The Lost Sanctum

*Somewhere close to Raque.*

The Woodland immediately north of the bustling beach city was sprawling with life, deers, birds, bears and more lived within the confines of the forest, keeping away from the humans that frequented this region. Ordinarily, nature ran its course undeterred here, but this day something seemed amiss, and the animals had migrated to the northernmost part of the woods and avoided the central area with great deliberation.

It was a curious phenomenon to be sure, but its cause was soon revealed as all of a sudden, there was a rumbling sound that shook the earth for miles around. Audible to all as the ground split itself apart to form an enormous chasm in a fiery blaze — reducing surrounding trees to ash in its raw intensity and within the span of a single moment. Turning the previously lush centre of the forest into a scorched wasteland.

Yet the earth behaved strangely as a winding staircase began to form at the walls of the pit, descending towards a gate of red gold bearing carved pictures of beast faced humanoids fighting over a large book. Just as soon as it had begun, the rumbling died down, and the world stabilised in its new form...

A dungeon had appeared.

## The Chosen Few

*A few hours later in Clover Castle*

The Throne Room was a stunning piece of architecture, pillars of gold supported a ceiling decorated with murals and paintings of the feats and prestige of House Kira. In particular, it seemed to feature King Guthrie Clover II's relative Augustus Kira Clover XIII prominently, performing a variety of grand feats and inspiring the people with astounding speeches.

It was a farce of course, and Guthrie knew that better than anyone, yet he had permitted it to remain for not only did he find the irony amusing but the visage of his forefather was a constant reminder of what a King ought NOT to be. Undoubtedly the former King would have taken offence to his countenance being in used such a manner, but it mattered not, Guthrie held no respect for any of his ancestors save himself.

After all, none of them had managed to wake the Eidolons, and that proved that in the last hundred years *he* was the only worthy ruler.

Usually, the throne room was bustling with activity as sycophants and nobles threw themselves at every whim and gesture that Guthrie made in the hopes of currying favour with the King. But today was different, as a specific dungeon had reappeared for the first time in centuries; the Lost Sanctum; it was called - and within its treasury, it held an item which Guthrie desperately wanted.

It was common practise for the Coral Peacocks to be sent to visit dungeons, but when it concerned this specific one he had used his political clout to pick a selection of mages he deemed most suitable for the mysteries of the Sanctum, all powerful mages in their own right.

He had commanded their presence personally through the assistance of Nathaniel, a user of Communication Magic and one of the King's dearest *companions*; he longed to see this business through so that he might return to his royal duties. If his guards were to be believed they should be here any moment, he had informed them about the dungeon, although they had undoubtedly already heard of its appearance.

Further specifics to be discussed upon their arrival.

Jon Valeran arrived quietly into the room, never being one for much fanfare. He had hurried over when he had gotten the call about running a dungeon for one simple reason. He loved stuff. Jon was a kleptomaniac at heart, always wanting new and valuable things, leading him to volunteer for runs whenever they came up.

Jon approached the king before stopping to bow deeply. "Your Majesty." Standing back up, he adopted a parade rest position while waiting for further instructions.

Smiling good-heartedly Godric Vermillion made his way towards the throne room, with his blond hair glowing due to a mixture of his great mood and his Magic, he was practically giving off a happy feeling of warmth and peace. Walking into the room smiling towards every Knight he came across and receiving one in return he happily made his way towards the king and after nodding towards Jon in greeting he bowed his head to The King.

"A pleasure to see you again my king". Godric spoke in a tone showing nothing but joy and respect. "I heard you had a mission that requires a certain group of individuals so I hurried my way here". He finished with his head still bowed.

Strutting down the halls to the throne room was a girl of silver hair and azure blue eyes. She walked with dignity and grace, it was almost as if nobility was spelled out on her forehead. Despite her highborn exterior, she had a bubbly demeanor about her with a small amount of pep in her step. This girl was Noelani Silva, Silver Eagle and noblewoman of the royal House Silva.

As she entered the throne room and stands before King Guthrie Clover II she drops into a curtsey, common when greeting a king. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, my king." Noelani would speak in a tone of respect and beauty as she arises from her curtsied pose. "To my understanding, you have called upon me and my fellow magic knight Godric Vermillion for a mission of sorts. As he said prior we both came as fast as possible."

It took some time for Pangu to enter the room. The fluffy creature, being farly small than a regular member of his species, walked past the door in his four legs, shifting to a bipedal position the closer he got from the other knights. Instead of standing by their sides, Pangu hugged Jon's leg, the only other member of his own squad, and peeked in the direction of the throne, sighting the King.

"O-o-on duty." He said, in a childish and timid voice.

With the team assembled, the King fixed his gaze on each of them in turn, his gaze resting on Jon and Pangu longer than most, with Jon, the King smiled almost affectionately whereas with Pangu his expression became inscrutable. One might hazard a guess as to what he thought of the unusual Magic Knight, did he find him a disgrace, a curious curiosity or perhaps he was simply overwhelmed by the raw unadulterated levels of cute cuddliness that the little guy possessed?

It was a question best left to learned sages.

Nevertheless, Guthrie rose from his throne and raised his hand wordlessly as he began to draw glyphs and symbols into the air... letters of iridescent gold manifesting in perfect succession before each letter shone with vibrant violet light. The King's hands trailed motes of purpel-hued light that soon scattered in all directions, striking the ceiling, floor and the walls of the Throne Room at once; wherever they struck the area appeared to turn transparent and then change to reflect the woodland around Raque, close to where the Dungeon had appeared.

This was the power of the Eidolon of Light; as Guthrie invoked the powers of Maduin to have the throne room become a reflection of the groups ultimate destination, but this was not all, for once the light had settled and they seemingly found themselves in the middle of the forest, they could hear the song of birds.. and feel the grass underneath them and the wind upon their face. But they could also hear the sound of the guards outside the door to the Throne Room.

Odin's powers had supplemented those of Maduin and the result was that the group now occupied a space in-between both locations.. not quite in the throne room, not quite in the forest. Consequently, Guthrie had formed points of exit, one that leads out into Clover Castle and another that would take them directly to Raque.

With this act of sorcery complete, the King lowered his hands and spoke plainly: "As you were made aware of, a Dungeon has appeared in the woods around Raque." he paused briefly before continuing. "Truthfully, that intelligence is rather incomplete, for this Dungeon is quite particular in that it has appeared numerous times over the last few centuries, only to vanish again days later."

