Although there wasn't any worry about the sun when underground, Arannis kept his brimmed hat on. It was simply the practical option as he didn't want to waste any time putting it away in his back. Instead, he pushed on, determined not to fall behind and give Camilla another chance to take command of the group. When they found Spernik, there was likely going to be a fight, and Arannis knew that when the time came, he needed to be able to tell the group what to do in the fight. He was expecting more kobolds and already had a plan in mind when they came across them.
When the adventurers made it to the bottom of the stairs, they found themselves in a large stone chamber. The ceiling rose high above them and was held up by three pillars across the chamber. Arannis noted the draconic motifs on the nearest pillar as he passed by it as well as the faded mosaics on the wall and ceiling with a similar theme. However, roots of the trees above poked through the ceiling, ruining the fine artwork. There were three doors, two to their sides and one ahead of them. Arannis frowned when his eyes, honed to the darkness, picked out an assortment of humanoid figures battering against the door.
They were far too large to be kobolds yet they didn't act like a sensible human.
It was only when Hana stepped forward that the mysterious figures turned to her, lured by the light of her staff. The adventurers gasped, realizing that there were undead ahead of them. Arannis wondered if the Cult of the Dragon raised them before noting several kobold corpses scattered on the group. The undead, seven in all, started to lurch toward the adventurers, growling in pain. Arannis was relieved that they weren't ghouls. The last thing he needed was for Hana to run out of the dungeon while screaming. Her magic could be what they need to turn the fight in their favor.
"Keep the undead away from Hana and Nordak!" Arannis called out.
"What are we waiting for?!" Camilla shouted. "Charge!"
Nalos let out a war cry as he charged toward the advancing zombies, slashing across the lead one with his scimitar. Arannis cursed under his breath, and realizing that Nalos would be overwhelmed on his own, ran into melee with Camilla and Pallas. At the very least, they were keeping the undead away from the spellcasters. Pallas slammed his drinking horn across the zombie Nalos fought and Arannis followed behind the monk by decapitating the undead abomination with a swing of his longsword. He jabbed his shortsword into a zombie that charged from his flank but it did little to stop the momentum. The zombie bashed into Arannis, knocking him back a few feet. The dark elf gritted his teeth in pain, and as he pulled his sword out, three fiery rays struck across the zombie's flesh. It let out one final groan before collapsing, burnt to a crisp by Hana's magic.
The adventurers were battered by the zombies' advance but they held out. Camilla slammed her maul down on one of her attackers, crushing its skull in what should have been a mortal blow. The zombie remained standing only for Nordak to chant a spell, setting it aflame with divine fire. With only four monsters remaining, Arannis took the moment to decide on which foe to focus on next. Nalos fought one zombie with Hana blasting it with fire from afar while Pallas was left alone against his foe. Deciding to help his friend, Arannis stabbed both of his blades into the zombie's chest only for it to slam the back of its rotten hand against his cheek. He grimaced in pain, and before he could finish off the undead abomination, Nordak destroyed it with divine flame and the warrior watched his foe collapse to the ground.
Camilla pushed forward, swiping aside one of the zombies with a swing of her maul. She called upon divine power to enhance her attack, and when her maul, now coated in a golden light, struck the undead across the chest, it didn't get up when it fell down. Nalos swung his scimitar down on the zombie he fought, cutting deeply into its shoulder. Arannis and Pallas nodded to each other before charging off to finish the fight. Pallas took a dart out of his pocket to toss at the remaining zombie before driving his drinking horn into the skull of the undead that Nalos fought. The dart pierced the zombie through the eye, and in the moment it reeled back, Arannis made his move. He impaled his longsword through the zombie's chest and stabbed his shortsword through its throat. The zombie grew still and fell down to the ground once Arannis pulled his blades free from its corpse.
With the undead defeated, the adventurers turned toward the door that the zombies gathered around. Arannis noted that the door, while scratched up by the zombies' claws, still bore a faint image of a five-headed dragon. He shook his head to recognize the depiction of Tiamat and knew that this must be what the Cult of the Dragon was after. Given the dead kobolds in the room along with the fact that the undead were trying to break through the door before Arannis and the others arrived, it must have meant that there was someone behind the door. Spernik was close, but when Arannis tried to push the door open only to find that it wouldn't budge open. Muffled voices on the other side that he didn't hear at first grew silent.
"Did you really think that would work?" Camilla asked with a frown. "It's likely barred from the other side."
"What would you do then?" Arannis questioned, his tone challenging.
Camilla stepped forward and tapped her knuckles against the wooden door. "It's over, Spernik! Open up and surrender peacefully!"
"Go away!" a terrified voice called out from the other side. "I've come too far to give up now!"
