Hero Tales: Expedition to the Old Dwarven Settlements

[Andreas the Wise]

Once upon a time, in the years before the Chronoclasm, the Kingdom of Novatainia began to construct a tunnel system. Their aim was to connect all their major population centres underground, with tunnels large enough for a tank or dragon to go through, to provide a refuge and escape route in times of war. Andreas the Wise, Lord of Magic of Novatainia, was just about to announce the completion of the tunnel system to the media when his dwarven engineers made a worrying discovery. They had uncovered a far older antechamber leading into an ancient tunnel system. King Lachlan the Good, suspicious of magic at the best of the time, ordered a full investigation of these old tunnels before he would be happy to use the new tunnels – he didn’t want to risk old magical beasts stumbling into his country’s defence system. So Andreas summoned the best heroes and mages from Novatainia and Toketi to join him in an expedition to explore what he expected were the old dwarven settlements.

“This possibly traces back to early in the Second Age,” Andreas explained to them, when they were all assembled - Arnole, Lord of Magic of Toketi, Bayen Praygulin, his second in command, Longbow, Duke of Cride and greatest friends of the dragons in that region, and Andreas’ own brother, Nicholas the Mad, High Druid of Land. Phoenix, the other leading Novatainian mage, was off working on a secret project for her people the elves, and so wasn’t able to join the others. “Back then and earlier in the First Age, the dwarves had a massive tunnel system deep under the mountains. It even included the secret meeting chamber of the Low Council, an alliance of dwarves, krynii and merpeople, with a maze between it and the main dwarven tunnel network, and a secret passage into the ocean to allow the krynii and merpeople entrance. But something happened – some great disaster – that caused the dwarves to seal their tunnels, and the Low Council is never heard of again. From then till now, the dwarves have delved far shallower tunnels, never daring to return to their ancestral home.”
“But now you think this is that ancient tunnel system?” Bayen queried. “You sound like you hope it is – I know you always love to solve mysteries of what happened in history, but you would have more to go on than just a hope if you called us in.”
“You know me too well,” Andreas smiled. “Come down into the antechamber and see.” He led them down the Novatainian tunnel network and into the accidental entrance into the antechamber. There were already a number of dwarves in this chamber, starting the exploration and mapping, as well as a representative of the krynii and of the merpeople watching on – the latter with a charmed bubble of water around her head to allow her to breathe above water. Andreas introduced them as Luna and Marana – both there to observe and report back, particularly if the heroes did find the Low Council meeting room. After introductions were made, Andreas pulled the heroes away to show them the more worrying find.
“In this chamber we found bones of both krynii and dwarves,” he said, lowering his voice. “Some are blackened, and some are … gnawed.”
“Gnawed?” Longbow asked. “What would have done that?”
“Hopefully whatever it is died off long ago. But notice where they were found,” Andreas said, pointing to an area of the cave where rocks and boulders had been used to block off a passage. “We used a spell to trace that passage – the entrance is overgrown now, but it goes to the surface.”
“So the bones you found were either of people trying to get out … or to keep something in,” Bayen concluded.
“You were right to call us together, Andreas,” Arnole added. “If there is anything left here of what caused the scene we’ve found, we want to ensure it remains trapped or is eliminated – the last thing we would want to do would be unleash some new evil on the world.” In days to come, they would all have cause to regret those words.

