Erevan wakes up in a tavern in LightFort. The establishment is known as The Squire. He lazily gets dressed, grabs his ballista, and makes his way out of his room. Heading down to the bar he orders breakfast. Sitting down he looks idly around the room. Nortom and Noah are sitting across from each other at a table, talking things out.

A third man approaches them, Erevan can’t hear much, but he hears the word ‘job’. The hunter takes his breakfast over there, nods to Nortom, and slides into a seat next to him.

“You with the guild?” The third man asks.

He is a bald man, much skinnier than Krenshaw, and has perpetual sweat dripping off him. He is also wearing an eyepatch, but some of the scars from underneath show acid burns.

“I am. Official member. Wooden tier.” Erevan says.

“Is that a ballista?” The man looks at the large weapon.

“Yeah.” Erevan shrugs.

“I have an employer looking for some help from Iron ranking adventurers. I think you could pass for one. Are you willing to travel to Kaesero and go save some missing workers?” The man asks.

“I don’t know. What are you two doing?” Erevan looks between them.

“We’re going,” Noah says, squinting his eyes at Erevan.

“Then I’m in.” Erevan nods.

The three head to the local waystone and teleport to Kaesero. They step away from the waystone as it flashes three more times. The first one out is a familiar face, a white ratfolk.

“Drek!” Erevan walks forward and takes the ratfolk’s hand in his. “It’s great to see you brother.”

“And you.” Drek bows.

"Hello! My name is Sara, I'm a mechanical engineer and a sniper. Good to meet you all!" Sara approaches the group.

The halfling says, looking up even to Drek, in an almost comical fashion. Erevan notes she has a modified musket over his shoulder but nowhere near the engineering level of his father’s old musket.

"Hello, everyone. I'm Felix.” A human with brown curly hair and a goatee steps forward. “I was an investigator before I was an adventurer. I hope my skills will be of use in finding these missing workers.”

“This is Nortom the gunslinger and Noah Windtome.” Erevan gestures to the two behind him.

“Is Nortom a…” Drek asks.

“A very respectable holy man, yes.” Erevan quickly answers.

The party departs the city, heading through the desert towards their destination before a mist sets upon the group. They have to camp for two nights as they search through the mist attempting to find the building the workers came from. Normal to Erevan in the far north mist was unsettling in the desert. Pushing through the mist the group finally arrives at a building with a low wall around it.

"Now that's a big ziggurat." Nortom comments.

"You mean pyramid?" Erevan asks.

"No, ziggurat is correct," Noah says.

"Oh, just never heard the term before." Erevan mentions.

"It's okay, not all of us have to be smart." Sara smiles at the hunter.

"But some of us knew what a ziggurat was," Felix mutters.

The party finds an archway in the wall that they approach. Only to be met by a group of armed individuals. Erevan kicks the stand out on his ballista ready to take aim and fire. Sara morphs into a little bat and flies up onto the wall.

"Arshea…” Nortom mutters as they spot symbols along the archway. “But why?"

“Arshea? which one is that?" Drek questions.

"An Empyreal Lord," Nortom replies.

"Odd for them to have a temple.” Drek comments.

"Which is why we must be careful. Something is up here." Nortom warns.

"They don't look happy we are here either.” Drek points ahead

"No shit they aren't happy." Erevan’s ballista moves on its own training at the approaching guards of the ziggurat.

Sara lands on the wall above Erevan and turns back into her halfling form.

"Should we try and talk to them?" Drek asks.

"Yes. Let's ask what they are doing here, at least." Nortom agrees.

"Any idea what language we would try?" Drek replies.

"Common would be the best bet. Celestial next." Nortom says.

"I speak Celestial" Felix says under his breath almost disappointed as Nortom approaches the defensive group.

"Who are you? Are you all worshippers of Arshea?" Nortom asks in Common and then Celestial.

The guards continue to move forward with weapons drawn. Nortom stares them down, being the closest, and realize something. He turns to the others.

"Damnit!" Nortom shouts. "They're just shells! To arms!"

One of the warriors sprints as Nortom turns. The gunslinger turns around quickly hearing the pounding footsteps. He raises his gun as the warrior’s sword slashes down and Nortom barely blocks the attack.

Felix charges forward, stabbing the warrior, a destructive force channeling through his blade. The warrior crumples over, his insides turned to mush.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

“Thank you!” Nortom says in a loud squeak.

Drek charges past them towards a warrior with a shield and sword. Ten feet away he slashes out with his rapier and a spear of light pierces through the soldier killing them.

"Haha have at thee." Drek calls out.

Noah moves up towards the backline of our party. He summons a ball of air in his hands, shoots it forward, and explodes into whipping wind around three warriors. They are knocked into the ground and nearby walls. All three of them are knocked unconscious.

A number of more warriors come running out of the ziggurat.

“More of them!” Nortom calls out.

"Pharasma guide my blade,” Drek says calmly as five warriors charge at him. The first one to him is quickly slashed apart by his holy blade. The other four falter in their charge.

Erevan looks to the distant soldiers approaching and spots a wizard. He launches his ballista and kills the wizard in one hit. Four arrows fly towards the party. Two hitting Drek and one hitting Noah while the fourth hits the ground near Erevan.

Sara shoots one of the four soldiers in front of Drek and kills the target with her musket. Nortom slides forward, firing three volleys from their hand cannon killing the last three soldiers there.

"I cleared the path! Push through!" Nortom calls out.

Two more warriors charge Nortom, he quickly blocks one attack and then kicks the knee of the second warrior. Felix teleports behind the archers firing at the party. Drek slashes out again with his sword, the light flashing from it, slashing apart the two warriors attacking Nortom.

