First Dungeon

Caerus ducked behind Siobhan as the green-skinned goblin tried to descend upon him. A blast of fire seared away the skin on its torso as it was flung back from the force. Arthas stood in the thick of it, goblins swung away at his raised shield the clanging of their iron wrapped clubs echoed against the rough stone cave wall. Pools of thick blood began to form at his feet as Lissandra dodged in and out of the crowd, her curved daggers flashed, and another throat cut.

The team had a tactic that worked for them, with Siobhan providing support from the back with waves of fireballs. Arthas pushed his shield up and spun on the balls of his feet, his long sword outstretched as the unbalanced goblins began to drop around him. Caerus felt a bit useless as the three cleared the remainder of enemies that inhabited the area. Red began to bark and growl as the last goblin was felled by Arthas' blood-soaked blade.

"They were not lying. The numbers and strength of these goblins are nearly three times more than when we made the run the other week. It's too quick," Siobhan said.

The bodies of the goblins burst into white smoke, leaving behind small items that emitted a star-like sparkle.

"Caerus if you can pick up the items while we recover that would be a big help," Arthas said between heavy breaths.

"Don't worry, items picked up in a dungeon go into the party bag for distribution later," Siobhan explained.

Caerus went about picking up the items left behind, an assortment of fangs, bone, copper, and silver pieces, and rudimentary pieces of poor quality armor made of cheap leather.

"Is this stuff even useful?" Caerus asked.

"The fangs and bone can be useful to the right people, the bits of armor can be dismantled and used to craft better gear. You can also just sell everything for a small sum of gold." Lissandra explained.

"The best rewards come from the chests and the reward for closing a dungeon. Plus the gold we can get from the Adventurers Guild for the close, and sometimes the parts can be used to confirm kills if an extermination task has been posted," Siobhan added

"Ok let's move on. To glory!" Arthas shouted.

The dungeon in the cave was made up of interlinked tunnels that led to bigger areas. Beams of wood held up the tunnels, and ruined structures Caerus could only assume were from a mining operation that had been abandoned. The deeper they got the population of goblins grew, with even more variation. Some were bigger, more muscular with a deep red skin tone. Others were tall and thin with a yellow skin pigment. Each variation brought something different, and a new struggle to the party as Arthas wrestled with one of the red ones. His pauldrons began to give way to the immense grip strength, the goblins fingers sinking deeper. The horde was more aggressive and Siobhan was doing all she could to keep them at bay. Sweat dripped down from her brow, and knees began to buckle under her with every blast of fire she produced.

Caerus caught two goblins out of the corner of his eye that had broken from the pack, darting towards him and Siobhan in the back. Siobhan had not noticed them yet and the others were deep in the melee. He gripped the hilt of the knife Lissandra had been kind enough to lend him before they entered and maneuvered himself between the stray goblins and Siobhan.

"What are you doing? Oh shit!" Siobhan exclaimed as she noticed the pair that was already upon them.

Caerus held the knife in front of him, knees shaking. The first one's club brushed past his cloak bouncing off the stone floor with the follow-through. He noticed his window of opportunity and thrust towards the monster's neck. The blade tip sunk into the green skin but could not push far through the resistance Caerus struggled to overcome. The red-lit eyes stared into Caerus' own, and a smile crept upon the goblin's face. It was too late, Caerus' side flared in pain, his legs gave way as the club wrapped with iron plate found home on his body. All the air in his lungs expelled itself, black spots began to dance around his vision. His knee collapsed onto the floor with no strength to move. The second goblin thrust its rusted spear forward, the browned tip closed in on Caerus' face. Reds bark echoed through the battle and a stream of blue flame erupted past Caerus' face. The spear-wielding goblin let out a shriek before its charred body collapsed with parts of its chest and head caving into itself. The other goblin stood wide-eyed, its body began to shake as it stared at the beast that perched on Caerus' shoulder.

"What was that. Red you can breathe fire?!"

"Worf"

"Did he just say worf instead of-"

"Yes, he did, it's a thing." Caerus cut off Siobhan.

Caerus grinned at the retreating goblin. With Red in his outstretched arms, he began to chase down the goblin.

"Red, fire breath."

"Worf"

Red's mouth parted and a stream of blue flame followed. Caerus ran around the now frightened horde who watched as their brethren became black charred ash.

The dying embers of the last goblin faded into a plume of white smoke. Caerus squeezed tight around Red's small frame.

