“Jeze? We are heading out,” Dunar called from the hallway.

The Scout remained in the chamber and was studying the broken Core Portal. She blinked when her name was called and turned to look at them, but her mind was still elsewhere.

“Jeze? Are you alright?” The Leader asked and approached.

She blinked and answered, “Yes, I’m fine.”

“What are you thinking about? Please don’t tell me you are considering to repair the Core Portal,” Ziplocke asked.

“Sounds like that would save us time,” Mikal stated.

“Fool! This is how we trapped the Fiends at the upper levels. We repair these, and then they will be free to invade your realm,” Ziplocke responded in a shrill voice.

Helga removed her helmet to scratch her thick, braided blonde hair. “If the Fiends are trapped, why did you say they still control the Abyssal plane?” She asked the Goblin.

“What are you talking about?” Ziplocke snapped.

“You said that they were still in power after you helped the Ones from Before,” Rolfe answered.

“Who?” Ziplocke asked, his red eyes blinking.

“The Fiends!” Both Helga and Rolfe answered at the same time.

Mikal chuckled and observed, “I now see why the Goblin thinks this is funny. It is enjoyable watching you talk over each other.”

“Hush, Micky!” Helga growled.

“Not all the Fiends are trapped! The ones that were in the Spire are. The others still rule the Abyssal plane,” Ziplocke snapped.

“I don’t get it,” Rolfe said.

Ziplocke rubbed his face and answered, “The Abyssal Plane is a big place. Are all mortals here inside the Spire? Now? Not even the entirety of your Guild is here.”

“Maybe they are dead. We could use the Core Portal and skip to the top and get this business over with,” Mikal pointed out.

“Dead? Are you mad?” Ziplocke shrieked.

“It’s been a long time Zippy. Surely they might have starved by now,” Helga said.

“We found a Core Portal, and we have the knowledge to repair it. This could be an advantage that we should not pass up,” Dunar observed.

Jeze sat on the ground with the tome in front of her. She was studying the Runes and planning on how to repair the Core Portal.

“Is this some joke? Some scheme to get more information out of me? I told you everything!” Ziplocke cried.

“No,” Jeze answered from the center of the chamber. She looked up and continued, “Like Dunar said. We have an opportunity to end this. It was good fortune that we discovered this Core Tunnel. If we do not use it, the Cultist will. Don’t forget, they are also here. I saw them earlier.”

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“You repurposed their Portal. They are not returning,” Ziplocke pointed out.

“There may be more Monster Portals here. Or they can simply come here from the outside like we did,” Jeze replied.

“Ya, that is a good point,” Helga said.

“I forgot about the Cultist. There are too many things to remember,” Rolfe added.

“You are not strong enough to face a Fiend,” Ziplocke stated.

Rolfe and Helga stood tall. Rolfe boasted, “We are ready for the challenge.”

“Ya, we can prove you wrong,” Helga added.

“But why? There are plenty of challenges here for you to face. Do not forget there are other floors,” Ziplocke said.

“Perhaps we should tell the Guild. Maybe they can send a stronger team up,” Dunar stated.

“No!” Ziplocke cried.

“What are you not telling us?” Jeze growled.

Ziplocke rubbed his face and replied, “You all are thinking of the Stronghold as the Spire. You call it the Spire, but it is an invasion vessel. The reason why you are climbing levels is because the Ones from Before, with my help, sabotaged the magic of the Stronghold by damaging the Core Portals. If you repair them, you return the Stronghold back to its original purpose.”

Dunar nodded in understanding and said, “So, the Fiends are not only trapped they are also prevented from organizing.”

“Exactly!” Ziplocke cried.

“So why are we wasting time here? We should head toward the fourth floor and continue our way up,” Mikal said.

Rolfe sulked and said, “Because this is a Dungeon under the bones of a Dragon. There has to be an important treasure here.”

“I like treasure!” Helga beamed.

“That is true. There is something we must find here,” Ziplocke said.

“You continue to keep secrets from us!” Jeze snapped.

“I agree with our Scout. This is getting tiresome,” Mikal stated.

Even Dunar growled with frustration. Ziplocke held up his tiny hands.

“No, let me explain. When the Ones from Before sent adventuring teams into the Stronghold, their goal was to destroy the Core Portals. That was what I guided them to do, and it worked. It divided the Stronghold into ten levels and trapped the armies of the Abyss inside. The final step was to make it to the tenth floor and defeat the Fiendish Lord, who was alone up there and separated from his generals and armies. They couldn’t defeat him, but they managed to trap him and it ended the invasion. But we know that was not enough. Somehow, the Stronghold continues to operate, and I believe we need to remove the Hold Cores.”

“What are those?” Dunar asked.

“They are the power source for the Stronghold. They are orbs the size of your fist,” the Goblin answered.

“Why didn’t you remove them the first time?” Jeze asked with an arched eyebrow.

“You have to understand. It was not like this where we climbed to each level. The Stronghold was fully operational with armies of Fiends and Demons. The Ones from Before had the help from the Celestials and Archons. It was an all-out war. Pure chaos,” Ziplocke replied.

Dunar let out a heavy sigh and said, “I am starting not to trust you, Goblin. Tell us, where can we find this Stronghold Core?”

“It’s in these Core Tunnels,” Ziplocke eagerly answered.

“Is it safe for us to leave this Portal? Will the Cultist not repair it?” Jeze asked.

“They do not have your tome, so they do not have the knowledge,” Ziplocke replied.

Jeze froze with a pit in her chest.

“What is it?” Dunar asked.

“I trained Val on the Portal Aspect. They are aware that I have the tome,” Jeze replied.

Ziplocke’s eyes darted back and forth, and he snickered. “Then they will look for you! We must hurry. If we retrieve the Stronghold Core, this Dungeon will shut down.”

“With the Core, we can end the Spire?” Helga asked.

“No, we need to find three more,” Ziplocke answered.

Mikal shook his head. “I do not trust him.”

Dunar clasped the Healer on the shoulder and barked, “Proven, form up!”

The team marched back into the Dungeon.