“Do you know where to go?” Jeze asked as she disarmed the third Rune trap.


    The two traveled together for over an hour through the Core Tunnels. They encountered dead ends that consisted of hallways that ended, and, other times, they were grand circular chambers that were empty with no exits, no furniture, and no markings. In each case, they backtracked and took another corridor. I’m truly lost, Jeze admitted to herself.


    “Your brother helped me with being able to find these dungeons. What did you call them?” Viel responded.


    “The Core Tunnels. Wait, my brother found a way to find them?” Jeze asked and rose up. She motioned that Viel could open the door.


    “Sort of, the blasted Spire keeps changing,” the tall man answered as he opened the door.


    “Watch out!” Jeze warned.


    A gray-skinned Thrall lunged forward with a spear with a wicked barbed tip. Viel grunted as the weapon pierced his side, and the tall man split his attacker’s head in half. Dozens more Thralls surged forward as the chamber ahead was packed. Despite the danger, this was a sort of a relief to Jeze as it broke the monotony of the empty rooms.


    “Should we fall back?” Jeze asked.


    As Viel fought the wave of Thralls, she Summoned Dirt and Shaped it into a Stone Wall. Jeze tapped her Earth aspect bracelet and completed a third set of Glyphs in the air with her arms and hands to Control the Stone Wall and push it to block off the entranceway.


    “No, we can take them,” the human-shaped dragon responded as he weaved his blade with deadly skill to cut down three Thralls.


    “There are close to fifty in there, maybe a hundred. Are you sure?” Jeze asked.


    Her Stone Wall chipped and shook as the Thralls struck it with their twisted weapons. These Thralls were different from the ones she had faced before. Their skin was sinewy and gray as it was stretched tightly against their bodies. She pitied the poor souls as they must have been trapped in the Abyssal plane for a very long time. But what made them different was that they were better equipped and wore golden breastplates, gauntlets, greaves, and helmets. But it seemed like the Demons skimped out on the budget because the Thrall’s joints and throat were only unprotected. Normally, with such armor, there would be mail or thickly padded armor that covered such areas to offer some protection and allow for mobility.


    “Do you recognize this symbol?” Jeze asked.


    Etched upon the breastplates of each of the Thralls was a giant blackened blood drop surrounded by red flames. She took out her Brother’s journal and quickly drew the symbol so that she could reference it later.


    “Are you bloody mad? This is not arts and crafts, little girl,” Viel growled. He glanced nervously at the Stone Wall she created as it shook and cracked.


    “Relax, I know my craft. But you should get ready. The spell is ending soon,” Jeze stated as she tucked away her journal and prepared her battle axe and arming sword.


    As predicted, the Stone Wall crumbled, and the Summoned Earth aspect faded away into the ether as dozens of howling Thralls swarmed into the chamber. Jeze was not fully convinced of Viel’s tale about him being a dragon. She figured you couldn’t believe every person who made such a wild claim. However, Viel fought extremely well against the enormous odds they faced as the chamber they were in filled with a teaming mass of howling and screaming bodies. Viel weaved seamlessly through the crowd with his sword twirling and cutting down foes like some dark god of carnage. Jeze actually believed that they could survive this encounter as she prepared her weapons to engage the dozen or so Thralls that broke away from attacking the tall man and focused their mad, howling rage upon her.


    Three of the fastest Thralls closed in on her at the same time, and Jeze rolled to the side to avoid their attacks. When she popped back up, she slashed the legs of her attackers and parried a spear thrust from a fourth. More kept coming, and Jeze felt that this would be a good time to try to blend magic and combat. None of her spells went off, for the Runes were fickle and required perfection that she was unable to provide. A spiked mace struck her hard on her shoulder pauldron, and Jeze stumbled to one knee. She barely dodged in time to avoid a spear thrust aimed at her chest. Fierce hands grabbed her and threatened to drag her to the ground. Jeze managed to break free and planted her axe through the helmet of a Thrall, and her sword stabbed another through the throat. Her focus was broken when she realized that she was being overwhelmed, and fear bubbled up from her gut like a growing flame. Jeze was starting to panic.


    “Stop messing around,” Viel growled.


    The tall man came to her rescue and cut her attackers down with fluid sword slashes. Jeze saw that he was bleeding from numerous cuts and wounds. She was also bruised and battered.


    “I’m trying to achieve Mastery,” Jeze replied.


    The two stood back to back and fought the rush of Thralls. Jeze parried and countered with deadly accuracy. She tried to find the calm she had when she fought the cultists. But, it was as if a force separated her mind from that perfect state.


