All the torches and lanterns flickered back to normal orange and red color. The keep was no longer bathed in black light, and they all could now get a good look at the corpses sinking into the snow. The birds had patches of grey from wing to tail on their underbelly’s. The talons were almost a foot long each. That would have been terrible for anyone to get raked with. Monty began jumping up and down on each corpse as their still warm bodies melted the snow around them. It wouldn’t be long before the frigid temperatures iced over the remains.
“That was easier than I thought it would be,” commented Elena as she reloaded her weapon before continuing, “Let’s hope its just more of those dumb birds. We were able to bottle neck them pretty easily.”
“I don’t think it’ll be that easy. My concern stems from the name of the creatures. Rubio said they were called Domesticated Dodos. That means someone or something did the domestication. Let’s be real, for what would Dodo’s need a tablet?” asked CJ.
New Message from Psycho: Can I come down there? I’m cold.
New Message from Rubio: I’m on my way down so you might as well join me.
Shortly thereafter they all gathered on the bottom floor. Monty stood in the center of the group. He stood on his hind legs before holding up both front paws. Between his paws a blazing red fire sprouted heating the ground floor of the tower. The heat reached a comfortable temperature, and Monty held the flame above one paw while everyone talked.
CJ was amazed considering the freezing temperatures outside, that Monty was able to beat back any of the cold in this dungeon. I he had to guess it was almost forty five degrees in here. He’d take it. With all the holes in his tux, he’s surprised he wasn’t frozen already.
“What did we learn?” asked Rubio during the disassembly of his rifle, he began clearing the chamber before speaking some more, “I’ll start. They dug up some trenches through the snow giving any more waves a clearer path to get to us. Without a new snow fall, they might as well be roads right to us. We should use this time wisely. Service your weapons, reload, discuss amongst yourselves what we know about the enemy.”
“I think I can help with that.” Monty said pulling his eyes away from the flame, “During the black light attack, I found a mural in the main keep. It was revealed on one of the walls. You really have to see it.”
“I also found a door that could only be detected under that same light. It’s halfway up between the wall landing and the top of the tower. I meant to go back there but we just got so busy,” added CJ.
“The lights gone. You don’t want to return to the door while we are in the middle of the fight, do you?” asked Jenn.
“Of course not. But Monty is demonstrating a handy spell we just learned. I think we can use that to access the door without the lanterns going all hot topic.”
“I’m assuming the torch lights are going to tell us when waves are about to start. Regular fire for rest, white fire for get ready, and black light for the start. Same for everyone else right?” asked Elena, getting nods of approval from everyone but her father.
“What if the torches just go out? Or a different color you haven’t seen? Remember this is a dungeon.” Injected Rubio.
“Rubio has a point. I think we should check out both things, we don’t know how long we have. Since Monty and I can both use the spell, we can split up into two teams.”
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“How do we get across the foot deep snows?” asked Jenn.
“I’ve got you covered. I sunk the bodies into the snow as best I could. That should give us some solid ground to move across from here to the keep. It’s not ideal but neither is trudging the forty yards through all that snow. At least you’ll have something solid to walk on,” added Monty.
“Here are the teams. Since I know, Rubio is going to go back up to his sniper’s nest, I’ll take him. The rest of you head over to the keep and look at this mural Monty is talking about. If the fire light changes, we all meet back in the tower. Rubio can get us on party chat if he sees anything. No bell this time,” snickered CJ but that earned him a glare from Rubio.
The teams split up after a quick snack break provided by CJ. Jenn was complaining about slippery corpse hopscotch and Monty was muttering something about doing favors. Elena was strangely quiet since their discussion. CJ believed he would have a talk with her later. These were dark times, and he wanted to keep his people’s morale up.
“My people. When did they become my people?”
CJ asked himself that question as he took step after step following Rubio. Before he knew it, he’d reached the landing with the wall door and all the backup ammo. Rubio needed a breather to let his stamina bar refill. It seemed silly to set this as the fallback position after seeing the first wave enemies. CJ had no idea whether or not they’d even think to climb the stairs. The gears of his mind clinked with every turn. What were these bolster dungeons? He was told they cleanse corrupted mana, but he didn’t know how. Just that he needed to clear them. The Monkey King and Monty never mentioned anything about quest pillars before they found the one in Leaf’s Bend. CJ felt like he was missing some crucial piece of the puzzle.
“I’m going to keep going. Catch up when you can, okay.”
CJ left Rubio behind and picked up the pace a little. His curiosity was getting the better of him and he knew it. Lifting his right palm, he triggered the five mana necessary to cast Polychrome Flames. The mana was drawn from his chest in a rush. It flooded unseen channels through his right arm before red and orange flames bloomed in his palm. The heat from the fire was pleasant as he continued up the stairwell. Once he reached the location, he assumed was the same spot, he concentrated on the flames. The colors began to cycle from red, to orange, to blue, to white, green quickly appeared and vanished before purple arrived. Finally, the black flames coated his hand as a door was drawn on the wall to his left.
It started slowly at first. A line of blue-white light revealed itself about six feet up from the floor. It traced its way along the grey stone wall before curving at either end. Then it shot down to the ground from both sides. At the very center of the curved top of the door a new line appeared and began winding down to the center of the door. The pentagram symbol that matched the Examiners Star etched its way into the stone.
CJ stepped forward and pushed on the door. At first, he thought it wouldn’t give way before trickles of silt cascaded from the seams of the entrance. It then began to slide smoothly open with less and less effort on CJ’s part. The room within this hidden door was a complete surprise. It was no bigger than a broom closet. At the center of the room was a pedestal much like the one in the tower above. Only laid atop angled flat surface was a book. It was blue with the exterior of the pages a shining gold. There was something written on it in a language CJ didn’t understand. Whatever the slate did for him with Spanish either wasn’t working or didn’t affect written languages. The walls of the room were almost bare. The only exception was some garment hanging on a peg in the corner.
There was a small desk with no drawers. That wasn’t exactly correct. The holes the drawers went into were there, but the shelving itself was missing. CJ could see clear to the back wall behind the piece of furniture. On the opposite side was a painting of a beautiful meadow. The sun was shining in the painting over lush grass and tall fern trees. A little brown haired girl was frolicking in an all-white dress through the grass. From the tree line, CJ could see a pair of menacing red eyes staring at her.
The red eyes were a little unnerving, so CJ pulled his attention away from the painting and back to the book. There was a silken strip of yellow fabric threaded through the book, lolling out of the bottom. The pedestal had dust covering most of its surface except for the immediate area around the book itself. CJ stepped closer to the book before coming up short. He stood up straight and spoke aloud.
“Klatu, Verada, Nikto.”