Long ago, at an age before humanity spread throughout the world, elves used to rule near the upper planes. Their magic prowess was unrivaled even by the strongest mages. The magic they possessed was similar in scale to that of the gods. When the elves had become so bold as to stand against the gods they were struck down from their pedestal and were cast down to the material planes, becoming stripped of their magic in the process. Now all that's left of the great elves known as the Icaryians are the overgrown ruins of their once great civilization which had fallen from the heavens with them. The strongest of the elves had made great magical craters when they'd fallen, their magical power flowing into the area around them; into the very soil.

"Ok Trent, thanks for the history lesson," Darris shouted sarcastically to his comrade, Trent, who had been explaining the history of the ruins they were currently in.

"Eh, let him talk. Otherwise, he won't shut up about it 'till sundown." Elrik said, walking past Darris, stepping around an old stone pillar that at one point might have held up the roof of the crumbling temple they were at. "I mean hey, for all we know, one of those old Icaryians could've been an ancestor of his." Elric smiled jokingly and nodded to the tip of Trent's ear, referencing his heritage.

It was at that moment that Trent slid down the slanted stone wall he had been standing on top of. The roof it had held up had long since fallen away into rubble, and the wall fell against the other wall next to it in a way that anyone with decent climbing skills could scale it to reach the roof.

"Either of you two know where Isak or Tempest is?" Trent asked, wiping away the dust from his light blonde hair.

Darris just shrugged, then turned and pointed to the pathway emerging out of the crumbling temple's exit. "Out there." He said.

Trent scoffed and jogged out the doorway before looking both ways down the path. He turned back to Darris and Elrik and put his arms out from his sides. "Why didn't either of you tell me? Now we don't know where they are! How far do you think they've gone now?" He said, panic now rising in his voice. He was always the one to lose his cool first; he always panicked when things went slightly wrong. But beyond that, he was an invaluable member of the Fame adventuring guild's Squad 12, being a skilled mage... at least for only being at Stage 2. He was able to summon some minor creatures using magic, however, they were mainly used as distractions more than anything else.

All three of them along with Tempest and Isak were all part of squad 12. The Fame guild was one of the largest adventuring guilds in Sige. Guilds like the Fame Guild were tasked with protecting anyone within the land of Sige, a large continent that sat just north of the Royal Blue, a large sea of small islands home to no government. Most missions squad 12 ever get consist of killing bandits or wild beasts that terrorize cattle and steal crops, along with the occasional band of goblins or orcs if they're unlucky. The higher-staged squads of the guild get more dangerous jobs, but none of them were ever skilled enough to go on them. They were all only 2nd stage members in the guild alongside Tempest, the leader of squad 12, who is a 3rd stage member. The Fame guild ranked the skill of their members by these stages: 1st stage being the weakest, up to 6th stage being the strongest, although they were extremely rare. For most people being at a 4th or 5th stage by the end of their life was acceptable.

Regardless of their stage however, this was their day off. So what better way to spend the day than to go on a trip to the nearby ruins of an ancient Icaryian temple? Well, Darris could think of a few better ways to spend his time. However, this venture was a suggestion by Tempest and it would've been rude to turn it down.

"Oh calm down, they've probably just gone down the path to set up camp and look at the scenery," Elrik said, the large half-orc walking past Trent, bumping into him and nearly knocking him over. He was the 'wall' of the group, as the squad called it. He wore heavy scale mail and wielded a large battle axe that slung over his back. As far as pure strength went, he was superior to anyone else in the squad.

Darris was the best swordsman in the group next to Isak, albeit Isak often used a longsword and shield rather than the scimitar that Darris used. Then there was Tempest, a 3rd stage mage who, according to himself, was the best abjurer in his class at the mages academy he'd studied at. Only about half of the people he tells believe him. Nonetheless, he was still at Stage 3, which was nothing to scoff at by any means.

