“The Under Empire, as we know it on the surface, is actually a series of separate dwarven kingdoms run by their respective clans and houses. However, one might then ask, so why call it an empire? Well, the fact of the matter is that although for us, the Dark Tides are closer to myths and legends than distant memories. The darkness that was dispersed seeped back into their lairs below the ground. For the dwarves, the echoes of war never faded, and every day, the kingdoms fight for their survival as a united front against the darkness. So it was that each kingdom could conduct its own policies and actions; up to even declaring war on another kingdom. But, when there is an incursion to their land, they are all required to work together to beat it back. If a kingdom truly abstained, they would be forever excluded by the others, left all on their own. Guaranteed a slow demise as the darkness overwhelms them, with no one to help.”

- Professor Berick Felderian, Arterian Academy - Department of History, “The Supranational Polity - The Under Empire”

Haunting blue-green light greeted them, occasionally interspersed by a pulsating yellowish orange shadow. Large crystals lined the walls as bioluminescent plants curled around them, magnifying the blue of the crystal with the dark green of the flora. An uncountable number of stalactites hung from the top of a massive cavern that stretched as far as her eye could see. Their sullen, jagged forms fought against the strange crystalline clusters that peppered both the walls and ceilings. Strange organic growths writhed in the crevices between the stones, as if caught between living and dying. Sheets of calcites occasionally interrupted her line of sight, cutting between the ominous blue glow and obscuring an area in shadow.

Purplish fungi sat in untouched groups as dark brown tendrils snaked their way around the cavern walls. They reminded Sophie a little too much of the Entity’s own tendrils that would make their way around everything, all coiled up and slimy. Every once in a while, she could see that there were batches of vibrant rainbow-like plants all huddled up in their own little corners, huddled up under the protection of stalagmites. Beyond what felt like an endless stretch of cavern, a solitary mote of yellowish light stood firm, surrounded by a dull red-orange glow, the source of the light that occasionally permeated the area.

Within the darkness, she also caught glimpses of alien creatures that crawled around, uncaring of the new arrivals. Humped monsters with far too many limbs to be natural, giant spiders the size of small shacks lurked in their massive webs on the walls, squat little animals gathered in small herds across the cavern floor, and many more shadows that roamed beyond the light.

“Heh, it’s like a whole new world, isn’t it?” Uldren interrupted the moment.

Sophie almost jumped but managed to steady herself in time, giving the dwarf a small nod.

“Didn’t even feel like that far away, did it?” He continued.

Sophie shrugged, more annoyed that she felt tired and the dwarf wasn’t. Looking backwards, Aryana seemed to just be happy that they were no longer stuck in the cramped tunnel. Indeed, upon further examination, Sophie reasoned that the cavern they had entered was likely as large as all of Arteria and then some. To say it was massive would be an understatement. How the hells has the world above not just… fallen down? There is just so much… space.

“When they say dwarven engineering is peerless compared to even you highborn, this is what they meant.” Uldren continued, oblivious to Sophie being mesmerized by the new environment, “The tunnel, or ah… smuggler’s tunnel actually traversed a steep slope downwards, but I betcha didn’t even notice did you?”

“Mmm.” Sophie half heartedly grunted, more focused on trying to identify what strange looking fleshy but metallic dodecahedrons were doing nestled amongst the crystals.

“Smuggler’s tunnel?” Ary’s soft voice asked, much to the dwarf’s delight.

Sophie however, had her eyes drawn to strange coral-like formations that half blended into the darkness, with their other halves looking like strange dark blue juts that forced their way out of the very stone itself. Within the husks of tubular coral, tiny eye-like pupils seemed to stare out from the darkness, the very sight sending shivers down her spine as she imagined the Entity’s eyestalks staring back at her. Stars preserve me, I wonder what it’s doing now.

“...that then becomes our destination. The forge city of Kaz Druzara. The light in the darkness, the chosen of the Amber Lord, defender of the southern reaches…”

Groans, shrieks and screeches penetrated his words. But to Sophie’s surprise, despite how guttural and even close some of the sounds were, the dwarves barely even reacted. Aryana on the other hand, was terrified and stuck even closer to her. Sophie was apprehensive if she was being generous, and mildly frightened if less so. Something would click out in the darkness, then some other creature would click back. Yet no matter how loud they were, Sophie couldn’t pinpoint where exactly the sounds were coming, something which worried her to no end. I like seeing what I fight, she shuddered.

