The Archon stomped out of the hallway and into the central chamber. It appeared to be a living flame, but when it moved, it sounded like it was made of iron. It was not stealthy at all, Jeze reflected. They heard Howlers shriek from the stairwell and saw dozens of rat-like demons. The Archon raised both arms back and slammed them forward. An inferno of pure white flame washed down the stairwell and turned the demons to ash.

“Probably best that we stay further back,” Jeze said when she felt the intense heat.

“Good idea,” Ziplocke agreed.

They retreated to the doorway as the Archon continued down the steps. From their vantage point, they saw another flash of silver light and heard the dying sounds from the Howlers below. The rat-like demons were running up the stairs before the Archon appeared, probably to attack the villages and farmsteads. Five were already upstairs and returned when they heard the Archon fry their colleagues. The Howlers came face to face with Jeze and Ziplocke.

“Good luck,” Ziplocke said and faded into the shadows.

The demons charged, and one collapsed with an ax stuck into its scaly head. Jeze drew her second ax in her right hand and completed the glyph to summon piles of dirt with her left. She parried a spear thrust, ducked a second attack, and circled away to keep the Howlers in a straight line. She flung her ax and caught a Howler in the chest. It fell and squirmed on the floor as its three remaining companions charged. Jeze drew her knife and shaped the pile of dirt into fist-sized stones. She was careless and wasted too much attention on her Shaping. She missed a parry and took a spear to her shoulder. She screamed in a mixture of pain and frustration and Controlled a fist-shaped stone to smash into the back of her attacker’s head. The Howler pitched forward, and its brains leaked onto the floor.

Jeze parried a thrust and jabbed her blade into the monster’s throat. The last Howler attacked, and Jeze ducked and countered with a slash to the creature’s thigh. It hissed and slammed Jeze in the fast with the butt end of its spear. Jeze felt her nose crack, and blood dripped down her face. She stumbled back, and with extreme focus and skill that she honed through hours of practice, she Controlled a stone and slammed it into her attacker’s side. The impact cracked ribs, and the Howler fell to its claws and knees. She stabbed it in the back of the neck, and the fight was over.

“You look horrible,” Ziplocke said as his shadows fell away.

Bright flashes could be seen from the stairwell, and howling could be heard from below. From her pack, Jeze gingerly pulled out a poultice she had crafted and applied it to her wounds. She asked Ziplocke to get her Life aspect Channeling rod. The Goblin compiled, and Jeze used it to stitch up her wounds on her side and shoulder. She gritted her teeth in pain and collapsed to the floor. Her nose continued to bleed, and her face was swollen.

“You will live,” Ziplocke said as he studied her closed wounds.

“Yeah, and thank you for your help, by the way,” she gasped.

“Like I said, I’m strictly a consultant, and I consulted you to leave this place on several occasions. Not my fault if you didn’t listen,” the Goblin chided.

Jeze laughed and then moaned from the pain it caused her face. She needed to recover from her wounds, and mostly from the exertion of Will required to Shape her flesh closed. Could she Summon flesh, and what would that look like? She wondered, her head in a daze.

“Archon really does not like demons,” Ziplocke observed.

Flashes and screams of battle could be heard from below. Jeze slowly rose up to a seated position. Even though she knitted her wounds closed, her skin still felt tender to the touch and likely to reopen from any sudden movement.

“Here, let me help,” Ziplocke said and wrapped her wounds with bandages from Jeze’s pack.

“Thank you,” she muttered.

“Yea, well, if you die, I go back to hell,” Ziplocke said and wiped the blood from her swollen face.

Jeze chuckled and glanced at the stairwell with a tilted head. The flashes and sounds of the massacre had subsided.

“Should we head down?” She asked.

Ziplocke’s pointed ears folded back, and he wrangled his tiny hands. “We could take the stairwell up and leave,” he suggested.

Jeze rolled her eyes, and with a grimace, she stood up. She grabbed the glowing orb and said, “Come on, let's go.”

