"Oh, why hello Kiyarsa. What brings you out to the fire temple?" Tenzen asked as Skime turned around and smiled at me.

"Hi, Kiyarsa." Skime said to me.

"I had a strange dream last night, and well, when I told mum about it she said I should seek you out and ask you more about it. That's why I'm here today." I said as I sat in a chair in front of a table covered with several papers and scientific interments. Tenzen sat across form me and I told him my dream, as I had with my mother leaving out no details. Tenzen sat back in his chair and put his hand to his chin thinking.

"I see, well I think that its a vision of things to come." Tenzen said.

"What does a vision mean daddy?" Skime asked her father with excitement. Tenzen picked up Skime and placed her in his lap.

     "Kiyarsa's dream, means that something may happen, since she was also present in her dream, it indicates that at some point she and these other four women are going to meet at some point. The description of the woman with the red hair and purple framed glasses sounds very familiar but I can't quite place a name to the description."

I looked at Tenzen intently; dreams can be strange indeed sometimes telling us something we need to be mindful of and other times merely nonsense. I felt that I should be mindful of this, I felt it in my heart and that at some point I would meet these other four women. "Thank you for that interpretation Tenzen. Now can you explain what that is I see on the chalkboard? Something to do with the elements I gather?"

Tenzen moved Skime off his lap and sat up, he moved over to the chalkboard much like a professor, he pushed his glasses back up and thrust out his right arm.

"This my dear Kiyarsa is exactly what you guessed, but not just any element. This is the fire element, a stone much like a ruby that is small enough to fit into your hand. Its power radiates the element of fire of course! Something Drow are very adapt to. You see, its in this temple, several floors below our feet in the Undercroft surrounded by magma and guarded by the Kayyrat, a dragon like creature! I'm conducting research on the fire element, and I need it in had to study it more. I was planning to retreve it myself along with Skime so she can hone her skills more... she's more powerful than she looks, but now that your here maybe you can go with her. You two together will be an unstoppable force in the Undercroft of the fire temple."

Tenzen always had to be so dramatic, my mum told stories of how Tenzen was the same back when he knew my father, Tenzen and my father must have gotten along so well in their younger years. The would work on many projects together. My mum told me when they were all little, Tenzen and my father made a large balloon in an attempt to take pictures of the lesser star, Mardian which is a bright star that can be seen both during the night as well as the day, yet having no effect on tempiture or bightness due to its distance form Alkeria.  It mostly functions as a navigation beacon above Alkeria's equator. The project was a failure from what my mum told me and Tenzen and my father never spoke of it again.

"Will you go retrieve it for me, Kiyarsa?"

"Kiyarsa?" Tenzen said as he poked my arm with a pointer stick form he picked up from the table. It startled me, I had become lost in thought thinking of what that balloon experiment must have been like.

"Oh, oh! Um... Yes sorry Tenzen I was just day dreaming there for a moment. I'll go retrieve the fire element for you."

"Thank you and please take Skime with you." Tenzen said as he motioned Skime towards me. I was rather hesitant to have a young child go with me into the deep caverns of the fire temple.

"Oh, daddy do I have to?" Skime said to her father with disappointment.

"Yes, you need to hone your skills more. It should be relatively safe since there really isn't anything down there that can harm you, and you will have Kiyarsa with you. Just do as she says and you will be alright."

Skime approached me and frowned at me. I felt she wasn't too happy about the situation going into a dark cavern with me, I reached out to take her small hand in mine and she pulled her hand away.

"I can take care of myself, I'm a big girl!" She said as she pushed me aside and turned her head up at me. I knew at that point, this was going to be a rough task to undertake. Not only do I have to go retrieve this fire element, but I have to go do it, while looking after a mis-mannered snobby child. What a polar opposite of personality form her father, she must get the personality form her mum.

I decided to travel light for venturing into the lower caverns of the fire temple. I left my pak in the study room hanging form the back of Tenzen's desk chair and only took out my wand and a few food packs, potions and a med-kit, and placed them into a detachable hip pouch I found folded up inside my pak. I strapped that onto my waist hanging from my right hip, so my dominant left hand had better access to my wand, on my opposite hip.

"Tenzen I'm ready to enter the lower caverns." I said as I turned to Tenzen. He reached into his pocket and pulled out an old worn key.

"Here, this is the key to the lower caverns. You will find the door to that part of the temple is always kept locked. Only I and the overseer of this temple hold keys to unlock the door. You have nothing to worry about I am giving you permission to enter the lower caverns. If anyone asks what you are doing just tell them I gave you permission."

I smiled and nodded then turned around to leave the study room. Waiting near the study room door, I saw Skime, she had her arms crossed and was taping her shiny black shoe on the tile floor. She still looked irritated at me. I felt it was best not to say a word as I walked out of the room she followed behind me; the sound of her little black strap shoes, hurrying to keep pace as I went to find the door to the lower caverns. 

"Kiyarsa, you walk to fast. I'm having trouble keeping up with you."

"Just try to keep pace, Skime. If you like you can hold onto my belt so you don't fall behind." I told Skime. She quickly grabbed hold of my belt with both her hands. I turned a corner and went down a long hallway adored with a stonework archway and flaming torches decorating the walls with more ornate tapestries. As Skime and I quickly walked down the hall, we were passed by a few more scholars.  None of which said a word to me or Skime. I was surprised to see so many different scholars in the fire temple of all fields of study. Many of which were not Drow. There were scholars form the Halle of Beginners, some form the Scholars of the Celestial Heavens, a few form the Earth Temple in the Kingdom of Skarrat and even some I did not quite recognize; maybe they were form the Imperial Capitol where Skime and Tenzen were from.

