The expedition column marched out from the vast subterranean basilica, leaving the crushed remains of the two Anointed Wardens buried beneath tons of marble rubble.
Ahead stretched the grand southern causeway, an ancient subterranean highway sixty paces wide flanked by monolithic rows of petrified solar warriors carved from black volcanic basalt.
The architecture reflected the terrifying engineering might of the ancient Sun Emperor, built to withstand the seismic upheavals of planetary calamity.
Yet as the company descended deeper into the mountain roots, the pristine geometric stonework showed increasing signs of violent, ancient structural trauma.
Deep fissures split the polished flagstones, venting thick ribbons of sulfurous vapor that carried the sharp, metallic tang of dormant geothermal furnaces.
The ambient air temperature climbed steadily with every half-league of their advance, the faint subterranean draft replaced by an oppressive, dry heat that parched their throats.