Darris followed shortly after him and Trent tailed Darris. The three of them had known each other since before any of them had joined the Fame Guild. From the time they were young, they always got into trouble. From stealing a sword from Elrik's dad's forge, which was much more trouble than it was worth, from taking a 'shortcut' through the woods one night and finding themselves in a cave until the next morning. They had all signed up for the Fame guild seeking a thrilling job, and they weren't disappointed in the slightest.

"There you guys are. Took you long enough. I thought Mr. Pointy-ears were gonna keep spouting history till nightfall." Isak shouted from the inside of what used to be a hut but now consisted of two walls and half of a ceiling. In the middle of the ruins, Isak and Tempest had set up a small campfire with bedrolls scattered around it.

"That's what I'd said," Elrik said, taking a seat on his bedroll.

"Not my fault no one said you guys'd left," Trent said, a slight bit of red appearing on his cheeks. "Anyways, where's Tempest?" He asked, attempting to change the subject.

As if on queue, a figure dressed in grey robes fell from the ceiling, landing in the middle of the group in a burst of ancient dust. His skin was a deep purple and his eyes were pure lavender, with two rigid horns piercing out above them. Tempest smiled and ruffled Trent's hair. "On the ceiling." He answered before pointing in a direction through the wall. "By the way, there's a large ziggurat I've seen through the tree line" He put an arm around Trent's neck in a headlock for a moment before letting go. "We could go look around there later once we get the camp set up."

"Can we eat first? We hadn't got a bite since we left the guild hall in Neshni." Elrik asked Tempest, omitting the bundle of dried meats and hardtack he had eaten as a snack. "Of course, we can eat. Everyone, grab a bite and settle down. Afterward, we head to the ziggurat."

The group of Squad 12 sat around the fire, eating their fill of the various provisions they'd brought with them. "So what do you all plan to do once you retire from the guild?" Trent asked, sitting cross-legged; closer to the fire than anyone.

Isak swallowed a piece of jerky before answering. "You ask that like any of us are old enough to retire." The group laughed, apart from Trent. Seeing this Isak sat down across the fire from Trent. "Honestly, I plan on dying before I retire. People don't remember the corpse of an old man. They remember the corpse of great heroes. Those are the people who get buried in the great palaces and get a front-row seat on Mount Celestia." He said facing upwards and holding out his arms as if a god would fall and bless him right then.

This time Elrik laughed and hit Isak on the back, nearly hard enough for him to tumble into the fire, granting a curse from Isak. "That's what I'm talking about. If I die, I'll die fighting some great beast." He said, holding his arms up and flexing them. That got a laugh out of everyone.

"Seriously? I'd like to live as long as I can. I wouldn't want to die, regardless of how." Trent said, seeming to shrink down.

Elrik rolled his eyes. "Oh come on. You're an elf. Don't they live for like... a thousand years?" He said, taking a seat next to Tempest. His hulking figure made Tempest look so small in comparison. Then again he had that effect with everyone.

"Only about 800 years." Trent corrected.

Elrik scoffed. "Only? Do you have any idea how long that is?" He said. "Wish I were an elf." He mumbled.

Tempest chuckled. "An orc wanting to be an elf? Never thought I'd see the day," He joked. "If you would've said that during the Crimson Crusade you would have had your head lopped from your shoulders." He said.

Elrik rolled his eyes. "Oh no, better watch my head so it doesn't roll away," he said sarcastically. Then he leaned over to Tempest, and loud enough for everyone to hear, 'whispered': "What's the Crimson Crusade?"

"A war a few thousand years ago," Trent answered. "Between orcs and elves. They nearly drove each other to extinction. If either side had a suspicion that one of their own was helping the other side they would be executed. No exceptions." He said.

Elrik rolled his eyes. "Smartass." He mumbled before turning to Tempest. "Hey Tempest," Elrik began, halfway through a large piece of charred meat. "What is the toughest monster you've ever faced?" He asked, taking another bite into the meat.

Tempest leaned back and thought for a moment. "The toughest creature I've faced?" He asked himself, staring up at the rolling clouds above him. He began spinning a small silver ring on his finger. He has never seen him without it, yet never spoke of it. "I wasn't alone, I was with another squad of stage 4s, the squad leader being a 5th stage member."

