“Clear.” Zee said softly over the radio.

Eli watched as Seraphina came through the portal next, followed by Aratessa and her small group of dark elves. Each of them were clad in all-black armour that somehow walked the line between ‘medieval’ and ‘modern military’. It seamlessly meshed steel plates with kevlar to cover vital organs, but was light enough that it wouldn’t hinder their movements in battle. They each had a suppressed pistol tucked into a leg holster, and carried a variety of wickedly curved knives, swords, and other melee weapons. Their white hair had been tucked behind a variety of black helmets and bandanas, further enhancing their ability to blend into the shadows. Their look was completed with backpacks and black utility belts that held a variety of items they thought they might need.

As the last elf stepped through the portal, Eli heard Minerva’s voice crackle over the radio. “Alright, that’s everyone through. Good luck, and come home safely.”

Eli allowed his concentration to lapse, dismissing the spell. The shimmering blue substance vanished with a soft whoosh, and he immediately knelt as the headache and dizziness from mana exhaustion overtook him. Reaching into his bandolier in front of him, he unscrewed a flask and drank back a mana potion while the rest of their group moved to the door of the portal room.

As he recovered, he took a moment to look around the room. It felt strangely familiar to the castle in Purgatory, with the walls, floor, and ceiling made of dark grey stone. Magical chandeliers overhead cast a pale flickering light through the room, causing the shadows to writhe and move along the unadorned walls unnervingly.

As the mana-drain induced feelings faded, Eli took a deep breath and stood. Seeing that the rest of the group was already waiting for him he jogged towards the door, standing in line behind Zee, Ziran, and Sira. With a quick nod the 4 of them began casting their mirage spells in unison.

“Qarn al-Dhilat!”

As soon as it was done, they moved through the door into the hallway beyond. It was made of the same dark grey stone as the portal room they’d just left, but where the portal room was featureless and barren the hallway seemed to be anything but. Every inch of space along the walls was occupied by rich tapestries depicting the history of the House of the Snake, and gold statues of elves, naga, and lizardkin were placed at regular intervals along the sides of the hallway.

“Clear.” Zee announced over the radio, seeing no guards or staff in the immediate area. “Everyone move up.”

They continued like this down the hallway, with Eli and the desert elves using their mirages to scout ahead before calling for the rest of the group to join them. Zee softly called for a halt when they reached a doorway off to the side.

“Eli, you’re up.” She said.

Summoning his mana, Eli called upon his ice magic and used the new trick he’d taught himself while preparing for the last few days.

“Ledyanaya ravnina”

He whispered the incantation while pushing only the barest amount of mana into it. Ice immediately began to form along the base of the door, sealing it shut. He cut off the flow of mana almost instantly, knowing he’d likely need to repeat the trick several more times.

It doesn’t need to be completely sealed shut. He reminded himself. Just enough to slow them down if we need to make an escape.

The minutes ticked by as they continued to move down the hallway. Each time they passed another doorway Zee called for a halt and Eli would seal it shut. Their progress was excruciatingly slow and methodical for him, but he trusted Zee’s infiltration experience. When they reached a T-intersection in the path, Zee spoke over the radio.

“Everyone hold up here. We should have encountered at least one set of patrolling guards by now. I don’t want to get caught in the intersection, so I’m going to scout ahead.”

“Take Ziran and Sira.” Eli said. “And check in over the radio.”

“Got it.” Zee replied.

The 3 desert elves moved around the corner and to the left towards their objective – a wide, winding staircase that led to the lower floors of the castle. As they moved out Eli ducked behind a gold statue of a naga, dismissing his mirage to save mana. His eyes wandered to a floor-to-ceiling tapestry hung on the opposite wall which showed what looked like tens of thousands of dark elves kneeling in front of a throne. Sitting on the throne was a dark elven woman with a snake laying across her shoulders, and on either side stood a naga and a lizardkin.

“Hey Aratessa, did that really happen?” He asked softly, nodding to the tapestry.

She looked at the tapestry for a moment before nodding. “Yes. If I’m remembering my history correctly, this took place several hundred years ago.”

“You’d think if they had this many followers their castle would be a bit less…empty, I guess?”

