Slaughter Protocol

As Soren ventured deeper, the underground tunnel grew wider.

More intact buildings began to appear around him, along with passages dug by Death Knell Beetles on either side. Over fifteen feet wide, the passages had turned the area into a vast underground network. At one intersection, the ground was covered in signs of battle and the bodies of seven or eight Death Knell Beetles. An eerie, trembling chirr came from the distance. Within the reach of his divine senses, Soren detected traces of at least a hundred beetles.

A great door stood ahead. This had to be the entrance to the underground ruins.

"It's in fairly good shape!"

Soren entered the ruins and touched a Rune left on the wall. "Looks like the whole place was reinforced with Spells. That's how it survived a thousand years without falling apart. Even during the Arcane Empire, they didn't enchant every building. This must have been somewhere important."

Rumble!

Something collapsed in the distance. Soren quickened his pace.

He passed through a narrow, man-made passage, and the space ahead opened abruptly into a vast hall. Rows of dormant Golems stood before him.

The Clay Golems at the front were numerous but badly damaged. Many had been chewed by beetles, and fewer than one in ten remained intact. The Stone Golems and Iron Golems behind them had fared better; over half appeared mostly complete. Whether their internal parts still worked, or whether an infusion of energy could activate them, was another matter.

"What's this?"

Soren spotted a faint Spell Aura in a corner. When he touched it and triggered the Spell, a magic journal left from the Arcane Empire appeared before him.

"Beetles!..."

"There are more and more of them... We have to kill the Broodmother to end this!..."

"City Hall approved our plan!...