Today's Earth date: November 3, 1991

The Water Temple looks like the drawings books use to show you what Mayan and Incan ruins "would have looked like" in their prime. I think it looks like a pyramid, but Horcus insists the proper name is "zigerat." I don't even bother arguing with him any more.

We're going in tomorrow morning. I've imagined this moment since I was told I was a Chosen Hero. I thought I would be nervous but invigorated, pumped up for being a hero for people who need me to protect them.

After fighting all those undead, and how their numbers seemed endless, the only feeling I have is dread.

-The Journal of Laszlo the Paladin

"Fergus was right," Hector said, clutching his chest. "That was awful."

Armond and Margo agreed.

"Whose room is this?" Wayne asked, looking around at one of the bedrooms in Lord Amethyst's guest houses.

"Mine…" Hector said.

"You're why we don't have any cups left."

"Sorry."

Wayne said it was fine. What mattered was that they had an escape button, but they all had to be touching for everyone to benefit. Admittedly, that could be tough to do, depending on the variables of the fight. If the party was spread out, Wayne said he'd use Blitz to gather everyone up before they used Rise to zap themselves to the surface. That also meant erring on the side of caution when deciding whether to retreat or not.

Fergus did not like the idea of being carried through one of Wayne's dashes, but that discomfort was better than being dead.

"I think we're ready to give the lich a shot," Wayne said. "We'll head out in three days."

Eanrig the campmaster quit, reducing their wagon staff to just Sammy. Wayne expressed concern about leaving Sammy in the wild, alone with the wagon during their lich hunt. Fergus proposed they leave Outlawson with him. The giant insect didn't seem to have a time limit for how long it persisted before needing to be resummoned, and it kept ratmen from leaving the Asplugha dungeon. Sammy was fine being alone to begin with, but having Outlawson as a deterrent was better.

Sammy handed each of the Zeroes a gift wrapped in cloth, Wayne and Fergus too. "Baked some treats for everyone. Something sweet to lift your spirits."

"You're the most important member of this party," Fergus said, smelling the cookies in his hands.

Hector agreed, without hesitation.

Standing at the edge of the Underway Forest, Wayne crushed the black egg given to him by the druid. When he opened his hand again, a white dove flew out and landed on a tree a dozen feet or so away. As the party neared the bird, it flew ahead again, stopping after the same distance.

"So follow the bird," Fergus said. "Not many people meet druids let alone see their magic. This is quite the blessing."

Following the dove was straightforward. It always stayed in view, never flying too far ahead and always waiting for the party to catch up before moving again.

The whole party, however, felt the magic of the egg. "It's like the trees move if I blink," Armond said at one point, looking around. "I couldn't tell you which direction we came from."

Wayne was affected by the magic, but his HUD map was not. He was pleased to see it visualize their journey and their surroundings with no apparent errors or problems. Looking between his HUD and his surroundings hurt his head, though. The harder his brain tried to orient itself or match information on the HUD with what his eyes could see for themselves, the greater the pain.

That was fine. He could reference the map after the job was over.

As far as who knew about the map, Wayne had only shared with Fergus that his HUD being immune to the druid egg was a possibility. They talked about it in Cuan, in the basement of the guesthouse. If a druid was spying, they didn't want this backdoor solution to become known because a field mouse was eavesdropping. Wayne gave Fergus a small nod to confirm the HUD was still active but was quiet otherwise.

The druid never asked if anyone in the party had an immunity to the magic, but he probably wouldn't appreciate discovering that fact no matter Wayne's explanation.

When they stopped to camp, the dove waited on the next branch ahead and was still there in the morning.

Finally, after many more hours of walking, the bird landed on top of a stone structure.

Well, on top of the barrier around the structure. The dove looked like it had a too-large hitbox, standing still with nothing immediately around or below it.

The fancy stone house looked like a Grecian temple to Wayne. It had Corinthian columns leading up a wide set of stairs. The roof was pitched to a point in the center, and the border all around the overhang was handcarved, depicting an endless line of forest creatures. The stone itself was a brilliant white. No dirt or moss marred the structure, but pieces of the façade were cracked or broken apart. According to the druid, that was a side effect of sealing Julian inside.

Speaking of the druid, he was there already. He reclined in a sunspot between branches, his head on a log, his eyes closed. Without stirring, he said, "I must admit I didn't expect you to return."

"Always nice to exceed someone's expectations," Fergus said, sincerely.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

"How will you defeat the barrier?" the druid asked.

Wayne smiled. "That information wasn't part of the deal."

"That is, indeed, the truth."

"If you're interested, I'll tell you, but not under our current terms."

The druid opened an eye. "I don't see the need to spend so much time speaking when what you promise is unlikely to come to pass."

"You think I'm lying?"

"I think you are mistaken and overconfident."

Wayne asked the druid where the barrier started. He answered that it extended roughly two feet farther than the stone structure itself.

After a nod and a look around, Wayne walked up the stairs, touched the metal door, and walked back out. The druid sat up on his elbows, his eyes wide.

"You didn't use any mana to do that," the druid said. He hopped to his feet and walked to the barrier, confirming for himself that it was still present. He lifted his hand formed from roots and felt around the invisible wall. "I am not often surprised," he added.

"Our employer would like to explore and study this place once the lich is gone. We would also like to publish what really happened with Julian and Rebecca. Once we've verified the facts and such."

