Once we had reached the new cavern, Dufoth began walking behind us with the rest of the dwarves.
"The golems should be appearing soon. Be ready," he said.
Almost immediately as he spoke, we heard a loud rumble. Several of them, actually.
In the dark, I could see forward thanks to night vision. Isabella kept the cavern lit up with Grand Illumination and Grand Lantern Light for the dwarves.
I saw several boulders begin to change shape and we were confronted with a group of huge golems.
Not wanting to collapse the caverns, I decided to take it easy here.
"Assassinate," I said.
I teleported within the group of golems and my blade sliced through the crystal in its chest as if it were nothing. As soon as I destroyed the core, the golem fell lifelessly to the ground.
"FULL MOON SLASH!"
I released my second sword as the magic extended them and slashed multiple times within a circle around me. Four more golems fell.
"Attack support!" Isabella said, raising her sword.
At once, I was cloaked in a field that raised my strength.
"Defense support! Aegis Barrier!"
A similar field of defensive power cloaked me as Isabella raised her shield towards a golem.
The golems attacks were completely pointless to Isabella's unbreakable defense. As a result, she destroyed them easily with her sword.
At the same time, I was making great headway into the battle thanks to her support.
Some of the dwarves looked like they wanted to help, but Dufoth stopped them.
They would honestly just be in the way right now.
As a golem tried to punch me, I dodged it and cut off its arm. Then I destroyed the crystal in its chest with ease.
After all of the golems had been defeated, we continued onward.
Over time, we would run into larger groups of golems, but they posed no threat. Even the dwarves that were with us remained completely untouched by the monsters. At some point, we came to a large set of double doors with strange runes on them.
"Any idea what this means?" I asked.
"No idea. These aren't the same types of runes we usually see on relics..." Dufoth said.
"I can't read them either," Isabella said.
It turns out that she was fluent in four languages and had memorized all sorts of rune scripts in the past. But if she couldn't read it, it was probably an ancient and undocumented language.
I could easily understand why Cassandra felt inferior...
Isabella was a multi-talented genius.
"Should we try to open it normally or break it down?" I asked.
"I would prefer to study it, but if we can't get it open, just break it down," Dufoth said.
After he spoke, Dufoth waved a few dwarves forward and they began using magic on the door.
After a short while of trying to imbue the door, they stopped.
"Investigator, we can't get this one open. It's sealed using an unknown type of warding magic," one of them said.
"Alright, you two stand back. Mizik, get to work," Dufoth said.
Everyone got behind Isabella as I readied an attack.
I wasn't entirely sure what to use.
So I decided that the safest option would be to change my weapon type.
I switched my swords into hammers and struck the door as hard as I could. Cracks shot across the doors and it fell to pieces.
Isabella looked on in awe.
"Shapeshifting weapon sure is useful," she said.
"Lad, what kind of weapon is that, anyway? Is that one of the legendary swords?" Dufoth asked.
"Yeah, it's Vengeance."
"Well, that explains why you're so good at killing things," he said.
"I'm also holding Bravery. Please don't let this information get out if possible," Isabella said.
"Don't worry, I have sworn all these men to secrecy for this entire operation. They'll nay breathe a word of what they've seen. Your secret is safe with us."
After that, we looked forward into the next room.
There was a gigantic stone monument that looked like an especially deadly golem standing in front of something. Around the room, several braziers burning brightly with white flames sat quietly.
"I think you two should go in there. We'll wait out here for when you finish," Dufoth said.
With a nod, the both of us stepped forward into the room.
As soon as we reached the massive golem, the crystal in its chest glowed red.
All of the flames turned red as well.
"INTRUDERS DETECTED. LEAVE AT ONCE OR FACE DESTRUCTION. NONE MAY APPROACH THE GATEWAY," A voice said.
"Gateway?" I said.
The golem suddenly began moving and tried to punch me. Luckily, I didn't even have to move. Isabella protected me.
I felt the impact, however. The ground cracked beneath her feet.
"Sunlight blade!" She said.
Her sword extended and slammed into the golem, sending it back a few feet.
