As always, the Forest of Dawn’s flowers were in full bloom with the early morning sun that broke through the tree canopy, dusting the scenery in a soft blue light. Allouet was clearly enjoying the sight of it, given the fact that he walked with a bit more energy and enthusiasm than usual, and that Dubhan periodically caught him staring off at the flowers rather than down at the map or at the path ahead.

“You know,” Dubhan said, adding a playful tone to his voice, “you’re gonna trip and fall if you keep spacing out like that.”

“Wha—I—” Allouet brought his focus back to Dubhan, defensively claiming, “I am completely focused, I assure you.”

Dubhan stared back at Allouet with a smirk. “Are you?”

Scrutinized under Dubhan’s gaze, Allouet sheepishly brought the map up to hide his face, pretending to study it closely. “Well… Yes, but I… This is simply nice to see. The view of the flowers.”

The two had set out especially early today at Allouet’s suggestion, not with any specific quest undertaken, but with a different goal in mind—exploration of the labyrinth itself, looking to chart unmarked paths on their map and find any secrets that had yet to be found by other explorers. With the early hour, the colorful flower petals covered the forest’s grass and trees in much the same way holiday decorations coated Omaros during the winter months, dew drops catching the sparse sunlight here and there.

“I’m not much of a flower person, but I get what you mean,” Dubhan said, adjusting the scythe hefted over his shoulder.

Allouet lowered the map. “You, who named our guild after a flower?”

Dubhan shrugged. “It was an old friend of mine who told me a bit about some of them. You clearly like ‘em though. High Lagaard can’t be that barren of plants or anything, right?”

“Well, no, but many species of flowers are difficult to grow up there, and I have certainly not seen any of these varieties. And… either way, I admit the sight is beautiful to see at all.” There was a pause, then, “Is it a bother to be out here so early?”

Truthfully, there was the fact that Dubhan was still groggy and had been half-asleep for most of the walk to Yggrdrasil, but Dubhan only smiled and said, “Nah, not at all. Gives us more daylight to work with, and you get to enjoy the flowers.”

For a quick moment, Allouet looked relieved to hear Dubhan’s words, though he covered up the expression before Dubhan could think to question it. “That is good, then. I would much rather avoid any nocturnal predators as best as we…” He trailed off suddenly, his focus drawn to something in the trees as his steps slowed to a stop.

Dubhan followed suit, staring off into the trees and squinting to spot whatever it was Allouet had noticed. “What is it?”

“Something is there…” Allouet took a step off the path.

Dubhan hurriedly stepped in front of him, saying, “Hold on, let me take the lead.”

Allouet seemed to pause for a moment in answer to that, but then gestured back to the direction he’d been looking to. “Alright. That way, then.”

As Dubhan pushed aside some branches and leaves in his path, walking ahead, a wall of grey in the otherwise colorful forest finally became visible to him behind some trees. He looked up, and saw that what he was looking at was, indeed, a wall. One built from smooth grey stone, which rose up into a slanted roof of the same material. “This is a… A building?”

And indeed it was, yet a strange one. Unlike the brick buildings of Omaros, with their windows, their tile roofs, their varying colors and decorations, this seemed to be a featureless building of smooth stone that stretched out from one side of Dubhan’s vision through the trees to the other. He looked back to Allouet and grinned widely, announcing, “It’s a building, Allouet!”

Allouet walked forward, similarly staring at the structure in amazement. “I can see that… But what is a building doing here?”

“And that’s our job to find out! C’mon, let’s go take a look.”

The pair walked alongside the strange wall for what must have been several minutes, coming across a few corners of the sprawling structure. Finally, there was a change in the wall. An entrance came into view. A set of large double doors, also made of stone, and set into the wall rather than any sort of frame. Dubhan immediately ran to the door upon seeing it, intending to look for a means to open it. But, seeing that a series of runes he did not recognize were carved all over it, he called out, “Uh… Hey, Allouet! I think this is more your sorta thing.”

Allouet had not rushed to the doors as Dubhan did, instead catching up at a more casual pace before looking over the runes. He handed the map over to Dubhan for the moment, stepping forward and running a hand along the stone while he peered closely at the strange symbols.

After several minutes of silence and Dubhan fidgeting excitedly while he waited for a verdict, Allouet finally said, “I see, I think I understand.”

“Do you?” Dubhan asked eagerly.

“I apologize for the wait. These runes are rather archaic. But it is a simple enough lock spell and should operate on the same principals as modern ones.”

Allouet laid his hand flat against the door, focusing his attention on it, and the runes carved into it began to glow with a soft blue light. Dubhan heard a sudden grinding noise, and the doors slid to opposite sides, retracting into the stone wall and leaving the pathway open. Beyond them lay a dark hallway into the building.

“Problem solved,” Allouet said.

Dubhan grinned, ruffling a hand through Allouet’s hair and earning another mildly offended glare, and said, “Alright! Let’s get going!”

Dubhan and Allouet found that the interior of the structure comprised dark, rectangular hallways made of that same stone, stretching out in various directions. Some parts of the walls were cracked and crumbling, allowing some light from the outside, but that was all. With so little illumination present, Allouet placed a hand against the blade of Dubhan’s scythe, conjuring light that clung to it and provided visibility of their surroundings.

“Neat,” Dubhan commented.

Most of the hallways were open, but a few doors dotted the walls here and there. These doors were metal, as were their frames and door handles, but were simple in design. Any rooms that they opened up into were devoid of any furnishings or markings that might have given away the nature of this place.

“Don’t imagine living here would’ve been all that comfortable,” Dubhan said as he and Allouet rounded a corner.

“You suspect someone would have lived in a place like this?”

“Sure, why else would they make a building here?”

“Well, I would not think for recreational living, but now that you’ve mentioned it… And, for that matter,” Allouet added, “we haven’t traveled terribly far from the usual paths as of yet. Surely someone else must have come across this before, right?”

Dubhan tried to recall any word of such a place among the patrons of the Dozing Lamb or the guild hall. “No one’s said anything about it so far…”

Amidst the sounds of the pair’s footsteps through the halls, Dubhan suddenly noticed another sound. A dripping sound that indicated some sort of liquid falling from above. Dubhan held his scythe up, shedding the light from it onto the ceiling above.

Gathered on the ceiling were a clustered group of huge forest snails clung to the stone with a thick layer of mucus, some of which dripped down from above. For a brief moment, Dubhan was about to declare them harmless as they seemed to be focused on eating something they’d dragged up to the cracked ceiling. Then, however, he noticed an even larger one, the size of a moderately-sized dog—a king snail. And it seemed to have noticed him and Allouet, judging by how it dropped from the ceiling, the forest snails following suit.