It turned out that the ruins were not that far away from the camp. They were old stone walls covered in vegetation that had been mostly cleared away by the excavators. Once inside the base structures, it seemed at first that going to the ruins might have been a bad idea. They were barren, unremarkable and held no mystery at all. It was as if they had entered someone’s fenced in back yard. Then, at the corner of one of the stone walls was a set of stairs leading down into darkness.

“That must be the place,” Damien said.

A member of the expedition appeared from behind one of the stone facings as they approached, “Are you here to rescue Stanic?” He was shaking from nerves and his wiry frame made him appear frail.

“Who is Stanic?” Amelia asked clutching her med kit.

“My expedition partner. He went down the stairs a few hours ago and has not returned.”

“We will look for him. We are about to venture into the chamber.” Amelia told the man.

“Oh, thank you, ma’am.” His pleading face became almost jovial.

“Is there something amusing?” Ris asked.

The man appeared horrified, “Oh no, I’m only smiling from relief. I have been too frightened to go down there again and look for him.”

“What’s down there?” Cornelius asked.

“I couldn’t bring myself to go back, even to find my friend.”

Cornelius nodded, “Point taken. The professor sent us here on purpose, making it all sound like it was a quick survey, nothing to worry about. I get the feeling that no one else would come here for him so he sent us.”

“Cynical as ever,” Mic said. “I protect you.” The alien smiled with a toothy grin.

“Funny!” Cornelius said. “Oh, and you said “I.” I think your speech is just in your head.”

“Maybe so. I try to fix it.” Mic said.

One by one they traversed down the stairs into the darkness until the light faded out and it was almost pitch dark.

“Great, I can’t see a thing,” Reyes said.

A voice sounded through the darkness from somewhere below. “There is a box with high-powered hand-held lights on a stone table just at the bottom of the stairs. Be careful not to step on me when you descend. I am at the bottom step.”

“Stanic, I presume?” Ris asked the voice coming from below.

“Yes, that is my name. My partner must still be up there.”

“He is. Hold fast and we will bring medical attention to you should you require it.” Ris said.

Amelia felt her way ahead of the others and found the man at the bottom of the stairs. Ris found the lights and provided her with some. The man required minor medical assistance. He had scrapes and cuts all along his legs and arms from running fast and mostly blind through the cavern. He told Amelia he finally twisted his ankle only moments before the party began descending the staircase. Ris heard the now familiar sound from Amelia’s wrist that she had been awarded experience.

“I am forever grateful for your assistance, but I cannot allow you to explore the cavern. It is too dangerous. I barely made it back.” Stanic said.

“We are a group of six, we can make it through just fine,” Ris said.

The man stared at each one of them in turn, assessing them, “very well, but let me warn you of what you face. There are three obstacles in your way. The giant spider is first. You have to kill her fast or she will rampage and destroy you all. The second is the arachnid queen. She is poisonous and twice as powerful as the giant spider. Watch out for her acid bath. She will spew it all over the floor and it will kill you before you realize it. Last is the ghost of the ruins. He is the spirit of one of the original aliens and he doesn’t want you to enter the final chamber. Good luck and thank you again for helping me.”

“It was my pleasure,” Amelia said. “She ascended the staircase and brought back Stanic’s partner to help him get out of the cavern. The man seemed nervous but okay to help his friend out of the cavern so close to the entrance.

As soon as Stanic cleared the entrance, each one of their wrist devices hummed. Each one of them had gained some experience for completing the quest to rescue Stanic.

Ris handed out the lights and readied his power sword hilt, “All right, here’s the plan. Mic, you get out in front and we will back you up. You keep whatever we are fighting occupied and Cornelius, Damien, and I will do as much damage as we can as quickly as we can. Reyes, you stay back and protect Amelia while she does her job.”

“Mic can do it. Mic needs stim.”

Amelia rummaged through her metal medical case and produced a hypo-spray. She dosed Mic with it and he flexed his rippling muscles.

“Don’t take unnecessary risks just because you are all juiced up, big guy!” Reyes said.

Mic made a sound that closely resembled grunting.

Ris followed Mic closely behind. The cavern was barely wide enough for one person sometimes. Mic, in particular, had the easiest time navigating through the narrow openings. At one point, Ris wondered why they had agreed to enter the dank place and then immediately smiled every time he heard the hum of the wrist band, which told him he was getting exploration experience. The early levels might not have much significance as far as skills or loot, but they were necessary to advance. Upon studying his wristband, he found that levels in the multiple of five tended to have the most significance.

After they had made their way into the cavern for about fifteen minutes they emerged into a chamber the size of a small chapel, Ris estimated. He held his power sword ready when he heard the skittering noises coming from somewhere up ahead. Ris and Damien shined their lights in the direction of the sound and illuminated a spider about the size of a pony. It screamed and charged toward their light.