When her sword impacted it, I saw the flash of a barrier of some kind.
"Mizik, see if you can break that barrier. I'll keep it busy. ENRAGE!"
With a flash of red magic, the golem focused its attention on Isabella. It sent another strike at her which was easily blocked.
"Assassinate," I said.
I teleported behind the golem and my hammer bounced off of its shield.
"Thunderblast!!!" I said and shot a massive burst of electricity at the golem.
It staggered slightly and the shield flickered, but it remained on. The golem began rapidly striking Isabella and she smiled.
"You're not hitting me hard enough! Keep trying and maybe you'll scratch me!" She said mockingly.
"Isabella! Try using magic! Let's fire at the same time!"
"Got it!
As soon as the golem impacted her shield another time, we fired off our spells.
"ARCANE BALLISTA!"
"BLAST NOVA!"
Isabella's shield flashed just before violently exploding and causing the shield to flicker heavily.
Just as it did, my bolt of magic energy shot through its back and impacted the crystal in its chest.
Unfortunately, it didn't break, but the crystal became damaged and the barrier disappeared.
After that, I smiled.
"Isabella, defend yourself!"
"It's what I do!" She said.
She ducked down behind her shield.
"Aegis Barrier!"
"Exterminatus!"
My hammers glowed brightly and increased in size. I struck the golem rapidly and pulverized it into rubble. Destroying the crystal and all.
Fortunately, Isabella was completely unscathed.
As soon as the golem was destroyed, I walked over to check out the wreckage.
I put Vengeance away and picked up a piece of the crystal from its chest.
"Weird stuff, right? I wonder why these things were trying so hard to defend this place," Isabella said.
As soon as she said that, I remembered to look to see what the golem was guarding.
What I saw was a strange-looking stone arch.
The stones on the arch were flat and had an interlocking pattern between one another. They were covered in the same runes as the doorway. There was a small pillar with a flat top on the right side of the arch. Both the arch and the small pillar sat atop a small platform that had a similar interlocking design just like the arch. Similar to a puzzle, actually. Each piece of the platform also had a rune on it.
After a moment of staring, the core crystal from the golem flashed and seared my hand.
"GAH!!" I said as I dropped the stone.
"Mizik!? Are you okay!?" Isabella said as she rushed over to me.
I checked my hand and there was a glowing rune that disappeared before I could examine it.
"What the hell was that!?" I asked no one in particular.
"Is your hand okay?"
"I think so...it left a mark but it disappeared."
Isabella took my hand in hers and kissed it.
Not necessary...but I won't tell you to stop...
A moment later, the dwarves entered the room and walked up to the arch.
"Well well, what do we have here?" Dufoth said.
"Looks like an arch. But I'm sure you could tell," I said.
Dufoth let out a laugh.
"Aye, an arch. We need to get some more men down here to move it. Mizik, I'll have you keep watch while Isabella and I go back to the city. I'll bring more men and equipment. Please sit tight!" Dufoth said.
He seemed very excited.
"I guess I'll see you in a little while. I love you, Mizik," Isabella said.
"I love you too, Isabella. Don't let your guard down, okay?" I said.
She nodded and the two of them left.
* * *
After about six hours of waiting, people usually run out of things to do down in a place like this. Some of the dwarves had taken to throwing dice and gambling while others sparingly sipped flasks and sang.
They were quite the merry group of dwarves.
Some of the dwarves were interested in my fighting abilities. Since we had time, I showed them a few things with the sword that I learned from the Grandmaster.
I really missed Gordon.
Eventually, we heard the sound of marching footsteps and the loud creak of machinery.
We decided to clear the rubble in the doorway, and as we did, Isabella and Dufoth returned.
As soon as she saw me, she ran over and hugged me tightly. I smiled and kissed her on the head.
Once she stood up straight, her smile turned into a frown.
"Mizik...when did you get taller than me?" She asked.
"I...don't know..." I said.
I hadn't noticed, but I was at least couple of centimeters taller than Isabella now.
I silently cheered to myself.
"Ah...I can't cuddle you the same way anymore! This is the worst!" She said while pouting.
