Alastair could tell that none of these small monster could have created the carnage above since none of them were strong enough to do so. soon the duo reached the bottom of the kings barrow where a set of double doors separated them from whatever caused that massacre above. "you ready for this?" alastair asked seriously. "funny i was about to ask you the same thing" erik said with a grin. alastair pushes the double doors open revealing a large room with a raised pedestal that housed a glowing red orb the size of an apple.
Below the pedestal two large monsters that alastair recognized as grim griffins hovered while talking about how easy it was to get the orb and how some dark lord will be pleased with them for it. "sorry to interrupt but we'll be taking that orb there." erik said confidently. the two grim griffins stopped talking to each other and looked towards erik and alastair before mocking them and charging at them. alastair did not seem to move but before the grim griffin looked like it was about to touch him it split in half down the middle with both halves rapidly dissipating as they went past both of alastairs sides.
Erik apparently didn't want to be outdone and leaped towards the charging griffin and slid underneath it while stabbing it in the center of the torso with his dagger disemboweling the monster in one motion. after taking care of the two monsters with style the duo walk up the steps to the pedestal and erik grabbed the orb causally. "good to have this thing back to where it belongs." he said with a smirk since he is technically stealing it again. "alright now that we have your shiny little toy lets go this place reeks of death."
Alastair teased erik a little before walking down the steps to the pedestal and out the double doors of the room. erik shrugged before following behind quickly and the two then left the kings barrow and headed for the door of departure. the trip was rather long due to how far away it was but that worked to the duos advantage because after night fell alastair used his cats eye spell to make it so they could keep going safely. after several hours of walking the duo reach the entrance of the cliffside plains that have the door of departure.
Alastair could immediately see the ambush waiting on top of the cliffs thanks to the torches the soldiers were holding as they watched the plains. alastair used his chameleon spell and both he and erik walked leisurely across the field without any of the scouts noticing them until they reached the ancient stone pathway to the door where the key stone started to hum and shot out a beam of blue light at the ancient stone building. this beam instantly broke the chameleon spell revealing the two to the scout who began to shout.
But it was far too late as alastair watched the top of the cliff where hendrick showed up on his steed and alastair flipped him off before being teleported by the door. meanwhile hendrick was steaming mad at the top of the cliff as the very person he was chasing had just escaped after ruining his well laid trap. to make it worse the evil cur dared to mock him as he left leaving him with nowhere to vent his frustration. hendrick grilled his scouts to try and figure out what had happened only to find out that his prey had used some sort of camouflage to cross the field unseen.
One moment erik and alastair were in the emerald coast and the next they were in a place with high temperatures and black volcano like stone cliffs that neither could identify. walking out of the square building that unlike the one on the emerald coast didn't have any doors the duo see a merchant camping not far away. walking over the short chubby merchant looked at the two and motioned for them to make themselves at home around the fire he had going as he continued going over the things in his pack.
"Out of curiosity do you know where we are?" alastair asked calmly while he sat next to the fire with erik. "let me guess you obtained the keystone but didn't figure out where the door of departure led to right?" the merchant asked without looking up from his pack. "that obvious huh? well yeah that is basically how it happened." alastair said embarrassed. "you two aren't the first to have that happen to you as in truth it is actually a running gag that no one wants to correct." the merchant said with a chuckle.
Erik and alastair shared a look but didn't say anything about how alastairs grandpa played a harmless prank on them. "well to answer your question about where you are , this area is known as the hotto steppe located next to mount hotto and housing the town of hotto which is famous for its hotsprings and craftsmen." the merchant said before closing his pack after finishing taking inventory. "hang on did you say hotsprings?" alastair brightened up considerably. erik raised an eyebrow at the change in alastair and the merchant smirked "oh yes the town is situated next to a volcano so the natural mineral water is constantly heated creating the hotsprings."
Alastair looked like a kid with a new toy with an excited expression. "i don't get it why are you so excited about this hotsprings thing?" erik asked confused. "hotsprings are considered one of the most enjoyable ways to get clean and i have always wanted to try one." alastair explained honestly. erik shrugged "after what you went through i suppose its only right you have something good happen to you so i guess we can stop by for a bit. it also doesn't hurt that we need to get our clothes cleaned anyways."