TWENTY-FIVE: FIRST DUNGEON

  “H…h…here,” Leto stammered between his shuddering teeth as he poked with his foot at a sliver of a door. Cassius turned to look, his skill flickering to life, to see that there was a rectangular shape in the side of the hill. They had followed the ghost’s words precisely, the search only taking a few minutes. Somehow it was even colder near the valley between cairns.

  Every step made the frozen grass crunch underfoot, their passage loud in the still night air. Cassius tried to make his fingers move as they were frozen stiff around the handles of his shield. Horror mounted as he couldn’t move his fingers, or at least, feel them move.

  “Push it open,” Vira said, her voice strong as she bulled forward to level a shoulder against the frame. Grass and dirt fell like water as the door slid open noiselessly, revealing a doorway wide enough for two men to pass by standing shoulder to shoulder.

  Warm air billowed out to prickle his skin in a delightful caress. Cassius lunged forward, his body moving before his brain could process what was happening. Shoulder to shoulder he jostled with the other three as Vira had already disappeared into the depths of the cairn.

  Leto slipped like an eel past him, lunging into the warmth before anyone else. His disappearance eased the knot of struggling bodies and Cassius was next through, Valeria right behind him and Titus last. They huddled about in the darkness as Cassius tried to work his way to the front to lead them.

  “Legionnaires, you have your torches in your packs?” Vira asked. She was only a few feet into the entrance of the cairn, waiting for them as she stamped her feet back and forth.

  “Yes. Valeria, help me, my fingers won’t move,” Cassius said, turning to look at his fellow legionnaire.

  “There is no light with which to see you. You will have to free it from my pack.” Valeria managed to hide a kernel of derision in her voice as she turned around, pack towards where his voice had come from.

  Cassius clumsily set his spear down and used his now free hand to massage some life back into the clenched fingers around the shield handles. Pain grew in his body as warmth continued to thaw him, but it was a welcome sensation as he eventually managed to release his shield.

  “Hurry it up. I have no desire to wander into the dungeon by accident,” Titus complained.

  “Then do not move,” Cassius commented as he started to pull the torch free of Valeria’s pack. Hers was more tightly bound than his own, with the superbia careful put away to the side. Its heavy fabric felt soft under his fingers, like velvet from so long under the sun's rays.

  Her striker was right where it belonged and within seconds soft flame illuminated the stone chamber. Cassius handed the torch to Leto while turning and bending down to let Valeria draw his torch and light it.

  “Shut the door, the heat is escaping,” Vira ordered once they saw that the antechamber led deeper into the hill and was not a sealed room.

  “Put a block on the door. There are no handles on the inside,” Cassius said, having already seen the door with his skill. Leto grumbled, but did as Cassius told him to, using a broken piece of masonry on the ground to block it.

  “Legionnaires in the front, Leto watch the rear,” Vira said, grabbing the torch from Valeria as she motioned for them to take their place in the front of the formation. She stood right behind them, torch over their heads to highlight the tunnel. Cassius let his skill fade as he walked forward, shield raised as they marched shoulder to shoulder.

  Every step forward warmed the air further, growing to the point that condensation formed on his helmet, dripping down from his helmet across his face. Nobody spoke as they moved, a palpable tension in the air. Cassius could practically feel the nerves of the three nobles as they got closer to the suspected dungeon.

  The straight hallway turned suddenly and they were faced with an archway made of black glass, strands woven into twisted spirals around each other as a shimmering wall of quicksilver floated inside of it. Power radiated off of it, similar to how being next to the gates had affected him the first time.

  “Fully empowered dungeon,” Titus whispered, for the first time his voice had lost the constant arrogant tones. He sounded shocked and scared as they all stood there staring at it.

  “Spread out and search the area. See if there is an artifact like the spirit claimed,” Vira ordered, pushing between Valeria and Cassius.

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  [Hunter’s Sight] quickly pierced the pockets of darkness in the room, showing nothing to be found. Cassius held his tongue as waited for the nobles to finish their search, dropping his skill while he waited. Valeria didn’t move, stood still as stone, just watched the entrance to the dungeon.

  “You ever feel like we are missing something here?” Valeria asked quietly, the clatter of the search keeping her voice from being picked up by the nobles.

  “Feel like I am about to have a knife wedged in my back,” Cassius told her, looking around the room. There was a constant prickle unease that ran down his back and it had been there ever since they had crossed the gate. It had grown louder and louder the longer he was out here, but now his well-honed instincts were telling him there was danger.