Some of the dwarves were already off surveying the passages leading out from this chamber, so as they waited for them to return and report, they began to look around. Nicholas’ eyes were drawn to a carving on the wall of a dwarven battle scene, and as he traced around it with his fingers, he suddenly felt a warmth, and the scene glowed and disappeared. “Hey guys, I think I found something,” he called out. Behind the scene was a small room filled with large glowing crystals. He was walking in towards them when Arnole caught sight of them and yelled “Stop!” He pulled back as the others joined him.
“You recognise these?” Nicholas asked.
“Those are engorged mana crystals,” Arnole cautioned. “Touch them and there won’t be anything to put in your coffin but air. They’re highly explosive.”
“That sounds … dangerous. Why would the dwarves create such things?” Bayen asked.
“Create is probably the wrong word,” Arnole replied. “Mana crystals form naturally in areas of high magic usage, and are an aid to the strength of spell casters. But if too many of them come close together, they start feeding off each other’s magic and become engorged like this – super-charged if you will. Touch them and they explode – and you want to be well away when they go off.”
“Dwarves know their minerals too well to have left these here by accident,” Bayen mused. “And like humans, many dwarves don’t have magical powers …”
“What are you suggesting, Bayen?” Andreas asked.
“Let me show you,” Bayen replied. He grabbed a couple of the dwarves still in the chamber, and after a quick chat, one came up, wearing gloves, and carefully picked up one of the engorged mana crystals. Nothing happened. More confident, he removed his gloves and touched it again – all was fine.
“They must only react to magical powers,” Bayen explained. “Non-magical beings can pick them up fine – like most dwarves. That still doesn’t explain what purpose they kept them for, but at least suggests a means to transport them out later.”

At this point, several dwarves approached the heroes, ready to report from their scouting. “Most of the tunnels lead only a short way, into other side rooms off the main chamber, m’Lord,” the dwarves chief engineer, Jarach, reported. “There are another two going upwards that are blocked off as the entrance to this chamber was. Only one seems to go on for any reasonable length – after a few sidechambers it branches off into three, all delving deeper underground. I am 97% confident, from the tunnel markings and design, that this is the beginning of the maze surrounding the Low Council Room.”
“We shall have to go there and investigate,” Andreas said, ready to head there at once, but Jarach put up his hand.
“Two cautions, my Lord. One is that if this is a dwarven maze, you will need dwarves with you to help you find your way back out – our memory of passages and turns underground rivals that of any other race by a considerable margin. The second and more pressing caution, which halted our investigation and brought us back here – a little way down one of the passages, we heard breathing.”
“I’ll investigate,” Longbow volunteered. The others knew his stealth was unmatched, and nodded.
“If we go to where the three passages start, are our voices likely to carry down the tunnel you heard breathing?” Andreas asked.
“It should be far enough back to avoid that,” Jarach assured him.
“Then let’s all go there and wait for Longbow to scout,” Andreas recommended. The others agreed, and they went off.

As they waited for Longbow to return from scouting, Bayen asked Jarach a question that had been bothering him. “Tunnel networks like this are great for confusing foes in, but they are also a big hindrance to magic – our ability to probe magically into solid rock dissipates quickly, making it hard to send messages or teleport underground unless you can trace your way there through a path. Some of your ancestors had magical ability – surely they would have designed a method to overcome this difficulty?”
“You’re right!” the chief engineer cried. “I had forgotten to show you this.” He led them to a small indent engraved into the wall, at about hand height for a dwarf. “We dwarves did figure out a way around that problem – points like this connect into a thin web of powdered mana crystal, with a linking crystal at each access point. Touch them, and your mind can almost instantly find any other access point, communicate with people nearby, or teleport there.” He showed them all how to find and use the access point. “These will have been placed at convenient locations for dwarven access – so should be spread throughout the maze – but the web connecting them will doubtless be different to the paths you can travel with actual tunnels. Two points close in the web may be far apart in the maze, and vice versa. Of course, the inhabitants here would know both well, but for now …”
“We can communicate and aid each other, if we’re near one of these,” Andreas concluded, “without them actually helping us skip through the maze. A clever invention of your people, Jarach. Thanks for trusting us enough to show us.”

