He arranged the order going down: a sword wreathed by fire, a man screaming sound waves, and an eye symbol whose iris was gear-shaped. There were cranks as two slots in each door opened leaving handles.

“Curious, This city must have been originally one of the dark dwarves’, in pre-scorning times.” Makith said curiously as Navien opened the doors.

“We can question historical facts later we have to catch up to Layvma now!” Yorna called as she started to run ahead.

The rest ran with her, Navien started hearing more cranking sounds within the walls around them. As they reached another set of doors pushing them open to greet a new room.

The room was covered in a red glow as lights shined from places. The floor had small pieces of the planks missing with the 2nd tier of the city looming far below. Missing chunks of the wall revealed gears upon gears twisting and cranking menacingly. At the back of the room was a small raised half-circle of the floor and behind it the wall broke away revealing sets of gears patterned and framed into an eye-like shape with a bright red light glowing from the iris.

In front of the eye framed by red light, a tall lean figure stood, kneeling in front of them was a bloodied Layvma.

“Please lord Xyrin! The cult is eradicated, grant me the power to go slaughter those meddlers and bring the judgment of our god upon them like they should’ve suffered during the Scorning!” She pleaded to the figure.

The figure was silent for a beat until it said in a slow alien-like voice,

“You mean your god.”

“Wha–” was all Layvma could say with a sudden glint of silver as she was beheaded by the figure with a silver sword inlaid with rubies. The figure looked up and came closer revealing their silhouette.

They had light green sickly skin, with pointed ears unlike an elf’s, their long blackish brown hair draped down the back of a silver breastplate inlaid with more rubies. Their now bloodied silver greatsword glinted murderously.

They looked at the group with pitiless black eyes, they closed their eyes for a moment then opened them and they suddenly spoke,

“I’m afraid you have come too late, the next burnout should eradicate this city with the help of the weaponry bulbs.”

“You’re an Astralian, a being from the outer planes,” Navien said as he examined Xyrin.

“Yes Tsirern wanted help breaking through the frontline, what better way to do that than the destruction of one of the enemy's main cities of industry.”

“The cult of lights?” Makith asked.

“A means to an end,” Xyrin answered.

“We won’t let you destroy the city!” Lilika stated.

The group charged at Xyrin, but he suddenly raised his hands and scowled as he closed his eyes. An invisible force flung them back.

Yorna landed on some unstable floor and started to slide down towards the drop to the city below. Makith grabbed her hand before she fell, trying to pull her back up.

Navien started to loose 3 shadow arrows at Xyrin each hitting the mark, but he simply shrugged them off.

“Witness the power of the dark dwarves, smiths of torture,” Xyrin said as he clicked a button on the wall.

A stick shot out of the ground, Xyrin pressed a button on its top and the lights in the room shone brightly as they shot beams out to the party, creating the sound of wailing, like a hundred tortured souls.

One scraped Drinial on his arm, he cried out!

Several hit Navien straight in the chest as he was about to cast a spell, he tumbled back and for a moment all he could see was nothing.