We entered the temple at a breakneck pace, descending a series of broken stairs into the ruins of what was once a grand lobby. Once upon a time this would have been something magnificent and filled with tremendous elemental energies, from what Jeldorain had shown me. But now, well past its heyday, it crackled with static electricity, but nothing more.

Loping past the stairwell and to the floor itself, I sucked in air that was cold and damp. Soothing. I felt my ice infernal body revel in its touch, the tendrils of dark chill being drawn into my infernal companion’s soul with an eager, almost maniacal, cheer. He exuded a feeling that felt akin to homecoming after a particularly long and tragic war.

Behind us, orcish tribesmen followed in pursuit, their grunts and howls echoing off of the cracked visages of well-forgotten idols and statuary.

A notification popped up in my vision:

Quest: Retrieve the Eye of the Stormbringer

Difficulty: Elite

Objective: Infiltrate the Temple of Storms and retrieve the Eye.

Rewards: Substantial XP, Unique Items, and Faction Reputation.

Penalties: Possible Death, Loss of Items

“Looks like we are going to do the quest without the party,” Kevinar noted, running alongside me. “But on the plus side we seem to have gained an army of over a hundred orcs!” He was hardly out of breath at all, and I was grateful that he was sticking by my side when he could obviously and quite easily out-distance me.

I stumbled over a small mess of cracked pillar, almost pitching to the floor, but managed to regain my balance. Kevinar stopped and turned, twin crossbows appearing, one in each hand, and he fired on the mob before turning and catching back up with me.

Seven arched exits opened up in the darkness, their stones crackling with bits of white and blue lightning, feeble remnants of what had been. Without hesitation Kevinar took the one straight ahead and I followed.

The corridor went forward for an impossibly long time, sloping downwards into subterranean depths as we continued our retreat. Behind us, the orcs bellowed and clomped, their sounds constant but more and more distant. All was total darkness, but the cool stones exuded their blue hues quite distinctly under the power of my infravision, and I dodged several piles of rubble without missing a step.

All at once, the impossibly high ceiling lit with electric yellow fury, bathing us in a glimmer not unlike that of an incandescent light bulb. The light stretched for miles in every direction and it became obvious that we had just run ourselves into a labyrinth. From where we stood we could see the structure in its convoluted entirety, 100 foot walls of jagged shimmering fulgurite stretching a hundred feet tall, the maze’s top uncapped and open.

Trial of the worthy, Jeldorain corrected smugly. The infernal Voltarius ran supplicants through its halls to test their will and ability. The victors would gain great living standards and the honors of serving directly within his elite guard. The losers would die slowly, in tremendous agony, entertaining him for weeks on end. The magic here isn’t what it once was, so I expect the magics that once prolonged dying life are gone. But the traps and monsters, though lesser than they once were, I expect are still here.

The maze’s interior walls were also made of fulgurite, I noticed, peering through one of the five entrances that stood open before us, inviting us in. Our steps echoed softly, crunching against the ancient, glass-like floor. The walls themselves pulsed with life, bolts of electricity dancing inside the crystals that formed them.

I reached out, my fingers brushing against the cool, smooth surface. A yellow zap of electricity reached out, tearing a single hit point from my total health. Jeldorain laughed inside me.

“We have to pick one and keep moving, Ryan. I’ll take front and try to keep us from being caught in any traps. Follow me, listen to me, and we’ll get through this.”

I pointed to the entrance on our farthest right, and Kevinar nodded, loping through it immediately. I ran after him, keeping a ten foot gap between us for good measure, staring in awe of the ruin as I jogged its twists and turns to the next junction.

Kevinar looked at me, and this time I pointed to the leftmost passage. He nodded again, taking lead as we took the newest passage through twists and turns meant to baffle mortals of all species. On one turn a bolt of lightning shot out, striking me in the shoulder but barely doing any damage as it tingled up my arm.

That would have ended us once upon a time, Jeldorain noted sadly.

As we ran, wall carving lit up a liquid blue, depicting in perfect lucidity tempestuous storms with lightning bolts from the heavens and figures channeling the raw power of the heavens into feats of legendary prowess. The artistry was breathtaking, the details so intricate that I could almost hear the roar of the wind, feel the sting of the rain on my skin.

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Jeldorain's voice echoed in my mind, a soft whisper. “These walls have seen more than you can imagine. They have borne witness to the birth of gods, the death of empires. They hold the memories of a time long forgotten, a time when infernals ruled supreme.”

A hand lighted on my knee. “Pay attention, Ryan. We need to keep moving,” he said, urgency in his tone. “The orcs are close.”

As if to emphasize the point, the sound of an orc screaming filled the air, echoing off the ceiling. More yells and the sound of battle followed.

I nodded, shaking myself from my awed revery. The sooner we got to where this maze led, the sooner we’d find an exit. In Lords of Chaos there was almost always multiple ways in and out of ruins, and I doubted that this would be an exception.

