The Ziggurat

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."

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***