Preparations

The heroes were taken to a warehouse as they prepared to leave for their pilgrimage. Ideally, it was filled with weapons, goods, spices, foods, and anything they could ever need in a mission. Sadly, there was only so much they could carry.

“Hello, esteemed heroes.” A sweet voice called to the risen once more. She wore a nun’s habit, her eyes covered by dark bandages. “I’m Sister Superiora Elianor. We are Holders of the Candle. We are those who cherish and protect Anfitrian’s soul.”

They could not possibly understand what the Nun even meant, but they decided to roll with the punches, even to the chagrin of some who had a hard time picking upthe subtle, imaginary, or not, meaning behind her words.

“We will lend you resources for your pilgrimage. In trade, what we want is for part of the resources you loot to return to us, so as to supply future voyages, an interest of sorts. Those are our only terms to help you, oh heroes.” Her voice was firm and resolute. Not one to be swayed easily.

Not as if they could even do it. Some took the terms readily, while others begrudgingly, especially a greedy little twink, but the heroes could not deny the only help they had in this mission.

And so they prepared. The mission was described to be short, not needing a whole supply of rations and traveling equipment, so they stocked up on what was useful.

Sturdy shovels to break through debris and damaged sections in the dungeon. Bandages and supplies for first aid.

With the supplies acquired, they were allowed to set foot on the path to the dungeon.

SpawnPoint 1:

Chef, Marjukka, and Sir approached one of the entrances to the dungeon. A strange climate brewed between them as Chef and Marjukka shared constipated glances. They knew they should talk, but they couldn’t find a natural way to do it.

Besides, Marjukka felt disgruntled about the third member of their party, an undead orc named Sir.

Chef felt trapped in a bad deal she could not run away from, but she was not one to look a gifted horse in the mouth. At least she was in a team.

“You, carrying his big pan around, are yer a chef?”

“The damn best there ever was.” She answered in a heartbeat. Her voice was resolute like a mountain, not for a single moment was there doubt, only the certainty that she WAS the best.

The strength behind her words made the orc grin. “What an uplifting spirit you have, but if you pardon me, what is the meaning of carrying a pan this big around?” Of course, it was a weapon of some kind, Sir just didn’t know its specifications yet.

“To murder and kill prey on the spot. There is no downtime between her moves, she butchers, she cooks, she seasons it in one go.” Yet the one to answer was Marjukka, her voice a little more detached, as if she steeled herself not to look bad or sad near someone who used to be part of her Goddess’ guard.

Chef nodded and complemented, her mind losing the fact that Marjukka was still there. “Yup. I cook reaaal yummy with PamPam here. Could butcher a dragon and make some good stew with her alone.” As if to prove her point, she spun the pan's handle between her fingers.
“Well, I hope this dungeon has something to cook. Even if it is just a bone stew.” The chef begged the dungeon. It had been so long since she cooked something exotic or especially flavorful.

Maybe the dungeon could break the stale taste in her mouth.

“You are eager for combat, eh? Good to see. Let’s hope there is a worthy foe down in its bowels.” Sir laughed with Chef, as Marjukka resisted the urge to sigh.

She had forgotten how scattered-brained her long-lost coworker was, but it was refreshing. Seeing the happy-go-lucky chef made her more at ease, and made the pain in her chest subside with the weight of familiarity.

They entered the first hall of the dungeon. It was a wide, empty room, with three passages to three different corridors. “So, what should we do? Divide and conquer?” Questioned Chef, looking around.

“No. We won’t. It is too dangerous.” Marjukka didn’t want to lose Chef again, so at least they should keep each other around, for their own safety.

She took a deep breath and looked at the three options. One passage to the left, one to the right, and one to the middle.

“Let’s go to the left one, by now.” They all nodded and followed after her. They entered the hall… only to find it broken, blocked by far too much debris to remove.

They returned to the main room and looked at the other two options. This time they went to the right, but it also had a corridor that led to nowhere.