As we delved deeper into the maze, the air suddenly froze, Kevinar dropping to his knees, and gagging. I scooped him up, my own breath starved, and turned to go back the way we’d come before noticing an amulet, the color of diamond, pulsing with the rhythm of the wall.

+1/10 Perception flitted through my vision and seized with a sudden theory, I reared back my beefy right arm and smashed it as hard as I could with the bottom of my fist. It exploded into fragments and air gushed back into our lungs.

“Thank you,” Kevinar gasped, picking himself up from the floor. “There aren’t many traps I can’t find, but that one was beyond my acumen.”

“No sweat,” I grinned. A grin that quickly turned down as the sound of orcs heading up our corridor flittered into hearing. “They aren’t so close, but some of them are still on our trail. Let’s get going.”

Kevinar nodded, moving back into the lead position and leading us through the twisting corridor of the maze once again. Left and right, through more junctions, while listening to more fighting, zaps, explosions, and screams.

Ah, the gold old days, Jeldorain sighed.

Another junction met, and we saw three orcs sitting there, heaving, obviously the victors of some gruesome combat. Kevinar pulled his blades, killing two before they noticed us. I smashed the third against a wall, shattered half of its spiky crystals and ending his life.

“Some of these must double back. Ryan, keep picking. Your infernal’s luck is our best bet to get through this thing.”

The drowling knows infernal lore, Jeldorain mulled. Perhaps he is the one sent to train us.

I growled at him. Schustak I could believe. But not Kevinar. I choose the central passage and we continued forward, skidding to a stop after the first turn.

“Careful,” Kevinar said, pointing to the floor. Staring, I noticed a patch that seemed a little off color. We skirted it, my shoulder brushing up against the wall and taking another one hit point shock.

Pushing forward, it wasn’t long before we heard a loud explosion behind us. The ground shook briefly, the tremors followed by the cries of wounded and the silence of unknown dead.

How tragic, Jeldorain commented.

A low rumble echoed through the floor beneath us, as if another trap had exploded in our vicinity, but instead this time the crackling tiles rose up, forming slowly into an amorphous shape. A red bar began to take hold above my vision. Sparks shot from the walls, the force of their echoes growing louder with each passing moment, while the ground beneath us began to vibrate.

If the name under that hitpoint bar was to be believed, the creature emerging from the tiles before us was a Floor Golem, this particular one a boss type. Rising from the very rock of the temple, this massive creature had a body that was chiseled in both senses of the word, with a six pack set under two enormous pecs and an undercarriage that would not disappoint the ladies. It rose even above my large body, and it stared down at us with two deep-set gemstones, each sparking like a toaster in a bathtub. The golem opened its mouth, revealing rows of razor-sharp fulgurite teeth, and a loud groan filled the air.

“Watch and learn, Ryan,” Kevinar said, running through the monster’s legs into the next passage. I ran and dove, sliding through after him, then popped back up into a sprint. The golem screamed outrage straight up into the air, and just as we were about to turn the next corner, I saw a squad of orcs step into view.

“Good luck guys,” I called with a wave and a smile, before moving out of view. The savage tearing, rending, screaming and clanging that rolled over us afterwards made me well happy that we had not battled the thing, no matter how many experience points it might have been worth.

We kept running and didn't stop to catch our breath until we were well away from the sounds of battle.

“That was a guardian of the old world,” Kevinar remarked, “A sentinel bound to protect the temple's inner sanctum. And also to trip up the stupid from the intelligent. The smart ones ran past it. The dumb ones died.”

Jeldorain’s mistrustful growl told me his observation was right on target.

The deeper we ventured into the maze, the more distant the sounds of our pursuers grew. The guttural shouts of the orcs, their heavy footfalls, and the occasional clang of metal echoed through the winding corridors here and there, but after some silence I wondered if they had all perished.

But seeing a sudden burst of electricity arc down from the ceiling some miles distant let me know that at least one more orc had been lurking around the place. Here the maze seemed more alive, blue-white arcs of energy dancing across the tops of the fulgurite, illuminating the intricate carvings well.

We continued on. Kevinar would occasionally pause, his head tilting slightly as he listened intently. His keen senses did well for us and more than once, he'd shove me back just as a bolt of electricity shot out from a hidden panel in the wall or the floor beneath us gave way to reveal a pit filled with crackling energy.

“It's getting harder to detect these traps,” he whispered after what seemed to be ages. “The energy in this place is playing havoc with my senses. And I have been having to augment my abilities with exertion. It's almost as if the temple itself is alive, fighting back against our intrusion.”

I sighed. “Use some exertion potions?” I asked.

Kevinar shook his head. “At 10 points each, I’ll have to drink them all. It’s better if we save them for an emergency.”

I nodded. “Let’s encamp. Get your exertion points back, and I’ll take watch.”

Kevinar nodded, stomping a clear place into the jagged floor, then sitting and closing his eyes to meditate. And I stood near him, watching both the way we’d come from, and the way we had been going, with cautious, careful eyes.