Liz felt conflicted. There was still the need to find the figurine. By now she wasn't really sure why. But then there were the bats.

'Ughh, whatever I am looking for has something to do with how I got here! And I really want to find out in what manner.'

After long drawn out inner battle, her need for answers eventually managed to subdue her deep fear of the flying rats.

'I am only doing this to find out why I was brought here! Maybe I find a way back! I want it on the record that there is no way I would go down there otherwise!'

Equipped with a light orb, and two more in her backpack, Liz descended into the darkness she dreaded so much.

At the bottom of the stairs she didn't turn left, which would have led to her start in this world. Instead, she turned to the right. The unknown. But not for much longer.

Thanks to her light, she could now see that the underground hallway wasn't in the same building style of the fort above. There were no small stone bricks, instead the space was hewn into the bedrock. Loose stones from the ceiling littered the floor, made up of massive stone blocks from a whole other stone than any she had seen so far. Where the fort above looked old, these stones looked ancient.

'What the hell is this? A whole other structure beneath the fort?'

Fortunately there was no sound of bat wings, a relief to Liz. Still her skin exuded faint light patterns, ready for anything, as she didn't let herself be lured into a false sense of security. In a world of monsters there was a distinct chance that these were bloodsucking vampires only laying in wait behind the next corner. And there would prove to be a lot of corners.

But for now the hallway snaked its way deeper into the stone. Although the walls were quickly broken up by several intersections and after just a few turns, Liz ran the risk of getting lost. To ensure she didn't she started to mark her path with arrows made out of the rubble on the floor.

The walls were occasionally dotted with the lone doorway, leading to storage rooms filled with rotten wood, dust and rust of different shapes and sizes. Numerous tunnels or doorways were completely impassable due to cave-ins.

There was no sign of a figurine or Garuna in any of the rooms or even any sapient being having visited this place in the last centuries. Still, Liz continued exploring the labyrinth of damp tunnels.

Liz constantly found new tunnels and rooms she hadn't seen before, only to end up at a known intersection at the end of them.

After about an hour of circling back on herself and getting frustrated with the layout, Liz found a particular new tunnel she hadn't seen before. Here the walls changed structure again, returning to the construction style of the fort, the moisture present in the rest of the cellar labyrinth was missing, and a big iron door marked the end of the perfectly straight tunnel.

The door was set into a masonry wall, a network of runes carved into the surface of both door and door frame. Liz recognized some runes from afar, none were the happy-go-lucky kind. She saw runes associated with lightning, fire and a few referencing blood.

'What the fuck? That is definitely not normal!'

Liz approached the door, careful of any runes on the floor, walls and ceilings. When she neared the door to a few dozen meters, she felt a sudden pressure on herself. Ducking back, she was barely able to miss getting hit by a phalanx of fire erupting from the wall to her left. Frightened by the display, the cats retreated around the corner.

'What the hell! What is behind that door that needs such security?'

Looking at the walls revealed near invisible runes, none painful to look at, even a millennium after their probable creation, hinting at a master's work.

'So this is part of either Wulfram's or his predecessor's work. But what did he secure behind this door? Has it anything to do with the figurine?'

Liz decided to study the enchantment present. For this to work she needed resources. Liz went back to the surface, marking her way thoroughly. A few minutes later she stood in front of the bookshelf in the suite without a clue as to which book to take.

'Oh fuck it!'

Changing her title back to Wanderer was a weird experience. One moment she was unable to read the spine of the books, the next she could understand the text perfectly fine.

'Having skills meddle with your perception is both confusing and incredible!'

Equipped with the most comprehensive, and therefore heavy, book on defensive runes, Liz went back into the darkness. She directed the cats to wait in the suite and relax, as she had no interest in them triggering any traps by accident. Until now, she hadn't encountered any bats on her exploration and, distracted by her new task, paid little mind to the existence of the buggers on her way back down.

Comparing the runes in the hallway to the book brought only limited insight. There was something about key, fire, position and detect written in the framework. But it was too complex to grasp. While still nothing compared to her failed enchantment or the enchantments on the locket, as little as she was able to study them, just this one defense made the preservation frameworks in the suite look like a child drew them. Liz had no interest spending valuable time studying the framework in detail. Instead, she looked for a quick way to disable the trap. She quickly abandoned looking for said way in the runes themselves.

Having found no way to disable the runes by conventional means, Liz went back to the workshop and searched for other solutions. While brainstorming, her gaze was caught by 'Exotic brews for the aspiring alchemist'.

Just flipping through the book, brought her a solution unconventional enough to possibly work. The book described the 'Rock Eating Soup' as an acid burrowing itself through nearly any stone.