“Hey, something’s on the ground.” Said Sir, as he felt his foot press over something. It was different from rocks, broken equipment, or furniture. It felt far more solid, sturdy. With an unnatural flexibility, Sir picked up the thing from beneath his shoes.

A solid key, rusting and decaying, but still reasonably intact. “What should we do?” He asked Marjukka, who was thoughtful for a few moments.

“Duh. We are in a dungeon. Keep it, it may be important.” The far more adventurous Chef answered, as she snatched the key clean from Sir’s hand, and stored it away in her belt.

‘This can work too.’ Marjukka was not keen on keeping trash around, who knows if the key had some utility, but if Chef wanted to carry it, she would not tell her no.

They backtracked to the main room, yet again, and went to the only path available.

The corridor was long.

They found themselves in another big room, but this time, it was not empty.

Creatures rose from the ground, caked in dust and mold, their teeth solid like rock, and a ghastly glow in their eyes.

Lowly undead.

They were creatures who existed for a long time, before the strong undead brought by Caronte were even a thing.

Sir took the charge as undead rushed him, their brittle swords crashed against bedrock, but left not even a dent on it. Marjukka raised her sword and a thin layer of magic exited it like raindrops.

They flew straight through the enemies, their undead bodies undone pretty quickly by her magic.

Yet, the undead were not the only thing there. The ground beneath their feet shook as stone statues rose from the dust. Chef rushed towards one of them and smacked it on the head with her pan.

It didn’t shake. Chef was taken aback for a moment. From the other end of the room, Marjukka rushed to her side, bubbles forming a path beneath her feet, making her movement almost like sliding on thin air rather than running.

Water rushed to the tip of her blade and expanded into an overlay over her sword. They crashed against the monster’s back, a cut made into the stone, as the monster revealed itself.

A monstrous gargoyle, a golem of a forgotten age. Body built of solid stone, with sharp claws, and a morningstar tail. As for Sir, he dealt with the other statue. He used himself as bait, and kept it busy, tanking its attacks with his own body, and hacking at it with his greatsword.

Marjukka gritted her teeth in an unsightly manner as she wondered why that thing couldn’t simply be crushed by her skill.

She tried to drive her sword deeper within the gargoyle, as Chef rammed her pan against its head multiple times.

Chef stopped her attacks as the monster’s claws almost reached her, almost damaging her dress. She used her pan to propel herself to the other side of the room.

She gritted her teeth as Marjukka hacked away at the gargoyle, who tried to hit her with its spiked, armored tail.

‘I guess… we are not at the level we had when we were alive.’

After a hard battle, they crushed the monsters. Marjukka had some grime and dust over her, as Sir looked exactly the same. Due to her dress, Chef was pristine and clean as ever.

“Well, the only path is ahead, no?” Chef sighed. Marjukka still looked slightly disgruntled over how she failed to dismantle those monsters.

Sir looked a little thrilled, as if enjoying the limitations brought on him. They went on the path ahead.

It was another empty room, or was it?

There was no other path forward, so they needed to think of something. Marjukka looked around. She found the door to another corridor, but it had something on it. Some kind of puzzle…

“Yup, we are going to stay here for a while.” Sighed Chef, as she too noticed the puzzle on the door.

Spawn Point 2:

After they first entered the dungeon, the group of Taro, Twinkle, and the Good Doctor had a run-in with enemy forces. Undead revenants, brought to life by foul magic, or so it seemed. Of course, her two current companions were not well-versed in combat, so she, the great Twinkle, had to dispatch the undead rapscallions herself!

They made their way to the only corridor available. It had no resistance, no enemy, nothing in it.

Just a huge pile of gold and relics. Twinkle’s eyes almost bulged out of her skull. She flew to go gather the pile, but she was stopped by the Good Doctor, who held her by her wings gently.

“Not yet. It could be a trap laid there by our enemies, always watching, vigilant in their unwavering will to end us. It is best to wait and see if there is something foul at play, and only then should we plunder and loot these goods- they will not go anywhere, much like this place.”

