"This is where I leave you." King's voice rings.
"Alright." I pat the giant king boar on the head from my spot on its back and look over my shoulder at Liaz and Goldenclaw, who are sitting behind me. "King said this is our stop."
We are in the middle of the forest, having ridden on King for about an hour to get to our current location: a massive stone structure that seems to grow from the tower floor. Embedded into the stone is a set of double doors with a statue of a beautiful woman engraved in the middle of both.
"This looks like…"
"...A dungeon." Liaz finishes Goldenclaw's sentence. "What are we doing here, Ironvine?"
"To be honest... I don't know." I hop down from King's back, my boots thudding into the dirt.
"Well, that helps." Liaz mumbles, and Goldenclaw climbs down behind me.
There's a deep rumbling, and the ground shakes. My head snaps back to the doors, which are slowly opening. The rumbling stops, and there's a resonating boom as the doors slam against the sides of the structure. For a moment, all I can see is darkness on the inside, but torches suddenly begin to burst into flames, revealing a polished marble staircase leading down.
"Go." I hear King's command in my mind. "Everything you need is inside."
"Inside?" I take a step towards the staircase.
"So we're going in there?" I can hear the fear in Liaz's voice.
"King said everything we need is inside." I look at Liaz and shrug.
If King said to go inside, I don't think it would be wise to try and fight against his orders.
"The boar? You've got to be kidding me." Liaz looks at Goldenclaw for some kind of support. "Help me out here, Goldy!"
"If the King Boar wants us to go inside, I think we should go." Goldenclaw stands next to me. "Besides, it could have killed us all already if that was its intention."
"You two are impossible!" Liaz throws his hands up. "These things are designed to kill us! You know that, right?"
"It doesn't matter." I turn around to face Liaz, channeling my inner Renald to put on as stern an expression as I can. "We promised the others that we would secure an escape route. They're probably in Denzen, risking their lives to save Glimmer. So if we have to travel through this dungeon to do it, then by the Gods that's what we're going to do!"
Without waiting to hear Liaz's response, I pass through the doors, descending the marble staircase.
"Gods dammit all!" Liaz yells behind me. "Ironvine, wait! We're coming!"
I reach the bottom of the stairs, stopping in a long corridor. The walls are constructed of ancient stone, engraved with runes pulsing with a golden light, like a heartbeat. The warmth of the forest is gone, replaced by a stagnant cool. The torches along the walls cast long shadows on the floor, which is now covered in intricate patterns that form... images of some kind.
"I said wait dammit!" Liaz and Goldenclaw finally reach the bottom of the stairs.
"Yeah, Ironvine, you really shouldn't…" Goldenclaw gets cut off by the sound of stone slamming into stone. "...What was that?"
"That... that was our exit! Now we can't leave until we beat the dungeon boss!" Liaz stares at me, his tail flicking furiously behind him. "I told you this place was designed to kill us!"
"Then we've got no choice." I look down the corridor, towards another set of stone doors at the end. "We've got to keep moving."
"Agreed." Goldenclaw steps in front of me and draws his rapier. "Let me take point. Liaz, cover the rear."
"Fine by me," Liaz grumbles. "You're paying for the funeral, just so you know."
As we travel down the corridor, my eyes are drawn towards the patterns on the floor. They tell the story of a woman and a man who traveled to another world and fought a great battle against three creatures, portrayed as a red, blue, and green flame. The images seem to almost seem to come alive, replaying the events over and over.
"Ironvine, I know you're a pacifist and all…" Liaz's voice snaps me back, giving me just enough time to stop myself from crashing into the back of Goldenclaw. "...but you're going to have to fight. If you don't, you'll just hold me and Goldy back."
We're in front of the set of doors. Just like when the entrance to the dungeon opened, the ground rumbles and they swing open, slamming into the walls on either side. We are greeted by a grand archway at the other end and another set of doors beneath it. On either side of the archway stand two stone statues. One of them is a woman with four, feathery wings, long hair, a crown upon her, a set of armor, and a staff in her left hand. The Goddess Celestria. The Goddess I've found myself praying to so often recently. The other statue is that of a humanoid dog-like creature, also wearing a set of armor. Instead of a staff, it holds a double-sided sword, connected at the middle with a handle, in his right hand. In the center of the room is a wooden chest. The room is spacious, with columns reaching up to the ceiling. A faint whiff of mana permeates the air.
"Let's go." I gulp but follow behind Goldenclaw anyway as we file into the room.
"Nobody touch anything," Liaz says, sounding very serious. "We don't know what might attack us if we do."
In response, the doors slam shut behind us, trapping us inside.
"I don't think it works like that." I laugh nervously, walking up to the chest. "It doesn't seem like it's rigged to anything, so I think we're good."
"You don't understand." Liaz is looking around frantically. "There is always a monster in every room of a dungeon. It's just a matter of where."
Liaz's head snaps up, prompting me to look at the ceiling as well. There's nothing there, just smooth stone.
"Uh, guys? I think this statue just blinked." Liaz and I look over to Goldenclaw, who is examining the statue of the dog.
I stare as closely at its face as long as possible, but it doesn't budge.
"You guys are both crazy." I laugh, turning back to the chest.
I place my hand on the lid and push it open.
"Dear Gods!" I whip around. Goldenclaw and Liaz are staring up at the two statues. Now they are beginning to slowly animate.
"I told you not to touch anything!" Liaz yells, backing away from the now-moving, massive stone figures. "Didn't I tell you not to touch anything?"
"The blood of the fallen cries out for mercy." The statue of Celestria speaks, raising her staff into the air. "Will you heed the call?"
With a loud crack, I am blinded by a flash of white light.