Stonefire Temple was even more impressive inside than out. I could only imagine how beautiful it must have been in its heyday. Volcanic stone was the motif and the Dwarves had worked with it rather than against it. Stalactites and stalagmites had been reshaped into pillars with elaborate carvings of angels and dragons that glittered in the half light of the red stones. The floors had been smoothed flat and I could tell despite the mess the Kobolds had made, that an impressive mosaic made up of precious and semi-precious stones had been set into a pattern of Ara’s holy symbology. Unfortunately, the Kobold’s had left there mark on it and many of the gems were now missing leaving gaping holes in the stone floor.

  Following another set of stairs up led up a room I recognized as the Narthex. Both Saint Caradan’s and Saint Ioven’s were leagues more modern than this place, but all Churches, Cathedrals and Chapels followed a similar floor plan with few deviations for many centuries. Next I moved through the Nave or the area where worshippers would have sat to listen to the Priest’s sermons. The Dwarves had shaped the pews directly from the rock.

  I wouldn’t have wanted to sit here without some sort of cushion. That stone would have been agonizing to sit on after just a few minutes!

  Next was the Transept, which then led to a dais with an altar. For a moment, I mused that perhaps this altar also hid something beneath it like all the others had so far, but then I saw that it was cracked in half right down the middle. Nothing was beneath it but more stone.

  “Hello?” His voice echoed in the vast chamber. I wasn’t worried about the Kobolds anymore. Surely, they would have revealed themselves by now if there were any left alive. If there was anyone else hiding up here then it was time to for me to flush them out.

  My voice echoed about the Transept. I decided to indulge myself for a moment, imagining what it would have been like to preach to a huge crowd like what would have been able to fit within this grand space. I still had my dream of a small, country chapel somewhere, but to spread the Word of the Light to the many in a place like this would have been interesting.

  “Let us turn now to that moment when Great Ord stood upon the mount, surrounded by the greatest of his followers, when the Mystics of Purgatorium descended from on high to pay him homage!” I stretched out my arms and hands in the same way I had always watched other Priests do when I was growing up. It had seemed so grandiose and overindulgent back then, but now I felt the appeal in doing so. “The Great Evil lay broken and defeated, yet there were no cheers. Man had forged bonds in blood and sorrow with former enemies that would last a thousand years, but the time for oaths was ended and the masses were silent. Ord raised his one remaining hand, the other having been lost to the foul beast, and spoketh thus: ‘I must be apart from you now, but I forbid despair! I ascend to a vacant throne, but I refuse a crown! I created an Order, but it is for you to shape it!”

  I recited Ord’s final words as a mortal man, because they had always inspired me. Greater theologians than I had debated their meaning for centuries, but to me they meant that Ord had understood the importance of self-reliance, independent thought and how true leaders should guide with a mind towards changing with the times, rather than doggedly sticking to the traditions of the past. Traditions could bring a sense of security and normalcy, but they could also hold a people back from advancing. Ord knew this.

  I also wasn’t blind to the fact that some of those in Ord’s Church could be a bit heavy handed when it came to preaching to the masses about what Ord did or didn’t want from mortals. I knew about how strict some of the Abbeys and Bishops were from Brother Bernabo’s own lips. Interpretation of Ord’s Gospels could be a touchy subject depending upon what part of Aramyr you were from or from which Priest you were taking your lessons from. I had been lucky to have such open minded teachers like Father Wolric and Brother Bernabo.

  I stood there in the middle of the Transept for a minute, but heard nothing. The only thing left to explore were the inner chambers the Kobolds had been unable to penetrate. It remained to be seen if I would be able to do so either. I moved past the broken altar, but noticed there was a good sized baptismal font devoid of water behind it. There was some strange contraption set into the side of the font, but it was like no religious item I had ever before seen.

  It was a stone block set into the font that looked more like a puzzle of some sort. There were five indentations where something circular could be placed into each of the indentations to then connect with one another along rune etched groves cut into a spiral. The first of the indentations at the top of the spiral was already filled with a red gem I identified as a carnelian.

