Pluck and throw. Pluck and throw. His new power coursing through his veins made the skill almost cheap to use, but fuck it. He wasn’t born here and didn’t have to follow the system’s rules.

  “Argh!” a goblin bellowed as he came at Rook, barreling towards him with a wooden club charged overhead.

  Rook felt like he had downed a cocktail of adderall; his focus made the world slow as molasses. The goblin half stumbled, half ran through the carnage of limbs and weapons to meet him. Rook plucked a boulder, lifting it up in the path of the oncoming goblin. It didn't see it and cried aloud out as its shin cracked into the rock. Still, the goblin came as a limping fury. No doubt it thought it was unstoppable, while it took a clumsy swing towards Rook’s shoulder. He easily sidestepped it, knocking the downward swing aside straight towards the earth below with an open palm. Clumsy. It can’t really be this easy, right? The club sank deep into the hollow of the cavern floor, rooting itself in place. Rook’s mace cracked into the goblin’s temple, dropping him.

  “I’m sorry, it’s you or us!” Reina cried out from behind Rook.

  The Ogre stood before them in all its glory, swinging its bone-faced club overhead in wild circles. The chaos of the cavern was replaced by the club’s loud whooshing, ripping at Rook’s hearing as if he were stuck in a wind tunnel. He and the others nearby fought against the pull of the club.

  “It’s a whirlwind smash! Don’t get near the affected area!” Alderion screamed over the wind tunnel, then proceeded to run towards it instead of away.

  “Dammit, you blind bastard!” Rook shouted, his eyes taking one fleeting glance at the ogre. “Oh shit…”

  A noise like the world splitting apart sounded out within the cavern, followed by dozens of screams as the world fell out from beneath them. The last thing Rook saw was the dinner plate-sized eye of the ogre widened with surprise, as they dropped into the gloom below. What did that dumbass think was going to happen?

  Rook surged his mana, pulling the group towards him, so painfully tight, he felt like they could all fit within that narrow tunnel. They landed on something soft and fleshy. Feels like a bounce house. The fleshy floor shifted beneath their feet. The warmth of an embrace brought a warm, fuzzy feeling to Rook’s chest. He looked up into the Mara’s eyes. The Torokin held him in for a hug.

  “We’re on the chief, get off of him.” Alderion slid first.

  Mara let go of Rook, and they all slid down. He once again followed the sets of clapping footsteps into the retreating darkness. Catching his breath, he placed a hand on the side of the wall. That’s when the notifications assaulted his vision, like an old Windows pop-up.

  You have slain Thunderfist goblin enforcer x5

  You have slain Thunderfist goblin x5

  You have slain Black dagger goblin enforcer x3

  You have slain Black dagger goblin x6

  You have gained 180 experience

  257 of 950 experience until level 17

  Would you like to loot?

  Y/N

  Loot what, the goblin? The room?

  Yes

  You have obtained

  12 gold

  4 potions of healing

  2 potions of mana

  1 potion of strength

  1 recovery potion

  The dark path opened up into an orange crystal-lit path, much like what they saw in Ollar’s underground and with the crystalmancers. The deep slope brought them further into the earth; had it not been for the huge energy expenditure, the cool underground may have been painfully cold. For the first time the dungeon began showing signs of civilization, deep underground, well a very old and almost Aztec type of civilization. On the cavern walls were indents carved with some type of blade. A shelf stuck out of the wall, made of rusted metal and holding a dead candle. The crude natural path sloped again until it transformed into carved stairs. Among the cavern and its unforgiving slopes, remnants of the past, like stairs, were a welcome sight. Everyone’s mood took a dramatic improvement. Especially Reina, who was taking full advantage of the place.

  She shuffled down the hall, flipping through her book, only stopping momentarily to sketch something. “You know these ruins are likely from the age of the old gods; some of these symbols show the god of curse and sacrifice, the god of fire, rebirth, and even subjugation.”

  “This place is wrong,” Mara said. “Stay close.”

  Al’s skin paled, and he jerked his head around the hall, as if something would jump out at the elf. The bundle of nerves walked three steps, then glanced behind at Rook. Down here within the gloom, every ten feet or so was lit by a pulsing arcane crystal. Well, let there be light, the lord said.

  Rook watched Reina following a trail of breadcrumbs visible only to her. “A few of the old gods had a gruesome reputation for cruelty and even went so far as to make the fairies extinct.” Reina rattled the knowledge off matter-of-factly as if we were on a tour and not goblin bait.

  Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

  She stopped, holding a hand up and taking a knee. “Down here on the floor, do you see this?”

  A five-toed humanoid track was set into the stone, outlined with dark black as if it were burned in. Reina sketched the track, and the faintest smile tugged at the corners of her lips. She really is enjoying this. Al leaned next to her and pinched some of the dirt within the footprint and rubbed it in between his fingers. His fingers were covered with soot.

  “Elemental,” he said flatly.

  “Here! An elemental in Yorthon?!” Reina’s giddiness was contagious. “Good one, Al.”

  Al’s face twisted at the casual shortening of his name. “I’ve told you humans, it’s Alderion Kai, and not Al.” He sighed and grimly nodded in affirmation. “Now, do you see the footprint? Assuming it’s full, the toes will be too long and pointed. I can’t see anything, but by touch alone, I can tell this is that of an elemental. Its magical energy is all over the place.”

  Reina shot a look at Al. “Amazing, how did you know that?”