"Well, maybe I can do the same do you, now," I said with a smile.
Her face turned red and she looked away from me.
"That sounds...really nice..." She said as she fidgeted a little.
"Are you two going to get a room or should we hose you down with water?" Dufoth said as he approached.
"That won't be necessary!" I said with a nervous smile.
"Aye then, let's take a look at this thing. Mizik, you keep watch by the door. Make sure we weren't followed," Dufoth said.
I nodded and waited over by the entrance to the room.
While I waited, Dufoth stood near Isabella while discussing the arch with several more dwarves. These dwarves wore robes and engineer clothing instead of armor.
As I stood there, a large machine passed me by. It was almost like a carriage but the wheels were connected by treads. It had a large flat space on the back of it and other dwarves were bringing equipment for lifting heavy loads.
The machines clanked and spewed steam as they moved.
I wasn't sure if I had the mental capacity to understand these things.
After a long time of messing around with the arch, the dwarves gave up and started working to move it.
"The platform isn't fused to the ground, so we should be able to get under it. Get the lift ready and put it on the rig. After that, we can transport it to HQ and examine it," Dufoth said to the machine operator.
Eventually, Isabella came over and leaned her head on my shoulder.
"Heck of a day, right?" She said happily.
"Yeah, the most conflict we've had in a while. I'm glad we didn't get rusty over time," I said.
A few minutes later, Dufoth approached us again.
"I'll just need the two of you to escort us out of here. After that, you're free to go," he said.
Isabella took the front of the crowd while I brought up the rear. We made our way out of the cavern over the next few hours.
* * *
Once we were out, the two of us began feeling the fatigue. It was hard to tell what time of day it was inside of a mountain, but the lights on the street would dim to let everyone know it was late.
After we helped Dufoth get the arch out of the caverns, we said our goodbyes and headed home.
Before entering the house, we saw Bronan sitting outside of his workshop eating a sandwich.
"Hey, Bronan, sorry about today. We had a lot to do," I said.
"Don't worry about it, I've worked with Dufoth before. He's very systematic about the way he does things. Takes longer, but he gets the job done right. That's why he's a professional," Bronan said.
"Right. Since you're already eating, I guess you don't want dinner?" I said.
"No, but I'd love to share a drink!" He said happily.
"You're welcome to join us, then, Bronan," Isabella said.
"Gladly!"
We entered our house after that, and I began preparing dinner. Tonight, we were having one of my favorite foods to eat: fish.
I also planned to sear some vegetables in a pan to go with it.
As I cooked, I could hear Bronan and Isabella talking.
"So, lass, if ye don't mind me asking, what did ye find down there?" Bronan asked.
"We're...not entirely sure... It was an arch decorated with strange runes that none of us have seen before. They loaded it onto a machine and hauled it off to their headquarters," Isabella said.
"Sounds interesting. I wonder if they'll bring it by later once they realize they can't figure it out. I'd like to have a look at it..."
"Do you have enough space in your basement? It was quite large, after all, and your basement is a bit..."
"Cluttered? Aye, lass. Very much so. I was thinking... Would it be alright if I had them take it to your basement? Do you have room for it?" Bronan said.
"We have room. Our basement is pretty empty at the moment, so I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem. However, the issue is how to get it down there. It's not exactly going fit through the doorway," Isabella said.
"Well, I suppose we cross that bridge when we get there. Looks like Mizik is finishing up the food," Bronan said.
I sat down mine and Isabella's plates, then poured Bronan and myself two tankards of beer.
After I got seated, we ate and talked for a few hours until eventually, it was time for bed.
Tomorrow, we had one more day off before returning to work and I planned to learn everything I could from Bronan. His crafting knowledge was immense and I'd started to become very interested in the subjects.
As I lay down next to Isabella, she quickly grabbed a hold of me and pulled my head to her chest, affectionately. She wrapped her arms around me and leaned her head over mine.
Although I was comfortable, I couldn't quite shake the feeling that soon our happy life would come to an end.
I guess that's just the way the game goes. I'll make every moment count.