Raven and her team sat at one of the tables in the guild, contemplating their next move. The guild indeed considered the ruins they found a quest, something they would be paid for exploring and possibly ‘cleaning out’ if it had traps, monsters, undead and the like. They would need to declare any treasure found and provide a cut to the guild but any way you looked at it the quest would be profitable for the team. Enough that even if there was no treasure, Raven would have the funds to get back to Terath and move to Dacathus.

  “I senseds many rooms downs there.” Isky confirmed as they discussed how big they thought the underground was. “We shoulds plans for severals days at leasts.”

  “An old structure like this is bound to have locked doors and traps.” Jace added, “That is where I and my [Tinker] skills come in. I will make sure I have all the right tools.”

  “I have healing and water.” Raven spoke, “I will also be able to sense magic traps. We have the right mix for this. The job is to make a map and clear it out of hostiles. We are allowed to take treasure for ourselves but since this is thought to be something from the age of the Amber Empire we have been asked to not destroy anything that isn’t trying to kill us. No breaking doors or digging through walls.”

  “Anything could be down there, or it could be empty.” Veshy told the group, “Just because this has been the first time the top has been opened up from what we already saw doesn’t mean that there isn’t a nest that found it from bellow or something in the forest the last few days hasn’t moved in. We need to be careful.”

  Raven sipped on a mug of water as she let the rest of her group talk it over. List what supplies they needed. Of what was expected of them. All she could think of was getting back to Terath to check in on Mazen. To tell him she was moving here. Of making sure her guild got her very expensive message. She had yet to hear back from them, not even by a slower message which had started to worry her.

  At the end of the discussion the group filed out of the guild. They needed more supplies than just what they had brought for the [Hunter] quest. They even bought a ramp of sorts to make getting up and down from that hole in the ground easier. A [Scout] was also paid to come to the site and check on if they were trapped if they had not returned in a week. This was a normal thing to do when it came to unknown structures like this. For all Raven knew there could be bandits in the area who would enjoy trapping adventurers in a hole.

  This time, as they headed directly for the sight, each had a pack twice the size of their previous outing. Jace even had the supplies to build a small cart they could wheel through the woods if they needed it. It could also be used to create door braces and other useful items for dungeon travel as he’d explained. She wasn’t sure how that worked but trusted the [Tinker] and his building abilities.

  They had decided on rations rather than cooking anything. It was unlikely they’d find anything more than rats and fungus that was edible down there and trying to carry fresh supplies would have increased their weight. Raven could make water and they had their water skins for hydration. They had also decided to use enchanted light stones rather than torches. Pricey but when you didn’t know what the air was like underground necessary. You needed those in sewers as well for the same reason.

  The trip was uneventful. The forest much the same as it had been the other day when they’d sat around a fire with the librarian. Birds sang. Things rustled in the underbrush, running at the sound of their passage. The occasional deer could be spotted fleeing from them as well.

  Soon enough they were upon the hole. The downed tree, its roots exposed to the air, still lay there as a silent witness to the tragedy of the hunter who died in his discovery. The group set about their task with the sisters taking the lead. Since the ground was likely unstable the two orath set about forming a lattice with strong branches culled from the trees around them. Jace helped bind them with rope as Raven prepared the ramp down into the pit. The bridge over uncertain ground was anchored to several live and sturdy trees.

  They were ready. As a team they entered the underground ruin.

  ——————————————

  History was an interesting subject. I hadn’t expected to be pulled in like I was but the stories of the Amber Empire pulled me in. I didn’t even have a research assignment to work on for it. During my downtime after everything was shelved and Tick didn’t need my help I found myself in the history section reading an account of wars between the Amber Empire and New Rome. Wars were different in a world where people had classes, levels, and special skills to call their own. Where magic was real. They didn’t need guns and bombs to destroy armies and level cities. You just needed someone with enough levels in magic to cast the right spell.

  There were consequences though. I found an account of the final days of the Amber Empire and it spoke of rampaging demons. Of armies being destroyed by a single person. Cities crumbling to dust and their people scattering. It made me shiver at the very thought. I decided to check out that one, to read it in depth on my own time.

  “First time you decided to take one home with you.” Marigold remarked that night as I held the book.

  “Well, I wanted to have time with this. When I went on my hunting trip the adventurer’s I’d escorted talked about finding some kind of underground ruin. When I told my landlord about it he mentioned the Amber Empire. I wanted to know more of the history.”

  “And you’re starting with the fall?” She chuckled, letting me sign for it.

  “Well, I’ve heard that the ruins that party found might date back to that time period so I thought I’d read about it.”