Ziplocke sighed, and the two carefully made their way down the wide steps. The Goblin glanced up forlornly. The stairs ended in the largest chamber the two have seen so far. This was the base of the pyramid, and it was littered with skeletons and bodies. It appeared exactly as Jeze imagined a space that had two major battles would look like. Three, if she included her brother’s visit. The space was brightly lit by the Archon’s flickering silver flames, the orb Jeze held, and a sliver of purple light in the center of the chamber.

“That the Threshold?” Jeze asked.

Ziplocke nodded, “Looks like.”

It reminded Jeze of a crack in a mirror. With careful examination, Jeze could make out the remains from the three different battles. The oldest remains were in armor, and both humans and demons were entangled in their dance of death. Daverius left corpses that were partly crushed and partly sliced. The Archon left piles of dust and ash. There were many piles. Jeze readied her ax and dagger and limped across the chamber. Ziplocke hugged her knee and followed.

“The seals were damaged,” Archon rasped.

That was when Jeze realized the Celestial being was injured. She was shocked to see several spears sticking out of its flaming body. From the spear wounds, the Archon dripped drops of fire that splashed like liquid to the ground. That explained why Archon’s body didn’t give off much heat, except when he attacked. It looked like it was made from flames, but it was not. It was something of substance.

“Can I help you?” She asked.

The Archon looked at her with its blue stars for eyes and nodded, “Yes.”

“Be careful,” Ziplocke cautioned.

Jeze went up to the giant Archon and did not feel an intense heat from its flickering flames. They felt like silk as they brushed up against her hand when she reached for a spear. She pulled the weapon out, and the Archon flinched. She removed the remaining weapons.

“Is there a way I can treat your wounds?” Jeze asked.

“The orb,” the Archon answered.

Jeze motioned for Ziplocke to bring the glowing orb over. After some coaxing, the Goblin complied. Archon held the small globe in its massive hands as Jeze got her wand and Summoned fire. The dripping flames stopped, and Archon’s health appeared to improve.

“The Seals were damaged and improperly repaired,” the Archon intoned deeply.

“You are welcome,” Ziplocke snarled.

Jeze studied the Runes around the crack in space. She saw where they were marred and a clumsy attempt to repair them. With a pang of sadness, she guessed that was her brother’s work from years ago.

“You never took your Rune work seriously,” she chided.

“Huh?” Ziplocke asked.

“It’s nothing,” Jeze said and wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

“You will need to repair them,” the Archon ordered.

“Hold your horses!” Snapped Ziplocke.

The Goblin squeaked and hid behind Jeze’s knees when Archon turned to face him. Jeze knelt beside the circle of Runes and found several areas where someone had scratched them. Who? She wondered. She also saw how her brother attempted to repair them. He used a clumsily made resin mixture that cracked and faded over time. About five years his patchwork held, Jeze reflected. Sadness gripped her chest like a grasping hand from beyond. She pushed it back.

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“Tools!” She exclaimed.

Archon glanced at her with his great helm for a head.

“Okay…” Ziplocke responded and was clueless.

“The workshop has tools. Let's go get them,” Jeze answered.

Ziplocke’s face scrunched, and then his eyes went wide with realization.

“I will remain here. Hurry,” Archon growled.

Jeze climbed the stairs and said, “Someone sabotaged the runes.”

“Are you sure it's not from natural causes?” Ziplocke stated.

Jeze shook her head. The Seal was engraved into the stone. The two gathered mallets and chisels and returned just as Archon vaporized a pair of Howlers.

“A lot has been coming through lately. I wonder why,” Ziplocke observed.

“The Seals are weakening. This is just the beginning. You must hurry,” Archon said.

Jeze saw that her brother did guesswork, but he didn’t explore the pyramid. She did, and Jeze pulled out the tome she took from the workshop. She was so engrossed in her research that the sudden flash of Holy flame startled her as Archon dusted a few more Howlers.

“You must hurry,” Archon said.

“Does he know how to say anything else?” Ziplocke hissed.

“I found the Runes. Can you take a look and confirm?” Jeze asked and turned the tome to face the Goblin.

Ziplocke scowled but studied the Holy runes and compared them to the ones on the floor.

“I’m pretty certain these are them,” he said.

