Arwin slid down the rope until the ground was close enough to drop the rest of the way safely. He readied himself as he fell, armor snapping to place around his body even as he landed, but the room was just as empty as it had appeared.
It was, however, far larger than he’d initially thought. The room was likely three or four times bigger than the one above it. Massive murals covered the ground and ran up the walls and ceiling, all made out of lines drawn into the stone with powdered green and purple crystal. Arwin’s shadows seemed to duplicate and dance across the ground with every move.
The hole that he’d seen covered by crystal in the room above ran through its far end, spikes of crystal frozen in their slow crawl around its edges. In the center of the room, just a short distance away from Arwin, was a chest made from bone and covered with more of the purple crystal.
Arwin turned in a circle, his eyes widening in disbelief. There was no doubt that their rewards waited for him in the chest, but the rest of the room was like nothing he’d ever seen. They weren’t just art. It was a story.
The mural on the wall nearest to the chest depicted a skeleton clad in beautiful metal armor setting out from a village. The next showed the skeleton arriving at a cave with green crystals lining its entrance.
It entered the cave, killing the monsters within it with a blade made of purple energy. Trails of shimmering blue traced across the murals and the skeleton followed after them, its hands outstretched in desire.
That must be the magical call of the dungeon that brings monsters to it.
Arwin walked along the mural, heading down the side of the room to continue viewing it.
The skeleton continued deeper, delving into the depths of the dungeon. It ripped apart a coven of Chiropires with its purple magic and devoured their largest one. And still, the swirls of blue called the skeleton deeper.
They all looked to Reya.
“Don’t look at me. I’ve got sticky fingers.” Reya held her hands up. “I take everything that isn’t nailed down. I think Lillia is right.”
Arwin nodded. He turned back to the chest and set his hands on it. The purple crystal crumbled away at his touch and his hands met the lid. He drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly, adrenaline coursing through his veins.
Then he opened the chest.