If there is any consolation for the loss of Mejid’Ah, it is that the other ascended have suffered far greater. The few surviving Seraphym are all but useless in their current state. Alethia’s firstborn, in want of a master, each do as they desire. More often than not, they find themselves at odds with one another. As for the Devils, Wrath, Gluttony, and Envy did not survive.

  Evran sent his lamplight spell into the shadowy chamber through the hole he’d just made in the wall. His heart skipped a beat when he saw a humanoid figure within the room, though it had only been another statue. A cute squeak escaped Kaila’s mouth when she’d seen it, for which the two boys would have to tease her later. Once they were safely out of the creepy darkness, of course.

  “Ev, I’m beginning to dislike you sculptors,” Lerrum quipped.

  They entered into the cramped room to get a better look at the statue. It was a plain, featureless person, simply standing in the center of the room. Evran cautiously touched it, sensing no internal mechanisms or enchantments of any sort. It was just a mundane figure of solid marble.

  “It’s not a golem,” said Evran, assuaging the group’s primary fear. “Though I have no idea why they would want to keep a weird statue in the center of a sealed chamber.”

  With the statue no longer considered a potential threat, Evran allowed his eyes to wander about the rest of the room. They immediately landed on a small display case adjacent the wall shared with the other room. At least there hadn’t been a door there he’d missed.

  The display case sat atop a shelf that appeared in far better condition than the others they’d seen. The wood and cloth were dusty, and the metal hinges on the glass were only slightly marred by rust. Time had been kinder here than in the rest of the ruins.

  Beneath the glass sat a magnificent amulet set with seven gems — a pure mana crystal surrounded by the various elemental stones arranged in a circle surrounding it, all faceted to a housing of pure white mythril with golden inlays. The flawlessly cut gems glittered in the light of Evran’s spell, scattering a rainbow of reflections about the room.

  Kaila squeezed herself between Evran and the stone mannequin, trying to get a better look at the treasure he’d found. He could feel her nervous breath on his ear, ceasing the moment she caught sight of the amulet. Evran carefully attempted to lift the glass cover, but the hinges would not budge from the rust. With a swift jolt of force, Evran snapped them right off, removing the cover protecting the amulet from the avaricious elf. Before Evran could set the glass lid down, Kaila had shoved past him and snatched the amulet from the decaying pillow on which it had lain for over a thousand years.

  “Look how pretty this is!” she shouted, holding it close to her own lamplight.

  “Any idea what it does?” asked Evran.

  “Ever since I picked it up, I can feel it wanting to use my mana to fill the gems with elemental charge, except the dark one, of course.”

  “Any idea what it can do with those charges?” asked Lerrum, checking out the partial remains of a tapestry on the far side of the room. Of all the many colors once dyed into its threads, only a pale red remained, contrasted against a sea of gray.

  “No, not just yet. I can feel some enchantments, plus it has some capabilities I can’t quite figure out. I’ll need some time to study it.”

  Dissatisfied after Kaila’s audacious theft, Evran’s attention returned to the display shelf. There was a drawer hiding something else beneath the primary display, and he was eager to finally claim a piece of treasure of his own. Opening the drawer, Evran found a pristine white roll of cloth within.

  “Oh, there’s a scroll here,” he said. “And it’s in good condition!”

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  Evran picked up the scroll and carefully unrolled it in the dim glow of his lamplight spell. His heart sank when he saw the magic circle inscribed on the cloth. He was still trying to piece together what it did, but he’d already seen a segment containing a symbol for the dark element. Whatever spell this scroll would cast, he could not do so without providing it the forbidden elemental charge. It was effectively useless.

  “Oh, I think I understand what the stone dummy is for,” he said, chuckling at his frivolous discovery. “See, this part defines two discrete sections of space, and this part translocates one of them in place of the other. It’s a swap spell.”

  “What does that have to do with this statue?” asked Kaila. “No, wait, I get it! You swap places with it in order to get in and out of this room. That’s so dumb!”

