When the sleeping Rift Caller awoke from her nap she and the Corpse Hunter ventured deeper into the underground chamber. They were met with another winding tunnel much like the one that had brought them to the subterranean lake. Though this tunnel was void of water and glittering gemstones.

“We should be nearing the end of this journey,” Aiden said. “So tread lightly and keep your eyes open.”

“Ok,” Maria said as she followed behind him.

The man in gray clutched the lantern in his left hand while keeping the other hand on the hilt of his sword. Before long the tunnel split into a fork. One path continued straight ahead while the other curved off to the left. Aiden paused to examine the options that lay before him.

He set the lantern down and began sifting through the sand at their feet.

“What are you doing?” asked the girl.

“Asking for directions,” replied the man in gray.

The ground beneath the sand was made of the same granite as the walls and ceiling. But when the light of the lantern touched the now bare floor the image of an arrow pointing towards the left hand tunnel began to glow. Aiden turned and gave the young Ascender a grin.

“How did you know that was there?” she said.

“This is the only patch of sand we’ve run into since we entered the cove. Always be suspicious of anything that seems out of place. It’s either a clue, a trap, or in some cases both.”

They followed the winding tunnel on the left as it went deeper beneath the island. The only sound and light were that which the Ascenders brought with them. Though the passageway was wide enough for them to walk side by side, Aiden had instructed Maria to stay three steps behind him just in case they ran into something unpleasant.

Better for only one of them to get hit by a trap or an ambush than the entire party. Only a few minutes had passed since the fork in the tunnel before the Corpse Hunter Stopped and knelt down. He quietly motioned for the Rift Caller to stand beside him.

“See anything out of place?” he asked, holding the lantern up to illuminate the passageway ahead.

“There’s something on the ceiling,” the girl said after a few moments of intently looking about the area. “I think it’s a spike trap? And it looks like a pressure plate right under it.”

Aiden gave her a pat on the shoulder. “Good eye.”

Carefully avoiding the trap they moved further into the tunnel. It widened about five minutes later, opening into a larger cavern system not unlike the ones they had seen in the past. A dozen fish-like creatures sat about the room though most rested on a large rock.

They all turned to face the intruders who had brought with them the only source of light in the entire cave. Aiden immediately ducked back into the tunnel as a hail of rocks and wooden spears ricocheted all the walls around them. He knelt down blocking the entrance with his body as he raised the shield to cover himself.

"Grab one of the orange potions from my pack and hurl it at them!" Aiden ordered.

He continued to absorb the attacks as best he could as Maria rummaged through his bag. Moments later she found the glass bottle with the orange colored liquid and threw it as hard as she could. It exploded on impact sending body parts and blood flying across the room.

For a brief moment the room went silent and it seemed as though the fight had ended as quickly as it had begun. Then the large boulder in the center of the room began to stand up.

"Dragon Turtle," Aiden said, his voice sounding concerned.

The Dragon Turtle was so massive its shell almost scraped against the top of the cave as it rose to its feet. The underground chamber trembled as bits of loose rock fell from the ceiling as the creature stomped its feet.

“Move!” Aiden shouted as debris rained down upon them.

The man in gray and the girl with the beetle caged leapt into the cavern as the passageway behind them caved in. The Dragon Turtle let out a mighty roar that blasted Aiden and Maria with the smell of dead fish. Then it charged at them.

It was not a fast moving creature however the cavern was relatively small making it difficult to stay far from the monster and impossible to avoid it altogether. The Corpse Hunter was forced to crawl beneath the massive turtle to avoid being headbutted into the wall behind him.

Maria had vanished completely from view and the man in gray hoped that was a good thing as he crawled away from the monster. When the beast whipped around to face Aiden he saw the girl gripping tightly to the monster's shell just behind its neck. She bobbed from side to side as the creature moved.

"Its eyes are too far forward," Aiden shouted. "Go for the spine."

The Dragon Turtle snapped its mighty jaws at the Corpse Hunter as he leaped away. Angered by its slippery prey the monster stomped its front feet hard onto the ground. More of the ceiling began to rain down as Aiden did his best to avoid the falling rocks.

A small boulder the size of a grapefruit slammed into his shoulder causing him to groan out in pain. His overcoat was well protected against magical attacks but offered little defense against anything non-magical. Aiden felt his left arm go numb as he fired his wrist crossbow at the turtle.

The beast had raised its head to attack causing the missile to fly off target. Instead of hitting the Dragon Turtle's eye the projectile went right up one of its nostrils. It shook its head from side to side at the unexpected burst of pain.

