The metal bars ahead were as thick as half a grown man’s hand. Algae covered everything the rust didn’t. Dark spots shadowed holes beneath each bar, no doubt the ending place of the dirty water that constantly raced down them.
As for what was beyond the bars, there was no purple light, just a pool of black. It seemed to me that the sound of our hesitant steps would let us know if there was a door or solid wall somewhere ahead. Fortunately, the noise of our footfalls and clinking armor didn’t echo back but instead vanished into the darkness and never returned. It felt like there was a cavity here—an opening that would finally give us some space to organize ourselves.
‘Here goes,’ Alan pushed at the metal gate and after some resistance it suddenly gave way and swung open, he staggered through and I hurried after him.
Just beyond those bars was a dark room, and only after we’d edged deeper inside did those purple lights flicker on and grant us any vision. I could see that the walls, flagstones and roof were made of very smooth stone and that we were standing in the middle of one side of a perfect square, about twenty yards across and twelve feet high. Especially interesting though, were the carvings along the other walls. If I hadn’t known we weren’t in Egypt, I have assumed that these were hieroglyphics.
Maria was the last to enter the room, and as she stepped through the gate, I looked back with a sudden anxiety, not for her specifically, but with the expectation that a cell-door would magically appear and trap us inside.
“Should Maria go back outside? In case it’s a trap? But I guess there’s no need to trap us when we’re already trapped.” Lucas must have been thinking along the same lines as me. He spoke with a tone of self-deprecation. There was no way out for us going back so even if a door locked behind us, we still had to go forward.
“True, but where do we go from here?” Jessica asked. She moved closer to the walls and focused her attention there as though not expecting an answer from any of us.
“There must be something here,” I said.
“Maybe it’s a puzzle.” Thomas spoke for the first time since we had been cut off from the outside world. “Solve the puzzle, exit this place?” It was an interesting theory, and no one had any better idea.
“What about you Alan? Any ideas?” I asked. My question was really asked to gauge his condition and find out how he was doing.
“I’m not sure,” he replied, “but I definitely feel a lot better in here.”
I couldn’t see how… but I wasn’t claustrophobic. We had gone from being in a small tomb to a slightly larger one. It made no difference to me in terms of the sense of being trapped underground. At least I could summon my squad of skeletons here if need be.
“These sort of look like alligators to me,” Jessica suddenly said while pointing at the drawings upon the walls. Everyone turned to her and we grouped around the images.
“Why are they holding swords?” Maria asked. Soon we were all peering closely at the drawings upon the walls, and there was a lot to study. Although the wall on the side we had entered was smooth, the other three walls at least twelve feet high, covered in depictions of who knew what.
Bats, snakes, alligators, owls, insects, and even fish with alarmingly large teeth covered no end of illustrated scenes. The one pattern that stood out to me was that these stories were not peaceful ones. They all ended up the same way, with normal-looking humans being eaten alive, or chopped up, or devoured in a multitude of gruesome ways.
“Is this… telling us our fate?” Lucas asked from beside me. The images were slightly raised from the wall, like Braille on a page. As his hands slowly traced along the tail of an alligator, Lucas was deep in thought; eventually he reached the head. “This almost looks like a —” and then there was a click before he could even finish his sentence.
Lucas’s hand had pressed against the alligator’s eye and the entire room shook like an earthquake.
“What’s happening?” Alan reacted the most strongly. “What did you do?” He rushed to the corner and we all followed.
I thought the entire room was going to collapse, and for a brief moment I battled with myself. Should I summon my minions in an attempt to shelter the collapse? I turned to Jessica and mumbled my thoughts.
Her calm eyes were reassuring, but a bit scary at the same time. Was her calmness at the cost of her usual emotional experience? For some reason I had the feeling she was losing part of her humanity and it scared me. She gave me a shake of her head and then directed my attention towards the far wall.
“That’s a path…” Lucas with a steadily growing in excitement. “That’s our way out!”
I was inclined to hurry down the dark exit while it was open and most of the others followed me across the room. But Alan stopped us with a thought.
“Isn’t it possible that we get a choice? Shouldn’t there be two more paths?” Given the layout of the room, he had a point. Perhaps each wall had a path in the middle of it.
“Let’s get looking then,” I said. And we split ourselves between the two other walls, carefully looking for any figure whose head could be pushed to open a secret exit. It wasn’t hard once we knew what we were looking for. In less than five minutes we had three pathways available to us.
“What now?” Maria asked. There was really no way to tell if there was any difference between them, at least not from here.
“Splitting up isn’t viable. Once we enter inside the pathways might close,” Lucas said. “If we are trapped separately, our chances of survival drop dramatically.”
“No one disagrees with that,” I answered. “But how do we choose?” My first thought in response to my own question was to look to Jessica, who already knew what I wanted.
“There are no signatures. I don’t sense any monsters nearby anywhere.”
“Well that’s our best chance at gathering information out the window,” Lucas said.
“Does it matter? We can pick at random.” Alan suggested.