  I tried removing the gem, but it wouldn’t be budged. I could see that the Kobolds had likely tried to remove it as well by how the area around the gem looked chipped. It made me recall something I had picked up earlier. I quickly removed the Amethyst gem I had looted off the sleeping Kobold Harvester and held it above one of the empty indentations. I felt an unseen force tug at the gem as it slipped from my fingers and settled into one of the grooves with a click. A moment later, a quest notification opened before me.

  Una’s Font, Pyr’s Flume

  Locate the remaining ward gems and restore the sacred waters of Una’s Font. (2 of 5)

  Reward: Access to Una’s Cleansing waters, XP.

  Failure: Monk’s Faith Test Challenge Terminated

  This is it! Cleansing waters? This may be what I need to stave off the Murk! I don’t have a lot of time to search every nook and cranny in the Temple either. Ord, I hope I don’t have to go back down to where all those Kobold corpses are. Or I may have to. If that Kobold Harvester had one of the gems, wouldn’t it stand to reason that I might find the others waiting for me to loot from other Kobolds?

  Resigned to an unpleasant job, I trudged back to the metal door leading down to the Kobold cavern and started removing all the debris I had stacked in front of it a short time ago. The moment I placed my hand upon the door I received a soul window.

  This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  Do you wish to loot the bodies of {86 Kobold Scavengers}, {64 Kobold Harvesters}, {32 Kobold Slingers}, {18 Kobold Gorgers}, {1 Kobold Fel Shaman- K’Bargan’kek the Unfathomable}?

  Yes/No

  WARNING: Any loot left behind will be unrecoverable once you exit the Dungeon or when timer reaches 0:00:00.

  I smiled in delight. The dungeon was finally cutting me some slack and offering to search the bodies below for me. I selected Yes and my Inventory was flooded with items. Again, my extra-dimensional space proved up to the task.

  You have looted a total of 32 gold, 86 silver, 34 copper.

  You have looted {1} Fel Crystal Staff

  You have looted {32} Sling Shots (poor quality)

  You have looted {87} Rusty Daggers (poor quality)

  You have looted…

  I scrolled down the list of looted items, most of which were totally useless to me. I briefly wondered about the money I had received and if the Dungeon had simply stacked everything together into one big lump sum. Or perhaps the Fel Shaman had been hoarding gold for some reason? I decided it didn’t matter. Save for the staff, which I wasn’t sure I wanted to equip, the rest was all junk save for one of the last entries.

  You have looted {1} Jasper gem.

  “That’s three down, two to go.” Where to search next?

  If I wanted to locate the remaining gems within the time I had left then I needed help. The best thing I had at my disposal was Lore Sight, so I started using it liberally as I walked swiftly through the open rooms of the Temple, scanning everything I came across.

  I started again with the Narthex and worked my way over through to the Transept. Then up to the Choir where the Chanters, Hymnals or Psalmists would sing during services. Then it was to the Apse where the holy relics would have been stored and it was without surprise I found it ransacked. Without a doubt, this is where my new Stole of Concentration had been stored. Yet, the relic cabinet wasn’t that large. Where were the rest of Stonefire Temple’s relics?

  Lore Sight illuminated several different points of interest and I wished I had more time to explore them in more detail. Despite its dilapidated state and the Kobold’s destruction, there were still objects of art and religious significance worth further study.

  The Glorious Deep Lords of Stonefire

  Lore: This pillar depicts five of the greatest of the Deep Lords who gave their lives in defense of the Dwarven folk from the Dark Times when the first of the Red Portals began to appear in Dwarven Lands.

  Red Portals? Those represent the most difficult of Dungeons, I believe. Did the Dwarves have several in the territory? Those would make for devastating dungeon breaks if they weren’t cleared regularly.

  Advanced Lore: Brundergin Corekin of the Ruby horn, Fromdergin Corekin of the Blue horn, Durkerbash Orcsmash of the Amethyst spear, Ainsley Grithmithdottir Blueshield, and Karn Deepdelver are the heroic ancestors shown here.