Taro nodded and walked ahead, silently volunteering himself to check the room.

Twinkle tried to break free as her two companions analyzed the room. After several minutes, and nothing happening, they left Twinkle to do as she pleased.

“Bear it in mind, missus Fairy, that it should be noted that part of the riches we acquire hereafter will have a cut by the Holders of the Candle, as they said it is a required price for the supplies we had taken.” Twinkle looked at the Good Doctor and showed her tongue, storing up the riches.

They looked round, there were two passages. One up, one to the left, and one down.

They went to the left first. It was locked by a strange lock, and not even magical firepower could break through it. So they left it alone, for now.

The next was the passage downwards.

The door locked up behind them, as the ground, the ceiling, and the walls started to close in, magical letters appearing out of thin air.

“Shadows run to the dark when I walk, and only cold trails linger behind me when I leave. I am harsh to the lazy, and a reprieve to the tired. What am I?”

“A bloody riddle, here of all places?” Screamed Twinkle, pointing her staff at the walls, trying to blast them and open a path somehow. The Good Doctor held his “chin”. He thought about the question.

Pondered it.

“You are sleep. As the conscience fades out, only shadows remain, and the heat of the body subsides to allow one to rest, lest they have a heatstroke or a fever. You are harsh to those who sleep in and procrastinate, but also give rest to those who desperately need it.”

The walls closed in even faster. Even Taro was a little unnerved, but the Doctor was resolute, unbothered.

“It doesn't seem so. Then, you must be death. You carry thy shadow, and the coldness of a life taken. You bring misery and pain to those who don’t cherish life enough, lazily squandering it, and bring relief to the tired…”

The walls advanced rapidly, forcing the Doctor to his knees, and even Taro had to crouch. Twinkle screamed as she ran her magic against it.

The Good Doctor looked around and stared at the letters of fire. They had a radiance to it, a bright yellow glow that was not seen anywhere but the brightest and purest flames of today.

Too yellow to be fire, too radiant to be a mere flame, and a shadow cast underneath it, a flickering red light, with tinges of purple. A red glint shone in his eyes. “You are Twilight. When you rise, you banish shadows to where they came; when you run out, you leave the coldness of the night behind. You punish those who do not sleep, and when the sun sets, you offer rest to the tired.”

The walls started to retreat. The riddle was solved. Both Taro and Twinkle shared a look as the Good Doctor brushed dust off his suit. “Gentleman, and ma’am, the passage ahead is open. Maybe some rest is well deserved in the next room.”

Spawn Point 3:

Team 2, consisting of Avroc, Klein, and Tanya, went into the dungeon's belly. They brute-forced through a puzzle and quickly dispatched the enemies awaiting them in the next room.

The room over the puzzle was another one where they had to face enemies, lowly undead, easy to dispatch. Between Klein’s flames, Avroc’s hammer, and Tanya’s fists, the undead had a bad hand against them.

“This is getting boring.” Snarled Tanya. Those undead had nothing but dust in their marrows, no flesh or blood to spill. It was like smacking old furniture.

Even the stone gargoyles were not much of a problem since they had Avroc with them, and the cyclops pulled his weight with ease.

Soon, even that room had nothing left in it for them. They advanced and faced more enemies. They were crushed by them, so fast they could not even properly react to the slaughter.

They made their way forward, unhindered, and yet, something surprised them.

A gigantic door. Full of golden figures, untouched by rust and dust. Intricate and heavy beyond measure.

Giants held the sides of the door, as in its center, a heavenly sword pointed downwards, at the throat of a wicked beast beyond description. A golden army descending alongside the blade.

It stopped Avroc and Klein in their tracks. They couldn’t recognize the figures carved into the door, what they meant, but they felt something in their bones.

A sense of foreboding.

“What are you guys waiting for?” Tanya asked them, for she could not see beyond the surface layer of the door. Favored by the Fell God she was, but she was not one of his.

