---Griffon's Watch---

---Delve Grade A---

---FLOOR 1---

Ethan woke to the sound of Sys pinging him with a notification:

Current Spirit Cores: 3500

The chiming was relentless, and as he adjusted his eyes to his surroundings, he noticed he was trapped beneath scores of rubble that had been dislodged when the Hybrid mutations above had been detonated.

Haylock…

The word brought the red-rage of death back into Ethan's eyes as he flashed Twilight-Edge and ripped apart the broken stones and patchwork of earth that encased him.

Bastard Blood Mage…

Thoughts came swirling back to him of what had transpired above, and the battle that had ended in tragedy. Around him he saw nothing but metallic walls covered in scores of scratches, and dim headlights that pulsed with dim lights.

Above, a great gaping hole was torn into the earth. He couldn't even see the sky above.

How far did I fall…and how far do these tunnels go?

His eyes suddenly bulged with realization.

"Klax!" he bellowed, his Drytchling form coughing up dust. "Tara! Fauna! Lamphrey!"

No response – his voice was swallowed by the darkness of the metal labyrinth that stretched out before him. An endless expanse of nothing.

Sys? he asked. Tell me you're here, at least.

A short buzz of life, and then a voice:

Couldn't leave you even if I tried.

Ethan managed a grin. "How long was I out?"

Not long. About thirty minutes if I'm counting correctly. During that time there's been no word from anyone else – not even Lamphrey, who would surely be able to communicate with us through her Oneiromancy.

Ethan wondered about that, too. He walked over to one of the walls and laid his oaken claw upon it, letting his Appraisal do its work:

[Duskmetal] identified.

Structural Integrity: Indomitable.

Special Effect: Nullifies all telepathic communication.

"Figured as much," Ethan sighed. "The bastard doctor probably built these walls knowing that Jun'Ei would want to communicate with us, and knowing that splitting us up would be the best way of taking us down."

Divide and conquer, Sys agreed. At the very least, it doesn't seem like we'll be hearing from him anytime soon.

Ethan nodded. "Sys, can you find them? Any of them?"

After a moment of silence, Ethan heard what he feared: I haven't felt any presence here at all since our landing. It is…strange. As though this place were like a crypt, and yet even more devoid of even a suggestion of life."

Ethan blinked as a thought then occurred to him.

"There's someone else we didn't try, though…"

And before Sys could interject, Ethan closed his eyes and focused, channeling his Remote Possession ability and seeing if he could rouse Lysandus, wherever he was.

Come on you old bastard….come on…

Last he'd seen him, the Frostbound King had been enveloped in a deluge of flames from the explosion he'd created in his mad rage to destroy their enemies. But Ethan knew the old man's fury too well to believe that such an inferno could put him down for good.

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Come on….come-

A booming, wailing roar of anguish mixed with frustration reverberated through the four walls of the labyrinth tunnel. Ethan clutched his head, the psychic discharge from his minion being so strong that he was close to losing control of him completely.

But even though he knew that he'd woken Lysandus up, he could tell that his life signs were fleeting. Distant.- like the final beats of a heart before it gives up.

"He's alive," Ethan said. "But he's dying. No…he's so close to death that I can almost feel it."

Might as well leave him to it, then, no? Sys asked. I doubt there's a single soul in all of Argwyll who'll care if the old King finally leaves this world.

Another bellow of pure fury ran through the tunnels like a death-knell, and Ethan shook his head, steeling his resolve.

"No," he said. "There's something I need from him. He doesn't get to die until I say so."

Best hurry then, Sys said. It sounds as though he's almost ready to head to the other side…

"Don't worry about that," Ethan replied. "I've got just the skill to find him before he croaks it for good."

[Skitter]

Grade: C

You summon forth a burst of speed that carries you out of harm's way for a maximum of 15 minutes

SPD increase: +100

[Tactical Withdrawal] unlocked: [Skitter] produces a cloud of dust that {BLINDS} enemies for 20 seconds

Spirit Core Cost to upgrade: 550

Grade B upgrade: SPD increase: +150

Grade A upgrade (Spirit Core Cost: 800)

[Mass Skitter] unlocked

Skitter can now be applied to up to four allies.