Guthrie fixed his gaze on each of the Knights in turn, as if to reexamine their qualifications.

"It might interest you to know that this dungeon has never once been breached, and its treasury stands untouched due to the terrors that guard its innermost reaches. It is for that reason that it was named "The Lost Sanctum" by Sages." The King of Clover allowed the implications to sink in for a moment before he finished: "All that is known is that it is said to house a particular book that I desire for the betterment of our Kingdom, an item that legends tell lie guarded by a monster fit to rival the devils of ages past."

"Any idea as to the layout, your Majesty?" Jon asked respectfully. "If this dungeon has shown up multiple times at least the initial layers should be mapped."

Seating himself back down on his throne, which now looked wildly out of place standing in the reflection of a lush forest, Guthrie took a moment to consider the question before answering.

"A reasonable inquiry; to date, any map drawn of the interior of the sanctum has crumbled into dust moments after pencil touched paper, undoubtedly the work of some ancient enchantment placed upon the complex to safeguard it. But that isn't to say that we have no information, individuals have come as far as the second room and lived to relay their findings... although mostly in garbled nonsense brought about madness. Still, choice phrases such as "do not look at the eyes" are oft repeated in what information we do have about the second room; beyond that point, none have returned."

"When it concerns the first room however I know a great deal more, I know that it contains magical devices of mysterious origins that emit fields of distorting energies that dramatically tax the arcane reserves of anyone who enters, so as to weaken intruders to the point of irrelevance before they are capable of mounting a serious effort; it appears to weaken relative to your magical power and so it drains everyone equally so nobility is not necessarily a boon."

"Hmm.... So we need to clear the first room as quickly as possible." Jon muttered as he rubbed his beard. "Longer we're there the less juice we'll have to get out with." Jon was an experienced dungeon runner, something that showed and was likely why he was chosen.

Pangu raised his little paw to call for the attention of the king. "W-w-w-what are we supposed to do if... if... if we find mages from a-a-another kingdom there?"

Guthrie turned to address the curious little creature and answered coldly: "Raque is within the Clover Kingdom and so any foreign mages are to be considered an act of war, kill them without reservation. Capture them if you wish, but given our intelligence operatives and interrogators I would say that killing them is a kindness."

Sending curious yet blant looks at Pangu due to his uber cuteness at least to himself, Godric returned his attention back towards the matter at hand. "Am I to assume that we are permitted to keep any and every "Items" other than what you specified for ourselves or is that rather something we should avoid?" Godric questioned as he knew from prior experience about the valuable items found within dungeons, having first hand acquired his current sword from an old dungeon in his earlier years as a Magic Knight.

The King spoke briefly in response to Godric's question: "You are permitted to take a single item from the treasury each, moreover you are also entitled to a share of forty percent of the riches kept in the vault for your efforts for breaching the Lost Sanctum, to be distributed between all of you as you deem fit; furthermore, any items you discover outside the treasury are yours to keep."

Following his statement, Guthrie rose from his throne again and gestured at the wall which seemed to ripple like the surface of some great lake, images of lush grasslands, birds and trees churning within its centre as it expanded into a large tapestry formed a gateway between the Castle and the wilds close to the Dungeon.

"Further inquiries can be made when you complete your task, you will find another agent already in the field, he too shall accompany you - together you should have a reasonable chance at success. Go, Magic Knights and do not fail the Clover; enter the portal on the wall and bring me the *Tome of Beasts*."

## The Lost Sanctum: Act I

A dark skinned man sat at the edge of the massive door that had been carved into the face of the earth. Below him was an endless chasm of darkness, which he was sure would've lead him into hell had he slipped and fell on his way down. Ézéchiel d'Ébène-Terre. The Untethered Mage. He took a deep breath and thought about the earlier conversation. The Coral Peacocks were the treasure hunters. He would've never thought that his *boss* would've sent him on this mission. But Ezekiel, also being a Magic Knight, was the best option on important task that involved the nine squads. Plus, possessing an obsessiveness regarding his thaumaturgical advancement, wielded magic that would surely prove useful against the endless traps that definitely littered this mysterious sanctum.

Ezekiel stood up and fixed himself. Beneath his Azure Deer cloak, the Untethered Mage wore a lightweight wool jacket over a cotton shirt which complemented his pants. A combination of navy blue and white that created a midnight sensation to those who looked at him. An outfit meant to allow for swift movement and breathability.

Ezekiel approached the ancient door and touched it, creating a layer of protection between himself and any potential traps with his mana flowing between his finger. It felt as if the ancient dungeon was alive, breathing in ambient mana and exhaling an antique aura long forgotten by man. His heart raced at the chance to experience this. Ezekiel loved adventures as much as he loved battle. But he knew he needed to remain calm. As opposed to his future allies in this endeavor, Ezekiel had been given an additional task. One that came from the **Top Shelf** directly. Rare for them to contact him...

Either way, Ezekiel took a seat once more and continued to wait. *I hope they don't send her.*

Moments after Ezekiel's hand touched the ancient door; there was a sudden shudder in the air as flashes of red lightning began to twine through the air before rushing downwards into the ground. Followed next by a soft rumbling as the doors to the Lost Sanctum started to part of their accord: sliding to the sides and evaporating into thin air revealing a long corridor that descended further down into the depths of the earth.

Darkness obscured everything for a few moments more before there was a rustle and whooshing sound as dozens upon dozens of rows of sconces lit up at once in lurid green flames that illuminated the passageway in full, albeit with an almost unnatural sheen.

In spite of what the outside might lead one to believe, the interior of the dungeon appeared to be marble, and it most resembled the corridor of some lavish palace. Appearances could indeed be deceiving, and what was more, Ezekiel could also clearly make out the sound of waterfalls echoing up from the lower levels.

Then there was the raw magical power at play in the environment, it felt almost strangling, as though it displaced the very air itself and at times the Magic Knight might suddenly have to gasp for oxygen as the presence of the dungeon warped and twisted the laws of the natural world.

Ezekiel watched the magic unfold. His lowered eyes hiding the utter shock within. He could feel the ancient magic twisting the idea of common sense. If not for his control over mana, Ezekiel would find himself gasping for air. But his mana moved like the blood throughout his veins. Still, he worried that one of his comrades wouldn't be able to withstand such a forgotten aura. A thick atmosphere of antique.

