It was the entrance they had been searching for.

Jamie was the first to step onto the narrow stone staircase. Thomas followed closely behind, his eyes scanning their surroundings, with Holz bringing up the rear. The stairwell was oppressively tight, the walls pressing in on either side. The air was heavy and still, carrying the scent of damp stone and the faint tang of something indefinable, perhaps decay.

The descent was treacherous, the steps worn uneven by time and slick with moisture. Jamie's hand trailed along the wall for balance. He couldn't help but worry about navigating the claustrophobic passage and how they would defend themselves if they had to fight.

They continued downward, the staircase seeming endless. Just when it felt they would descend another level, the steps stopped. They went down what felt like three stories before their feet finally touched solid ground at the base of the stairwell.

Before them stretched a corridor, its length vanishing into darkness. Their eyes had begun to adjust to the darkness, discerning the vague outlines of the passage, but save for the occasional torch with embers still burning; there was little to light their way.

[Dancing Lights]

Jamie raised a hand while casting his spell. Wisps of luminescent energy unfurled from his fingers, coalescing into four pale orbs that floated before them. The light they cast was tinged with a bluish hue that gave the corridor an otherworldly appearance.

The walls were constructed of dark stone, rough and damp to the touch. Spidery veins of moss and lichen grew over the surfaces. The air was thick with the scent of earth and rot as if the corridor itself exhaled decay.

"Ugh," Holz grimaced, pulling a cloth from his satchel and tying it over his nose and mouth. "What died down here?"

Jamie exchanged a glance with Thomas. "Let's hope we don't have to find out.

For several minutes, they walked slowly, the only sound being the soft echo of their footsteps. However, as they ventured deeper, a strange noise began to seep into the silence, a distant, rhythmic pounding that seemed to emanate from the far end of the corridor.

Jamie halted abruptly, sensing a change in the atmosphere. The stone walls that had enclosed them thus far abruptly transformed, giving way to towering iron bars that stretched from floor to ceiling.

Intrigued, they approached the bars to see what lay beyond. Jamie raised his hand, allowing the orb of light he'd conjured to illuminate beyond the bars.

Their hearts clenched with horror as they saw dozens or maybe hundreds of people hanging suspended by their wrists and ankles. Each one's mouth was cruelly sewn shut, silencing any plea or moan they might have uttered. Even as the light bathed their ashen faces, there was no reaction. Their eyes were vacant, bodies limp. They seemed utterly broken.

"My gods," Holz whispered, terror gripping his voice at the thought that his wife might share this fate. He rushed to the bars, gripping them tightly as he scanned the anguished faces for any sign of her. Desperation fueled his attempts to wrench the iron apart, but the bars remained intact despite his efforts.

"There's got to be a way in. A key or a door," Jamie suggested. "If they were put in there, there must be an entrance."

"Yes... yes," Holz agreed, though his voice trembled with anxiety.

Jamie examined the iron barrier closely, searching for any mechanism or lock. Instead, his gaze was drawn downward. The floor beyond the bars was etched with intricate carvings, hundreds of interlocking circles, and symbols inscribed directly into the stone. Strange words spiraled within the patterns.

'What the hell is this?' Jamie questioned himself.

But there was no time to dwell on mysteries. With a final, regretful glance at the imprisoned souls, they resumed their advance down the corridor. The muffled pounding grew louder, the rhythmic thumping resonating through the stone walls like the heartbeat of some unseen beast. Each step intensified the sound until it swelled to a nearly deafening crescendo.

Just as Jamie was about to take another step, Thomas grasped his shoulder firmly. Jamie turned to see his friend's eyes wide with alarm, sweat beading on his brow, his hands trembling slightly.

"Wait. Just wait," Thomas whispered urgently. "I don't know what we've stumbled into, but this... this is the kind of thing they warn us about in the Academy. Drums… those drums." He stopped for a moment, gathering some courage to continue. "These sound like ritual drums. We need to get out of here."

Jamie looked at him, confusion and concern etched on his face. "A ritual? What kind?"

"Only the gods know," Thomas replied, his voice barely audible over the pounding. "But I can promise you it won't be anything good."

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Jamie had never seen Thomas so gripped by fear.

"I can't turn back now," Holz declared, his voice tinged with desperation. "If my wife is part of that ritual, it means she's involved in... who knows what."

Jamie stood between the two, torn by indecision. He couldn't abandon Holz, not when his wife's fate hung in the balance, but if the risk was too great, leading them into certain death would help no one.

"Let's at least see what's ahead," Jamie proposed cautiously. "If it's too dangerous, we'll retreat."

Thomas's expression twisted with apprehension. His fists clenched at his sides, knuckles white. Every instinct screamed at him to run, yet he couldn't bring himself to leave them behind.

