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Valdys touched the black stone doors. 'These are made from one of the hardest stones available, and the lock is too complicated to pick before the dwarves descend upon us.'

Ulric touched the door as well. 'Let me give it a try anyway.' he said, armoured his hind legs, and kicked it with all his might.

The result was a dull thud and a gritting of his teeth while he nursed his aching paw. Frustrated, he armoured one fist and punched the unflinching door with all he had.

He wiggled his stinging paw and Tipper laughed. 'Try yelling at it.'

Ulric took a deep breath. 'Why not? I'm just in the right mood.' he said and tensed himself. 'Girls, cover your ears.'

Tipper thought he was kidding, until she saw the girls cover their ears for real. She slapped her hands on hers just in time before the bloodwolf let out his deafening angry roar. 'BREAK!'

She thought it was rather amusing after all and grinned. 'How impressi-' she began, when a crack snapped across the lock of the door.

Ulric gazed at it for a moment, and hit it once again with all his might.

Tipper stood with open mouth as the lock part broke into pieces and the doors creaked partially open. Iphigenia kissed Ulric's muzzle. 'You never cease to amaze me, Wolfie.'

He chuckled. 'Nor I myself.'

'You have a weird way.' muttered Tipper.

He pushed open the doors further, and they gazed into more deep darkness until Valdys sent her light spheres into it. 'I wonder if we'll ever find an artefact simply in a box in a closet or something.' Ulric said as they gazed upon a large, natural cave with a wide column in the middle formed by a fused stalactite and stalagmite. Rough stone circular posts stood scattered around the floor.

'There's a tomb at the foot of the column.' said Caylais.

'It's most likely there.' said Valdys. 'Let's be careful.'

They moved cautiously towards the oblong and plain tomb, and felt relieved nothing had stirred when they reached it. 'I hope this isn't a practical joke with a nasty surprise inside it.' said Ulric as he grabbed the lid to lift it. He froze at the tremble rocking the cave.

Limbs thrust out from the ground along with more snakes and sand crabs. 'Not again.' grumbled Ulric.

A shock ran through the cave when a large section of the ground burst upwards, and a giant snake skeleton rose up in the middle of the dirt rain.

'I didn't mean to say we really needed some bigger monster instead.' Ulric said as he transformed his fur into scales all over while muttering 'Badger badger badger badger badger.'

Caylais unleashed her lightning at it at once.

The barely affected snake shot forward. Ulric bolted towards it at the same time and collided hard against the snake's nose. It jerked back but attacked him again straight away.

Caylais shot her lightning and stunned the undead along with the snakes and crabs around them, but more kept coming. Iphigenia, Elzbieta, and Oono stepped in fast to finish the stunned ones off. Even Tipper needed to join in and swing her spade around to prevent the attackers from overruhelming them.

Valdys shot fire and ice at the creatures in the rear. 'If I put up a barrier, they'll likely turn against Ulric, so we have to hold them off until he takes out that snake.'

Ulric jumped around to deflect the snake's attacks. 'Crap! I hardly scratched it!'

'It is cursed just like the others.' said Valdys. 'But there must be something around here to break it.'

Ulric looked around for anything that could be the source. 'There's nothing here but these creepy undead things and posts.' he said, then looked closer at one of the posts again and noticed the rune on the flat top resembling a snake. 'I'll be damned.'

The snake dove at him again but he dodged and rolled away, ran towards another post, and kicked it hard. It cracked into pieces and the snake jerked violently for a moment. 'It's the posts!' he said, and bolted for the next one.

He destroyed it and the skeleton snake jerked frantically around more. It lashed out with its tail and swiped anything nearby aside.

Ulric lured it away from the girls during each attack of the snake and towards groups of undead creatures to take advantage of its reaction.

He broke the last post and the snake thrashed around, sending crabs, snakes, and other unfortunate corpses flying in all directions. Ulric jumped up aiming for its neck, and one fierce kick cracked it in two.

The snake pulled violently away at once and rose its head. Ulric braced for an attack, but it turned and whipped its tail at the girls instead.

Valdys pulled up a shield spell at once but she and the others were still slammed aside, apart from Tipper. She grasped her spade in front of her when the snake's tail snapped into her direction.

It broke against Ulric's wing.

Tipper looked up at him in front of her. 'You saved me?'

Ulric poked her forehead with a finger. 'I'm not in the habit of letting women come to harm if I can help it. Even if they're out to kill me.' he said, then charged at the snake. He dodged a hit by its tail again, ran up along its spine to the back of its head, and punched the cracked vertebrae with a loud snarl.

The head broke from the spine, and the lifeless bones fell down onto the ground in clouds of sand dust.

The girls didn't delay at eliminating the rest of the cursed creatures, and Valdys gave him a big kiss when they were done. 'That's our mighty lover.'

He grinned a little in embarrassment. 'But you all took care of the rest.'

Iphigenia wrapped her arms around him from behind. 'The most important thing is we have something to celebrate to exhaustion about later, Wolfie.' she said, and growled playfully in his ear.