Slithering across the roof of the cavern, a few more bizarre creatures greeted her. Gelatinous blob-like creatures gathered around the pools of black sludge, their liquid-like forms contorting to unleash strange jelly-like tendrils that soaked up the sludge. Large bulbous monsters that possessed a multitude of orifices also dragged their cancerous forms across the cavern walls, moving on their own accord and not necessarily with any rhyme or reason. It was an unnerving sight that made her mind wilt as it sapped her willpower. Only Aryana’s brief tap on her shoulder managed to draw her attention back to the group.

“Eh?” Sophie unwittingly exclaimed, before realising she spoke loud enough to attract the attention of all the dwarves, “Err, umm sorry.”

“Sophie!” Ary chided, “You were spacing out again!”

“Was not.”

“Oh yeah? Then what did the master dwarf say?”

“About?”

Ary arched an eyebrow.

“Guh. Sorry.” Sophie grimaced.

A few of the dwarves chuckled, even Uldren looked mildly amused at this dressing down.

“So uh… what did he say? Sophie sheepishly prodded.

“Pfft.” Ary aggressively booped her nose, “So you weren’t paying any attention at all?”

“Peerless, highborn tunnel?”

“Sophie! You caught nothing!” Ary pouted.

“Sorry.” Sophie hung her head.

“We’re making camp for a few hours before moving, should help us recuperate our energy. He also wants to make sure those who were on guard earlier get to rest too. So stop standing around and help me set up our stuff from the packs.” Ary jiggled her backpack in annoyance, her tone leaving little room for doubt.

Sophie surrendered and stuck her tongue out at Aryana, making her harrumph in response before jiggling the pack again, as if insinuating for Sophie to follow.

“Yes mam!” Sophie mockingly saluted, but smiling anyway as she moved to help.

Off in the distance, she noticed the silhouette of a spider leaping the incredible distance between two flowstone stalactites. The thought of a jumping spider alone made her heart stop as she imagined it leaping all across her body. The spindly little legs and chittering mandibles almost brought her to a gag. Worse still, these spiders were the size of a small shack if not bigger. And they can jump at that size, what the hells is this place?

Shaking off her worries, she hurriedly threw herself into helping setup camp in an attempt to distract her thoughts. Goddess above, preserve me. Let these beasts live where they might, but please make sure they avoid me!

They set up a makeshift wall of loose stones around the camp in order to dampen the visibility of the campfire’s light. The tunnel had deposited them atop a small bluff, and although the party had only spent just under five hours pushing through it, Uldren had insisted the two rest given the stale air within the tunnel might have compromised their respiratory system. Sophie didn’t show it, but was glad she could spend some time just relaxing with Aryana.

The two had spent their first few moments simply observing the landscape around them. An alien world hidden below the surface which screamed equal parts fantastical but also deadly. A part of her soul yearned for adventure, a call to explore this strange land. Yet, another part of her dreaded what she would find within, what horrors lurked in the shadows and worse still, an ever increasing pit of dread at the fact that the inquisition is what brought her here.

To have arrived at such a bizarre place at the behest of some ‘debt’. She felt more like an idiot with every second that passed. So much of the plan was left to chance and vagaries that she had little doubt that her tasks would gradually expand beyond the point of a ‘simple job’. Still, if what the inquisitor had said was true and that he had indeed covered things up with Professor Segosa, then there was a hint of merit to the idea of reciprocating his gesture.

City of forges though, I guess he wants me to make something. But what? I’m no blacksmith. Sophie mused to herself. She grunted to no one in particular and turned to look fondly at Aryana who now rested on her lap. It provided Sophie a great deal of amusement in that Aryana seemed to nap or sleep any time there was a lull. Truthfully, Sophie was also tired, but the strange noises of the caverns around them kept her nerves on edge. More than once she could feel the faint sense that something had been watching over them. Who knows just what could be watching us from the shadows? Mighty Stellesia guide my path.

