Following Aurora's voice, Storm came to a large Mural that had the layout of the entire mountain carved into it.
Storm studied the layout, trying to determine where they were right now.
Using the pit as a starting point, he retracted the paths they took until he got to the large chamber we were in now.
"It seems we are here." Said Storm.
He tapped the position with a claw.
"If we go down that corridor over there, keep going left, then we should end up here."
He pointed to a chamber that seemed to be open to the outside of the mountain.
The name 'auxiliary freight lift' was carved on the mural at the location.
"Do you think we can use it to get out?" Asked Aurora.
"It seems like it.
Let's hope for the best."
With their route planned out. They explored the rest of the market.
Aurora came to a corpse of a dwarf that was remarkably well preserved despite it's age.
It was holding a large book tightly in it's grip. She carefully removed the tome and blew the dust off it's cover.
She opened the book and frowned at the strange runes written in it's pages.
"Storm! Can you make out what this is saying?"
He took the book from her and carefully began reading the text.
"It's written in High Dwarfish.
This particular dialect hasn't been used in years.
I should be able to figure this out though. " said Storm.
Storm studied the text closer.
"Seems to be an account of what happened to the settlement.
The corruption overcame the lower levels instantly and killed everyone staying there at the time.
The dead rose and the dwarves collapsed the lifts and passages to the lower levels to keep them contained.
Seems like they survived for many more decades like this.
Living off the emergency stores as well as whatever they could grow on the top of the mountain and in the Greenhouses. " Explained Storm.
"What happened to them then if they had everything contained?" Asked Aurora.
"Mimereus, He assaulted the settlement and began hunting them one by one through the tunnels.
Seems like this was the last settlement standing at the end." Answered Storm.
"Anything about an way to escape?"
Storm shook his head.
"The dwarves never found one!
But they didn't have wings.
I'm confident we can still use the path we've decided on to escape. "
Storm turned to the next page.
"Ohhh!!! Those clever little mountain moles!!
Seems they cataloged any abilities Mimereus displayed and recorded it here if anyone came afterwards and intended to fight him!!" Exclaimed Storm.
"Anything we can use against him!!?" Asked Aurora.
Storm studied the list.
"Immune to physical attacks while in darkness, shows high aptitude in an variety of magics, including:death magic, necromancy, barrier wards, teleportation.
Breath weapon is a dark mist that rips the soul out of a victim's body for consumption. " Explained Storm.
"CONSUMPTION!?" Exclaimed Aurora.
Storm ignored her and continued reading.
"Known weaknesses: Vulnerability to magical attacks, and bright light causes him to become corporeal and vulnerable to attack.
Sunlight in particular is deadly and banishes him for the day, but he always reforms again the next night." Finished Storm.
Storm considered the new information.
"We can work with work with this!
The fact that light makes him vulnerable to attack and that he is vulnerable to magic are weaknesses we can exploit. " said Storm.
Storm went back to the cavern layout and began to think up a new plan.
"Storm!! Look!!" Aurora called.
She pointed at the entrance they used to enter the cavern.
A think dark mist blocked the tunnel, Mimereus's outline could be seen through the mist, as well as the purple glow of his eyes.
He had clearly spotted them, but he was standing in one place and seemed to be waiting for something.
"Why isn't he attacking?" Asked Aurora.
Storm considered it for a moment.
"He's playing with us!!" Realized Storm.
He was letting them stay one step ahead in order to prolong the hunt.
Storm knew that it won't last.
Eventually he'll grow tired of the game and finish them off, but while he was underestimating Storm, he could use it to best him.
"Your confidence will be your undoing." Thought Storm.
"This way!!" Called Storm.
They began running down the pathway Storm had indicated. The distant tremors indicated that Mimereus was in pursuit .
Then the tunnel began to divide, Aurora started angling towards the leftmost tunnel.
"Not that way!!
Follow me!!" Yelled Storm as he went to the tunnel on the right.
"But!! That's the wrong way!!" Exclaimed Aurora.
"We're not running! Just trust me!" Answered Storm.
Aurora seemed doubtful, but chose to follow Storm's instructions.
Storm took the lead and guided them to a large open cavern.
Several old fields of long dead crops were gathered around a large tower in the center.
On top of the tower was a massive orb. It was currently dull and lifeless.
"Aurora!! I need you to get that thing charged!!" Called Storm.
He pointed at the large orb on top of the tower.
"How am I supposed to do that!!?" Retorted Aurora.
"You need to feed it magic!
Enough to ignite the spark inside.
Just focus on it and transfer magic to it." Answered Storm.
"What are you going to do?!"
"Keep Mimereus busy!" Replied Storm.
Aurora flew off towards the tower and Storm turned around and prepared to stand his ground.
He didn't have to wait long before Mimereus entered the cavern.
He seemed surprised to see Storm waiting for him.
"No more running, Mimereus! Let us end this!" Called Storm.
It was difficult to judge his reaction to the challenge due to him lacking a face.
But Storm suspected that he was amused by his bravado.
The mist at Mimereus's feet suddenly solidified and formed tentacles that lashed out at Storm.
He jumped to the side but soon realized that the attack was just a distraction.
Before he could react, Mimereus closed the gap between them and struck Storm with a swipe of his tail.
As Storm went flying through the air, a tentacle formed out of Mimereus's shoulder and struck him from above and slammed him back into the ground.
Storm winced as he got back to his feet.
"Not a good start!!" Thought Storm.
Storm did his best to keep Mimereus at a distance.
He knew of Mimereus's soul draining mist and wasn't sure if the mist cloaking Mimereus's body had the same effect.
Storm opened his mouth and prepared to unleash a blast of lightning.
Mimereus reared up and prepared to block the attack with magic.
As Storm fired the bolt however, Mimereus evaded the attack instead of letting it connect.
He seemed suprised by the attack, and that gave Storm confidence.
He fired again, but instead of evading this time, he formed a barrier that swallowed up the attack, before firing the lightning back at Storm.
It struck and arced between his scales, before his body calmed it and absorbed it back into his body.
" Good effort! But that trick won't work!" Thought Storm.