At this point, Longbow returned. “Fire trolls,” he announced without ceremony, “burning with a blue flame. I have never seen their like before. They were all in a deep sleep – but I wouldn’t like to fight the pack if they wake up!”
“Probably planted by the infernals, then,” Andreas reasoned, “fire trolls in this land have red or orange flames.”
“Another infernal summoning?” Nicholas asked. “That would make three in a few months.”
“No, these tunnels have clearly not been opened for millennia – I’d guess these were planted here before the infernal invasion at the end of the First Age, and never awoken, for some reason. Still, they’re bound to wake up if we traipse past, which could be a problem.”
“I have an idea,” Bayen said. “The engorged mana crystals. Fire trolls have magical flame – lob a crystal at them …”
“No more infernal fire troll,” Longbow smiled. “I like it. If only I were completely non-magical and could do it …”
“I have enough non-magical engineers to make the attack,” Jarach advised. “If you can wait here to stop any fire trolls coming up who might escape, we’ll use the engorged mana crystals as you suggest. This is probably why my people kept a room of them in the first place – you often find a lone fire troll deep underground, and while they may not often be of infernal origin, they still have little love for my people, and we less for them.”
Everyone agreed with the plan, and Jarach went to organise it being carried out.
“Might as well get some meditation in, while we’re waiting,” Arnole suggested, and he and Bayen sat down to begin. Andreas, though, was keen to start exploring one of the other two passages, so taking a few dwarves with magical ability, along with Luna and Marana, who were curious to see more of the maze, they made their way down to see what they could find.

It became clear not far along the passage that this was the beginning of the maze, as other passages kept branching off with no rhyme or reason, but at each turn Andreas paused and sensed for magic, relying on his dwarven guides to remember the way back. He hadn’t told the others, but he hoped that the Low Council room might do more than solve the mystery of their demise – he hoped it might also contain the magical orbs of those three races, all of which had been lost since the Second Age. He could sense something magical around, but as he zeroed in on it, he was led not to a room but a stretch of blank wall. “There’s something beyond here,” he said, “but knowing the maze, it could be just behind these walls and yet take several hours of walking to get there.”
One of the dwarves started knocking on the wall in different places, and announced, “It’s hollow. There must be a catch here somewhere …”
He and the other dwarves kept knocking, and Marana the merwoman put her bubble head up against the wall to better hear the vibrations. Doing some quick calculations, she touched a particular spot and held it lightly. With a grunt and a grinding noise, the whole wall shifted back and rolled out of the way, pulled by some unseen mechanism. Inside was a cache of scrolls, some in the dwarven tongue, some in the common language of the First Age, and some in the common language of the Second Age, as well as a grand mural across the wall. Andreas studied it, as some of the dwarves with him picked up the scrolls and started transporting them back to the main antechamber, for later study. The scenes on the mural were not all clear, but they suggested a fire falling from the heavens, fiery beings deep underground (Andreas guessed this a reference to the infernals planting fire trolls), scenes which suggested flying cities, and – in sky, woods, underwater and underground, something he couldn’t quite make out but which nevertheless gave the clear impression of … hunger.

He heard a sound and turned around, to find that the dwarves, krynii and merwoman seemed to have all left but Bayen was now there, fiddling with some sort of strap. “There you are, Andreas,” he said, “I’ve been looking for you.”
“What happened to the others with me? And weren’t you meditating?” Andreas asked, confused.
“Oh, they were all carrying stuff up and so I came to get you. I got bored of meditating, and started working on designing a good leash for my pet squirrel,” Bayen replied casually. Andreas was instantly suspicious – while Bayen was well known for liking squirrels, having the ability to transform into one himself, he didn’t keep them as pets and certainly wouldn’t put one on a leash. But Bayen, if it was him, didn’t seem to notice Andreas’ silence, and simply said, “Let’s get back,” clapping Andreas on the shoulder in a friendly way. Andreas started to move, cautiously, ready to make a run for it if he had to (even knowing he’d soon get hopelessly lost in the maze if he did). But Bayen’s hand stayed on his shoulder, as if stuck there, and when Andreas reached up to pull it off, his hand became stuck to it too. Bayen’s face smiled a crooked smile he would never normally do, and then the face went blank and grey, as all of his body – clothes and all, became silvery and smooth. It was some sort of doppleganger, a being who could change its form at will.

