Dorian came to a halt, his breath catching as he spotted something further down the corridor. “Look!” he exclaimed, his voice filled with wonder. On a pedestal, nestled among the cobwebs and dust, lay a thick, leather-bound tome. Ancient markings decorated its cover, symbols from a time long forgotten.

"This must be from the age of humans," Dorian whispered, eyes wide as he approached it.

"Dorian, wait—" Teryn began, but it was too late. Dorian's excitement overwhelmed his caution, and as soon as his hooves touched the tome, the ground beneath them gave a sudden rumble.

Without warning, the floor tilted, sending all four of them sliding down a hidden chute. "Hold on!" Teryn shouted, but the slick, gooey walls provided no grip. Low Five grabbed onto Dorian’s mane as they fell.

Meyla let out a yelp as they slid faster. Seraph remained calm, her sharp eyes trying to assess their trajectory. Dorian, still clutching the tome, couldn’t help but laugh despite the chaos.

They landed with a splash in a cavernous chamber below, the floor slick with some strange, viscous substance. Dorian stood up, dripping with goo but grinning ear to ear. "I can't believe it," he said, holding the book aloft. "We’ve stumbled onto something incredible."

Seraph wiped the goo from her face, shaking her head with a slight smirk. "You certainly know how to make an entrance."

Teryn groaned, pulling himself up from the goo-coated floor, wiping the substance from his armor. "Next time, let's think before touching the ancient relics, Dorian," he said, half-amused and half-irritated. Meyla trembled, trying to shake off the slick goo from her coat.

“I’m sorry, I really need to not grab random items.." Dorian started but his voice trailed off as he ran a hoof over its weathered cover. "But look at it. This could hold knowledge lost to us for centuries! I can’t just leave that behind!"

Seraph spoke, a calm voice cutting through the tension. "We need to stay alert. That slide dropped us deeper into the dungeon it seems. And who knows what’s down here." She scanned the chamber, her sharp eyes catching the dim outlines of unfamiliar statues and walls etched with more ancient symbols. "We need to find an exit."

Meyla looked around nervously. "Yeah. You’re right."

Dorian, however, was too engrossed in the tome to hear them. His eyes traced the markings inside, his mind racing. "It's written in an ancient dialect, but I think I can translate it." He frowned, having Low Five flip through the brittle pages. "This isn’t just any time—it may be a record. A chronicle of human civilization..."

Teryn’s ears perked up. "A record of the humans? Why would something like that be in here?"

Seraph’s eyes narrowed. "It doesn't look like records," she said softly, approaching Dorian. "Look closer at the margins."

Low Five tilted the tome toward the light, and there, barely visible among the faded ink, were tiny runes glowing faintly. "Magic," Dorian whispered, the realization hitting him. "This book contains spells—ancient, forgotten ones."

Suddenly, the chamber rumbled, the statues shifting ever so slightly. Meyla gasped, eyes widening. "What did we just awaken?" Teryn muttered, gripping his weapon tighter.

From the shadows, stone grinding on stone echoed through the cavern. The statues' eyes began to glow a fierce red, their stone limbs creaking as they started to move.

"We need to move," Seraph said firmly, her calm demeanor masking the urgency. "Now."