Grade S Upgrade (Spirit Core Cost: 1200)

[Sonic Skitter] unlocked

Skitter now produces a shockwave that [Electrifies] nearby enemies (DMG: 200 ELEC)

Current Spirit Cores: 950

Ethan felt the surge of power that consecutive upgrades always gave him. With every Spirit Core dedicated to [Skitter[, he felt his feet begin to thrum with energy, then watched as little sparks of electricity jumped from between his spiked oaken toes.

"Sys," he said. "I'm gonna say something, but it's just between you and me, ok? Just because, if I don't say it, I'll regret never taking the chance."

Sys' confusion was palpable.

Ethan, at this point you must know that I can keep secrets.

That was all the Archon needed to hear. He knelt, readied himself, and then let the words flow as naturally as he could:

"Gotta go fast."

Then he sped off into the dark.

***

Fauna awoke to the sounds of someone humming above her, and through the smoke cloud that covered her vision, he could make out a bright green light through which could be seen a pair of bulging amber eyes.

"Ah!"

She shrieked as she rose, grabbing her staff and tumbling away from the wreckage she'd woken up in. As sight returned to her, she then watched as the dust-caked form of Lamphrey rose, diminishing the spell that hovered at the tip of her staff.

"You," Fauna spat. "W-what did you do to me!?"

The Tialax stood back, at ease, while Fauna kept her staff up and leveled right at her face.

Then she looked down to see that, in the light of this strange tunnel she'd woken up in, there was a thick wound that ran across her chest, one that was currently being stitched up by threads of greenish energy.

"What…" she murmured.

"The spell was mostly complete," Lamphrey told her. "You should be able to complete it yourself."

Fauna double blinked as she looked at the partially healed wound. It looked like a piece of the castle battlements had lodged itself in her chest pretty directly. From the looks of it, it was a wound that would have been fatal. If another mage wasn't here to see to it, she didn't doubt that she wouldn't have woken up at all.

She eyed Lamphrey as she palmed her chest and completed the healing incantation as best she could, hoping against all hopes that her Wildglance powers didn't just make it worse. While she did this, Lamphrey inspected the fallen stones and touched the cold steel walls that surrounded them, her eyes closed and tense.

"This place is a place of darkness," she said. "Any who have drawn breath in this place have soon wished they would cease to be. Everyone…except one. The Architect of all this pain."

Fauna gulped. She must be talking about the Blood Mage.

"The others?" she asked.

Lamphrey shook her scaled head. "I tried to reach out to them, but the cruelness of this place has seeped into these walls itself. Such barbaric memories stop my power. It is why it took me so long to complete the spell that brought you back."

Fauna stiffened. What she was saying made sense. She could feel her own magic was suppressed in this place. The spell she threaded between her finger felt…thin. Like jam being spread across a large loaf of bread.

"This is Griffon's Watch, isn't it?" she asked. "The interior."

Lamphrey nodded, looking back at the Hopla with a face that spoke of the horrors she could feel within the depths.

"We have been separated," she said. "This is dangerous. The Archon's rage may overtake him without us to help steady his hands. We must find him quickly."

Fauna nodded tentatively. "And Tara and Klax."

At that moment, the small bulbs of lights in the tunnel shook, and a sheath of dust fell from the roof.

Both mages stood tall, their staves aglimmer with green and yellow light.

The quake came again – this time louder. And this time, it was followed by a scream. Then – other screams.

"You can feel it, can't you?" Lamphrey asked her.

Fauna nodded beside the towering Lizardwoman.

"Pain."

The quakes came again, more intense, more visceral. The darkness in the labyrinthine tunnel seemed to grow.

"Ready yourself," Lamphrey said. "For now, the Delve begins."

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