Chase them into the temple, we can't let them escape. They enter the overgrown old temple. It's about 4 stories high and somewhat pyramid shaped. The inside is spacious with lots of wooden seats, pottery, and a large altar as the centerpiece. The place is poorly lit by radiating light crystals on the ceiling. There's multiple doorways on the sides of the room and one behind the altar. The scouts have already made it to the altar. Judging by the decorations on the wall it is dedicated to the god of light, although it is a poor state, there's cracks in the walls and tiles and most of the gold seems to have been stripped off.

  Baldric rushes forward with Foley and Amaru behind the cover of his shield. They fire a barrage of arrows and Alina uses her barrier to protect herself and Kilian. Then the fire mage casts a series of explosive spells around baldric. He manages to block them, but the floor can't hold it any longer and the wooden panels collapse. Baldric, Foley and Amaru tumble down first along with one of the melee fighters.

  Then the support pillars fall over and the entire place starts to fall. Kilian and Alina jump into one of the doorways on the side, Zad and Mona are less lucky as they were standing near a supporting pillar, and the entire thing collapses. The scouts are nowhere to be seen around the main floor, likely having fled the destruction themselves.

  Ah that hurt! Mona and Zad wake up on the lower floors in a pile of rubble. It's too dark to see the higher floors but they can see the faint crystal lighting of the ceiling in the distance. Zad starts drinking his only health potion, here you can have the rest, he hands Mona half. It's nowhere near as potent as Alina's healing, but at least its something.

  Lets walk on and look for a way back up.

  They enter a narrow pathway that's also lit by crystal signs.

  I don't feel comfortable in enclosed spaces like this, Mona admits. Makes me feel trapped, we got nowhere to go.

  Don't worry Mona, I'm sure it'll be fine, the others must be looking for us too. Zad walks a little closer to Mona and in front of her so she feels safer, although he does his best to hide it, the situation doesn't make him all that comfortable himself.

  Just stay close to me. We're both good fighters, we can make it.

  They walk for a little while in silence before Mona breaks it.

  Zad, you're good friends with Foley. Why does he hate me?

  Zad thinks for a while. Probably because of his history. He had some bad experiences with arcane mages. Told me they massacred his village when he was young, he thinks you did similar things but wont tell us. I tried to convince him otherwise but he doesn't buy it. Why does it bother you?

  Not really except that he takes every chance he gets to make mean remarks and it bothers me. It's kind of unfair to judge me based on those assumptions isn't it? I left as soon as I could, and he still sees me as one of them.

  I agree Mona, but Foley isn't thinking rationally about it. You still served under them for about a year. I could try talking to him about it, but I don't think it'll help.

  He's not a bad guy, I'm sure if we were in a desperate situation, he'd do the right thing regardless.

  I hope you're right.

  They make their way into a larger room. There's a raised platform containing a stone statue of a guardian golem with a triangular head. In the center is a beautiful golden staff floating above a small crystalline pyramid.

  Wow this is great, loot! Zad immediately snatches the staff, his hands instinctively grabbing any item of value within close proximity of him, as they have been doing for his entire existence.

  A sound rumbles and the pyramid dims, both door exits are blocked by falling walls.

  The crystalline heart of the golem statue starts to glow and it stands up.

  Put it back Zad! We're not exactly in a condition to fight right now!

  Zad tries to place the staff back but it won't float anymore. It was probably enchanted with some sort of protective spell.

  The golem now moves forward and smashes in Zad's direction, he manages to roll to the side and dodge the slam just in time. The entire room shakes and the floor cracks.

  This is bad, we got to do something quickly, it could destroy this room easily!

  Mona throws a flurry of arcane bolts, aiming for the heart of the golem, but as they draw close a light barrier blocks all her shots. It moves forward to Mona who is in a corner. I'll try a stronger bolt! She starts charging a more powerful, charged arcane bolt. Usually quite a useless spell due to its slowness, it requires stationary or very slow moving targets as its easily dodged, but this huge slow moving golem is impossible to miss.

  She fires at the crystal heart of the golem, yet again the barrier blocks it. It doesn't even show the slightest crack.

  That's my most powerful spell, I got nothing else Zad, it's on you!

  I don't think this will work but I'll give it a try, Zad slams at the golems legs, but since they are made of stone his daggers fail to do anything.

  The golem slams its arm down in Mona's direction, but she teleports to a different corner before he strikes her. The ground shakes once more.

  Zad, try removing its crystal! Zad skillfully climbs up on its backside, but before he can make a serious effort to dislodge the heart, it moves forward and Zad falls off, hurting himself. It's moving too fast, I can't stay on it for very long!

  I have another idea Zad, climb up it again, I will prepare to teleport it high in the air. You have to jump off before it teleports.

  Zad climbs up the golem once again from its backside, as it is distracted by his agile manoeuvres Mona starts casting her teleportation spell.

  Jump now Zad!

