Chapter 51: The Elven Records

Chapter 51: Chapter 51: The Elven Records

Arin walked out of the Chief’s chamber, more questions than answers.

Ten years.

Since the last Dungeon Master’s tragedy, ten years had passed. Ten years since his family had been turned into Chimeras. Ten years since he had killed them himself. Ten years since Ayan and Saira had been sealed inside the dungeon. And at some point during those ten years, the previous Dungeon Master had died.

Arin knew that much.

But he did not know how.

With a heavy heart, he walked down the wooden corridor, Mira walking beside him.

"You’re thinking too much again," she said.

Arin shot her a glance. "Do I have that look on my face?" "You’ve been staring at the same wall for almost a minute." Arin looked at the wall.

He had been.

"Right."

Mira smiled.

"What did you expect to find here?"

"Answers."

"And did you?"

Arin exhaled.

"A few."

"That’s better than nothing."

"Not really."

Mira giggled.

Arin couldn’t help but smile.

Behind them, Ayan and Saira walked in unison.

Ayan barely talked since their meeting ended, and although his composed mask was back in place, something was off with him. The words the dragon had said reopened old wounds, and Saira stayed close without asking questions.

Adnan walked on the other side, Zarl and Garul following with the guard of two elves.

Zarl hadn’t made a single joke since they walked into the Chief’s chamber, which was more than unusual for the joker.

Arin halted.

Everyone turned to face him.

"What’s the matter?"

Arin looked at Ayan.

"You said something earlier."

Ayan arched an eyebrow.

"What?"

"You said that you should have protected him."

Ayan’s composed exterior strained.

Arin went on.

"But you were sealed inside the dungeon."

"Yes."

"So how exactly were you to protect him?"

Ayan stayed silent for several seconds before replying.

"I don’t know."

Arin studied him.

Ayan looked outside the corridor into the forest. "I served him for many years, and I was to stand between him and any danger."

His fist slowly closed. "But I failed him when he needed me most." Saira looked down. "Ayan..."

"I know what you’re going to say."

Ayan’s voice was soft.

"You’ll tell me it wasn’t my fault."

Saira did not answer.

"Perhaps it wasn’t your fault," he said, turning to face Arin. "But that doesn’t mean I don’t regret it."

Arin did not protest.

Some things could not be absolved by being told they weren’t your fault, and he only nodded. "Then we will find out what happened." Ayan fixed him with a surprised look. Arin resumed walking. "Maybe there is something in those records Eldran told us about."

Everyone turned to stare at Adnan. The hero was already walking closer. "The records regarding the last Dungeon Master?" "Yeah," Arin said. The Chief had mentioned them. If the elves had known the previous Dungeon Master for years, they had to have records on his visits, research, meetings and all the work he had done.

Perhaps there was something they had missed. Something that happened shortly before he vanished. Or, maybe the answer was in the dungeon research of the previous Dungeon Master. Arin turned around.

"I’m going back."

Mira blinked.

"To the Chief?"

"Yep."

Ayan gave a minuscule nod.

"I will accompany you."

"So will I," Saira said.

Adnan yawned.

"Guess we’re all going back."

Zarl finally spoke.

"Are we?"

Everyone turned to look at him. Zarl scratched his cheek. "I was starting to enjoy the walk." Garul quickly whispered. "Master."

"What?"

"Don’t."

Zarl sighed.

"Fine."

They turned around and were back at the Chief’s chamber in less than a few minutes.

The guards opened the door, and Eldran looked up from his seat. "You came back quickly." Arin walked inside. "You mentioned records." Eldran smiled. "I wondered how long it would take." Arin sat down. "Can I see them?" The Chief studied him.

"Yes."

Arin raised an eyebrow.

"That was easy."

"You already inherited his Authority.

Hiding the existence of records from you would achieve little."

Eldran gestured to one of the elves who stood nearby. "Bring the archive." The elf bowed. "As you wish." He walked out of the chamber. Arin leaned back. "What exactly does the records contain?" "Among other things, his visits to the Elf Lands," Eldran said.

His research.

The diplomatic meetings he held with us.

The work he did with our sages.

The information he gathered on the dungeon he studied."

Arin’s eyes narrowed.

"And his last visit?"

