Reyvyre POV

The last thing Reyvyre expected was to be invited to go cave exploring with the Empress, but here she was, following the Shepherd as he led the way to the spitter wolf den; during the walk, her curiosity got the better of her as she spoke up. "Shepherd, what exactly are we going to be doing here?"

Zasutir glanced back and flashed a fanged smile. "Vitmori asked for any questions to be reserved until the end of the tour."

At that, Historietta snickered softly with amusement, and while Reyvyre did get the joke thanks to having an understanding of Earth humor, she was vaguely annoyed at being kept in the dark.

Before long, they reached the den, the mouth of the cave being defended by two healthy-looking spitter wolves, the wolves standing as Zasutir approached before sitting down and relaxing, seemingly allowing them to pass.

"It's such a shame that most wildlife around here is so aggressive in nature; I would love to have a spitter wolf to raise and care for; they're such beautiful beasts that are the best of both worlds." Historietta said with mildly exaggerated disappointment.

Reyvyre looked at the Empress curiously as they walked, passing through the first room and making their way deeper into the den. "What do you mean by 'the best of both worlds,' do you have something similar back in your old world?"

"I wish." Historietta mused with a smile as she looked over to Reyvyre. "No, I mean that spitter wolves are the best combination of good fluffy bois and cool scaley bois." She gushed. "I would love to see a puppy of them, but that might be asking for too much."

Reyvyre considered this, and she had to admit she could understand the appeal. "Well, they certainly are cute when they're young." She mentioned, flashing a bemused expression over to the Empress.

Historietta gasped before flashing an excited grin as she stepped closer. "So you do get it? I knew we could be friends." She teased before chuckling softly, though she got quiet as she watched a massive spitter wolf come up to meet the group. "Oh! It's Legosi! Hello!" She said as she gave an excited wave to the spitter wolf.

Legosi was confident in his approach, though his ears did pull back for a moment at the excited woman, remembering how aggressively forward she was the other day. However, he collected himself as he looked at Zasutir and offered a wolfish smile. "Welcome, Shepherd; what's going on?" He asked simply as he sat back and looked between the trio, his tail slowly wagging as he waited.

Zasutir smiled as he gestured to the two women. "Vitmori asked me to take them downstairs, and he feels they might know more about the situation than he does."

Legosi bobbed his head in understanding. "Ah, okay, so you're going to the room where I found my cool stick! I mean... My cool sword." He stated before correcting himself as he glanced happily at the sword strapped to his side. "I'll come with." He said simply as he just invited himself before looking at a certain she-wolf, the she-wolf bobbing her head as Legosi looked back to Zasutir. "Let's go." He called to the trio as he stood and led the way, scampering off deeper into the den before leading them down a hallway, which led to a set of stairs.

"Whoa..." Historietta said softly as she looked down the staircase before following along with the others. "This place feels old, like really old." She then flashed a bit of a smile. "I almost feel like Indy exploring some lost ruins." She mainly mused to herself as they passed by traps that had already been triggered and cleared.

Reyvyre had to think about that for a moment before speaking up. "Are you perhaps referring to Indiana Jones? An academic adventurer who explores ancient ruins while often fighting with evil humans?'

Historietta looked pleasantly surprised by Reyvyre getting her reference and flashed a smile as she glanced back at the elf. "You know about Indiana Jones?" She asked with a healthy mix of delight and curiosity.

Reyvyre tilted her side to side before offering a bit of a smile. "I know of him at least; Vitmori read several books detailing his adventures."

Historietta smiled some more as they turned ahead, eventually coming down to a chamber with a clear spring. Looking around at the old architecture, she looked curiously at a few things before coming across the spring. "Whoa, that's a whole lot of ooze..."

Reyvyre looked over curiously, vaguely intrigued as she looked between the Empress and the spring. "How can you tell? It looks nearly indistinguishable from water."

Historietta scratched her cheek as she averted her gaze. "I... Just have an eye for these things." She mentioned before offering a sheepish smile.

Reyvyre felt she was hiding something, but it wasn't her place to question it as she looked to see Zasutir waiting patiently for them at the other end of the room. "Sorry, Shepherd, we're coming." She said as she made her way over, Historietta following close behind as they crossed the threshold into the next room.

"Is... Is this..." Historietta was speechless as she glanced between Zasutir and Reyvyre.

Before anyone could respond, Legosi called out from atop the massive, cracked dungeon core. "This is where I found my stick!"

Vitmori called out within them soon after. 'This is the core of the person before me, and she was from another world like Historietta and myself.'

Reyvyre and Historietta share a glance, though Reyvyre steps forward as she begins to look around. "So this is Lichtdren's chamber... This must also be where the final battle took place!" She exclaimed excitedly, having heard the stories of what might have happened, though she stopped in her tracks as she stroked her chin thoughtfully. "Wait... Was she an otherworlder? How do you know this?" She asked as she looked around the room, not entirely sure where to face to address Vitmori, who was now obviously in the room with them.