In Ezekiel's line of work, the young mage learned that the lavishness was nothing more than the colorful skin of a poisonous insect or fungi. A trap meant to lure adventurers into safety. Instead he held his ground waiting for this team to arrive. Besides, Ezekiel knew his place. He wasn't an attack mage per se. His specialty lied in support. *I hope he found a proper defense mage.*

"I see that someone was waiting here for us, good sir." Jon said with a slack jaw as he walked through the edge of the King's magic. A sword made of thorns rested on his shoulder as he walked onwards, his Guilty Thorn ready for the dangers ahead. "So who might you be?"

Ezekiel felt his new teammates arrival and smiled. A slight grin with lowered eyes that spoke of a nonchalant attitude. "My name is Ezekiel. I am the Vice-Captain of the Azure Deer." Only half of his resume. But the other part didn't matter to those who weren't involved. "His majesty requested that I help you guys with this dungeon." His attention returned to the opening in the cave, his eyes peering deep within. "Though I might have disturbed it. What about you?"

"I can see that," Jon noted as he looks past Ezekiel into the gaping maw of the dungeon. The magical power here was immense, even more so than most of the other dungeons he'd run into in the past. He adjusted his Mana skin to compensate as he contemplated this place. This was going to be a Wooly run, that was for certain. "Names Jon, 5th Class Senior Knight for the Orcas. A pleasure."

“Who woulda thunk it?” a voice called out. Wayne Kira descended from above, riding a magical broom towards the duo. “It’s Valeran himself. Haven’t seen you in a while, bwahahaha!” he laughed, despite not having made a joke. Wayne of course, had not been present when the information revolving around the dungeon was explained to the knights, so him showing up was sure to be a surprise of sorts.

He hopped off of the broom, grasping with a hand as he landed. Wayne stared into the Dungeon, the doors ajar. The man could feel the power radiating from within. If it weren’t for the mans magic power and his Mana Skin, Wayne was sure he would have been struggling to breathe by merely standing near it. “So,” the madman began. “When’re we hopping right into this bad boy?”

Flying in on what looked like a silver bird of enormous size. As it approached you could see the light shimmering off of it. The bird seemed to move in almost a liquid like fashion though, still remaining solid enough to soar through the air and with someone on its back no less.

As it’s lowered to the ground a young girl could be seen, this girl was also at the palace earlier today. She dismounted her bird and it dissipated as she began to walk toward the two men,

“Am I late.” She uttered in a hushed voice she had lost most of the noble aura she had carried as she walked within the walls of the castle she seemed more natural in behavior all while somehow upholding the visage of a magic knight. “Hi, I’m Noelani! I haven’t yet had pleasure of formally meeting you all, how are you both?” Noelani would say with a sweet smile on her face directed at all three of the men.

Having arrived a bit earlier than the rest and decided to check out the area surrounding the dungeon to wast time, Godric once again casually walking up to the gather group of Magic Knights whom he would venture into the dungeon with, Godric gave them all a warm and friendly smile nodding his head in acknowledgement towards the group.

"I believe that all of our group members have arrived now". He spoke before looking over each member and inspecting them to get a based judgment on their strength before bowing slightly in a gentleman way. "Allow me to Property introduce myself, My name is Godric Vermillion and I am a 1st Class Intermediate Magic Knight hailing from the Silver Eagle Squad." Godric states and he rose from his bow.

Noelani playfully scowled at her fellow Silver Eagle. “Took ya long enough, Godric.” Noelani smiles at Godric making it even more clear her last remark was simply a joke. “Now we can finally get in there, as long as everyone is ready that is.”

Glancing towards the person who called out to him Godric finally realized just who exactly was in the group before a big smile made its way upon his face. "Noelani, I didn’t know you enlisted for his quest as well." He states while quickly embracing his fellow squad member in a hug before releasing her and finally looking at each member carefully in case he knew any other members.

From the nearby woods, a black and white ball made its way towards the dungeon. Appearing to be a soccer ball at first, it bumped in every obstacle that appeared in its route, bouncing from one place to another in quite high speed. Before it could strike the individuals near the dungeon's door like bowling pins, it started to slow down until the ball was no longer a ball, but a upside down, fluffy creature. Pangu, with his head on the ground and butt in the air, took some time to get up properly. With his paws, he cleaned the dust from his fur and adressed his fellow comrades.

"I-i-i-i've arrived." He said, quite timidly.

“Is that...A PANDA?!?!?!” Noelani. Tamed over to the newest knight on the scene. A sharp twinkle flashed in her eye as she locked her sights on the panda bear. She rapped her arms around Pangu hugging and cuddling him profusely. She quickly composed herself putting down the bear. “Sorry for the outburst. Hi, I’m Noelani, a pleasure.” She squares down holding out her hand to greet the panda properly as apposed to her previous greeting.

The sudden assault caught Pangu out of guard, but the pleasure of being squished was such that he didn't mind to be enveloped in Noelani's arms at first. However, when he was released, a mix of anger and fear filled his body; the Panda almost instantly run away, hiding himself behind a rock.

"D-d-don't t-to-touch me!" Peeking behind a rock, his angered words were directed towards Noelani. His tone, however, was far from being taken serious; it sounded just like an angry child.

Royalty and nobility were called to help claim this dungeon in the name of Clover Kingdom. That made sense when Ezekiel thought about it. But perhaps it meant something even deeper for one such as himself. That his own prowess meant so much to the King that he trusted Ezekiel to stand on equal footing. Regardless, their magical power was true to their names and Ezekiel knew that this mission would be a success.

"Looks like everyone is here-"

Ezekiel noticed the panda and fell to the ground in an explosion of shock. "Awesome!" A talking panda was something new. Most magic knights favored squads of beautiful women. But Ezekiel had been telling Sapphira they should focus on the recruitment of animals. A squad filled to the brim with trained beast! He quickly regained his composure and stood up.

"We should get going. This Dungeon is particular, in that it never stays in one place for too long. Which means we need to clear it before it carries us into the next century." Ezekiel spoke, his quiet voice filled with wisdom and knowledge. He wasn't the run of the mill mage. In fact, he was one of few mages who specialized in support based combat.

"Whatever, hairspray." Wayne stated, hopping onto his broom. He stood on the handle as it floated, crouching down. The broom zoomed over to Pangu, the mage blatantly ignoring Ezekiel's suggestion. "Hey little panda," he called out. "It's been quite some time now, hasn't it?"

