“I can’t see a thing down here,” said Friedrich, as he followed Blackjack closely.

“I can’t either,” said Marina, her voice low in case anything was lurking in the shadows further down the staircase.

“You humans and your poor vision,” said Blackjack, but she suddenly stopped and Friedrich bumped into her.

The torches within the walls had suddenly ignited with fire, as though welcoming them into the underground. The three looked at each other uneasily.

“Do you think this always happens when someone comes here or is this a sign from Malzuth?” asked Marina.

“I’m going to go with the former,” said Friedrich. “For my own peace of mind.”

“As will I,” said Blackjack as Friedrich now took the lead with his shield at the ready.

Before long, the staircase straightened out into a stone corridor. There were thick vines covering the room and there was a prickly, ivy-like plant growing up the walls. At the end of the corridor, illuminated by two torches, was a wooden door. Atop the door was an inscription in a language that Friedrich could not read.

“The fate of the forest rests within,” said Blackjack before shuddering.

“What was that?” asked Marina.

“I have a bad reaction when I am forced to read the language of the wood elves. It sends a shiver up my spine and makes me want to forcefully expel my latest meal from my mouth.”

“Indeed,” muttered Friedrich, trying hard to avoid rolling his eyes at that overreaction.

He crept forward and nudged the door open. It swung on its hinges, creaking loudly as it moved. Friedrich moved into the room, which was a much larger chamber. It stretched up high and there were many corridors and staircases leading to various doors. Throughout the room, there were many portraits across the walls, all of wood elves, but what caught the young adventurer’s eye the most was what sat in the centre of the room.

“I bet that would fetch a few kupons,” muttered Friedrich.

Sitting within a magical orb on a plinth was a blue treasure chest lined with gold. There was a large keyhole in the centre of the chest, which Friedrich had the sneaking suspicion would stop him from opening the chest, even if he was able to retrieve it from within its spherical forcefield. He picked up a loose stone from the ground and threw it at the orb, but it simply bounced away.

“Good,” he said, “at least we won’t trip and fall into it only to find our flesh melting away.”

“Is that the one thing you want to loot from here?” asked Marina.

“To be determined, but it’s most certainly enticing.”

“This way,” said Blackjack, heading towards a small set of steps to the left.

“Are you sure?” asked Marina.

“No, but it is better to keep moving rather than stand here admiring something that you cannot lay a finger on.”

“She’s got a point,” said Friedrich, following her.

The three walked up the steps and through the next door. As soon as they stepped into the corridor, Blackjack threw herself backwards with her arms out keep Friedrich and Marina back. Before the Mercians had a chance to ask why, three javelins shot past the door.

“Maybe standing in this room and admiring the chest isn’t such a bad idea,” murmured Marina.

Blackjack led the way ahead once more, keeping a careful eye out for any traps that lay waiting to be sprung. Much to the relief of the group, there were none. They headed outside where, to their surprise, they found a garden with a small pond and a wooden bridge leading across it to a little island with a well. All three of them looked up and could see that the ceiling they expected to be there was indeed there, so why was there a garden here?

“Forest magic,” shrugged Friedrich.

There was a sudden hissing and Friedrich raised his shield as a long, stringy creature lunged at him. It bounced off his shield and slithered away on the ground.

“A snake!” squealed Marina, pointing her staff at it, ready to launch a spell.

“No,” said Blackjack, “it’s a vine of some kind. The plants here are alive…”

“Aren’t all plan—”

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“I know that all plants are alive, Friedrich, but you know rightly that I mean they are animated.”

There was a soft rustling and a hiss once more as another vine leapt towards Marina, but Friedrich sliced it in two in mid-air. More rushed towards the group and Blackjack unleashed a series of arrows, but was unable to hit the quick and tiny targets. Marina launched lightning strike after lightning strike, but each one that fell was replaced my two more slithering through the grass.

“Nothing else for it,” said Friedrich, placing the minotaur mask to his face and transforming.

He let out a brutal roar as he assumed the minotaur’s form and slammed his fists into the ground, crushing multiple vine snakes at a time. He scooped armfuls of them up and tore them in two while Marina continued to zap them with her magic and Blackjack resorted to using her dagger to strike whenever the plants leapt at her.

After a thorough pulverising by his bull-man fists, most of the plants lay dead on the grass. Friedrich snorted and grunted, satisfied that he had killed them, but disappointed he didn’t have the opportunity to test his strength against a much bigger opponent.

“Do not let pride be your downfall,” said Blackjack, walking over to the pond.

She looked at the bridge and tapped her left foot on it to make sure it wasn’t going to blow her to come to life and attack her. Once she had that assurance, she walked towards the well and looked inside.

Friedrich and Marina followed her; the former leaving the bridge in much worse condition for the latter. They looked inside the well too and found that there was a ladder within it that lead into darkness.

