Chapter 678: Broken Seal
As soon as the vision unfolded into a cavern, I looked up, half-expecting to see a dragon. The roof was several hundred feet overhead, no sign of anything unusual-- dragons or otherwise. The stone was dark obsidian, reflecting the orange glow of lava. The entrance was some distance behind me, girded with ancient stonework. More walls, pillars, and raised turrets rose across the cavern, forming layers of ramparts defending the far wall from the entrance. I couldn’t distinguish what lay in the center, but it radiated a familiar aura.
The orange glow came from many streams of viscous lava oozing from holes in the walls. Several rivers fell in slow-moving waterfalls from cracks in the ceiling. The lava flowed through thin canals only a few feet wide, passing in gutters beneath the walls. They threaded through the cavern like streams in a garden, before disappearing into the handful of chasms lacerating the floor.
There were only a handful of guards scattered across the network of walls. Some slumped against the towers; others polished weapons and armor already gleaming. Two sat across from each other with their shields stacked across their knees, forming a makeshift table they played cards over. A thick layer of dust and ash smothered everything save for the main walkways and patrol routes.
A small group of soldiers clustered around a small guard house behind the outermost wall. I willed myself closer.
"What do you think, Cap?" a fourth-level archer asked, looking at the only sixth-level solider in the cavern.
The woman shrugged, tossing her hair. "’bout what?"
The archer rolled his eyes. "The demons and all. Think we’ll actually surrender?"
"They won one battle!" another man said. "My cousin was one of the few who made it out, and he said they showed up out of nowhere. Crossed Tormod’s breach in a few days, he said. Gave us no time to prepare."
"No they didn’t," The archer retorted. "Not even the Imperial Guard can march it that fast."
"Either way, the city fell," the captain said, rubbing her chin. "But it does seem a little much to jump to a surrender. I met Lady Elaine once, and I can’t imagine anyone threatening her. Even demons."
The third soldier leaned in, whispering conspiratorially. "My cousin said they had a huge bird with them—big ’nough to blot out the heavens. I ain’t seen no bird with em nor heard about it. Maybe they’re plotting something."