  “Legionnaires stick together. No matter how fair faced the opposition is,” Valeria said. Cassius didn’t look toward Vira at her words, but he knew the target of her warning.

  “I do not see her betraying us,” Cassius said. His eyes wandered to Titus and Leto. The former was a prickly, arrogant, prideful man, while Leto walked next to him with the same camaraderie the legionnaires had for each other.

  “The woman wants into your pants, not your heart. Do not let your base instincts get us both killed,” Valeria warned, still keeping her voice low.

  “As you say,” Cassius said, trying to end the conversation as the three nobles worked their way back to stand in front of the dungeon.

  “We could always wait till the sun rises,” Cassius offered. Titus snorted derisively while Vira shook her head negative.

  “Still trapped by the archers in the forest. By now the summoner is long gone, but we can not reconnect with the rest without entering the forest. Not unless you wish to push further into the wilds before trying to backtrack?” Vira said.

  “What will await us on the other side,” Valeria asked. She sounded calm, her face blank as she looked at the swirling portal.

  “Every dungeon is different. This one has not been conquered in a long time, you can see how thick the veil is. Whatever awaits us will be powerful. The centurion said they were able to conquer it with only five legionnaires though, so while it will be powerful, it shall be within our ability,” Vira said.

  Cassius didn’t say the part he believed they were all thinking. That the strange spirit of the fallen centurion could have been lying. That it likely had been lying.

  “If we are lucky this will be a straightforward dungeon. Slay the monsters, kill the guardians, and leave,” Vira said.

  “And if we are unlucky?” Cassius asked drily.

  “Then we die down here,” Leto said. That stole the life from the room as they all stared at the portal.

  “Legionnaires first, keep your shields up. Cassius, have your sight skill active. The environment will not kill you immediately, but be wary of traps,” Vira ordered. She put her hand on his shoulder from behind and steered him toward the portal. Valeria walked with him, the two of them frozen on the precipice of walking through.

  “On three,” Cassius began. Titus groaned and a hand shoved him forward and through the archway. Ice water filled his veins as his breath was stolen from his lungs. The world inverted, twisted, and then Cassius was standing still as the world spun about him.

  “Oh, forgotten gods,” Cassius groaned as his stomach rebelled against the movements, pitching itself up through his throat to deposit its contents on cobblestones and his boots.

  He stayed bent over for long moments before the world righted itself and his equilibrium returned. All around him a thick fog covered the world, bright lamps burned yellow-white against it, auras of illumination blanketed by the roiling white clouds. Rectangular shapes with steepled roofs rose high above him, lining both sides of the cobblestones.

  “Where is everyone else?” Cassius said, slowly turning to see if the others would step out of the fog to rejoin him. [Hunter’s Sight] activated and pierced the clouds of fog with ease, revealing a foreign world to him.

  Metal poles were planted along the streets at even intervals, glowing lanterns inside of them projecting their light out. Dark homes rose up in large manors of wood, precious glass framing the fronts while doors with wide brass knockers guarded their entrances. Black iron gates encased in smooth gray stone cut apart each estate from one another, wide lawns overgrown with weeds and colorful flowers rampant in them.

  “What is this place,” Cassius muttered. In response a gate grated open with a rusty squeal, opening the overrun lawn to him. Nothing else moved along the street.

  Cassius opened his mouth to cry out for one of the others and then closed it just as fast. He could already imagine Valeria’s scowl or Titus’ incredulous gaze if he went around shouting for help in this dungeon.

  “Through then out,” Cassius said, moving toward the open gate with his shield held at the ready. Along the streets nothing stirred as he walked past the manor’s gate and into the wide sprawling lawns. Statues of white marble lay in disrepair, grime obscuring their features. A fountain lay dry, smeared in lichen, water turned to muck.

  Cassius walked slowly toward the wide doors, up the long stone steps, and froze as the doors swung open noiselessly. The interior of the manor was lit with a chandelier, dozens of white candles partially melted around its bronze frame. Dark wood floors gleamed with polish, while rich paintings hung from the walls in gilded frames.

  Before he walked into the manor he looked behind himself to see that the gate had swung shut, locking him in. A sense of certainty filled Cassius as he knew that danger was here, that he was alone, and that he would have to kill to survive.