Thankfully the workshop held all the ingredients, but one. Liz was lacking the 'Feather of a golden goose'. Researching the ingredient she found that the feather was commonly used in alchemy for its good mana conductance. Liz concluded that substituting the feather with an equal amount of Quicksilver as another mana conductor was equally viable. And so she brewed the questionable soup.

Testing the finished product on a stone quickly revealed her error in judgement as the brew didn't simply eat away the stone. No, just a few small drops came into contact with the stone and exploded immediately, annihilating the stone and everything in vicinity.

'Fuck! Garuna wasn't kidding with Quicksilver being the best conductor!'

Doing another run with a sliver of the Quicksilver, yielded better results. The stone sizzled and blubbered as the 'soup' ate away at it at a reasonable pace.

Down in the tunnel, it worked equally well when applied by flinging it in the general vicinity of the defensive rune framework. A small flame came into existence before going up in smoke a second later.

Carefully approaching the former trigger point, always ready to jump back, caused no flame to conjure. But just behind the destroyed defense, another was lying in wait.

This time, Liz was too slow to miss getting hit by the lightning. It definitely was no fun experience to get electrocuted, even if just by a small stray bolt and with Pain Suppression. After about a minute marked by random spams, Liz managed to heal the damage. Fortunately she didn't suffer any damage not manageable by a healing potion.

-- You have successfully learned the skill [Lightning Resilience] --

Lightning Resilience - lvl 1

Your body is less conductive to current. Lightning has a harder time breaching your insulating skin. Effect increases with skill level

'Seriously? What is valuable enough to warrant such a path of escalating traps?'

Fortunately for her, the architect didn't plan for any acid defenses, as this trap could also be deactivated just as quickly and effectively. The same was true for all following traps on the way to the door. Some were destroyed so quickly that Liz had no idea what their attacks had been. Judging by the repetition of the firetrap three traps in, but at double the power, it must have always been an escalated way of torture.

After half a dozen traps, Liz was standing just a few steps from of the door. She was unwilling to near it anymore. The runes around and on the door also proved more resilient. The stone simply wouldn't budge to the acid. It would sizzle for a bit before simply running down the surface. On the door, this was expected, on the surrounding frame, it was an unwelcome surprise.

'If these traps can escalate, I can as well. Time to step up my game!'

Liz fetched her botched batch of exploding acid. Placing it on a pedestal of rubble, piled just a few steps from the door, Liz distanced herself from the tunnel end.

Peeking out from the first corner down the hallway, she charged an Arcane Blast, faintly lighting up her skin, and aimed for the vial containing nearly a liter of the liquid, potent enough that a drop could eviscerate a volume fifty fold its own.

Releasing her Blast, Liz ducked for cover. She put her head in between her legs and hugged her knees. Just as she was in position, a massive boom erupted from around the corner.

The massive walls around Liz shook from the shock wave. Her own eardrums, as protected as they were, ruptured, tortured by the immense pressure. She tasted the coppery tang of blood in her mouth. Her ears and chest felt numb, indicating damage.

Dust got knocked loose from all around the walls and ceiling, further disturbed by the reflections of the shock wave. But the failing defensive enchantments also decided to contribute to the chaotic destruction. Just a moment after the initial blast, several smaller ones could be heard, or in case of Liz's ruptured eardrums, felt. Additionally, the pervading stench of sulfur waved around the corner, and patterns of lightning lit up the stone walls and dust clouds to blinding levels.

In just a few moments it all died down again and only Liz coughing up blood and bats being startled could be heard in the dust filled tunnel.

Thankfully Liz was still deaf and missed the additional distress of hearing bat wings. But her hearing quickly returned when she drank another of her healing potions, now a permanent fixture on her belt.

'Ok, that escalated a bit too far!'

When the dust had settled and Liz's coughing had subsided, she dared to peek around the corner.

Surrounding the door was a massive crater, at least half a meter of material missing in every direction around the end of the tunnel. Except for the door, which was still standing, although heavily marred by the destruction.

On guard against more still-active enchantments, Liz neared the resilient door. A closer inspection revealed that at least the runes around and on the door were done for, and the latch had been ripped out of its anchoring, leaving the door slightly ajar.

'At least it is effective though a bit too much as far as I am concerned!'

Using another Blast, Liz moved the door open, still standing around twenty meters from the tunnel end. No further traps were activated by her doings.

At this moment the cats suddenly showed up, the distance having muted all feeling through the bonds until now, but Liz quickly realized that the cats were in heavy distress. Fortunately a few minutes of petting them reduced the feeling of distress through the four bonds.