Finely we came to the door that let down into the lower caverns. It took a little longer than I thought; the fire temple is much bigger than I had first thought. I took the key and unlocked the door, pushed hard on it and it slowly swung open.

“Do you think we will meet any Dwarves in the Undercroft, Kiyarsa?” Skime asked eagerly.

“I don’t think so.”

“Why not?”

“Dwarves live deeper underground than this temple goes.” I replied.

“How far down?”

“According to what I read at the Halle of Beginners, Dwarves are several thousand Fathoms underground.” I told Skime as we walked down a long stone staircase, the air became gradually hotter as we descended down and the smell of brimstone and sulpher permeated the air. The starway was old and cracked, still lit by torches with Astral Flame, a kind if magical fire that never burns down or goes out, without using a extinguish spell. Finley we came into the foyer, along one side of a long wall, there was some old barrels, some broken and others sealed. I didn't know what was inside the barrels and I didn't let my curiosity get the best me by trying to find out.

"I wonder if this room was used for anything as some time. Barrels and I see some tables and chairs over there too." Skime said, pointing to a dark corner of the room with a torn tabistry on the wall hidden away by the darkness, only barly lit by a torch. I didn't give it much thought and felt it was best to carry on. I felt it was a high possibility that the Undercroft would be guarded by more than just the Kyrrat Dragon, these old temple Undercrofts contained things lurking around such as elemental spirits matching that of the element they guard, large rodents like the Frongstrokker Skime and I just saw, giant spiders, bats and sometimes the undead.  I had my left hand on the ready to draw my wand at any given notice. We walked further into the Undercroft descending down another flight of stone stairs along a ledge. I paused for a moment, Skime bumped into my hip.

“Kiyarsa, I hurt my nose on your belt.” She shouted about to berate me, I put my finger to my mouth.

“Shhhh… Quiet.” I said. There in the distance only a few Paces in front of us was a Fire Sprite. Small, but triksty. She was glowing a fiery red, with matching flame red hair and wings, her body was small and slender, with dark brown garments covering her chest and around her hips. I found it strange there was only one of them. I assumed right away that this was a trap. Fire Sprite’s never travel alone. I carefully and quietly drew my wand and prepared to cast an Ice spell, there was a short pause of silance. Suddenly and without any warning. I saw a pink streak of tensile ribbon crack through the air only mere Picas from my face, accompanied by a shrill shout that could pierce even the ears of the goddes.

“Hi-yah, take that Fire Sprite!” Skime shouted from behind me. The pink ribbon like weapon Skime attacked the Fire Sprite with was met with a loud crack as a burst of sparks and flame as her weapon impacted the aura around the Fire Sprite.  The Fire Sprite shouted. 

“Ouch, how dare you attack me. I’ll teach you a lesson, you will soon forget.”  She moved into action, and zipped across the room with defensive movement.

“Oppsie, maybe I shouldn’t have done that.” Skime shouted with a glint of fear in her glossy brown eyes. “Kiyarsa, it’s coming after me.

“In the Fire Sprites defense, you did attack her first.”

“Oh, shut up Kiyarsa, I saw you reaching for your wand… You were planning to do the same.” Skime yelled at me.

“I was only going to cast a low level ice spell, nothing harmful.” I replied as I quickly took action and grounded myself front of Skime, and pointed out my wand in the path of the Fire Sprite. I closed my eyes for a moment to focus my energy and muttered the words for the Ice spell under my breath. In an instant my wand became extremely cold and the tip began to frost over. In the blink of an eye, Ice shards shot out form my wand with a loud crack, flying across the room exploding in a burst of ice and flame as it made contact with the fire sprite.

The Fire sprite winced, erratically moving back and forth for a moment then pausing in the air still fluttering her fairy red wings. She stretched out her arms in front and pressed her fingers together, pointing at me and Skime. I saw a weak glow accompanied by a crackle. She shook her head and tried again, only a crackle was heard a second time, she aggressively planted her hands on her hips and stamped the air with her foot in frustration. She glared at Skime and I and flew away quickly into the darkness high into the upper chamber of the Undercroft until her firey red glow was out of sight.

“I think we should try to move quickly, Skime. I have a feeling she’s going to be back and this time with friends.” I said as I took Skime by her hand.

“What do you mean she’s coming back, we defeated her.

“I know that look she gave us, she’s going to be seeking revenge. We need to hurry.”

Skime and I came to a locked iron bar door, I could see a floor hatch just beyond it. I took the key Tenzen had given me and tried it in the lock. It clicked, the door swung open with a metallic squeak. I hurried over to the floor hatch and opened it. This one was not locked. I looked down into the dark pit, there was a ladder descending down into the darkness.

“I think this is the next chamber of the Undercroft Skime.”

“It looks so dark and scary down there.”

I reached into my pouch and took out a Glowstick. I grasped it in my hands and cracked it, activating the glowing fiery chemical inside. I dropped it down the shaft into the darkness. It hit the floor with a thud and continued to glow, slightly illuminating the shaft.

“Wrap your arms around my shoulders Skime, I’ll carry you on my back.”

“Thank you Kiyarsa.” She said as the small girl wrapped her arms around my shoulders and hooked her short legs around my waist. I took hold of the first rung of the ladder and descended down into the barley illuminated shaft with Skime.

Soon after a short decent into the shaft my feet touched solid ground next to the Glowstick.

"I'm sure, maybe at some point, that Fire Sprite could be back with her friends its best we carry on, Skime." She looked worried, she had been the first to attack the Fire Sprite I could feel her body quiver as she climbed off my back. That same moment a pack of Frongstrokker's scurried past us, they must have gotten in from the outside somehow, to escape the cold, possibly the same pack I saw earlier on my way to the Fire Temple. I didn't let it bother me, but they startled Skime she held my hand tight when the Frongstrokker's passed us by.