A brief silence settled over the group as they all listened to the story.

"We had ventured into a cave within the southern wastes. Something about a beast killing the cattle around the area and demolishing a small town." He leaned forward and stared into the fire. Suddenly he seemed sad. Elrik almost felt sorry for asking the question.

"In the cave, we found a great deal of gold. The first moment we'd thought we would get nearly payday; we should have known that gold in that amount only meant one thing. The next moment a mass of azure scales arose from the hoard of gold, its wicked maw crackling with lightning. The horrid beast was nearly twice the size of this building." He gestured around at the small building they'd rested in. "We all fought for our lives, the weaker-willed of us, including me, fled and hid. The very presence of such a creature is enough to send a shiver through your bones."

Tempest sighed and stood up. He turned away to lean against a crumbling wall, looking off into the overgrown city they stood in. "Once I'd gained a bit of will I launched the strongest spell I could at the creature." He faintly chuckled. "Turns out that a dragon that spews storms from its maw doesn't care much when lightning the size of its tooth hits its chest. It wasn't even phased. So I hid again until I heard the screaming stop. When I looked back the dragon was dead, so too were most of the squad. Of the 8 people in the squad, only 3 survived." Tempest took out a worn and dented emblem of the Fame guild and began fumbling it in his hands. They all knew the emblem wasn't his, he prided himself on keeping it polished. 'The emblem is a manifestation of our pride for the guild' he always said. "We learned later that the dragon was only a young adult. It wasn't even fully aged." He nearly chuckled. "I don't want to imagine what fighting an elder dragon would feel like."

For a long time, everyone was silent. Isak and Darris silently scolded Elrik upon asking the question, even though they all thought the same. However, neither of them thought it would've been so traumatic for him.

Eventually, the silence was broken by Tempest himself. "Alright, well enough of this solemn mood. those things are in the past." He said, getting up to his feet. "We best be heading off to that ziggurat then."

The ziggurat seemed more and more decrepit the closer they got. The once polished stone walls of the temple were now no more than crumbling stone speckled with damp moss; the paved path up to its front was overgrown with weeds and half-buried within the earth. Soon the sun was beginning to set through the trees, turning the once blue and sunny sky into a deep crimson monochrome. A shadow was cast upon the party from the looming sun dipping below the stone structure as if the ziggurat itself was trying to devour it.

"A bit eerie, isn't it?" Isak asked as Elrik, Darris, Trent, and Tempest all walked past him.

"What, ya' scared?" Elrik asked him with a smile whilst turning for a moment toward him, walking backward a few steps before turning back around and continuing to walk.

"Enough you two. Although it is a bit dark." Tempest called to the two feuding teammates. He held a finger out for a moment before quickly tracing a sigil of light in the air with the finger. From the sigil materialized 5 small orbs of light that lit up the crumbling entrance to the temple. He waved his hand and all but one of the orbs gently hovered towards each of the people behind him, leaving one staying at his side. "Alright, let's head in."

They walked in silence for a time, the only sounds heard being the light clap of their footsteps across ancient stonework and the very faint skittering of the many insects that slinked along the walls, avoiding the new light breaching their dark sanctuary. Soon they came to a halt in front of a particular wall that was much less desecrated than the others. Cracks still ran along it, but they were few and far between. Even with decades of decay, the wall still held aloft a breathtaking feature that halted the adventuring party in the tracks.

On the wall was a mural depicting several elven figures on cities high in the sky, above the clouds, and even the stars. At the top of the mural was another, much larger, figure sitting atop a throne made of light. A diamond circlet lay atop their head, streaks of light flowing from the gem in the centre. Gathered around the lofty figures' feet were many more figures bowing with reverence.

"What's this supposed to be?" Darris asked, moving the light at his side closer to the wall, bathing the mural in a wave of soft radiance. The light bounced off the mural in a rain of glittering motes like it was made of diamonds, which it very well may have been.