'The explosion must have given them quite the scare'

Only when the felines had been sufficiently calmed, did Liz continue her exploration. The cats were practically glued to her heels from then on. Since they stayed behind her consistently, Liz let them do their thing.

'If this doesn't yield anything, I'm gonna be pissed. I will have wasted close to a whole day that I could have spent gathering resources for the winter...'

Behind the door was a new staircase, leading upwards. For once, there were no more runes visible. Still Liz was wary of any hidden safety measures while she ascended the stairs at a snails pace.

Eventually she reached the end of the stairs. It opened into a large round room, completely empty, save for the center. The walls and floor were inscribed with a massive intricate patterns of runes, probably supporting the huge dome of patterned blue flames in the middle of the room.

Inside an indistinguishable mass was stirring slightly, reminiscent of a heavy breathing being.

'What the fuck? What is this? How is this still standing?'

After Liz had some time to take in the sight before her, the blue flames freaky even by 'new world' standards, she started circling the dome.

Half a rotation later, she saw the front of the mass in the dome. It was a massive stag. Passed out. And without antlers.

'Fuck! That is no figurine! But I found it! And it definitely needs help!'

Liz inspected the runes, that were supposedly upholding the dome. Once again, she could only guess at their inner workings.

'Fuck it!'

Using the last vial of non-explosive acid, Liz started destroying the runes. After melting away just a few runes, as close to the flames as Liz dared to go, the blue fire lost most of its height.

And just two drops of acid later, the dome failed completely, letting Liz rush towards the formerly caged animal.

It was still unresponsive, not even pushing it woke it. It was wholly emaciated, barely any mass left on the massive bones. Concluding that it needed water and food, Liz ran towards the stairs. On the way she found a curiosity; the cats were all crouched down on the ground, tails lowered and ears flattened and whining at the stag.

'Huh? Are you lot mourning the stag?'

Thrown out of the loop by the weird antics, Liz remembered her skill to identify. Looking back at the massive animal, Liz identified it

[ᚹ̷ᛁ̴ᛚ̶ᛞ̷ᚾ̴ᛁ̴ᛊ̷ - Primordial - lvl ?.?.?]

-- [Identify] has reached level 3 --

'WHAT. THE. FUCK? It is sentient? And how high is its level? How did that just live under my feet without me noticing! Can I even feed it? Only one way to find out'

Leaving the cats to their submissive behavior, Liz sprinted down the stairs and through the damp hallways.

Just a few minutes later she returned with several jugs of water, healing potion and an assortment of berries, as much as she dared to lose.

She was surprised to find the massive animal standing on shaky legs at the edge of the room.

Still, Liz approached and put some water into a bowl and presented it to the majestic animal.

The stag accepted the offered water immediately. What followed could only be described as miraculous. Even though he only consumed the water, the body of the ungulate replenished itself at an incredible speed. In no time at all it regained mass, the knotted fur straightened and began to shine and two massive crystal antlers shining with a bright golden light emerged from its head.

Liz could just stare at the astounding patterns of light reflecting and emitting from the crystal structures, mouth agape. It was beautiful beyond comprehension. Even as the antlers were still growing, she heard a voice in her head.

»You have my gratitude!«

While it startled her, she was still too awestruck by the light reflecting in the crystal antlers to show any signs of it. When the antlers stopped growing, the voice returned.

»You may speak and voice your questions!« it thundered in her head, causing Liz to wince. Additionally, the light from the antlers intensified with the words, accompanied by a sudden influx of mana concentration.

A constantly changing mana pressure, at its peak reaching the levels of the carpet of moss, suddenly assaulted Liz's body, causing her drop to her knees.

"I... I... What? How? Who… Who are you? Why?" Liz stammered, finally able to close her mouth, if only out of the misplaced instinctive fear of drowning.

»Is this what interests you? I remember your desire and questions to be something else, but I will answer nonetheless. But my name is nothing I will part with anymore. No man shall have it again. 'What' I and what I call my kin is is a question no being has found a comprehensive answer to. As to 'how', you should have questioned your 'mentor' about his and his former 'students' deeds« the pressure increased with the agitation in the voice of the powerful being.

"Wul...Wulfram?"

»Yes, that was his name. A name befitting an honorable being, not this excuse of a sapient. Filthy Soul Mages, a stain on the very foundation of these lands! And still a saint compared to the Strayed, his cursed 'mentor'!« the being roared in her mind. While no sound was associated with it, it still caused Liz a massive headache. It sounded terrifying.

"You... You mean... Garuna?" Liz held her head, the migraine and pressure just too much. The cats whined in response to her distress. Pain Suppression was overwhelmed by the power of the being, and simply couldn't suppress the tens of thousands of distressed nerves.

