The inside was a single tunnel, with sarcophagi carved from stone lining the walls, all broken open. Parth was reciting a steady litany of prayers now, one of her hands holding a sword, the other moving through ritual gestures, her bow slung over one shoulder. A few of the graves held remnants of the person’s lives – scrolls, ancient jewellery and other markers of who was buried through. Janaxia was still some way ahead of them, moving swiftly. Stathis didn’t call out to her, not wanting to draw any excessive attention their way.

Further in, they came to a four-way junction – both of the sideway branches quickly terminated, coming to dead ends, with yet more of the sundered sarcophagi present. Magical runes had been daubed onto the wall, black and red smears daubed onto the wall. Parth reached towards one, trying to wipe it off, her fingers coming back greasy and sticky, a look of cold fury on her face. As she smeared the symbol, a thicker miasma of darkness hazed out.

She jumped back, the stuff latching onto one of her arms as she tried to shake it off. Stathis swing her sword, the tendril offering no resistance, falling apart for a moment before reforming.

The smear on the wall shrank into a smaller, denser dot, before vanishing completely, the line of smoke-shadow vanishing as well. Janaxia stepped from the shadows, fingers flickering, bent at impossible angles as she made a broad and sweeping gesture, the whole wall abruptly cleansed, a stream of darkness flowing towards Janaxia.

That should help matters somewhat. Although once this is dealt with, then everything can be cleansed rather more thoroughly.

The shadows around Janaxia were deeper than they should have been, covered with shifting spikes and sharp edges, the soft red glow making Stathis’ eyes ache.

‘Uh, maybe… go easy on doing that? It might trigger something. Although you’re right, we should definitely clean everything as soon as we can.’

‘That which is sacred must be purified.’ Parth’s voice was almost a hiss, her amber eyes narrowed, as she gently stroked one of the sarcophagi. ‘The wrongdoer must be punished.’

Indeed. This is rather vulgar and disrespectful. But we should continue, to improve our chances of surprising the perpetrator, should they still be present.

Parth nodded, gently running her fingers along the stone again before stalking into the darkness, ready to fight. Stathis followed after, back down the wide central passageway – other than the daubed runes, it looked well-maintained, although the air was getting steadily colder as they advanced.

Stathis tried to focus on the flow of air – it wasn’t flowing in a steady rhythm, like the underground exhalation around some of the trapped titans, but something must be causing it. It was cold enough that condensation was forming on the walls, fat beads of chilly moisture trickling downwards.

Parth and Semari ghosted ahead, Parth barely visible, Semari darting between the shadows. Pajaran and Stathis walked side-by-side, shields at the ready, Vrintar behind Hakara and Janaxia, bringing up the rear. The passageway wound steeply downwards in a tight spiral, looping around as it took them deeper and deeper. As they moved, the sarcophagi got older and older, starting to show visible signs of age. The mist got darker and thicker as well, visibility dropping to a few scant paces, Semari and Parth suddenly emerging before vanishing again.

A cold wind rushed out, Janaxia sneezing, the sound loudly around in the narrow space. Everyone froze, tense and ready, ice-blue energy flaring around Hakara’s hands. From deeper within the darkness came a breathy sigh and abyssally cold air. Something seethed, the darkness moving and warping. Janaxia gestured, blasts of force shooting out from her fingers, vanishing down the tunnel. Something metal clattered against stone, and Stathis and Pajaran both looked at each other before charging down the passageway, their armour clanking.

The red light made Stathis’ eyes ache and throb, distance seeming to stretch and warp. The floor underfoot was smooth and polished, the passageway taking a sudden sharp turn, and then a large doorway was in front of them, the arch carved with flowing elven symbols. The doorway was open, the stone door slick with condensation, some of it frozen into ice.

More metal-on-stone sounds clattered out, and Stathis squeezed through the gap, just about able to fit, her armour scraping the stone, Pajaran following close behind. She heard a low psychic mumble from Janaxia, a wordless grumble, as she readied herself to fight.

A tendril of dark energy lashed out at her, and she raised her shield to block it, feeling it whip against the reinforced wood. It was strong, trying to push her back before she sliced at it, feeling a slight resistance in the air. Seething shadows filled the room, moving and swaying in the way of the lights on the ceiling and walls, making it hard to see. Arrows clattered against the wall again, Parth rolling aside and coming to her feet, launching more arrows up into the shadows. Stathis heard a grunt of effort from somewhere she couldn’t see, Semari jumping and dodging around.