    Viel snorted and grunted out, “That only comes through thousands upon thousands of hours of practice. Just focus on surviving for now and be grateful that these rageful brutes have no skill.”


    Jeze scowled but focused on the combat. She used her axe to deflect to the side a curved sword slash and countered with her blade to cut across her attacker’s throat. The Thrall fell to the ground, gurgling up dark blood. In a fluid motion, she continued her axe movement to chop upwards and shattered the jaw of the second Thrall while crouching and impaling a third just under the breastplate with her sword. All of that happened in mere seconds, and Jeze realized she had a brief window of reprieve as more Thralls charged across the chamber at them.


    With her weapons in hand she managed to Shape the glyphs correctly and Summoned a mound of dirt. The Thralls moved closer with every breath, and Jeze tried to Shape the dirt to stone, but failed. The rage filled attackers slammed into the two.


    “I told you to focus! Stop playing around,” Viel cried.


    Jeze obliged, for now, and focused on the fighting. The two circled and moved to avoid being surrounded as they kept their enemies at bay with their deadly skill. Another small window of calm presented itself, and Jeze took the opportunity to form the Glyphs with weapons in her hands to Shape the dirt into Boulders. Exhilaration filled her heart as she felt the energy snap into place, and the dirt obeyed her. Yes! She thought to herself. The Mastery she experienced earlier was not a one-off but something she could do! With confidence, she engaged the onrushing Thralls with her weapons in hand and formed the Glyphs to Control the boulders. Nothing happened, and a spiked mace struck her hard in her head. Her warm Blood spilled down her face as Jeze fell to the ground.


    “Fool!” Veil growled. That was the last thing Jeze heard as she was submerged in the deep pool of unconsciousness.


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    Time was hard to gauge as silence greeted Jeze when she came to. She felt the hard, cold stone floor through her thick, padded armor as she discovered that she was lying on her back. Jeze’s head throbbed with pain, and she tentatively reached up to feel her hair matted with blood. She flinched when she touched the tender wound on her skull, but it felt intact. That was a good sign, right? Jeze wondered. The thought of Summoning the Life aspect to heal herself caused her head to hurt even more. There was no way she would cast spells any time soon. Jeze sat up, and the world spun before her. A tall, blurry figure stood in front of her and slowly came into focus.


    “This is a good helmet. Saved your life,” the blurry figure said in Viel’s voice.


    Jeze felt something hard and familiar thump against her chest and fall into her hands. It was her helmet that she purchased from Hannah. For a quick second, Jeze wondered how the merchant was doing. This triggered a chain of thoughts as she also wondered how her team was doing. And Irvin, and then for a moment she wondered about Rainbow and Swordslayer.


    “Can you walk?” Viel asked.


    Jeze’s vision came into focus, and she nodded. With a grimace, she rose to her feet. All around them were bodies of dead thralls. The chamber was filled with them. Viel shoved Jeze’s pack into her arms.


    “I took the liberty to use a Water brick and to take one of your recovery potions. They are good. You have skill in alchemy, that is for sure,” Viel said.


    Jeze rummaged through her pack and found a potion that was infused with the Life aspect. These were expensive, but it was better to use them than to be dead. She drank from it and the cool liquid felt good as it tingled her stomach. Everything on her body hurt, and she glanced up at Viel. He seemed fine. How was that possible? He was burned, and she watched him get stabbed and cut over a dozen times.


    “How are you not hurt?” Jeze blurted out.


    “Told you, I’m a dragon. Are you ready to head out?” Viel answered.


    She was groggy from the head wound and found the man’s answer funny. The blow to her skull removed all of her inhibitors, and she said, “You are not a dragon. I don’t believe that.”


    Viel snorted and replied, “I care not what you think. But let me remind you. You swore on your Brother''s heart to help me, and breaking such a promise is a serious offense.”


    Jeze rubbed her temples. By the Night Eye, did her head hurt! “Hold your horses! I’ll help you, I just need a moment.”


    “We don’t have a moment. There is a Monster Portal in there,” Viel growled as he cut down two more Thralls that rushed into the chamber.


    The tall man shook his head and went into the next room. Jeze tentatively took a few steps and when the dizziness passed, she followed him. They were in a large rectangular chamber with a shimmering red portal in its center. It was clear that Viel intended to damage the Threshold Runes to shut it down.


    “Wait!” Jeze called out and rushed over. She felt like she was going to vomit, but the Life aspect potion was working as she felt her head wound was improving.


    “What?” Viel growled.


    “I can repurpose this portal,” she said.


    “No, I''d rather not have other adventurers coming in here and stealing my prize,” Viel said and raised his sword.