  He jumps off and lands on his feet. The golem is teleported to the top of the ceiling, about 7 lengths high. It falls down next to one of the closed exits, and instantly breaks apart in several large chunks, as well as breaking the wall sealing the exit. The entire room starts shaking and several large bricks fall from the ceiling.

  Wow that was amazing Mona, you're so smart. You always figure something out to be victorious. And you opened the exit at the same time! He runs over and hugs Mona. Mona hasn't felt the warmth of another person so close to her since she left her family, it feels nice.

  Thank you Zad. She blushes and hugs him back. Several more bricks fall from the ceiling.

  We should move quickly Zad. He grabs the staff before they exit through the broken blockade.

  Mona, I was wondering, what are you going to do after this is all over? After we defeat Misanthria there is nothing left for us to do.

  I guess I never really thought about the future. Honestly, I don't really think I have a future. For some reason when I try to picture myself several years from now, I can't help but think that I would die somewhere along the way. She stares into the distance, she doesn't even look sad, rather it's like she's already accepted the fact.

  Zad doesn't really know how he should respond to that. Mona always has a negative outlook on things, and it's difficult to blame her for it given her past experiences. He tries to uplift her spirits with positivity. You're a smart girl with many talents, you have a brighter future than most of us! They're looking for skilled mages everywhere to teach aspiring mages how to fight the Arcana kingdom. And if fighting isn't your thing, you could just keep a low profile.

  I don't think that will happen. They put a bounty on me so there's going to be assassins stalking me wherever I go. And I think that even if we defeat Misanthria, they will still invade the northern kingdoms successfully. In my history lessons they said that the only war the Arcana forces ever lost was some battle against the Serpensius empire, because they had plenty of anti magic technology. And that only made things worse for them, because instead of fighting them head on they started randomly attacking villages with small groups of infiltrators. Eventually the carnage became so much that the cities of the Serpensius empire stopped paying their tithes, instead using those funds to protect themselves. They collapsed from the inside after that. Considering this information makes Zad lose hope as well, but he tries to remain positive.

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  It's not all hopeless Mona, you got to have faith. The remaining empires are busy making alliances to fight the Arcana empire. You could live in some village in peace, people look out for each other. I know in my village we sheltered a man that killed a soldier from the Arcana empire. Whenever strangers would come asking for his whereabouts, everyone would lie and misdirect them. After a year or so they stopped looking, they probably assumed he died or lived in the wilderness somewhere. It's not like they have eyes everywhere. You could come to my town, my family wouldn't mind! The food and weather is great year round, and it's very safe.

  You're very nice Zad, I like you, I'll come visit you if I can make it.

  That's great Mona, I like you too.

  Meanwhile Foley, Baldric and Amaru are having troubles of their own. They fell down several floors as well.

  My legs hurt a lot, Foley complains. Bad news guys, my health potions broke during our fall. Amaru says, his robes are soaked in red liquid.

  Don't worry, I'll block any damage coming our way, Baldric says confidently. It's going to take more than a fall to bring his spirit down. They walk forward along the narrowly lit passageways, it's the only way they can go since everything below the main floor collapsed.

  This is a bad situation, Amaru says. Foley excels in ranged combat with his bow, and I excel at spear-throwing from a distance, normally that would be a great combination with Baldric on defense, but in these narrow, poorly lit hallways, our ranged advantage is completely negated in any kind of encounter.

  I'm alright with my knives up close, Foley says. And your spear melee combat isn't that bad.

  Well we're going to have to hurry anyway, we need to intercept those assassins if we want to kill Misanthria.

  They agree to hurry, although Foley has a hard time keeping up.

  Foley remember to be careful if we get into combat, Alina isn't here to save your ass now.

  Yeah yeah, I'm aware.

  Honestly I wonder how you managed to survive without a healer for so long, you're always at the frontlines, Baldric says.

  I take calculated risks.

  Well your calculations might need some recalculating at times.

  Alright guys, I get it, I'll play it safe, Foley says, somewhat annoyed.

  There's stairs here, but we could also continue to go straight on the current floor. We will have to go up to intercept the assassins.

  However the stairs lead even higher.

  I think we should go to the highest floor guys. There's probably a rooftop exit, I assume the assassins will try to go for that one.

  They walk in the opposite direction on the higher floors taking many turns and the floors scale slightly upward, leading to the top.

  They make it to a set of stone doors, meeting in the middle. We have to open these to continue. Amaru tries his best to open them with the leverage of his spear but he has to stop before he breaks.

  Let me try. Baldric wedges his shield between the doors then pushes them slightly open. Alright guys, go inside, I'll go last.

  They rush in before the doors close.

  The good thing is we know they likely haven't been here yet, or those doors would've been opened, unless they closed them like we did. Anyway let's wait in this room, it's quite spacious, this offers us a good advantage.

  So what are you guys going to do after we defeat Misanthria? Amaru inquires.

  I'm thinking of setting up a shop in Halipawa for a little while, selling my famous smoke bombs and such, and I'd get to enjoy the beaches and beautiful weather in my free time.