"There's nowhere left to run!" Camilla argued. "We're going to get through this door eventually so you might as well surrender while you can!"
"And if I do so, I'll die for my failure!" Spernik exclaimed. "I'll take my chances in battle!"
"Great going, Camilla," Pallas taunted from the side. "Did you really think that would work?"
Camilla shook her head as Pallas laughed. "You may be used to fighting others to the death but I must at least try to seek out a peaceful approa-"
Arannis suddenly charged at the door, slamming his shoulder against it. He hoped that he could break his way through the door through brute strength, but as he collided against the wooden barrier, he felt himself push off the door. Arannis got back onto his feet and frowned at the door. In hindsight, if the undead were unable to break through the door, he wouldn't have been able to do so easily as well. He was just tired of Camilla trying to get Spernik to surrender.
"Are you serious?" Camilla asked, covering her face with her hand.
"Talking wasn't getting us anywhere," Arannis grunted. "If we work together, we might be able to break down the door."
"Or we could hold position outside this door," Camilla suggested, glaring at Arannis. "It's not like Spernik has anywhere else to go. Eventually, he'll run out of food and he'll surrender."
"That'll take too long!" Arannis snapped.
"Better to take a long time than to accidentally kill him in battle!" Camilla shot back. "We need him alive!"
"I think you two need to back off…" Nordak started.
"Not when Arannis isn't fit to lead us!" Camilla shook her head.
"And do you really think you'd do better?!" Arannis chuckled. "You're new and have been a thorn in my side since we started this job!"
"They're really going at it," Hana said with a sigh.
"We need a fight to break the tension," Pallas nodded. "Nalos, whoever breaks the door down first gets ten gold."
"You're on!" Nalos grinned.
Arannis hadn't meant to lose his temper with Camilla, but after clashing over leadership of the group one too many times, he couldn't help himself. Even though there was a part of him that felt that the paladin could lead the group better, to give up his position would be to betray the trust the others placed in him. It didn't seem Camilla was interested in backing down from her claim, especially now that she was arguing back against him. Arannis and Camilla were so focused on each other that they ignored Pallas and Nalos taking turns charging at the door trying to break it down to little success.
"You've done well to lead your friends this far, and while you're all capable, you do little to fix the minor mistakes!" Camilla told Arannis heatedly, jabbing her finger at him. "You let Nalos and Pallas get away with getting drunk every night instead of trying to change them for the better! Not that I should be surprised given that you spend your time pit fighting!"
"What difference does it make with what we do in our free time?!" Arannis asked, throwing his hands up in the air. "We're all adults, Camilla! We're free to do what we want to when we're not on an adventure, and you need to respect that! I get that you come from high society and have standards, but we're not nobles! We're adventurers and we do whatever it takes to get the job done, even if it gets messy!"
"If you are to lead, you must do so by example, Arannis! We may be doing small jobs now but soon our reputation will grow! We're already working for the Lord Sage and it's only a matter of time until we take jobs from the Knight Commander of Phlan! We need to have professional standards when the time comes or else we'll be passed over for work that could make a name for ourselves! I'm not thinking of the present but the future!"
"So what if you think of the future?! Any day could be our last adventure! It was only two weeks ago that we were nearly killed by pirates at sea! It may be a grim outlook on life but our work is dangerous! We shouldn't have to worry about what the Knight Commander may think of us in the future when we might not make it that far! I'm far from home with little friends outside of this group! The one thing I enjoy is the thrill of the fight, and if I have to fight against miners and dock workers to forget my troubles, then I'll do so and I'll do so in a way that doesn't impact what everyone else in our group does!"
The argument had reached a tipping point when Camilla let out a shout of anger. She turned toward the wooden door and charged at it, swinging her maul at it. The wood cracked under the weight of her weapon but it wasn't enough to completely break the way through. Nalos and Pallas, who took a break to rub at their sore shoulders, looked on in stunned awe. Camilla backed away from the door, shaking her head in disappointment. Arannis crossed his arms, waiting to see what Camilla had in mind. He wanted to stay the leader of the band of adventurers, but at the end of the day, he didn't want to drive Camilla from the group. She had proven herself capable in combat during the short time she's been a part of the group.
Finally, Camilla turned to look over her shoulder. "Pallas told me that you all met at the Laughing Goblin. You were strangers, and one thing led to another that started a bar fight between everyone."
"Now you're going to complain that we fight among each other and need a strong leader to keep us in line…" Arannis rolled his eyes.
"You're wrong," Camilla shook her head and turned around to step up to Arannis. "I see now that despite how you came together, you're stronger for it. There's no breaking the bonds between you and the others because of what you've been through. I'm new to the group and lack such experience. I intend to change that."
"Have our previous battles not been enough?" Arannis asked harshly.