Trent spoke first, to no one's surprise. "The Icayian's basically worshipped themselves, well, their monarch anyways. This is a mural depicting one of the queens that they worshipped before they were whipped away by the gods."

Isak walked forward and flew his light close to the ceiling, above the mural. "Then what the heck is this?" He asked.

As one, the group looked up to where Isak glanced. Along the wall, nearing the ceiling, were several sigils, nearly 20 in total. Some still dripped down with scarlet ink, leaving drops of crimson on the floor.

"There's more over here," Elrik said from the other side of the room, his orb of light illuminating another set of red runes across the wall. Several times more than there were on the other wall. He paced down the wall, running a hand across it, the light near him moving as he did. The entire group's gaze was pinned to the wall as Elrik walked; more and more sigils lined the walls. They seemed like an endless sea of red embroidery against the crumbling walls of the long-forgotten temple.

"Does anyone know what they mean?" Isak asked, subtly resting a hand on the hilt of the blade at his hip. "They definitely aren't elvish, or dwarven, or even goblinoid. I've never seen this before." Trent retorted, his brows knit on his forehead in confusion.

"Really? They aren't part of the long-dead civilization that were shunted away by the gods? Thanks for the lovely observation." Isak said sarcastically.

"Guys," Elrik said, turning to the group, holding up his hand so they could all see his palm. It was newly covered in a dark crimson liquid from the runes, some of which were now smeared into obscurity by his hand. "These runes are written in blood."

A brief moment of eerie silence weighed over the group, no one moved; no one even took a breath. Then Tempest stepped forward toward another hallway that connected to the room. He stood at the mouth of the hallway, facing the darkness. He traced a sigil of fire with his finger before sending a small bolt of flame careening down the hall, illuminating the walls as it traveled. There were yet more and more runes lining the walls. The flame finally faded as it hit the end of the hall and sputtered out into cinders.

Elrik stepped ahead of Tempest, holding his light high above his head. "Son of Hein... how many of these are there? Tempest do you have any idea what these mean?" He asked, walking deeper into the hall.

"Elrik, stop separating from us," Darris said, staring into the hallway with Isak at his back. Trent stopped behind Tempest, who had yet to speak.

"Do you know what any of these mean?" He asked him.

Tempest's jaw was clenched, and his eyes were wide, as if he was trying to suppress immense panic. "We need to hurry." He murmured to himself, barely a whisper.

Before Darris could ask further, at the end of the hall, Elrik was studying the runes along the walls when a figure dashed out and tackled him from another corridor, out of view from the group. Elrik let out a stifled shout, being shunted from the sanctuary of the magical lights.

"Elrik?" Isak shouted, drawing the sword from his hip and the shield from his back. He, along with Darris, Trent and Tempest ran down the hall.

Out of view Elrik grunted and screamed. Just as the group rounded the corner they saw Elrik, standing over the grotesque corpse of the creature. Elrik had his great axe drawn, the edge stained with blackened blood. "What the hell just attacked me?" He asked between long hard breaths, looking back to his axe and then to the creature as if he couldn't believe he'd slain it.

The creature was small, only about half the size of a normal person. Its body was slimy pink, while two thick clawed hands stuck from odd angles of its body. The creature had three equally grotesque legs that ended in flat stubbes. However, its most defining feature was the fact it had no head. Instead, it had a massive toothy maw that seemed to split its body in two, with a now limp tongue hanging from its maw. On the edges of its lips were several large yellow orbs that can only be assumed to be eyes.

Tempest knelt down to the creature and flipped it over, revealing the large wound across its body from Elrik's axe. "It's a Maw demon." He said.

Darris's eyes widened. "A demon? Why? Wait, how are they here?"

"Someone is summoning them." He frankly stated, standing up and glancing around the room. "A lot of them. We need to find and stop them before there's too many." He ordered, taking out his spellbook from his satchel.

"Wait, what?" Trent asked. "Shouldn't we leave to Neshni and warn them of this? We need more than just us if we are going against these demons, even if they aren't as many right now."

