Chapter 61: Dark Den

They came for him at dawn, or whatever passed for dawn underground.

A low horn blast echoed through the tunnels, vibrating the walls and rousing the prisoners from sleep. Alex sat up with a grunt, body aching, his leg still stiff. Garret stirred beside him, bleary-eyed. The others sat up slowly, too, heads swiveling toward the barred gate.

Tom-Tom appeared first, lantern in hand. He didn’t smile. “Time,” he said.

Two armored kobolds unlocked the gate and threw down the rope ladder into the pit. They didn’t grab Alex as he reached the top. They didn’t need to. He stood and followed on his own.

Allie caught his hand. “Don’t die in there.”

Alex gave her a smirk that was more a grimace. “That’s the plan.”

“Just don’t be stupid,” Devon said from behind her.

Garrett coughed. “And if you see a skeleton with my name tag, you better slap it for me.”

Alex nodded once, then turned to go.

Tom-Tom led him, this time in silence, through winding corridors lit by green moss and low flame. As they walked through the tunnels, Tom-Tom slipped a folded piece of leather into his hand. Without even having to open it, he could feel the aether crystals contained within through the thin leather. Alex quickly slipped it into his bracelet.

“Thanks Tom-Tom.”

“Say nothing,” the little lizard said. “Really, you tell what Tom-Tom did, they will kill and eat Tom-Tom.” He suppressed a chuckle and continued to follow Tom-Tom towards what Alex was beginning to feel was his death.

The air grew drier the deeper they went. Alex was led down a tunnel system he hadn’t explored during his little recon infiltration. The torch sconces no longer appeared. The way was only lit by the glowing moss that managed to survive on the walls and the small lanterns held by his escort. At last, they reached a wide, circular chamber where a dozen kobolds had already gathered around a central altar.

Smoke curled from small incense pots. Bones hung from braided cords above the gathering, carvings marking the stone at their feet in runes which Alex didn’t recognize even with his [Glyphcraft] skill. And at the center of it all stood the Chieftain, draped in a cloak of stitched-together hides and feathers. He held a staff crowned with a shard of obsidian.

“Dragon-Blood-One,” he intoned.

Alex stepped forward, trying not to limp.

“You go to the Den. You may not return. But if you do, you will be a brother to the Clutch.” The kobolds hissed in approval, their voices rising like steam. Their feet stamped against the stone, tails thumping in rhythm. The Chieftain gestured to the side and they all stopped suddenly.

Three kobolds stepped forward, each carrying a bundle wrapped in cloth. One was nearly bigger than the kobold which held it. Based on the shape and apparent weight, Alex assumed it was a shield. The second was just cloth wrapped around something that could have been a cylinder. But the third one was not a mystery, as Alex could see the tell-tale shape of a dagger under the thin fabric.

“These are your gift-offerings,” the Chieftain said. “Chosen by the tribe.”

The first bundle was presented by the kobold at Alex’s feet and unwrapped: a small, dented metal disk , covered in old etchings and copper wire. What Alex had assumed to be a shield was actually some kind of glyph inscribed metal plating. He might be able to use it as a shield, but he assumed that would just be wasting the item’s potential.

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Obby, any idea what that is?

“Oh you’re in luck. That’s an enchanter’s catalyst plate. If you work on your crystals while they are on that thing, it’ll make your life way easier, trust me. The little lizards probably don’t even know what it is. Doudra knew very, very little [Glyphcraft] when she got me, so I doubt any one of these guys has the skill proficiency to know what they have.”

He almost smiled. Turned out he had a little bit of luck on his side after all.

The second kobold opened the bundle it carried and revealed an aged bone. Alex wasn’t a doctor, so he wasn’t sure, but it looked disturbingly like a human thigh bone. This item was also covered in Glyphs, though these ones he had a bit more success in deciphering on his own.

He held it in his hands and traced the carved lines with his fingers, following the enchantment along its surface. He didn’t know exactly how it worked, but he knew enough to understand it was a defensive item. A protective barrier of sorts, but not like his [Shield] spell.

He’d have to examine it more later.

The last kobold presented a strange dagger , not at all to Alex’s surprise. Its handle was wrapped in dark thread, its surface etched with faint runes that pulsed with a sickly green light at random times. Just like the first item, he looked over the glyph lines on the surface from where he stood. Unlike the bone though, he could not make heads nor tails of this one.

Alex reached for it, then hesitated.

Little Tom-Tom shuffled forward. “Chieftain’s blessing. Soulfang. It bites things that live. It bites things that don’t.”

Obby?

“Eh, hard to say even for me. It’s a weapon at least. Though… probably cursed.”

Alex picked it up carefully. It was cold, too cold. But it felt… hungry in his hand. It made the hair along his arm stand on end. Whatever it was, he could tell it was powerful.

He looked back to the Chieftain.

“Thank you, I’ll make it count.”

“See that you do.”

Tom-Tom led him again, this time joined by a procession of kobolds that grew as they walked. Everyone of them trailed behind Alex as he was led towards a strange dark tunnel at the back of the cavern. They didn’t cheer or laugh, instead they chanted , low and guttural, a rhythmic echo that filled the halls like a heartbeat. Stone vibrated underfoot in time to their synchronized footfalls.

Alex gripped the dagger tighter, the defensive bone tucked into his belt, the enchanters plate already in his free hand. He was building a plan in his head. If he could enhance his [Flare] crystals with the plate, rig a burn rune with the crystal shard, maybe he could—

They turned one final corner and stopped.

The tunnel ended at a massive archway , carved to resemble the open jaws of some ancient serpent. Past it, a yawning stairwell descended into blackness, deeper than any torchlight could reach. Cold air blew out from within. He felt it across his skin, not just cool, but sapping , like it leached warmth from one’s very bones.

Alex shivered. The dagger in his hand flared green.

“Welcome to the Den,” Tom-Tom whispered.

No more words were spoken. The kobolds stepped back, forming a loose semi-circle around the archway. Even the Chieftain remained silent. Alex stepped forward, taking his place at the top of the staircase, and with a deep sigh descended the first step. Then the shadows swallowed him whole.

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