There had been a fairly large fight in this room and clearly the Kobolds had lost it. Pieces of ruined reptilian bodies were strewn about. Some of the bodies had clearly been here awhile as they had become desiccated and reduced to bones.

  This must be where the entrance to the Inner Chamber is. The Fel Shaman just kept throwing bodies up here trying to break in and I imagine that is what stopped them.

  That was a large golden statue, currently immobile, at the far end of the room. It had been fashioned in the exact image of Ara as he had been depicted upon the mosaic above. A large, unstoppable warrior in full plate armor, face hidden beneath a helm. That sword in the mosaic had been glowing, but I didn’t miss the dried bloodstains upon the blade the statue held gripped within its gauntleted hands. The sword’s magic would likely come alive if the guardian noticed me.

  Sanctum Guardian

  Lore: Fashioned by the genius Artificer Ganz Quakemaker, this automaton will guard the doors to the Inner Sanctum against any that do not know the correct pass phrase. It is forged from plates of Adamantium enchanted to look like gold.

  Advanced Lore: The Common tongue pass phrase to deactivate the Automaton is Ancestors Blink.

  What!? Can it really be that easy?

  I took a few deep breaths to steady my nerves. If this didn’t work, I would have to run back up the stairs and try my Flaming Honey Attack again. Against a hulking chunk of adamantium plated metal, I didn’t like my chances and I wasn’t even sure fire would do much either, but maybe if I could stun it with my cube or shadow leech it down I might be able to whittle away at it.

  Okay, here goes. I let Fade run out and my form became unobscured again. The Sanctum Guardian noticed immediately. Its eyes lit up with blue fire and it took a ponderous step forward in my direction. I ran to the left to get closer to the exit and its head swiveled to follow me. If this failed, I would have to run faster than I had ever run before. A single one of its strides equaled at least three of mine. Ord, let this work!

  “Ancestors Blink!”

  I knew it had to be my imagination when it seemed the Automaton’s shoulders sagged in disappointment. Then, it dropped to one knee, its sword pointed blade downward and bowed its head. The light in its eyes faded and the room grew quiet again. I stared at it for a full minute, my body still poised to run before I finally relaxed.

  “Ha. Haha.” Voice hoarse, I gave a half-hearted chuckle of relief then I tiptoed forward until I received a notification.

  Congratulations! You have defeated the Sanctum Guardian through careful observation and research rather than violence. Bonus Experience awarded! You are awarded 6 Green Nodes, 1 Blue Node and 1 *Gold Node.

  *Gold Nodes unlock a Divine Intervention.

  “Divine Intervention? That sounds like something that could be useful in a fight.”

  Lore: When activated within a Divine Entity’s web path, can result in selected entity performing a single task at your request. Requests are limited according to the entity’s purview and domain.

  Advanced Lore: Entity can only be asked, not compelled. Can only be activated within Tier III, Tier VII and Tier XII of the Faction Web Terminal.

  “One of the Gods will speak to me? They would actually manifest before me and perform a task I ask them to do? By all the lights of Nephilim, I can’t believe it!” This reward was the most incredible yet. I would have to be very careful with this special node, but I couldn’t yet use it anyway as I was nowhere near any of the Tier III webs yet. One day, I would be and I would have a power only Popes were said to possess.

  You gain +50 Faction with Tek!

  You lose -25 Faction with Wik!

  You gain +25 Faction with Qas!

  You lose -25 Faction with Cel!

  You have fallen below the Tier I threshold for Active Spell: [Lesser Shadow Leech]. This spell will be temporarily removed from your Active Spell list! Gain [WIK] Faction to have it restored!

  Ord’s Blood! So if I lose Faction with a God I lose spells and abilities I’ve already taken? This is the first time an action of mine pleased some of the Gods and annoyed others. Interesting. I imagine Tek liked it that I used brains over brawn. Qas probably would have hated to see such an incredible machine destroyed. Wik likely thought my actions weak and Cel? Hmm. Perhaps that I didn’t engage in some epic magical battle with the Guardian? Either way, what’s done is done. I will find a way to regain Wik’s favor for that spell.

  Do you wish to loot the Sanctum Guardian?

  Yes/No?

  I really wanted to go through exactly what was in my Inventory in its entirety, but I had no time to do so. I chose the affirmative and let the items from the Guardian flow into my subspace. Then, I scrolled through the soul windows quickly only looking out for one particular item. I found two.

  You have looted {2} Topaz gemstones!

  The eyes of the Guardian were in my hands and I now had the remaining gemstones for the puzzle below. The Guardian had been standing in front of the door to the Inner Sanctum and it was now open to me, but activating Una’s Font had to be a priority, especially if it removed the Shadowmurk from my body. I checked the time remaining on the Shadowmurk sickness.

  You have entered a Tier II (Inactive) Shadowmurk, Sector BD0002 (Stonefire Mountain Temple). WARNING! Felshard located! Contact Administrator! Shadowmurk Mutation time increased by 25%. 1 hour, 8 Minutes, 10 Seconds remaining. Exit Sector BD0002 immediately or risk permanent mutation! Mutation will be randomly determined from Blight Map Sector list.