Tempest spoke above him, finishing the casting of a spell. "I've already sent a message to the nearest guild members that I could find. They will be here in about an hour. However, I fear that if the summoner isn't killed before then, we will surely be overrun by the demons. As long as the summoner is alive the demons will continue to flood into the material plane." He explained as he glanced from one member of his squad to the other.

Then he stood up, raised his hand, and traced another sigil in the air. A thin layer of magic formed over each member of the squad, including Tempest himself. "I've given each of you an arcane ward. It's not as durable as usual due to it being stretched thin, but it will repel at least a few blows." He said, turning and walking past Elrik. "Draw your weapons and prepare your spells. We must find and kill the summoner... or die trying."

Danger was not something unfamiliar to the members of squad 12, however, the threat of demons was. None of them had encountered any extraplanar creatures of any type before, let alone creatures of pure chaos and destruction.

For several moments they flowed aimlessly through the temple, the many orbs of light flying in front of them to light their path. Isak led the group with his shield, with Tempest directly behind him with Trent and Darris behind him. Elrik was in the back in case anything snuck up on them from behind as he was the most capable of taking down a creature quickly, at least the weaker ones.

"Why do you know so much about demons?" Trent asked suddenly, glancing up at Tempest's lavender eyes. Then all the other's heads turned to him. Tempest looked around at his squadmates. "I'm a tiefling." He said, as if that answered the question.

"And? I know a ton of them, but none of them know anything about the lower planes. And it's not like you studied that, there's no reason for having had to. You mainly use spells of the elements." Trent rattled off. He might've been young, but he was perceptive.

Tempest sighed, then stopped, making the rest of the group stop. "Trent... everyone," He corrected. "I had a past before joining this guild. I'd much rather not talk about it. Which means no questions." He said, his face a mix of frustration and sorrow.

"Does it have to do with the ring?" Darris asked, gesturing to the silver ring on Tempest's finger. Tempest raised his hand to stare at the ring, as if forgetting it was there. He proceeded to spin the ring on his finger as he thought. "In a way." He sighed. "You had asked the most dangerous creature I'd ever faced? Well, I can say with certainty that it was no measly dragon." He said before continuing his march forward. "Now let's keep moving forward. We've wasted enough time."

As they continued their trek through the temple, the lights fell upon sections of the wall scarred with large gnashes. The savage marks were very large and cut deep into the masonry. Daris's hand tightened around his scimitar at the sight. Any creature that can make marks like that on hardy stone could cleave a person in half with a single swipe. He then caught a quick glance at Tempest, who was eyeing the marks along the walls as well. He looked more frightened than anyone.

Suddenly, a deep groan reverberated throughout the ancient hallway, causing the entire group to freeze. The group inched closer to the end of the hallway, the mouth of a room beginning to reveal itself as the orbs of light flew ahead. Two creatures stood in the room, facing each other. Both looked mostly humanoid in form, however, they had several differences from each other.

The smaller of the two creatures had the torso of what could have been a decrepit and malnourished humanoid. However, from its shoulders up and the waist down it had the figure of an emancipated grey ram. Flies and insects of various species hovered around the creature, landing on it and flying away for a moment just to attach to the creature again. In its humanoid hands were a crude but deadly spear made entirely of rusted metal.

The larger creature was less humanoid and was just as tall if not taller than Elrik, towering over the other goat-like creature in front of it. Its skin was a pale grey with patches of tough keratin darting across its muscular body. Atop its head were two thick horns, and its legs were set with heavy hooves. In its bulky arms was a large mace, the head of which was nearly half the size of Darris, whose mouth went dry at the sight of it.

"A Tanarukk," Tempest whispered, just loud enough for the group to hear, staring at the larger creature.

The Tanarukk grunted several times at the smaller creature, waving his heavy club around in annoyance. The smaller creature grunted in kind to the Tanarukk, gripping its spear with both hands.

The Tanarukk roared in the face of the creature who, in turn, stabbed at the Tanarukk with its spear. The spear plunged into the shoulder of the hulking demon, causing blackened bile to spill from the wound.