    “Wait!” Jeze cried again.


    Viel paused with his sword in the air. “More Thralls will be coming soon, so this better be good.”


    “Let me deactivate it, and after we find your Sister’s heart, I can repurpose it. This is the only way I can find my team,” Jeze pleaded.


    “Fine,” Viel growled. He took a step back.


    A howling Thrall charged out of the portal, and the tall man cut it down with ease. The Thrall fell to the ground in a pool of black blood. Jeze knelt down to work on the Threshold Runes.


    As she worked on altering the patterns, she asked, “Tell me something. Why do you assume a human form? I mean, if you are a Dragon, why not stay as a Dragon?”


    Viel sighed and rubbed his face. “My true form requires a lot of energy, much like having a conversation with you.”


    Jeze chuckled at the joke as she poured her Will into her work. The Red portal shimmered and blinked out of existence. In order to repurpose the Portal, all she needed to do was to remove the resin and reshape the Runes. Jeze rose to her feet as she wiped her hands.


    “Do you need to sleep for a thousand years?” Jeze asked as she recalled the myth from the Ironfist Kingdom.


    Viel laughed. “I don’t need to sleep for that long to regain my power. Several years in this human form should suffice,” he answered.


    “But why is everyone afraid of Mount Dragon? If you are not slumbering there,” Jeze wondered.


    “I am truly terrifying in my true form that it will keep you humans scared for centuries. You should remember that and maybe give me more respect,” Viel growled.


    Jeze shrugged and replied, “Assuming you are a real dragon. I’m still not convinced.”


    The tall man shook his head and muttered, “Your brother made for much better company.” Viel motioned toward a door at the end of the chamber and asked, “Shall we?”


    “So tell me this. Do Dragons normally exist in our realm? Or is it true that you arrived from somewhere else and are trapped after fighting the Gods?” Jeze asked as the two crossed the chamber.


    “Oh, this is your realm, is it? You humans can be so arrogant,” Viel replied.


    “You are human, and you are very arrogant,” Jeze pointed out.


    The tall man snorted and replied, “I have a right to be. I’m a Dragon.”


    Jeze shook her head as she knelt to examine the door. “It’s Rune trapped,” she observed.


    “Of course it is! Every blasted door in here is trapped,” Viel growled.


    Jeze altered the Runes with her amber resin and asked, “You didn’t answer my question. Are Dragons native here? Or did you travel between realms as stated in the myths?”


    Viel hesitated and answered, “I don’t remember.”


    Jeze poured her Will into her work and felt the energy snap into place. The trap was deactivated. She got up and asked, “Why is that?”


    “I don’t know!”


    “You think your sister’s heart will help?” Jeze asked.


    “Yes.”


    “How?” Jeze wondered.


    “I will consume it and learn,” Viel stated matter of factly.


    Jeze crunched her face and said, “Gross.” After a brief pause she asked, “Is it true then that your kind fought with the Gods?”


    “How many times do I have to tell you that I do not remember? Perhaps the Gods came here and fought us?” Viel asked.


    Jeze tapped her chin. The history was so complicated. The Fiends ruling the realm, Dragons, and Gods fighting each other. The Ones from Before working with the Goblins to shut down the Stronghold. How did it all fit in together? Clearly, Viel did not know. Would she ever unravel this mystery? Jeze wondered. She decided to ask different questions.


    “How did you team up with my brother?”


    “Were you always so bloody annoying? I told you already. He was very capable, and I needed that for the Spire,” Viel snapped.


    “You were searching for a team?” Jeze asked.


    “Yes!” Viel growled.


    “Why?”


    “Are you deaf, girl? I told you to find my Sister,” Viel responded.


    “She turned into her real form and was still defeated. Are you not afraid of what killed her?” Jeze asked.


    Viel sighed and replied, “Are you not afraid of the dangers here in the Spire? We either stay safe and stangante or rise up to the challenges that life offers in order to get stronger.”


    Jeze nodded in agreement.


    “Can I open the bloody door?” Viel asked.


    “Yes, I removed the trap,” Jeze said and added, “I think.”


    “You think? Unbelievable!” Viel snorted in exasperation.


    The tall man reached out and opened the door. Nothing happened, and it led to another chamber. This one was square shaped and unlike the others it had markings and distinguishing features such as three stone pillars. In addition, across from them was a large double steel door that was closed with no discernible means to open. The three pillars were cylinder in shape and marked with several different images that could be spun. In front of the door and beyond the pillars, a large stone pressure plate.


    “Oh, bloody hell. I hate puzzles,” Viel stated.