She couldn’t understand what was meant to stand with him. “I think something dangerous is waiting behind that door.”

Tanya shrugged. “It isn’t going to be a problem. Nothing was a problem for us until now.” Avroc held Hamma tightly before he pushed the doors open, needing to exert himself to open the colossal doors.

From the other end of the door. A creature stared at them.

Made out of metal and stone, with strange apparatus that far evaded their minds, as if it had been made in a different era, a different age.

As they entered the room, it activated. Red eyes shone from the creature’s helmet, as hellfire engulfed its body.

A shard of divinity ‘fore them,

The shard of a god left behind.

It got up. Its form towered above even Avroc, metal twisted and bent, like tendons and muscles moving a living being.

“For thee who chase the Sun once more. Tomorrow hath come. Delivered by thy hands.”

Like a volcano going off, the room was engulfed by flames. As the creature stood proudly there. Its immense sword, like the raging sunlight, was forgotten.

The floor split in twain as it swung its blade. Fire erupted from the ground like a monument of flames. Avroc barely had time to use Hamma to try and smack back some of the flames, as Klein and Tanya dodged out of the way of the fire.

Tanya rushed upon it, her fists and feet landed in a flurry of blows, but no damage was done to its armor.

It kicked her. She flew towards a wall, cracked it, and blood spilled from her mouth, as the creature of steel stared down at the two scions of light.

The battle had just begun.

Spawn Point 4:

Serene felt uncomfortable with the weirdos she got in a team. Janus was fine, she was more than fine, actually. The perfect little helper she could ask for.

The redhead had not muttered a single word, which Serene doubted she could. The other guy, Oswald, was enthusiastic, a little too enthusiastic.

His bow was a hassle to use on the corridors of the dungeon, but he tried his best, even using it as a sort of bladed weapon.

The other doll, Galatea, reminded her a bit of Janus, but she was less responsive than her soul-bound servant.

They had encountered a fearsome foe in a dead end of the dungeon, but with their sizable group, it was easy to dispatch it with overwhelming firepower.

For all the hassle and danger she thought the dungeon would be, it was not quite as dangerous as she wanted it to be.

Serene was having a blast. In a large oval room, they rested a bit, as there was just one path ahead.

“So, what do you guys think is up ahead? Some kind of loot? Treasures?” Oswald asked with a coy smile. They had no trouble thus far, so it was unreasonable to think something bad would happen all of a sudden.

Serene couldn’t help but smile at the thought of riches and glory waiting for her. She licked her lips, the greedy, needy part of herself telling her mind to hog all the glory.

But without a worthy opponent, was there any glory to be had? What enemy could provide a decent enough challenge to her?

If there was no glory for her to hog, then maybe some treasures wouldn’t hurt…

Galatea strayed away from the others, sitting on a box. Drawing on dust slightly with the tip of her feet. She was a little… bothered by the fact they hadn’t left anything she could bless and use the proper rites on after their fights.

Oswald and Serene were far too… lively about what they did. Rose stood by her, the only one to notice the patterns she drew on the ground. A silent understanding between them, as no words were needed to communicate their thoughts.

Janus was locked on the path ahead. She processed information, tried to predict what was behind the only door forward.

Even with everyone there, she was displaced. She didn’t fit with the others, even with her leash holder beside her. She was like an anomaly in the world, something so cold, so unfeeling, she became a void that matched nothing.

The noise of battle came from the other side of the room. “Let’s get in.” Serene got fired up, cutting their rest short.

Spawn Point 5:

Calisto, Hade, and Tazlyn fell into a hole on their way to the dungeon. A simple mistake. A damn simple mistake. It took Tazlyn first, then Hade followed him, thinking it was a game.

Without option, and to not leave them alone, Calisto also jumped.

Now, they found themselves in a room in the middle of the dungeon. Tazlyn sighed and scratched his beard. There was no word to describe the colossal rookie mistake he had committed, and Calisto was not in the mood to chastise him.