"This site is sacred to my people."

"Why?"

The druid didn't reply. After a time, he said, "I don't know. Always was."

"Our employer has resources and influence," Wayne said. "If I were you, I'd want specific terms about what he is and isn't allowed to do in your forest. Then I'd ask him to make a public statement where he says the druids should have dominion over the Underway Forest. That's not enough to make that a reality, but it could start the conversation that does."

The druid was motionless.

"And we clear whatever's inside, of course," Fergus added.

"A moment ago, your offer would have made me laugh. Now, I find myself believing you are capable of keeping these promises."

"Our job is to locate this place and report our findings. Securing a deal with locals is beyond the scope, so he'll have to accept your terms or not visit."

"What if he refuses to pay you? What then?"

"We wouldn't break our agreement with you for money if that's what you're asking," Wayne said. "We are well-funded already. We're here more for the adventure than the gold. If we don't get paid, that would bum me out, but we'd still walk away."

"Very well," the druid replied. "If you end Julian's suffering and deliver our terms to your employer, I can secure agreement from my peers."

Fergus set his rucksack down and reached inside. He produced the wine bottle filled with the glowing liquid from the Water Temple. The light mesmerized the druid immediately.

"A gift for you," Fergus said, offering the bottle. "We thank you for your kindness and your trust and would like to present to you a keepsake from the Water Temple."

The druid accepted the bottle and rotated it slowly, marveling at its contents. "You have surprised me yet again. Thank you. Best of luck on your expedition."

A large wolf bounded over a nearby ridge and slid to a stop next to the druid. He climbed on, and rode into the forest, disappearing quickly. Whether that disappearance was because he was a druid or because of the egg's lingering disorientation effect, Wayne couldn't say.

"Camp tonight, go in fresh in the morning?" Wayne asked, looking around at the party.

The dungeon's entrance opened into a staircase.

The descent to the next floor carried them deep beneath the surface, the party needing several minutes to find flat ground again. The Grecian look continued as they went. The halls weren't as ornate as the Water Temple, but they had a similar level of artistry to the tunnel dungeon they cleared near Teagaisg. Except all of the stone here was a brilliant white.

This dungeon had no natural light sources, so Wayne and Fergus used Light and the other party members lit lanterns.

A few minutes later, Fergus stopped to reinspect the art. He motioned for Wayne to take a closer look. Scratchings, like those a prisoner might make to pass the time, coated the walls. The text wasn't in any language Wayne or Fergus had seen before, but they did recognize a few alchemical diagrams as well as equations for spells.

"Julian stayed busy," Fergus whispered.

Wayne copied half a wall's worth of strange characters into his Documents, and the party continued onward.

This floor was nowhere near as large as the floors of the Water Temple. They saw all of the first in a few hours, and every room was empty. No furniture. No personal items. Not even rat droppings. To Wayne, it felt like touring new construction with a real estate agent. He could imagine what purposes these rooms might serve even if the floors were bare, but emptiness in a place meant for living felt unnatural.

The second floor was like the first, and no red dots appeared on his HUD there either. He began to entertain the wishful idea that they would find Julian had died down here a long time ago. No need to fight. No need to risk anyone's life. Walk back up, report what they found, and then head to town for a nice dinner.

An abrupt shift in the dungeon aesthetic ended that fantasy.

A stark line divided white Grecian from the darker dwarven style they observed in the tunnel dungeon. It was like someone ran out of paint. From that point onward, they didn't see a white surface nor did they see ornamentation. The walls were bare of reliefs or mosaics, and no sculptures marked important intersections.

The scribbles on the wall, however, continued unabated.

When they found the stairs down to the next floor, they backtracked to a Grecian section to rest. Nobody spoke for fear of alerting Julian, so the party ate their rations and their cookies in silence. Armond took a nap while Hector and Margo rechecked their gear, confirming their vials of holy water were in the right places and reexamined their new silver weapons.

Margo had a silver rapier and a quiver of silver arrows. Hector had a silver mace.

There was really no need to re-check their weapons, doubly so in Hector's case, but Wayne could understand finding comfort in humoring the compulsion. He smiled to himself when he realized he reached to pat his pommel during that thought.

His silver longsword was still there too.

Wayne and Fergus had a bet going for what happened next. Wayne believed that if Armond's Undead spell insta-killed the skeleton lord, it would do the same to Julian. If he could have confirmed that prior to the crawl, he still would have come as prepared as they were now. But he believed they wouldn't need that preparation in the end.

Fergus, however, argued that liches were a variation of "traditional" undead. Zombies and skeletons were reanimated corpses whereas a lich extended their lives indefinitely. They looked similar to other undead–their flesh rotted away, a body of bones beneath a tattered robe–but were not the same because they never actually died. Instead of coming back from death, they skipped it.

The results looked and functioned the same as being undead, but they were still different.

For his part, Fergus wanted to be wrong, but alas, he knew that wasn't possible. He was certain the Undead spell would have no effect on Julian.

If Fergus was right, he got to pack a "personal supply" of Cuan fish in Cold Storage before the party travelled inland. If Wayne was right, he got to veto that request permanently and hear no more complaints or arguments about it.

Suitably rested, the party packed up camp and returned to the stairs to the third floor.

Wayne used Probe as soon as his feet touched the landing. He saw three red dots.

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