The heavy iron boots of the incoming shift echoing down the stone stairwell sounded like the steady beat of a war drum. Four shadow-knights in heavy, blackened plate armor rounded the landing, their long broadswords clattering against their thighs. Leading them was the shift sergeant—a broad, thick-necked man carrying a heavy iron key ring at his belt and a leather-wrapped whip in his right hand.
Above us, the high black pipes began to hum, a deep, vibrating tremor running through the volcanic bedrock beneath our feet.
Three... two... one...
With a terrifying, deafening screech of metal under immense stress, the pressure release valve at the far end of the corridor creaked open.
HISSSSSSSSSSSS!
A blinding, roaring wall of white, scalding steam erupted from the main pipe elbow, instantly swallowing the narrow walkway in a thick, suffocating fog. The heat spiked violently, turning the damp dungeon corridor into a searing furnace within a single second.
