24 Horisal 835

You climb the stairs and when you reach the top, the topmost statues come to life and attack. You fight them off and continue on inside. Here you can see a big hole in the ground, flooded with water. There seem to be three underground floors, getting darker and darker the lower you get. The third floor is half submerged with green water.

You descend the first carved stairs down to the first level. Due to moss and other plant growth the stairs are slippery, something Theraerys finds out when he slips and bounces down, hurting his bum in the process.

The first level consist of living quarters, an inn, kitchen, storage space, a small temple. Basically a small community would’ve lived here. You see murals, stone carvings and mosaics depicting the rise of Uk’otoa and the Ki’Nau people. No loot is found, everything is already picked clean (you see the footsteps of two dwarf-sized individuals). In one of the door openings you’re attacked by a vine, but no big deal.

On the second level you find a tribe of Grung, who communicate with Amadi in a language the rest don’t understand. You come to an arrangement: you kill the fish in the third level, and they will pay you three diamonds. You also get permission to look at the murals in this level, which depict the downfall of Uk’otoa (chained deep under the ocean) and the decline of the Ki’Nau.

You kill the swarm of piranhas in the third level, but not before Theraerys sticks his right foot in the water after Seivarden dropped blood in the water, causing a major feeding frenzy in the little fish. That was a very painful mistake. At the entrance to the third floor rooms, two armors with greatswords stand guard. One gets a noose around his neck and is hoisted above the water - he throws his sword into the air which starts to attack on its own. The second armor and its sword join the fight, but they are defeated in a few rounds.

On the third level you find laboratories and hatcheries, and two chests: one containing 4 vials of Jungle Fever, and the other contains 4 vials of antidote. A door to a fourth level is found, but a quick scout by Amadi later it is decided to leave it alone. It contained a bunch of cells doors, an intricate mosaic on the floor, and four floating shadows in the water - it is deemed not worth the risk, so after a short rest with your new friends the Grung, you leave Ankèt behind.