The forest finally spat them out—
not gently, not mercifully, but like survivors crawling from a beast's maw.
But the nightmare didn't end.
The mountain began.
And dwarven traps only evolved when stone surrounded them.
The moment their boots met the first ridge—
CLANK—SHHRRRT—WHOOOM!
Three steel plates slid open beneath loose gravel, releasing a barrage of dart-like shards. Aurelia barely managed to deflect two with her spear, but a third grazed her arm.
"—Tch!" she hissed, clutching the welt as a thin ribbon of blood trickled down.
Selena froze the remaining darts mid-air, her chest heaving. Sweat clung to her hairline.
"We… just walked five steps," she whispered, voice trembling between exhaustion and disbelief.
Five steps.
And blood was already falling.
Another dozen paces and the mountain wall trembled—
BOOOOM!
A section erupted outward, releasing a chain-net designed to snare and crush anything within its radius.