The Tanarukk, however, wasn't phased by the spear. Instead, it roared once again and slammed its club into the torso of the slim creature, sending it flying away into a nearby crumbled pillar with a pained bleat.

"When I say 'now', charge the larger creature," Tempest whispered to the group, putting a hand on Isak's shoulder. Isak looked back to Tempest. "Wait what? No, we need to find another way arou-" He began, but Tempest curtly whispered back, cutting him off. "Just trust me Isak."

Isak looked back at the Tanarukk, swallowing. It strode with heavy steps toward the goat demon, its footfalls making the stones crunch under its cloven feet. The goat clutched its spear, ready for another attack,  but the Tanarukk swiftly slammed its club into the goat demon's head, caving in its skull. It twitched and flailed before falling limp; its spear clanking to the ground.  As the Tanarukk pulled back for another swing however, three spears of flame shot from a doorway to its right, exploding in its face. Out rushed 5 adventurers screaming in a rage.

Isak was first in the charge, rushing toward the beast and stabbing it in its side with his sword before pulling out and quickly backing away.  Darris ran to the demon's side and slid on his knees, slashing his scimitar across one of its thighs as he passed by before rising to his feet.

The Tanarukk snarled down at Darris, before hearing a frenzied battlecry. It looked up to see Elrik running towards ut, ax raised above his head and rage in his eyes. They both swung their respective weapons at each other, maul and axe colliding mid air. However, the abyssal creature's strength was greater than the orc's, knocking Elric off balance and sending his axe tumbling to the ground.

The Tanarukk raised its club for a fatal slam, ready to turn the orc into a bloody stain on the cold stone. But a bolt of ice shot from within the doorway, intercepting the swing and striking the demon in the centre of its chest, causing a thin layer of frost to cover its torso and blacken its flesh.

That is when Elrik roared with an intensity and ferocity that rivalled the demon's, swinging his ax one final time. The Tanarukk attempted to meet the attack with his own, but the ice coating his torso hindered his speed. The heavy axe blade slammed deep into its chest.

The Tanarukk roared and swung down with its large club, aiming directly for the orc's head. However, Isak ran and shoved the hulking body of Elrik to the side with his shield. The club of the Tanarukk fell down onto Isak's back, causing the warrior to crash into the ground. The arcane barrier around him shimmered faint.y and fractured into shards. Even with the shield's protection, Isak still struggled to rise to his feet.

"Isak!" Trent shouted from the hallway. In a swift movement he took a brown feather from a pouch at his side, clutched it in his fist and blew into it as he let it go. From the feather sprouted an hawk that soared at the demon fearlessly.

The massive avian screeched and clawed at the Tanarukk, however it did little more than annoy the massive creature. The Tanarukk quickly swatted the bird, hitting its wing and sending it flying into the nearby wall. As the hawk impacted the wall it exploded into smoke.

Taking advantage of the opening, Elrik clutched his axe again and swung upward. The blade of the axe cleaved through the hide of the beast once again, raining down foul ichor onto the barbarian. With another roar, Elrik cleaved down with his weapon, digging the ax deep into the Tanarukk's collar, causing it to roar in pain.

For just a brief moment, Elrik relaxed. To nearly any other creature a blow such as that would have certainly been enough to fell it, even a beast such as that. However, death comes to those who underestimate the ferocity and durability of creatures who live in the desolate ashen wasteland known as the abyss.

The demon roared, raising his club, and swung it into Elrik's ribs. A deep crack emanated from Elrik as was knocked off his feet, tumbling to the ground. The ward around him shattered like glass as a large wound exposing his ribs haemorrhage blood. He held his hand over it in a feeble attempt to miraculously stop the bleeding.

He staggered to his feet, ready to accept a warrior's death. Suddenly a high-pitched yell was heard from the hallway as Trent and Tempest came running out, spells flickering in their hands. Tempest swiftly pivoted back around toward the hallway. He held forth his hand, a torrent of flames erupting from his palm toward a creature emerging into the room.