She shook her head. “They were amongst the last to attack my grandmother openly, letting the other houses take heavy losses before joining the battle. As a result, when they and the other houses exiled us, they had the largest remaining force – and therefore assumed the throne for themselves.”

Eli chuckled humorlessly. “Snakes.” He said, fulling intending the double-entendre.

“Exactly. I believe this tapestry depicts that moment. From what I understand though, they’ve had a fall from grace since then, relying on their alliances for survival. That’s why we haven’t run into more guards.”

He was about to ask a follow-up question but it was cut off by Zee over the radio. “You’ve got company. 6 guards, headed your way.”

Eli and the dark elves moved immediately, ducking behind gold statues and tapestries. They blended into the shadows almost perfectly, their all-black outfits hiding them. Eli reactivated his mirage and held his breath, listening closely as the sound of voices and armoured footsteps neared them from around the corner.

After a few minutes of waiting with baited breath, the guards came into view. Unlike Eli’s group they had no reason to hide, wearing shining silver plate armour and carrying a variety of melee weapons and crossbows. They clearly didn’t take their job of patrolling very seriously given their relaxed posture, their joking attitudes, and the fact that none of them seemed particularly interested in glancing down the darkened hallway where they were hiding. Instead, they seemed engaged in a lively debate about something.

This far behind their defenses though, I guess I can understand their lax attitude. Eli thought to himself.

“-There is no chance.” One of them said loudly.

“I’m telling you, don’t discount the Spider Queen!” One of the other guards replied. “She’s got that glaive from her grandmother, she could beat the Raven Queen in a fight.”

“You’ve never seen the Raven Queen fight.” The first guard replied. “I have. I watched her with those daggers, she’s unstoppable. They’re like talons.”

“Yeah, well both of them would lose to Lady Nyx.” A third guard interjected. “Staff or no staff, she’s got both shadow and life magic. And her husband can do spatial magic.”

“We’re just talking about 1-on-1 though.” The second guard countered before grinning cruelly. “Besides, if the Spider Queen wants to play with a staff, I’ve got one right here for her.”

He finished his statement by grabbing his crotch, causing all the guards to laugh. “You’re always thinking with your dick.” A fourth guard replied, this one a woman.

“It doesn’t matter.” The first guard said. “We’re going to crush the little spider long before you get a chance with her.” He paused, then matched his comrade’s wicked grin. “Though I wouldn’t mind a few rounds with her either.”

That’s about enough of that. Eli thought to himself, summoning his mana.

“Mellonamin coimasen!”

Vines and roots burst forward from the ground beneath the guards, entangling their arms and legs before they could react. The group of dark elves were on them in a flash, each of them grabbing a guard from behind and slitting their throats soundlessly in a practiced fashion. The guards continued to writhe for another few seconds before they stopped and Eli released the spell, dismissing the entangling vines and allowing the dark elves to pull their bodies into the shadows before stripping them of their armour and placing it into backpacks.

“Guards are dealt with.” Eli said into the radio. “We’re on the clock before they get discovered though. How goes?”

Zee answered immediately. “Path to the stairway is clear, but I think we’ve got another problem.”

“What is it?” Eli asked.

“You’d…better come see for yourself. Stay quiet though.”

Nodding, Eli urged the group forward. They turned left down the intersection and continued down the winding staircase to the bottom floor, sealing the doors as they went. When they reached the bottom they met Zee, Ziran, and Sira – all of whom had already dismissed their mirage. Eli furrowed his brow and was about to ask before Zee opened the door beyond them, causing him to shake his head in disbelief.

“Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes?” He said under his breath.

The room was filled with serpents of all sizes. Some looked to be venomous cobras, only a few feet long but with fangs that protruded from their top lips. Others were enormous pythons, easily 30 or 40 feet long with powerful muscular bodies. There were snakes of every size in between, huddled around a set of glowing crystals scattered across the room that gave off enough heat that Eli could feel it – even from this distance. Based on the maps they’d received from the Raven Queen’s spies, the door they needed to enter was on the other end of the room.

“They look like they’re sleeping.” Eli whispered. “Any chance we can get around them?”