She ran her hand through Ary’s hair and smiled softly, completely enamoured by the girl’s sleeping form. So peaceful, so serene, I wonder… is this how it was for her when she was on her own? How does she even sleep so much?

“Still awake, twig?” Uldren’s gruff voice interrupted her happiness.

Sophie shrugged, a little peeved at the dwarf for dashing her out of her pleasant thoughts.

“Should get some rest, trust me. By the time we’re properly on foot, you surface folk will have no idea what proper schedules to keep if ye don’t do it now.” The dwarf finished, returning to polishing a strange curved war pick.

Sophie stared for a few seconds, more miffed at the dwarf telling her off than anything. But as Aryana let out a cute little babbling noise, Sophie yawned. Begrudgingly acquiescing to the dwarf’s instruction, she leaned back slightly and gently shunted Aryana off her. Her already sore legs were now even more pained and she had to fight off a small cramp before she could lay down.

When her eyes finally started to close, she swore that something was looking directly at her from the ceiling.

Sophie awoke to find herself having latched onto Aryana while they slept. Having felt her stirring, Aryana simply smiled before bopping Sophie’s nose. Sophie immediately blushed and tried to turn away, only for Aryana to gently squish her cheeks, holding her in place. Their eyes locked onto each other and Sophie felt her sleepy heart instantly begin racing frantically in a panic. With the campfire silhouetting Aryana, Sophie felt as if she was to bear witness to something magical. But before anything could happen, they both seemed to realize where they were and immediately pulled apart, their faces flush with embarrassment.

A few chuckles echoed from the dwarves on watch and Crunak the vanguard cocked an eyebrow at her alongside a wry grin on his face. To her surprise, they didn’t seem intent on teasing the duo and continued on with their duties, slowly rousing the encampment. Though, the more she looked around, the more she caught knowing looks from those who had seen everything transpire. Stars above, this is so embarrassing! Her consolation came in that Aryana seemed equally mortified at being caught in the moment, the two trading sheepish glances at each other as they tried to nonverbally apologize.

“Did our guests enjoy the little rest break?” Crunak’s deep but smoother voice asked.

Sophie and Aryana immediately tried to look away, both reluctantly nodding their affirmation to another round of chuckles from the dwarves. They both hurriedly started packing their things, hoping to simply focus everyone’s attention back to the journey ahead. Unfortunately for them, some of the other dwarves seemed to have gotten spurred on by Crunak’s question and began making obscene gestures related to feminine lovemaking. Sophie’s cheeks burned brightly and she despaired. They seem to be keeping quiet, mostly. But judging by how fast they shifted after Crunak spoke, I somehow suspect that once we get to an inn or a tavern… ahhhh! I didn’t do anything too embarrassing, right? I couldn’t have! I mean, Ary never really told me if I did. Gah!

Her misery finally ended when distinctive plinks echoed nearby, alerting the duo. The dwarves on the other hand, seemed fairly nonchalant and continued as they were.

“Path seems clear! Flooding only took out the north pass!” Uldren’s gruff voice echoed from somewhere distant.

Following the sound, they saw Crunak embedding a hefty looking metallic anchor into the bluff itself. The cracked stone below indicating the dwarves had already been at this for a while. Another dwarf brought over a rope and the two of them tied it tightly onto the anchor with multiple knots.

Curious, the duo watched the dwarves as a third brought over two finely polished rocks with etchings on them. After chanting in an unknown tongue, the rocks glowed a dull red. Are those… runs? Crunak gestured at the second dwarf who then promptly pulled a small angular clockwork device out from his pack, setting it next to the anchor and allowing the third dwarf to put the runes into it. They then stuffed the rest of the rope into it and stepped away. The third dwarf chanted something and pushed his hands against the runes, the dull color shining brilliantly for a moment.

Boom

The small device then shot the rope outwards, sending it hurtling off into the darkness.

“Got it!” Uldren’s voice echoed through the darkness.

“Secured!” A second dwarven voice called out.

“Zip deployed! Let’s get those packages ready!” Crunak called out to the encampment.