  “I dunno, I think it’s kinda clever,” said Lerrum. “Is that scroll for if you get stuck?”

  “Probably,” Evran guessed. “I think that’s all there is to this place. Let’s get back to the others and see what else they’ve found.”

  Despite the amazing finds, Evran felt a twinge of disappointment that the one object he’d manage to get his hands on without Kaila snatching it away first turned out to be a useless spell scroll. He rolled it back into a cylinder and stashed it in a slot on his new belt meant for potion vials. The scroll just so happened to fit snugly within.

  Emerging from the depths of the cathedral, Evran took a deep breath of the fresh spring air and felt the warmth of the sun on his skin once again. He was glad to be out of that place, though he couldn’t help but feel like there was more treasure inside that he somehow missed. He dismissed that treacherous line of thought and ran over to where the rest of the party sat waiting. It was definitely time to have the celebratory feast he’d been planning.

  “Hey Ev, did Lerrum tell you?” shouted Depri. “Of course he did! Here, check it out!”

  Depri held open the small pouch for him to see. Evran peered inside, his mind unnerved by the strange spatial discontinuity within. Despite the small exterior, the bag contained at least two cubic meters of storage space inside it. What’s more, Depri had stashed the contents of her backpack within, alongside a few mana crystals and a sack of inert glowstone. Despite its many contents, she handled the bag as if it held nothing at all.

  “Whoa!” he said. “Weightless, too!”

  Her smile was infectious. Having thoroughly impressed her upperclassman, Depri pushed past Evran and went off to do the same for Kaila. Indon had climbed up into the naked limbs of the whisperwood tree, and was currently handing a long and particularly straight branch down to Narro.

  Evran summoned everyone together to go over everything they’d found on their dig. While he’d been exploring the cathedral, the others had scavenged the heavily dilapidated barracks. Narro found a set of seven green cloaks. Along with the usual restoration enchantment, they would muffle sounds made by the wearer, though it had no effect on voices. He distributed one to each member of the party, keeping two for himself.

  “I like the idea of all of us wearing matching cloaks!” said Kaila. “I don’t think anyone would mind if you gave that last one to Ari.” None did.

  Besides their matching cloaks, they’d also found a few enchanted knives. Those were a common find in ruins and labyrinths, but still sold well because of their general usefulness. Evran found himself in want of a good knife ever since he lost the one his father gave him on his last expedition.

  Evran gazed enviously at the adamant blade Narro had in his possession. The magnificent knife needed no enchantment to remain unmarred by time, but its handle had no such protection, if it even existed to begin with. Unfortunately, Narro had every intention of keeping it for himself, as was his right, and none of the other blades met Evran’s lofty standards. Knifeless, he would stay.

  Lastly, Indon had found himself a simple silver ring adorned with a small sapphire and ruby. Its enchantment moderated the wearer’s body temperature, preventing them from feeling too hot or too cold, though it didn’t seem strong enough to keep one from dying from exposure to extreme temperatures. It wouldn’t be worth all that much in the moderate climate of the seventh band, but would be invaluable to those living in the fourth through the sixth. The heat was said to be quite oppressive up in the middle three. Having no immediate need of it, Indon tossed the ring into Depri’s storage bag with the rest of the treasure.

  With their excavation complete and their stomachs rumbling, it was time to celebrate! They sat in the missing shade of the whisperwood tree, eagerly anticipating what surprise Evran had in store for them. Only Indon knew exactly, though they each had their suspicions. Just as Evran reached into his bag of delicious treats, the loud tinkling of a distant bell disrupted their feast before it could begin.

  “It’s barely past midday!” said Narro, grumbling.

  “Something must be wrong. There’s no way they’d call us back so early otherwise,” Lerrum added.

  Kaila shifted uncomfortably. “Do you think the Ravagers may have followed us?”

  “Whatever it is, we’ll find out when we get there,” said Lerrum. “Just stay on guard until then. Let’s get moving.”