  Tyrbjorn’s Victory March

  Lore: This pillar depicts the victorious march of General Tyrbjorn Sunderstone after the successful defeat of Demon Prince Morlaam.

  Advanced Lore: General Tyrbjorn personally removed the heart of Prince Morlaam and used it to close an Infernal Portal.

  That sounds horrifying and incredible. Do demon hearts power the portals Infernals use to invade Aramyr? Something to think about.

  Other than the stone carvings, which dominated the walls and pillars of the Temple, I also found something curious near the northern section of the Transept. It hadn’t escaped my notice that Stonefire Temple had no windows of any kind. I was used to seeing stained glass with the light of the Sun streaming through in a rainbow of color. Obviously being underground such a thing would have been redundant. Yet, the Dwarves had not been without an eye for art and beauty.

  Like I had seen on the floor of the Temple when I first arrived, the entire northern wall of the Transept was covered in a glittering mosaic. A cornucopia of precious and semi-precious stones had been laid out in a pattern that depicted a scene I easily recognized.

  The Fall

  Lore: Depicts the Fall of Ara as from the Dwarven point of view.

  Advanced Lore: From the Dwarves who were present at the Fall, Ara’s deathblow came not from any single demon, but from a faceless mass of darkness that surrounded and invaded his being, splitting him apart into several shards of energy.

  I can’t really dispute that, can I?

  I looked at the great mass of darkness surrounding Ara. It was like a giant octopus with multiple arms entrapping the battling God. Ara, who was depicted as a warrior dressed in golden armor and wielding a glowing sword, had six comets of blazing light fleeing his dying avatar. They were the Shards of Ara, no doubt. Elsewhere in the scene, great armies battled demons, but the eye was drawn to the closed helmet of Ara that seemed to stare out from the mosaic at the observer.

  I stared at Ara and it was as if some remnant of him stared back at me, even though I knew it was a foolish thought.

  There certainly are a lot of gemstones in the mosaic. Could any of them be what I’m looking for?

  I ran a hand along the mosaic. If I wanted to reach the higher parts of it, I would need to boost myself up somehow as it ran up nearly to the ceiling.

  “Strange that the Kobolds didn’t try to loot the gems of this one like they did the one on the floor. I wonder why they didn’t?”

  I continued to run my hand along the mosaic until my finger landed upon one of the gems used to show the Ara shard. My finger pressed down and the gem sank slightly into the mosaic with a click. I grinned.

  “Very clever.” I walked to the next shard and it was also a hidden button. I had to jump to reach the third and then the fourth. The final two I had to hoist myself up onto the small ledge that ran along the bottom of the mosaic and barely keeping my balance and carefully levering my Warder’s Staff managed to use the tip of the staff to press both gems.

  You have gained +25 Faction with Sul!

  You have gained +10 Faction with Tek!

  There was a final click and a grinding noise as a section of wall near the mosaic slide backward to reveal a hidden passage. Glancing inside, I frowned. Upon the floor were the dusty footprints of a Kobold. I now knew why they hadn’t looted the mosaic. They had found this hidden passage and hadn’t wanted to lose access to it by damaging their way in.

  Looking closely at the footprints, I wondered if they had belonged to the Fel Shaman. It would stand to reason if there were something valuable ahead, the Kobold Boss would have taken it for himself.

  Wik, take those little lizards. I’m feeling less guilty about burning them alive with each passing minute. I’d better go see what damage that Shaman did to whatever lies ahead.

  The passage, illuminated by more of the ever present red stones, led downward. I paused several times on the steps to listen for anything out of the ordinary, but all I could hear was the sound of my own breathing. There was no door at the bottom of the stairs, just an open archway. I didn’t want to just walk blindly into the room, but thanks to my recent spell choices, I didn’t have to.

  You have cast Fade.

  It was like watching all the color drain from my body. The magic had made me into a gray shadow. Pressing my back to the wall, I inched into the room. There were corpses everywhere.