https://www.reddit.com/r/dwarffortress/comments/ong35/this_underground_fortress_menaces_with_spikes_and/

Answering the final question, Gregor stared into Leyora’s golden eyes, and a part of him was surprised to see dark flecks move within them. They were like specks of dust in a whirlpool of yellow that circled again and again when he realized that he was in her home. Kira, who still stood chatting outside with Kilgorn, half smiled at him in reassurance. And for those briefest of seconds, he felt certain that she would be okay. The fear that he had felt for those past couple of hourglasses, eased the tension in his shoulders as he saw her become more animated. Her voice lifted loud enough that he could hear her explain the difference between a firetail and a drake. “...but in a fight, firetails can breathe fire. Drakes cannot.” Her confident, self-assured manner overwhelmed her timidity as she waved her arms up in the air to show wing size. “They also have much bigger wings.”

To which Kilgorn replied, “Ah but you forget young miss, drakes have agility, speed, and strength. I’d much rather face a hundred firetails, than one drake.”

Having battled a few drakes himself on the way up here, Gregor had to disagree, firetails were infinitely more dangerous. They may be smaller in size, and weaker too, but in a swarm, they could take down a giant in seconds. But before he could interject with his thoughts, he heard Leyora speak to him. “You care much for the girl.” Her voice was more of a statement of fact that caused him to turn around slowly as she smiled gently at him.

Her mottled green skin darkened by dark splotches around her eyes, she leaned back in her chair again, and nodded her head thoughtfully. “Now I think I begin to see why you are truly here.”

But as Gregor opened his mouth to explain, she held up an arm that seemed far too thin. “Please, there is no need for any more lies. I too care much for my people and would do anything to protect them. It is why I have done what I have tried to make a place for them down here. But like you, they too earn to be home.”

“Not you?”

Her head shaking sadly from side to side, Leyora’s gaze drifted back into the past. “No, for some of us. Those that remember the Surface World all too well. We remember the wars, heartache, and disease that plagued that world. But there are also dekaram, little better than children who never experienced our pain, and would heed the call of Tazrael. They forget that not all were equals under the four suns. That hellions ruled us with a firebrand, and those they deemed their lessers were used in ways no mortal alive should ever be used. So tell me the truth, do you truly come from The Mother?”

Not really sure how to answer that, Gregor stared at a spot on the wall behind her. The portrait that hung there, was that of a young lizard in full plate armor, and finally, he replied, “Would that change anything?”

Releasing a heavy sigh, Leyora shook her head and stood up. “I suppose not, by now your presence, and what it means, will have spread like wildfire.” Her golden eyes suddenly exhausted, she looked down at him. “Very well, Herald, shall we begin?”

His mind was a chaotic storm as he truly thought about what he was starting here, Gregor stood up to join her when he reached out an arm to grab her by the wrist. Her sad golden eyes looking at him in curiosity, she asked, “What is it, Herald?”

And as Gregor took a deep breath to steady his breathing, he asked, “Can you help her?” And he nodded his head in the direction of Kira. But judging by her confused expression, Gregor could tell that she needed to hear more. “the girl, she was captured from the Surface World…”

Her gaze suddenly softened, Leyora wrinkled her nose. “I am sorry, Herald, but I do not know. I have seen many surfacers taken in raids. Some survive, others become deranged, and yet more are forever broken. Not many are meant for this world.” But as if sensing his despair, she continued with a gentle pat on the arm, “But that does not mean there is no hope for the girl. She has survived and learned to adapt. And from what I have seen of the girl, she is strong. Give her time and she will heal.”

“And if that does not work?”

Her hand lightly touching his cheek, she replied, “then there is nothing that either one of us can do. Now come. The Heralds of War have spoken, and my people must prepare for war.”

Bowing her head to him one last time, the elegant lizard woman glided to the doorway. Her voice, which called out into the darkness behind him, somehow amplified as she held out her arms. “For years we have watched and waited for a sign from The Mother. For the day we would be forgiven and allowed back into her light. And after all these years, that day has finally come, my children! Gather whatever supplies you can muster, for we fight!” And as Gregor looked over his shoulder to see who she was speaking to, he let out a gasp as he saw a multitude of demons gathered in front of the house with Kilgorn first among them. The resounding cheer that echoed off the sewer’s walls, caused Gregor to wince inwardly. It seemed like he was forever doomed to fight battles that were not his own.

~*~

Several Hourglasses Later…

It did not take long for Leyora to gather up a small army of followers. Equipped with strange scale armor that interlinked, they were led by Kilgorn and marched out of the sewers into a darkened underground passageway that the Speaker said would lead them back up to the temple. The great procession that marched in solid ranks behind Gregor, made up of a collection of monsters that Kira took the time to inform him were gamarons (lizard people), slyraks (snake devils), impzalas (winged demons), urlaks (kin to the bears), lynex (feline savages), but the most notable for Gregor were the lanky red-skinned demons that were called hellions. Sticking to their own kind near the front of the column, Gregor had begun to notice an icy friction between them, and the slyraks and gamarons, whereas the urlaks seemed to worship them like gods. Which was troubling considering that they were the four largest factions. But if anything did happen, Gregor was determined to get Kira out of there alive. After all, there had to be other ways back up to the surface.

Used to scouting on his own, he considered heading up to the front to get a peek at what awaited them, when he saw a heated discussion break out between Leyora and Kilgorn. The tall red scaled hellion with white hair held out his broad heavily muscled arms and gestured frantically in the air. “We must take the Road of the Ungraven. It is the quickest path to the temple.”

