…and her thrall was already back, holding a single human sized slab of black stone covered in white dots of some sort of metal forming one of the pictographic stories that covered the walls around here… where was the boom? Or smash or slash or…

“Huh… I guess the jotun didn’t bother trapping it, that’s weird, I thought they liked traps.”

“They do… but I guess… maybe the key was hidden behind a trap? Since we got it off a corpse maybe we skipped that?”

“I suppose we didn’t check it…”

Erika sighed and reluctantly untangled herself from Kara’s body, a few mental gestures had the thrall drop the block in front of her but just to be safe she didn’t call the other thrall back, it still might be a delayed trap of some kind, no reason to pull back her shield just yet.

“What even is this thing?” One of the scouts was asking, poking the tablet with a boot.

“Maybe…”

In the distant a horn sounded, then a another, then a third, the walls shook for a moment and then stilled, dust spun through the air and something went *clack*.

“Is that the trap going off?” Laudon asked.

Erika looked inwards to her Odium well, she found only one stream heading outwards anymore, the second was gone. “My second thrall was just destroyed so, probably.”

Reidar pocked his head around the corner then blanched slightly. “In Hels name!” He swore, a moment later Kara stepped around him, looked, swore as well then turned sharply and lurched back to Erika’s side. “Your thrall got turned into paste…” she muttered “… I don’t know if any of use would have survived that.”

“What even was it!” Asked a scout gesturing at the red dripping walls. “Was it the power of the Runes?”

“No, I would have felt the hand of the gods upon us, I think it was something like the Vracians use, alchemical they call it.” Erika said walking back into the hall with a fearless tread… after she had had sent her remaining thrall in first to act as a shield, she wasn't stupid after all.

“…all the blood is smoking.”

“It might be poison!” Laudon yelped as he back-peddled away from the steaming pools.

“I think it’s just hot?”

Erika ignored the chatter and grabbed the enormous stone tablet that her thrall had dropped off, she couldn’t move it obviously but… yeah… just stone, fancy stone of course but nothing hidden beneath it, no hollow boom or crack able glaze, it wasn't secretly a pile of gold or a platinum sheet the size of a person, it was just stone, even the runes carved into it were just runic lettering not the Runes of the gods.

“…so its worthless?” Reidar asked as Erika laid out her findings.

After a moment Erika sighed and shrugged. “Yeah basically, big waste of time.”

Erika noticed Kara was staring at the tablet along with Gunhilda who was carving at its edge with a knife, a few of the scouts had joined them whilst the rest were poking around the secret door itself, after a moment Erika joined them.

The room beyond was entirely nondescript and small, at least for a jotun, it was about the size of Erikas bedroom but for a jotun that was just barely large enough for their hand to fit inside. In the back of the secret room was a slight depression in the floor so that the tablet could be fit inside, all in all it was utterly unimpressive… but Erika was still taking having her thrall haul it back with them, it had cost her a thrall to get it after all, she was going to… oh that was a thought!

“You guys reckon those merchants will want that thing?” Erika asked the group in general and Laudon in particular as she hiked a thumb over her shoulder at the mysterious tablet. A few of the downhearted expressions began to warm up but after a moment Laudon shook his head.

“Any other situation lady vitki and they’d be desperate for it but now? Low on food and water and surrounded by enemies with no droogs for hauling heavy weights? I doubt we’ll get much for it.

Erika sighed. “Your right of course and…”

*slap slap slap*

“HALT!”

Erika dived for cover as the delvers around her moved, shields raisings weapons baring the entire mob of heartbroken treasure hunters turning instantly into a bladed porcupine of hatred and capitalistic disappointment.

“I'm from the camp, I'm FROM THE CAMP!”

Erika looked over one of the shields that had appeared around her, every delver knew to always protect the vitki if you were lucky enough to have one, and saw… what was her name? The female scout that Bjorn had punched once… Ari, that was her name!

“Damn it you scared us! What in Hels name…”

“SHUT IT! WHERES THE VITKI!”

The scout stared open mouth at Ari but managed to point at Erika, Ari stared at her for a moment then she ran towards her and skidded into a sort of one knee half bow directly in front of Erika who was instantly uncomfortable but before she could tell the older woman to stand up Ari spoke.

“Lady Vitki I must report that Losthope has been attacked and several of our fellows have been slain! Lady Sigurn requests you return as fast as possible to reinforce the expedition.”

“…what?”