Hearing Wayne's words, Pangu left the rock and walked clumsily towards the man; his gaze on Noelani the entire time, watching her carefully with fear of being assaulted once again. Whatever was their relationship, Pangu was quite found of the other mage. He hugged his leg, butt on ground, resting quietly under his shade.

Noelani watched as the Panda bear shot forward from her grasp before they could even engage in conversation. “Aww I didn’t mean to scare you, little guy. I’ll leave you alone, I promise.” Noelani playfully shot back up to a standing position before once agin joining the group.

### First Room - Land of Hopeless Waters

Following their introductions, the group of Magic Knight finally began their descent down into the Lost Sanctum, the sound of water would grow in intensity until it reached a maddening cacophony, one that seemed to drown out all other sounds aside from its own. The corridor winds downwards in steep curves and hoops, sometimes heading up and sometimes down to the point that it becomes difficult to track one's whereabouts, and how close they are to the surface.

Despite the curious nature of the passageway the Magic Knights seem to get by easily enough, nothing as of yet has arisen to bar their path and no trap appears to have been activated, however, a challenge soon presents itself as they reach the end of the corridor and the proper entrance to the first room.

In any manmade structure, the way down would consist of a single sloping path down a flight of stairs; but within the Lost Sanctum things are quite different, for the end of the road leads to a steep drop as the corridor plummets down and ends in a vast open space, hundreds of feet above the room below.

The First Room of the Sanctum is an extraordinary affair, large enough to house a castle it consists entirely of a massive lake filled with churning waters that violently turn, crash and churn against one another in a state of perpetual disharmony, If one were to fall into those raging waters, one would be scarcely last a moment but for the baleful force of the currents.

Yet the most unusual feature of all would be seven waterfalls, which fall in reverse, shooting up from the chaotic waters below and crashing against the ceiling and scattering into perpetual sprays of high-velocity water to make even flying a risky manoeuvre. To make matters even more complicated the waterfalls seemed to move across the water surface in erratic patterns that made predicting their path all the more challenging, moving pillars of death that they were.

Guthrie’s intelligence would seem quite outdated by all accounts, but he had been correct about one matter and that was the mana disruption devices, visible as four orbs that darted across the room with impressive speed whilst they emanated fields of distorted energies from a single purple gem set in their centre. As the group grew closer, they can feel how one's mana seems to almost increase in weight, growing heavier and more unwieldy.. as though it wishes to resist them.. but the effect passes quickly when the orbs move further away, circling the room in an endless pattern.

Ezekiel was the first person into the room. And it was good that he was, for he could feel his mana skin suffering from a continuous series of minute distortions. One second it felt as if he wore a heavy leather hide over himself and the next, just as it always been. Of all the Magic Knights, Ezekiel ranked among the few who could flawlessly control their own mana. So these weird readings was quite strange to the ebony Mage. He turned to the others with a slight grin. "Those orbs are messing up our mana. It seems like they dont want us to get across. Anyone here have any ideas?"

Looking towards the orbs and feeling his mana pulsing wildly disturbing his already chaotic control, Godric paused for a second before glancing towards Ezekiel with a questionable look. "Despite the disruption that seemed to affecting my mana perhaps it’s entirely possible for me to create a strip of land as I utilize Volcanic Magic". He stated as he attempted to see if his idea was a plausible one as despite his mana being in disarray. "Then again perhaps I shouldn’t as we’re unsure if their room has central air or any openings to allow the steam and sulfur to disperse through". Godric offered up as he turned to the rest of the group.

John whistled slowly as he looked towards the water below. "This is going to be a nasty run. And I have run a lot of dungeons." He quietly added afterwards.

"Going to have to go with trying to directly challenge this room with magic won't work all that well. Gotta work around the threats. The pool at the bottom ain't all that bad as long as you don't fall in it. Which the orbs make easy to do. Flying is hard with all the high pressure water around. And getting hit by one of those waterspouts means you're dead unless you have a way to block, which is also restricted by those orbs. Top it off, we have no idea where the door is. We need to take this nice and slow for the moment."

Ezekiel has broken into countless houses and royal establishments from different lands. He has infiltrated thieves dens and terrorist cells across the four countries. Never has he faced something this annoyingly challenging. And for some odd reason, Ezekiel was excited. Had he not been afraid of heights, the ebony mage would've leapt from the ledge. But John was right. This would require nice and slow decision making.

"The orbs are interfering with our magic. In my line of work, I can tell you that the best method against magic interference is through physical means. But first, we need to see what happens if we attack the orbs. If its covered traps, sometimes you have to set it off prematurely, especially before you're suspended over liquid death." Ezekiel pulled out a knife from the set tied to his legs. He took a step forward and waited for the orb to move away from him. He flicked it with astonishing power. However, a thrust occurred from a miniature explosion of mana from his fingers. The knife was aimed so that it would catch the orb on its way back.

The dagger was hurled at the distant orb with great force and panache, it seemed inevitable that it would strike true, yet at the last possible moment the device streaked through the air, displacing itself so that it barely managed to evade the full force of the blow, although the dagger did indeed succeed in damaging its left side; which sparked with violet light. It seemed to slow down almost immediately afterwards, its movement more erratic and disjointed, but at that moment the strange stone at its centre flared to life in violet light as it unleashed something that could only be described as a signal flare.

One that was immediately met by similar flashes across the room as all of the orbs, four in total reversed their course and began to surge towards the intruders, two of them remained out of range but a single orb was close enough to support the first, and as it did a tether of violet light lashed out from the first orb to the second and for a moment they established a basic connection, and when they did their anti-mana field resonated, unleashing a massive pulse that served to wash across the group, as a significant portion of their mana would suddenly evaporate on the spot, like water to steam. The resonation seemed like it intended to continue, but Ezekiel’s earlier attack seemed to have damaged the first orb to the point where it seemed to malfunction somehow and the interaction ended prematurely as a result, although a second connection was undoubtedly soon to come.

Even in this state neither ceased moving, and two flickering purple lights could be seen approaching fast in the distance; each an orb that sought to join the quadrant...

Just as he figured. The orbs contained powerful magic within which must have some sort of preset conditions for activation. This meant that Ezekiel's earlier attack was the equivalent of poking a hole in a balloon. Let the magic fall out so that they can move forward. The ebony mage had information of his teammates, and worried not about clearing the room. They were all powerful mages more than capable of busting their way forward. And he could handle any set traps or ancient tricks the dungeon's architects laid.

