The door groaned shut behind them, sealing out the world above.
What lay beyond wasn't a pit.
It was a city beneath the earth.
The cavern stretched wider than any hall Vaelros had ever seen vaulted ceilings lost in shadow, terraces carved into the rock, and bridges of fused obsidian arching over dry canals. The walls shimmered faintly with veins of crystal, and the air was thick with the scent of ash, stone, and something older.
"By the Seven," Calen breathed. "This isn't a pit. It's a bloody kingdom."
Tharn gave a low whistle. "I've seen cities smaller than this."
Vaelros didn't speak at first. He just stood there, eyes wide, lips parted in something between reverence and disbelief. "It's... beautiful," he finally said. "And dying."
They walked slowly, blades sheathed but hands never far from the hilts. The deeper they went, the more the magic pressed in thin, fading, but still present. It clung to the walls like mist, humming faintly beneath their feet.
They passed dragon skeletons, some curled like sleeping cats, others sprawled in death. Their bones were massive, their skulls cracked or half-buried in rubble.
Calen nudged one with his boot. "You think they died in the Doom?"
"No," Vaelros said softly. "They died after. Cut off from the magic that fed them. Like a fire with no air."
Tharn grunted. "That's grim."
"Everything here is grim," Calen muttered. "Even the air tastes like regret."
Vaelros chuckled, despite himself. "That's just the ash. And maybe the fact that we're walking through a graveyard of gods."
They moved as a unit now not just allies, but something closer. Vaelros found himself watching the way Calen moved, the way Tharn always checked behind them. He trusted them. That realization hit him harder than expected.
He activated his searching spell, a pentagram of floating runes that shimmered in the air before him. One symbol pulsed brighter than the rest the Old Valyrian glyph for "egg."
"Still looking for your dragon?" Calen asked, peering at the runes.
"Always," Vaelros said. "But I'll settle for a whisper of one."
Tharn leaned in. "What happens if you find it?"
"I raise it," Vaelros said. "Carefully. Respectfully. And probably with a lot of fireproof clothing."
Calen smirked. "You'd make a terrible father."
"I'd make a fantastic dragon dad," Vaelros shot back. "I'd teach it to roast bandits and fetch scrolls."
Tharn laughed. "You'd teach it to sass people in three languages."
"Four," Vaelros corrected. "If I can get it to understand sarcasm in High Valyrian, I win."
They passed through a collapsed forge hall, and that's when Vaelros saw it.
A sword, embedded in a block of fused stone. It shimmered faintly in the dim light, its blade long and elegant, its hilt wrapped in silver wire. The crossguard flared like wings, and the pommel bore a stylized flame.
Vaelros stopped walking.
"Uh-oh," Calen said. "He's got that look again."
"What look?" Vaelros asked, stepping toward the blade.
"The 'I'm about to touch something cursed' look," Tharn said.
Vaelros ignored them, reaching out with his free hand. He whispered a scanning spell, and the sword responded not with resistance, but with a soft hum of recognition. It wasn't blood magic. It was something else. Something crafted.
He gripped the hilt and pulled.
The sword slid free with a whisper, and the moment it left the stone, he felt it clarity, like a fog lifting. His magic, still ragged from the unlocking spell, aligned. Not healed, but steadied.
He turned it in his hand, marveling at the balance. "This... this is a focus. Not as strong as a dragon, but pure. Clean."
Calen leaned in. "Looks expensive."
Tharn grinned. "Looks sharp."
Vaelros smiled. "It's both."
He looked down at the blade silver, etched with faint runes, its shape elegant and deadly. It reminded him of something from another life. A sword reforged from broken glory.
"I think I can recreate this," he murmured. "Not just the blade. The method."
Calen clapped him on the shoulder. "One step at a time, mage. Let's get out of here first."
Vaelros nodded, sheathing the sword.
But deep down, he knew this was only the beginning.