As the massive stone door to the Forgotten City slowly opened, everyone burst into action. First the Runic Guild retreated, each member in full sprint to get away from the inevitable flow of monsters. The local Hunters and the temporarily assigned knights did the opposite, forming lines on either side of the doorway, as Ethan and his team fell easily into formation, weapons drawn and spells ready.

  For weeks the steady flow of monsters had been increasing, with no way of knowing why until the doors could finally be opened. The ritual to do so was only possible once a year, at dusk on this very day. Some quirk of the magic protecting this ancient ruin allowed a small handful of people to pass through each door.

  The City was famous for its monster density as much as for its treasures, and each year the doors opening were a precursor to a deadly battle. The teams that had proven their strength would need to fight their way inside, slaughtering their way forward, desperately pushing for every possible inch. This time they suspected a new rift, or even rifts had opened inside, and there was no way to know what awaited them.

  The knights were ready. The Hunters were ready. The Runic Guild was safely away, and the Brightsouls were a blade honed and poised after months of preparation. They all stood behind Valanor’s massive shield, the anticipation palpable, waiting for the inevitable battle.

  It never came.

  Wind poured out of the darkness revealed by the open door, howling with an ominous tone, and bringing with it the smells of ancient decay…and blood. Everyone waited a few minutes longer, not ready to accept this strange twist, until finally Valanor spoke.

  “I’ll move through the door, only follow if I call the all-clear,” he said in his deep, commanding voice.

  “Are you sure?” Selina asked. “This is obviously wrong. Nothing about this is what it should be.”

  The shield knight turned to her. “We earned this chance, and we won’t waste it. If we enter and leave, so be it, but who among us fought as long and hard as we did to turn around when faced with nothing?” Selina cocked her head in consideration, as the rest nodded.

  “Be careful, First Shield,” another knight called out. “Where you go, we cannot follow.”

  Valanor clapped his gauntlet against his chest in answer, then moved steadily through the door. As he did so, the runes lit up along the base of the doorway, only filling it a small amount. Selina examined them curiously.

  “This is the true seal,” she announced. “Our passing will activate it one person at a time, then no one else can move through.”

  “How do we get out?” Cara asked.

  “You can pass the other way, the seal is a defensive measure, not designed for containment. Presumably it’s how monsters keep escaping–although they don’t take the door. There’s theorized to be tunnels somewhere.”

  “Or air vents,” Ethan whispered to himself.

  After several tense minutes, Valanor’s voice finally echoed from the blackness. “Join me, there’s nothing in this chamber.” The remaining team members shared glances, then one by one the group went through. The runes grew brighter with each passing, though a section was still dim when they were all accounted for.

  “There’s a time limit,” Selina said. “It’ll seal anyway in another ten minutes or so.” The group barely registered her words, as they hastily moved forward in search of Valanor.

  The door had opened up to a massive room, seemingly some kind of enormous foyer. Everything was the same scratched green stone as outside–and Fort Dralis. The ceiling had to be nearly forty feet up, and columns lined the walls, transitioning into arches to support the massive weight of the stone roof above them. As Ethan’s night vision rune kicked in, more details became clear, but there was virtually nothing to see.

  At the far end of the room was another door, only slightly smaller than the one they’d just come through, and some mechanism constructed from massive iron gears apparently opened it. Valanor stood next to a large lever, which presumably opened the door. As Ethan looked around, he saw virtually nothing else of meaning. There were a few destroyed crates and rotted wood, but that was all.

  He switched to [Predator’s Gaze], examining the walls carefully. He’d kicked himself upon returning to Corvale after the battle with the undead. He hadn’t found much use for his new vision’s ability to see structural weaknesses, and hadn’t considered using it in the Fort. He resolved not to make the same mistake here, but didn’t find much immediate value. The mechanism to open the door was clearly on its last legs, but the walls, ceiling, and floor were otherwise in good shape.

  The group crowded around Valanor after a moment’s exploring, each of them uncomfortable with the strange quiet.

  “The oddities continue,” Savilar said. “But be ready, past this door is the first layer, and will no doubt present some real challenge.”

  The group nodded, no one saying much as the Rift Hunter joined the knight, explaining the door mechanism. In the end it just took a strong pull of the lever, but judging by how the metal was bent, Savilar was likely more worried about breaking it.

  As the gears turned and the doors began to move, the team once again gathered in formations, ready for anything.

  Again they were confronted by nothing.

  “Why is this worse than monsters?” Selina asked.