Maria took the opportunity to draw one of her daggers and began stabbing into the back of the turtle's neck. It roared in anger only now realizing there was an enemy on its back. Aiden threw a potion of swirling green liquid at the underside of the monster's neck. It broke open, splattering the sickly green liquid across the turtle's skin.

The caustic liquid began to sizzle as the turtle charged once more at the Corpse Hunter. He dove out of the way of its head only to feel the creature's tail slam into his back from behind. Aiden fell to the ground as the air was knocked from his lungs.

He rolled over onto his back in time to see the Dragon Turtle raise one of its legs to crush him to death. But before it could strike a thick web of spider silk blasted forth from a scroll in the Rift Caller's hand. It covered the monster's face and eyes, blinding it.

That gave Aiden the opportunity to roll away from the monster before it stomped down on him. Not far from where the Dragon Turtle had first appeared the Corpse Hunter found a silver trident. He didn't take the time to investigate the weapon, instead throwing it at the hole that his Acid Potion had carved a hole into the throat of the turtle.

It roared in pain, or at least it tried to as blood began to pour out of its mouth as well as the wound in its neck. Still unable to see, the Dragon Turtle began charging about the room in a rage. It repeatedly rammed into the walls of the chamber trying in vain to kill the Ascenders that were harassing it.

Rocks continued to fall from the ceiling and Aiden feared another cave in. Fortunately the beast came to a stop before that could happen. Exhaustion combined with the toll of its injuries had caught up to the massive turtle. When Maria climbed off the creature she had blood smeared across her head, face, and daggers.

Her injuries were clearly the result of being dragged across the low hanging ceiling on the turtle's shell. Aiden gave her a Healing Potion which she quickly drank.

"That was pretty bold of you to stay up there," Aiden said.

"Honestly it felt safer up there than down on the ground," Maria said, pointing to the Corpse Hunter's injured arm.

"That's probably true. Where'd you get the Spider Web Scroll?"

"I found it in that burning hut I accidentally teleported into. So where's the quest treasure?"

Maria looked about the room relieved to see a newly formed marble door on one of the walls but nothing else of interest.

"Pretty sure this is it," Aiden said, pulling the silver spear from the Dragon Turtle's corpse.

He handed it to the girl who sheathed her knives and took the finely crafted weapon. After a moment her eyes lit up.

"It has a name. It's called 'Lightbane, Reaper of Shadows.' Though I can't tell what it does."

"If you can't figure out a relic's full properties that usually means that it needs a trigger to activate. I'm sure you'll figure it out in time."

"Me?" Maria asked in surprise. "You're letting me keep it?"

"We found two relics. I think the spear is more your speed than the lantern. Imagine teleporting above a monster's head and driving Lightbane down on top of it? You could've ended that Dragon Turtle in one blow."

Maria nodded slowly at the thought. It was a lot more appealing than being able to illuminate magical darkness like Kinsley's Lantern could do. She'd never even experienced magical darkness before and would have very little use for the magical item on the lower floors. Which naturally was where she spent most of her time in the Dungeon.

The young Ascender clutched the spear tightly in her hands and looked back to the man in gray. "I think I'm ready to go home now."

Together they pushed the marble door open and exited the Dungeon. It was midafternoon when they reappeared at the base of the magical staircase. Aiden absent mindedly rubbed his injured arm.

He hadn't wanted to waste his last healing Potion while still in the Dungeon but now that they were safe he drank the red liquid down. The pain immediately faded as he stretched his healed limb. When he got back to his shack he'd have to pack some more potions for the next adventure.

As Aiden tucked the empty vial into his back a man and woman approached him. He recognized their clothing and knew they were members of the Ascension Academy.

"You were gone longer than expected," the woman said to Maria rather than Aiden.

"I needed to train," Maria said, matter of factly.

"Your assessment date has been pushed forward."

"When is it?"

"Tomorrow morning."

Maria turned to look at the Corpse Hunter and then back to the Academy members.

"If you are finished training we will escort you back to your home," the woman said.

The girl nodded and stepped between her escorts who gave her plenty of space. Clearly they knew what she was capable of and weren't taking any risks. But before they walked away the Rift Caller looked back to the Corpse Hunter one last time.

"The other day," she said. "When we first met in the Dungeon, I thought they sent you to kill me. Turns out you're the only person in the whole Column that actually believes in me. Thank you for everything."

Then without waiting for a response Maria turned back and walked away.

Aiden found himself standing alone at the base of the stairs. Vagrant still sat on his shoulders but the bird remained as silent as the man. The man in gray watched them until the girl passed out of view.