  “There are lots of stories. Hard to tell what is real and what is legend now. Mostly that demons were running ramped for a time. The old empire broke up after entire cities got destroyed. New Rome took over some of the lands to the south and the guilds kept things together forging new towns between here and Varcalis.”

  Demons being real shouldn’t have surprised me. So many cultures on many worlds I’d heard of had versions. Something corrupt, chaos causing, from outside the world. As I walked away with my book it occurred to me that perhaps much like how I had gotten here, things like demons got both here and to worlds like mine. Only here they were in armies.

  ———————

  The top floor, partly open to the sky due to the collapsed ceiling, was just the first of a spiral of rooms and sections. Other than the body of the hunter they had already removed and returned home the top floor was remarkably clear. Jace had found his first door opposite the ramp but when he got it open was faced only with dirt.

  “Looks like perhaps this lead to the surface once.” He suggested. It was a heavy door, thick, but sealed from the side they were on making it easier to open. Raven flashed the light at the tip of her staff around, looking at the faded writing on the wall. “Protect?” She muttered, not sure what to make of the sayings. Hopefully it wouldn’t be too important as they made their way down.

  There were no stairs, only a long ramp that curled around itself and opened into a wide room. Several partly mummified bodies, still dressed in armor, were slumped over barricades that flanked the ramp. Two appeared to be talloni, but one was a pile of chitin, indicating a terrisian.

  Each member of the team spread out, moving slow. Jace had been on point down the ramp looking for traps, and was now on lock duty. Raven took her own task seriously, moving in close to the bodies. These people had died long ago at their post. Waiting for what she had wondered. Sure there were stories about demons but it could have been a full on assault from New Rome. They had taken over the southern part of the empire after its fall, forming several new provinces.

  “There are two doors ands anothers ramps down” Isky called out, a light orb clutched in her pincher tentacle.

  “We need to clear each room we find before moving down a level.” Veshy reminded them, “This center area by the up ramp is a good collection place. Do not leave the room, just gather anything that looks useful to this point here.”

  Raven didn’t see a point in relieving the dead guards of their armor. It didn’t look useful to any of them. It would be up to a future research and funeral team to deal with. Theirs was the tough job, but it could result in shiny prizes.

  It was several minutes before they returned to the center. Raven had found several salvageable swords, the edges dull but the metal itself was in pretty good shape. Isky had a helmet in her hand. She placed it in the center along with the blades as Jace had a bigger prize. Veshy was helping him with a large wood box. It was pretty well preserved too with some kind of locking mechanism.

  “If you three can back up some and hold out your lights. There is some kind of trap on it that still seems functional. Not sure what it does but I am trying to get it open.”

  It was several tense minutes before Jace finally had the box open. He whistled at the content, drawing out what looked like a copper dagger at first. A jewel shined in what Raven thought was the hilt till Jace held it flat on his hand. She could see tiny cogs around the crystal and a rod of some kind rather than a sharp point.

  “Wow. This alone is worth the trip! Even if the device it is meant for is destroyed.” The man was nearly dancing in place. “I don’t think we should leave it on the ground. If we find what it goes to it will be down there.” He gestured at the other ramp.

  “Sensible.” Veshy agreed, “But let us not forget we have more to explore on this floor. Two more doors. This is just the first bit of real loot.” That was true. The item was worth more than the metal Raven had found.

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  Leaving the opened box and the metal behind the party made their way to the next door to continue their exploration.

  ————————

  I had the library book in my bag as I waited in line at the sweet bug stick stall. I was both shocked and very pleased to find one here in the city. It reminded me of back home, one of the open air shop stands that I would run into during my days off from school. Here as it was back home it was staffed by a tall, willowy talloni, one of the forest folk. Unlike their herd cousins who were more squat and muscular, the forest ones could eat bugs, eggs and a few other animal byproducts. Not meat but there were not full herbivores. These sticks were slathered with some kind of hive insect extract. Honey was the name, and it was so much sweeter than the normal saps I’d had growing up.

  I bought several, two for me to enjoy as I walked home and one to offer to the professor. I’d seen several aulteruns enjoying them as I’d gotten to the stand. The kind of bugs and what they were dipped in might have been different but the treat brought back so many memories. My brother, sister and I all enjoying them on a cool day. Back then most of the people on the streets would have been fellow Zagarieans with a few other races mixed in. But here I was all alone.

  Sadness crept in along the edges as I made it back to the townhouse. I still held onto the last stick covered in bugs I could not identify. I breathed in hard, composing myself, as I walked in the door. “Good day professor.” I greeted, seeing that he was already awake and putting on a pot of water.

