It was dark, damp, and cold. Elora had directed them to a shadowy alley on the docks, and the air smelled of salt mixed with the pungent aroma of fish. They spied the warehouse that Vaelena had directed them to. It was a squat wood and stone building with two wide front doors facing the street. The back of the warehouse connected to the bay and allowed boats to dock inside. The magical lights reflected off the moist cobblestone streets. Two burly guards in mail and armed with heavy spiked clubs were dozing off at the front entrance.

Zel shook their head and said, “zombie guards are tireless.”

They were hushed by Elora. Even though the guards were not paying attention, they were blocking the only available entrance into the building. They had been waiting for a while, and it didn’t appear that the guards would leave their post.

“They will stand there the whole night?” Karl asked, surprised.

“We don’t have that much time,” Nameless added.

“I know that!” Growled Elora.

The elf thief continued to study the street and the building.

“Can you go in through the windows?” Karl suggested.

“They are boarded up, and there are no adjacent buildings, so I can’t get to the roof,” Elora said while tapping her chin.

“The back?” Zel offered.

Elora shook her head and replied, “the doors are boarded from the inside. No lock to pick.”

ARMOR: MAGIC REMAINING 30%

QUEST! FIND THE CHOSEN ONE!

YOU NEED TO GET TO THE UNIVERSITY BEFORE PRINCE ZAVERICK’S ARMY ARRIVES! WAR WILL CAUSE THE UNIVERSITY TO LOCK UP, AND YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SPEAK WITH PROFESSOR HANOI! THE PROFESSOR KNOWS ABOUT THE CHOSEN ONE! YOU ARE TASKED WITH FINDING AND PROTECTING THE CHOSEN ONE! THAT IS YOUR PURPOSE! DO NOT FAIL!

The armor’s message flared up in Nameless’s head, causing the knight to grip his great helm and drop to his knee in agony.

“Are you alright?” Asked Karl.

Nameless groaned as he fought back the throbbing pain. It was intense. Never before had the armor done this. The window to find and save the Chosen One must be narrowing. What would happen if he failed? The knight was not sure. With determination, he rose and marched across the street toward the warehouse.

“Nameless! What are you doing?” Elora called out in a loud whisper.

The mage students and the enchanter were not strong enough to stop the large knight as he stomped toward the dozing guards. His armored footfalls rang loudly enough to get the guards’ attention.

“Uh? Hey, where do you think you are going?” One guard grunted in a deep voice as he wiped the sleep from his eyes.

The other guard snorted awake and asked, “what in the hells?”

Nameless unhooked his ax, and the two guards’ eyes went wide. They gripped their great clubs in meaty hands and fanned out before the marching knight. Nameless regretted his decision as these two were clearly skilled fighters.

“How about you go back from where you came from, eh?” The guard on the left said. He was a thick man with a round face.

“Aye, and no one gets hurt,” the other added. This one had dark skin and swirling tattoos along his neck and face.

Suddenly, the round-face guard attacked with an overhand chop while his colleague went in low. Nameless dodged the sneaky swing as well as intercepted the low attack and used his ax blade to hook the club to pull himself closer to deliver a punch to the sizeable tattooed man.

“Ow,” the guard grumbled as they wiped the blood from his face.

The first guard rushed in swinging his weapon, and Nameless batted the attack to the side while delivering a hard kick to the man’s stomach. The tattooed man reentered the fray with a mighty chop. Nameless widely gripped his Dane axe in two hands and intercepted the heavy club along the haft of his ax. The blow was so powerful that it barreled past the knight’s defenses to land a glancing blow to his shoulder that threw him off balance.

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Seeing an opening, the round-faced man lunged forward, but he had underestimated the knight. Nameless managed to deflect the club to the side, and in a fluid motion, he hooked his free arm around the lunging guard’s waist and spun to hip-toss the large man.

“Oof!” The guard grunted as they slammed hard into the ground.

There was a whoosh of magical flame that slammed into the tattooed guard, and he bent over, howling in pain. Nameless thumped them on the head as the magical fire dissipated. Zel’s fire magic was improving, the knight reflected.

“I suppose that approach works,” Elora said.

Karl rushed over and studied the door. He used a thin piece of chalk and drew a symbol along the wood. It glew, and then a series of runes lit up surrounding the door.

“As I suspected, the door was warded,” the Ooraki stated.

“What are you waiting for? Disabled them so I can pick the lock,” Elora demanded.