Half cradling a worn brown staff in her arms, Leyora shook her head. “We can not risk taking that road, Captain. It is far too dangerous.”

“And the Dragon Bridge is not?”

Sensing that this could get out of hand, Gregor asked, “The Ungraven Road?”

Leyora’s golden eyes flashed at him dangerously. “It is not a place fit for the living. It is a place of darkness of evil things that should not be spoken of.”

Kilgorn, his lips twisted into a sneer, barked back, “that is nothing but foolish superstition nonsense,” he then waved an arm at Gregor, “Herald, please speak some sense into her. The quickest path up towards the temple is through the Ungraven Road. The only danger there is from common firetails,” and stormed off to join his brethren, his expression set in a stubborn scowl. Leyora, who did not wait for Gregor to catch up to her, spoke over her shoulder, “I know what you will say Herald, but as Speaker, I must ensure the safety of my people.”

Not really sure what to say to that, or even whether or not to disagree with her, he replied, “Kilgorn says that the only danger from that road are firetails. Is that true?”

Letting out a dry chuckle, the aged lizard woman rolled her eyes. “That fool will only believe what his eyes perceive them to believe. He does not know what lurks down there in the shadows. I have seen that place before, and it is a place of death.”

“And the Dragon Bridge is not?”

Half smiling at him wryly, Leyora shook her head. “I fear not. The hellenic guard after seizing control of the temple has since fortified the bridge, and now guards it with temple acolytes, hellenic warriors, and dragon riders.”

His gaze briefly widened at that, Leyora smirked at him, her teeth glistening in the darkness. “You did not truly believe it would be that easy, Herald?”

“No,” he replied, but as Gregor looked over to Kira, he had hoped that it would be less dangerous. Perhaps if he had spent a little longer training under Zelnora he could have created another gateway out of here. But as it was, in this place, everything felt different to him, and he couldn’t help but imagine the worst possible outcome from such a powerful spell. Still, it might be worth it to be free of this place.

And as his mind kept circling what he should do, he saw the dark roughly hewn stone walls of the passageway gradually lighten and become a rich brown, and then give way to a gentle slope that climbed upward. The first signs that they were directly below the temple were twin statues carved out of the stone. Depicting two dragons that clawed at the air, Gregor was beginning to wonder about the meaning behind them, when he paused. His head bent low as he sniffed the air, he could detect the faintest traces of smoke in the air. It was a subtle scent, and if not for the fact that he was in the deepest darkest bowels of the underworld, he would have dismissed it as nothing more than sulfur. But it reminded Gregor too much of cookfires, and that usually meant creatures of intelligence.

With a glance in Kira’s direction to make sure that she was safe, he could see that she too had noticed the smell. Her silver eyes which had once seemed so innocent had gained a weariness he had not seen before.

Certain, it had to be a sign of trouble, he considered warning Leyora of the danger, but it seemed she too realized that something was amiss. The heavy mass of footfalls, the loud mutter of voices from behind them, was suddenly quieted as she raised her arm. Kilgorn, his face a mask of worry, studied the wide open spaces around them and waved at his warriors to spread out. Meanwhile, Gregor, his greatsword unslung from his shoulders, advanced cautiously. “Stay here.” Kira, almost reached out an arm to stop him, when a thunderous roar shook the ground beneath them.

His neck hairs standing on edge, he considered what could be down here with them, when the roar came again, closer. This time from behind.

His head whipping back in that direction he saw the silent column begin to fidget nervously, and mutter prayers. Gregor, his eyes on the cavern’s ceiling, wondered if this was some kind of ambush when he saw a shadow move among the stalactites above them. Leyora, her gaze fixated on the path, again ordered her people forward as Gregor thought about tracking the creature down.

Then he thought better of it. Perhaps it would be for the best that they keep moving. But even as they hurried along, Gregor felt an itch between his shoulder blades and as he exchanged looks with Kira, he could see her pensive face become worried as fireflies began to flood the tunnel as though running away. The rocky path that led further up past boulders and stalagmites again showed more carvings of dragon heads that peered out at them with hollow eye sockets that seemed to follow.

Gregor, his greatsword slick with sweat in his hand, could feel his heart beating a rapid thump in his chest when again Leyora held out an arm to halt the column. Gregor, already moving at a brisk pace to catch up to her, stopped as well as he saw the passageway branch off in two directions. “Perhaps it would be best if you were the one to decide, Herald. The right will take us straight through the Ungraven Road, and the left will bring us to the Dragon Bridge and around.”

Not really like either one of those choices, he studied both ways. One path arced around a bend to the left, and the other continued straight forward through rows of sharpened stone. Assuming of course that Dragon Bridge would take them the long way around, Gregor replied, “we’ll take the left.” Leyora’s relieved smile, nodding her head to him as she gestured for them to hurry. The brisk march that took them around the curve, showed tunnel walls that were smooth, and pebbled with white gemstones that Gregor thought about pocketing away for safekeeping when they reached flat stony ground, and he let out a low whistle of appreciation.

The Dragon Bridge, or more like a stone block that ran across a deep dark ravine, had nothing but inky black darkness below, and a fortified stronghold formed from the bedrock on the other side. Letting out a soft curse at the thought of going up against such a monster, he contemplated using his power, when he saw Kira’s silver eyes twinkle and she smiled. “You shouldn’t swear.”