His body moved almost without thought. Each hand grabbing another group of knifes and tossing them with explosive speed and power. Just he figured, the orbs wouldn't interfere with the daggers as this trap possessed its danger in magic. Hell, he felt the ambient mana in the room vanish as it came into contact with the field. Which meant any magic used against the orbs wouldn't have worked. Even his own. But as the orbs would collide with his daggers, hopefully breaking upon impact, the powerful mages of his team could now use their magic better to create or locate an opening.

Looking up for Ezekiel's success, but not really sure if the daggers would do enough damage to finish the job, Pangu decided to join the "throwing contest". With his bare paws, he removed a large piece of rock from the ground, almost the size of his head. His body now shined in an orange aura and the rock started to sunk into his belly, like if himself was made of some kind of elastic material, appearing on his back like a hump.

The rock was released; with the bouncing effect, it was launched as a cannonball, leaving his belly with great strength and speed. It was targeted towards the leftmost orb and, hopefully, it would be enough to shatter it to pieces.

Seeing everyone began to assault the orbs within the room Godric took it upon himself to help out by using whatever available magic her had to begin firing off large shots of molten rock towards them hoping to either destroy or weaken them for another of the group members to finish off.

Ezekiel turned to Godric. "I need you to save your magic." He said with a voice of strength. "You're going to be crucial in getting out of this room."

Turning to Ezekiel He nodded before halting his attempts and stepping back a bit not wanting to get in the way of the others.

Jon stepped back, and retreated a ways up the tunnel. "No point in all of us losing our Mana. If you can't easily help hit the orbs non-magically, head back away from the room. If those two get hit by a pulse, we can carry the through the next room as they replenish their Mana." He announced to the pair of nobles.

“Gotcha.” Noelani heeded the advice of her teammates, rather than using up her magic to shoot at the orbs, she stood in wait for further order or for her chance to show off her skills, which lied within her magic power.

Ezekiel’s daggers struck the already damaged orb in multiple places; as they did cracks began to form across the crystal at its centre, until alas it dimmed to the point of almost turning black before dropping out of the sky and down into the torrential waters a hundred feet below. At that moment, a second orb was absolutely destroyed at the hands of the adorable panda, as a large portion of the marble floor was upended and flung at it with the help of his unusual magic.

Godric's attack fared much worse, however, as the slabs of molten rock surged towards the orbs but then abruptly fell apart and crumbled away into smoking bits before even reaching, their arcane bindings were undone and dispelled by their mere presence.

With two orbs destroyed, the remaining two formed a brief connection before they unleashed a multi-faceted blast of violet light towards Godric, Ezekiel and Pangu -- even as it approached, they'd feel that large quantities of mana simply ceased to be, depleted causelessly.

Should the anti-mana blast actually reach them, however, their remaining pool of mana would effectively be halved and they'd be overcome with varying levels of exhaustion irrespective of their skill at controlling their mana.

In this chaos, the orbs did something rather unusual as they flickered once and then twice before shooting away and out of reach at great speeds to lie in wait hidden behind waterspouts and the like.

Wayne had remained silent throughout the whole endeavour so far. He hadn't even contributed. But that was because Wayne was collecting information about the room, and he deemed it best for the others to be risking it, putting themselves in harms way. He didn't have attachment to any of them, save for Pangu. So when Wayne saw the blast of anti-mana, he felt worry. He couldn't allow for Pangu to be hurt. There wasn't much that he could do for them, except offer them a warning. And a faster way to avoid. His grimoire flipped open, and three brooms shot out towards the group. "Grab on to 'em!" Wayne yelled. If the trio each grabbed onto a broom, the broom would snatch them out of there. Normally Wayne was the beacon for the brooms, they travelled faster dependent on the mana of what was calling for them. But he knew that out of them all, he didn't have that power, and if he wanted to secure their protection, he'd have to ask for help. "Noble wench," Wayne said to Noelani. "Set up a mana skin, be a beacon for the brooms! It'll save their asses."

"WENCH?!?!?!?! HOW DARW YO-." Noelani stopped in her tracks arguing about a minor insult could put the entire groups live in danger, she had to act and act fast. She began to concentrate her management, within less than a few seconds she was shrouded in mana, becoming a beacon for the brooms, just as instructed. "Alright, I got them." Noelani effortlessly produced mana, allowing the brooms speed Wayne wouldn't have been able to at the time.

With the upcoming blast of anti-magic energy coming towards the group and the constant sensation of his mana vanishing, Pangu decided to use a last spell to save his fellow comrades from their possible demise. As the situation progressed, the speed of the brooms wasn't near enough to safely retrieve the entire group to the entrance of the dungeon and he couldn't save the three mages that would receive a direct hit from the blast, including himself. Pangu wasn't looking for glory or goods, and, for now, he decided to rely the safety of the mission to his teammates.

The grimoire attached to his back with a piece of rope started to glow. The little panda now shined in a bright orange color. With a jump and the perfect angle, he kicked Godric in the face with his short leg; at the same time, with his paw clenched, a direct hit on Ezekiel's stomach.

"Reinforcement Magic: Panball Festival!" He said. There was no damage following both attacks, but the pressure in the air around from Pangu's sheer strength. Instead of hurting both mages, now their bodies were as elastic as Pangu's body previously was. With the angle of his attacks, their bodies hit the ground and walls, without damaging either of them, bouncing with extreme speed towards the entrance of the dungeon.

Pangu's actions were overwhelmingly effective, through the brave sacrifice of the little Panda both of his comrades were moved directly out of the immediate path of the incoming wave yet a sacrifice it was indeed as with his noble gesture he would be unable to evade it himself.

The small Knight was enveloped within the embrace of wild violet energies, vanishing in their midst as it passed through him, he could feel that his energies were being evaporated into nothing and when the wave passed him he would have no physical injuries but be overwhelmed with sudden pangs of exhaustion as more than half of his remaining mana reserves vanished into nothing.

The wave then moved swiftly towards Wayne, intending to affect him in much a similar way although much of its power had dissipated at that point.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Wayne exclaimed. He had miscalculated. The mage had stupidly let his emotions get the better of him. Pangu had given himself up to protect his comrades. And Wayne hadn't been able to help. But not he had to avoid the attack as much as he could. From his Grimoire, he summoned his **Thunder Broom**. The crackling of lightning was heard as a broom burst out, its brush being composed of what seemed to be lightning. He hopped onto the broom, and blitzed through the corridor at the speed of lightning. Wayne could feel the tingle of electricity flow through him. He flew straight past the bouncing pair of mages, going as close to the entrance as he could.