"We haven't fought each other yet," Camilla said, slowly grinning. "You say that you enjoy the thrill of the fight. In that case, I challenge you to a duel!"
"Hold on!" Nordak spoke up, shaking his head. "Let's not get out of hand here!"
Camilla pressed on. "The winner of this duel would assume leadership of our band of heroes."
"You can't do that!" Pallas called out. "That's cheating for our bet!"
"What bet?" Hana questioned Pallas, who shrugged.
"Arannis," Nordak turned to the dark elf. "You have nothing to prove to her. You can-"
"I accept your challenge, Camilla," Arannis said, interrupting Nordak. "I do so under one condition."
"Or you can ignore me," Nordak threw his hands up in defeat.
"Name your terms," Camilla told Arannis.
"We don't hold back against each other," Arannis said, keeping his eyes locked with Camilla's. "Aside from Nordak, we all once fought each other to the death. If you truly want to feel like you belong, you'll fight me in such a manner. We won't kill each other and Nordak will be on standby as a healer, but we will not hold back against each other."
"Then so be it," Camilla nodded with a smirk. "You won't have any excuse for when I defeat you."
"This is so exciting," Nalos clapped his hands, not considering the circumstances. "We finally get to see who wins in a fight between Arannis and Camilla."
"Nalos, things are falling apart," Hana said with a sigh.
"Can we at least hold off this duel until we capture Spernik?" Nordak asked weakly.
The conflict between Arannis and Camilla had escalated, but in Arannis' eyes, this was a step in the right direction. Camilla was right that the group Arannis shared with his companions was forged through battle against each other. He would haven't given Pallas or Nalos the time of day after their first meeting if the monk hadn't nearly killed him on the shoreline of Sokol Keep. A duel with no holds barred may seem crazy to everyone, but to Arannis, this was what would put an end to the debate over who should lead. If Camilla could best him in a duel, Arannis would respect her claim to lead the adventuring group. If Arannis can defeat her, it would provide her the understanding that the rest of the adventurers had with one another. Either way, by the time they returned to Phlan, the group would be stronger and united, even if Nordak, Hana, and even Pallas disagreed with how it came to be.
"Glad we got that sorted out," Nordak said sarcastically. "Pallas, Nalos, do us all a favor and charge at the door at the same time."
Nalos and Pallas got up from where they were seated. Arannis and Camilla both turned toward the door, brandishing their weapons in preparation for the battle. With how weak the wooden door was, a solid hit should bring it down. Spernik and whoever was with him would have time to prepare for the adventurers but Arannis didn't mind. The argument he and Camilla had left him eager for battle as a chance to let out his frustrations on an enemy that deserved it. Nalos and Pallas counted to three before charging at the door, slamming into where it was cracked with both of their shoulders.
The door went down and the triton and half-monk went down with it, falling down to the ground. Behind the broken door was a wide and circular chamber. When Arannis and Camilla charged into the room, stepping over Nalos and Pallas, they could make out colorful mosaics of chromatic dragons on the wall. The room was littered with bones as six kobolds and a single man stood between the adventurers and a door of red metal. There were four stairs, two to their left and two to their right, that led downward, but the kobolds didn't seem interested in retreating. In fact, they let out vicious war cries as the intruders broke through.
Arannis smirked to himself, having a good fight to get through his frustrations and the right plan. He charged into the pack of kobolds, swinging his blades as if he was a deadly storm. His swords slashed through the kobolds with ease, cutting them to pieces. Two tried to run away from Arannis only for Hana to intercept them, setting them aflame with a wave of fire. The kobolds screeched and collapsed with Arannis impressed with how deadly he was when he pushed himself. Only Spernik remained and the warrior advanced toward him.
Spernik held up a shaking hand and chanted an incantation, and before Arannis could close the distance, his muscles grew stiff. He couldn't move with the spell Spernik cast on him and could only watch his companions continue the fight. The cultist took out his scimitar, but despite his brave stand, he was still outnumbered. Spernik deflected a crossbow bolt with a swing of his scimitar and backed away as Nalos, getting off the ground, swung wildly with his own scimitar. Pallas hopped back onto his feet and charged at Spernik, punching him across the jaw. Spernik stepped away from the monk but his wall was pressed against the red door. The cultist looked on in fear as Camilla advanced, swinging her maul in a flourish.
"Now will you surrender?" Camilla asked tauntingly.
"It's all over…" Spernik sighed and threw down his scimitar. "I surrender! Cease the violence!"
"Release your hold over Arannis!" Hana ordered Spernik firmly.
