“Get ready.” Markus says to the fairies lying on the ground beside him. The group is directly facing the hole found at the back wall, now stuffed with a single Tannerite container. They're laying flat against the stone floor, backed up as far as possible to the wall behind them. “I wish I had a better angle, 50 yards or so is a little too close for comfort. Are you sure you can protect us?”

“We'll be fine. The Air Shield is something I've used since I was a child. It's one of the sturdiest magics.” Aurora replies back, with a grinning Eclair right next to her. “Once the explosion happens I'll put up the barrier right away.”

“Alright, here we go. Cover your ears.” Markus says to fairies. He takes aim with his rifle at the small container tucked inside the hole. Calming his breathing, and lining his sights, he pulls the trigger. A gunshot echoes within the building, and a cloud of dust appears just above the Tannerite container. Markus barely missed the mark.

“Just a little off.” Eclair says to Markus. He can't tell if she's being sarcastic or not.

“No one is perfect... next one will hit.” Markus answers back. His first shot was overcompensated due to the low angle. He corrects his aiming, and once again calms his breathing. The trigger is pulled, and a large blast erupts from the hole.

Aurora immediately stands up and places her hands flat against the air. An invisible barrier forms in front of the group, blocking stray rocks and debris from the explosion. A rolling dust cloud now moves across the building.

Markus could only catch a glimpse of the barrier, seeing some debris bouncing right off it. When the immediate danger is over, Aurora drops her shield and lays on the floor with the others as they wait for the dust cloud to disappear. As the group waits, pieces from the ceiling fall near the back wall.

A few minutes pass before the dust has finally cleared from the building. The group gets up, checking to see if everyone is alright. Markus is the first to start walking toward the area he just destroyed. As he gets closer, he sees a large portion of the back wall collapsed. It provides a clear path into the secret room.

Markus turns his vest flashlight on, and starts walking into the darkened room. Eclair and Aurora fly beside him as they all cautiously look around. They've burst through the far right side of the room. It's rectangular, estimated to be 500 square feet inside. Detailed carvings and paintings of short, armor clad warriors surround the walls.

The fairies were unfortunately right about the room, as Markus steps inside, he sees countless bones. Something terrible must have happened, as the bones and skulls litter the floor to the point where stone cannot be seen.

As Markus walks, everything seems to crumble at his feet. He decides to stand still and observe the room. The northern wall, dead center, a hallway entrance is seen leading down to total darkness. Wood furniture and decorations were likely in the room, but have since disintegrated into piles.

Looking down, he notices the skulls are not human shaped. They are elongated like reptiles or rats, with pointed teeth. Metal pieces of armor and weapons can be found across the entire room. Unfortunately, they are all uselessly rusted or broken.

“Markus! Look at that!” Aurora yells out. She's pointing to the ground, toward the southern left corner of the room. The group quickly moves to see what was spotted.

When Markus arrives, his flashlight illuminates an interesting sight. Two broken skeletons, not like the others. The skulls certainly look human, with one of the pair clad in rusted armor and equipment. An ornate dagger sits on the ground, with interesting designs on the hilt with small gems. A small hammer weapon is also nearby. Silver in color, two feet tall, with markings on the head and hilt. Both of the weapons look as if they were created just yesterday.

The other skeleton has fabric in areas, but they've long worn away. A small, golden locket is on the ground beside it. Markus decides to pick it up first. He kneels down, grabbing and opening it to see what was inside. It was empty, time taking its contents long ago.

Markus slings his rifle across his chest, and proceeds to grab all the items with his hands. It was doubtful anything else could be found in the room. As Markus passes the hallway entrance, he stops and peers into the darkness below. The flashlight can't see anything.

For a moment, Markus' foot begins to step toward the hallway. There must be more riches or mystery within he thinks. However, he remembers his original mission to go back home. Whatever secrets are left in these ruins, they were not his to find.

“Lets head out.” Markus says to the fairies. He pulls his foot back, and moves toward the exit.

“Ya. Good idea.” Eclair says back. Both of the fairies follow Markus closely as they leave the hidden room behind.

The group begins to leave the large stone building, with Markus carrying the items found in his hands. In the sunlight, the items are even more beautiful than originally thought. He shows them to the fairies as they walk back to the cavern exit.

“That locket is really pretty, but even the weapons look new. They are definitely Dwarven crafted items.” Aurora says to Markus as he shows off the items.

“Dwarfs... are they still around? I wonder what happened here.” Markus ask with curiosity. It would be interesting to see such legendary creatures.

“Yes. The Dwarven kingdom that was located in the north fell, but the survivors spread out across the land.” Aurora replies. “This outpost was a part of it.”

“It's interesting. I've heard descendants won't talk about what happened to the old kingdom. It's very touchy to them.” Eclair chimes in. “So don't ask when you meet one.”

Markus nods, and the group keeps walking toward the exit. As they near the archway leading back to the stone cabin, a strange sensation arises. Markus starts slowing down as he feels a chill in the air around him.

“Thank... you.” A deep, manly voice whispers in Markus' ear. It sounds just like the one from last night. Markus turns around and sees nothing.

“What's wrong? We forget something?” Eclair asks. The fairies stopped when they noticed Markus turning around.

The strange sensation is gone. Markus is standing quietly as he looks back at the ruins of the lonely outpost. He can't explain any of it, but maybe it was better not too.

“No... we got everything. Lets go.” Markus says while turning back around. The group passes under the large archway again, and disappear from the sight of the ruins.