Goldhill had earned its name from being built upon a plateau atop a flattened mountain. This mountain had supposedly had its peak shorn off by a fabled beast, but no one truly believes that story.

  Beneath the city are mines filled with gold that have yet to be exhausted even with mining being the main profession around these parts. No one had ever made it to the bottom of the tunnels because of how deep they go into the planet. It would take months or even years to walk down that far and no one felt the risk would be worth the reward. However, each year the gold in the upper tunnels was slowly being depleted, forcing miners to go further down over time.

  This mountain starts the mountain range that is home to the Shadow Labyrinth. At the other end of the range is where the Sphinx domain lays.

  ***

  Yu and Gene had taken the time to educate the party about their destination and why it makes sense to stop in the city before continuing along the range towards the Shadow Labyrinth Mountain and the peak of the sphinx.

  Synexus found it fascinating and was curious about which “fabled beast” had toppled the peak. In his mind, he knew it was an Ullashtt and he knew it wasn’t a story. With how powerful they had been, it wasn’t a stretch that one could shear the peak off a mountain. That led him to ask Gene, but it was Yu that answered.

  “Ah, yes. I forgot you knew the truth about the beasts. It was Reaper, the Shade Wolf.”

  An image flashed in his mind from the memory of the storybook of a four-legged beast wielding a giant scythe.

  “Can you describe the wolf?”

  “Yes. He is fierce and destructive, but also sneaky beyond belief. A wolf as big as a mountain that can hide in any shadow. Even the smallest shadows. His claws are more powerful than any scythe but act much the same. He feeds on death.”

  “She’s correct, as usual. The wolf’s hunger for death is almost palpable in his presence. He is one of the most powerful Ullashtt. One of the most intelligent as well. He’s been known to even kill others in the ranks of the fabled beasts.” Gene added.

  “His cunning is legendary. I’ve even heard of him making deals with humans to spare their village from horrific outcomes in exchange for the humans themselves taking the lives of others. For him it matters how someone dies, and betrayal must be quite the seasoning.”

  Zuls, Vorin, and Prith were notably silent during this explanation. Their thoughts were no doubt with their lost friend. Nadir would pay once they got powerful enough to take the beast on. Until then, they would work to take down any of its brethren.

  “He sounds just as terrifying as Abyss. Does he live in this region?”

  “Hmm, that is a good question. It has been debated at length in the past whether the Ullashtt live in one specific area or if they travel the world. No one knows.” Yu was overjoyed in being able to share her knowledge with her new allies. Especially when Gene joined in and she was able to gleam something new.

  “I imagine he a more mobile one with being able to travel in any shadow. For all we know, he could be stalking us in one of our shadows now.” Gene remarked, making everyone look back at their shadows. Just then the mountain that the city was built on came into view.

  “Wow, it’s beautiful!” Zuls broke her silence.

  Everyone nodded in agreement as they looked up at the gilded city. The sun gleamed off the golden gate at the top of beautiful marble stairs leading all the way up the side of the mountain.

  A fearful shriek shook them all out of their amazement. Kumo noticed a woman hurdling towards them from the base of the mountain.

  “HELP! PLEASE HELP!”

  All the class chosen rushed towards the woman. She was exhausted and breathing heavy.

  “What’s wrong?” Kumo put her hand on the woman’s back trying to calm her down.

  “They…need…help. In the…cave. Monsters. We don’t know what they are. Some type of shapeshifter.”

  “How many are still in there?

  “17. We were mining deep in the caves when one of our groups struck a creature instead of gold. A terrifying scream came from the creature before an entire swarm was on us. We just ran. I’m not sure who else made it or if anyone is left alive. Please, help them. My brother is down there.”

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  Kumo looked around at everyone before Vorin spoke up.

  “We should go. If there is a chance to save a life, then it is our duty as class chosen.”

  There were nods of agreement before they took off running towards the cave.

  It was pitch black and eerie, but with weapons ready, they entered and started following the twisting tunnel down to where the miners were.

  Against the group’s warnings, the woman had joined them. She was worried about her brother and wanted to find out the truth for herself one way or the other. Vorin finally relented and let her come after hearing she was a mage specializing in ground magic.

