Jacob woke up in his room at the Fortunes Favor Inn. Today was the day that they would enter the dungeon. They needed to go kill some of the monsters down there in order to replenish their dwindling supply of gold.

Jacob had been taken to the adventure’s guild the previous day.

Jacob, Archival and Calista walked into the Adventure’s guild. The building was rather large. It was three stories tall. It appeared as if it were roman in make, ‘Perhaps someone from Rome came her long ago?’

They found themselves in somewhat crowded main lobby. The waiting areas were full and the lines for the assistants were all nearly to the door. Jacob and his friends were stopped by a guard who said, “Sorry folk I can’t let you in. The main floor has already exceeded the safe number of people. Again sorry, I cannot let you in.

Jacob simply looked at the guard and stretched out his hand and smiled as he said, “Hello my name Jacob Ashwin. Me and my friends in BattleSmiths are the Roc Slayers.” The guard who had been reaching out to shake his hand froze, and dozens of people within earshot turned to look at him as well.

The guard immediately about faced and saluted while proclaiming in a loud clear voice for all to hear, “Introducing the Heroes of StoneHearth! Jacob Ashwin and two members of his party the BattleSmiths. Archival the Druid, and Calista the Rouge.”

Where there had been the muttering of upwards of hundreds of voices mere moments earlier, now the room erupted with cheers many got out of their lines. They seemed to wish to meet Jacob and his friends, ‘I guess I am really famous now.’

The dozens of people were on top of them before the guard could react, but Jacob did. In a moment Jacob thrust forward his arms and from them large spectral bear arms manifested. Slowly while making sure not to hurt anyone he parted the crowd that had quieted down at the display. The crowd shuffled over as Jacob moved the spectral arms father apart. Forming an unimpeded path to a now available receptionist window.

“Hello, I would like to register to be an adventurer if you wouldn’t mind.”

Jacob and his friends stood at the top of the stairs carved into the sides of the large funnel like hole in the center of the city. The entrance to the dungeon. The hole must have been no less than 200 feet in diameter, and as he looked over the edge it appeared to be at least 1000 feet deep.

Jacob decided he did not want to use the stairs. He wanted to stretch his wings and fly. “I will meet you done their guys.” Jacob said as he suicidally jumped into the enormous funnel like hole in the ground.

Hellen and the rest of the party looked over the edge only for Jacob to race back up to and past the edge of the hole. He was suspended in the middle of the astral form of the Pheonix. Jacob reveled in the feeling of freedom he got from flying. He turned his sight down to look upon the city from on high.

From his place on high he could see the entire city. He saw the nobleman’s district, the merchants ward, Common house District, and the Slums. Jacob’s gaze lingered upon that place; his greatly enhanced sight allowed him to see the people there a mile away as if he were there in person. He saw their suffering, the squalor of their wretched lives.

He felt shame that such places existed. But with his power he hoped to change that. He felt the flame of magic within him at it was stoked by his will. Jacob felt something within him turn on, like the flick of a switch. He blinked and he saw the world in a new light.

Jacob landed at the bottom of the stair where his friends had just arrived. “Glad to see you could join us.” Hellen said with sarcasm, “Sorry.” Jacob said as he put his hands up in the universal sign of surrender, “I got distracted, and needed a little time to think. I will tell you guys about it later.”

The group looked at him for a moment with mild suspicion on their faces and in their eyes. Then they relaxed choosing to trust him, as they had few reasons not to trust him.”

Jacob examined the room he had landed in. It was a large domed room with six very large hallways branching out from it. Hellen and Thomas began to walk onward into one of the tunnels when Jacob called to stop them. He motioned for them to gather close. When everyone was within proximity of him, he began to cast his spell.

His Totem Staff appeared in his hand as he spoke, the staff glowing with inner light as he did so. “To Darkest depths we tread. Burn bright that our light may guide those who come after us. Fear not the Darkness but what lies within it! Through the Fire and the Flames were Carry on!”

Flames poured forth from Jacob enveloping his friends and himself, much how his astral forms normally covered him. Him and all his friends were covered in flames. But each was different, the flames that covered each of them was much the same as when he had cloaked them in the great mother bears children. The flames coming to reflect the person they were.

The flames gave off light for a good distance, but from among them the brightest of them was seemingly tied between Jacob and Hellen. So it was that they tread onward into the darkness.

In the darkest depths of the dungeon, Jacobs words could be heard by its master as he had stirred it from its rest. The blue sphere floating above its cupped pedestal turned red for a moment angered by intruders in its him. He saw them.

A short elf, a rouge, whose heart was already tainted by the dark, she could be useful to him.

One whose white and green aura spoke to their naivety, and inexperience with the world. But also spoke to their connection with nature, he would be wary of this one.

Another he saw that had been touched by the darkness but seemed it had not taken full hold of his heart. His aura was crimson, and in the cores sight, his weapon still dripped with blood.

A paladin whose aura of golden white, spoke to the devotion to her lady, ‘Hethara!’ the core rolled that name in its mind. It despised those she and others like her had sent down here to destroy it.

The last he thought was the same as the previous, until he looked closer. The core turned grey not knowing quite what to make of this one. ‘This man carries beasts most great within him. What is he?’ The dungeon core had never seen such a being in all of its years.

It turned to the room filled with corpses that surrounded it. More unfortunate souls that had fallen to his dungeon. One by one the corpses began to rise up. They gave gasps and moans as the air escaped their decaying lungs.

One however was different. She was like those two women up above made into a single person. A rouge who had been picked up by a that god, Hethara. That was an interesting thought, ‘I will have to try that when they are brought to me.’

The woman rose up her chest rising and falling more out of habit than any actual need. “Welcome my child.” Said the dungeon core in a voice that was that of a young man, but nevertheless sounding most ancient.

Sarah looked upon the dungeon core with reverence, “Mas…” The word caught in her throat. She felt the chest burning, she looked down and there upon her chest, was her the symbol of her lady it gave off light as it burned her flesh.

“My…” The dungeon core saw something had gone wrong, ‘Those meddling Gods! This one is mine! You throw them into the darkness; thus, it is my right to take them!’ The Core shouted in its mind as it tried to reestablish dominance over the new vampires.

Sarah felt her mind burning, her will being eroded, as the darkness closed in trying to retake her she heard the voice of her lady, “Though you have not always walk a straight path, Fly my child for the instrument of your salvation is within your reach!” Her pupils became glowing crimson, the whites of her eyes became as black as night.

Sara raged attempting to swing her arm to smash the core of this place. It was right there, but harm it she could not. For even if she had mantled control of her mind and some of her body, she still could not strike the core.

The chamber rumbled as large heavy figures emerged from the walls. She roared at the abomination of magic that had made her into this. The two shadowy figures closest to her swung out. But hit only air as her form dissolved into mist as she fled the room. In her mind she knew the path to her salvation to him.