“I don’t think so.” Zee replied. “Watch.”

She carefully placed one foot into the room. The second her foot touched the floor the light and heat from the crystals vanished, and the snakes started to stir. She immediately pulled her foot back, causing the crystals to reignite and the serpentine guardians to resettle.

“An enchantment of some sort?” Eli asked.

“I think so. Can you drain it?” Zee asked.

Eli shrugged before summoning his mana again.

“Qoy’ chaw’ qulSar!”

His mana vision lit up the room, allowing him to see far more than before. It looked like there was indeed an enchantment underneath the floor, but it was hidden under several inches of stone. As he looked around he realized that there were overlapping enchantments running underneath the entirety of the floor, as well as the ceiling, walls, and opposite door. He caught sight of several ominous-looking piles of bones as he dismissed the spell, causing him to shake his head.

“The enchantment is under the stone. I can’t touch it – so I can’t drain it. The walls, ceiling, and opposite door are enchanted too, so we can’t touch those.”

“Options?” Aratessa asked from behind them. “I don’t mean to rush us, but someone will find those guard’s bodies eventually.”

“Can we fight them?” Eli asked. “If we go in hard with lots of spells, we could probably take a lot of them out in the first attack.”

“We’re going to make way too much noise that way.” Zee countered. “And I don’t want to deal with snakes and guards at the same time.”

“Can we go around?” Eli asked.

“This is the only route that didn’t take us near the guards barracks or the staff quarters.” Zee said. “Unless you want to take your chances with one of them.”

“No.” Eli said, shaking his head before turning to Aratessa. “How about your magic? Can you shadow-step us across?”

She peeked her head inside the room for a moment before scowling and shaking her head. “No. See the way the crystals are arranged? There aren’t enough shadows right in front of the door. I’d have to go to one of those corners, then we’d have to fight our way through the snakes from there.”

“Mirages?” Eli continued to run through their options.

“Animals are harder to fool than sapient beings.” Ziran said from behind them. “Reptiles especially, because they use their sense of smell just as much as their sense of sight. Our mirages just fool the eyes, so I don’t think that would work.”

“Shit.” Eli swore. “Can we all just acknowledge that this a little over the top? The whole pit full of vipers thing?”

“The Snake always had a flair for the dramatic.” Aratessa replied. “This is no different. Though in fairness I have a lair of spiders and a hydra, so I can’t really talk.”

Slowly, Zee started to grin. “Over-the-top, you say?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Why don’t we just float over the top then?” Zee asked.

Eli furrowed his brow, then his eyes went wide. “Spatial magic.” He said. “That’s going to be tough though.”

“You can do it.” Zee assured him. “I’ve seen you toss people and objects around like they’re nothing.”

“It’s not that.” He replied. “That’s just using brute force. This is about having perfect control. I can’t touch the floors, the ceiling, the walls…nothing.”

“You can do it.” Aratessa added. “I believe in you.”

Taking a steadying breath, Eli nodded. “Alright. Who’s going first?”

“Me.” Zee said instantly, showing her confidence in him.

Reaching into his bandolier again, Eli drank back another foul-tasting mana potion to top off his reserves before nodding. Standing behind Zee, he summoned his magic and cast one of the first spells he learned.

“Snámh Objet!”

Pushing too much mana into the spell at first, she raised off the ground until her head brushed the ceiling just outside the room. Wincing slightly he dialed back the amount of mana he was pushing into the spell, causing her to drop a few inches until she was perfectly centered inside the doorway. Using only the barest amount of mana, he cast a second spell.

“Ventilabis Retro!”

Zee began to move slowly above the floor, tucking her legs in to ensure that she minimized the risk of accidentally disturbing the nest of snakes beneath her. If it wasn’t for her being in danger, the sight of her floating serenely above the ground would be a comical one.

Eli began to sweat slightly from the exertion of holding both spells as Zee passed the halfway point of the 100 foot long room. It wasn’t from mana drain induced feelings either – it was from the concentration of having to keep his flow of mana steady throughout. Up until now he’d always used his magic as either a hammer or a feather – as light as possible or as heavy as possible. This was more like using a scalpel – difficult, precise work that required intense focus on his part.