Howls echoed through the chamber as half a dozen demons rushed through. Archon vaporized them, but not before one stuck it with a spear. With renewed motivation, Jeze went to work. She used the hammer and chisel, and with deliberate focus, she etched the repairs. It was slow going as mistakes could not be undone. Well, they could if I shaped the stone, she reflected. Jeze shook her head and returned to work with a focused mind. Jeze was so engrossed in the Runework that she lost track of time and was oblivious to her surroundings. Archon fought a steady trickle of Howlers, and Jeze slowly repaired the Seal. With the final whack of her hammer, she felt the satisfying taut of energy that marked her success.

“Yes!” The teenage Initiate exclaimed.

“Uh, Jeze…” Ziplocke warned.

What was he talking about? She wondered as her surroundings came into focus. A giant two-headed Howler was battling Archon! The large fiend was the same size as the celestial, and it wore black plate armor on its hunched-over body. Both of its rat-like heads had helmets and in its arms the monster wielded a heavy spiked morningstar and a long kite shield that protected it’s large body from Archon’s flames.

“Close the Threshold before more come through!” Ziplocke shrieked.

Jeze was worried. The two-headed Howler was able to defend against Archon’s primary attack and hurt the celestial with heavy hits from its morningstar. The heavy, blunt weapon thudded into Archon’s body and caused fire and flame to leak out. It was only a matter of time before Archon was defeated. If Jeze closed the Seal, she would be drained and unable to fight. However, the longer the Threshold remained open, the greater the likelihood that another two-headed Howler would emerge. With a sigh, she focused on her Will and completed the full body pattern. A pack of Howlers peeked their heads through the portal just as Jeze finished her movements. With a loud crack, the Seal was snapped into place. The tear closed and left half of the Howlers' bodies to fall to the ground in a bloody mess.

“That was wonderful!” Ziplocke cackled.

Jeze slumped to the floor. The two-headed Howler hammered its morningstar over and over into Archon’s body. The Celestial was unable to get past the giant fiend’s shield.

“Ziplocke, you have to help him,” she said in a voice that was barely a whisper.

“What? Are you mad? How?” The Goblin shrieked.

“Use an Affliction to get the fiend to lower its shield. Any advantage could help Archon,” Jeze said. Slowly, her strength was returning, but she was still very weak.

Jeze watched Ziplocke with tired eyes. She was curious to see the Rune patterns for the Affliction aspect. Jeze never saw the Goblin use a channeling tool and now realized why. The Goblin had the Runes etched onto its body. She saw the Runes glow faintly along the Goblin’s green arms before disappearing. Ziplocke completed a series of gestures with his fingers and body. There was a flash of red on his hands, and another flash appeared over the two-headed Howler’s heads. The demon stumbled as if it had a headache, and Archon was able to strike it with a blast of flame. It scorched through the large fiend’s armor and burnt flesh, but the demon was able to fight still.

“Oh great, now it knows about us,” Ziplocke whined as one of the Howler heads glared at him.

Jeze noticed that the two-headed Howler moved a little slower, but it guided the fight with Archon closer to them.

“We better move,” she said and grabbed Ziplocke to run.

A moment later, a giant morningstar smashed into the ground where they were moments earlier. Luckily, the weapon missed the Seal. That could be a problem, Jeze thought. They would need to defeat this monster quickly. Jeze Summoned piles of dirt and Shaped them into stones. Archon launched Holy flame attacks that were deflected by the fiend’s shield. The fight returned to the demon’s favor, and Archon was leaking flame from multiple wounds. But that changed.

Jeze pelted the two-headed Howler with Controlled stones from all angles. Ziplocke danced and gestured, and one of the heads sneezed. From the distraction, the fiend was slow to raise its shield and was blasted by Archon.

“This is fun! I never had a chance to torture a greater fiend before! How do you like that? Huh?” Ziplocke squealed.

The Goblin danced and gestured again, and this time, the two-headed Howler looked dizzy as if it were drunk. It was just a moment, but that was all that was needed for Jeze to strike it in the back of the knee with a stone. That imbalanced the demon to one side, and Archon engulfed it in flames. The two-headed Howler swung and missed. Ziplocke laughed maniacally and gestured again. One of the heads burped, and Jeze struck it in the back with a stone that caused the fiend to stumble forward. Archon vaporized both of the monster’s heads in a single blast.