Hade, on the other hand, clapped his hands, a smile on his lips. He thought it was a play, a shortcut to the dungeon. It would be better if he believed it to be that.

“That was quite fun. Can we do it again?” Hade asked, as Tazlyn resisted the urge to face palm over his mistake.

“Later, child. We have something to do as of now.” Calisto scanned the area. Two corridors. Two routes. “Give me a moment. I will be right back.” The shade went to check a room on the left. It quickly showed it was a dead end. No point in exploring it.

“Let’s take the other route.” His other teammates nodded and followed after Calisto.

They reached a room filled with nothing but treasure, from gold coins, staves, relics, and things rare in Anfitrian. “Holy moly. Where did this many riches come from?” Tazlyn asked with incredulity. It was quite surprising just how MUCH gold was gathered there.

“Leave it to the Holders of the Candle. Gold matters little for us, yet for them it will be valuable. What we should seek is to pacify this place. Besides, this gold is most likely dwarf related. They used to be a grudging folk.”

Calisto warned his human companion before he could take as much as a coin, and Hade nodded, processing the information given to him by the elder.

“It feels strange. Look at the ground, at the bones. This was not a place solely inhabited by dwarven folk.” Calisto moved like a shadow, picking up a skull from the ground.

“Too small to be a giant. Not too deformed to be a cyclops, not thick like a dwarf. A human skull, or maybe an elf. Hard to say without seeing details.” Calisto whispered like a shadow, his dark, void eyes narrowed on the walls.

“Skulls are mismatched. Something happened here.” Tazlyn wondered for a bit.

“Maybe they sought this place for refuge? A reprieve from what was happening on the outside?” The war had been ongoing for long, far too long. Depending on how old the dungeon was, it made sense that its old inhabitants would accept refugees seeking help and a home.

“Why would they come here? You do not go from your home to another… unless their home was bigger, or had something they wanted.” With child-like innocence and wit, Hade butted in the conversation.

His insight was not off the mark. As a child, he thought of changing homes as too much. Why would he waste a perfectly good one? It made no sense.

Calisto, however, had something else in mind. ‘They sought protection.’

Things were not easy for them. He wondered what caused this spiral of death. Silently, they strided into a room.

A puzzle over the door, with five slots.

“The brightest of us hangs over the darkest. The west is cold and deep, and the east is shallow and warm. At the heart of it all lies the beginning.”

Calisto stared at the base of the door, where a bunch of gemstones lay. Before he moved, Hade went to the gemstones.

“This one in the middle.” He picked up a dull, dusty, colorless gem. Calisto crooked his head to the side.

“Why do you think this one is in the middle?”

Hade breathed over the gem and wiped it with his cloak, showing a white gemstone. “This one is white. White can become any color, no? So we begin with it.”

Calisto nodded and picked up a dark blue and a light blue gem. “The ocean up in the west used to be dark, and the east one light blue. I hope this is how this works.” He placed the gemstones in place.

Hade tried to place the white one in the middle of the door, before Tazlyn did it for him.

“If we are right…” Tazlyn started to clean some of the gemstones until he found a bright yellow one. He placed it on top. “It is the sun.”

The door was unlocked. They walked by it. Going through a long corridor. It led to one big door. It was almost busted, clenched shut.

They opened the door to reveal an undead creature. A monster brought back by foul magic.

Its eyeless stare announced its intent to murder them, as a ghastly howl filled the room with cold air.

Hade prepared Sir Eric, as Tazlyn readied himself for combat.

A swarm of locusts came from where Calisto once was.

They swarmed the beast, but it only released a chilly, decayed breath against the swarm, dropping them dead, as the monster rushed with overwhelming aggressiveness.

Golem of Fire

Avroc sweated profusely as he stared down at the giant of steel.

Its presence blunted Klein’s flames, as Tanya's fists and feet began to char under the extreme heat.

Klein’s sword, Aelia, couldn't help but notice that the thing they faced was not a mere golem.

It was a siege engine of ages past.

