Upon exiting the tunnel at the end of the staircase, the group was greeted by a small town across a small dune of sand. The air was significantly hotter than it was before. “Ugh... it’s getting even hotter... but hey, we made it across the chasm!” Avi said. The group had crossed the chasm by going underground.

  The group began walking towards the nearby town. “So... what was that mummy thing? It didn’t seem like anything commanded by Ardonous, but more of something that feels like an undead monster...?” Rei asked. Keo read an excerpt from one of his scrolls out loud. “Upon ye pre-chasm, ye will face a foe most swift... then, ye will reach a town, where ye will enter thy smallest building in the center of thy town, and go underground. There, ye will obtain a map, that will lead ye towards thy artifact.” “Whoever wrote that must really suck at making things sound ancient, what, was he new at writing texts...? Eh, its and old text, so let’s be on our way...” Rei said, walking towards the town.

  “So... that’s cool and all, well, warm actually, but what about the volcanoes? This place isn’t called the Scorchsand Dunes for nothing! The artifact must be in the... even hotter area.” Avi was concerned about the heat. “We don’t know where we are going to be heading until we get that map, lets find the way underground once again.”

  As the group entered the town, they were greeted by abstract buildings made of sandstone. Carpets were displaying entrances to several buildings, as well as hanging off rooves. Sand pathways led in several directions, leading to shops, and living areas. “How are we supposed to know where to go?” Rei asked. “We should ask around, someone must know that way around.” Keo responded.

  Avi asked the nearest person she could find. “Hey! Do you know how to get to the center of the town? We need to enter a supposed “small building” ...” Avi asked. The person replied to her. “Just go down the middle path, it should take you straight there, but you most definitely won’t be able to enter the building. It is locked, and all the walls are blocked off by magical force. The only way in is through the door, and like I said, it’s locked.” “Great, so where can we find the key to unlock it then...?” Rei asked.

  The person pointed towards a smaller group of volcanoes to the west, opposed to the large group of volcanoes to the north. “Head west to the volcanoes, and enter the cavern at the highest peak in the area, there you must brave a perilous dungeon, and at the end the key will be waiting to be in your possession.” Avi already started on her way towards the volcanoes. “Avi, where are going... wait up!” Keo yelled. “Yeah, I thought you didn’t want to be in the heat, stay behind if you want, actually don’t, we need your skills...” Rei said. Avi looked back at Rei and Keo. “Lets just get this over with...” She said.

  Rei and Keo followed Avi, and eventually caught up to her. They walked for quite a while. Passing by several dunes, ruins, and monuments. “Do you think these places have anything of use for us?” Asked Avi. “I doubt it... lets just head to the volcanoes.” Keo responded. The three kept walking.

  As the volcanoes in the distance grew ever closer, they looked a lot bigger than they were from a distance. The air also became much warmer, and the sky started to turn a dark orange hue. “If this is this bad... than I can only imagine how bad its going to be at the other volcanoes... lets hope the artifact isn’t there...” Avi said. The three walked under some rocks, and found themselves at the foot of a tall volcano. Several other large volcanoes were seen around them. They arrived at their destination faster than expected.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “Let’s get going... we need to find a way down... Ugh... its so hot...” Avi whined. The three began moving. They climbed over rocks of solid magma and broke through blockades. The group was stopped by a river of lava. It seemed that the path ahead was across it. “Now how are we supposed to get across that...? Looks pretty... y’know, deadly.” Rei said. “Doesn’t seem like there’s a way around either...” Keo responded. Large rocks and mountain bases were all around. “We could try climbing the walls and going around?” Avi asked. “The cliffs are way too steep, and you never know where there could be a lava pocket... you value your hands, don’t you?” Keo said to Avi. “Yes!! Yes, I do!” Avi smiled.

  There seemed to be no way across the river. “Hey, can I see that canteen of water, Keo?” Rei asked, pointing to Keo’s pouch. Keo handed Rei the canteen of water. “I don’t see what your going to do with th-“ Rei poured the water over the river of magma. The lava hardened and turned to rock. Rei quickly ran across before the rocks broke. “I’m going to sound really stupid for saying this... but... video game logic!” Rei said. Keo walked across the rock path and looked at Rei puzzled. “Whatever that means...” He said. Avi was still on the other side of the lava river.

  “D-Do I have to...?” Avi asked nervously. “Yes... just walk across, its safe.” Rei said to Avi. Avi began tiptoeing across the rocks. She moved very slowly. Suddenly... the rocks behind her started to fall. “AAAHHH!” Avi screamed, running across to the other side of the river. “See? Not so bad!” Rei said to her. “Yeah... whatever, I was almost well-done there!!” Avi whined angrily.

  “Hey... is that the way down already? That was pretty quick!” Rei said, pointing towards a cavern entrance. The three walked to it and looked inside. There was a large, old, rugged spiral staircase heading downward. Keo took the lead, with Rei and Avi following behind. Keo took the lead, with Rei and Avi following behind. “It’s getting dark... again... and its really hot...” Avi said, wiping off sweat. “Avi... just deal with it... we’ll get out of here soon enough.” Keo said to Avi. “Whatever.” Avi responded. The staircase went on for a very long time.

  The further the group went down, the darker the stairway got. The light from the surface lava had diminished. The group kept moving. Eventually, some light appeared from below. Avi quickly ran towards it. “I wouldn't do that Avi!” said Rei. Avi already ran ahead. The two followed her. Avi found herself in a large hallway, made of rock and sandstone, with small lava rivers on each side of the room. Decorative pillars were scattered about, and torches lined the walls. “See, Safe!” Avi said to Rei and Keo, who made their way down. The group started walking through the hall.

  They were eventually stopped by a large rock wall. Two openings could be seen to the left and right. One had a picture of a sword and bow over it, and the other had a tile-like symbol over it. Keo looked at one of his scrolls. “Keo, before you look at those scrolls of yours, this is pretty self-explanatory. The path to the left is for a test in combat, and the one on the right is a puzzle... Make your choice.” He said. Keo shook his head.

  Avi was in the corner twiddling her fingers. A drop of lava from nearby splashed near Avi. “Ah!” She yelled. Avi ran into the combat domain, without looking where she was going. She could be heard screaming from the other side of the entrance. Rei and Keo tried to follow her but were blocked off by a blockade that fell at the worst possible time. Avi’s screams echoed and grew quieter and quieter. “She’s on her own... she can handle herself, She strong, just naive.” Keo said to Rei.

  Rei headed towards the puzzle room and entered it. Keo followed behind. “Hopefully Avi will turn up in here, if not, lets hope this place loops around.” Rei said. Rei and Keo walked through the puzzle room, hoping for an easy way out. It was pitch black. Eventually, Rei stepped on a panel, and a torch lit up. “Here we go... puzzle time... GREAT... I HATE puzzles...!”