  I had only an hour left before the sickness became permanent, but there was no way I could leave until I investigated what the Guardian had been protecting! I approached the Sanctum door, which swung open at my approach. There was only a single, flickering mana stone casting its intermittent light down upon a small dais where rested a familiar object. I grinned. I walked into the Sanctum, my eyes fixed upon the dais. A small, ovoid object lay upon a red satin pillow. A weak light glowing within its depths grew stronger at my approach and something inside me stirred in response.

  Shard of Ara [CORRUPTED]

  Grade: SS

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  Level: 999

  Quality: Legendary

  Primary: Unlocks access to [1] ARA Skill

  Secondary: +10 to All Attributes

  Lore: This shard is 1 of 6 that were recovered after Ara’s demise. The dwarves created this chamber and its Guardian to house the Shard, but a Void Infestation has taken root to corrupt its power.

  Advanced Lore: This shard has a [50%] chance of mutating the skill it unlocks. Void Infestation must be removed to keep mutation chance from rising further.

  “Wik, take it!” I cursed. The shard was corrupted and using it would result in a skill mutation? How was I to use it then? Had I already failed the Gods’ challenge? What in all the Heavens was a Void Infestation, anyway? First the Fel Shard and now this!

  I backed away from the dais and took a deep breath. I didn’t trust myself not to pick up the shard and dash it against the wall, I felt so frustrated.

  “Wait a moment. Something doesn’t add up.” The Fel Shaman had been trying for decades to break into the Inner Sanctum to no success. That was why it had been trying to awaken the Felshard below, to mutate his tribe in order to…? Hmm.

  “To strengthen the other Kobolds so they could take out the Guardian? To drive them mad and hope that they overwhelmed the Guardian with their numbers? The Sanctum was breached anyway and the Shard is being corrupted. Were the Kobolds and Void Infestation unrelated? What am I missing?” The Sanctum itself was unimpressive. A square room of plain gray stone with the dais in the middle and a mana stone above flickering as it reached the end of its life.

  “Do mana stones flicker? Don’t they usually just stop dead? Oh no…”

  A dark mass detached itself from the mana stone and oozed down to the floor in front of me. I couldn’t tell if I was looking at a liquid or a gas, perhaps it was a mix of the two. It roiled and swirled sometimes looking like a giant inkblot, other times like a horde of flying ants twisting about as if caught in a tornado. The mana stone flared back to life, if a bit dimmer than it should have been. The ooze, for that was what it looked like to me, reached out with an inky tendril to try and grasp me.

  I responded with a Minor Cube of Confusion and thank Ord it worked. The dark mass froze, distracted by the whirling cube and I slowly backed up and out of the Sanctum to give myself some space. I didn’t stop until I was next to the deactivated Guardian where I checked what Lore Sight had picked up from the dark mass.

  Infestation of Void

  Lore: No further information available.

  Advanced Lore: ERROR {7xwhsdoiu90}

  Without any other plan or logical recourse I quickly slammed the Sanctum door shut before the Cube spell finished running its course. I hated leaving the Shard, but with no knowledge of what I was supposed to do about its corruption or how to deal with whatever an Infestation of Void was it seemed best to retreat for now.

  After I was convinced the Void creature wasn’t attempting to follow me, I pushed myself back up the stairs, mentally thanking the Gods for giving me Lore Sight, despite its inability to give me anything about the Infestation of Void. Without it thus far, even had I been successful against the Guardian in a fight, I would surely have run out of time even with a victory against it.

  I was out the hidden door and quickly over to the Font where I placed the Jasper and two Topaz gems into their respective sockets. I had successfully gathered them all.

  You have successfully completed: Una’s Font, Pyr’s Flume

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

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

  I waited. Nothing happened.

  “What more do I need to do? Tek, help me make sense of this!” I reached out and tapped the carnelian and it began to glow red. “Ah! A sequence, perhaps?” Next I tapped the Amethyst and it glowed purple then the Jet…and all the gems immediately winked out. There was a rumble and burst of steam shot forth from an unseen pipe located at the base of the font.

  My skin blistered and peeled as the super heated steam struck me in the face. Pain like I had never before felt blew me off of my feet. I rolled on the ground screaming, my hands held before my face, but not daring to touch the tender skin. I’m not sure how long I laid there screaming until I finally gained the wherewithal to do something about it.

  You cast Minor Heal

  You are healed for 5 HP

  You cast Minor Heal

  You are healed for 4 HP.

  Even after I had healed myself back to full and my eyes and skin were whole once more, I laid on my back on the ground staring up at nothing. I finally forced myself to sit up after I collected myself. I looked at Una’s Font and thought about screaming at it, but I knew it was my fault for setting off the trap. Yelling at it may have made me feel better, but it was counterproductive.

  “I don’t like Dungeons,” I muttered. “Okay, let’s try this again.”

  What had I missed? There was a trick to activating the Font and I needed to pause and think. What else had I seen besides the mosaics? The pillars.