“I’ve been looking forward to finally meeting you, Andreas the Wise, Lord of Magic,” the being said, its voice now neutral, no expression on the blank face. “So kind of you to visit – we haven’t had many visitors down here for some time.”
“I’m impressed you’ve even heard of me, if you’ve been down here for as long as I think,” Andreas replied carefully.
“Oh, longer than that,” the being replied. “And you do yourself a disservice – we may have been down here a while, my master and I, but we’ve still heard whispers seeping through in the dark. Once they were of the skyrin and the purge, then of Arnole and Storyash in Toketi, and in the last few months they have been all about you.”
“Ah, but you appear to have me at a loss,” Andreas replied.
“Oh, by all means, have your hand back,” the being said, and Andreas felt his hand unstick. “I’ll keep your shoulder for now, if you don’t mind – wouldn’t want you running off before we’ve finished out little chat.”
“Thanks, but actually I meant you know all about me and I don’t even know your name,” Andreas responded, rubbing his hand – it was still a little sticky.
“Call me merely the Servant – servant to the Whisperer.”

The Whisperer Andreas had heard of before. He appeared throughout history, always in the background and shadows, having the ears of rulers or warlords and leaving disunity and corruption in his wake.
“Oh Andreas, always going to history,” the Servant commented. It could have been a joke, but it was delivered in the same expressionless voice as all it had said in this form.
“You can read minds?” Andreas began.
“Minds … not easily. Faces … like a book. I’ve had more than enough of my own, to be sure,” the Servant replied.
“So I know about you, but tell me more of your master,” Andreas said, changing the subject.
“You think I’m some villain who will gloat and reveal their whole plan to the hero? Think again,” the servant replied.
“Oh, so you don’t know his plans,” Andreas responded, taking a stab in the dark. “What did you do, fail him and get trapped down here in punishment?”
“No, you fool, my master knows I am his loyalest servant,” the Servant replied immediately, the slightest hint of anger in its almost expressionless voice now. “Our presence here was merely the result of an … underestimation. During the First Age, my master went to great lengths to ensure the seven orbs were separated. Those damned infernals took advantage of that, but their efforts were only partially successful. The Low Council remained, so my master came here personally to finish the job. Unfortunately, the dwarves managed to trap us down here, and as great as my master’s powers of persuasion, words only go so far with rock walls. But we have bided our time and listened to the outside world, waiting for someone to find and release us. At first we thought it would be the Tokian mages, but imagine my delight when it turns out to be you. The boy who rose from nothing to suddenly become Lord of Magic, apparently with no prior training? What secrets lie within your mind? Let me take a look.” The Servant’s hand released his shoulder and with both hands it reached for Andreas’ head. This, Andreas decided, was going too far, and from his staff he had laid to rest by a wall he fired a bolt of light into the back of the Servant. To his surprise, it reacted strongly against it, as if it had been fire, not just light. Then a voice could be heard, calling Andreas’ name. With a hiss, the Servant disappeared into the darkness. Bayen came around the corner. “Still here Andreas?” he said, seeing him in the chamber. “We worried you might have trouble finding your way back, even though you said you’d be fine when you sent off all the others, so I came back with one of the dwarves. The fire trolls have been dealt with.”
I didn’t send anyone back, Andreas thought to himself. Must have been the Servant. But I should check.
“Just tell me Bayen – you don’t have a pet squirrel, do you?” Andreas asked.
Bayen looked genuinely offended. “Of course not, I let them roam free,” he replied.
“Good, it is you then,” Andreas said. “Let’s go back, I have something to tell everyone.”

The others were troubled when Andreas explained about the Servant, and his doppleganger abilities. “If you’re suspicious of someone again, try reaching out to their mind,” Arnole advised. “We know each other mentally – a being such as that would feel very different. Just be careful not to connect – who knows what it is capable of if you did.”
“We should also travel in groups, and keep an eye on each other,” Bayen recommended. “Best with someone we know well, so we can recognise if something seems off.”
“A good idea,” Arnole agreed. “I suggest Andreas and Nicholas, yourself and Longbow, and I lead a third party. We’ll want a few dwarves in all groups, and Marana and Luna can come with me,” he concluded. “Marana and I know each other, and I can tell from your expression, Luna, you’ve been wanting to ask me questions since I arrived.”
“Let’s keep in regular communication using the web Jarach showed us,” Nicholas added. “If you encounter more than you can handle, there’s no shame in asking for help.” He looked pointedly at Arnole and Andreas, both of whom had a tendency to think they could solve problems alone. The others agreed, and they split up to explore the maze, Luna beginning to ask Arnole questions about Storyash academy as they left.