Ahead, the narrow corridor opened into a vast, vaulted chamber. An enormous stone archway framed the entrance. From where they stood, they could see a short flight of steps descending into the room below.

Creeping forward, they peered into the chamber. At its center stood four figures. Three of them formed the points of a triangle. They were cloaked in dark robes, hoods drawn up to obscure their faces, hands raised as they chanted in a guttural language that sent shivers down Jamie's spine.

But it was the figure at the center that got their attention.

"By the gods," Thomas whispered, barely audible. "A Cambion."

The creature stood tall and imposing, with bright crimson skin. Leathery wings folded gracefully behind its back, each membrane etched with veins. A single obsidian horn jutted from its forehead, curving slightly upward. Its eyes glowed like fire.

"What is that?" Jamie breathed, unable to tear his eyes away.

"A Cambion," Thomas explained, his voice tight with dread. "A half-demon. A spawn of otherworldly beings and mortals. This is the stuff of nightmares."

"Can we fight it?" Jamie asked though he could guess the answer.

Thomas shook his head slowly. "That's something no one at our level can hope to defeat. Not without serious magic or divine intervention."

Holz's eyes darted between his companions and the ritual unfolding below. "What are they trying to summon?" he asked urgently.

"Only a cleric or a skilled sorcerer might know," Thomas replied, his gaze fixated on the Cambion. "But whatever it is, it can't be good."

Symbols drawn on the stone floor began to glow, intricate patterns that wove together, forming a lattice of light beneath the participants' feet.

"It's starting," Holz whispered.

"Father didn't tell me we would have guests," the Cambion's voice echoed from within the chamber, catching Jamie and his companions off guard. The unexpected words sent a jolt of alarm through them, hearts quickening as they realized they had been discovered.

"But don't worry," he continued smoothly, his voice dripping with condescension. "My work is almost complete."

Without warning, he raised his hand, extending three slender fingers toward the ceiling. Jamie felt an invisible force grip him by the back of the neck, a cold, unnerving sensation that yanked him off his feet. He gasped as he began to levitate, ascending swiftly until he was suspended near the vaulted ceiling at the center of the grand chamber. The air around him crackled with arcane energy.

Thomas and Holz watched in horror as Jamie was lifted helplessly into the air. They reached out instinctively, but their feet remained rooted to the spot, held fast by an unseen power.

"Once I've finished, you'll be able to admire my masterpiece," the Cambion declared, casting his gaze over them with a chilling serenity. "And then, at last, I'll be free."

From the palm of his outstretched hand, tendrils of crimson energy began to unfurl like serpents, slithering and snapping as they branched out in all directions.

"Open the gate!" he commanded, his voice rising in a resonant crescendo.

The crimson rays converged, merging into beams of searing light that struck the three robed figures positioned at the vertices of the triangle inscribed on the stone floor.

The beams pierced them simultaneously. For a heartbeat, time seemed to freeze. Then, with a horrifying eruption, the cultists exploded into fragments, blood, flesh, and bone bursting outward in a gruesome spectacle. A rain of blood cascaded over the chamber, splattering the walls and pooling on the cold stone floor.

The blood began to flow, rivulets snaking along the etched grooves of intricate runes carved into the floor. The chamber trembled, and a low rumble echoed from the depths below.

Echoes of despair resounded throughout the mansion. Agonized screams and tormented wails reverberated through the corridors. Explosions thundered in rapid succession as though the very fabric of the building were tearing itself apart.

From the center of the chamber, directly beneath where Jamie was suspended, the stone floor began to crack and split. Slender pillars emerged, rising like skeletal fingers clawing their way from the underworld. The pillars were pristine white, gleaming like ivory despite the surrounding carnage.

Between them, the air shimmered and distorted. A swirling vortex formed. A portal that yawned open, its depths an abyss of darkness shot through with chaotic flashes of light. The very atmosphere grew heavy, charged with a sense of impending doom.

"I leave you with my friend," the Cambion said, his voice laced with mocking courtesy. "Do be careful."

With a dismissive flick of his wrist, he released his hold. The invisible force vanished, and Jamie plummeted toward the ground. He hit the stone floor hard, the impact jarring every bone in his body. Pain shot through him, but adrenaline surged, compelling him to move.

The Cambion inclined his head in a mock bow before his form began to fade, dissolving into shadows. His laughter lingered, echoing hauntingly even after he vanished from sight.

Jamie struggled to his feet, his limbs trembling. The sight that met his eyes was the stuff of nightmares. From within the portal, a massive arm emerged. Its skin was a deep, obsidian black that absorbed the light. Muscles rippled beneath the surface, and veins pulsed with dark energy. The hand ended in elongated fingers tipped with razor-sharp nails, each the length of a dagger.

With a heave, the arm grasped the portal's edge and began to pull the rest of its colossal body through the breach.

"Run!" Jamie shouted.

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