  That's a good plan, those smoke bombs are something else. Foley says. I desire more action. I really like adventuring and fighting those assassins, plus it's better for my conscience than robbing folks. We're helping people now. Maybe I could become an arms-for-hire, protecting parties in need of help, tracking down troublesome people and capturing them. Sounds like an exciting lifestyle, I'd never get bored.

  What about you Baldric?

  Same as now, bodyguard for the royal messengers. I like the traveling, and of course the food.

  Would've been great if we still had Ennius with us to play some music right now and boost our morale.

  You're right about that, it's a shame he's gone.

  Say what's the music like in the Northern kingdoms Baldric, is it any good, or is it all about surviving the harsh winters like they say it is?

  It's beautiful, lots of drums and blowing instruments are used. Great for uplifting one's spirit, but there's also a lot of party music with more happy themes.

  What about the vocals?

  Compared to other regions I think we have less singers, maybe because of the cold.

  A large explosion is heard and pieces of rock fly everywhere into the room. The assassins went for a rather inconsiderate entrance.

  It's them, get ready to fight guys.

  The fire mage enters first and he throws a fireball in Foley's direction, who quickly jumps to the side and fires a volley of arrows, but the second follow up fire balls strikes him in his leg. Goddamnit, this hurt guys.

  The fire mage roasts the arrows, and they drop the floor like flies in front of a recently opened oven.

  A melee fighter enters next and through the chaos of the spell casting and arrows makes his way to Amaru, who tries to fight him off with his spear, he has the ranged advantage but the fighter has the melee advantage.

  With one blade the assassin blocks his spear thrust and with the other he prepares to strike Amaru in his side.

  A large clunk is heard. Baldric smashes the assassin with his shield in his ribcage, sending him flying for a good meter or so.

  He's done for, Baldric says. Damn Baldric, I've never seen you do that before.

  Well I never had to.

  Let's go after that fire mage. Baldric blocks the incoming fire spells with his shield, which is heating up now, as Amaru runs after him. The mage continues to fire spells at him.

  I can't hold much longer, my shield is becoming too hot.

  Then as they draw closer the fire mage does a cowardly move and looks at the wounded Foley on the floor, intending to cast a fireball to finish him off.

  Foley watch out! Amaru yells. Baldric throws his shield to intercept the blast, catching it about halfway through.

  Amaru can't close the distance and throws his spear for the final 5 meters or so. The fire mage uses his flames to intercept it like he did with the arrows prior, but the spears momentum is too large and even as it is charred it remains on its flight path, it's metal tip piercing the mage in his chest.

  Amaru runs over and kicks his staff away.

  Well that's 2 down, but where's the remaining 2?

  At the same time, Alina and Kilian make it to a small room where they recover.

  Are you okay Kilian?

  Yeah I'm not hurt, are you alright?

  I'm good.

  Let's get moving then, we have to hurry if we want to intercept those scouts.

  Alright let's get going.

  The hallways quickly open into a larger room. There's an altar on an elevated platform, and a large but destroyed statue of a guardian, large chunks of it are scattered over the floor.

  Two tablets lie near the altar.

  Since this is a temple of light, those could contain useful spells. Let's take them Alina. They each take a tablet.

  They make their exit through the doorway behind the altar.

  I don't like this, it's dark and hard to see things. I'm scared.

  Don't worry, it's my duty to protect you.

  Alina starts walking closely behind Kilian.

  I'm not looking forward to combat in these narrow hallways.

  Don't worry, I can heal everything they throw at you.

  But it's still going to hurt!

  You know Kilian, when all of this is over you should come visit me sometimes and take me on more adventures. I get so lonely in my castle, I really enjoy the time we spend together. Alina plays with her hair, but Kilian is too focused on the hallways to notice it.

  Don't worry, I will. I'll probably just start delivering mail between nobles again. I enjoy our travels too.

  Don't you miss the luxury of life in the castle? Sleeping in the wild isn't all that comfortable.

  It's alright when I'm with you Kilian, I don't mind sleeping anywhere.

  They stop walking and turn their heads to face each other.

  As they slowly move their heads closer to each other they are interrupted by the firing of arrows.

  Alina casts light barrier on Kilian, who rushes forward, and stabs the archer before he can even get away.

  The second archer fires a volley of arrows at Kilian but his light barrier deflects them.

  Then he slashes the archer's bow to pieces and they both tie up the archers.

  They continue along the pathway with the archers tied up walking behind them. Then they all regroup at a central chamber. There's a huge altar and 4 statues of servants of light facing it, illuminated by beautiful radiating light crystals in the ceiling.

  Amaru reads the inscription. This altar will grant whoever uses it another chance at life if they were to fall. They all agree that Alina is the most vital member, so they let her perform the ritual and bind her soul to the altar.

  They decide to leave the scouts tied up in a small side room. It'll take them a while to free themselves. Enough time to deal with Misanthria.

  They head out back to the main road they came from and wait. And wait. Then finally, a chariot pulled by four horses arrives. They block the road and the horses stop.