"You really did it! You aren't as useless as I thought you beautiful little pup." Caerus spun around.

"I could have done that too you know," Ember muttered.

"Well, why didn't you then?" Caerus replied.

Ember just pouted and buried herself within his cloak.

"The little one proved very useful. Where can I get myself such a ferocious beast?" Arthas wiped off the blood from his blade.

"This one was an accident, but summoning," Caerus stated.

At the end of one of the tunnels that connected from the area they had just struggled to get through, was a large door that looked out of place within a cave. It was made of a dark metal that hid a red shine that only showed under torchlight. Two skeleton dragons made of silver were laid on each door, their gaze meeting each other in the center. Intricate silverwork patterns lined the edges that reminded Caerus of the Polynesian tribal tattoos that became a fad years prior.

"This is it, inside is what we need you to look at," Arthas said.

Arthas pushed the doors. Caerus was expecting the scrape of metal on stone, but the doors glided across the floor as if they were perfectly fitted to the walls of the tunnel. Torches that sat on the walls lit up one after the other in sequence lighting up the curious room within. Stone statues lined up on each side, each sculpted in the image of some demonic visage with large teeth, claws, wings. Smooth stone lined with silver replaced the rough stone floor they had been accustomed to. Everything led to the raised platform, overlooked by a large visage that had been carved into the rock behind. A large mask design, humanoid in nature, but several small eyes surrounded the two main eyes filled with giant cut rubies. Along the mask face, a mural of human shapes holding swords in battle with winged creatures that fly around a sun.

"The circle is up here on that platform." Siobhan led Caerus up the stairs.

On the floor, the circle was carved into the black marble that covered the top of the platform. Its design was intricate. Compared to the circle used to summon Red this had many layers, five smaller summoning circles surrounded a circle that to Caerus' eye was not for summoning. He had spent most of his time studying his grimoire, passing the hundred-page mark. Which according to Hina was a very quick pace. His intelligence stat had raised past ten and his level as a summoner had risen with his more in-depth knowledge. So he felt confident he could figure this out.

"I will need some time, this is quite complex."

"Take all the time you need, those monstrosities won't be able to penetrate that door," Arthas reassured him.

Caerus began to examine, notepad in hand he wrote down each circle's marks and pathways. He had learned much about the function of these circles. How it's more like an equation one must balance to create a pathway to the right plane, but this design was different, there was no balancing it was aggressive, instead of creating a stable pathway it forced open a specific one.

"This is a very strange design. Usually, when making a circle for summoning, we balance between the three planes so it's stable. Whoever made this did not care one bit about that, it's like they were trying to force their way through to somewhere specific. It's completely filled with Hel marks," Caerus explained.

"Would that explain why the monsters got so strong so quick?" Lissandra leaned over his shoulder.

"I think so, but something so unbalanced like this would have closed in on itself already. I think it has something to do with the design in the middle. It's not for summoning."

"What's it for then?" Siobahn walked over.

"If I am reading this right, this is an offering circle. They require some sort of specific offering and are used to strengthen the pathway created. We use this to tempt stronger summons, but it doesn't make sense here. Offerings in a Hel dominated circle would require something dark to activate," Caerus mused.

"Dark like what?" Arthas placed his hand on Caerus' shoulder.

"The working theory I have right now would be something like a sacrifice. It needs either blood or something to bind the circle. Sort of like placing a lock on it."

"Well then let's do that. Lissandra."

Arthas and Lissandra grabbed his arms and pinned him down on the cold marble.

"Wait what are you doing?"

Arthas' usual smile was replaced by a grin that sent chills down Caerus' back. Lissandra gripped the knife that she lent him, removing it from the sheath around his waist. Red began to bark and growl before a bolt of fire sent the hound sliding across the circle and off the other side of the platform.

"Stupid mutt." Siobhan laughed.

Caerus tried to struggle, but the strength of his former comrades was too much for him. They had him completely pinned with nowhere to run.

"Caerus no, you have to break free. Kick them or something!" Ember pleaded.

"Don't do this, what has gotten into you-"

Caerus' words were cut short as the cold iron pierced his chest. It burrowed deep and soon a burning warmth flooded his senses, the pain was sharp but numbed itself as soon as it began. Every breath was caught and soon he could not draw anymore. The blood pulsed and gushed around the blade, and soon darkness crept in his vision. The mumbled screams of Ember were the last things he heard before his heart beat its last.