“What is this place?” Hem muttered as he gazed at his surroundings.

It had been a while since Lev and the others had passed through the gate, and after the long walk, they found a large space filled with ruins covered in vines.

Orva answered him with an excited grin. “It seems to be some kind of temple. Fascinating. How is all of this underground?”

The darg, Shahn, replied. “Sinkholes, maybe. The building’s likely been dragged down over time. What I found more fascinating is how there are plants littering the place. We’re still underground, after all. How are they surviving?”

“I believe it’s because of that.” Lev pointed at a giant blue ball of energy floating in the distance that resembled the one on the sixth floor. “Considering the mostly-intact ruins and the fake sun, I’m inclined to believe everything here was intentionally brought underground.”

“Oh, another fake sun? Can’t believe there’s another one of those. The one on the sixth floor was already a surprise.”

“Well, at least you're used to there being a big ball of light over your head,” remarked a gaunt greyborn as he gazed at the blue ball.

“True.”

Orva took a deep breath, “This source must be similar to the one we found back in the sixth. I’m sure of it!” she cheered.

“Keep it down. A light source also means that there’s a high concentration of haze nearby, and we all know what that means,” the darg said, glaring at Orva. If she were any louder, a pack of hiveling scouts could notice their party and alert the rest of the hive. Uncharted grounds and a hiveling army were a deadly combination for sure.

The beauty of the second sun had caused Orza to forget how precarious the group’s situation was. Ashamed, Orva gazed down at her feet. “Right. Hivelings.”

“Actually,” Lev said, “I don’t think there’ll be any hivelings near this temple. As I recall, hivelings make their nests by digesting and excreting rock and other such materials. The temple would’ve been destroyed long ago if there were hivelings nearby. Not to mention, there’s a distinct lack of tunnels around here.”

The non-bogeys stared at Lev with doubt clear in their eyes, but his self-assurance was hard to counter.

“Seems like you know more than us, haha!” Shahn howled.

“Hey! Now you’re the one being noisy!” Orva snarled.

“So what do we do now?” asked Hem as he knelt near the remains of a fallen statue resembling a warrior.

Lev recognised it as one of the armoured giants that guarded Ainshart’s hall: a killig, a ghastly sentinel born from the depths of genetic manipulation. It wouldn’t be surprising if the beings and Ainshart had made this, Lev thought.

He examined the magnificently intricate designs decorating the few erect pillars in the patches of hardened dirt and stone. Much of the area was overgrown with vines, and the temple ruins seemed to consist of a layered mixture of marble and some form of shining stone, mashed together into a unique hybrid.

Lev could not remember seeing a nearby vein of the shining stone, and certainly not one of marble.

Seems like these were imported. Looks like Ainshart’s realm not only stretched far, but had excellent infrastructure. He could not imagine bogeys and other goblinoid species working together to achieve such a daunting task.

They continued making their way through the decrepit remains of what was clearly once an illustrious temple towards what seemed like the centre of the ruins.

The centre revealed several destroyed pure marble statues. After taking in the mystical sight of these giant statues, Lev noticed that there were two statues still intact in the centre. They were protected by what looked like a barrier of some sort.

Lev immediately recognised who the statues represented. They were of Ainshart and, behind him, the being.

Near Ainshart was a smaller feminine statue with writing in a foreign language carved into the platform near its feet. Its head and arms were destroyed, and Ainshart’s statue looked to hold one of its severed hands.

“What does it say?” Lev asked.

“How should I know?” Hemgall shrugged.

“Should be ancient Ainshartian. Anyone here studied it?” Orva replied.

The deka chuckled. “Ainshartian? Really? Does everything here have ‘Ainshart’ in its name?”

Shahn shook his head. “Only the local goblin tribes are obsessed with him.” He turned to Rapha. “Do you know anything?”

“I’m not from around here. Where I’m from, we have our own folklore.”

Vyrga rubbed his forehead. “Simpletons. It says ‘the whore who sold her people for the affection of a monster.’”

An empty platform lay to the left of the three statues. Vyrga read the inscription on its surface aloud. “Our hero. He who cleansed us from the sins of his father.” Vyrga felt a tinge of pity, though whether it was for Ainshart alone was a question he couldn’t answer.

What… happened? a familiar voice emanated from within Lev. I felt… your soul… being pulled by something… golden hand.

Gherm’s soul was still a mess of incoherent thoughts, but Lev could make out what he was asking.

I met him, Gherm. One of Ainshart’s most loyal guides.

Guides?

Long story short, powerful beings that supposedly helped Ainshart achieve the success he did.

How… did you escape? Doubt presented itself within Gherm’s shattered pattern. It was as if Lev had just told him the impossible.

He wanted something from me and I agreed to give it to him. In return, he gave me something… else.

What? Did you… give?

Nothing, actually. Only that one day I’d gain the power to achieve my goals. And his, too, I guess.

Lev felt Gherm’s anger intensifying. He clearly did not like what he had heard, but Lev felt relieved that the being had been unaware of Gherm’s continued existence. Who knows what it would have done to Gherm?

Lev smiled. I don’t know why you’re bothered. We can use this to our advantage. As long as it doesn’t know that you’re still with me, we can deceive it.

Use us…

It won’t. I’ll make sure of it.

“What are you thinking about?” Hem asked, bringing Lev back into reality.

Lev felt Gherm fading back into his subconsciousness as he regained his senses. “Nothing important.”

