The stood poised at the top of the stairs as they are mentally prepared to descend into the darkness and do battle with the monsters down below. “Are you sure this is a good idea?” Victoria asked her mentor.

“There's no time like the present.” She said. “Don’t worry, you can handle it.” She said as she pulled a short sword out. Saundra opened the door. “Cast your light spell.” A small ball of light appeared, and it seemed to float in the air and illuminating the stairwell. Saundra started down, and Victoria followed the woman. She felt tense and nervous as she descended the stairs. The bottom of the stairs opened up into a large unfinished area that had been partially framed. The framed walls were blocked with boxes, most stretched over the two women's heads while others were waist high. The atmosphere was oppressive. “Which way?” Saundra whispered to the teenager. Once more energy rippled out from Victoria and she pointed into a corner of the basement that was obscured with boxes. Victoria watched as Saundra moved to the side, her sword low and in a guard position. She followed and cast her phantasmal blade spell. This time she held a knife, more like the training dagger she had wielded the night before. “Whats that smell?” She hissed. Saundra shrugged expressively and then held a finger up to her lips. The teen saw the older woman move to the side as she worked around the wall of boxes that stood in their way of where Victoria had sensed the monsters to be. Victoria watched as Saundra charged into the area. She had noted her stance low and her arm back and ready to pivot and lash out. “The hell?” She heard the woman say as she stood there looking around. “Victoria,” she said gesturing the teenager to move up. “What is this?” She asked as she too looked around. The area held several cages that held several kinds of smaller monsters. “What—” The teen asked as she looked at the cages many filled with dead and dieing creatures. On one table a set of Bunsen burners sat with what appeared to be a chemistry set. “This looks like a chemistry lab.” Victoria said as she looked around. “Its an alchemy lab. Something is seriously wrong here, though.” Saundra replied. She looked in the cages carefully. “Brownies, for the most part.” The older woman said. “Others I can’t identify.” The teenager was examining the work area then reached out when she spotted a bound book. “It’s a journal.” She said pointing it out to her mentor. “Let me see this.” She said as she snatched it up from the table, then read through it. “It appears to be lab notes.” “What were they making?” the teen asked curiously. “I don’t know, but the last entry is telling. “ I think I finally have it. The test subjects reacted with pure aggression disproportionate to the stimulus. Their workers finished the tunnel a few days ago. I’m not sure where its goes I’m praying to God someone can stop them before my husband and daughter are harmed. “We need to find the tunnel,” Saundra said looking around the dark area owlishly. Victoria was checking the cages of test subjects. “Why Brownies?” She asked. “Brownies are peaceful unless roused. Then often they will leave the home rather than become combative.” A familiar female voice said.” “Lacey.” Victoria cried, excited to hear from her friend. “Where have you been?” “I was called to the library to discuss what you needed to know.” The teenager thought it was her imagination but the Pixie looked shamefaced. “So that's the pixie I’ve heard about,” Saundra said looking up from the journal. “Do you or the library know what this is?” “Of course the library knows,” Lacey said. “I don’t, however.” She said smugly. “Not helping,” Victoria replied. The little pixie gave the teenager an eye roll and a hair toss. “Saundra—” Victoria spoke but was interrupted. “Please call me Sunny, I’m more used to that.” The older woman said with a smile as she went back to flipping through the notebook. “Okay, Sunny. I was just thinking. If this is an alchemy lab could the writer have been making some kind of potion?” Sunny looked up owlishly. “One that heightened aggression on small inoffensive creatures?” “Yeah.” The teen said musingly. “Because what were to happen if Brownies and other things that resided in peoples homes went crazy and started hurting families?” “It would be in the news probably as a stray animal getting into a house…” She replied. “Yeah the first few times maybe but what if it happened hundreds of times? Maybe even a couple thousand?” Victoria asked reasoning out the problem. “Then normals might start seeing monsters everywhere.” She said with a look like she'd bitten into a sour persimmon. Victoria kept looking around the area and examining the different bottles and beakers. She leaned down to examine a box that lay on the floor. She noted dried clumps of a tan-colored soil. “Hey, Sunny.” She said pointing at the dirt. “Want to be the tunnel is somewhere in here?” “Want me to find it?” Lacey said excitedly the without waiting flew off to the other corners of the basement. “Here! It’s here.” She started shouting excitedly and pointing down. “Damned pixies.” Sunny said angrily. “We better hurry before she rouses the entire nest.” * * * * * They had found the entrance of the tunnel easily enough it stood nearly five feet high. The two women barely had to crouch to enter it. The dirt walls had seemed stable as they entered the tunnel. “Sunny I just found out something about myself.” “What's that?” The older woman asked, glancing back at her charge and then looking ahead as she advanced her sword at the ready. Victoria looked around the hole, then glanced back in the direction that the opening should lay. “I really, really hate tight spaces.” “Put it out of your mind. Repeat after me; Fear is the mind-killer, it is the little dea—” “Eww, Frank Herbert really?” Lacey moaned from behind Victoria. “Shush, you,” Sunny said to the little sprite. “Seriously. There would be something wrong if you weren’t a little afraid right now. Unlike something that should be afraid.” The woman said giving the Pixie a menacing glare. As she spoke there came a loud clanking from the tunnel ahead. “Want me to go look.” The pixie said in a loud stage whisper. “No,” the two women hissed at the same time. Then both giggled when they realized what they had done. “Me first, then you.” Sunny said. “Use your magic if I’m attacked.” Then she rushed ahead through the tunnel and rolled to the right side of the tunnel as it suddenly opened onto a larger cross tunnel. Victoria followed and felt the palm of her hand along the side of