“You’ll be tanking, so it might not matter to us, but to you… probably.” Thomas reminded him. Alan’s face darkened and I couldn’t help but give Thomas a look as if to say, now why did you have to go and say that…
Alan only pushed at Thomas’s shoulder and gave a rare laugh. They knew each other before the apocalypse, whereas I wasn’t familiar with the humor and banter that existed between them.
“What if the walls give us the answer?” Maria suddenly asked. “The scenes aren’t the same on each.”
“Right!” Lucas agreed, “I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before.” He moved rapidly towards the nearest tunnel, and I almost felt the need to calm him down. “Where were the switches on this wall?”
“For that wall it was the fang of a snake,” Jessica pointed.
“This one was the abdomen of a locust, or some sort of bug; don’t know for sure.” Alan had walked over to the opposite exist.
“Okay, and the other one was the eyeball of an alligator, or maybe a crocodile,” Lucas finished. “So, it’s possible the depictions indicate what we might be facing inside each pathway.”
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“Well, it wasn’t strictly just those trigger creatures that were different,” I pointed out. “There were other animals on each sliding panel that might have been different too.”
“Right, so does anyone remember what was on each?” Lucas asked expectantly. A large portion of each wall was now gone, having slid aside to create an opening.
“I think this one was mostly insects,” Maria said while pointing towards Alan’s doorway. It was the one where the switch was the abdomen of a locust.
Jessica sounded thoughtful, “The snake fang wall was mostly reptiles. I think there were bat-looking creatures and other flying buggers as well.”
“The alligator one had those weird sword-wielding amphibians, but there were also birds wielding polearm-looking weapons as well,” Lucas said.
“Insects, reptiles, or weapon wielding demi-humans?” I asked aloud. “It’s not an easy decision, so we should talk it out.”
“Agreed. There’s bound to be pros and cons of each pathway based on what the depictions showed,” Lucas chimed in. “What do we think about the insect-based pathway?”
“Pass. I hate bugs,” Maria said.
“Also pass, not doing bugs either,” Jessica immediately followed up. I was flabbergasted, and almost expected them to high-five for their common dislike of multi-legged creatures.
“That’s good and all, but does anyone have a real reason why it’s a bad choice?” Lucas tried to make the discussion a more serious one.
“Poison,” Thomas replied. “Could be lots of poisonous bugs. I can’t cure poison either.”
“Insects swarm, which might be hard for me to tank. Not only that, clouds of insects will make travel difficult depending on the terrain. Small ,poisonous bugs sound like a nightmare,” Alan added.
Lucas nodded. “Okay, those are good points. Poison truly would be a nightmare if we have no way to cure it reasonably. What about the second path?”
“I think the second path could be good.” Jessica said. “Maria and I are both ranged. We should be able to deal well with any flying creatures.”
“The rest of us are melee though. Mike would be almost entirely useless,” Lucas said.
“There were snakes there and other reptiles as well,” I added, “those could also end up being poisonous.”
“And the third path?” Lucas asked. The was the original pathway he had opened by accident. “It seemed to have only demi-human creatures. Straight forward-looking brutes wielding swords and polearms.”
“Well, we wouldn’t be snuck up on by such enemies,” Maria said.
I shrugged, “Jessica can sense nearby enemies, so that probably wouldn’t be an issue. I think if we have to fight creatures like those, it would be more straightforward though. They use human weapons—combat should be more predictable.”
“I like predictable,” Alan said, “I’d rather block swords and polearm swings than deal with poisonous snakes and insects. Flying little buggers give me the heebie-jeebies.” He started to rub his arms.
“They look more formidable though.” Thomas said. “Judging by the humans they are devouring, those things could be seven-to-ten feet tall.”
“Mike’s minions should be an invaluable asset though. Even if these lizardmen are stronger, I’d prefer this path over the others,” Alan said. Silence fell for a few moments. I felt that a more straightforward combat suited us. A stat check encounter was just up our alley. No one disagreed and Lucas gestured to the corridor he had opened.
“Gather close. We should enter together as swiftly as possible. The doorway might close and if anyone is separated… this may end up being your tomb,” Lucas reminded everyone.
Maria frowned, “do you have to be so dramatic about it?”
“Sorry, that was a bit dark,” Lucas agreed, “let’s get our bearings and go from there.”
“Agreed,” I said, feeling that Lucas joining our ranks was paying off dividends now. It was heartening to have someone in the group who didn’t mind taking up the reins and giving a lead to make sure we acted as team.
Not only that, the morale around the group had changed for the better. The gloom and downcast atmosphere disappeared. We now had a direction, and the goal of escaping this place felt tangible.
“Alan lead the front with Mike just behind?” Lucas asked.
“Sounds good,” I replied, “unless the area is open enough, in which case I will lead with a skeleton general. In that case, wait while I summon my troops.”
With that, Alan hoisted up his shield and walked to the doorway with all of us carefully behind him.
There was no breeze, no sign of anything in the blackness ahead, and it made me start to speculate on what might be there. As far as I could tell, we were walking into a small box with no openings anywhere. I couldn’t help but look at the sweat on Alan’s neck, and the hairs that had risen. No doubt he was having second thoughts right now.