She couldn’t put a single dent on the engine’s armor. Tanya’s relentless attacks and Avroc’s hamma were the only things that placed a dent in it.

Flames were useless against it.

Only overwhelming power could deal with it. ‘I think she should go all in, my nest. It doesn't seem like that thing will stop fighting anytime soon.’

Even if her nest was always burning up, it was not like he was immune to the flames, not ones like that, anyway.

Once again, the metal golem raised its sword, and the ground was torn asunder, hellfire expelled from the cracks, as it gnawed and burned onto their flesh. Avroc and Tanya were too close to dodge it, and Klein himself had no intent of dodging.

Yet, from the entrance, a magic missile blasted against the engine’s face. It didn’t crack its mask, but it was enough to give them a momentary reprieve, enough to get out of its vicinity.

From even further, a geyser-like spray came, like a magnificent blade of water. It crashed against the giant’s fiery body, and an explosion of steam happened, clouding the room with haze.

A bedrock-like projectile also came, propelled by a giant pan.

His greatsword crashed against the giant, sending it back, even if only by a few inches.

“It seems you guys need help.” Twinkle said, with a greedy smile over the engine’s body. She saw, felt, and could taste the value oozing from the thing.

She wanted to avoid breaking it too much, but the others had different ideas. From the back, Marjukka came like a lapis-comet, her sword crashed against the armor, but had not much effectiveness, just like Aelia.

She brought a brief respite, and as water and fire clashed silently, the heat radiating from the giant turned the water into steam.

Chef walked into the room as Sir walked away from the crash between his master and the Golem.

“Well, seems like you guys need some healing.” She raised her great pan and water spilled from it. It fell towards Avroc and Tanya, their wounds healing slightly.

The Good Doctor walked forward, taking in medical supplies from his bag. The Healing Hands were already in effect, as he first treated Tanya, who had the most damage.

Their eyes met for an instant, her eyes filled with unending rage as she recognized what magic he was using, the magic of her patron, but different, for he was no worshipper of him. She felt it in her bones.

She was stopped before she could even begin to question the man.

The Golem’s fire turned up a notch. The water was no longer enough to quench it.

Tanya begrudgingly accepted the patch-up. Avroc got up with a breath of air. Ready to hammer again.

“Any plans on how to kill it? I don’t think we can do much in terms of slashing damage. Hell, she can’t do anything about it.” Chef questioned Tanya, resting PamPam on the ground, as if it were some kind of sword.

“Smash it. Smash it until it breaks. Bludgeon it to death.” Tanya gave the most concise answer she could.

“That works. Hey, jump on the pan. Don’t question it.” Chef commanded. Tanya snarled, but obeyed. It was not like they had a better option.

“STEADY SHE GOES!” Shouted Chef, as she threw Tanya forward like a hot potato.

Tanya screamed due to the sudden speed she got. She clenched her fists as it crashed against the engine’s chest, opening up a dent on its armor.

Twinkle stopped to stare at the golem. It had no exploitable weakness she could find.

“A nail…” She whispered. While brute forcing through its armor could work, it would be a task out of their league.

But, if they punctured the armor and drove a nail through it? She flew to the cyclops. “Hey, big guy, bring the small burning guy, and use him to make an opening on its armor.” She then flew to Klein, who stood still, pondering on what he could do against the golem.

“And you. Use your sword to thrust through its armor.” For a moment, Avroc ignored her, but Klein nodded.

“Do what she says, Avroc. It is better than attacking it aimlessly.” Avroc nodded and picked Klein, who latched himself onto the edge of Hamma.

As Marjukka kept it busy, Avroc hammered Klein on the Golem’s chest, with Aelia burning up with the brightest flame she could use, in an attempt to soften the armor enough for her to pierce it.

From his back, Klein felt an immense pang of pain as his sword drove further into the armor. Chef was there, her pan hedged on its lower back.

Marjukka noticed their struggle, and joining it, her blade went into the same place as Klein’s, trying to pry it open for attack. She moved outward, he moved inward, and its armor started to bend.

