Irwin's Journey - The Cardsmith

Irwin snuck down the sand-covered stone staircase while an unpleasant, rank scent drifted up from below. Traces of footsteps were visible in the dust and sand in front of him, and if he had to guess, he would say they belonged to Galubs.

There are always buildings in these places, he thought absently, listening for any sound that might indicate movement ahead. I wonder why…

His new hammer rested snugly in his right hand while he had a single grappling gauntlet on the other. A soft thud from behind told him that Gwallina and Yerich were still following him. Lous and Desrin were waiting at the top, ready to defend it from anything if they had to sprint back with something on their heels. Everyone looked far more lively now, and when he had told them that Daubutim had told him that many portals like these were known to have two portals, they didn't even bother asking difficult questions. Instead, they started planning to find it and get out.

The Frozir said there were Grablon's in here… perhaps this part was open before?

As he turned around the corner, he saw that the staircase stopped a few feet down. There still wasn't any sound or light, and Ambraz hadn't vibrated again. The reason he was in the lead, again, was because he could see. For the others, it was pitch dark in here, but he had his flame ready to summon in case they needed light.

Reaching the bottom, he held his breath and poked his head through the door opening. Dozens, if not hundreds, of decapitated Galub bodies, lay sprawled across a massive hall. Massive stains of dried-up blood spread out below them, while splashes of more were across every surface he saw. Long lacerations covered the Galubs, many on the back and chest, almost as if they had been sliced apart.

Irwin bit back a cursed gasp as he looked around. The room was a hallway with broken statues to the side, two angular passageways with elaborate arches above it to each side, and a throne at the back. Black and dull, for a moment, he thought it was empty. Then he realized a thin figure sat on it, eyes closed and head angled down. Long black hair draped across the front of its equally black robe, causing it to blend in perfectly with the stone throne.

Very slowly, Irwin drew his head back. The others stood behind him, eyes wide as he looked around as if searching for a tiny sliver of light in the darkness.

Did that black thing do that to the Galubs? Or is it dead too? Irwin thought as he exhaled as quietly as he could. Whatever it was, he was pretty sure he didn't want to go here if he could help it. Sadly, they didn't have much of a choice. He needed to find the other portal.

Steeling himself, he peaked around the corner again, only for his heart to skip a beat. The throne was empty… and there was no sight of the being on it. He almost turned and ran, but a tiny sliver of insight kept him motionless as his eyes scanned the room. Seconds turned to minutes, and he feared the others would become restless and say something. Then he saw a minute movement near the far end of the hallway, and as he watched, he saw a black figure almost glide across the floor, its head turned away from him, turned towards one of the dropped statues. It stopped before it, and a pale hand stretched out, touching the statue's torn-off head.

After a short while, it continued on, floating to the next.

What is that thing? Irwin thought as he tried to recall the many different demons that could be inside the portals. He knew of a few, and none matched the description of what he saw before him. The closest he could come up with would be a very big Nyzir… but that couldn't be. The Nyzir were supposed to be through the other portal. Whatever it was, he had no interest in fighting it if he could prevent that.