Karl scowled, but he went to work. It was slow going without his tools, but he could study the runes, and he made a minor adjustment using the chalk. The runes dimmed and then faded away.

“You are free to work,” he said.

“About time!” Elora exclaimed as she pulled out a set of lockpicks.

“You best hurry up,” Zel insisted as she eyed the large guards. One of them was stirring.

“Wait here,” Elora said as she slipped through the door as silently as a darting shadow.

The others waited outside for what felt like an eternity, but in reality, it was just several agonizing minutes before Elora returned.

“Got it!” She exclaimed and held up a rolled-up scroll.

They quickly departed the docks and returned back to Vaelena’s rugged hideout.

“You still got it, I see,” the halfling stated to Elora as she took the parchment.

“Now get us in the university,” Nameless ordered.

The halfling grinned with a glint in her eye.

Vaelena and her goons led them through the docks and the slums on the lower level of the city. The wealthy citizens and the University were located high above a rocky incline. Shanty-like houses cluttered together with narrow walkways and shadowy alleyways. The home of the poor and the destitute. The unfortunate consequence in a society of the haves and have-nots.

“You better not be cheating us,” Nameless growled.

The knight was not too alarmed as his armor was silent. Still, he did not trust the halfling.

“No cheating. We are here.” Vaelena motioned with her hand at a collapsed shed that rested against the sleek dark stone walls where the University rested high above.

“What is the meaning of this?” Elora demanded.

“Behind that rubble, you will find an entrance to the catacombs that were long forgotten. At the end, it should lead you to the University,” the halfling answered.

“Should? Will you guide us?” Karl growled.

“Oh no. They are rumored to be haunted. Good luck!” Vaelena said.

Before they could say anything further, the halfling and her crew disappeared into the numerous dark alleyways like scattering roaches. This was their world, and pursuit would be futile.

Elora screamed in frustration.

“I wish I had my force hammer,” Karl grumbled as he rolled up his sleeves and began to clear away the rubble.

Nameless studied the Ooraki for a moment and nodded before assisting. Karl was a good worker with a bastion of discipline that allowed him to excel in the complex art of enchanting. Nameless found himself coming to respect the enchanter more and more. When confronted with a less than ideal situation, the Ooraki shrugged their broad shoulders and went to work.

“What is the point?” The elf asked.

“Elora is correct. We have no idea how to navigate through the catacombs. However, I, for one, am excited! Necromancy strives among the dead. What incredible power hides within to be gained by those with the fortitude to risk the dangers!” Zel exclaimed, their dark pupilless eyes wide with excitement.

“First, we find the door. Once inside, we know that the University is up. So we make our way up,” Nameless said as he helped Karl remove the rotting timbers of wood to reveal a flat stone wall.

“I knew it! That sneaky little thief cheated us,” Elora cried.

Karl took out a piece of chalk and studied the flat surface. He scrawled some runes and closed his eyes. A polka dot on his arm flared and disappeared, and the rune glowed blue. After a moment, it faded, and then more runes appeared in the shape of an arched doorway.

“Oh,” Elora whispered.

Karl examined the runes and then gently touched one. The arched doorway rumbled and slid open to reveal in a gust of cold air a dark passageway.

“Smell that?” Asked Zel.

Elora and Karl wrinkled their noses. Nameless shrugged his broad armor-plated shoulders.

“It’s death! Beautiful death,” Zel said while rubbing their pale hands together.

ARMOR: MAGIC REMAINING 30%

DUNGEONS

THIS WORLD HAS A LONG HISTORY OF EMPIRES BURIED IN THE DUST OF EONS. POWERFUL MAGES, GREEDY KINGS, AND EVEN DRAGONS HAVE BUILT MASSIVE FORTRESSES TO GUARD THEIR HOARDS OF TREASURES WITHIN ELABORATELY CONSTRUCTED DUNGEONS FILLED WITH POWERFUL GUARDIANS AND DEADLY TRAPS. HORRIBLE DEATH OR WONDROUS GLORY AWAITS THOSE BRAVE ENOUGH TO ENTER.

The opening of the stone door and the armor message sparked a memory within Nameless. A memory of a previous life where he ventured into such dark dungeons to battle evil and find treasure. The memory dissipated within the recesses of his mind like Vaelena and her thieves had disappeared into the shadows of the slums. Nameless shrugged and unhooked his ax.

“Let us begin,” he rumbled.