“We go carefully,” said Blackjack, climbing inside the well, but she did not heed her own advice. She kept a loose grip at the edge of the ladder and slid down speedily.

Friedrich, unable to get a good grip on the ladder, let himself fall into the darkness, upon which Blackjack leapt out of the way of the falling minotaur. As she scolded him for his recklessness, Marina climbed down much more slowly and carefully.

As the group walked through the darkness, Friedrich turned back into a human. He opened and shut his mouth, exercising his jaw. He still hadn’t gotten used to his minotaur form and it left him feeling stiff afterwards.

“What’s happening to my hair?” whispered Marina.

“Now isn’t the time to worry about how pretty you look,” said Friedrich without looking back, but he could see Blackjack pulling the part of her hair that escaped from her hood down.

In confusion, Friedrich turned to look at Marina. Her hair was going sitting straight up as though she had used a bizarre hair product. He turned back to Blackjack, whose arrows floated out of her quiver and landed on the ceiling.

“We’re upside-down,” said the Alaurian as she jumped up to grab her arrows.

“What sorcery is this?” asked Friedrich.

“Turn back,” called a whispery, rippling voice.

“Was that you Marina?” asked Friedrich.

“No,” said Marina, her face as white as a fresh sheet.

“I didn’t think so,” said Friedrich, keeping his sword raised.

Suddenly, a translucent spectre charged down the hall towards the trio, floating three feet off the ground with her hair spread out even more wildly than Marina and Blackjack’s.

Friedrich rushed past the high elf and thrust his sword at the ghostly figure only to find his blade pass straight through the creature. The spectre, however, had no trouble passing through Friedrich and causing him immense pain.

“Agh,” he grunted, falling to his knees as Blackjack dove underneath the charging apparition.

Marina hurled a lightning bolt at the ghost, who then screamed and retreated into the walls. “Did that work?” she asked.

“I think so,” said Friedrich, trying to shake off the horrible feeling of the ghost passing through him.

“Never attack a ghost with a physical weapon,” said Blackjack. “You must always use magic to counter one.”

“I don’t have any magic!” barked Friedrich.

The three hurried along the corridor with Blackjack clutching her arrows and Marina holding down her hair. As they exited the corridor, they found themselves no longer upside-down and in a much larger chamber with a tall staircase at the top.

“Who built this place?” asked Friedrich. “It’s twisted in more ways than one.”

Blackjack shook her head slowly. “I suspect there is foul magic here dating back even before Malzuth. This place is much older than Faeryn herself and I doubt that even she has the answers.”

“Those vines are moving,” said Marina, pulling on Friedrich’s sleeve with one hand and pointing to the trembling vines hanging above the staircase.

“This is something I can slice and dice,” said Friedrich, walking forwards as a huge mass of vines plummeted onto stairs.

They slithered and wriggled, forming a hulking beast that writhed unnaturally. Whatever this vine monstrosity was, Friedrich knew he was going to kill it. He leapt up the stairs and slashed at it, cutting away a dozen vines that fell to the stairs limply, but it did not deter the monster. It moved forward and reached for Friedrich, catching his arm. He cut himself free and backed away.

Unwilling to let its prey escape, the mass of vines lunged forwards, throwing out too long vines. One grabbed Friedrich around the waist and the other coiled around Marina, who screamed as it pulled her towards it. Friedrich cut himself free once more and jumped up high, cutting the vine that was dragging Marina through the air.

She let out a squeal as she fell and Friedrich dropped his sword, holding out his arms and catching her. She landed on top of him and he fell to the ground as the beast bore down on them.

“Move!” called Blackjack, unleashing one of her enchanted arrows at the monster.

It silently writhed in anguish as the arrow caught fire. The demon slayer let loose another and then another, setting the beast ablaze. It flailed desperately, beating its tentacle-like vines against the ground in a futile attempt to snuff out the flames.

Seizing upon the creature’s pain, Friedrich climbed back to his feet and hacked at the monster that was unable to fight back, so focused on its agony as it was. He swung, stabbed and cleaved at the beast, cutting it to pieces as it continued to burn. Even as the flames started to die down, Friedrich continued his relentless assault, aided by Blackjack with her knife and Marina with her lightning magic.

The trio did not cease their attack until the vine monster was reduced to a pile of ash and short, desecrated vines that rested unmoving on the floor. Once they were finished, Friedrich and Marina slumped onto the stairs, exhausted, while Blackjack inspected the vines to ensure they would not suddenly spring back to life.

“Maybe coming here was a mistake,” said Friedrich. “We have so much of this temple left to explore and we have yet to see even the faintest hint of Malzuth.”

“Then perhaps he will be the one to seek you out,” boomed a deep, harsh voice from atop the stairs, making everyone jump to alert.