They were in a frenzy, and we were caught unprepared. Our leader fought with his Fire and Lightning magic for as long as he could, but there were just too many, and we lost critical people in the first seconds." "You were just arriving? That seems like incredibly bad timing to arrive just as a queen ant exits searching for a new burrow," Dale said with a frown. "Not coincidental timing at all," Dystra said as he returned from the tunnel entrance. "There are scent bombs scattered at the far side of the entry chamber and scorch marks indicating the ants were flushed out of their nest, guided from below, contained in the chamber, and released to attack the approaching Beast-Kin party." That made everyone quiet as they contemplated the evil that transpired here. "Any idea as to who might have known you were coming here and when?" the Assassin asked. He was keeping his eyes on the dark forest around them. Ti'Nah slowly scowled, and a low growl began. "I have a good idea," she sai

Alex felt a little out of sorts as he had nothing to do. Yes, he was weary, but everyone seemed busy but him.He moved to Jhaan and Yellsbeth to see if they needed help preparing the evening meal, but they said no.The team working on merging their provisions just waved him off, so he found a quiet place to sit and did his best to relax. He heard a noise and saw Ti'Nah waiting to be acknowledged."Hi, Ti'Nah. They have no tasks for you either?" he asked with a smile."No, I was on my way to hunt for some mutton, but I have a question for you," the big warrior said.Alex felt a little annoyed that no one asked if he'd like to hunt, but he let that go and locked eyes with her. He was delighted to see how large and gold they were. "Sure, ask away.""Is the Dwarf with the dark hair your mate?" she said.Alex blinked in surprise. "Thorn? My mate?""Yes, I witnessed your mating ritual earlier," Ti'Nah qualified.Alex recalled the kiss. "Oh, that! No, that was just a kiss, a sign of affectio

Ti'Nah was a native, blessed at birth twenty-five years ago, but Shi'Jax was a relatively recent new arrival. Ti'Nah asked her to join the expedition due to the strength of her healing abilities. She was young at twenty-one, and this was her first mission. It had almost been her last. Alex watched Lyra and Shi'Jax speaking to each other as they maintained their position in the group. There was a slight breeze from ahead, and Alex wondered if some kind of ventilation system was still operating in these ruins. He'd expected the air to be still and maybe a little stagnant, but it felt fresh. His heightened senses picked up the scents of his party members and isolated them so he could use the air movement to bring him hints of approaching dangers. They continued until they approached a straight section of tunnel that stretched off into the distance. The light dimmed in the middle of this stretch, but the far wall could be seen. His hackles suddenly rose. "Danger ahead!" he squea

These giant monsters are sometimes found in the wilderness outside the underground cities. Maybe this one was on its way outside and stopped to rest in the soil?" Ti'Nah was poking at the armored snakeskin. "The scales on this creature are a treasure on their own. They show no damage even after being exploded." "Truthfully, the explosion was mostly contained by the scales, but the meat underneath took the brunt of the damage," Dale suggested. "We can't stay here. This mess will attract every scavenger for a few levels. We also stink. We need to find a place to clean up as soon as possible," Dystra urged. "The maintenance room?" Lyra asked Dale. He gave her a worried nod, then turned to the others, who were waiting for an explanation. "Near the end of the fourth level, just before the ramp down to the fifth, there is a large room that we believe was used for maintaining the biomechanical constructs. We fought off a large group of the things the last time we were here, but the

No time tracking devices here?" Alex asked after he realized that the Gods' Language had no word for watch that didn't mean the act of observing. "No time piece craftsmen reborn here?""If there were, they became adventurers and likely died before they made enough money to switch occupations," Dale suggested."What are these devices you're talking about?" Yellsbeth asked."On my planet, we wear... little tools on our wrists that display the current time. We call them watches," Alex explained.Yellsbeth and Thorn shared a smirk. "That's not confusing at all.""This is just an example of the translation not being fully accurate between Earth's languages and the Gods' Language," Alex sighed. "I have memories of my old life that I don't have words to describe because the level of society was more advanced there and used tools that don't exist here. I believe the people who lived in these underground cities may have also reached these advanced levels. If they were the ones who made those g