The creature was as tall as any normal person, butrey fur coated its skin all the way down to the very bottoms of its feet. Its face was elongated like a hound's, but its snout was squished against its newly charred face. Large pointed ears hung from the sides of its head. Its short legs arched back and seemed to just barely hold the creature up.

"Dretches." Tempest called out, carving another sigil in the air "They come in numbers." As if on queue three more Dretches stammered into the room. "Elrik, Isak, you handle the big thing with the club. I'll help with the Dretches." Darris shouted, running past the distracted Tanarukk to aid the two wizards.

In one swift move Darris dashed forward, cutting across the dretch closest to Trent who, oblivious to the dretch creeping behind him, was firing a ray of ice at another dretch stumbling towards him. Black blood sprayed across Daris's scimitar as he cut through the hide of the wretched creature. A horrid screech came from the demon as it raised a malformed arm to attack Darris. Darris prepared to block a heavy blow, however it was much slower than he'd expected. He easily ducked under its arm, carving his blade into its shoulder as he passed behind it. One final horrid shriek was cut short by another slash from Darris's scimitar across its chest. The dretch fell backwards, putrid blood oozing from its wounds.

Darris quickly glanced around the room for the other dretches. One was bound by several spine-dotted vines that had erupted through the crumbing floor tiles of the temple, courtesy of Trent. The more the dretch struggled, the more the thorns of the vines dug into its skin, causing it to unleash a chorus of screeches.

Tempest was fending off two dretches at once. One of the dretches had its foot stuck on a newly opened crack in the ground while the other dretch was being pelted with seemingly endless bolts of flame, its fur burning away to reveal charred skin.

"Trent, you help Tempest." Darris shouted, running toward the dretch wrapped in a thorny prison. Suddenly, the vines around the demon retreated back into the earth. Trent turned from the dretch, no longer paying it any mind.

The dretch, now free from its thorny fetters, turned to Trent as he ran toward Tempest. The creature had only taken a couple steps before a flash of steel carved a fatal gash into its back. Darris took a few steps toward the last remaining dretches, his blade readied to spill more demonic ichor. Suddenly a dretch in his peripheral vision suddenly exploded in an eruption of  embers and charred vicera. A smouldering sigil flickered out in front of Tempest, before another torrent of flame soared towards another dretch a second later. A screech emanated from the other side of Tempest; another dretch falling limp and colliding onto the stone floor. All but one of the dretch horde had been wiped out before Darris could even make a move.

Darris was about to attack the last remaining dretch when he heard a scream from behind him. He swept around just in time to see the Tanarukk's heavy club collide with Isak. Most of the impact was absorbed by his shield, nonetheless he was still sent flying backwards from the force of the blow. He rolled backwards as he collided with the ground, lessening the impact but leaving him with his back against the wall.

Darris ran forward and helped his friend to his feet. "Your shield is cracked." Darris noted, gesturing to his wooden shield which was barely being held together by the metal trimming.

Isak grunted. "Just a shield, we need to- Elrik!" He yelled in surprised panic. A large axe embedded itself into the wall beside them, having been knocked from Elrik's grasp. For a short moment, everything went in slow motion yet everything happened at once. Darris and Isak shot up and dashed to Elrik, but even the speed of lighting wouldn't have been enough.

The Tanarukk swung twice, that's all it needed. The first swing hit Elrik in the ribs, directly on his hastily closed wound, audibly cracking whatever bones remained intact. The second swing collided with Elrik's head, caving in his skull with a visceral thunderclap that echoed throughout the entire room. Elrik's body fell limply to the floor, his head nearly turned completely sideways on his neck; his head flattened like a pancake. Tempest and Trent turned around just as he fell, shocked expressions befalling their faces.

Time sped up again. In a rage Darris shot forward, slicing across the Tanarukk's arm, cutting a tendon within the muscle. The arm fell limp. He made another gash across its chest, causing the beast to double over. Finally, he stepped around the beast and sliced open  both of its thighs. With a pained roar the Tanarukk fell to its knees, only keeping itself up with one arm.