Meanwhile, Tsunade, mistress ninja, was out hiking in the Barrier mountain range in Novatainia. Her ninja order was considering expanding into Novatainia, and looking for a suitably deserted mountain location to establish a dojo. But as she was walking, she felt some vibrations under her feet. Carefully, she crouched down and put her ear to the ground. She could definitely hear something underneath … her order wouldn’t want to disturb local underground wildlife, so she got up, intending to move away, but at her next step her foot went straight through the dirt and she plummeted twenty metres into an empty chamber. Rolling to avoid hurting herself when she landed, she’d already drawn both swords as she got up, but there was nothing immediately noticeable. Looking back up, there was a narrow shaft she seemed to have fallen through – a small amount of sunlight filtered through, casting a dim shadow over the room. She appeared to be standing on a stone table, and a corridor led off beyond it. Some old tunnel system, she thought to herself. Might as well look around a bit, see if this might be useful for the order.
Then she heard a low moan from around the corner. Swords still drawn, she slowly stepped down from the table (it was very short, as if designed for dwarves) and crept down the corridor. Around the corner someone was lying down in a heap – they looked like a human gone feral, covered in tatters of clothes. They were who was moaning.
“Are you alright?” she asked, keeping her voice calm and soothing.
It looked up, locked eyes with her, and with inhuman speed emitted a piercing scream and leapt at her, inhumanly long claws on both hands. Her training kicked in, and she sliced with her swords, once, twice, and its head was off. The body started to make a noise, as if it were sizzling, but before she could look, another of those creatures came down the corridor and leapt at her, fangs bared and going for her neck. She held up her swords and the creature almost impaled itself on one, though got in a swipe with its claws before it twisted out of the way and only got nicked by a blade. She sliced again and its head came off too, far too easily, as if it were all made of flesh and had no solid bones. Before she had time to investigate further, she heard several hungry moans from further down the corridor, where it branched off into two. She considered the time it would take her to rig a rope so she could climb back up the shaft she’d fallen through, decided against it, and ran off down the corridor branch without moaning sounds. This could get interesting …

Back in the tunnels, the team Andreas and Nicholas were leading had just encountered one of the same creatures. Nicholas had transformed into an owl to improve his night vision amidst the dim lights they were using to illuminate the tunnels, and it was he who spotted the creatures, far ahead in the long straight part of the passage they were currently following.
Something ahead – looks alive, certainly humanoid, Nicholas commented mentally. Andreas signalled to halt and be silent, and asked mentally Has it noticed us?
Not yet, Nicholas replied. Wait, it’s turning towards us …
The creature emitted an inhuman scream and dashed towards them, eating up the distance between them in no time. Andreas raised his staff and fired a bolt of light at it, hoping to blind it, and it screeched and fell to the ground, twitching. But the damage was done. Both mages could sense the presence of dozens of minds zeroing in on their location now, alerted by the creature’s cries. “Draw weapons and let’s get moving,” Andreas said, signalling them forward to push past the still twitching creature. “Soon we’re going to have company. Let’s see if we can find a room where we can actually spread out for a fight.”

Tsunade already had a fight on her hands, having dispatched another half dozen of the creatures, and more were behind, pursuing. Though she could deal with a few at a time no worries, even her skills might not be enough if a pack of them attacked at once, and she still had no idea what they were – so escape was the best option. Dashing onwards, she came into a wider chamber, and heard something moving at the other end – the quieter sound of steps almost masked by the thumps of running feet behind her. Before she could look further, she found herself lifted up by an unseen force and carried to the roof of the chamber.
“It’s just me, Tsunade,” came Bayen’s voice, and looking around she could see him, Longbow and a couple dwarves rising up to meet her on the roof. “I saw you and Longbow heard something pursuing, so I figured the roof might be the safest place to chat. What’s up?”
“Next time warn me before you pick me up, mage,” she said, annoyed by the unwanted magic, but also glad to find allies. Below them, the creatures that had been pursuing her raced into the chamber and looked around for a few moments, confused, before looking up and roaring at the hovering figures, a roar full of hunger.

