforce into Dibidi. The energy swirled through my arm but stopped when it reached Dibidi. It felt like something was blocking it, or as if I was trying to channel life energy into something… dead?

My breath caught in my throat as I looked at the broken thing I was holding. Then, swallowing away some bile, I put my hands on his chest and sides, carefully examining his body. Points of broken ribs poked into the leather from the other side, and where his chest should have been was a deep cavity.

"What are you waiting for?" Libidi said, her voice cracking.

I wanted to tell her what I thought, but couldn't. Instead, I cast Share Lifeforce again. This time I tried to force the life energy into Dibidi's body, but it was as if I was trying to shove it into a rock.

After a few moments, I looked up into Libidi's cold eyes and didn't know what to say.

“Heal him!’ Libidi hissed.

"I can't…" I finally managed to croak out. "I can only heal that which is still alive."

Libidi's face froze, her eyes digging into mine as if to find another truth. For a moment, it seemed as if she was going to scream, then her eyes turned dull as her gaze lowered to Dibidi's body. She took a step forward, staggered, then kneeled beside her brother, slowly taking the body from me.

"He is dead," she mumbled, with a horrible finality to it. Then she began speaking in a language I couldn't understand as she positioned his hands and limbs in precise poses.

I got up, staring down at Dibidi, remembering how he had saved me in the throes of my chaos-poison insanity. Absent-mindedly, I wondered if his soul had left for some realm far away.

Wait… his soul! The Isirow had sworn some type of follower thing with Rathica!

I looked around, searching for a place that would fit my needs. If I could create a temple here, perhaps Rathica could help? There were plenty of buildings, but all seemed normal, simple housing buildings, but then I spotted something. Further along the balcony that bordered the stone garden, there was an open structure, a carved stone roof in the shape of some creature with wings held aloft by intricate pillars. It looked out across the vast cavern beyond, and the buildings surrounding it had their doors pointed towards it.

Wood, I thought as I looked around. I should have brought some of the Basilwood, but I'd not expected to make the temple before I brought the others. Then I thought of the mushrooms. Would those work? Without waiting, I turned towards one, gripped my ax, and sliced through its stem. The two-meter-high thing toppled to the side, and I moved closer, knocking and touching the material. It was softer than any wood, almost like what would happen if I cast Soften Wood on it. It would have to do.

I chopped the stem just below the mushroom's cap and lifted the stem. It was heavier than I'd expected, and the way it wobbled showed that the insides were more massive than the outside.

One look at Libidi indicated she wasn't paying attention to anything other than the state of her brother's body. I prayed to Rathica that no more of those insects would show up and carried the stem to the open building. Carving it proved more problematic than I had thought, as the soft material on the outside was mushy and too pliable. In the end, I resorted to casting Harden Wood on it, which to my surprise made the material easier to work with than normal wood.

Even rushing, it took over an hour to create a rough resemblance, and I hoped it would be good enough as I carved the last lines into a statue. A quick look told me it was by far the worst of the statues of Rathica I'd made.

Rathica!, I cried out as I stepped away from the statue. For a moment, nothing happened, then I felt a connection strengthen in my mind as something struggled to break through a barrier. Seconds passed by as Rathica's presence fluctuated, then something tore, and the connection lit up like a star.

Est!

Rathica's voice boomed around my mind, and I felt the barrier around my mindscape reverberate. The statue in front of me began glowing softly, then brighter as the details became clearer. Poorly carved hair turned into a flowing mane, individual strands moving in the soft breeze. A moment later, Rathica stood before me, a comforting presence washing over me. I didn't waste any time but opened my mindscape.

"Something happened, look," I said, almost willing her to see through the recent events.

Rathica sifted through, and as soon as I felt her retreat, she turned to Dibidi, still lying in the stone garden.

"They aren't real followers," she said sadly. "If they had been, I could have given his soul sanctuary from the chaos, but…"

My shoulders sagged as I looked at Libidi. Rathica stood beside me, not speaking.

"Will his soul return to the Primordial chaos?" I asked after a while.

"Perhaps," Rathica said. "It has already exited his body, and I wasn't here to see where it went."

"If something like this happens to me, what would happen?"

"Your soul is bound to me, and it will instantly move to my realm. Unless something intercepts it, which is incredibly difficult even for a Deity, you will arrive there and…"

Rathica's voice quieted as she frowned. "I can't tell you what will happen, but you will be fine!"

I nodded, then looked around. "So, this is Boglodon," I said.

Rathica put a hand on my shoulder. Her body had grown to her normal towering self, and she smiled down on me.

"You did good, Est! The runes and spells on this place are even more powerful than I remembered. Even with you as a tether, I barely managed to enter."

She looked around as a big grin caused me to involuntarily smile. "Even if Nimron and his whole Pantheon try, they won't be able to find this place or enter it. Not without finding a proper entrance."

"So, now what?"

Rathica turned to me, her eyes gleaming brightly. "Now, I will need to create a temple, and you need to find the control runes hidden deeper inside the city. I can't spread my senses yet, but if my temple connects to the runes, I will gain control over part of this city."

"Does that mean you can keep out those insects?" I asked.

"If the defense runes are still functioning, yes."

Looking around, I thought of Casiron and the villagers huddled outside. Candlewick and the others must have gone back to them by now. Wait, where was Casiron? I had called him before, but there was no response.

Casiron? I tried.

"You can't talk with him from inside here," Rathica said. "The barriers don't allow anything in or out, not even mindspeak."

I grunted, hoping Casiron and the rest were alright. A slight worry came to me as I wondered if he might think I was dead.

"I'm going to bring the refugees here first," I said. "Can you protect Libidi?"

Rathica barked a laugh and pointed at one of the mushrooms near me. It shook, then the hood raised from the ground as the stem morphed. Two legs and arms grew as a mushroom creature rose from the ground and stomped on the path. "We will be fine. Be careful, and make sure not to draw any unwanted attention."

I nodded and began moving back towards the staircase. A few steps in I stopped and turned. "Can I step through the portal without problems?"

"Yes, it will bring you back to where you were. Now hurry," Rathica said as she turned to the building around her.

I nodded, then sprinted forward, passing Libidi, who didn't seem to have even noticed Rathica's arrival.

Let's hope I can sneak through that border keep, I thought, remembering the metallic dwarves.