After the rough bounce throughout the cave, Ezekiel found himself laying upon the earth. He felt a bit a guilt for foolishly setting off the traps. A trap based magician himself, he had fallen right into the dungeon's earlier traps which is often considered one's more easier to figure out. He should have known better. Ezekiel stood up and looked to the beyond the retreating Wayne. *There's nothing to worry about. That blast wasn't meant to kill, but to dissuade us from going deeper.* Ezekiel thought. "You lose half your mana and decide the rest would be useless."

Ezekiel was trying to become the best support based mage in Clover Kingdom and this costly mistake wouldn't look good for him. He started towards the first room again as the blast dissipated. At least they would be able to navigate better without the orbs there.

"Looks like it's time to go!" As Noelani disengaged her mana skin, due to the fact her team, barring Pangu, was safe. She took this chance to now make her escape. "Jon! We're getting out of here." Noelani's grimoire floated before her glowing, as it's pages flew in dismay turning to a spell. " Mercury Creation Magic: Magna Cervus!" A gigantic stag appeared before the two, Noelani quickly mounted it's back. It took off at epic speeds lifting Jon away with its antlers, carrying them to safety. The stage stopped next to the rest of the team lowering Jon to the ground as Noelani still rode its back. "Are you all okay!?" Noelani would say in a concerned manner, still atop the massive stage.

But Ezekiel's anger was only for a short moment. For when he reached the edge of the passage once more, he realized that it was good that they set the trap offer before actually attempting anything. Now they could freely use magic to get a better look of what they were dealing with. Still, Ezekiel preferred to save his own mana reserves rather than actively waste them chasing a fleeting plan. The ebony mage pulled out two more knives and sat on the edge.

"We need to get a better look of what's going on. There's a hole here, we have to find it. I suggest we split up into groups."

"Probably a good idea," Jon will jaw in response to the Vice-Captain. "We're harder for those orbs to ambush if we aren't all in the same location. That being said, Guess the best question is. How do we want to split up? I can get down to the lower levels, however, I can't really take anyone with me easily. Gotta balance that with trying to deal with the orbs." He'll add before pausing. "Each group should have someone capable of getting down, as well as someone capable of destroying the orbs. If one gets close enough, I can do both. Though I can't handle both orbs at once."

"I can easily get down to the lower levels." Noelani would interject herself into the conversation before going on. "The only thing is I can't really handle the orbs so, with someone Who can easily handle the orbs, I should be good." Noelani spoke, her legs hanging off the edge of the giant stag made of mercury.

"Well I'm constantly useless when it comes to getting us down as I'd probably do more harm than good". Godric chirped in a happy tone despite him virtually admitting to being useless. "Although even if my previous attack failed, I think I'll be capable to destroy or at the very least distract the orbs while we do whatever it is that is being planned". he stated glancing up towards the orbs in thought.

Jon listened to the others before stating "Well considering the rest of your talents, I think I'll head down myself then. Both orbs shouldn't probably go after me once you compare my mana to the rest of you. Assuming I don't have to deal with both and a waterspout at the same time, I should be good for one of the orbs. We take out even one, we can avoid having to worry about the mana eater pulse." He stated, "Better for me to be on my own as my powers are kinda selfish for this."

Jon pulled a large needle, nearly the size of a spear, out of his inventory, numerous threads curled up from the top to the handle. To complement it, he pulled out a large golden shield made of several interlocking plates, as well as a sword with a rope attached to it. The shield began floating about him, while he tied the sword around his torso. "So, y'all decide climbing partners. I'll get one of the orbs for everyone, then we can meet up at the bottom."

"See ya," he added as he jumped down the hole. He pointed the needle upwards as he fell into the room, threads shooting out from the needle as they punctured into the stone to arrest his momentum. He slipped a little bet on the needle as several threads looped around his arm.

Jon began to climb down as such, manipulating the threads to climb across the massive ceiling towards the side like some mishappened spider, eyes wide open to watch for the various threats as his shield floated around him.

"Well I guess we have ourselves badass here." Ezekiel said with a slight smile. He watched the thread's of Jon's tool with a nostalgic eye, for it reminded him so much of the old man. Still, they needed to get going. And so, Ezekiel snapped himself back to reality and looked to the broom magician. "Do you think you can do that broom trick again? We need to jump into the darkness."

Wayne looked at Ezekiel. "Tch," his Thunder Broom vanished, but he was able to manifest two regular brooms with ease. He tossed one over to the mage and the one in Wayne's hand began to hover. He dangled by the bottom of it with one arm. The broom made its way behind Jon.

The waterspouts seemed to be moving in the opposite direction from of Jon, and so he would at the very least not have to worry about them but there was something else that caught his eye now that he could see the massive room in its entirety. It was a single massive dome of incredible size, but there at the far end of the northernmost parts of the room was a set of black doors carved up onto the wall, with neither railing, staircase or elevation offered.

But that was not all.. for while the Orbs seemed to keep themselves at bay at the moment, he would spot something in the waters below.. large shadows that swam through the waterspouts and against the currents at great speed. One of them surged towards the surface and then it shot out of the waters below with a maddening screech towards Jon, it was the size of a wagon with a sleek body resembling a massive fish and with a shark-like mouth surrounded by what resembled a mane of writhing tentacles each ending in a single black spike.

So great was its propulsion that it was soon almost upon him, its tentacles stretched out to grapple the Magic Knight and embed him with dozens of its fanged tentacles so that it could tear out his insides and drag his bloody husk down into the waters with it.

He touched the broom lovingly as memories started to surface. It'd been quite a while since Ezekiel used one during his mission. And the feelings of adrenaline brought upon by flying started to excite his blood. Although Ezekiel possessed flawless control over his mana, crafting complex traps while flying often doubled the required time for their completion. Turning him into an easy target on the battlefield. But Ezekiel needed to fly now. It was the only way they could reach the next room.

He demonstrated his mastery over aviation by smoothly dashing off the edge of the room. The broom sailed upon the winds with masterful control. The ebony mage flying without the slightest hinderance, as if this was as easy as breathing for him. It brought back nostolgic feelings of flying with the Old Man. Soaring over the kingdom and racing throughout the outskirts. Perhaps Ezekiel would have shed a tear if not for the sensation.