  “We’re Hunters,” Ethan answered. “Monsters are right. Mysterious ancient ruins that are empty? That’s all types of wrong.”

  They slowly crept forward, arriving in what Savilar had referred to as the First Layer. It was as he described, an immense hallway, as large as a city street, leading off in both directions. After a few hundred feet the hall ended in more doors, presumably leading to different sections of the City. There were likewise doors leading inward, but several were clearly unusable, either blocked by debris or simply broken beyond use.

  Savilar turned to Selina. “There shouldn't be many left, but we will start encountering rune traps. Would you lead the way?” The Rune Mage nodded, looking uncomfortable with the idea, but she still readily moved off toward one of the doors leading inward, seemingly still intact.

  She only got a few dozen paces before crouching down, and muttering as a large circle of runes came to life beneath her hand. She didn’t bother explaining its purpose, merely disrupted it with practiced ease. As the team waited, grateful to have an expert with them, Ethan once again inspected his surroundings.

  Same stone, same rotten debris, nothing of note. Certainly no glowing podiums displaying valuable treasure–anything that easy to obtain would have been taken centuries ago. As he switched to [Predator’s Gaze], however, something did catch his eye.

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  “Valanor,” he called, moving to the wall behind them. “There’s something here,” he said, running a hand along the cracked and dusty stone.

  Savilar sighed loudly. “That’s the direction we came from, Bishop, we need to keep moving. Who knows how long we have before the monsters arrive?”

  Valanor chuckled. “If we can’t stop for potential treasure, what can we stop for?” he asked. “Besides, the Runemistress has work to do.” He moved to join Ethan, likewise touching the wall. His Dusk rank strength proved more successful.

  “This stone is loose,” he declared. Savilar grunted in irritation from behind, but didn’t object further as Valanor pried the stone out. Thankfully those above didn’t collapse downward, allowing the powerful knight to remove a few more below the first. At last there was enough space for someone to squeeze through, and suddenly Savilar was behind them.

  “This is a waste of time,” he insisted.

  Cara shoved him aside. “We might have found something no one’s touched before, and you think it’s a waste? Where’s your treasure sense, Rift Hunter?” She moved through the hole, and Ethan followed quickly after. Valanor simply laughed and muttered something about impetuous youth.

  It turned out to be a small room, with a proper door on one side, but blocked by rubble. An iron bed was against one wall, rusted and falling apart. There appeared to be the remains of collapsed shelves and rotten books, but it was hard to tell as everything seemed burnt. Unmistakable, however, was the body, collapsed near the door.

  “Selina, join us!” Ethan called. The two Dusk rank knights couldn’t quite squeeze their armor through, and hovered at the opening with anxious expressions. Despite being taller than either of them, Selina’s more narrow frame and lighter armor allowed her to make it through, albeit with an awkward moment as one horn got stuck.

  “What is it?” Savilar demanded. “What do you see?”

  “Dead body,” Cara reported. “Could have been an elf or a small human. Nearly dust at this point, but looks to have been wearing robes that rotted off. We also have our first treasure, it’s a staff of some kind.”

  Carefully Ethan lifted the golden staff that looked to have been made in imitation of a coiled tree branch. “My system can’t identify it,” he said in surprise.

  “Too old,” Valanor called back. “Might be a real treasure after all.”

  “Do you see anything else?” Savilar asked quickly.

  “Nothing,” Cara replied. “Some kind of fire spell went off in here, even melted the stone of the walls. Amazing that the staff survived.”

  She turned and went for the hole, but Ethan stopped Selina before she could do the same. “Just going to see if the robe has any runes worth salvaging,” Ethan called. Selina gave him a doubting look, glancing meaningfully at the robes that were barely recognizable as clothing anymore.

  “Just hurry,” Valanor called. “Sav is right that we need to keep up the pace. We have no idea how much time we can afford to lose.”

  Ethan quickly moved to the wall, quietly lifting and moving the iron bed aside. Selina followed him curiously, and he mimed for quiet, pointing at a small section of stone that hadn't melted, leaving a small piece of writing intact. “Can you read that?” he whispered.

  The Rune Mage’s eyes widened, and she immediately began tracing the runes with her fingers. After a moment she spoke in hushed tones. “The skill that allows me to translate runic languages is working overtime, but too much of it is melted. Fragments of words, broken runes…wait.”

  “What is it?” he asked, his tone a little desperate.

  “These are familiar,” she said, pointing at a small section. “‘Dralis’?”

