The Necromancer's Dragon

Chapter 22: The Guardians of the Cave

The cavern was not what Selena had thought it would be if she could even call it that. Instead, the ruin led them through a long and open corridor of stone and metal lined with pipes gracing the walls, pumping steam into the air sporadically. The Raging River trickled within the cave and collected underneath the giant catwalk the trio walked carefully across. A few burnt urns sat in the corners of the entrance, covered and buried partially in dirt mounds; the forgotten ruin was from another world not belonging to Armageddon.

"What is all of this?" Rahim asked as he peered over Selena's shoulder.

Thor sniffed every nook and cranny as he treaded carefully, occasionally releasing a low growl and rumble, his nails clicking against the stone floor. Selena placed her hands on a copper pipe, the metal vibrating as it drew steam from the flowing river. "This place looks like it has been here for hundreds of years, yet their inventions still seem to work. They must be much more technologically advanced than we thought, but the dwarves in Alfheim never mentioned anything like this."

Rahim shuddered. "That means we need to stay alert. I'm not sure what could be in this mechanical mine."

He lingered behind, but Selena sprinted ahead to stay with Thor as they trekked up a steep incline, her six steps to his one, vigilant to avoid broken copper and steel parts scattered on the ground. They only paused upon hearing a hiss, and a steam cloud wafted in their faces. Grinding and clanking of metal echoing down the halls made her heart race, yet Selena was amazed to see that none of the pipes or copper gates plastered into the walls carried any rust. Despite the lurking awaiting dangers, a spark of curiosity and a sense of adventure swelled within her breast. She was determined to find Ragnarok and defeat the Lich once and for all, and her motivation kept her moving forward.

Thor abruptly paused, however. He sniffed the air and quickly snapped his fangs between growls and snarls, tail flickering as he clawed at the floor. Rahim quivered from seeing Thor's hostile reaction and pressed his fingers to his lips. "I feel like something is watching us."

Selena gripped Dragonheart as she inched forward, but Thor's head swung around. Don't move.

Too late in heeding his warning, she felt her heart caught in her throat as her foot suddenly sank into the ground with her following step. Thor roared and immediately wrapped an arm around Selena, herding her close to his chest away from the activated trap. The path behind remained clear, but Rahim pointed at the ground leading to the dead-end ahead; a piece of the camouflaged metal floor ejected long spikes and quickly soared upwards into the ceiling, leaving a large square-shaped black pit.

As the trio slowly inched towards the edge, an ear-shattering shrill escaped the abyss, and two massive burning orange eyes peered at them from the darkness. Thor moved the terror-struck Selena and Rahim away with his tail when suddenly, a giant snake matching Thor's size with dark greenish-grey scales slithered from the hole. Unlike a Marcupo, the creature's venom-drenched fangs, like tusks from an elephant, radiated with an eerie pearly glow. The colossal snake's spined-hood flared like a cobra's as it watched them like a hawk. The terrible stench of rotting flesh lingered around the creature's presence.

Rahim dashed behind a nearby pile of rocks and busted urns. "W-what is that thing?"

Selena gulped as her hand trembled around Dragonheart's hilt, and she unsheathed her weapon. "I-I believe it's a Grootslang. Very similar to the Marcupo, but it will still try and kill us either way."

Thor stood in front of Selena and Rahim with wings fully unfurled as the primordial snake inched closer, its topaz-like eyes fixated on his lustrous scales and necklace. The Grootslang fully emerged from the abyss, and the spiked platform slowly descended from the ceiling and covered the pit, retracting its sharp barbs. As soon as the floor became whole again, the walled dead-end quivered and crumbled, revealing a giant golem crafted of golden and silver metal parts gleaming cherry red like a heated ingot in a forge. Its eyes began glowing yellow from its human-bust spiked helm, the gears turning within its heavily armor-plated torso.