Deep Underground

After having all the Treants search every room and confirm nothing had been left behind, Green set them tapping and knocking across the entire area. Much of the ruin had already fallen into disrepair. Even if there was a way underground, it had probably lost its original function.

The clatter of their blows echoed through the ruin, making it sound like a vast construction site.

The Little Treants worked with remarkable efficiency and soon found something unusual.

In a corner of the Dormitory District, the hollow thunks of blows against stone turned into metallic clangs.

The clangs rang out so sharply that Green immediately heard the difference. He strode over to where the sound had changed.

A Treant stood nearby, waiting for him.

Green stepped forward and began tapping carefully. He soon worked out the shape of the entrance: a circle.

The entrance was disguised. Though its surface was metal, its color was almost identical to the gray-black flagstones around it, and a thick layer of dust covered it. There was no way to spot it by eye.

He brushed away the dust, revealing something like a manhole cover, roughly five meters across.

Two recessed handles were set into it. Green sensed it carefully and, after confirming there were no energy fluctuations, had the Treants move the cover aside. He did not leave it behind; he had them carry it out.

He did not know what metal it was made of, but anything that had survived from the Ancient Era until now was no ordinary object.

With the cover removed, a pitch-black opening came into view. The shaft plunged straight down into the earth.

Green stood beside it and peered down, but saw nothing. There was no light in the shaft below, so he could not make out what lay