Merrich wasrunningafter thebirdmadeofarcanepower as itspeedsthrough theairon theundergroundtemple, Dayer and Marr wererightbehind him.


    Thetemplewasquitelargeand had many runic outlines everywhere. These runic outlineswereold, and it wasclearthat they weremadebymorethan oneperson.


    Marr inspected thesituationaround him andrealizedthereseemedto bequitesometimesince someonecamehere.


    Suddenly, Merrich commented.


    “Thisplaceis deserted… We have beenrunningaround foralmost5 minutes and we haveseennothing.”


    Dayer’sexpressionchangedto one ofconcernas hesaid.


    “Thisgivesmea terriblefeeling. There is a powerful chaoticlawin here… IThinkthat seal might be in aworsestate than wethought.”


    Marr nodded as hethoughtto himself.


    [Thenecklaceon mychesthas beenrestlesssince Ienteredthis temple… Ithinksomethingbigishappeninghere.]


    Finally, the birdstoppedinfrontof astonegateanddisappearedin midair. Marr readied hisaxeas heopenedthedoor. Inside theroom,therewasonlyone metalliccage, and inside thiscage, they couldseea young Elven girlsittingon thecoldfloor.


    The three friends groupgotcloser to thecage, and thegirlrealizedtheirpresence. Shelookedat them and witha frightenedexpression, sheasked.


    “Who are you?”


    The Elven girl face wasstainedwithtears, she had beautiful emerald eyes and agoldenhair just like hersister. Herfigurewasslenderandagile, and herskinwasflawless.


    Marr got closer to thecageandbrokeitsdoorwith hisaxe. The Elven girl hada dumbfoundedexpression as shekeptlookingat theopendoor.


    “We are yoursister’sfriend, shesentus togetyou.”


    Dayer looked at thegirlswhostillhadn’treactedandasked.


    “Well, are youcomingout or not… wedon’t have alldayyouknow?”


    Thegirlcameback to hersensesandinspectedthe threepersonsinfrontof her. Tearspouredout of hereyesas shestartedcrying.


    The three friends smiledwarmlyat thegirlandhelpedher up. After a while, shecalmeddown.


    Marr looked at Merrich as hesaid.


    “Merrich I havean ominousfeelingabout this base… Ithinkthere is somethingweirdgoing on here.”


    Merrich nodded as headded.


    “I have beenfellinga dark arcane powercomingfrom themainhallof thetemple, and Ithoughtit wasrelatedto theweakeningof theseal... But thisenergyisdifferent.”


    Dayer hada lostexpressionon hisfaceas heasked.


    “Whatdoyou mean Merrich?”Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    Merrich took adeepbreathas heexplained.


    “Thecorruptionof the Darkplague and thecorruptioncoming from the Abyssal Tears all over theSwampare,indeed,muchweakerbut they aremuchpurer… whatever ishappeningdown here it’s affecting the energy of the heart.”


    The Eladrin showed andenlightenedexpression, hethenlookedat Marr as heasked.


    “Whatdowedowith thegirl?”


    “Wetakeher with us if shegoesoutthereshe isdeadforsure.”


    The Dragonborn looked at therunesaround thisroomas hesaidto Merrich.


    “Yousaidyou canfeelthe Power of theheart? Can youguideus to itslocation?”


    Merrich nodded as hewentout of theroomandfollowedthechaoticflowof arcane energy towards theplacewhere thehearthad beensealed.


    Afterrunningfor a few minutes, the threefriendsreachedan enormousgolden coloredgate. This gate seemed to bemadecompletelyout ofmetal. Theimageof many heroesfightingagainst thatgreatdemonwascarvedontopof thedoor.


    Dayer inspected hissurroundingandsaidafter awhile.


    “Howdoweopenthisdoor?”


    Merrich put hishandontopof thedoorand injected Arcane power into it. Thecarving’s lit up with abluehue, and thedoorslowlyswungopen.


    Inside thedoorthey couldseea horrificscene, Merrich hurried tocoverthe young Elven girl’seyes. Theroomreeked ofbloodand hundreds ofbodieslaid butchered on the floor. All thebodiesfollowedthe samepattern, theirwholebodieswhere bloated and theirstomachhadexploded.


    Theroomwasfullofrunesand in themiddleof it they couldseean enormousblacksphere, it was thesourceof thechaoticenergy on the whole Darkplague swamp, theheartof a demon lord.


    Agreenliquid witha strongandnauseatingsmell wascomingout of thebodiesandgoingin thedirectionof theheart. Infrontof theheart,therewas a humanoid figure withhornsand atailwhoslowlyturnedaround, she had purple coloredhairand hereyeswerecompletelyblack.


    “Seemlike we havevisitors. It’sa goodthingyoucame, I was inneedofmoresacrifices.”


    This humanoid creature was a Tiefling, a Half-human/half-demonthatmostoftenappearthroughdescentfromfiendsandhumans.


    Tieflings tend to havean unsettlingair about them, andmostpeopleareuncomfortablearound them, whether they wereawareof the Tiefling''s unsavory ancestry or not.


    While somelooklikenormalhumans,mostretain physicalcharacteristicsderivedfrom theirancestor, with themostcommonof suchfeaturesbeing horns, prehensile tails, andpointedteeth. SomeTieflingsalso haveeyesthat are solidorbsof black,red,white,silver, or gold, while others haveeyesmoresimilarto those ofhumans.


    In manyotherways, Tieflings aresimilartohumansphysically. They are, on average, just astallashumans, from 1.67–1.88 meters andweighedjust alittlebitmore being around64–91 kg.


    Tiefling skin isusuallyhuman-likeincolor, though extending past normal humancolorsinto reddish hues aswell.Tiefling hair is also often the same color as human hair, though dark blue, red, or purplearecommon shades amongst the race.


    Marr looked at the Tiefling in front of him and assumed that was Sanarei.He looked at Merrich and said.


    “Merrich there is something weird about her, despite being a Tiefling the Abyssal aura on her shouldn’t be so powerful.”


    The Halfling nodded as he said.


    “There is a mental connection between her and the Heart, I think the proximity of the bloodlines made her easier to control… If you add the weakening of the seal and the fact that they made the base down here.”


    Merrich stopped talking, but Marr understood what he meant.The Tiefling was being controlled, and the controller was the Undead King Orzoi.


    “Merrich if Orzoi is the one controlling her will shebecomelike me back then?”


    “No, it’s fundamentally different.Io took direct control of your body and used it as a mean to exert his own power.”


    The Halfling let out a deep sigh as he continued.


    “In this case, her mind was eroded, and she became a slave to Orzoi’s will.Her power is the same she always had she just might be a bit more chaotic and forceful on the usage of it.”


    Marr nodded as he quickly thought of a plan to deal with the Tiefling, he looked at Merrich and said.


    “Take care of Yllana’s little sister Merrich, and support us from behind.”


    “Roger that.”


    The Dragonborn then turned to Dayer and said.


    “Dayer get ready, attack whenever possible and try to deal as much damage as you can I will take her head on.”


    Dayer nodded and disappeared into the shadows.


    Marr took the Jennu Ariiogarurt from his back and it lit up with the usual pale pink light and blue lighting arcs.He looked at the Tiefling as he said.


    “Time to get serious.”