With a wave of her little hand several comfortable looking couches appear facing the bed. I sit down on one and Asuna jumps up next to me while Bones stands facing the door. He doesn't seem interested in what's going on, he probably just wants to go fight some more.

Core says "Where should I start?"

"I know the history up to the point the carvings on the column end."

Core says "Alright, at that time the people of the city, who you call elves, were mining heavily. This city was sending ore to other cities to be made into weapons because they were at war. I don't know the specifics of the war, only that it was the reason for the heavy mining."

"Okay. I guess I will have to find another city to find out about the war. Maybe that is the reason the elves were already gone from the peninsula when the humans came."

Core says "Possibly, I don't know. Anyway, the people of the city were mining the heart of the mountain when they discovered something. They found a cavern leading to what you call an underground world."

"It is beneath the city isn't it?"

Core says "Yes, almost directly beneath us. It was massive so my people set about exploring it looking for resources. But they woke something up."

"This matriarch you mentioned?"

Core says "No not at first. Our scouting parties started getting attacked by large spiders. At first we thought nothing of it, just a natural predator. But as time went on and the spiders continued to push us back we realized they were intelligent. They fought using tactics that no natural creature would use."

"You said they were just spiders? Not driders?"

Core says "No, the driders didn't appear until much later."

"So, you were fighting a war against giant spiders?"

Core says "Large spiders, yes. Each about the size of a horse, but there were thousands of them. And they worked together, more like ants than spiders."

"Did they seem to be being controlled by a single mind?"

Core says "Yes, but we didn't realize it at the time. After years of fighting we were pushed out of the underground world. We had taken so many casualties that it was decided to bring down the cavern leading to it and forget it existed."

"I'm guessing that didn't work so well?"

Core says "At first it did. We had peace for a few years until the spiders suddenly attacked the city. They managed to get into the city and escape with prisoners."

"The spiders took prisoners? I'm guessing that was the first time?"

Core says "Yes, it was. We of course sent warriors after them to recover our people. However, only some were rescued and it cost us several warriors to do so. Our warriors were good, they each could handle five spiders easily, but the spiders seemed to have unlimited numbers."

"I have seen beetles working with the driders. They seem to use them as miners."

Core says "We saw those as well. Although upon testing, we determined that they are actually an armored spider not a beetle. They were the ones who made the new tunnels that the spiders used to attack us."

"If they are a type of spider then that makes a lot more sense. Although, my system named them as beetles when I killed them. That might just be because that is what I believed them to be."

Core says "To be honest, I don't know. Your system is as much of a mystery to me as it is to you. After all, my knowledge is limited to what you know."

"Right, sorry. I will limit my questions to what you do know as much as I can."

Core says "It's alright. So the next time the enemy attacked was the first time we saw the driders."

"Living or undead?"

Core says "Both. Although few in number, they caused us some serious problems. The undead driders were ignored by our defenses."

"Because they were made from your people."

Core says "Right. We had no idea at the time, but luckily there were very few of them. We managed to hold them off but from then on the attacks became more frequent. Every soldier we had lost and not reclaimed the body came back to haunt us."

"While unpleasant, that doesn't sound like enough to make the city fall."

Core says "It wasn't, but it was enough for us to send out a request for help. Unfortunately, the cities were engaged and couldn't spare us much, but they did send some aid. Amongst them was a mage with a radical idea, which led us to violating one of our oldest taboos."

"What was that?"

Core says "The creation of life. We used magic to create a new race, a warrior race who could fight the spiders. We sent our creations down into the tunnels leading to the underground world. For a while after that the attacks on the city stopped."

"Wouldn't that just supply more bodies for the enemy to make into driders?"

Core says "We thought of that, upon death the new race's bodies would dissolve back into mana. Leaving no body behind for the enemy to make use of."

"Smart. So, what went wrong?"

Core says "I don't know. After we sent them off we never saw them again. About a year after that the spiders resumed attacking the city."

"You didn't send anyone with them? Or leave a way to provide them with aid?"

Core says "No. At the time they were seen simply as weapons to be used."

"That's pretty horrible."

Core says "I agree with you. However, our people at the time were desperate, the spider’s attacks seemed unending. And we were slowly being worn down, even our defenses needed time to recharge. The spiders were attacking constantly, but the race we created bought us time."

"I am sorry to say, but I hope the race returned and brought down the city. That would be just what your people deserved."

Core says "While what you say may be true, no they did not. As I said we never heard from them again. It was believed they had all died fighting the enemy, but that was never confirmed."

"You keep saying the race, did you not name them? What did they look like?"

Core says "No, we didn't give them a name. And they looked like you, basically anyway. We took predatory animals like lions, wolves, and bears, then through magic made them humanoid with limited sentience."

"Is that how you made the guardian?"

Core says "No, that was later and we had help. The guardian is a part of the barrier much like I am."

"You had help making the guardian? From whom?"

Core says "Please, be patient. Let me tell the story in order or I might miss something."

"Alright, sorry. Please, continue."