At once, dwarves began taking neatly wrapped sacks of supplies and attaching little lockable hooks to them. Crunak then motioned for the duo to come over. Already intrigued, they followed his instructions and found themselves overlooking a steep drop that now had a rope cutting across it to a lower area of the cave. Down below, Uldren and four other dwarves had attached the rope to their own anchor, a few dark orange lights flickering around them, a small barricade also having been erected.

“We’ll be taking a side path down.” Crunak pointed towards an exceptionally steep slope, “To make it easier and to keep the path clear, Uldren and the others set up a forward camp.” He explained.

“I get that. What was that rope thing though? It launched it so… extravagantly?” Sophie asked.

“Ahh, that. I guess for you surfacers it’d be a… a… dwarven expeditionary cannon. Or something of the sort. We use it to traverse this whole environment a fair whack easier. Or in this case, move our stuff down to safe ground so we can manoeuvre easier, given how dangerous the area is.” He grunted as he waved his hand at the caves, “All we have to do is get the rope set, hook the pack and that’s it! All our stuff will be waiting for us down there. Ah, powered by runic magic, of course. So probably not as common without our artisans. Heh. Especially since we can use it as a mortar when situations turn dire. Now that is a sight to behold.” He finished with a soft whistle of admiration.

“Could certainly have been useful.” Sophie grumbled.

“Mayhaps you'll still get one as a souvenir, eh? No clue about the job you got hired for. But if it involves blackhats, stonearms, and a mercenary guard team like us, I'd wager you’re a… what do they call it? Ah! A special person in an optimal bargaining position.” Crunak spoke with a jovial tone, effortlessly directing the other dwarves of the encampment as they loaded their packs onto the rope. Wait, did he say stone arm? As in...

Her thoughts were interrupted as the dwarves hooked a pack onto the rope. It happened just as he described it, attached by their little hooks to the rope, the large dwarven pack slid right down to the other end. She found the sight fascinating and watched as each pack gracefully glided down the rope to where Uldren and the others waited. The dwarves worked like a well maintained clockwork machine and unloaded as fast as the packs arrived.The duo offered little resistance when it came to their own packs. Though Sophie worried about things getting damaged, the dwarves treated her pack as one of their own and carefully tightened any binds before attaching it to the hook. Just like that, she watched as her pack slid down, the dwarves unloading it like all the others and all it's contents still within it.

“Can we use it?” Ary asked, the redhead cautiously peering over the ledge.

“Huh? You already are? We’re getting your pack ready, see?” Crunak pointed at Aryana’s bag being hooked in.

“No, I-I mean can we, as in us, use it to get down?” She mimed swinging down.

Crunak choked back a laugh before shaking his head. “Not with this you’re not. It’d probably snap given the weight. The anchor’s also far too small and shallow to hold a person.”

“Oh,” Ary let out a disappointed sigh, “I guess that makes sense.”

“Oi, oi. Don’t look so glum.” Crunak snickered, “Real, proper zip lines do get used. We just don't have one with us since we travel these parts often enough to know where to go. Proper zip lines might be for more dangerous sections or more exploratory missions.”

Aryana frowned, a little disappointed but understanding.

“Besides,” He continued, “we’ll be taking a side route that’s… perhaps a little more climb intensive. Hence why we deposited our gear down there first. That way, we’re all relatively limber when we’re moving down the cliff’s edge.”

“That’s understandable.” Ary nodded.

“Aye. Also, the two of you could use more muscle, this is a good chance to get some exercise.” He chuckled, slapping his hands together before making a series of hand signals to Uldren. After a few moments, he waved at a nearby dwarf who began untying the rope and pulling out the anchor. He then looked to the duo and gestured at a small opening in the rocky cliff face, “Get ready then, you two. We’ll be taking the ahh… scenic route down. So watch your step, cause there's the potential of falling and I don't want to be the one telling Uldren that one of you slipped and fell.”

Aryana bobbed her head in agreement, unconcerned about the dwarf's warnings. Sophie meanwhile froze and shuddered as flashes of her time in the void entered her mind. Though it was more of a nightmare than anything, the sensation of ending up a jellified mess after an explosion of pain still haunted her ever so slightly. Fuck, that feels… eugh. Sophie grew a little nauseous, I’m pretty good on my feet. I won’t fall, right?