  “As in Fort Dralis?” Ethan asked, struggling to keep his voice down.

  “No, it’s something else, it’s connected to this other symbol.” She brushed some soot from the wall, then her eyes widened again. “It says ‘Cath’, as in Cath Bridge. But they’re not locations…they’re one word.”

  “Dralis-Cath,” Ethan said aloud, then quickly swapped them. “Wait, Cath-Dralis? That’s making my translation rune tingle. It never did that when I thought of them as the proper names of locations but…Cathedralis. Holy shit.”

  “What?” Selina asked.

  “It means cathedral. I think that’s what the Fort started as, before it was rebuilt so many times.” He looked at the Rune Mage, who obviously had a thousand questions. “Please, Selina, keep this to yourself for now. I need you to trust me. This place isn’t what we think it is.”

  Telling her there was a mystery, but refusing to discuss it seemed almost like a physical attack by how she reacted. But he saw the woman literally swallow some words before forcing a nod.

  “Thank you,” he said. “I promise we’ll talk about it later, but right now it isn’t safe.” Without another word he exited the room, quickly explaining that nothing more could be salvaged to the team.

  The rest of the group was already waiting by the door to the Second Layer. Selina hastily confirmed that there were no more traps, and once again Valanor threw the lever before moving into position. For the first time they got the expected result, as a wave of demons poured through the opening.

  The team reacted with practiced ease, as the shield knight forced his way forward to keep the doorway as a choke point, and the rest of the group went to work. Cara’s bow sang as a shield of light appeared over Valanor. Savilar moved right behind his brother with maces drawn, preventing any of the goblin-like demons from getting to the weaker fighters.

  A few still skittered by on the opposite side, charging for Selina like homing missiles. They were surprised when she moved rapidly away on a path made of light, not just moving laterally but also flying ten feet in the air. From her new vantage she threw spells down at her attackers, but Ethan dispatched them quickly to save her the trouble.

  Somewhat annoyed at his own position in the fight, Ethan decided to try something he’d been waiting for. There was time for hurling daggers, and even a time for rifting into an unknown chamber to take the fight to the enemy, but these were Dawn rank demons, only a danger by virtue of their numbers. There was also a time when you needed a legendary Guardian to make himself known.

  The Dusk rank Revan appeared a fiery blast of orange light, roaring in triumph. He was now larger than a wagon, and his mane and horns had grown longer and more pronounced. He was clearly stronger and more ferocious in combat, but Ethan wanted to see something else right now. Familiars gained access to increasingly esoteric abilities as they grew in rank, and he was curious what a Dusk Revan could do.

  Understanding the unspoken command, the massive panther-like beast leapt behind Valanor, his head easily reaching over the shield wall. A small orb of Flare’s power appeared between his horns, before firing forward and slamming into the ground. The effect was similar to [Volatile Infusion], as three columns of scorching flame erupted halfway to the ceiling.

  There was a major difference, however, as the pillars didn’t extinguish. Instead, they began moving forward, zigzagging through the ranks of screeching demons. The line of enemies fell apart, utterly unprepared for such wanton destruction. Ethan felt a large chunk of his own mana disappear, and resolved not to use the ability unless it was truly worth it, but that was a hell of a show.

  The team didn’t waste the opportunity, immediately advancing through the door and charging at the remaining enemies. There was still plenty, at least in the dozens, but they were now separated and easily picked off. Cara was unquestionably the most effective, as she fired off arrows at a rate only possible through an ability, the bow working almost like a machine gun.

  Strangely as she advanced into the room, the line of arrows suddenly stopped. A few more left her bow lazily, only to fall to the floor a few feet ahead of her. Cara looked at them with utter confusion as the rest of the group moved around the massive hallway that seemed like a carbon copy of the First Layer, quickly dispatching the final demons.

  When the last of them fell, they hurried to Cara, curious what had happened. It was actually Selina that spoke first. “That is an incredible rune trap!” she said with undisguised enthusiasm. “I couldn’t see it until we were already in the room, but look! Those runes there detect the velocity of any object moving through the air, while these slow any object beyond a certain speed. It’s amazing!”

  The Rune Mage quieted as she realized the rest of the group had kept moving, and now stood in a quiet circle a ways ahead. Ethan spoke the sad truth when she caught up. “Team Arrowhead,” he said quietly. “Made up of five Archers.”

  In front of them lay five bodies, each with a broken bow, all unquestionably dead.