  “The pillars. Yes, of course!” I leapt to my feet, the painful accident put behind me and ran over to the pillar Lore Sight had identified as The Glorious Deep Lords of Stonefire. “There are five gems and five Deep Lords. Each Deep Lord has a relation to a specific color. Yes! This must be it. The sequence must be how they appear on the pillar.” I examined the pillar and each carving of a Deep Lord then hurried back to the Font.

  “Right then, this time I have it. I hope. I surreptitiously prepared Lesser Barrier of Light just in case. I would cast it the moment I hit a gem that didn’t light up. “First was Brunderkin Corekin the Ruby Horn, so that must be the red carnelian. I hit that first before too.” The carnelian lit up and I nodded. “Okay, next comes Frondergin Corekin of the Blue Horn, so let’s hit one of the Topaz.” With a trembling finger I tapped a Topaz and it lit up, but I still jerked back a bit, prepared to throw up a shield. It stayed lit and I let out a breath. “Ord, I think I’ve got it!” Next came the Amethyst, then the other Topaz and finally the Jet. All five gems lit up and this time the Font shook and I leapt away and cast my shield, backing away quickly.

  Water bubbled out of hidden faucets located along the rim of the font and filled until it was just shy of being full. The water was crystal clear and seemed to possess its own light, for the font gave off a soft blue glow and I could discern no other source.

  You have received Experience points.

  You have gained +20 Faction with Tek!

  I suppose I should just take a drink? Maybe just a quick prayer first.

  “All knowing Tek, Great Abacus, Sacred Number. Let your knowledge continue to grant reason to this ignorant mortal. Let the cure for the poison destroying my body and brain be these sacred waters. Sanctus.”

  I dipped my hands into the ice cold water and raised it to my lips. I drank all I had drawn, then dipped my hands for more. I felt the water soothing the last of the residual pains in my mind from the steam trap. I sighed in relief and smiled. Then, I felt something twist within my stomach.

  “Oh Gods, what is this?” Something was moving. Something was coming out!

  I bent over in half and growled in agony. It was in my stomach, in my throat, in my mouth! I opened my mouth and vomited. I groaned and heaved until I could vomit no more. Something had come up. It was wriggling on the floor near the Font. It was white and writhed like a worm. I backed away in horror.

  “That was in me? That was INSIDE ME!?” I couldn’t look away. A white worm nearly a foot in length was writhing upon the ground. I could only stare horrified as I heaved again, but this time not from the water, but from my own disgusted revulsion. “Damn you. Gods damn you, whatever you are!” My revulsion turned to rage and I equipped my staff.

  Murk Worm

  Level: 1

  Lore: These creatures are distributed through the air as microscopic crystal eggs via Shadowmurk. The chances of Murk Larvae taking root in a body are relatively low, but continued exposure to Shadowmurk increases those chances. They tend to grow in the lungs, stomach and intestine until Murk sickness becomes irreversible. They will feed directly from the infected’s Mana Core until maturity. At that point, the worm will attempt to make its way to the brain where it will dominate and mutate its host.

  Advanced Lore: They are exceedingly difficult to kill even with concentrated healing, cleansing or sacred ritual. In some cases, even after purging the worms from the body, negative Class changes will still take effect.

  I stabbed down with my staff like a spear into the Worm’s body. Once, twice, again and again I kept stabbing until the creature was nothing but a wet, mushy puddle.

  “I’d say that wasn’t too difficult to kill,” I said between deep breaths. The tip of my staff was covered in worm guts, but I didn’t care. I didn’t care that I hadn’t received any experience for my kill, either. Ord’s Blood! I had done it!

  Shadowmurk has been purged! Timer Reset!

  00:00:00

  While within Tier II (Inactive) Shadowmurk, Sector BD0002 (Stonefire Mountain Temple), you will no longer be susceptible to Shadowmurk sickness. WARNING! Felshard located! Contact Administrator!

  The Fel Shard was still an issue, but I wasn’t sure yet what to do about it. I drank another mouthful of Font water. The magic had already done its work, but my stomach was empty and my mouth tasted gross and water is still water.

  “I wonder what would happen if I poured you onto the Fel Shard? Probably just get it wet. Still, might be worth a try.” I had no reason not to try it. When a Dungeon gave you a quest it was never an impossible task and the tools to succeed could usually be found within the Dungeon itself, if one’s Class abilities were not enough.

  I found a simple pewter goblet the Kobolds had either missed or hadn’t cared to take since it wasn’t shiny and filled it with the remaining water from the font. Then, I moved it into my Inventory. Now I had a new choice to make. Trek down to the Felshard and test the water theory there or upon the Corrupted Shard of Ara behind the Sanctum door.

  “Logically, that Void creature is likely the final challenge for the Dungeon. I may be ejected from the Dungeon if I’m successful in defeating it. I should try to destroy the Felshard first, if I can.”

  I wasn’t looking forward to it, but I once again made my way to door leading down into the cavern and the pulsing shard below.