Andreas, Nicholas and their company had been pursued too, though they’d made it to a smaller chamber with only two other openings, and with their backs against them, prepared to make a stand. The creatures came running in, and Andreas and Nicholas began blasting at them with magic, while the dwarves fired with pistols at the creatures running in, ready to switch to axes when they got closer. The bullets seemed to have little effects, but the creatures reacted to the burst of light each time a gun fired, and especially to blasts of light from Andreas’ staff. Andreas watched the face of one become silvery for a moment in the light as he shot it, and several of the ones that had fallen were already beginning to bleed silver. “They’re some sort of doppleganger,” he cried, “perhaps lesser forms of the Servant. Maybe this is what the original dwarves and krynii sealed up the tunnels to avoid.”
“Fight now, classify later,” Nicholas replied, teeth clenched. “Even if they were looking humanoid to make us let our guard down, they lost that advantage with the whole screaming and attacking thing.”
“Bullets aren’t working, switch to axes,” one of the dwarves cried. Most of them switched, one providing final covering fire, as the enemy creatures pushed forward.
“We’re going to need help, we can’t hold out that much longer,” Nicholas said.
Andreas glanced around and saw one of the access points Jarach had shown them on a wall nearby. Stepping back and reaching into it with one hand, he sent out part of his mind, broadcasting a cry for help to anyone nearby.

Longbow, Bayen and Tsunade were also seeking a way out of their predicament. It seemed more of the creatures had been following behind Bayen and Longbow, and there were now at least fifty below.
“I have a few explosives on me,” Longbow suggested.
“Can you bring down the roof on them without bringing it down on us first?” Bayen replied. Longbow shook his head. “Maybe not then.”
“I found my blades went through them easily,” Tsunade suggested, “like they didn’t even have bones. Could you, I don’t know, hover me above them and let me slice away?”
“We have our axes too, just let us at ‘em!” the dwarves with them volunteered, to a cheer.
Bayen wasn’t confident on this plan either. “I think we need help,” he murmured. As he reached out his mind around the room, hoping there was an access point nearby, he heard Andreas’ message.
“Grab my hand,” Bayen said.
“Hey, just because you may be technically saving my life, doesn’t mean you can hit on me …” Tsunade began, but Bayen stopped her with a laugh.
“No, I’m going to try and teleport us out, but I need us all to be physically linked,” Bayen explained. Everyone on the roof grabbed each other’s hands, then Bayen navigated them towards the access point. But it was surrounded by the creatures and too far to reach. “Longbow, I need a distraction.”
“On it.” From his magical bag, Longbow pulled out several packs of C4, and, using one of the few spells he liked, lit them. “Try eating this,” he suggested to the hungry creatures moaning below them, and lobbed C4 into an open mouth. It bit down for a moment, then its head exploded. He threw the other packs as Bayen, taking advantage of the confusion, reached down and touched the access point, and …

In an instant, they were on the roof in the room Andreas and Nicholas were in. Bayen navigated them down to safe spots on the floor, weapons ready, and with their forces joined, the creatures were soon repulsed, some pooling in silver blood on the ground, the rest electing to make a tactical retreat until they had better odds. Longbow lobbed some more C4 after the retreating ones, causing a small avalanche as the roof of that tunnel collapsed in on them. “That should keep them away,” he said with a grin.
“That was also the passage we came through, so we don’t know a way back,” one of the dwarves who had started with Andreas observed. But even as he said it, one of the other dwarves was scrambling up the pile of rocks and looking around. “There’s another passage here,” he called out. “Someone bring a light.”
Nicholas brought one up and transformed into an owl again, looking down the passage. As far as I can see it goes straight down with a uniform gradient for a long way – no side passages or anything, he communicated to the others.
“Bayen, if you were hiding a secret room in an impossible maze that nevertheless included frequent teleport options, how would you do it?” Andreas asked, smiling.
“Why, I’d have a secret passage bypassing the maze, so anyone looking in the maze could never find the entrance, because it wasn’t there,” Bayen replied with a grin.
They looked at their dwarven guides for confirmation, who shrugged and nodded. “Seems reasonable,” Jarach concurred. “Especially if they already had an underwater tunnel for the krynii and merpeople.”
“Then what are we standing around talking for, let’s get going!” Tsunade suggested, and after Bayen sent a quick message through the access point to let Arnole know to follow them, they set off down the tunnel, Longbow muttering at the back, “Why is the main lesson I’ve learnt underground to never stick to the tunnels actually there …?”