After a few moments, a dim ball of green light appeared in the room and floated around before coming down in front of Historietta and Reyvyre. 'Because she was still around until a few days ago, damaged and unable to repair her core... I also found her room. Not to mention that she's sitting right here.' He explained, the ball of light coasting across the room before hovering above the strangely serene-looking skeleton sitting on the throne.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"Oh my... I can't even imagine being trapped and alone for over six hundred years..." Reyvyre said sadly, still not entirely sure what to make of everything here as she began looking over the room, Historietta breaking off to do her own examination. At the same time, Zasutir settled down on some rubble.

'How do you know it's been six hundred years?' Vitmori asked, his curiosity evident to Reyvyre as she glanced over at the ball of light.

"Well, that's because it was around when my grandmother was alive; she knew of Lichtdren and the plan to destroy it... I mean her." She corrected herself as she looked at the skeleton that was on the throne before stepping away. "She only heard about it indirectly though; a majority of elven tribes were isolated and kept themselves separate from the matters of the short-lived..." She pauses as she comes across the woman with the circlet melted into her skull, her eyes widen, and she continues to speak. "That didn't stop the humans from convincing a tribe of elves and dwarves to procure a hero from their people and outfit them for battle... This right here was the elven hero. I don't remember all the details, but this equipment reminds me of what I read about the Arcane Aegis, a specially woven armor designed to resist all forms of intangible magic... Though she obviously didn't wear it right, or she might have made it out alive." She explained derisively as she shook her head at the ancient elf corpse before stepping away.

Historietta spoke up from the other end of the room. "I found the dwarven hero; poor bastard got half crushed but didn't have the good fortune to die right away..." She said as she tapped the armored corpse with her foot.

"Hmm... So where is the human hero?" Reyvyre pondered aloud as she looked around.

'He's probably this black burn spot on the ceiling.' Vitmori chimed in, the ball of light rising up to the ceiling to illuminate a shadowy outline of a humanoid shape, a firey red spear embedded center-mass to the stain.

"Ah... Yeah, that's probably it..." Reyvyre said simply, looking more impressed at what happened than anything else.

Historietta looked around quietly, looking from where the stain on the ceiling was before glancing back down to the cracked core and then back up to Legosi who was sitting atop the core. She offered the spitter wolf a smile and waved up at him. "Oh, Legosi, come down here for a moment. Can you show me your sword, please?" She cooed to the wolf.

Legosi's tail began to wag curiously before excitedly making his way down. "S-sure! Do you also want to see how cool it is?" He asked excitedly, reaching around with his teeth as he grabbed the handle, drawing the blade as it hummed with life as he swished it around before slowing to a stop so that she could look at it.

Historietta flashed a smile, though she slowly reached out and gently patted the top of Legosi's head fur, taking a moment to relish how fluffy it was. Legosi appeared anxious for a brief moment, but at the petting, he closed his eyes and slowly leaned into it. Once she pulled away, he opened his eyes and watched her curiously as she examined his sword. "This is the Vorpal Blade... An enchanted mythril blade of human design... It makes it easy for the wielder to cut through most materials and the 'singing' the blade does when it is swung causes the blade itself to vibrate intensely and make wounds very hard to heal." She explained methodically, almost as if she was reading something.

Legosi's ears drooped again as she listened to Historietta speak. "Does that mean I can't keep my sword? Does it belong to someone else?" He asked, a hint of a whimper in his throat as he watched her.

Historietta smiled kindly as she affectionately ruffled the top of Legosi's head. "No, no, the sword is yours; the owners of this blade are long dead, so nobody can take it from you." She explained reassuringly as Legosi's tail began to wag excitedly as he hopped around cheerfully, the sword humming and whirring with each sway.

Reyvyre flashed a small smile at Legosi before looking at Vitmori's ball of light. "So you said you found Lichtdren's room... And that this skeleton used to be Lichtdren herself, does this mean she could make herself a body?"

"Like an avatar of some kind?" Historietta chimed in.

Vitmori doesn't answer as the ball of light flits out of the room and returns the way they came. Zasutir stands and follows as everyone else makes their way out. The ball of light went across the spring of ooze and parted the wall to reveal what looked to be a bedroom inside. The others don't really make a move, unsure of how to make it over to the room, until a stone bridge starts to form before them. 'Sorry, I almost forgot that you all need to walk to make your way across.'

Reyvyre smiled with relief as she crossed the stone bridge. "Thank you, Vitmori." She enthused before looking around the room with surprise at how... Typical, it seems. She spotted a small drawing that wasn't really a drawing and looked it over. "This... Was Lichtdren? But... She... She looks like a normal person? How could this be the dread dungeon of undead and monstrosities that threatened to bring ruin to the land...?" Reyvyre pondered aloud, looking the picture over thoughtfully.

