Arwin headed into the Infernal Armory with Yonas and the rest of the Menagerie — Madiv and Esmerelda notwithstanding. Technically speaking, the only member of the guild that wasn’t there was Madiv. Esmerelda had decided herself that she was joining. Nobody had approved it yet.
That’s a problem to deal with later. I could definitely use the advice on Cursed items… but she’s going to have to tone down the mildly evil vibes.
Arwin led them through the armory’s main room and into the workshop at the back. It was dormant, the lines that covered the floor and slithered up the walls silent in their sleep. The ground was suspiciously spotless for a blacksmith. It seemed that the Armory had cleaned up after Arwin once he’d left.
“We will have to move quickly. The mercenaries are standing by, but they will only wait for a few minutes before leaving,” Yonas warned. “If this does not work, we will need their help. The Dawnseekers have put too much into this plan to risk failure. We must ensure the Ardent Guild falls.”
“We want to get this dealt with just as badly as you do,” Arwin said, approaching the maw in the center of the room and placing his hand against the cold stone. “You have the key?”
“Yes,” Yonas replied. “I would not be here if I did not have the key. It is the portal that we lack.”
“Patience,” Arwin said. “You’re a jumpy one, aren’t you?”
Yonas’ brow scrunched in irritation as Arwin turned away from him and placed both of his hands on the maw. Before he could respond, a gentle rumble rolled through the ground beneath them. His eyes widened and jerked around the room as a dull creaking noise echoed through the stone.
Yonas cleared his throat. He looked from Reya and Olive to the molten portal, then held the key out to Arwin. “Here. You do it. I’ve never used this form of portal before. It would be bad if the key was damaged, so it’s better that we play it safe.”
Arwin took the key with a wry smile. Red smoke twisted down his arm and ran over to the crackling black flames. A faint force pushed against Arwin’s back, driving him forward. The Armory was getting impatient with him. It probably wasn’t too happy about wasting energy while they were waiting around.
He lifted the key and slid it into the hole in the door. It was a strange sensation for fire to put up physical resistance, but a faint click echoed out from the flame as Arwin twisted the key. The door swung open.
Fire poured out from its entrance, licking past Arwin’s face and dissipating into heat in the air around him as it swung open. Arwin squinted as a powerful, hot wave of wind rolled past his face. A moment later, the temperature in the Infernal Armory slipped back to normal as the portal stabilized.
Beyond the black flame was a room paved with dull, red stone. Light flickered in it, both pouring in from the Infernal Armory and from dim yellow torches that hung from walls, poking out between brown vines that trailed down from the ceiling. The faint smell of brimstone and salt wafted free of the portal.
“That’s it,” Yonas muttered. “Impressive. A portal. And it will last long enough for us to clear the dungeon?”
That’s a good question, actually.
“How long are you expecting this is going to take?” Arwin asked, feeling like they really should have covered this earlier.
“That will heavily depend on your abilities,” Yonas replied, not even bothering to hide his skepticism. “If you prove capable enough to clear the first room, then I will be able to make a better guess — and we don’t know how powerful the boss is. I would expect that a group of experienced adventurers at my level could clear it in less than four hours. It depends how long we would have to wait and recuperate after each room.”
Mist twisted around Arwin, and displeasure prickled against his mind.
“Four hours,” the Armory whispered to him. “No longer. Return before then. I will be displeased if I have to keep this power running any longer than that. It would be an enormous waste of resources.”
Waste? Does that imply the Armory is doing something with the resources when I’m not using them myself?
Arwin couldn’t exactly ask with Yonas present. His eyes narrowed slightly and he let out a huff. “Four hours will be fine. It’ll hold that long.”
“Are you certain?” Yonas asked.
“You’re wasting time,” Arwin said, hoisting himself up onto the maw and reaching down.
Lillia accepted his hand and he pulled her up to stand beside him. She stepped through the portal and glanced around the room beyond before turning back to them and giving them a thumbs-up.
“Of course it’s safe. What psychopath would use a key that led directly into a populated room? We aren’t amateurs,” Yonas said. “Our guild has standards.”
“Great,” Arwin replied, snapping his fingers impatiently. “Then let’s see them in action. Up we go.”
Yonas accepted Arwin’s hand and let the larger man pull him up to stand on the maw. He pulled his arms closer to his body to avoid touching any of the flaming parts of the portal as he stepped through it and into the dungeon beyond. Oddly enough, he looked more comfortable in the dungeon itself than he had in the smithy.
Arwin helped the rest of the Menagerie through the portal one by one until they’d all stepped foot into the dungeon. He paused for a moment at the edge of the portal. Arwin didn’t say anything, but he sent a pointed look at the askew backroom door.
We need to make sure nobody manages to find their way into the armory while we’re in the dungeon. Getting ambushed while we leave would be bad.
The Infernal Armory picked up on Arwin’s thoughts. The door closed, locking itself with a click. It was out of sight of the portal, so Yonas couldn’t have seen it happen even if he’d been watching.
Arwin inclined his head slightly, then turned and stepped through the portal to join the others.
“Everyone ready?” Arwin asked.
He received a round of nods in response.