the wall. It was rough like fine sandpaper. “Sunny, the walls, it’s cement. She said as she turned to examine the wall more closely. “I think we are in the storm drain.” “Well, the McMasters are lucky we are in a drought right now. “The woman said with a quirk to her lips. She bent down. On the walkway and saw muddy footprints leading to the left entrance opposite of where she stood. “that way.” She said pointing. As she did there came a sound from down the tunnel. A form appeared out of the darkness and jumped at them. The body was a grayish-green, the skin warty. Victoria acted without thought and brought her hand upcasting energy darts that splashed across the creature's chest driving it to the ground. Then her blade flicked out to the creature on the ground black blood was splashed on the wall of the cavern ending its life. “Dim the light.” Sunny said in a quiet voice. “From here on it will act like a beacon to these creatures. Victoria dimmed the light as much as she could and still provide enough light for them both not to trip over their own feet. “What was it?” She asked. “It was a form of a goblin. Nasty subterranean creatures that enjoy causing pain.” She looked at the things remains. “You are awful quick with those spells.” The older woman remarked. In a few minutes, they came to a cavern that seemed vast and yawning in the darkness. The could hear the faint scrapping and metallic tapping in the distance. Victoria could barely see Sunny’s finger against her lips motioning her for silence. She followed the woman as she went to the right and followed the cavern's wall toward the direction the sound came from. “Douse the light.” Sunny subvocalized. With the light out, Victoria could see another light source in the distance. “Sunny, “ Victoria hissed. “This is starting to freak me out I really don’t like the dark.” “It will be okay.” Lacy said flying up to the teen, and she began stroking her hair. “I’m here for you.” Sunny shook her head. “Come on.” As they drew near they heard a guttural, sibilant speech that was almost on the edge of understanding for Victoria. Victoria leaned in to whisper to Sunny. “What language is that?” Almost before she stopped speaking the other voices stopped. Sunny had gone still and looking around Victoria saw many sets of what appeared to be red sparks in the distance. “Whhooo, Therree.” A deep rumbling voice intoned. Victoria’s mentor raised a hand and motioned the teenager to get lower. From where she crouched she could see just dim shapes back, lit by a faint light source. She reached down and picked up a pebble, then tossed it as far out into the open space as she could without to much motion. The sound as it struck the earth was a slight rattle that still drew the attention of the distant creatures. “Grunnn, urgal nasti.” The one who had spoken called out as he pointed in the direction the second sound had come from. They watched as a small group of monsters, minus the leader, streamed out of the area and headed where the noise had come from. Sunny lay down on the ground and started to move up slowly. Victoria tried to do the same but was unsure of how successfully she was as she slowly crawled toward the dim distant light. “Ugh, maklin hosh lou. Was grunted from the darkness far to the left. They watched as the raiders tromped back from the darkness. They had moved up a few feet, then watched as the creatures went back to their mysterious labors. The things hearing was too good for Victoria to communicate with her mentor or for Sunny to reprimand her student. As they inched closer, the worksite became evident. There were eight humanoids. Their skin tones were anywhere from a grey-green to a deep sickly green. Two groups of three worked at digging in the cavern's side. While the other two stood around. Examining the site Victoria saw an older truck that looked like they had trapped it in the tunnel for decades the tires appeared to be flat while a large rock had crushed the cab and the front. Sunny motioned to herself and then at the two groups, then motioned for Victoria to take the two stragglers on the count of three. Sunny lurched up with a fierce grin on her face, hands outstretched as magic glowed. The closest group of workers were catapulted backward from the hole as light and heat flared among them. Victoria rose up and started with energy darts into the larger of the two creatures. It flinched backward, then grabbed the smaller one to use as a shield. He picked the struggling form up and grabbed a tool, then charged at the younger woman. Victoria moved, remembering what Jim had told her the night before about her speed being her armor. She continued to shoot out her energy darts until it had reached twenty feet from her. The creature it had grabbed as a shield had deliquesced. It yelled in rage at the human girl that it saw before him. She lurched to the side. Her own perceptions narrowing in the creature she saw before her and the notification she saw that popped up. You have learned the skill Perception. You have learned the skill Identify. Level 8 Foregoblin: 374/400 HP. Level 8 Foregoblin is attacking you! I suggest you stop reading notifications. Even before she read that bit of snark. Victoria was diving to the side and rolling to bring herself back to her feet to the foregoblins right-hand side. The monster had its claws bared as it lunged at her. She swung her blade, trying to catch the creature's arms on it. Her left shoulder flared in pain even as her own strike carved in the beasts left arm blocking that attack on her. In the dim light, the black blood splashed her even as the creature bellowed in rage. Victoria grunted in pain but she stepped up and kept moving, using quick feints and stabs with her blade to keep the pressure on the goblin. Then the idea occurred to her to cast a quick energy dart through her left hand. Three bright points of light shot from her hand, striking the Foregoblin in the chest. She found her blade coming up as she tried to use the back edge against the monster. Remembering what it had taught her, she fought to wound the monster on its arms and legs; it was trying to rip her head off. One open-palmed blow caught her in her side, lifting her off the ground. She saw her health bar flashed. She lay on the ground as it reared up, roaring in triumph. Suddenly its head vaporized in a sudden flash of light, its body collapsing to the ground, its claws inches from ending her life. “You need to work on your situational awareness,” Sunny said as she looked around the scene of the battle and the smoking corpses.