If the group of five who had descended into the depths of the Molten Core had been asked to fill out a survey regarding their experience, the predominant sensation they would have reported was one of stress. The environment was hot and dark, mimicking what an oven might feel like quite well, only that you wouldn’t have to worry about some strange monster made of dark stone jumping out of the wall to shank you while in the oven. So, maybe an oven would actually be a more welcoming environment, which was a strange thing to say, let alone imagine.

And there was a lot of imagining going on whenever they didn’t need to worry about getting shanked by one of the numerous stony minions of this place. They imagined themselves in a more pleasant place, which helped with the inordinate amount of stress they were under. Just a few seconds of dreaming about a nice, sandy beach and a cool drink, complete with one of these silly little umbrellas stuck in the beverage, was enough to restore the mental strength to push on for just a few more minutes. Even resting in the few somewhat safe places within the dungeon didn’t do much to restore them physically; the heat was omnipresent and inevitable. Sure, they had received some succour from it thanks to the blessing placed upon them by Lady Luna, and they had some traits to make things more bearable, but even with all that, staying in what had to be an area well above forty degrees Celsius was unpleasant. It couldn’t be anything but unpleasant, and the frequent fights that forced them to physically exert themselves only made things worse.

Still, they managed to push on, partially to prove themselves, partially out of a sense of duty and partially because they occasionally felt an outside force giving them just a gentle push, taking away the heat for just a few moments and soothing their aches just a little. They couldn’t be certain where those brief bursts of relief came from, but after quietly talking about it, they soon decided that the relief came from the pendants they were wearing. They linked them to Lady Morgana outside, transmitting information to her, so why shouldn’t she be able to somehow assist them through them?

And the assistance was quite welcome. Beyond the heat and darkness of the dungeon, the many monsters they had to fight were also a serious problem. The simplest, those they had been fighting from nearly the start, were rocky versions of the Bitumen. The same form and even the same fluid movement, despite their bodies being made out of black stone, and capable of dealing a lot more damage. Instead of flinging burning goop, these Bitumen were flinging shards of molten stone and could strike hard enough to break their own, stony limbs. Only for those limbs to fuse back together moments later, a benefit the delvers didn’t have on their side.

Further down in the dungeon, the delvers were faced with crabs made of the same black material, their stony carapaces able to withstand all but the strongest of blows. Additionally, these crabs had their pincers to sever anything unlucky enough to be caught in their grasp and could even launch volleys of heated rock from them. Just like they had learned when fighting the large monsters outside, the group focused on taking out their legs and pinning these crabs down before searching for their weak points, slowly and methodically taking these monsters apart. They even took the time to harvest some of the bodies, looking for interesting material they could take back, something Lady Luna and Lady Morgana had both requested independently.

Finally, the third type of normal enemy they had to face, beyond variants of Bitumen and Fire Crabs, were Molten Giants. These were quite similar to the Bitumen in form, only that the Molten Giants were, well, they were giant. Where a Bitumen was somewhere between a metre and a half and two metres in height, a Molten Giant clocked in at four metres or more, providing an entirely different challenge. Sure, their behaviour and abilities were similar enough, just with the giants taking it up to eleven or more, but the sheer size made their usual tactics difficult. Luckily, the Molten Giants weren’t all that common, and their size could be used against them, especially when the group could retreat into a narrower part of the Dungeon. There, the Molten Giants were essentially helpless and could only retreat, allowing the delver group to dictate the encounter.

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However, fighting through scores of enemies was only part of the challenge the dungeon posed. There were also the trials of agility, strength and of the mind, forcing the group to perform perilous feats in order to advance. These ranged from an obstacle course, only that the course was above veins of molten stone, turning any tumble from a nuisance into a deadly occurrence. The heat and noxious scents and gases also turned the obstacle course into a challenge of endurance and resilience, causing Harry, the one chosen to perform it, to cough endlessly at the end of it. Luckily, only one of them needed to complete it, before a mechanism could be engaged to turn it from an obstacle course into a brief walk across a somewhat narrow ledge.

The feat of strength required Oliver to move a heavy boulder placed in a narrow passageway, with veins of molten stone encased in the walls, just below the surface, raising the already high temperature to a truly threatening level. Luckily, they could make the challenge a little easier by cleverly blocking the stone from rolling back down, allowing him to rest a few times. Otherwise, the trial would have been truly Sisyphian, only worse thanks to the heat.

Lastly, the trials of the Mind were based on a combination of logical puzzles and reasoning, combined with a bit of mental pressure, as the puzzle needed to be completed quickly, with a visible column of molten stone threatening to engulf the one working on it if any mistake was made. By the time Angelina was finished with it, her clothing was thoroughly soaked in sweat, and her mind was completely frazzled, barely hanging on.

But despite these challenges, the group managed. They also succeeded in defeating multiple bosses along the way. Each boss used one of the usual monsters as the base, but took it up to eleven. Or maybe even up to twelve, there wasn’t a useful scale to them. The Bitumen-Boss was just the usual size, but a lot faster in all aspects. Faster regeneration, faster projectiles and faster movement, forcing the group to dig deeply into their tricks and to use everything they could think of to overcome this foe. Ultimately, it was the connection between Fred and George that came in clutch, allowing them to outwit this dangerous foe, disable its mobility and strike from unexpected angles. Otherwise, it might have been able to overcome the group and end their delve.

Then there was the Molten Colossus, a Molten Giant a little over six metres in height. With the increased height came the expected increase in durability and strength, but luckily, the thing’s speed was unchanged. That unchanged speed allowed Harry and Angelina to outwit it, using a few narrow chambers and some of the precious water they carried with them to create a steam explosion within the Colossus’ torso, breaking apart its rocky form. Otherwise, the group would have been hard pressed to break through the thing’s defences, let alone deal fatal damage to it.

The Fire Crab King, on the other hand, was almost benign in comparison. It was larger and stronger than its brethren, yes, and its ability to launch volleys of deadly stone couldn’t be underestimated, but Oliver managed to get some leverage and flip it on its back, leaving it vulnerable to their attack and soon defeated.

Finally, the group made it to the last chamber. Dirty and exhausted, yes, carrying with them the wounds of their many encounters, but with their wills unbroken. They would finish this dungeon and they would return to the surface successfully, as saviours of their village. The Molten Core would be sealed, the burned land extinguished, giving their community all the time they needed to prepare for the future.

Within that final chamber, before a massive pool of bubbling, molten stone, the group of five placed the different tokens they had acquired during their delve on prepared stone plinths, each plinth marked with a symbol signifying the trial that had to be overcome to activate it. After the first three tokens were placed, the bubbling of the pool intensified, making them hurry to place the rest of the tokens. With each token placed, they could feel the oppressive atmosphere within the chamber become a little lighter, only to realise that two of the plinths would remain empty, making them briefly wonder what they had missed within the dungeon.

Then, just after they placed their last token, the bubbling pool exploded outwards, splashing molten stone everywhere. Only by taking cover behind the plinths did the group manage to avoid injury, but relief about that lasted only for a moment. Then, they beheld the massive serpentine creature rising out of the pool, and any relief died a fiery death.

A quick, maybe unwise, Observe told them what they were faced with. The Molten Lindwurm.