Stathis could see a red-glowing spiral daubed onto the floor, along with bits and pieces of arcane machinery, strange assemblies of metal and leather connected together. Something wheezed and rasped out of sight, the cold starting to seep into Stathis’ armour.

The tendril withdrew, and then a figure lunged out of the shadows, moving fast, Stathis moving her shield to block an attack aimed at Pajaran. Metal bit into the wood, a blade cutting, and she caught a glimpse of white haze, a figure wrapped in a funereal shroud lashing out at her, ragged cloth swirling to obscure their form, but the blade in their hands shone with a crimson glow. Several arrows were embedded into them, not seeming to do anything to slow them down, the form weaving around Pajaran’s counter-attack, moving with swift grace.

Stathis charged, running towards it as it danced backwards. The whole floor was covered with magical inscriptions, thick goop used to daub them everywhere, the stuff sticky whenever she trod on it. Some of it was visibly frozen, covered with a thin rime of frost, Stathis trying to avoid those parts for fear of skidding.

As she moved forward, she could see curving wall of the chamber, filled with stone niches, opened up to allow access to the bodies that had been lain to the rest. The centre of the room held a stone podium, stone memorial tablets defaced with more greasy smears and glyphs. Behind them was some kind of arcane assemblage, brass studded with gleaming black metal.

A lance of force shot forth, slamming into the ground in front of Stathis, the stone floor exploding into stone shards, pinging off her armour. There had been a flash of movement amongst the machinery, but before Stathis could move closer, a blade clanged against her armour from behind, a hard strike against the metal.

She twisted, the white-wrapped form skipping away, Pajaran trying to hit it again. A bowstring thrummed, another arrow sprouting from its chest, pinning it’s shroud in place. Stathis tried to swing for it, feeling slow and clunky, the thing deflecting her sword-strike with an elegant parry, redirecting the force with the lightest of touches.

Another of the undead elves charged from the shadows, running towards Hakara and Janaxia, feet silent on the floor. Before it could reach them, Vrintar charged back, axes swinging, creating twin steel arcs that made it veer backwards. Rays of frost shot from Hakara’s hands, one of them managing to hit, ice forming over the shroud and slowing it down.

Stathis turned back to the one attacking her, raising her shield and using it to try and better protect herself, hunkering behind it. The area was too open to easily pin them into place, even with Pajaran helping her, both of them making wide and sweeping attacks to try and hem it in.

A crackling burst of energy shot through the air, making her twitch and shudder as it hit, but she forced herself to keep moving through the pain. She punched out with her shield, missing but keeping the thing from attacking, able to actually see it now – a gaunt and desiccated elf, black veins visible through paper-thin skin, body moving with strange bursts of speed and stillness, holding a long and slender sword.

Pajaran pointed her mace at it, a phantasmal force appearing next to it and taking a swing, managing to hit. The force cut into its arm, the skin easily slicing apart to reveal bone beneath, but it started to knit itself together immediately afterwards. Stathis could see lines of dark wire wound beneath the skin, holding it all together, before dead, dry flesh grew back into place, covering them up again.

Stathis feinted forward, before taking several steps back, keeping her shield raised towards it, then stabbed again. This time she managed to connect, a glancing blow along the ribcage. Golden light flared, the blade cutting through bone, burning away the black wires. This wound at least didn’t regenerate, the ribcage remaining partially collapsed, although this didn’t seem to hinder the creature’s movement at all.

She dodged backwards, trying to move closer to Janaxia. The creature was stronger than it should have been, frail frame boosted by magic. Behind it, the magical device loomed – that must be doing something, but there was no way to attack it without exposing herself to attack!

One of her feet stuck to a glob of paste, slowing her movements, the zombie attacking, a blow slipping past her shield and hitting her breastplate, with enough force that she felt it despite the armour. Rays of ice flashed from behind her, hitting and slowing it. Janaxia stepped forward, dark energy trailing around her fingers, an eldritch blast impacting and making the creature stagger. Semari dropped down and grabbed it, wrapping her arms around it and twisting her body backwards, flipping it over her head and slamming it, head-first into the ground, before letting it go and twisting out from beneath it.