"She was a German too..." Historietta mentioned casually as she picked up some drawings for a wooden person of some kind.

'Oh? So you know German?' Vitmori asked, the anticipation nearly palpable in his thoughts.

"Ah... Well, no... Not exactly?" Historietta said, sheepishly scratching the back of her head. "It's thanks to one of my skills, I learned multiple languages back on Earth for various reasons, so that allowed me to be granted a Linguist skill when I got granted the system. I'm technically still developing it, but for now, I can at least read any language. Eventually, I should be able to understand and speak any language, but that's not in my immediate future."

'So you're saying if I had bothered to learn more languages, then I might not have even had this issue?' Vitmori sounded noticeably annoyed, but more tired than anything as the ball of light swirled around over Historietta's head.

"Hey, you don't have any right to complain." She mused with a smirk on her face as she glanced up at the ball of light. "You've got four times as many titles as I do; it's not my fault you maxed out your combat and utility skills. I'm just lucky to have a strong enough build to make my way through a political drama rather than your city-builder survival sim." She chuckled to herself as she looked over the papers some more. "Anyways, based on what I'm seeing here, it looks like these were instructions to build a wooden soldier, the crystal in the chest would be filled with the instructions, and then it would be given autonomy."

Reyvyre barely understood any of that, still contemplating the history that she knew, but she made her way to Historietta and peeked over her shoulder and hummed thoughtfully. "Now I'm no Artificer... But I did spend a couple of decades studying magic tool creation and runic etching on a whim, so I should be able to put something like this together."

Historietta looked over at Reyvyre, appearing somewhat confused by the words that just came out of her mouth just now. "T-two decades...? On a whim?" She echoed with uncertainty.

Reyvyre shrugged a bit. "I mean, I did other things, of course."

'Well, if that's the case, there's a couple more rooms I want you all to check out.' Vitmori started as the ball of light heads out of the room, leading everyone back up before stopping in the empty chamber they passed through earlier. Only this time, another wall opened up, revealing an intricate workshop filled with all sorts of stations and unusual machines.

"Holy crap, what's a place like this doing in some cave? What the hell." She said excitedly as she moved from one station to another, recognizing various things but not touching them.

Reyvyre looked over things more slowly, recognizing a few things here and there from Vitmori's memories while other things didn't look too out of place in her own world. However, she stopped as she came across a station with a wooden soldier laid out across it, a blank command crystal just lying beside it, ready to be filled with instructions. Before she could do anything, she was interrupted by Vitmori's thoughts. 'I can tell what you want to do, and while I appreciate it, there are more important things to do right now.' She sighed internally and nodded as she relented for the moment. 'Alright, one more stop; this one I do need help with.' He mentioned as the orb of light made its way out of the room, leading everyone back up to the spitter wolf den. Zasutir decided to excuse himself since he felt his role here was done, and Legosi went off since his curiosity was satisfied. When the orb of light led them to another wall, it began to open like the others before slowly.

"Whoa! Look at this; now this is high fantasy, a magic map table!" Historietta exclaimed excitedly as she walked over, quickly examining it before approaching the console and looking things over. "I see... So this thing can show the current state of things, but also record and then display previous events." She then noticed the slot for the crystals, her finger trailing the edge of the slot as she looked around. "Hey Vitmori, do you know where I can find one of these things."

'Yeah, there's a couple of chests that are full of them over here.' He mentioned as the ball of light led her to another part of the room.

Meanwhile, Reyvyre's attention was drawn to the maps on the wall as well as the globe, having never seen the world like this before. Her interest grew as she recognized old nations and borders from her history studies that no longer existed. As she paged through maps and various documents written in a language she did not recognize, she found a crystal that was marked with a date just over six hundred years ago. She plucked it up and looked it over curiously, nearly about to say something when Historietta called out.

"Hey Reyvyre, come look at this." Historietta beckoned her over as she fiddled with the console after sliding a crystal into the slot.

Reyvyre walked over, approaching the table as the sand fell flat before rippling in waves and rising up once more. Before their eyes was a bustling little city encompassing the mountain, hundreds of buildings littered the place, great farms with many fields that showed signs of crop rotation, and wild fields allowed to revitalize naturally. All accompanied by an impressive fortress wall surrounding the entirety of the city, with towers and gates set up equidistant along the perimeter to allow lots of traffic for people coming in and out. "This was Lichtdren's Folly? It's... It's amazing... It's almost as big as the imperial capital city." She then looked at the crystal in her hand and held it to Historietta. "Here, try this one next."

Historietta, for her part, was using the console to scroll around the map, zooming in on buildings and other city sections before noticing Reyvyre holding another crystal. "Oh, sure." She says as she offers a pleasant smile, disconnecting the currently loaded crystal before comparing the two dates. "Huh... These are two months apart." She commented before loading the crystal up as she tapped away at the console. The sand fell flat before rippling as the display rose again. "Why is everything on fire..."