The Birth of Fantasy

Chapter 74

I spun around and looked into the golden eyes of a very small Luin. My right chest burned for a moment, and I lifted my shirt to see the number on Luin's Stigmata had changed back to a zero.

I looked back up at the incredibly pissed-off Kobold. Luin looked like she was trying to speak but couldn't get the sounds out. She looked at her stubby-clawed paws and body, then looked back up at me, tears in her eyes.

"Don't worry, Luin. We'll get you evolved back up in no time," I said as I began to feel tears fall down my face.

I quickly moved to the side of the table, picked up the small Kobold, burying my face between her neck and shoulder, and just held her. I felt her relax and just stood there stroking her furry and scaled back when I heard a single click, followed by another click a moment later.

"We'll be ok, Luin. The kids are safe. I was able to portal them back to Mythtide to be resurrected," I said as I put her back down on the table.

The biggest smile formed on Luin's face, and she began to jump up and down, doing an odd dance that made me laugh.

I knew she would be ok. We'd be ok. I looked around the room once and debated if I wanted to go above onto the island, but I decided against it. I let Luin hop onto my shoulder like she used to, went over to the back wall, and placed my hand upon it.

The door appeared, startling Luin, who almost fell backward off my shoulder. I looked over at her, and she just gave me this look. I opened the door and walked into the room with the pillar at the center and the inert gate behind it.

Looking at the pillar, I noticed a single rune carved into its middle. I bent down and gawked at the familiar symbol for one of the water deities from my home planet. The rune was in the shape of a dolphin inside a circle. I thought back to what Frirwick had said. I would find the second rune shortly after.

I stood and looked around the room once more. Not seeing anything hidden or out of place, I walked up to the gate and imagined the rune for Luin's head, and the gate opened. Luin yipped but stayed steady on my shoulder as I walked through.

As we passed through the portal and into the room of inert gates, I had to blink a few times due to the change in lighting. I looked around and counted twenty-four gates, including the one we just walked through. "Where the fuck did the hallway go?" I asked the silent room.

I walked over to what I assumed was the new gate and looked around it. The hall had vanished, and in its place stood a new gate without a single rune on it. Why had they closed the hallway off? Had my benefactor done it or the Octagnomes?

I counted the gates and reached the seventeenth one. I thought of the dolphin glyph, and the portal sprang to life. I looked at Luin, then back at the portal. I had no idea where this would take me.

I held my breath and walked through and into darkness. The air was stale, and I could just make out a few slits of light coming from above. Then I could hear people laughing and shouting above. I created a dim Light Orb and tossed it up.

The orb attached itself to wooden planks and illuminated what I assumed was a storage area of some kind. I turned around as the sound of the portal closing drew my attention. On the stone wall, I could barely make out the gate. It almost looked to be part of the wall. It only stuck out maybe a few millimeters. Whoever made this gate had wanted it to blend into the wall so no one would notice it.

Luin tapped my shoulder, and I looked over at her. She tried to say something but got frustrated and pointed over her shoulder. I followed her finger and spotted the stairs going up and to what looked like large slanted doors.