The ancient ruins of the underground sanctuary stood in silent decay beneath the vast cavern ceiling. Broken pillars leaned at unnatural angles, cracked statues lay scattered across the stone floor, and fragnts of collapsed walls ford jagged shadows beneath the dim glow of purple moss.
For a mont, everything remained still. Then the ruins began to move. A pair of glowing blue eyes appeared behind a broken pillar. Another pair erged from the shadows of a collapsed archway. Then several more. Rowan slowly raised his sword. "...That’s a lot of eyes." Aurelion’s gaze moved calmly across the chamber. Sally looked around with excitent. "...Finally." Dust slid from ancient structures as shapes began climbing down from the ruins. The creatures revealed themselves one by one.
They resembled humanoid figures carved from rough stone, but their forms were twisted and unnatural. Their limbs were longer than normal, joints bent at strange angles, and their bodies looked like cracked statues that had sohow co alive.
Faint blue light burned within the empty spaces where their eyes should have been. Their movents were slow at first. Then they dropped down from the pillars. Rowan took a step back. "...Okay." He looked at Aurelion. "...That’s a lot."Aurelion nodded. "Stone Wraiths." Rowan swallowed. "...How strong are they?" He added. "Stronger than the wolves." Rowan sighed. "...Great."
The Stone Wraiths began circling slowly. Their stone limbs scraped against the ground with a harsh grinding sound. They didn’t rush forward like the rats. They moved deliberately. Rowan tightened his grip on his sword. "...They’re surrounding us." Aurelion replied. "Yes, That is their thod." Sally cracked her knuckles. "...Can I break them?"
Aurelion glanced at her briefly. "Let Rowan handle most of them." Rowan stared at him. "Most of them?!" Before he could protest further, the first Stone Wraith attacked. The creature moved suddenly, leaping down from a broken pillar with surprising speed. Its stone claws slashed downward toward Rowan’s chest. Rowan raised his sword.
The impact rang through the chamber like a struck bell. Rowan’s arms shook as the force traveled up the blade. "...Heavy!" The Wraith twisted its body and struck again. Rowan stepped back and swung his sword across the creature’s torso.
The blade connected cleanly. But instead of cutting through the monster, the strike only produced a shower of sparks. The Wraith barely reacted. Rowan blinked. "...That didn’t work."
The creature lunged again. Rowan blocked the strike and jumped backward. Another Wraith dropped down behind him. Rowan spun around quickly, narrowly avoiding the creature’s grasping stone hands."...They’re tougher than the wolves!"
Aurelion stood calmly near the center of the chamber, watching Rowan’s movents carefully. Rowan blocked another strike. His sword scraped across the stone arm of the creature with a harsh grinding sound. "...Any advice?!" Aurelion replied. "Observe." Rowan ducked under another attack. "Observe what?!"
The Wraiths began closing in from multiple directions. Their glowing eyes flickered as they moved silently across the ruins. Rowan swung again. His blade struck the torso of one Wraith. The stone cracked slightly. But the creature continued moving. Rowan stepped back again."...They don’t feel pain."
"No." Aurelion folded his arms. "They are animated constructs ford by dungeon mana." Rowan blocked another strike. "aning?!" Aurelion answered. "They will continue fighting until destroyed." Rowan gritted his teeth.
One Wraith lunged from the side. Rowan stepped forward instead of backward this ti. His sword stabbed toward the creature’s shoulder joint. The blade struck stone. The Wraith’s arm broke off completely. The creature stumbled slightly. Rowan blinked. "...Wait."
The Wraith tried to grab him with its remaining arm. Rowan slashed again. This ti, he aid directly for the neck joint. The blade struck the narrow gap between the stone plates. The Wraith’s head separated from its body. The creature collapsed.
Rowan stared. "...Oh." Aurelion nodded slightly. "Correct." Rowan looked back at him. "...You could have said that earlier." Aurelion replied. "You asked for advice. now, though." Rowan sighed. "...Fair enough."
Another Wraith lunged. Rowan stepped aside and slashed at its knee joint. The stone cracked. The creature collapsed forward. Rowan finished it with a strike to the neck. Two down, but more continued approaching. Several Wraiths climbed down from the ruins above them. Their stone bodies moved with unnatural flexibility as they descended from the broken structures.
The next Wraith attacked. Rowan moved faster this ti. His blade struck the creature’s elbow joint. The arm broke apart. The follow-up strike severed its head. The monster collapsed. Rowan felt his confidence growing slightly. "...That’s better." But the Wraiths were not finished.
Two attacked together. Rowan blocked the first strike but nearly stumbled when the second Wraith slamd into him from the side. The creature’s stone arm struck his shoulder. Rowan crashed into a broken pillar. "...Ow!" Before he could recover, another Wraith raised its arm to strike. A flash of movent appeared beside him.
It was Sally. She lightly tapped the Wraith’s head. The creature exploded into fragnts of stone. Rowan stared at her. "...You promised not to interfere." Sally smiled innocently. "...You looked slow." Rowan sighed."...Thanks."
More Wraiths continued approaching. Rowan stepped forward again. His sword moved with more confidence now. Stone limbs shattered as his blade struck the joints of the creatures. The cavern echoed with the sound of breaking stone. One Wraith lunged.
Rowan ducked. He stabbed upward into the creature’s neck joint. The monster collapsed instantly. But another Wraith grabbed his arm from behind. Its grip was incredibly strong. Rowan struggled. Before the creature could crush his arm, a sudden force slamd into its torso.
Sally had flicked her finger again. The Wraith shattered against the cavern wall. Rowan rubbed his arm. "...You’re definitely cheating." Sally shrugged. "...Helping." Aurelion continued watching the battle carefully. Rowan’s movents had improved. He was adapting. That was the purpose of this expedition.
The remaining Stone Wraiths began moving differently now. Instead of attacking directly, several of them positioned themselves around the far side of the ruins. Their glowing eyes focused toward sothing deeper in the chamber. Aurelion noticed imdiately. "...Interesting."
Rowan destroyed another Wraith with a clean strike to the neck. Then he noticed the others pulling back slightly."...They’re retreating." Aurelion said. "No, They are guarding." Rowan frowned. "Guarding what?"
Aurelion looked toward the deeper ruins. Beyond the broken pillars, sothing stood partially hidden in the darkness. A large stone structure. Half-buried beneath centuries of debris.
An ancient altar. The Stone Wraiths positioned themselves between the altar and the three intruders. Their glowing eyes burned brighter. The guardians of the ancient sanctuary had chosen their battlefield. And sothing within those ruins was worth protecting.
[To be Continued]
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