  “Ah, good evening my boy. How go your studies at work?”

  I offered him the stick which caused his head to rotate a bit. Strange reaction really. “You really are a generous child.” The old man quipped.

  “The studies are going well.” My ears dropped a bit, heating on the edge. I wasn’t really a child but his praise made me think of my parents, or even grandparents given the age difference. “I, well, actually brought home a history book to read.”

  The professor stuck the stick in his beak, watching me as he enjoyed the treat I had brought him.

  “It is on the final days of the empire.” I continued, pulling the book out of the bag and laying it on the table. Bibbel actually walked in the door at that point, pulling books and papers from his own bag. He stopped to see what I was holding and nodded his head.

  “Ugh, I remember that one from my history class. Required study when it comes to the formation of the guilds. Guilds kept people together after the fall and kept them from being absorbed by New Rome.”

  “Now Bibbel,” Thanolin began, removing the now empty stick from his beak, “If you paid better attention in your history class that is not the only reason. New Rome realized they were in danger of over extending themselves if they pushed any further north of their current territory. They came very close to a civil war and the guilds took on a role that was once that of normal governance when it came to the new cities being built in the region.”

  That mostly went over my head as the two lapsed into a heated discussion. It was enlightening really, a teacher and a student debating history and why nations did what. It was probably somewhere in between that. Not that it had anything to do with my interest. As their voices rose and the pot began to bubble I cleared my throat.

  “If I take a class on guild history I can join in this discussion some day, but right now my interest is in something I found out about when I read snippets of this book earlier.”

  Thanolin turned back to the pot and started stirring. Bibbel sat down, sail raised high as I actually had his attention. “Go on?” He pressed.

  “Demons, are they actually a thing?”

  The professor stopped stirring, adding a few things to the pot as he turned to me. “Oh yes, very real.”

  ———

  Very real indeed. Raven and her team knew that, though this was the first time they’d seen anything like it. Not a live one or a body, but a diagram of several. They were in one of the rooms off the main defensive hall. A training room with diagrams etched on the walls and the remains of dummies meant to look like several of them.

  Multi-limbed creatures. Small winged creatures that looked a bit like kethi, but with more teeth. Creatures made of mostly mouths straight from nightmare. That is what people had been fighting when this place was built. That was what they had been hiding from. Oh she had heard stories but no one had seen a demon in a long time. At least not out here in the guild lands.

  Jace was in a corner, picking up a piece of metal that made Raven think of a hinged arm guard. He whistled though, carrying it back towards the door. “Wow. I’m pretty sure this is an intact automaton arm! As long as it does not crumble on the trip back there is a lot to learn about the gears inside.”

  At least they were finding things worth money. She was surprised though at the lack of fighting treasures. No fancy weapons or armor here amid the training dummies or what had looked to be an armory room. Only rusted old bits of metal and scraps of leather too damaged to salvage. Water had evidently dripped in there at some point, ruining it all.

  After Jace added the arm to the small pile at the guard post the group started their decent down the next ramp. That’s when the smell hit her. They had just turned into what used to be a main barracks area when she noticed that the air was no longer stale. Instead an earthy musk mixed with subtle rot entered her nose. The two orath picked up on it too, their face tentacles flailing a moment. The human turned around with a confused look on his face.

  “What?” He asked. Humans were not known for their senses of smell so it was easier for him not to notice.

  “Be careful,” Veshy warned, moving up ahead of him, “I am detecting a den of some kind. Fresher death close by.”

  Jace had only taken the lead in the first place to check for traps. He’d even found a sprung one on the ramp down. Now though he took his place behind the [Fighter] and pulled out his crossbow.

  Raven was already holding her staff because of the light at the top. Now she gripped it in case of danger. Instead of spreading out in the wide room lined with broken bed frames they stuck together.

  “I see the breachs!” Isky announced. She was standing on a mound of dirt half concealed between two beds they were nearing. Fungus grew in patches leading into the wall where tunnel, around the size of the orath themselves but wider, corkscrewed down out of sight.

  “A tunneler.” Veshy swung her eyes around as if she could see whatever had made it. Raven looked up at the ceiling too, pleased that it was empty. “What do we know that could make such a tunnel?”

  None of them knew, which worried Raven. No telling what it could do or how dangerous it might be. That was assuming it was still in the bunker. The paracrest knew they would not be taking chances. Undead were one thing but everyone knew how to deal with those problems, as scary and disturbing as they were. She almost wished that it was some kind of undead down here with them.

