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What sort of beast do you think is down here with us? A dragon? But it wouldn’t fit. These tunnels are eight feet tall at most.

Don’t think these walls can’t expand the same as they can close in. And it seems likely given this is a treasury owned by dragons.He glanced over his shoulder.If I tell you to run, you run.

I won’t leave you.

He held up a finger and his eyes flared.You’ll do what you need to do. I’ll get out, don’t worry about me.“We’re waiting, Caliban,” Hel snapped. “Don’t make me torture you. I’ll do it with a smile.”

Caliban sneered at him then pressed his first finger against his canine until blood welled up. Then he smeared a thin line of blood across the metal surface and said, “Caliban Drakonan.” The offering absorbed until there wasn’t a trace of it and the door lifted upward retracting into the ceiling.

“You first,” Hel said, shoving him in the back, forcing Caliban to step across the threshold and the others followed. “Presco, keep hold of him while we search for the journals. We don’t need him stepping out and locking us in here.”

Presco gripped his arm and held him close to his side. “Got him.”

Chests of various sizes looked to be tossed in here without care. Some were open with clothes or diverse decor spilled across the floor. Broken glass from pottery crunched under her shoes. There was also furniture, paintings, and even several containers of gold coins. Hel started on the right, opening lids to the trunks, moving quickly. Layala spotted a chest in the back with a book hanging out of the open corner. Shoving past all the old furniture, hopping over a broken dusty couch, and around crates she got to it and lifted the lid. The books were simple hard covers with various designs and colors. Some had pages hanging loose. They looked in almost new condition which made her believe they were spelled with magic to preserve them. They’d have to be thousands of years old.

“I think I found them.” She grabbed the first one on top and opened it to a random page and began reading.

It’s been seven hundred and eleven years and thirteen days since I set foot outside my territory. It’s more difficult than I thought it would be staying here and not exploring the realms or even other places in Runevale. I’m supposed to be a protector of the realms. It’s not in my nature to sit idly by.

Seven hundred years…of a thousand. There wasn’t time to dwell. She set it down and grabbed another book. There was one specific time that she was desperate to know. She skimmed the pages and picked up another and another. Hel stood at her side, arms crossed. “We’ll need to bring them with us.”

“I know.” The more she pulled out the more appeared beneath it as if I was spelled to keep thousands in a chest that should only hold maybe twenty at most.

The rumbling growl of the beast was louder, closer than before.

“We need to leave,” Caliban said urgently.

With her heart beating faster, she gripped the chest on both ends and imagined the aether, imagining sending the chest there. But it didn’t move.

“It’s the wards. It keeps anything from magically moving in or out.” Hel flicked his fingers and the chest lifted off the ground and floated beside her. “It will follow. Let’s move.”

As she was about to walk out the door, she spotted the glint of a golden blade. “Darkbringer.”

The low roar sounded nearby. Much closer now.

“Valeen!” Hel shouted at the threshold. “Move your ass!”

She darted for the blade, snatched it up and sprinted out the door. The group ran behind Caliban with the chest flying alongside Layala. “What is it?!”

“They are the guardians of this place,” Caliban called over his shoulder.

“That’s not very specific,” Hel snarled.

The hallways shifted and changed as they ran. Caliban never hesitated on which turn to choose. “We’re almost there!” and with the last word the corridor in front closed. Caliban ran into it and slammed his fist into it. “Damn it! They know you took something without permission.”

“They,” Layala shoved a finger into his chest. “They, they, they. What are they?”

Panting, Caliban turned and looked around frantically. “Shit,” he muttered and pressed his back against the wall sweat glistened on his brow and temples. “They’re—”

The sound of grinding stone from behind made Layala whip around. The tunnel began opening, the bricks melting away, shimmering out of existence to reveal a massive dark cavern with a ceiling that could be a hundred feet high. It wasn’t one beast but several, coming out of the shadows. Ten-foot-tall creatures with grotesque faces that resembled a misshapen lion, with great wings… and made entirely of gray stone. Each footfall rumbled the ground, like a stampede of horses. There must be twenty of them.

“Gargoyles,” Hel murmured. “I should have known.”

“What are gargoyles?” Layala whispered.

“Unkillable guardians made of stone.”

Hel appeared in front of Layala, and a sword made of blue light formed in hand. “Stay behind me.”