After another fifteen minutes of walking the tunnel opened out into a wide chamber. Around the edges were seats for people to look on, illuminated by luminescent fungi growing on the walls; in one half was a deep pool, and in the other was a short stone table with nine seats, three of which were underwater in a channel connected to the pool. In each of the chairs out of the water sat skeletons – three looking dwarvish, three krynii, and one of the dwarven ones had a book open in front of it, as if it had died while reading. All the skeletons had a gnawed look. And in the centre of the table, in the three grooves apparently made for this purpose, there sat three orbs.
“This is too easy,” Andreas said, voicing what the others were thinking. “There’s probably magical protection of some kind.”
Longbow picked up a small rock from the tunnel floor, and threw it into the room. Nothing happened.
“Perhaps the magical protection has faded over time? It has been millennia,” Nicholas suggested. And he stepped forward. Again, nothing happened, so the others joined him.
“The skeletons look gnawed,” Bayen said, inspecting one of them, “but if this tunnel is disconnected from the maze, how did those creatures get in to eat them?”
“And if the Whisperer and his servant were behind this, then why would they leave the orbs here?” Andreas asked.
“Perhaps because he knew he wouldn’t need to move them,” came an expressionless voice. Bayen cried out, as his hand suddenly stuck to the skeleton he was touching, and it transformed into the Servant. The other skeletons transformed too, into the same feral human-like creatures that had been attacking them earlier.

Andreas could sense another presence in the room, different to that of the Servant, so he silently teleported the orbs into his pocket, but the Servant still noticed his expression. “Yes, my master is around – shall I whisper for him?”
We’re going to need backup, Andreas communicated mentally to Longbow. Aloud he tried to stall, responding, “If he comes when you whisper, then who’s the master and who’s the servant?”
“I …” the Servant began, taken aback, but then another voice cut in – a whisper that seemed to bypass the ears and go straight into the mind. “I’m here,” it said to everyone. Then it began speaking directly to Andreas. “Why leave the orbs? Because I had no use for them myself, but I knew someone powerful like you would come by and find them. Just think what we could achieve with your magic, my knowledge and their power. Together, we could do great things. Bring magic into the open across the world. Use it to right the wrongs. Imagine a good, noble magical leader – imagine yourself Lord of Magic for the whole world.”
For a moment, Andreas was tempted. The vision sprang to his mind all too easily – himself leading the world to a better place. Then his concentration was shattered as Arnole and the team with him entered the tunnel. “Hello!” Arnole called out cheerfully, “did I miss anything?”

His mind turned away from the temptation, Andreas remembered all the history of the Whisperer’s evil deeds, and knew this offer too must be a lie. Mouthing a quick prayer of thanks to God for Arnole’s welcome distraction, Andreas nodded at Arnole, then turned back to the centre of the room to address the Whisperer. “Nice try, Whisperer, but you’re picking on the wrong guy – we people of faith have experience in resisting temptation – we get the aid of our friends,” he clapped Arnole on the shoulder, “and of God.”
“And we people not of faith get help from friends too,” Bayen added. Andreas could see from his expression, and from the expressions of Nicholas, Longbow and Tsunade, that Andreas hadn’t been the only one the Whisperer had been individually tempting. Absorbing the slight hit to his pride, he turned his focus back to the problem at hand – dispatching the Whisperer.