  Down and down, they went following the woman, who they found out was named Midge. The tunnels were confusing and split off multiple times. Without her knowledge and direction, they didn’t think any of them could have navigated efficiently. Synexus started growing bio-luminescent fungus along their trail so they could find their way back out even though Midge said it wasn’t needed since she had memorized the tunnels.

  A couple of hours in they noticed signs of battle in the mine. Blood splatters on the walls and drag marks on the ground. Zuls used her tracking skills to start following the signs in case they diverged from Midge’s path. The last they wanted was to go all the way down to where the miners were and then get cut off because one of the monsters had hidden in a side passage waiting for more prey.

  Another four hours passed until they came to where Midge said the miners were. No one remained and there were no signs of any bodies. Drag marks appeared to go deeper and against their better judgement, the class chosen continued to descend. Shortly after that the drag marks took a drastic turn into a smaller cavern and upon investigating, the class chosen found the bodies of the miners. They had been licked clean down to the bones. No one survived.

  Synexus noticed something odd about the bodies and immediately warned the team. “We need to leave now.”

  “What’s wrong, Synexus?” Vorin felt it was odd for Synexus to fear any monster.

  “Nothing. We should just head back. This is obviously not an ideal battlefield if a fight breaks out.” He gave Shell a look which made Vorin realize there was more to his warning.

  “If there are monsters living under the city capable of this then we have an obligation.” He decided to keep up the illusion since whatever the problem was, Synexus didn’t want to inform others what he had found out.

  Shell understood the meaning of his look and started a mental communication with him.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Count the bodies.”

  Shell was confused but did as he had said while not making it obvious.

  “I don’t get it. There are 18.”

  “Exactly.”

  “What’s the problem with…oh. I see. She said only 17 were down here. She would make 18. We are dealing with shapeshifters like she said.”

  Vorin continued going over their options the whole time while Midge continued to plea that they continued to look. Shell slipped in and explained what Synexus had noticed. No one let their reaction show. Vorin replied mentally.

  “That doesn’t prove anything. For all we know she miscounted by one or there were other victims before the miners.”

  “It still doesn’t hurt to retreat just in case.”

  Vorin nodded. “Alright. I think Synexus is right. Perhaps we should get the city guard down here to investigate. We can join them when they come back down. I’m sorry, Midge, but this could be dangerous.”

  “No, but you have to! What if my brother dies while we are walking away?”

  “I understand your fear. Trust me. But we would be risking everyone here without first gaining some intelligence of our own.”

  Synexus had attempted to identify Midge while they were talking, but it was coming up that she was a human named Midge, and her class was a Ground Mage. There was something nagging at him though, so he went over and put his hand on her shoulder like he was comforting her.

  Deep Skinwalker: 100%

  Deception Mana: 100%

  Illusion Mana: 100%

  Skinwalker Skin: 100%

  Several other entries were logged for elements he had never heard of before he let go. Keeping a smile on his face he tapped the mental connection with Shell.

  “She’s a Deep Skinwalker. Whatever that is.”

  “I’ve never heard of the creature. Hold on.”

  She tapped into the mental communication that she had between all the others.

  “Synexus has confirmed her as a Deep Skinwalker.”

  Before anyone could react, Yu had sent several fire lashes out and burned the skinwalker to a crisp. Everyone stared at her in surprise.

  “Those creatures are foul. Stories have been told by my people for centuries of Deep Skinwalkers. They are a swarm of cave dwellers that can assume the identity of any they touch. It’s a perfect replica down to their memories. Keep up your guard, there is never just one.”

  As soon as she spoke those words, a slow clapping formed from behind them. Standing over the bodies was another Midge.

  “Wow, you figured it out quicker than most. How did you pierce our disguise?”

  “That’s no business of yours, monster. You will die here.” Prith charged forward and dispatched the new skinwalker with a clean swing of his sword. The fake Midge didn’t have time to react but died with her horrible scream filling the cave.

  Tremors started to shake the small cavern except it wasn’t the ground that was shaking. It felt like thousands of feet were running over the ground close to where they were. Following the rumbling were screams, shrieks, and groans from thousands of different voices.

  Another Midge rose from the middle of the skeletons. Her jaw unhinged to reveal a gaping maw.

  “They’re coming! They’re coming! They’re coming! HAHAHAHAHA!”

  Kumo cut the horrendous laughter off with a well-placed cloud blade to the throat.