  ———————

  It was decided in the group that they would only do an enemies sweep through the third floor. Once it was deemed safe lower down they could come back to find what they could. This floor was dedicated to sleeping given the remains of beds. There were partial skeletons amid the debris as well, hard to tell of what at a glance. More Talloni, a few others. Raven thought she saw a paracrest skull amid the dirt that had become spread over the sleeping room.

  In the end they found nothing to fight in these chambers, only the nests of rats, mice and small insects from their quick examination. None of those threatened the adventurers so they went deeper into the complex.

  The fourth floor, several more already sprung traps lay along the route. As well as dirt from the previous floor. The stench intensified down here, raising Raven’s sail high. Her instincts screamed predator. Even her tail went ridged with the need to run from it, but her training kept her in place.

  Everyone had their weapons ready now as they came down the twisting ramp to another large hall. More dirt and bits of rock amid the remains of tables were easy to see. And then there was movement in the dark of the room. Something large against the far wall, visible only for a moment as it moved, letting their lights reflect off its shiny surface. Then it turned, showing off a wide mouth with various scraping and pulling pincers. And claws. It had two large clacking claws out front that could easily grab prey or help dig. It had too many legs to count, most of them attached to the wall as it pushed off and headed in their direction.

  Isky and Jace fired their weapons at the things head as everyone spread out. The missile bounced off harmlessly and that didn’t surprise Raven as it got close. It didn’t seem to have any eyes. Its body was covered in thick chitin with only small hair-like structures in places likely for picking up vibrations.

  Raven hoped that the others picked up on that as she tried not to move as it passed her. Instead, she started weaving a spell. Unbalancing this thing sounded like a good idea in her mind, but was it possible with all those legs? She had to try.

  The paracrest heard Veshy grunt in pain with the sound of a claw clacking. She could see, even with some of the light stones rolling on the ground, that the orath’s shell was being pinched. But she was far from helpless. Her own swords slashed at the creature, shedding green gore across he floor from a good strike.

  Isky and Jace started to circle, looking for weak points along its armored carapace. The other claw flashed out, knocking Jace back into the broken tables with a swiftness that worried Raven. She didn’t have time to check on him though from her position as she finished calling on her water magic. A wave washed along the floor and up against the wall where the creature’s legs were, knocking it off balance.

  “Jace!” Isky cried out, moving to him as Veshy flashed her blades again. The orath got free from the grasping claw, blade sunk into a joint.

  “Ugh… I’m alive..” The human called weakly. That might have been a mistake as the underground dweller focused on the sound of his voice, already trying to stand. One claw tried to shake Veshy lose as another snapped at Isky and Jace.

  Raven couldn’t see what happened from her position but she could hear more screaming from her companions. She had healing magic, but she was also behind the thing and knew it was up to her to distract it. She sprinted back along the now somewhat clean floor, the water having already vanished back into magic. She started smacking her staff into the ground shouting “Hey! Over here!”

  It turned at the sound, still trying to shake the embedded orath off its claw. The feet were now all planted on the ground, scuttling towards the [Mage]. Veshy seemed fine, attaching her foot to the side of the creature as she worked to dislodge her tentacle blade from the joint. She didn’t know how the other two were, but she couldn’t help them if they were hurt right now anyway. She focused on her other skills, her [Body Adept] ones.

  It rushed at her as she planted herself before it. The free claw reached forward and she spun with a devastating kick. She had worn boots for this expedition and they cushioned her foot from ridged parts of claw, but the force she pushed into the limb caused the entire section to break from the joint and fly off in an explosion of green goo.

  A scream of sorts issued from the creature’s mouth, the body rearing up even as Veshy relieved it of its other claw. Raven let out a sigh of relief. It wasn’t over, but its worst weapons were taken care of and she had people to check on. Leaving the [Fighter] to handle things she ran to where Jace and Isky were.

  Red blood was everywhere. Jace was breathing hard, coughing the stuff. Never a good sign. A [Healer] would have been a sure thing to fix this. Raven had to hope that her own healing magic would be enough to keep him going as she started to cast.

  —————

  As I spent the night reading about the last days of the empire I caught something interesting. It spoke of building bunkers. A practice that both herd talloni and terrisians spearheaded since they built underground all the time. I wondered if it was one of these bunkers that the adventurers had found.

  I continued to read the section about the bunkers, finding that most of them couldn’t be built as deep as they wanted because it often attracted burrowmaws, a large subterranean creature attracted to vibrations. They needed special sound emitters to drive them off.

  The descriptions of them made me think of the bugs I’d had on the stick today, only much bigger. I hoped that if those adventurers had really found a bunker that the emitters still worked. Who wanted to run into something called a burrowmaw in the dark?