“A pity,” came the whisper again, and this time Andreas was sure everyone could hear it again, “I could have done so much with even one or two of you. Still, your deaths will be almost as convenient – why, my servant need only impersonate one of you from each nation as the sole survivors of a treacherous betrayal by the other nation, and I’ll have a war started before the week is out – what fun! It is terribly crass of me to just destroy you, I know, but needs must. At least I’m using a creature whose whole appearance is a constant lie. Dopplegangers are practically immortal you know, unless their essence is severed too much. They don’t even need to eat, but the form of a body keeps asking for food, so they’re always ever so hungry. I need merely to suggest to them that there’s a good feed here …”
A bubbling began in the pool, and dozens of fish started leaping out and transforming into the feral human form the dopplegangers seemed to favour, and behind them, they could hear the snarls of more coming down the passageway – their only way out. They were trapped. Everyone drew their weapons, preparing for a fight.
“Farewell, heroes,” the final whisper came, disappearing up the passage. “While it will be less interesting, it will be far quicker to cause chaos with you disposed of.”
“Is that guy done finally?” Tsunade commented, in the silence that followed. “He was getting on my nerves. Let’s just take these things down already.”
“Be careful what you wish for …” Nicholas replied, as the dopplegangers started attacking. The fight was on!

Soon spells and blades were flying everywhere, dwarven axes and ninja swords slashing as beams of light were shot from each of the mages. Even Luna and Marana joined in, electrifying the water and taking out some of the dopplegangers before they could even exit the water. But our heroes were impossibly outnumbered, and for each doppleganger that fell, three more took its place. In the confusion of the battle, the Servant seemed to have already escaped up the passageway after its master. Suddenly there was a boom from above, and Longbow yelled “Get back from the pool!” The roof above it exploded, dropping rocks everywhere as light shone through, and two dragons poked their heads down and bathed nearby dopplegangers in fire. Longbow’s backup had arrived! With the dragons’ aid and a well placed rockfall, the pool was blocked up and our heroes turned their attention to the passageway. Longbow’s own dragon companion, Silverwing squeezed in to join his cousins, and the three dragons bathed the passageway in fire, burning all the dopplegangers within it. As they stopped, they could hear the sounds of other dopplegangers running away behind them.
“We need to deal with those before they escape – we don’t want a whole army of dopplegangers lose on the world,” Andreas said to Arnole. Arnole nodded, and the two of them started up the tunnel, hovering over the burning corpses of dopplegangers. “You have a plan, of course?” he asked.
“And a good one,” Andreas answered, nodding. “The attack which seemed to cause the dopplegangers the most damage was magical light. If we combine our strength and tap into the access point …”
“We can spread light throughout the entire mine, burning them all!” Agreed, they sped forward to the top of the tunnel, and out of it to the access point. Holding hands, they both touched the access point with a finger, and let loose. Light shone through the whole mine, blindingly bright, and when it disappeared, even the bodies of the dopplegangers seemed to be gone. The mine was cleansed.

The others came up the passageway straight behind them, checking they were alright. “Next time warn us before you decide it’s time to shine,” Nicholas joked, still blinking after the intense light, when the Servant strolled in, still in its silvery humanoid form.
“So you survived,” it said, its voice neutral. “There won’t be a war straight away then. But no matter – my master and I thank you for clearing the way to our freedom, and this is a world full of possibilities. Already my master is whispering in the ears of warlords to the east. But before I leave, something to remember us by.” And taking out a knife, it cut off the tip of its finger and flicked it at Andreas before he could react. It burned the side of his neck, and left a silvery scar in the shape of a droplet. Then there was a flash of darkness and the Servant was gone.
“I doubt we’ve seen the end of that one,” Bayen said. “Still, at least we defeated the doppleganger hordes and cleansed the mine.”
“And for that my people are very greatful,” Jarach told him. “We’ll clear the rubble from this and survey the rest of the tunnels – it will do good for my people’s souls to be back in our ancestral homes. Though we may need to discuss with you, Andreas, about where our orb is kept …” Luna and Marana voiced their agreement with that statement. Andreas smiled, and merely said, “Later.”
“I just want to know how Longbow got our location to the dragons from so deep underground, and how they tunnelled in so fast,” Bayen asked.
“One of the magical things I like is these bags that can fit just about anything,” Longbow said, holding his up. “DH from MANA helped me kit this one out with military-grade broadcasting tech that would normally need a whole station to set up. Silverwing and some of his buddies were nearby, just in case. Once I got them our location, they just used their magic to drill down, fast.”
“Trust Longbow to have the technological fix to a magical problem,” Bayen said with a laugh.