Chapter 100: Chapter 100: The first piece of the puzzle

Now, that the haze of the battle was not hanging over everyone, Leander could tackle the mystery of the stone floor under the soil. There were runes etched on the floor. And he wished Bog were here, as he had made it his pastime to learn runes.

He stared at the runes, which looked like claw-made scratches and swirls to him, and sighed.

"Perhaps I can be of some assistance?" Soed was behind him, and staring at the runes as well.

"Ah, Soed. Sure, if you know something about the runes, do tell me," Leander made a step back, and let Soed take his place.

"Hm, those are ancient. I think, from the way the stone is worn, from before 50,000 years ago," Asmodeos mused. There were myths about a race that lived under the ground, around that time. The world had still been young, then. With the first elves beginning to populate the forests and finding out they could outlive their human cousins.

"How do you know it is not from some other time period?" Leander asked him. Asmodeos pointed at a particular rune.

"This is a fire rune. But, do you see how it was made as a swirl and not a triangle? That was the style of the elves from around that time," Leander nodded, impressed with Soed's knowledge.

"What else can you see?" Leander looked at Soed, who was tracing a particular rune.

"A preservation rune. It seems there are a couple of runes that repeat. Which explains why the tunnels are warm all over and why they can withstand a boss fight," Soed took out a notebook and wrote down the ten runes that repeated. "Guild master, could you uncover more of the stone? I think this was an ancient highway."

"Sure," Leander summoned a couple of golems and had them dig. Asmodeos observed the process. The golems were eating the mana rich soil and evolving. The necromancer grinned. All those mobs that must have passed through here during the years. Letting bits of their mana seep into the soil. Yes, these mobs would be something else, if Leander just let them eat their fill.

When they uncovered more of the stone, Leander gave them the command to back away and eat more soil at a different section of the road. He, too, had seen that they had evolved.

Asmodeos looked at the uncovered stone. It was text of some sort. But in a language he did not understand. Which was strange, as he had made it a hobby to learn as many languages as he could and knew even a couple of dead ones.

Then, he saw a rune that looked like the elven rune for danger, and he blinked.

"Do you see this, guild master. It warns of danger," Asmodeos pointed at the rune, and Leander moved closer to it.

"What does the rest say?" The blonde was curious. If this text could tell them what they could expect, then he would be happy.

"I have no idea. I think this language is closer to the archaic form of elven. I speak the modern variant. But, Alklair might know some of the older words," Leander nodded and stood up.

"I'll go get him. You try to piece together what you can. If the inhabitants of the tunnels were here around the time the dungeon cores moved in, then they could be warning us of some great danger," Leander turned and went in search of Alklair.

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He found the elf teaching some light mages how to make light golems. Leander smiled. Now, that he had paved the way for the free share of knowledge, others were coming forward and giving free morsels to those who needed them.

"Alklair, sir, Soed needs your help with decoding an ancient text," Leander called, and Alklair turned towards him.

"Me? I know just elven and common," Alklair did not understand what use Soed would have of him. If he was Asmodeos, as Alklair suspected, then he would be able to do this by himself.

"Soed told me that the language is an archaic form of elven. You are an elf that has lived for a thousand years. Maybe you know some words that would be able to be used?" Leander suggested, and Alklair stood.

"Everyone, practice how much mana you put in the golems. I will be back in a few," with these parting words to his students, Alklair followed Leander to Soed.

The scholar was on his knees and tracing the words of the warning with his fingers.

"This makes no sense," Asmodeos murmured to himself.

"What doesn't?" Alklair knelt next to him and looked at the words. "This is not elven, Soed."

"I know that — now. But, do you know the theory that the elves got their writing from an older race?" Alklair blinked. That had been mumbo-jumbo that used to be popular a couple of hundred years ago.

"That is just a theory to make the achievement of the elves, them creating the first alphabet, a lesser thing," Alklair dismissed the idea with a frown. A war had nearly been fought over that one theory. And there had been plenty of riots started by insulted younger elves.

"I am not bringing it up to insult you, Alklair, but because there is no other explanation. These writings predate the elven alphabet by at least a thousand years. And, some of the words are similar. See for yourself," Soed pointed at a particular word, and Alklair blinked.

"This is the word for evil," the elf then began to look at the other words. He did not recognize all of them, but what he did recognize could be pieced together.

"Beware the Father of Monsters, for he is evil," Alklair began, and then found a strange word he had to skip. "He brings the dangers from the dark. The crystals are coming."

"This might be from a time when the dungeon cores just began to appear," Asmodeos mused out loud. "Fascinating. But who wrote this? Surely, it couldn't have been elves? Or, you wouldn't have skipped over some parts."

Alklair had to agree. He knew all forms of elven, and yet, some of the words had been impossible for him to understand. Yet, Soed could be onto something. And, if they found this Father of Monsters, they could end the threat of the dungeon cores once and for all.

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