Arannis felt the magic over himself loosen as he moved a step forward, which was what he previously was trying to do. He shook his head, disappointed that he had been taken out so easily by Spernik's spell. As good of a warrior as he was, Arannis realized that he had little defense against magic. If not for his companions, he would have been at Spernik's mercy, and even with his armor, Arannis didn't think he would last against the cultist's scimitar. It was fortunate that he and his companions haven't had to fight a lot of spellcasters in their adventuring career.
However, Arannis would be going up against a spellcaster soon enough. Even though she wasn't a sorceress like Hana, Camilla possessed divine magic that she could use to enhance herself in combat. It wasn't dangerous by itself, but when used alongside her own martial skill, Camilla's magic may be what determines who wins their coming duel. Arannis had trained for years with his blade and would have to come up with a plan to defeat Camilla even with her divine magic.
Arannis and Camilla didn't give any commands as the group silently agreed to ensure Spernik was captured. Nalos took Spernik's scimitar from the ground and Hana advanced toward him, stripping him of his magical focus that hung around his neck. Nordak took out a coil of rope and gave it to Pallas, who used it to bind Spernik's hands together before tying him up altogether. Camilla tested the rope to make sure that it was secured while Hana made sure the knots over his hands were made in a way that Spernik couldn't cast any spells. Nalos took the time to look through Spernik's backpacks, humming as he sorted through the cultist's belongings.
While the others had ensured Spernik couldn't escape, Arannis focused on the door. It didn't make sense for Spernik and the kobolds to make their final stand behind a wooden door when a stronger metal door was next to them unless the door was locked. Arannis chuckled quietly to himself, realizing that Spernik had been trapped by the undead with nowhere else to go. The metal door bore the image of a dragon roaring and Arannis was quick to note that the depiction of the monster wore an amulet around its neck. Strangely enough, there was an indent in the center of the amulet of a missing gemstone. Arannis nodded quietly, realizing that Spernik and his kobolds needed a key to get behind the door.
"Nalos, are there any gemstones in the backpack?" Arannis asked, looking over his shoulder at the druid.
"No gemstones," Nalos reported back. "I did find carved stones. They're meant to represent scales. One's green and one's black."
"They're nothing," Spernik spat from where Pallas guarded him.
"They're something," Pallas chuckled.
"What are you thinking, Arannis?" Hana asked while Nalos stepped up toward Arannis
"I'm thinking that although Spernik may be a fool, he would have hidden behind this door if he had the chance too."
Nalos offered the two scales to Arannis, who examined them closely. They were finely carved and the dark elf was quick to notice small notches on the sides of the scales. They were too small to make up the gemstone in the amulet's spot, but together, they could make up the key to enter. Then again, if that was the case, Spernik and his kobolds would have made their way through the metal door. When Arannis pressed the scales towards the indent in the door, they clicked and held in place, but the two scales only made for half of the amulet's gemstone.
"A key," Arannis said with a smirk. "We only need to complete it."
"The other half might be around here somewhere," Camilla said. "It's not like Spernik would have had much of a chance to explore the rest of the dungeon."
"No!" Spernik gasped. "You can't go through that door!"
"I've heard enough out of you," Pallas stuffed a piece of cloth into Spernik's mouth and wrapped it around his head. "We'll leave him with you while you search for the key."
"We?" Arannis questioned.
"What are you thinking about?" Camilla asked with a glare.
"Nalos and I are going to search the rest of the dungeon for treasure," Pallas grinned.
"That's a great idea, Pallas!" Nalos exclaimed excitedly. "I bet there's all sorts of forgotten treasure around."
"We've got what we came here for," Nordak gestured toward Spernik. "We caught the thief. The books are on him, right?"
"That they are," Nalos nodded. "Still, we could use more gold."
"You can never say more to too much gold."
"Maybe we should continue exploring the dungeon," Hana suggested. "Nordak, how about I go with the two troublemakers while you stay with Arannis and Camilla. I'm sure they'll value your advice."
"Value my…" Nordak trailed off before catching onto Hana's point. "Aye. I can do that."
Arannis wasn't sure what treasure Pallas and Nalos hoped to find but he wanted to keep exploring for two reasons. He still needed to unwind after his feud with Camilla escalated and cutting down kobolds wasn't enough. It could be that there are more guardians that would help deal with his adrenaline. Arannis was also interested in learning more about what Spernik was after. The cultist wasn't likely to open up for his reasons but the Cult of the Dragon wanted something. Regardless of who ended up leading their group, he wanted to do what he could to make sure that another of the Cult of the Dragon's plans was foiled.
A/N: It took me a little longer to get this update out but here it is. Fortunately, Adventure League adventures are pretty short so we're getting close to the end of The Courting of Fire, even with the personal storyline I included.
I'm going to make an important announcement coming up at the end of this story, so be on the look out for that.
Until next time.