Chapter 45: Pulling Goldtooth Without a Plan
The steel gate groaned as it swung open, its hinges shrieking under the weight. The once dim mine shaft was suddenly flooded with light. As the gate fully parted, a bright glow poured from within, casting long shadows at the entrance.
Ryan and his team stepped cautiously inside. The space beyond the gate had been transformed into a shrine—an eerie, unexpected sanctum buried deep underground. Evelyn and the others instinctively halted, their breath catching in their throats at the sight before them.
Ryan had seen this scene dozens of times. Every time he leveled a new alt, he returned here. And yet—even now—it still struck him with awe.
Yes, awe. Grandeur, even—a word few would ever associate with a mine shaft.
Dozens of Kobold statues lined the chamber. Their faces were frozen in expressions ranging from terror to ecstatic reverence. The hall stretched high above, its wooden beams vanishing into the shadows, the ceiling easily dozens of feet overhead. At the center of the room stood a massive statue, towering and imposing, its surface carved in such detail it seemed alive. A dark, oppressive aura pulsed from it.
Beneath this colossal figure knelt two Kobolds, locked in prayer. Their guttural chants echoed off the stone walls, bouncing unnervingly from every direction.
Of the two, one stood out in ornate ceremonial robes, embroidered in gold thread. This was Goldtooth—the Kobold Priest, and the dungeon’s final boss.
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Goldtooth
Kobold Priest
Leader