It twitched and juddered, already starting to reform, but Janaxia was faster, moving forward and pressing her hand against it. It immediately started to shrink and shrivel, flesh tightening and then fading into dust, animation fleeing the preserved limbs, and then it collapsed into a pile of dust.

That just left one to focus on, all of them spreading out to limit the creature’s movement, weapons swinging, the thing managing to dodge and sway, but running out of room. An axe bit deep into it, before Pajaran’s mace smashed through a hip, and it tumbled to the floor. It didn’t stop trying to move and fight though, even after it’s skull was smashed, and then Janaxia leaned in, pressing her hand against the smooth curve of the thing’s head, and it finally stopped moving.

The red light intensified, a vermillion flare beating away the shadows, until they were sullenly sulking in the corners. Stathis could see more of the twisting, warped device – it looked like a hulking and squat spider, long wires stretching upwards, charms and tokens dangling from it, shards of darkness hanging down. The central part was brass and bone, melted and melded together into one, the top covered with barbed spikes, covered with dried gore.

They pulsed, sending out a rippling wave of darkness. Stathis stepped in front of Pajaran, bracing herself as the wave struck her, vicious coldness sucking at her skin, trying to drain her energy from her. It hit everyone, leaving them stunned and dazed for a moment, Stathis focusing on her own essence to keep herself up.

Semari was the first to break out of it, jumping forward and launching into a flying kick against the main body of whatever it was. As she jumped through the air, the black shards gleamed, visible energy draining from Semari, lightning-tinted energy getting sucked from her. In mid-air, she couldn’t change her direction, her foot impacting with a dull sound.

Stathis charged forward to help her, the pulsing waves and ripples of darkness getting stronger, threatening to push her back – it was like walking into a strong head-wind, slowing her advance, making her head throb with a savage intensity.

Un-words burned themselves from Stathis’ mind, making her ears ring, and the assembly groaned, the jet black shards tinkling before fading to dust, the motes streaming through the air. Stathis didn’t want to turn away from the device, but suspected that Janaxia was now absorbing more of the darkness. Semari continued to strike the thing, even as the lightning getting pulled from her got brighter and brighter, her blows making dull impact-sounds of flesh-on-stone.

Every step Stathis took was harder than the one before, the ethereal wind strong enough to try and force her back, trying to suck away her spirit. Stathis focused on the spikes, stepping closer, step-by-step, leaning into the wind, glad that nothing else was attacking.

Someone strode past her, blue clothing unaffected as Janaxia calmly approached. Stathis moved behind her, her body providing some shelter from the pushing wind. She pulled out her wooden blade, the length gleaming ebony-dark, carrying it in a one-handed grip, before raising it and bringing it downwards in a swift cut. Where it struck the squat body, the stone cracked, despite Janaxia’s lack of strength. Another strike, and black-red power flowed out, the brassy prongs now askew. Semari was still punching at it, her hands making more and more cracks spread throughout the stone.

The shoving wind stopped with a swift snap, Stathis staggering as the force stopped pushing against her. She put her hand on Janaxia’s shoulder, finding it tense and hard, as Janaxia swung again. The supporting framework snapped apart, the shards falling to the ground. The thick, greasy darkness rippled into a denser blob, the red lights coming to a bright shine, giving Stathis just enough time to raise her shield and wrap her arms around Janaxia.

Shards pinged off her armour, metal echoing and clattering loudly, impacts making her flesh sting, more bouncing off her shield. When she opened her eyes, the thing was half-destroyed, having blown itself into shreds. A loud scream, shrill and feminine penetrated Stathis’ ears, then she felt a weight on her back, something wriggling around before Semari spoke.

‘You’re good at being in the way! Nice work.’

‘Bloody hell, how fast are you?’

‘Hey, I’m not getting blown up, just ‘cos Janaxia’s being weird. Again! Just give her a poke, make sure she’s, not, like, evil and stuff.’ Semari wrenched on Stathis’ arm, pulling it more tightly against Janaxia. Stathis tightened her grip, moving around to stand in front of Janaxia, Semari still clinging onto her back.

‘Hey, you OK?’

Janaxia’s hair-lash was a brilliant, blazing red, dazzling Stathis’ eyes and making her wince. Despite that, her eyes seemed focused and clear. She reached up and put a hand against Stathis’ face. A sudden, crash of hunger washed through her, making her stomach clench up, sticky blood oozing down her face. She healed herself, a wash of golden light combating the red flare – she hadn’t even noticed she was wounded!

