The four of them rested for a night in the cave Keso had provided.
Though it was not as soft as their own beds, the cave was dry and tidy. A thick layer of mats sewn from soft-furred beast pelts had even been laid down, making it fairly comfortable to lie on.
Early the next morning, they continued exploring this hidden underground world.
Not long after leaving the cave entrance, Dana began to complain. "Ang, these Lizardmen are really strange. They have wings, yet they insist on living underground. How high can they even fly in these caves? How could it compare to the vast sky aboveground?"
Ang nodded, gazing at the faintly glowing stone ceiling overhead. "I also feel that something is off... but I can't say exactly what."
"Don't rush," Natiya said as she lightly leaped onto a stone step. "Since Keso isn't restricting our movements, we might as well take a look around. Maybe we'll find some clues."
"Natiya is right." Ang looked at the other two. "Let's go. First, let's see how they live."
They first went to the "dining area" Keso had mentioned the previous night—a huge open space in the northwest corner of the Underground Space.
Glowing crystals embedded in the surrounding stone walls made the entire area as bright as day.
The moment they stepped inside, they were drawn in by a fragrant aroma.
"This smell... is it coming from over there?" Dana asked, swallowing as he pointed at the enormous stone slab in the center.
A gray-black stone slab nearly twenty meters long and about two meters wide radiated waves of heat. Beneath it, flames outlined by runes burned steadily.
A brawny Lizardman skillfully turned darkglow mushrooms on the slab. As the golden caps flipped over, wisps of white smoke rose with