I called Bailey back in. “Anything amiss down there?”


    Bailey pointed his device near the entrance. The alarm remained silent. “Should be alright… for me, at least,” he replied.


    We descended the stairs. The place was so clean, it was almost eerie. It was as if someone had just finished cleaning it, but who would clean a place like this? And why? I took a deep breath. The air was still and stale, as if it hadn''t been breathed in for centuries. It was like stepping into a time capsule, a moment frozen in time.


    I stopped Bailey. “Doesn’t this seem a little… suspicious? This place is way too pristine for somewhere abandoned for possibly thousands of years.”


    "Aye, we''re all good here. I''m tougher than I look! Let''s not waste any time, shall we?" Bailey said enthusiastically.


    “There might be traps,” I said, a little worried.


    "Don''t you fret, I''ll look after myself. Regular traps ain''t no bother to me. Poison gas, though...that''s a different kettle of fish. I''ll keep this little beauty handy." Bailey said, holding up the device.


    Sssss… Sssssss


    A flash of gold zipped across our feet. I instantly stepped on it.


    We both knelt down. A small, gold, slug-like creature wiggled and screeched under my boot.


    “Any idea what this is?” I asked, gingerly holding the squirming creature out to Bailey.


    “Well, I’ll be! Never seen anything quite like it. This place is crawling with all sorts of oddities…” Bailey crouched down for a closer look, his brow furrowed. “Now, there’s something familiar about this one. Reminds me of a Geodyte, the kind you find in the mines. But these are far too small. Even the young’uns are about an arm’s length. And the color… they’re usually a greenish-blue, like copper left out in the rain.”


    “Ewww,” the image of an arm-sized, slimy slug flashed through my mind, making me shudder.


    “Are they dangerous? I have a feeling there are a lot more of these,” I asked Bailey, glancing around nervously.


    “Geodytes are dangerous because of how big they get—some of ‘em can grow as big as a small house. They ain’t venomous, though, so this little fella’s nothing to worry about,” Bailey reassured me, continuing his examination.


    “Size of a small house?” A shiver ran down my spine. I really hoped we didn’t run into any of those.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    Suddenly, the small creature glowed, and a ball of blue lightning erupted from its body. I instinctively cupped it in my hands. Lightning sparked out between my fingers, followed by a puff of smoke, then… nothing.


    For the first time, I felt a tingling sensation in my palms, like pins and needles. Carefully, I opened my hands. The lifeless creature lay there, its vibrant gold now a dull, dark brown, as if it had been overcooked.


    “And that?” I looked at Bailey, raising an eyebrow.


    “That… that’s magic!” Bailey stared, eyes wide with disbelief. “Creatures don’t… they don’t use magic. Ever.”


    “You mean that was magic? As in, real magic?” I was thoroughly confused. “I thought you said the Annunaki were the only ones who could use real magic.”


    “This… this is like Mesoselenian magic. That was… lightning magic. There are other kinds, but… that… that shouldn’t be…” Bailey shook his head, bewildered.


    This is getting weirder and weirder.


    “We should really be extra careful here then… if these things can use magic…” I warned him.


    We continued down, encountering even more of the little critters. When we finally reached the bottom, a tunneling passage yawned open before us.


    “I guess that’s the way we’re going then,” I muttered.


    We trudged deeper into the secret passage until we reached the end. A massive door, easily ten feet tall, blocked our path. Bailey and I pushed with all our might, but it wouldn’t budge an inch.


    I braced myself for some kind of trap.


    This was the point in every adventure novel where life-threatening danger usually popped out to say hello.


    “Bailey, back up as far as you can without losing sight of me,” I instructed.


    I examined the door. There was a slot-like space on its surface. And wouldn’t you know it, it was the exact same shape as one of my adamantine bars.


    Talk about convenience.


    I inserted the bar into the slot, and the entire door lit up with a soft blue glow before swinging smoothly inward. I quickly retrieved the bar and tucked it back into my bag.


    My precious…


    Sssss…ssss…Sssss


    As the door creaked open, a swarm of tiny gold slugs, looking like miniature, slimy ingots, scurried across the floor, disappearing into every nook and cranny in the walls. They were fast.


    I held up Bailey’s device. The alarm remained quiet. Peering inside, I saw nothing out of the ordinary—so far. I waved Bailey over.


    “Ready?” I asked.


    “Aye,” Bailey replied, hefting the gun.


    We cautiously stepped through the doorway. Another grand hall stretched before us, easily twice the size of the last one. Torches lined the walls, unlit. Bailey snatched one and lit it from a nearby sconce.


    In the flickering light, the hall’s walls came to life with beautiful paintings. Bailey and I began lighting all the torches, one by painstaking one.


    When we finished, the magnificent artwork stood revealed in all its former glory. The paintings depicted an ancient tale from eons past, a story that seemed to unfold across the walls. We began to carefully examine them.