There was life here. And not any old life...something hungry...Ezekiel could feel its predatory energy lingering beneath the surface. Just as he felt that demonic wolf try to devour him when he was a younger child.

Déjà Vu

Ezekiel darted to Jon with a knife ready. And as the aquatic beast was about to devour the treasure hunter, Ezekiel zoomed by and sliced its belly from tail up. He needed to save his weapons, he could only bring so many.

The aquatic monstrosity was eviscerated by the dagger and it plummeted from the sky down into the water with a splash, its blood forming a growing cloud of violet underneath the surface. Similar shadows appeared all around it as its siblings devoured it alive.

It took mere moments for the monster to be devoured, but now every aberrant thing in the room knew of their presence; now shadows seemed to appear everywhere underneath the chaotic currents... moving underneath the surface in hypnotic patterns, growing increasingly agitated by the moment as they swam towards the waterspouts, entering the towering pillars of water and allowing themselves to be pulled up towards the ceiling of the Dungeon only to make a single surge with their fins, exiting above the two Magic Knights.

Five in total they numbered and their massive fins were extended like bat-like wings as they gorged up sludge-like violet slime which they proceeded to bombard the two mages with as they descended down to snatch them out of the sky and drag them down underneath the waters to be devoured. What they were seemed an impossible question, for they seemed to possess traits from a whole host of different animals -- the worst aspects of numerous species.

*Damn it.* Although Ezekiel felt the surge of killing intent, they moved too fast and spontaneously for him to react. He started to charge his mana in hopes of creating a magic circle with an instant activation trigger...but that would only handle one of them even if he could get it to completion in time. He could only watch as the rain of overgrown sushi began. "This can't be it." Ezekiel cursed.

"I got it!" In an instant Noelani charged in the direction of the hole, leaping down into the hole to rescue her fellow mages. As she made the speedy plunge down through the air, Noelani's grimoire flew open.

"MERCURY CREATION MAGIC: MURUS MAGNUS!" Instantly an imesurable amount of silver bricks materialized in front of Noelani as she plunged down past the two mages and towards the monstrosities.

The bricks began to fly together interlocking creating a giant wall before the three, barring several bricks that locked together making a platform for Noelani to stand on.

The wall would go on to block the odd regurgitation coming at them as well as blocking the creatures from attacking. "I can block all day but, I need someone to destroy those things!"

Glancing back and immediately noticed that, while he was distracted by his thoughts of him being heroic the majority of the group already advanced to the next stage leaving only him and Pangu behind something which he found mildly upsetting as despite them all being from different squads (with the exception of him and Noelani) he expected them to at least care enough about the others. Shaking his head he glances down and with great struggle managed to make out the outline of the rest below, turning towards Pangu he gave the panda a bright smile before waving.

"Whelp Buddy I gues I’ll see you down there" he stated before carelessly jumping down into the opening using his magic to produce small projectiles to somewhat control his fall. Upon getting closer to the group Godric aimed his body towards one of Ezekiel’s broom and grabbing it, which resulted in a slight buckle and dip before her managed to hold himself in place. Using whatever momentum that was left after his sudden move Godric quickly climbed atop the broom before unleashing a moderate wave of Magma all around making sure to avoid hitting any of his teammates.

The aberrations slammed against Noelani's wall in a succession of wet squelching sounds, their assault halted due to her efforts, at least for now: but this would not be the end of it as the five of them used the spikes at the end of their tentacles to climb the wall of mercury and move across of the top of the barricade before lunging down to attack Noelani, their tentacles outstretched and their mouths gorging up violet goo.

Yet one by one they ran afoul of Godric and were consumed by his magma, as the smell of burnt flesh filled the air as the monsters fell from the sky, partially incinerated, partially crushed by his magic.

"I appreciate the assistance guys," Jon will yell over the roar of the water in the room. "Though I think they've noticed us. Those fish are going to be more dangerous the closer we get do the door. Up here we have time to deal with them, down there we won't."

With that, Jon continued his cral towards the door, free arm ready to deal with threats at a moment's notice."

At present there were no more movements in the waters below him, no more aberrations or monsters to impede his progress but there was one more obstacle even so, as he heard a rumble underneath before a massive section of the churning lake directly below him tore upwards into an enormous waterspout large enough to not only engulf Joe, but also Godric, Noelani and Ezekiel.

The raw powers at play were practically incalculable, if engulfed they would be unlikely to last even a moment as the immense forces would shear their bodies apart in the blink of an eye!

Watching as the churning lake directly below him tore upwards into an enormous waterspout capable of completely swallowing the entire group, Godric had to hold back a gasp as the realism of the situation he quickly joined finally catching up with his joyful self. Snapping out of his shock before it could cost him his life Godric quickly quickly once again dipped into his mana reserve to create Twin Torrents if pure Magma that acted as two jest streams, forcibly pushing him a good distance away from the waterspout and causing him to jerk back colliding with whoever was unfortunate enough to be directly behind him.

Clover Kingdom mage's believed in a variety of gods. And Ezekiel found himself thanking each and every one of them personally. For without Godric, Ezekiel would have been instantly flayed. He wasn't good against environmental dangers. For his magic circles were meant to manipulate the environment to trap organic threats. Regardless, the ebony mage took the force of Godric's magma blast with gritted teeth. "You have to save the others!" Ezekiel barked. But it was too late...they could only hope the others had a method of escape. Still, in one's last hope, Ezekiel commanded the broom which was beneath him to fly at its top speed towards Noelani. Whether or not it would make it in time, he could only wish...

It took some time for Pangu to recompose himself from the anti-magic beam. His body was weak and he felt drowsy, but he still had the strength to keep going with the mission. The little panda was aware of the advancements of his comrades and, now, with his mana halved, he could do so much to follow their path. Grasping in a nearby rock, his arm grew in length, forming something like a rope. He wrapped it around the rock, just to jump into the hole. It started to slowly extend, glowing in an orange aura as Pangu advancement meter by meter into it.

Numerous additional threads shot out of Jon's needle as he noticed what was happening below. Jon shot towards the ceiling as the threads he was hanging on shortened.

The new lines dug into the ceiling, puncturing deep into the rock as they raced together. As the threads met up a meter in, they pulled downwards, breaking the rock they surrounded away from the stone ceiling. Jon tossed the rock aside to prevent it from being thrown back at him.