Unexpectedly. Someone else crawled up to the giant, too.

Out of nowhere, Sir drove his greatsword into the edge and pried it open, enough for someone else to attack it.

A burst of hellfire spewed out, but Tanya jumped into the battle, too.

Tanya dropped both her hands into the small fissure, but she did not try to open it. She drove her arms further, skin peeled from her flesh by the metal’s edges, and her muscles burned by fire.

She started to punch through it.

She damaged the inner mechanisms, with little regard for the damage she also took. The giant moved its arms to attack the pesky intruders who opened its armor, but Avroc hammered one of its arms and held the other, locking both of them in an awkward position.

“JUST!”

“DIE!”

“ALREADY!” A chaos of voices shouted, as all of their weapons converged inside the giant. Fire, water, stone, and blessed fists crashed inside the giant.

Finally, its core was damaged enough to halt its working.

The hellfire finally ceased.

Undead Monster

Calisto stared at the monster. It was not natural for this place. It looked like it died here and was cursed with unlife. It would make sense, given the sheer quantity of undead there.

Hade couldn’t land a solid hit, as the monster moved too fast; it was too much for his borrowed skill to cover.

Tazlyn tried to draw its attention, but the sheer presence of the creature exuded cold from it, deadly cold. It was hard to keep up and stay close.

Close was the wrong term. Tazlyn felt it suck the heat out of the surroundings, as if trying to restart its dead body back to life.

An arrow flew close to its body. The monster dodged on the nick of time, as the arrow exploded into fiery shrapnel.

“Freeze.” Whispered Janus, her staff pointed at the beast, its heat devouring aura weakened, its body slowed.

The monster roared, it ran in a frantic dash towards Janus, but its body was stopped by a long sword crashing against its face.

Serene pushed her sword forward. She tried to hack the monster’s skull, but was met with surprising resistance.

Its claws went forward, three gashes made on her side. She opened her eyes as rage flared up in her being. But the monster didn’t relent. It used its leverage on her to cast her aside.

It went to Janus.

But a sword, which grew a magical barrier, stopped it dead in its tracks. Tazlyn stood his ground, his magical barrier temporarily stopping the monster.

From beneath it, a smoky, bluish shadow appeared, and a body materialized. Galatea used her magic to appear beneath the monster and skewered its body on her sword, as heat-denying holy magic started to sweep out of her blade, burning the monster with unbearable cold.

Over it, Hade appeared and pierced Sir Eric through its mouth and jaw.

Oswald firmly planted his feet on the ground and pulled the string of his great bow. He released it as the blade went through the monster’s head and body.

A swarm of locusts stormed the monster, devouring it without any further resistance.

Soon, just the husk of its body was left behind.

They all looked around. The room had some blueprints and riches to get, after all.

Golem Room:

On the back of the room, a wall crumbled. They were all getting patched up after the heated fight.

Twinkle moved first, ready to explore, but was caught by her wings again. “We seldom did anything here. Let the ones who were hurt and faced this incredible foe have the right to loot, should that room have anything to plunder. Besides, we do not know if it will hold any enemy.”

Twinkle puffed, as Klein stared into the void. He felt a calling, something talking to him. He shared a glance with Avroc, who, by the look on his face, also felt something similar.

With a mutual look of understanding, they walked forward, uncaring about getting healed or helped. Something told them that the next room was too important to ignore, to wait.

As they walked inside, it was filled with blueprints and relics. Nothing useful for them, and yet, they felt something more in that room.

Klein avoided getting in, in fear of burning the blueprints and relics, so it fell on Avroc’s hands to get what was called for them.

His mighty hand went through a pile of riches, retrieving a small, reddish golden key. It felt important, far too important to lose.

From the other end, Twinkle stared at them, her bright golden eyes saw the key.

Her instincts told, no, they SCREAMED to get it. But she couldn’t. Not right now, at least.

And so, the dungeon was completed.