The entrance to the fortress was blocked by two giant doors made of black stone. They were locked with big, ancient chains and a magical purple rune.
"It's magically sealed," Lyra said. "We cannot open this."
Ren walked up to the door and put his hand on it. His System gave him a message.
[Target: Ancient Runic Seal]
[Idea Detected: [Binding]]
[To break this, you need a special item OR Overwhelming Brute Force.]
Ren laughed. He did not have a special item. But he had plenty of brute force.
"Stand back," he told Lyra.
He took a few steps back from the door. Then he punched it. He did not use all his strength, but it was still a very powerful punch.
CRUUUUUNCH!
The giant stone doors, which had been closed for hundreds of years, broke into a million pieces. Dust was everywhere.
Ren looked at his hand. It was fine. "Knock, knock," he said to a very shocked Lyra.
They walked inside. The fortress was huge and cold. The air smelled like dust and death. The dead who lived here were stronger than the skeletons outside. They were Armored Skeletons and scary ghosts called Apparitions.
The fight was easy for Ren and Lyra. Lyra's new armor and shield were very strong. She was a wall of steel, and she easily broke the Armored Skeletons. Ren was a shadow of death. He moved so fast, the ghosts could not touch him. His sword's venom was very good at destroying ghosts.
He leveled up again. [You have reached Level 14!]
The fortress was also full of traps. There were poison darts that shot from the walls, and big, swinging blades in the hallways. Ren dodged all the traps easily. It was like a game to him. He even summoned Buzz to fly ahead and set off the traps from a safe distance.
"Are you trying to be careful at all?!" Lyra shouted, after Ren caught a poison dart just before it hit his face.
"Where is the fun in that?" he said with a wink.
In a giant, ruined dining hall, Ren found a clue. It was a single silver glove. It was made by elves.
"She was here," Ren said. "Elara. I can feel her trail. It leads... down."
He pointed to a giant staircase at the end of the hall. It went down into darkness. A very cold, evil energy came from the stairs.
As they got closer, a new enemy appeared. It was a giant knight in black, jagged armor. Its eyes were burning with a cold, blue fire. It held a giant axe that glowed with a dark energy. It was a Death Knight.
A cold, scary voice spoke inside their minds.
"None shall pass into the Master's sanctum."
Ren looked at the giant Death Knight. He was not scared. He was excited. He turned to Lyra with a big grin.
"He looks important," Ren said. "I bet he drops good loot."