“Anyways,” Hem continued, “what do you think of this place? It’s weird, isn’t it? Ruins in the cavern aren’t new, but ruins this deep and sophisticated? Now that’s something worth investigating. Maybe we’ll find something worthwhile.”

Lev closed his eyes. “I think we should continue this later, Hem. We need to get out of here first. There may be creatures worse than hivelings waiting for us. Perhaps even worse than that abomination we fought earlier.”

“Yeah… looks like everyone’s already searching for loot. Can’t blame them though. Normally I’d say you’re right, but we do need to find some supplies, especially spare weapons. Stone weapons tend to chip, and copper ones aren’t that sturdy either.”

Lev sighed. “Fine. Let’s go.”

***

Lev walked towards the outer ruins, whilst most of the others focused their search efforts around the statues in the centre.

Shortly after reaching the remains of a ruined building, Lev saw a foreign object glimmer from within the shadows.

Intrigued, Lev approached the object and inspected it briefly. A sense of familiarity immediately struck him, and a second later he realised why, as he recognised the crude design of a rudimentary firearm.

A musket? What’s it doing in a place like this? It looks similar to a matchlock, but there's no sign of damage caused by blackpowder usage, and it’s made from bronze instead of steel… Interesting.

The “matchlock” had a tube extending out of the handle that looked to attach to another nearby item. It looked like a container of some sort.

They must've been using another technique in order to propel the projectile. Interesting.

Upon closer inspection, however, Lev’s excitement dwindled. Countless holes were scattered around the matchlock’s green, rust-covered hinges, as well as across most of the metalwork. The weapon, as it was, was nothing but a health hazard, prone to exploding in his face if he fired it.

Lev decided to regroup with the others and leave the rusted ancient weapon behind. “I found nothing. What about you all?”

Shahn grinned. “I found some gold coins with that bastard’s head engraved on all of them.”

“A rusty bronze sword and three spears,” Hemgall replied.

Vyrga raised a rusted bronze sword. “This, along with some gold and silver coins.”

Rapha shook her head and shrugged, clearly showing her splintered arms. “I kicked some rocks around, but it looks like the coins are the only things worth anything.”

Orva laughed while holding onto bundles of leathery books and scrolls. “Maybe for you, but for me this place is a treasure trove. Sigils, ancient runes, books, and scrolls!”

Vyrga glanced at her. “But you can’t read the old language.”

“But you can. Read it for me sometime, will ya? Oh, I also found this awesome staff.” Orva whirled around, revealing a golden staff covered in runes.

Lev facepalmed. “You do realise you’ve made yourself a target.”

“Hah, let’s see if anyone tries. You all need me for magical support. Can you handle another abomination without me?”

“With torches? Yes,” Vyrga replied with a smirk plastered on his face.

Orva shot a fiery glare at him. “Sure. See how you fare with torches. Just know I won’t go down easily, especially not to you.”

Lev clapped his hands to refocus the conversation. “More importantly, has anyone found an exit yet?”

Vyrga nodded. “We did.”

“You mean he did,” Hemgall interjected as he pointed towards the gaunt greyborn.

“Dietmar?” asked Lev.

“Yeah, I did,” said Dietmar. He turned towards Hemgall. “Thanks for mentioning it.”

“No problem.”

“In that case,” Rapha continued, “let’s get out of here!”

Lev and the others nodded in agreement as they headed towards the discovered exit.

“There, can you see it?” Vyrga pointed at a gap under a giant banner with Ainshart’s emblem on it.

“There’s something in there. A way out of here if we’re lucky enough.”

They made their way through the gap and a metal door became visible in the distance.

Hemgall walked towards the door, trying to force it open. Alas, it did not give in.

Lev took in his surroundings. “There must be a way to open it. Anyone see a switch? Lever?”

Soon enough, they found one hidden near yet another statue, this one with half of its face missing. It vaguely resembled the being Lev met, a guide of Ainshart, but something was off. It had a different type of mask and an inscription had been carved into the wall near the statue. Lev did not need Vyrga’s help with translating as the letters were carved out clearly enough for Lev to recognise the name “Kram.”

Vyrga leaned closer towards the inscription.

“Kram, wretched player of flesh, bone, and stone,” Vyrga translated.

This bastard must’ve killed thousands, Lev thought as he glanced back at the broken statue, its face resembling a crow’s.

After pulling the switch, the door opened a crack before abruptly halting.

“Looks like it’s jammed,” Shahn said, looking for any debris causing the malfunction.

Hemgall approached the door, using one of his rusted bronze spears to pry it further open. “Looks like my newly acquired gear came in handy after all!”

The door swung open and the group exited the ruins. They found themselves on a path that sloped upwards, headed towards a bright light in the distance. Lev covered his sensitive eyes as the sun glared down upon them with its golden rays.

Lev took a deep breath of fresh air and after his eyes adjusted to the intensity of the light, he lowered his hand and gazed at his surroundings; a clear blue sky, a large valley filled with all kinds of trees and, to his surprise, a giant abandoned city in the centre of the valley.

Orva whistled. “An abandoned temple, and now an abandoned city. Guess our adventure isn’t over yet.”

“Far from over! Haha, fuck,” Hemgall said as he took the first steps towards the city.

“He sure is an avid adventurer,” Vyrga remarked, causing Hemgall to growl at his poor attempt at making a joke.

Lev sighed. “What are we gonna do now?”

With the ruins behind them and the other expedition parties scattered around the various floors, the party slowly started making their way towards the city.