“It is done,” Archon said, flames dripped like silver liquid off its giant body.

Jeze helped heal Archon with the magic globe.

“Can you come with me to let the others know the real purpose of the Stronghold?” Jeze asked.

“I care not for mortals. My only purpose is to kill fiends and to stop them from taking over this realm,” Archon intoned.

“We helped you! It is only fair that you help us,” Jeze pointed out.

“Your concept of fairness means nothing to me.”

“You don’t really sound angry,” Ziplocke muttered.

Archon stood still in the center of the chamber.

“Then, what will you do now?” Jeze asked.

“I will ensure that this Threshold remains closed.”

“The best way to stop the fiends is to help us defeat the Stronghold,” Jeze reasoned.

“I will think on this.”

“And?” Jeze asked.

“No.”

“Why not?” Jeze cried.

“I will ensure that this Threshold remains closed. If the Stronghold appears, I will kill the demons that emerge from it,” Archon replied.

Jeze screamed at the top of her lungs in frustration. Ziplocke giggled. He found her anger amusing. Archon stood motionless, the fire from its body flickering.

“Fine! We don’t need you,” Jeze said.

Archon remained quiet.

Ziplocke cleared his throat.

“What?” Jeze snapped.

“Maybe this was what your brother discovered,” the Goblin said and pointed to the walls of the chamber.

This was the first time Jeze noticed the murals that encircled the room. They told a story of a time when the world was peaceful until the Spire appeared. From it, hordes of demons swarmed out, and the world was transformed into a blasted wasteland.

“Is that what the Abyssal plane looks like?” Jeze asked.

Ziplocke tapped his chin. “Pretty much. This is good artwork. You can really see the misery and fear of the place. It's like you can feel it, you know?”

Jeze nodded and continued her walk around the chamber. She knelt and touched the floor. These were the same steps her brother took. A group of warriors and mages gathered and opened a portal to the celestial realm.

“These are the Ones from Before,” Ziplocke attempted to say deeply in a poor imitation of Archon.

Archons and Angels fought against fierce-looking demons in front of the Spire. It appeared futile as the Spire’s defenses were impregnable. The Ones from Before and their angelic allies retreated, and the fiends reigned supreme.

“This is really depressing, such great art!” Ziplocke cried. Tears were in his eyes.

The Ones from Before devised powerful magics that cursed the Spire and created a hole in its defenses. Five heroes were able to enter the hole or portal. They battled up the floors of the Spire, fighting monsters that became fiercer with each floor until, finally, the five heroes made it to the top.

“Yes! I hope they win!” Ziplocke exclaimed.

At the top floor, the five heroes faced a most fearsome-looking Fiendish Lord who stood tall with bat-like wings and large horns.

“That is pretty accurate. The artist really captured the glint of the horns, you know?” Ziplocke pointed out.

The Ones from Before were able to defeat the Fiendish Lord and lock him away behind the final door of the Spire. The mural showed the world returning back to normal and the Spire banished back to the Abyssal plane where the Fiendish Lord remains locked away.

The next murals showed locations where Thresholds remain. Places where the fiends were able to trickle in and the Ones from Before built pyramids over such places to seal off the Threshold. Evil looking people were shown to enter the pyramids to disrupt the Seals and hordes of demons would emerge from the Threshold. These monsters would escape out but were then turned to ash from the weapon at the top of the pyramid.

“Told you, that was a weapon. We were lucky we didn’t ignite it with fire,” Ziplocke said.

Archon startled the two when it spoke from behind them. How could something so big and heavy move so quietly? Jeze wondered.

“The Seals that lock the Fiendish Lord are failing. That is why the Stronghold is appearing in this realm. If you were to defeat them, you would need to repair the Seals like you did here,” Archon said.

“Will you help?” Jeze asked.

“No,” Archon said and walked back to the center of the chamber.

Jeze yelled curses at the Celestial back.

“Those were some impressive insults. I didn’t think you had it in you!” Ziplocke cackled.