Chrysalis

Quiet was something commander Titus had found very difficult to come across over the last few days. This expedition had come as surprise, well outside of the usual schedule and an endless number of things needed organising before departure.

The Queen providing her own personal Guards had been unexpected but helpful, the Legion had been expecting regular front line soldiers to plug the gaps, worthy soldiers to be sure but far from the quality and discipline of an outfit like the Guards.

With their assistance, most preparations were expedited the second they showed up in their burnished, decorative armour, polished to a mirror shine and started demanding things hustle along in the name of the Queen.

Titus brushed his hands along his desk, feel the smooth stone surface. Incredible stuff, stonewood, grew just a like a tree, straight out of the ground deep into the Dungeon, but was solid stone the whole way through. The flecked, dark texture of the stone had always pleased him, to the point he'd hauled this slab back to surface on his own back in order to fashion this desk.

His hand drew down to the underside of the desk, right next to the wooden draws that had been attached beneath the surface. He pressed for a moment and waited. There was a soft click and a small rectangular section of stone began to rise on the surface of the desk, its seams invisible just a second before.

Using one hand Titus lifted the section up to reveal a small fabric lined compartment beneath, inside were six small glass vials, capped with twisted silver carved with tiny but precise runes. Two of the vials were empty but the other four contained a brilliantly glowing liquid, the blue light instantly filling the dark office.

With a sigh Titus began to roll his sleeve up his arm, when the sleeve moved past his elbow, intricate script began to appear, stamped onto his skin. Concentric circles of strange symbols, not inked onto the skin but imprinted in some way that left them pulsing with a semblance of life.

Taking one of the vials, Titus placed the silver cap directly on the center of the network of symbols.

rotate and emit light. As they gathered speed the liquid began to drain out of the vial. Faster and faster they span until

returned the vial to case and fixed his sleeves. He then carefully returned the case to its compartment inside his desk

while. As always however, the injection lifted a weight off his shoulders that he hadn't quite realised was there. As if he'd been grinding his teeth and only now did he stop

these distractions, thought Titus, time to get back

hefted the huge mass of metal and threw the haft over

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why they are bringing those

why the ragged group of a dozen prisoners, each of them sentenced

a ranger and Donnelan as a Fire Mage. When a Legionary reached level thirty they were able to be promoted to full Legionary status, however the induction ceremony took

a bit anxious. None of the trainees had any idea what the ceremony was or why it had be done deep in the Dungeon and the full Legionaries who did know never said

first time she was struck by exactly how much common people didn't know about the Deep Legion. A private army that had existed for three thousand years, since civilisation had been brought to the brink of destruction when the Dungeon first opened, the Legion

secrets would be her secrets,

monsters that usually occupied this cavern where the weakest one could

be Dungeon mercs were still hurt here, no matter how many times they were told that Dungeon monster levels are totally different to monsters on the surface they would never listen. A level one monster down here could easily crush a

in the Legions' side. Everyone wants to level up, hunt monster cores and valuable components for profit but spare a thought for the Legion rescue teams who had to constantly

on all day and all night. Supplies had been brought into the cavern and lowered through a secret shaft in the wall. Donnelan had told her how the Earth Mages had undone their illusions and shifted the rock