---
The journey to the Darkspire Fortress was quiet, much too quiet for Kaelen's liking. There was something unnerving about the dense forest surrounding them, the trees so thick they seemed to swallow the light. Every step he took echoed in the stillness, and the silence between him, Ariella, and Seraphine only added to the tension in the air.
Ariella kept her hand on her sword, her posture alert, but her eyes flicked back and forth between Seraphine and Kaelen, as if unsure which one she should keep an eye on more. Kaelen, on the other hand, was in high spirits. He hadn't gotten a chance to annoy Ariella in a while, and he could feel the Wrath Points growing steadily from the barely-contained tension.
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**Wrath Points: 16 / 20.**
---
"You know, I expected Darkspire to be... darker," Kaelen said, breaking the silence with a playful grin. "I mean, it's a fortress, right? Shouldn't there be, I don't know, ominous clouds and creepy noises or something?"
Ariella gave him a sharp glance, clearly not in the mood for his jokes. "You don't know what's coming," she said, her voice low and serious. "Darkspire is cursed. It's not a place for anyone with a faint heart."
"I've got a *very* strong heart, thanks." Kaelen puffed out his chest for emphasis. "Well, mostly strong. I've been feeling a little lightheaded lately, but hey, that's probably the excitement of this whole quest. I mean, curses? Relics? *Dramatic encounters*? It's a perfect storm of adventure!"
Seraphine, who had been walking silently ahead of them, glanced over her shoulder with a wry smile. "Don't let his words fool you," she said to Ariella. "He's as dangerous as he is irritating. But I suppose that's what makes him... useful."
Kaelen put a hand over his heart in mock offense. "I'm *deeply* hurt, Seraphine. *Deeply*. I thought we were friends."
"Hardly," she said, her tone dry. "But we are allies, for now."
"*For now*," Kaelen repeated with a dramatic sigh. "That's what everyone says. Makes a guy feel so *reassured*."
The group walked for hours, the sky slowly turning from the dull gray of afternoon to the purple-black of evening. The trees began to thin out, and before long, they were standing at the edge of a wide, desolate plain that stretched out before them. At the far end, shrouded in mist, was the Darkspire Fortress—a massive, jagged structure rising up from the ground like a dark wound on the land. The fortress was surrounded by a high, crumbling wall, and the towering spires seemed to scrape the sky.
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**Wrath Points: 17 / 20.**
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"Well, *that* doesn't look ominous at all," Kaelen said, his tone dripping with sarcasm as he surveyed the fortress. "I mean, who wouldn't want to go in there?"
Ariella grimaced. "It's worse than it looks. The fortress is filled with all manner of traps and monsters. The relic is said to be hidden deep inside, in the vault beneath the main tower. But getting there won't be easy."
"Traps and monsters?" Kaelen's eyes sparkled with excitement. "You're speaking my language. I'm practically *trembling* with anticipation."
"You won't be trembling for long," Seraphine said, her voice dark. "There's more inside the fortress than just monsters. The true danger lies in what's been locked away in the vault for centuries."
Kaelen raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And what, pray tell, has been locked away for centuries?"
Seraphine didn't answer immediately, her gaze fixed on the fortress in the distance. "I'll tell you when we get there. It's better you see it with your own eyes."
"I do love a good mystery," Kaelen said, rubbing his hands together in mock excitement. "But don't keep me in suspense for too long. I've got *serious* adventuring to do."
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**Wrath Points: 18 / 20.**
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As they moved closer to the fortress, the air seemed to grow colder, the once peaceful evening now heavy with a palpable sense of dread. The sounds of distant howls echoed from the walls, and the ground beneath their feet seemed to vibrate with the weight of something ancient and powerful.
Kaelen couldn't help but feel a slight thrill. Danger, mystery, and the promise of loot—this was what he lived for.
As they approached the gates, they were met with an eerie silence. The once-mighty wooden doors of the fortress were now rotting, half-open, as though they had been abandoned for years. Kaelen didn't hesitate, striding forward with a confident grin.
"Well, this is certainly *cozy*," he said, walking straight through the open gate. "Is this the part where we all get ambushed?"
Ariella shot him an exasperated look, but she didn't protest. Seraphine, on the other hand, stayed silent, her expression unreadable as she followed behind him.
Once inside the fortress, the first thing Kaelen noticed was how quiet it was—eerily so. No sounds of movement, no creatures lurking in the shadows, not even the creak of old wood. The only sound was the faint echo of their footsteps as they made their way deeper into the stone halls.
"This place gives me the creeps," Kaelen muttered. "Feels like we're walking through the memories of a long-forgotten nightmare."
Seraphine's lips quirked upward at his words, but she didn't respond.
They moved further into the fortress, winding through narrow corridors lined with rusted weapons and decaying tapestries. Kaelen could feel the Wrath Points rising again as his excitement grew. This was the kind of place where the best chaos was waiting to happen.
But just as they rounded a corner, the air grew thick, and Kaelen suddenly felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He stopped in his tracks, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the hallway ahead.
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**Wrath Points: 19 / 20.**
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"Something's wrong," he said, his voice low.
Ariella's hand tightened around her sword hilt, her body tense. "Stay alert," she murmured.
Suddenly, from the darkness ahead, a low growl echoed, followed by the scraping of claws on stone. Kaelen's grin widened.
"Well, well," he said, drawing his dagger. "Looks like it's time for the real fun to begin."
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