“Let’s move,” Lucas said, and we walked forward as a unit. There was no sound, no smells, just darkness in every direction, and then suddenly, there wasn’t. We didn’t hear the sound of a door close, or of any stone mechanisms in the walls. We were suddenly somewhere completely different: a cavern appeared in front of us, lightly lit by purple spheres near the walls. The uneven pattern of the purple lights made it seem like they were outlining some huge, ghastly creature, but that was just my imagination.
Behind us, the path we had taken to enter was now gone, covered up by solid rock that was moist with water and covered in rich plant-life. “Where… are we?” Lucas was the first to speak as we all took in the scenery around us. It was nothing like the solid stone room we had left, which had been old stone, bland and brown. No, this place was like an underground swamp. Thick with flies and mosquitoes, it was so humid here you could feel the warmth on your skin.
Plants of all shapes and sizes dotted the distance—
“Mobs are spawning all around us” Jessica suddenly cut off my observations. “Seems like fresh spawns.” Her voice was lacking urgency, so I knew they weren’t currently rushing to our location.
She pointed with a finger and I saw a demi-human enemy at least eight feet tall: a fully upright alligator-like creature wielding a saber half the length of my torso. It was at least one-hundred feet away from us and also below us.
I now realized that we were currently at the top of a stone staircase that led down to the plant-covered cave floor.
“It looks like it will be wide and open enough to use your minions at least, Mike,” Alan said. I could hear the relief in his voice. We couldn’t be sure what would eat us here and what wouldn’t. He needed my intelligence gathering potential at the front.
Visibility wasn’t bad from so high up, but that would change as soon as we went down. There were thick and tall palm-like plants that would come up to our waist; oddly colored flowers; and ferns as tall as our shoulders. Some were even taller than Maria.
“Good job the lizardmen are tall, at least they stand out from all that vegetation,” I joked.
“Any intel on them?” Lucas turned to Jessica.
“Child of Sobek, level twenty-four, Exceptional enemy.” She was staring at the eight-foot tall crocodilian-type demi-human in the distance. “There’s one more mob type, but I don’t have any visual on it so I can’t see what it is.”
“Can you feel anything about it?” I asked her.
“Seems to be around the same strength, so not much difference probably.”
“That’s… not low at all.” Alan seemed to be sweating bullets now. Level twenty-four was three levels higher than both Jessica and I, and countless levels higher than the rest of our party. Personally, I had been expecting something easier given the cakewalk it was traversing the swamp.
“Maria, stay safe in the back at all costs,” I said. She was our lowest level by far, “Alan you focus on defense and step in only when the party needs it. Let my minions tank whenever you can. Lucas, I trust your judgment so sneak in attacks whenever possible, Thomas you keep us topped up to the best of your ability.” I didn’t bother giving Jessica any instructions; she already knew what to do and was expert at dealing damage without getting aggro.
I pulled my minions from Vast Shadows and we descended the stairs as a group. Like magic, the stairs behind us disappeared and a message became clear in my head.
The Ancient Pit: Floor 1A
“Woah, did everyone get that?” Alan asked.
“I did… and I guess that confirms our suspicions,” I said. A bubbling excitement was filling me.
“Right, this is a dungeon,” Lucas agreed, “we need to be extra cautious.”
“I’ll send a minion out front; Alan go directly behind. Jessica notify us if anything untoward appears.” I gave that quick command and then sent my Zweihander-wielding skeleton general out.
His footing wasn’t great on this uneven cave floor. Even worse, the stone was covered in a thin layer of moisture that seemed it would never disappear in such a humid environment. Once we were at even level, the visibility was terrible, too.
A pathway was already carved for us between high cat-tails and a grass I’d never seen. It was sharp and thin, and still had surprisingly high rigidity. Upon close examination, there were faint saw-teeth along the edges as well, which would definitely tear you up if rubbed the wrong way.
The plants and flowers were vibrant colors of purple and red, with hints of pink and yellow but I didn’t see any immediate danger from them, and Jessica had given no warning about the vegetation. I felt a tension in me rise as we followed the path the dungeon had set before us.
Only the sound of our breathing and the clanking of my minions’ armor could be heard. No one wanted to start a conversation in such a strained atmosphere. The feeling on the back of my neck was clear: this place was dangerous.
We moved in single-file behind my Skeleton General, the rest of my minions at the very back of the group and out of the way. There shouldn’t be anything coming from behind, but at least they wouldn’t hinder our visibility that way. It probably gave Maria some peace of mind too, with such a blockade behind her.
It became clear after passing the first bend that we were actually going even further down. The pathway in front of us was spiraling around and heading to a floor much deeper than this one. The issue though, was the path itself. It didn’t continue as smoothly as I would have liked.
The bonus was that it didn’t lead us to any enemies. Every enemy was on some platform far beyond us, or several levels below. Nothing short of jumping or taking a rope would get us to them, not that we would rush into harm’s way without knowing what we were up against first anyway.