»Yes, the one I had to free from his prison. As the product of your erroneous actions!«

"How… How did... I cause this?" Liz wasn't fully engaged in the discussion, not even sure what 'this' was. Instead, she fumbled for a healing potion, hoping for relief from the headache claiming most of her attention.

»I had to use all my reserves to keep him from claiming your whole body! Willingly performing a soul-transfer ritual. How foolish can one be! Had I not intervened, you would have been lost. Lunatic humans and their greed! You should feel ashamed for your foolishness! Now another one of his kind is free and roaming these lands again. With your flesh as a seed for a body. True stupidity!....«

While the being rambled on, Liz had managed to drink the healing potion, reducing her headache by a bit. Constantly sipping small amounts at least let her concentrate on the words of the stag, and healed damage to her nervous system.

»...call yourself lucky that his kind doesn't dabble in necromancy. Otherwise, he wouldn't have deemed your dead body unusable! I hope you feel accomplished for what you did!« the stag concluded.

"I...I had no idea! Ho... How should I know?" Liz asked abashed, her voice barely a whisper.

»Of course, child! I have myself to blame for being foolish enough to seek help from across the Void. I should have never sent that call. I was stupid in my perceived distress.« the pressure abated, as the being seemingly calmed down.

'So it was not just involved, it is the reason for my travel here!'

"Why… Why did you come for me?" Liz spoke up, backed by anger at the stag for ripping her out of her life, despite barely able to converse with it.

»I wasn't looking for you. A millennium ago I sent hundreds of calls in the Void. Only two were answered. You somehow managed after more than a thousand years. At last, you succeeded. But not without almost falling prey as well. This world is truly too dangerous for your kind. I am sorry for exposing you to this.« the being sounded truly remorseful and condescending at the same time.

'I wasn't alone?'

"And the other one?" Liz managed to utter her first full sentence.

»You have seen him! Lying on the table in the workshop. The prideful dragon cleaned out the fort before they could do what you succeeded in. I am ashamed to say that I could only release the poor soul from his torture! I was truly foolish to ask your kind for help. Not even these prideful simpletons that call themselves dragons can be trusted to help! Mistaking the poor soul traversing the Void for some humans mastering a magic they should have no access to. Idiotic!«

"But why am I still here and 'he' isn't?" Liz asked, horrified.

»You had the luck to have wild beasts around you! Without them, I wouldn't have had the strength. Had they not torn him and your hand from your body, I wouldn't have been able to preserve the rest of your flesh.«

Liz managed to tear her gaze away from the antlers and look back at the cats, who were watching the exchange attentively.

'So you saved my life even more times? Wait...you ripped off my hand?'

Before Liz could continue, the being steered her attention back to itself.

»Do you have any other questions?«

"Yes, I have!! Why didn't the dragon come for me? And where is Garuna now?"

»Who says he isn't? Nobody can predict the actions of one of the First Kin. And the coward fled my domain before I recovered and could hold him and his weak body. Probably roams somewhere in the Wild by now. He may not surface for another century, hopefully ever. Not that he can do much with his weak body. One can only hope he has learned his lesson. Tracking him would certainly be a foolish task. And none of my concern. Should he return to the civilized world, the powers that be will have to deal with it. Just like their ancestors did. With your questions answered I see my debt repaid. I will stay no longer. Expect no more help. As much as it pains me to have put another one of your fragile kind in this dangerous world. Stay where you are!«

'But I have about a million more questions!!'

Before Liz could voice any of them, the now healthy-looking stag moved to the wall and touched its antlers to the dusty stone. Their glow intensified once more before the wall started to shimmer and a lush forest replaced the dusty stone bricks. The mana influx accompanying it let Liz drop back down again, rational thought abandoning her once more in the face of the overwhelming and terrifying magical power exuding the being.

The stag stepped into the former wall without an issue.

"Wait! Can't you send me back to Earth?" Liz came to from her stupor and shouted after the already running stag, unwilling to follow it.

It looked back at her.

»My call was a foolish measure in distress. Although I feel sorry for having brought you here, I will not meddle with the Void no more. Lest I attract calamities bigger than the forces of this realm can handle. But I will give you this advice: From what I saw of your memories, you shouldn't follow your past and hollow dreams and instead forge your own path«

"And what about taking me to civili..."

Before Liz could finish the sentence the portal closed in the blink of an eye, taking the overwhelming mana with it and leaving an exhausted Liz on her knees in the dark room. And a stray notification.

-- [Compulsion Resistance] has reached level 3 --