He sniggered as he reached behind him and pat her rear. 'Let's think about leaving this place first, my little honey butt.'

They went over to the tomb and gazed at the lid that had been moved aside. Valdys looked quickly inside. 'It's empty.'

Elzbieta looked around. 'Where's that dwarf?'

They all scanned the area and Caylais pointed at tracks leading to the back of the column. 'There!'

They followed them and ended up at a passage in the back of the chamber. 'Quick! Before she reaches the dig site.' said Ulric and hurried inside.

They ran along passages and hurried up stairs, and ended up in one of the rooms near the secret entrance where they entered the temple. When they reached the hall, the dwarves were already gone and their equipment abandoned. 'Shit!' growled Ulric and kicked a wall. 'I'm going up.'

He stepped into one window but Valdys took his arm. 'We're too late. I sensed a teleport spell.' She took out the one artefact she had brought with her and laid it on the palm of her open hand. It trembled, then rotated and lay still. 'The artefact is in their hands now. This one is pointing into a new direction.'

Ulric grumbled while the others sighed. 'I should have kept my eye on her.'

Iphigenia ran her fingers through the thick fur in his neck. 'We all should have, but we already had enough on our minds, Wolfie.'

He caressed her cheek. 'We'll just have to learn from this mistake and do better with the next one.'

***

They arrived during the night at another town a couple of days later, and stopped to buy some supplies. Ulric rounded a street corner after they had filled the bags he carried on his back at the local shops, and bumped into the back of someone standing there. 'Sorry.' he said before recognising the scent.

Tipper turned around. 'No, it's my fau-' she began. She spun around to run away.

The frightened dwarf yelped when Ulric snatched the chain mail at her firm behind between his teeth. 'Not this time.' he growled.

Tipper stood with her back against the wall while Ulric and the girls surrounded her. She averted her eyes from their gazes while clutching her bag in front of her. 'I don't have it.' she muttered.

Ulric huffed. 'We know that. Where is it now?'

She glanced up at him. 'I brought it to our lord when I reached the surface.'

'And?'

She slumped her shoulders. 'You were right.' she sighed. 'I left his tent but then heard a voice that was not from a dwarf. It was cold and lifeless and scared me, but I still peeked inside the tent out of curiosity.' She shuddered at the chills running along her spine. 'It was a lich.'

Ulric glanced at the others. 'Did you catch his name?'

She shook her head quickly. 'No, but he said our lord would receive a reward if he could also deliver the heads of the party travelling around with a pair of bloodwolves. After that, he vanished with the artefact.' She looked up at Ulric. 'I confronted him for working with the demons, but he said this was all to gain strong allies and secure safety for all dwarves in the near future. Then he called out the guard to lock me up for threatening him as treason. I escaped by throwing up a cloud of sand, then rode away.' She looked down again. 'That's how I ended up here.'

'We won't be able to retrieve it.' said Valdys. 'This also means we'll likely see our demonic friends again.'

Ulric nodded slowly. 'Yeah. Then there's the question of how many similar searches like this one they've begun.'

'Nothing we can do about that.' said Elzbieta. 'We must assume they'll have a few pieces in their possession in the end.'

'I don't like the mention of gaining allies and securing the dwarves in the near future.' said Iphigenia. 'It sounds like something big is going to happen.'

'I fear the worst.' said Valdys.

Ulric turned away from Tipper. 'All right, we're done here.' he said, and walked away with the girls.

'Wait!' said Tipper. They looked back at her. 'Are you going to search for more of these artefacts?' she asked.

'Yes.' said Ulric. 'We have to prevent the demons from retrieving all of them.'

She gripped her bag. 'Can I come with you?'

Ulric chuckled in disbelief. 'With us?'

She took a step forward and gripped her bag. 'I know you don't like me but you told the truth and even saved me twice and I want to repay you by helping in any way I can. I need to make my mistake up to you.' She sighed and slumped again. 'I also want to restore our dwarfish pride in doing the right thing.'

'You'd be better off going somewhere safe.'

She looked down again. 'I don't have anywhere to go.'

'No family, friends?'

She shook her head. 'I have no family left, and my friends were at the dig site. They won't trust or help me now.'

Ulric looked up at his girls. Iphigenia tilted her head. 'Guess we might as well take her along. It wouldn't hurt to have a dwarf on our side.'

He gave her a nod and looked at Tipper's hopeful expression. 'Don't forget to take everything with you.' he said, and moved on again, while a relieved Tipper quickly gathered her other pack and her spade.

***

'All hail king Quanda!' the dragon commander shouted when the king of Jaitii , the dragon country, arrived at the unit stationed close to the border with his adviser Bashou.

All the dragons present bowed their heads as the king passed by and entered the commander's tent before the other two. He laid sideways on one of the large and sturdy pouffes. 'So, how does it look, Tiambo?'

The commander poured wine for his guests. 'So far it still looks as if the demon beasts and the orcs are fighting between themselves. Although it's relatively quiet now, there are still violent incidents between groups meeting just over the border.'