Once the wound was healed, the all-consuming hunger swiftly faded, Stathis shaking her head to try and dispel the feeling.

‘Wasn’t there someone back here?’

Janaxia broke away, trying to shrug Stathis’ arms off. ‘Yes. Whoever built this… contraption.’ She wriggled again, not strong enough to push Stathis away. ‘If you would kindly unhand me?’

Stathis let her go, and she turned back, placing her hand against part of the stone, running fingers along the bone. Semari clambered up Stathis’ back, before standing on her shoulders and then jumping across the room, poking and peering at more of the arcane oddities.

Hakara’s voice spoke out. ‘Hmmm, interesting. It looks like… Yes, which would mean…’ She mumbled some explanation that Stathis didn’t even try and follow.

Janaxia smacked it again, more stone sloughing away. This revealed a gleaming black shard, the length of Stathis’ arm, the edges razor sharp. It was a cold and depthless black, extruded into wires from the top. As it was revealed, Stathis felt another surge of hunger, her stomach roiling.

‘It must have been able to draw energy from the environment, and somehow use it to fuel itself.’ Hakara carefully poked it with a wand, the blue crystal tip turning dark on contact. ‘It would be best to, um, avoid touching it.’

‘Everyone else, stand back.’ Stathis raised her sword, making it flow with golden light, Semari jumping backwards, out of the probable blast radius.

Do be careful. And try to avoid any injuries – facial scars are not really your style, and very much not to my preference!

Janaxia swept past before Stathis raised her shield to protect her face, bringing her sword against the large shard. She didn’t see it, but felt the shock of impact, and could hear the crystal crack and shatter. The hunger flared again, her stomach twisting and growling, an almost feral desire to eat washing through her. Another strike, the sound more tortured and fragmented, before the crystal exploded. Shards exploded everywhere, embedding themselves into her shield, rattling and ricocheting off her armour, before a fine, dark dust settled to the floor, the hunger vanishing.

‘I assume that will stop it?’

Hakara had to raise her voice, having retreated safely away. ‘I would expect so, yes!’

‘Good. Now see if you can find whoever was controlling it.’

Janaxia spoke. ‘Loath though I am to admit it, it seems as though this was the work of my kin. I think I saw the shimmer of a teleportation spell?’

Blue dust shimmered, Hakara casting a spell. It hung in the air, forming itself into a vague vertical circle, before falling to the floor.

‘Yes, that seems to be what has happened. I might be able to determine the destination?’

The building shook, dust trickling down from above. ‘Uh, maybe not right now?’ A slab fell from the ceiling, crashing down next to Stathis. ‘Parth, is there anything else we need to do here? Janaxia?’ Stone screamed and cracked, parts of the wall shattering, Janaxia already making her way towards the exit, moving from a stately stride to running as the sounds got louder.

Stathis ran after her, the others fleeing as well. The cold air swirled around her, as she ran past Janaxia, grabbing her and carrying her in her arms, Semari racing ahead, Vrintar not far behind. An arm snaked itself around her neck, Janaxia making herself comfortable, an horn poking against her face. Behind them, the place continued to fall apart, stone screeching against stone, the ancient construction falling to pieces. Stathis had to dodge falling rubble, feeling stone slam against her armour, but she managed to keep running, Pajaran and Hakara keeping up.

Dust started to billow from behind her, the roof having fallen in. She could see dim sunlight ahead of herself, and forced her legs to run faster, trying to outpace the destruction, Janaxia making herself comfortable.

She jumped forward, clearing the threshold, skidding along the ground, hearing ancient masonry shriek and protest, before falling to the ground. The sunlight, even pale and wan, felt good against her skin, as Janaxia squirmed, Stathis letting her step down.

Stathis turned around, just in time to see the circular dome fall in on itself, elegant stone becoming untidy rubble. The pall of darkness had thinned, and she could see more bodies, preserved but collapsed, hopefully depowered by the destruction of the central hub. ‘Everyone alive?’

The answers were a selection of groans and moans, but everyone was intact, with only minor injuries.

‘Good. Hakara, Janaxia, Parth, go do whatever else you need to do, but make it quick, and then we need to try and settle whatever is going on between the armies.’