Darius beckoned Tobain and Tristan into a cave. Tristan's light filled the area enough that Tobian could see bones and remains of various creatures and people along the walls. He gulped down the bile that rose in the back of his throat.

“Oh…” Tobian screamed in alarm but quickly clamped a hand over his mouth. In one back corner, a large dark furry form slept. Tobian guessed it was probably the size of a horse. He nudged Tristan and whispered, “Bear.”

“It’s asleep; you don’t need to worry,” Darius said loudly from ahead. “Sirah gave it one of her sleeping draughts and said it’ll stay asleep for a day or two.”

“A, a, day or two. Hopefully, this place isn’t too big.” Tobian said.

“Hiding the entrance in a cave of a predator is an excellent cover,” Tristan said. “When these prisons become harder to find, checking caves like this would be an excellent idea.”

“If the demons haven’t escaped in twenty years, then wouldn’t just leaving them in the prisons be ok?” Tobian said.

“We cannot leave them there to rot,” Tristan said. Considering they are essentially immortal, that would be cruel. No prison is infallible.”

In the back corner of the cave, near a large rock, the tunnel narrowed enough that the walls scraped against the packs Tobian was carrying, but he could push through. Until he emerged into an alcove that was only big enough for four of them to fit, leaving Darius standing in the narrow passage.

“Sometimes I wish they made these locks more difficult,” Sirah said as a click sounded deep within the rock. “I bet Darius could pick it with his axe.”

“Hence why, they also included the divine aspect. While not foolproof, it helps ensure someone doesn’t accidentally wander in.” Tristan said as she dropped to a knee and closed her eyes. A glow filled the air around her, reaching the door until the runes on the door lit up.

The door opened bringing with it the stench of rot and stale air. Sirah disappeared through the door first. Tristan stepped to the side to allow room for Tobian to move out of the way of Darius.

Darius squeezed by and rushed through the door with his axe in hand.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“Undead dragon!” Darius screamed from the darkness. A solid thunk, the shattering of bone followed, and the sound of a large man stumbling over some bones.

A slow, mocking laughter interspaced with almost a second between each laugh filled the silence. Tobian stepped back so Tristan and the Proof could go in and deal with whatever sinister creature felled Darius. Tristan stepped forward, and the glow of her lighting and filling the area shook her head as she stepped in.

“Sirah, that isn’t funny,” Tristan said.

“You should have seen his face when I dropped the skull from the ceiling,” Sirah said from inside.

“Do you guys know how much an intact dragon skull is worth!” the Professor said. He stomped in after Tristan.

Tobian leaned against the stone wall, watching for the sleeping bear. He moved a little to the right, where he couldn’t see the bear but could see the opening of the secret entrance.

A cool breeze blew past Tobain and out into the bear cave. Tobian turned toward the prison entrance and couldn’t see inside. Thick fog rolled out the doorway, causing Tobian to move a little closer to the wall as the cloud rolled on by, towards the cave.

Tobian sighed once the room cleared. He peeked into the antechamber and could see the Professor standing near the statue in the middle and occasionally glimpses of Darius and Tristan.

Shadows danced along the walls and the hallway as spells and various things ignited or lit up the room as the group fought some unknown entity.

Pickwick quietly backed up while summoning a sword from one of his bags. Standing there with his back to a wall, Tobain held the sword up, waiting for the shadow or something else to be in range for a strike.

Click! A slight sound of a rock falling on another rock echoed deeper in the cave, near where the bear was sleeping. Tobian jumped a little and reflexively stabbed with his sword. His sword skipped off the stone, sparking and chipping the wall.

A loud roar from the cave echoed throughout. Tobain remembered the fog and looked through the hole in the wall leading to the cave.

Black and fur slammed against the stone, an open maw of teeth gnashing inches from Tobian’s face. Glowing blue mist leaked out of the creature's eyes as it violently thrashed against the tight stone hallway.

Under the enraged bear, bits of stone and dirt fell from the walls as the creature broke off or loosened bits as it tried to push itself toward Tobin.

Standing still, Tobian did the first thing that came to mind. He stabbed with the sword. The blade missed the bear’s head, but as it whipped its head up and down, it sliced open part of its cheek on the blade.

It roared in pain and rage. Tobian’s ears started to hurt, and he stabbed at the bear again. The bear managed to dodge the blade and work a paw under it. Slowly, the creature managed to wiggle its head and shoulders up and tried to swipe.

Tobian dropped his sword and grabbed one of his bags. Hoping it was the correct bag, he lifted it and mentally summoned a large rock he’d stored in it for a makeshift seat. A second later, a large boulder half the size of Tobian burst forth with momentum that carried it forward enough to clear the bag and a few inches.

The bear reared back to avoid getting crushed by the rock as the stone settled in the crack.

Tobain reached for another bag, hoping the glue was in it as well, concentrating he tried to summon it into his hand.

Nothing happened. He tried again, but still no glue. Quickly, he swapped to another magical bag and this time reached in. Thinking about the glue, he felt something in his hand and pulled it out. A little jar half full of amber liquid appeared in his hand.

Tobian took three steps back, then threw the jar where the stone and the wall met. The glass shattered, and the liquid slowly dripped down the wall and the stone, coating everything it touched. Each second passed and the liquid slowed until it didn’t move anymore.

Hoping the glue was stone enough to keep the bear back, Tobian sighed in relief before reaching down to pick up his word. A roar behind the stone and the paw still trying to swipe from under the stone convinced him he didn’t need the sword. Turning around, he walked into the hallway, hoping they were done with whatever or someone could help him deal with the awakened creature.