Threads surrounded Jon's body as he was pulled up into the hole like some form of spider.

Lastly his golden shield rotated around the mage, before settling across the entrance to his den. The golden shield split apart, threads of light connecting the various plates as they spread out to the edges of the stone. The light expanded, completely covering the gap, leaving the emitters exposed for a moment before a second barrier expanded over those to cover them as well.

"Golden Knight's Aegis" Jon announced as the wall of light lay flush to the stone surrounding him, mere moments before the wall of water struck it. Unless the entire ceiling shattered, he was confident he'd make it through this. But just in case, he held his breath even as he reinforces his Mana skin to its maximum.

Noelani watched as the large body of water shot towards her. She began to float up standing atop her platform of mercury. She wasn't moving fast enough to get out of the path of the churning waters below her. "*Damnit, this can't be over, I can't move fast enough on this platform and I already dispersed my last spell and I can't cast another in time. I can't die here!*" Just as Noelani's mind was reeling on how to save her own life and the ones of those around her a broom flew past her, this broom was sent by her command, Ezekiel. She quickly grabbed onto the broom sending her mana into it. Hanging off the end of the broom she flew to those of her comrades who had already found safety. In a last-ditch effort to save who she could, she sent the platform she stood on in the path of the water to give them a chance to get away.

Most of the Magic Knights had through varying acts of teamwork, deduction or ingenuity managed to evade the reverse waterfall expertly and now the way to the door that leads deeper into the Sanctum was clear, but Jon was not out of danger quite yet as the enormous forces at play crashed into the ceiling and hammered against the wall with forces akin to a massive tidal wave.

Once it struck the barrier the entire room seemed to shake as one could scarcely hear oneself thing through the cacophonous roar of millions of litres of water collide with the obstacle. For ten long seconds, the waterspout blasted against the Golden Shield, bearing down on it with overwhelming weight and continuous pressure as it constantly threatened to erase the man from this world and leave not even sheared bones to his name.

Then.. as suddenly as it came it fell apart slowly and dissipated leaving behind the crater in the ceiling, although whether or not Jon had survived was not immediately obvious to any outsider.

Ezekiel hung onto Godric tightly as they were afloat in the air from his magic. "Sorry!" He said with a slight grin. The mage called the broom back before jumping onto the shaft near where Noelani was. He was absolutely impressed with the team's ability to function alongside one another but knew that this was just the beginning. Of course those around him should've worried for Jon's safety. But Ezekiel could *feel* Jon's presence. And such decided to focus on heading to the next room.

"Guys, lets keep moving forward while we still have this chance. I don't feel any more threatening presences." Without waiting for the others, Ezekiel commanded the broom he was gifted from Wayne to dash towards the door. Taking himself and Noelani away from the group.

### Second Room - House of Emptiness

As Ezekiel and Noelani approached the door it opened wide of its own accord a revealed another corridor that lead deeper and deeper into the dungeon until at last it opened up in another massive room of black stone, similar in shape to the first as it consisted of a single enormous dome with no nooks or crannies to find, and with innumerable circular marks scattered across the smooth walls.

Unlike the first room, there were no obvious threats, and the path to the door seemed entirely void of obstacles – that is, all except for seven unusual statues that seemed scattered about the room in seemingly random places, each of them eerily lifelike and with faces that reflected either fear, shock or anger.

Nothing else of note could be seen, although the sheer distance to the doors on the other end of the room was as notable as in the first – it was a bizarre sight to be sure, a room large enough to comfortably hold a castle yet mostly barren of anything besides random decorations.

Ezekiel entered the room and released a breath of happiness when he realized that there wasn't any dissipating orbs! This meant he had full access to his magic. And although he thought of using *that* spell, as it would allow him to traverse the room without full threat to his body, not having his conscious within would cause problems if anyone accidentally triggered something. So instead, Ezekiel paid close attention to his surroundings as he walked towards the statues. Starting from the legs, Ezekiel realized that they seemed almost real..And this feeling...Something pulled at his subconscious. A memory...A warning...Not to do something. It bothered him. And with it grew stronger with each step towards the statue.

"We're not supposed to do something." Ezekiel thought aloud. "Guys...there's something about this room...We were warned not to do something...Dammit."

Shortly after Ezekiel entered the room all of the circles along the walls, and, he would realize, the floor, suddenly changed shape into innumerable green eyes that shone with maddening light – there was no single space on the floor or on the walls or in the room at large where one might direct their gaze without looking at them.

Anyone who caught a glance of their glare, even for a split second would find that their bodies rapidly began to harden into dull granite within mere moments, petrified through a particularly powerful curse. Meanwhile, the energies that they radiated carried with it similar properies that would gradually strip away bodily function so that they would in the end be trapped within their own bodies and petrified afterwards, it was a cruel trap to be sure, one that punished inaction brutally.

In light of this, the distance between the group and their destination at the far end of the room, large as it was, might seem far more daunting than previously and judging by the statues no one had ever managed to get more than a quarter of the way.

Ezekiel felt the magic attempt to pervade through his mana skin. But his subconscious defenses were strong enough to reject the petrification. Leaving his body to only feel a sudden wave of heaviness. It was the sight of the eyes which brought the frantic ramblings of the previous adventurer to his mind.

*Don't look into the eyes!* He screamed.

*DON'T STARE INTO THE EYES.!*

"The eyes!" Ezekiel quickly covered his own eyes while leaping towards the group. He'd heard tales of magic cast through the windows of the soul. They were powerful enchantments often impossible to invade due to the subtle nature. But this second room lacked that subtly as it suddenly became the greatest security system in Clover Kingdom. "Don't look into the eyes. Noelani, create a mercury dome around us!" Ezekiel had the idea from a famous tale which he heard during his travels as a child. The tale of a snake haired women with eyes capable of cursing the bodies of those who wondered before her. She traversed the land until one day a brave warrior appeared and held a mirror to her gaze. Thus reflecting her magic back to her.

In an instant Noelani shut her eyes, heeding Ezekiel’s warning. Her grimoire then flew out into her hand and began to glow, frantically flipping through its pages landing on an unknown spell, and without uttering a word a pool of mercury flooded around the two mages, effectively shielding then from the dangers around them. “Wha-What happened?!” Noelani said loudly confused by the current state of the mission.