The smile on Eldran’s face vanished.

"Yes."

"What?"

Arin was surprised.

"You have records of his last visit?"

"We do."

"Why didn’t you tell me about this yesterday?"

"Because I wanted to know how much you already knew."

Arin frowned.

Eldran continued. "You have seen his memories, which means you have knowledge we aren’t able to confirm." Arin leaned forward. "So you were testing me?"

"More or less," the Chief said, a faint smile playing on his lips. "I wanted to know if what you remembered was in accordance with our own records." Arin narrowed his eyes.

"And is it?"

"We will find out," Eldran said as the doors opened.

An elderly elf walked in, carrying a large wooden box. Several magical seals surrounded it. He set it on the table and Eldran stood. "This contains copies of the records concerning the previous Dungeon Master." Arin stared at the box. "Why are they sealed?" "Because some of the information contained within this pertain to restricted areas of the Elf Lands," Eldran replied.

Arin nodded.

That made sense.

Eldran placed his hand over the first seal, and a green light covered the box, freeing the first seal. One by one, the magical glyphs disappeared until the last one was gone. The lid of the box opened to reveal dozens of ancient documents, maps, notes and even a few crystal tablets.

Arin stared.

"This is quite a lot," he muttered.

"He spent years working with us," Eldran said as he removed one of the papers.

"This is what he wrote during his third visit."

Arin took it and his eyes scanned over the familiar handwriting he had seen in the memories. It detailed the flow of mana beneath the Elf Lands. Arin kept reading. "This is his handwriting," he said.

"Yes.

He wrote this," Eldran confirmed.

Arin turned the page and his eyes landed on a note about a dungeon. About changes in its internal structure..A different passage caught Arin’s attention, one that detailed unusual mana fluctuations. His expression darkened. "When was this written?" Eldran looked at the paper. "Approximately eleven years ago." Arin’s heart almost stopped.

"One year before everything happened."

"Yes," Eldran confirmed.

Arin’s eyes flickered over the pages.

The report talked of strange occurrences within the dungeon, irregularities in the mana distribution, monsters that had disappeared from their habitats and passages that had changed without explanation.

The lower levels had become inaccessible.

Arin looked up.

"Did he investigate this?"

"He did.

Did he find anything?"

Eldran hesitated.

"He believed those changes were related to something deeper within the dungeon."

Ayan came closer.

"How deep?"

Eldran looked at him.

"Far deeper than anything of us was ever able to reach,"

Ayan’s expression hardened. Arin looked back at the document. There was a different note on the lower part of the page, one sentence underlined. Arin read it twice, then his eyes widened.

"What?"

Mira turned towards him.

"What does it say?"

Arin turned to Eldran.

"This isn’t in the memories I saw."

Eldran paled.

"What does it say?"

Arin turned the paper around.

Eldran read the sentence and his face twisted in horror. For the first time since Arin had met him, the Chief looked genuinely frightened. The sentence was simple. Something beneath the dungeon is responding to the Dungeon Master’s Authority.

Nobody said a word.

Ayan came closer.

"When was this written?"

Eldran looked at the date.

"Eleven years ago."

Arin stared at the page.

Eleven years ago, before the Chimera experiments, before Ayan and Saira had been sealed away, before the last Dungeon Master had vanished.

Something had already been going on inside that dungeon, and the previous Dungeon Master had sensed it.

Arin slowly folded the paper.

"Why didn’t he tell you about this?"

Eldran did not reply because he did not know.

Neither of them did.

Then Arin noticed something else.

Attached to the report, there was a second page, but it was not written by the previous Dungeon Master.

It only contained one line.

Do not allow the Dungeon Master to investigate the lower levels.

Arin frowned.

"Eldran,"

The Chief looked up.

"Who wrote this?"

Eldran stared at the writing.

His face was unreadable.

"I don’t know."

Silence filled the room as Arin looked at the unfamiliar handwriting.

Someone, somewhere had known about the dungeon, about what the previous Dungeon Master was looking for, and they had wanted him to stop investigating the lower levels.

Arin slowly folded the page.

"Then I think we just found our first real clue,"

Eldran continued to stare at the words on the page.

"No,"

Arin looked at him.

The Chief’s expression was grave.

"You found something much worse than a clue."