Panting, Darris glanced at Isak who was already stomping over to the kneeling Tanarukk. Darris took a step back, knowing full well what was coming. Without a word Isak dropped his wooden shield to the floor, gripping his sword with both hands. With a scream he swung down at the creature's neck, cleaving its head clean from its shoulders.

The body of the Tanarukk fell lifelessly to the stone floor. A heavy silence pressed over the group. No one in squad 12 had ever died before. They had had some close calls in the past, but none of them had ever considered the fact that, at any moment, one of them could die. With a sudden shout Isak began hacking into the headless body in front of him with his sword, over and over again. Tears streamed from his eyes as he cut through the muscles of the hulking creature, now hitting its spine. He shouted again, and, with one last swing, snapped the spine of the mutilated beast in two.

Another moment of silence passed over the group, the only sound being Isak's panting. He then walked over to his shield, putting it back over his arm. "Let's go." He said, sternly. He took a few steps before turning around, seeing that nobody had moved. "Let's go!" He roared, the sound echoing off the walls.

Tempest began walking forward. "Isak's right, we should keep going. We can mourn Elrik later. Once this problem is taken care of." He said, continuing to walk past Isak, who was still glaring at Trent and Darris. "Our job is to stop any threat against Sige or her people. We all know the dangers that come with it."

Darris sighed and began to walk forward, but he was stopped when Trent put a shaking hand on his shoulder. Darris looked back to see tears welling up in his eyes. "Can't we just leave?" He squeaked out. Tempest and Isak looked back. He hung his head as tears began to stream down his face. "I just want to leave." His entire body shook and his gaze was locked to the floor. "I don't want to die." He stuttered out.

Isak took a step toward Trent, asking. "Why would-" "Cause I'm scared!" Trent shouted, glaring up at Isak, rivers of tears going down either of his cheeks. He felt pathetic, being scared of doing his job. He was the youngest in the group: only 19.

Darris remembered when Trent had first become part of squad 12. They had been in the same orientation, despite being different ages. Trent had shown a lot of potential, and he'd grown exponentially in the several months he'd been part of squad 12. More than anyone else, in fact. Even Tempest. But now Darris saw how immature he was. Trent was just a kid.

"I don't want to do this anymore. I just want to leave." He said, more to himself than his squadmates. "I don't want anyone else to die."

In another moment of silence Isak stomped up to Trent, then slapped him across the face. "Then leave. We have a job to do. If you want to be a coward and flee, then be my guest." He said before turning and walking to the other end of the room where a flight of stairs led upward into the darkness.

Tempest followed him to the end of the room, as Trent went to leave through the way they'd come.

Then there was Darris, standing in the middle of  the three of them. Trent on one side of him, and Isak and Tempest on the other. He hesitated for a moment, looking between the two options presented to him: Fight or flee. He glanced at Trent, understanding his plight. In a purely pragmatic sense, it wouldn't be worth dragging him along if he isn't going to be fighting at peak performance. In an empathic sense, they were the ones who brought him here. He didn't choose to die in this temple. After silently deliberating, Darris sighed and turned away.

"Wait... Darris... aren't you coming with me? Let's leave, please. We're friends right? I don't want anyone else to die here." He pleaded, staring into Daris's eyes.

Darris fought the urge to turn back, to run and flee. And live. But he bit his lip and stepped toward Tempest and Isak. "Tempest is right. We have a job to do." He tossed him a small pouch of gold for the road, and bid him goodbye. Trent tossed him an ornate dagger with his initials and the seal of the guild, a gift Tempest had given Trent when he first joined. "I.. I don't think I'll need this.." Darris solemnly nodded, tucking the small dagger into his pocket before joining Tempest. And with that last gesture, squad 12 went their separate ways. Trent faded into the darkness, leaving behind nothing but silence, whilst Tempest, Isak, and Darris went deeper into the temple. Three living, one dead, and one retreating.