As they made their way to the temple, Britina walked with Brianna. “Tell me more about the temple.”

“I don’t know much yet. It appears that the houses around the temple were built at the same time. It was as if someone built the city to build the temple.” Brianna said.

“That makes sense if the temple was built for religious reasons. Do you have clues about the culture?” Britina asked.

“Not much. Brian had the most intact memory but couldn't tell me much. The temple has no writing on it. Even the homes lack any decorations or writing.” Brianna said, stretching her arms.

“Scrolls wouldn’t last this long,” Britina said. “Maybe everything’s just gone.”

“I thought about that, but even the temple has no writing. I’ve never heard of a religious site without at least some decoration. It’s almost like it wasn’t built to worship a god at all,” Brianna said.

“What did Brian tell you?” Britina was very curious about the temple.

“Only that he knows he didn’t live here. He was brought here by someone. And his job was to make sure that all the pillars and steps were perfectly aligned and uniform. He was very adamant about it.” Brianna said.

“Where is Brian?” Prunhiline asked.

“He’s on break,” Darren said.

“Zombies get breaks now?” Randle asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, yes, I’m not a monster,” Brianna said. “They like to go into the one big clearing and stare."

“At?” Prunhiline asked.

“I..” Brianna started, “I’m not sure. It’s like they're dreaming.”

The temple loomed in front of them. It was roughly five hundred feet tall and eight hundred at its base. The pyramid-shaped temple had two large pillars approximately fifty feet tall that lined a broad path up the temple and to the main staircase that led to the flat top.

“Where did you find the corpses?” Britina asked.

“On either side of the great staircase are entrances to a large room under them. I found all of the corpses piled neatly there.” Brianna said.

“Neatly?” Randle asked.

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“Yes, it was odd. Like they were being stored. There is a sealed door that leads into the temple.” Brianna said.

“What's in there?” Prunhiline was getting into the story.

“I don’t know. I can’t open it. The zombies won't go near it.” Brianna said. “I feel like whatever is in there will answer many of our questions.”

The companions walked down the wide path. Britina inspected the pillars that lined the path. Brianna was correct; the pillars were smooth and had no decorations. They stopped at the grand staircase.

“Up or inside?” Britina asked.

“Inside. I’m assuming the top was used for sacrifices.” Brianna said. Britina nodded in agreement.

They entered the temple. Most of the corpses were gone, but about twenty remained. Prunhiline swung her war hammer down to her side. She wasn’t going to get caught unprepared.

“I was still communicating with the dead when you arrived. It takes a lot out of me to reanimate a zombie. So, we still have some left to do.” Brianna said.

Everyone and the bear stood before the sealed door. It was round and stood about twenty feet tall. It had no markings of any kind.

“There is a strange magic here,” Britina said.

“I felt it too, but it feels familiar,” Brianna said.

“So, how do we open it?” Prunhiline asked.

“Not sure,” Britina said.

“I could try to break it open.” Prunhiline offered with some enthusiasm.

“I would like that to be the last resort. I don’t want to damage any of the artifacts that could be behind it.” Brianna said.

“Fine,” Prunhiline said, kicking the dirt with her boot.

“Let me cast some spells,” Britina said. She closed her eyes and began to chant an identification spell. She glowed slightly blue with power as she did. Suddenly, she opened her eyes and gasped. Everyone stared at her in concern. “It’s locked with a simple spell. I should be able to undo it.”

“Ok, ready when you are, Bri,” Prunhiline said as she dropped into a defensive stand. Randle, Brianna, and Darren drew their respective weapons. Bob stood up on his hind legs.

“Here goes,” Britina said. She began to chant, and the door creaked, knocking dust and dirt from it. Slowly, the great door started to move. It rolled to the right of the doorway. Behind the door was darkness.

“Light!” Britina said, holding up her hand. A floating orb appeared and hovered above her.

“First,” Prunhiline said firmly, stepping into the tomb. Randle followed, with Britina, Darren, and Brianna reluctantly bringing up the rear.

The room was bare except for a giant sarcophagus. It dominated the room. It was easily seven feet long and five feet wide. The rest of the room was dust and dirt.

“Should we open it?” Randle asked.

“Yes.” Brianna said, “but carefully.”

Prunhiline pushed one side, and Randle pushed the other, twisting the lid off the sarcophagus. It made an awful grating noise as it slid open.

To the surprise of the company, they found stairs. The companions looked at each other. Finally, Randle motioned Prunhiline to go first just in case there were giant spiders.

They descended the staircase, leaving Bob as a guard, and found it went down several stories and ended with a door. This, again, was a plain door roughly seven feet tall and five feet wide with no markings on it. Britina spoke her spell.

“No enchantment. It’s just a door.” Britina said.

Prunhiline opened the door. Randle had his bow ready. Darren stepped in front of Brianna to protect her. He had his battle ax ready.

The companions stepped inside a large bedroom. They could tell it was a bedroom from the massive bed on the opposite wall. There was what appeared to be a standing closet and a dresser. There was even a desk.

“Maybe a king lived down here,” Brianna said.

A deep, bone-chilling yawn echoed from the bed.