  Al shook his head, and they continued, not pressing the matter. The elf explained that his group came under attack at first by elementals of poison and fire. When a flame elemental dies, it leaves behind footprints. More of the old god symbols were set into the walls, reminding Rook of an old adventure movie.

  “Dude, if I get crushed by a boulder, I’ll be so pissed,” Rook muttered.

  The elf jerked his head towards him. “Do you sense danger?”

  “Well, no, it was hypothetical.”

  “Hypo-thetical. Hmm, well, whatever that means, keep it to yourself for now.” Al stopped at a three-way intersection within the path. “To the right, I believe, is a dead end, straight is a pit trap, so left.”

  The smooth cavern wall showed what looked like history or perhaps a story of the people from this ancient kingdom. Groups of them bowed in worship towards a very large, very evil bear-faced man. Yikes. The bear man seemed to enjoy eating throngs of people in the next scene, and Rook paled. If we have to face that we’re boned.

  “Are we at the story walls yet?” Al asked, running his fingers across the deep cuts into the smooth stone.

  “Ah, yes. This is the story about Teru and his penchant for sacrifice and subjugation.”

  Rook frowned at Reina. She’s eating this up. I should’ve known better than to befriend a true crime girl.

  “Ahead,” Reina said flatly.

  Rook sidled up to her, trying to follow her gaze. “What?”

  “A head. Or at least part of one.” The enhancer knelt beside a small shelf set into the wall at waist level. “If I recall correctly.” Reina flipped through her notebook.

  She swiped away debris from the wall above the shelf, revealing a plate made of a copper colored metal checkerboard. Within the rust-covered checkers were different pictures, of suns, a bearman, and the moon.

  “See, here they are!” she exclaimed, pointing at the different pictures.

  “Oh yeah!” Rook responded, sidling next to Reina. “What are we looking at?”

  She frowned at him, then pressed one of the checker squares, and a few sharp clicks sounded out from the wall. Rook watched in amazement as the square with the skull depressed in and a screech sounded from the board, making Rook wince.

  “It’s a puzzle,” She said, kneeling down beside the shelf.

  Reina pulled the skull free, and it hissed like a boiling tea kettle, and the wall behind the shelf flipped open with a horrible grinding. “Welcome to the tomb.”

  “We didn’t go this way,” Al said, hugging the wall beside the doorway. “That wall flipped up.” He peered inside like a nervous cat. “What about the order of the infernal forge?” Al began summoning the dawn blade.

  “Don’t,” Reina hissed, throwing a hand up. “We don’t know what’s inside. You said there was a spike trap. What’s to say there isn’t a combustion trap?” Reina placed a hand on Rook. “Do you want to lead?” She asked, handing him the smoking skull.

  “It would be my pleasure,” Rook said, his tone dripping with sarcasm. “Better me than you.” He held up the skull and shook the yawning jaw, letting it clatter. He snickered, much to the dismay of everyone. “Right, right. Wrong place and time. But if you can’t have fun, what are you even doing?” He placed the skull down and pressed through the door, right into an antechamber. “Holy shit,” Rook said, his voice sounding small in the vast space he entered.

  Crystal lanterns hung high above on chains at regularly spaced intervals. It was unnaturally clean on the inside, and the room itself was flooded with light.

  “Tell me, Reina, is this still the Mine of Struggle? Because it looks an awful lot like we are about to come face to face with an ancient evil boss.”

  “This place.” Reina stared at the walls of art, mouth agape. “It hasn’t been discovered or documented in the historical society, that’s for sure.” She continued walking while furiously scratching her pencil.

  Al and Mara hugged the wall.

  “This place reeks of evil, powerful evil. Ancient evil,” Al said, shuffling in trembling steps, murmuring some prayer to the Dawn.

  Flashes of the bear god came across Rook’s vision, and he cringed. Fuck me, please don’t let me face that thing. Magically suplexing low-level goblins was one thing, but that thing would probably fuck him dead. Pressing on further into the chamber, Rook took a moment to gaze around. The room itself was shaped like a cross, and there was no way of knowing which way could lead them to a trap, treasure, or out of this damned dungeon, for that matter.

  At the center of the room, there was a mosaic picture, reminding Rook of the Sistine Chapel. However, instead of angels and clouds covering each inch of the chamber’s roof. It was mountains, the large bear man fought an army of men and other races. Dwarves on the backs of yeti-like creatures, Humans on horseback, gnomes on large frogs, and the Torokin on the backs of elephants.

  “The Kangosaur,” Mara said with reverence. “The Torokin mounts. Long extinct omnivores and once great friends.”

  “What happened?”

  “Like most things. Bloodstone happened.”

  “This depicts the great war with Teru. He rose from the ground and fought using his ice and whips of barbed thorns. The first ever Sentinels banded together to seal him into the earth once again.” Reina pointed to one portion of the coalition combatants. “There they are. Most sacrificed themselves for the cause that day. Their numbers have since grown far past what they were.”

  “Sentinels,” Al scoffed. “Coalition that dreams to be elvish Dawnsworn.”

  “Careful now, we’re Sentinels. But on another note, is there anyone or anything you actually like?” Rook asked.

  “I don’t know, I wouldn’t be able to see it,” Al faced Rook.

  For the life of him, he didn’t know if the elf just told a joke, but it was hilarious. “Touche.” Rook walked to the corner of the right hallway. “Should we check it out?”