Negus stepped over a skeleton adorned in rusted armor. He looked to the sky, and saw dark clouds on the horizon. Thunder flashed. The storm would be starting soon.

“Come on, Negus,” Raynard called back.

The wind picked up, and he pulled on his cloak, tightening it. The entrance to the cave was small. He lowered his head and pulled out a lantern. He pulled a tinderbox out of his bag and lit the lantern. He entered; Raynard followed close, his chainmail armor clinking.

The cave walls were wet, but not with water. He slid his right index and middle finger along the limestone surface, scooping up a translucent slime. It smelled of nothing.

“Did Benedict tell if anything lived here?” Negus asked.

Raynard shook his head. “The people here avoid anything around the ruins. Claim the area is foul.”

Negus paused at the edge of the abyss. Slime from the walls clung to his cloak. Muddled whispers echoed off the walls. The tunnel led to a large chamber, and the whispers grew. As he descended deeper, the muffled whispers bounced off the ancient stones, growing louder, more insistent. The tunnel opened into a vast chamber.

Negus glanced at Raynard. “Do you not hear them?”

“Hear what?”

“The whispers.”

Raynard paused, tilting his head. “I don’t hear anything.”

Negus turned, walking toward the center of the chamber. Their footsteps echoed amongst the debris of Drakmor’s fallen army. Blackened armor and strengthened obsidian swords lay scattered among the remains of creatures from another world.

His gaze fell upon a tome. The whispers halted abruptly. Setting down the lantern, he

picked up the tome; its leather cover was coated in a thick layer of dust that smelled of decay. He opened it; the yellowed, crinkled pages whispered under his touch, and at the top of the first page was a single piece of writing: Drator mon Vivid.

He didn’t know what it meant. He flipped through the pages, but nothing else was

written. He closed the tome, undid his satchel, and put it in there amongst other trinkets he had gathered.

The ground rumbled.

Raynard unsheathed his blade. “What is it?”

“I don’t know,” Negus said, standing up.

The rocks cracked and crumbled beneath them. Pincers burst through the ground, and a large, dark, insect-like creature wiggled out. Its hairy arms floundered around, and it parted its fangs, hissing at them.

Raynard charged at it, swinging his sword; the blade bounced off the insect's hard shell. The creature lunged, and he jumped back. He lost his footing and fell.

With a desperate shout, Negus hurled the lantern at the giant insect. The glass shattered against the creature’s carapace; the oil within ignited and burst into flames, rapidly spreading over its form.

The creature reared back, hissing and screeching. It burrowed into the ground, extinguishing the flames.

“It’ll be back any second, run!” Negus shouted.

The pair quickly scrambled, struggling to find their way back to the entrance. With their only light source gone, they were forced to rely on their other senses to escape the cave's dark confines.

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The ground rumbled again. Raynard was caught off guard and stumbled backward; the creature burst through a hole too fast for him to react. He screamed as its massive pincers clamped around his leg with a sickening crunch, the sharp edges digging into flesh and bone.

“Negus!” Raynard cried out, scraping against the stone in a futile attempt to find purchase. Blood smeared the path they took, and his heavy cries and pleas became silenced as he was dragged into darkness.

Negus’s heart hammered in his chest, and a primal instinct to survive overrode every rational thought. He turned and sprinted down rocky paths, his boots slapping against the uneven stone floor. The tunnel twisted and turned, and the jagged and rough walls seemed to close in as he blindly navigated through the cave.

The rumbling began again. He moved faster. His cloak snagged on a jagged rock jutting from a wall, and with a desperate tug, he yanked at it, but it held fast. He shrugged off the cloak and stumbled forward, his hands outstretched to feel his way through the darkness.

The air grew colder, carrying with it a faint draft. He followed it and eventually saw a faint glimmer of light. He quickened his pace; every breath was a ragged gasp, and his heartbeat thumped in his ears. He heard the creature burst through the ground behind him, and with a final burst of energy, he ignored the burning in his legs and ran for the exit. He heard it close behind him.

Negus jumped through the exit, hitting the ground hard. The impact jarred his satchel open, spilling books, tools, and the large tome.

He turned and saw the creature trying to ram its body through the exit. It wiggled and contorted. It let out a screech as it rammed into the cave exit. Rocks began to tumble down as the creature’s blows compromised the cave’s integrity. Suddenly, it came to a dead stop. Its eyes became fixated on the time, and in an instant, it turned tail and bolted back into the vast cave’s depths.

Negus fell back, panting, and felt a sudden chill. The tome began to glow faintly; his eyes became fixated on it. He stood, walked over, and picked up the large book, which felt warm to the touch.

“Looks like you did all the hard work for me.”

Negus jolted up and turned to face the voice. The man wore long robes, had markings etched underneath his eyes, and had a hard-to make-out pendant on his robe.

“Hand over the tome. I promise you will be rewarded handsomely for your work.”

Negus scoffed. “I didn’t nearly just die to hand this over so quickly. What does this book mean to you?”

“Listen, you don’t know exactly what you’re holding. I’ve been searching for this for a very, very long time. Trust me when I say it’ll be safer kept in my hands.”

Negus remained silent.

“That thing will get you killed, and if that isn’t reason enough for you to hand it over, then you’re a fool. Now, please, hand it over. You’ll be better off without it.”

“A man just gave his life helping me get this book. He was the only one willing to help me search the ruins of this great battlefield. I’m sorry, but I can’t let his sacrifice be for nothing. The book stays with me.”

“I see.”

The man raised his arm, and in the palm of his right hand, an orange sphere of flame formed. Negus spotted a trench and ran toward it. The spot he stood in just a moment ago was engulfed in flames, which quickly spread about. He threw the tome in and dove into the trench, landing on the skeletal remains of knights.

“I gave you a chance! The tome will survive, but you won’t!”

Negus looked up and saw the man levitating in the air. Another fireball was coming. He grabbed a shield and raised it against his face. The blast flung him back. His ears rang, and the world was blurry for a few moments.

“Shit,” Negus muttered.

Cyclones began forming around the man, wisps of electricity flickering within them. Negus spotted a crossbow in the grasp of a skeleton. He grabbed it, his hands shaking, and found a silver bolt. He pulled the string back. The cyclones were growing, and the electricity was becoming more erratic. He loaded the bolt, aimed up, and steadied his breathing.

“You brought this upon yourself!”

Lighting struck the ground beneath the wizard. Negus closed one eye and pulled the trigger; the bolt soared through the air and struck the man in the chest. The cyclones dissipated, and the man fell to the ground with a loud thud.

Negus grabbed the tome and crawled out of the trench. He stood over the dead man, examining what looked to be a pendant around his neck. The chain linked through a bone carved in the likeness of a dragon’s head. Its eye sockets were like staring into an abyss. The tome began to shake violently; it became too hot to touch. Negus dropped it, but the tome did not fall. It remained in the air, hovering above the dead man. It flung open, pages erratically flipping throughout. A sudden white flash caused him to cover his eyes with his sleeve; he heard the screams of a man, and when he uncovered his eyes, the man’s corpse was gone, and the tome was lying on the ground.

He hesitantly touched it; a jolt shot through him. He seethed in pain and fell over as he felt a new sensation running through him. Once the pain passed, he leaned up and stared at the large book.

Negus stood, picked up the tome, and put it in his satchel. He left the battlefield, beginning his trek back to Baelon – his home.