"Hey, Drek. You aren't gonna get hurt from cure, no?" Nortom asks Drek.

"No, I will be fine," Drek responds.

Noah steps forward and blasts another sphere of air forward. It bursts with energy and sucks all the air around it inward. Two archers and a wizard get pulled towards it, colliding in the center, and being crushed by the air pressure. Sara shoots and kills another archer leaving just one left. Felix stabs the last archer from behind leaving the courtyard empty.

All the warriors' bodies fade away into the mist. There is a loud clanging noise and a door at the base of the Ziggurat opens.

"Tch... are these even real?" Nortom says.

"Where did they go? What in the hells?" Sara calls out from on top of the wall.

"Illusion Magic!” Drek calls out.

"Illusion..." Nortom mutters.

"Yes, there is still blood on the ground even though the bodies are gone,” Drek says.

Sara transforms back into a bat and fly to the ground, turning back into a halfling and looking around confused. At the mention of illusion magic, she concentrates and her nose changes shape somewhat, her facial features contorting and becoming a touch more batlike.

"Illusion? That doesn't make sense." Nortom mutters again looking around.

"I know it's odd but please be cautious,” Drek warns.

"Can't even so much as smell the blood, this is strange..." Sara mentions.

"This will help with the pain." Felix walks up to Drek and Noah and offer them each a mint.

"There was something more going on here as there is blood in locations where we killed nothing.” Drek says to the group.

Sara cleans her rifle, unnerved by the illusion and seemingly taking comfort in the mechanisms.

"The blood is still there?" Sara questions. “Hmm, do you want me to scout ahead a little bit and see if I can sniff out any signs of life? I was able to smell them before"

"Oh by the way. You two. Come here." Nortom calls over Drek and Noah to heal them. "This is gonna sting a little, but this is gonna be good for you." He administers a salve via a needle.

"I smell nothing, I can tell there is a large reservoir of water within but can smell no signs of life.” Sara comments.

"Should we head in?" Drek asks as Nortom injects the needle into his arm.

"We should." Nortom casts light on his gun.

"I don't like being so cramped." Erevan looks at the entrance to the Ziggurat.

"I could quietly scout ahead some as a bat if you'd like, try and get some idea of what we are headed into" She offered, nervously.

"If there's an illusion involved. I think going off alone might not be the best move." Nortom answers.

"Any information would be useful so long as you don't put yourself in any danger" Drek says to Sara.

"Be back before you know it," she said, mustering her courage and creeping inside. And before the party got comfortable she came back out in her bat form before reverting to her halfling form. “It’s safe.”

“Welcome back Sara, what did you find out?” Nortom asks.

"The darkness is just a veil, it's quite light in there, the room is safe. There is a door on the other side, as far as I can tell though in order to open it I have to close the entrance. I say we enter and flip the switch. I am fairly sure there are no traps.” Sara responds.

"A chance we will have to take if we are to get to the bottom of this," Drek says.

"Indeed. Let's go." Nortom says.

The group moves into the first room which has knee-high water and pillars with hieroglyphics on them.

“So what Arshea about?” Felix asks. “Not water or electricity right?”

“No, they are about sexual freedom and expressing oneself through sexual identity,” Nortom replies.

“Oh,” Felix responds.

“Sounds nice.” Erevan comments.

"That's nice. For people who are interested." Noah says pointedly.

"Indeed, I personally know a worshiper of them," Nortom says.

"That's a lot of death outside for a god like that. And why would they use illusion so much.” Drek mentions.

"Yeah. I find it odd." Nortom says.

"I think this is a masquerade." Noah pushes forward down a set of stairs past flowing water.

"Only one way to find out. Be careful, Sara." Nortom says as Sara flies ahead.

The group follows entering a large room with many empty water troughs and three locked doors.

"Hmmm... A water puzzle?" Nortom looks around the room.

"Perhaps by moving these panels on the ground, we can open the doors with the water. I read something like that in a novel once." Noah says.

"Something's telling me we can only have one door open at a time." Nortom comments.

"That sounds vaguely familiar. I may have read about it too." Felix comments.

"I think I can find a way to get two open,” Noah says proudly.

“There are wall sconces,” Drek says.

“Looks like they would control the water troughs,” Nortom adds.

“And by moving water from the entrance to a door, we would open a door,” Erevan says as he looks at the mechanisms.

"Does not look like there is anything that will hurt us for an incorrect solution," Sara mentions as they sniff around the room.

Nortom takes off his helmet to clear his head and his vision.

"If we want to ignore the puzzle - which I love puzzles we shouldn't do that - I can probably bypass this entire thing." Noah comments.

Sara pokes her head into a hole under one of the doors.

"Hey, Sara. What'd you find out?" Nortom asks.

"There's a long tunnel that turns to the right, but I don't really want to press on deeper, looks like lots of gears and mechanical bits that could grind me up if activated,” Sara replies.

"Don't risk your neck for us. 'Noah' has this." Erevan comments sarcastically.

"Admittedly I am tempted to explore it, I love mechanisms, but for now I'll content myself listening to the gears sing their songs," Sara says.

"We may have something in common with engineering then." Erevan rolls his shoulders as he carries the ballista down into the room.

Sara pauses and concentrate for a moment as her facial features become less bat-like and more halfling-like, save for her eyes and ears. Drek pulls a few levers behind the group and water rushes through the room. Both doors open up.

"I had it..." Noah complains.

"Good work," Nortom says a little confused.

The doors open up to two hallways that are lined with traps. Swinging axes, buzz saws, pits, and swinging logs are spread out across the room. The entrance has pressure plates linked to the back wall. It looks like they’ll push forward through the hall forcing you through the traps. Erevan takes a step back waiting for the others to try something.