When she was within 25 feet of the door, Aratessa gently placed her hand on Eli’s back in what was meant to be a show of support. The touch surprised him and broke his concentration for a moment, causing Zee’s feet to brush the ground. His eyes went wide as Aratessa retracted her hand instantly and the light from the crystals flickered, causing the snakes to stir.

Eli refocused his mana and lifted Zee off the ground again, holding her steady for a moment. The snakes around her continued to stir, somewhere between being awake and asleep. A particularly large python picked up its head and stuck its tongue out, tasting the air for a few moments. Its extraordinarily large serpentine head lolled back and forth before it settled next to its comrades, apparently content to go back to sleep. Eli distantly heard the elves around him breathe a sigh of relief as it fell back to sleep.

Not wanting to tempt fate any further, Eli continued pushing his mana into his duo of spells at a steady rate, crossing the last stretch faster than the first one. He dismissed one of the spells as Zee came within reaching distance of the door, allowing her to float in front of it for a moment.

She reached out her hand and tried to turn the handle before looking back and shaking her head at Eli. Turning back to the locked door she knocked softly 3 times, casting her mirage as she did. He dismissed the spell as a bewildered dark elf opened the door for a moment, causing the crystals to go dark. The snakes began to wake in earnest before Zee rushed inside and closed the door behind her, causing the pacifying crystals to turn back on.

Eli watched for a few moments as the floor came alive with writhing. Apparently the constant on-and-off of the crystals was enough to agitate the snakes, and several of them noticed Eli’s gawking from the doorway. He cursed softly before closing the door and calling out to Zee over the radio.

“Zee! We’re cut off. Status?”

There was a long pause that felt like it stretched for an eternity, then Zee responded. “I’m okay. Lady Nyx isn’t here, just some of her staff. There’s a lot of interesting looking information here though. You should see all this stuff.”

“I’d like to, but the snakes were waking up from that last round.” Eli said. “I don’t see how we’re getting across to you.”

“Hang on, let me see if there’s a failsafe or something on this end.” Zee replied.

There was another long pause as Zee investigated. Eli debated interrupting her several times, opening his mouth before deciding against it. After the third time he looked at Aratessa, who wore a mortified look on her face.

“What’s wrong?” He asked softly.

“I…broke your concentration. Eli I’m so-”

Eli didn’t let her finish the sentence, wrapping her in a tight embrace. “Shh. Don’t apologize. We can deal with it later, let’s just move on.”

Her red eyes locked with his gold ones before she nodded. “Alright. Just… I’m going to get Zee something nice when we get home.”

“I heard that. I like chocolate.” Zee joked over the radio, causing them to grin. “Alright, I think I’ve got it figured out. I’m going to do something – wait 30 seconds, then open the door and check. Cover your mouths when you do, just to be sure.”

Eli furrowed his brow, but trusted in her instructions. “Understood.”

He counted to 30, then pulled his shirt up over his mouth and opened the door. He immediately noticed that there was now a pink gas covering the floor, settling about 3 feet off the ground. Glancing around, he saw that all of the snakes were now asleep again – some of them with their eyes still open. He looked up just in time to see Zee open the door to the opposite end and usher them forward.
In a flash, Aratessa grabbed Eli and shadow-stepped behind Zee, transporting them into the war room. She moved aside just in time for the rest of her elves to repeat the motion one-by-one, with Seraphina transporting Ziran and Sira with her. Squinting through the door, Eli noticed that whatever was in the gas was enough to keep the snakes asleep despite the fact that the crystals were no longer active.

As soon as the last elf was through Zee closed the door. Not wanting to take any chances with whatever paralytic agent was in the gas, Eli quickly sealed it with his ice powers before drinking yet another mana potion. When he was done he turned around and saw a bank of computers next to a desk with some important-looking documents on it. The bodies of the dead attendants were on the floor next to them with knife wounds in their necks.

Eli strode over to the nearest computer quickly before beginning to type. Aratessa looked at him quizzically, furrowing her brow. “What are you doing?”

“They left this unlocked.” Eli said, referring to the dead attendants. “I want to see what the Snake’s been working on.”