The king looked at his adviser. 'What do you think of this?'

Bashou took a sip from the offered cup of wine. 'Those demon races have always been on bad terms with one another. Their skirmishes can go on for a long time yet, but I recommend keeping enough forces here to stop them from thinking they could cross the border for some manoeuvrer against the others.'

Quanda nodded. 'Agreed. I don't want any of them setting their foul feet on our lands. Let them slaughter one another on their own lands.'

'Commander?' called out a voice in front of the tent.

Tiambo sat up. 'Yes, come in.'

The dragon who entered gave a quick bow to the king, then addressed the commander. 'We have word that groups of demons are fighting at two places near the border.' he said, and gestured in opposite directions.

The commander glanced at the king and his advisor. 'Send some of the men to both places. If the demons cross the border, kick them out, otherwise only observe them.' The dragon acknowledged with a nod, and left the tent. The commander drank his wine. 'The demons are restless. I hear of violence and troops moving around in more countries.'

Bashou nodded. 'As far as I can tell there's much unrest between them and it looks like we might see some civil wars break out.' He sipped his wine. 'At least that'll keep them busy.'

The king chuckled. 'I won't regret it if that keeps them from trying to invade our country and needing to meet them in battle again for as long as I live.'

The commander raised his cup. 'I'll drink to that.'

***

After reminiscing about old events, king Quanda and Bashou retired to a tent set up for them. Bashou poured one last wine for themselves and handed a cup to Quanda. 'It's a shame in a way, that those old days of glory are only a thing of the past for us dragons.'

The king drank and looked puzzled at him. 'What do you mean, past?'

'We're growing old. There are less of us than there used to be, and the young ones aren't as quick to begin families of their own. They want to experience more life first, especially in other countries.'

Quanda laughed once. 'Nonsense! We're still strong and prospering. Dragons will always be around.'

Bashou put his cup aside. 'What if I tell you the demons have been quietly waiting for the balance to tip in their favour? That there are more of them than anyone suspects, and that there are vast numbers of them?' He gazed at the wine jar. 'Vast.'

The king yawned and his eyelids drooped lightly. 'You speak as if they want to go to war again.'

Bashou turned to Quanda. 'They do, sire. In fact, they already are prepared to make the first strike.' he said, and gestured in the air. A little blue bird popped up, and disappeared after flying away.

Quanda shook his head when his vision swayed once. 'Wait. How do you know this?'

Bashou smiled slightly. 'They asked me for advice on how to do it.'

Quanda's vision wobbled more and he dropped his cup. He glared up at his close advisor in realisation. 'You! You're betraying our country!'

Bashou picked up a dagger from the table. 'I see it more as securing the future. Mine, that is, with my new position as liaison between the new demon rulers and any dragons that are left.'

Quanda barely heard the voices around them, shouting about a large number of demons attacking suddenly from the border, before his vision turned dark for the last time.

***

The watch guard atop the royal dragon palace noticed the feverish flight of the dragon coming towards them, and recognised her as one of the messengers. 'Messenger coming!' he shouted down to the regular guard.

The young female tumbled at her hard landing and panted hard. She swallowed and took a couple of breaths before she could speak to the alarmed guards rushing towards her. 'The demons attacked us at the border.' she gasped. 'We barely repelled them but the king and the adviser are dead!'

Garlac, the captain of the guard jerked back. 'The king is dead!?'

The messenger nodded rapidly and pulled a golden emblem from her pouch. 'Assassin, in his sleep.'

The captain stared in horror at the emblem the king always wore on his chest, spun around, and bolted into the palace. 'Queen Giuang! My lady!'

He stormed into the royal quarters, startling the queen and princess Yingshien into sitting up straight on their pouffes. 'Queen! Princess! Terrible news!'

The two ladies had never seen him so alarmed. 'What is it, Garlac?' asked the queen.

He nearly slid into a genuflection in front of her and held up the royal emblem. 'Demons attacked our border and murdered your husband.' he panted. 'I'm so very sorry.'

Yingshien jumped at her mother's side and gazed at the insignia passed on by generations in her mother's hands. 'It can't be!' She looked at her mother. 'Tell me it can't be true!'

A tear ran down her mother's cheek as she knew what this meant. She had experienced the same situation when her grandmother died so many years ago. She looked in great sorrow at her daughter. 'We have work to do.' she said softly.

A horn sounded outside and the three looked up. 'Alarm.' said Garlac. 'Stay here while I see what's happening.' He rushed outside to see his men holding off three different demons moving fast on top of the palace wall with their breaths of fire, ice, and poison. The skeleton cast rapid blasts of lightning and spears of bone, while a nimble black feline attacked a guard with his sword and a succubus shot a volley of arrows. 'What in ancient terror is going on!?'

Yingshien hurried to the window to look at the ruckus. 'Demons! They're attacking us here directly! Are they insane?' she said, then spun around when a demon canine jumped through a corner window and pulled out his daggers.