[ WP ] Civilization has fallen , but brave treasure hunters have heard the legend of Ft. Knox . The automated defenses , however , are still online .

Sir Callister and his two companions brought their mounts to a halt at the top of a hill. 
 
 Callister peered through a pair of bulky, black spyglasses, adjusting the knobs on the side until a clear picture emerged of the plain below. The citadel was surprisingly small for its reputation, but still formidable in appearance. Most significant was the remarkable state of repair; although the walls were overgrown with thick ropes of thorncreep, there were few pockmarks or significant cracks in the stone. Unlike the walls of the Fortress Knox, the outer fences had long since rusted or fallen, leaving a clear path to the entrance. To the impenetrable front door. 
 
 Callister handed the spyglasses to Esmeralda, the sage. Although she was young, she possessed great and terrible knowledge. Her third eye was hidden by her headband, but Callister could feel it staring, unblinkingly, into his soul. 
 
 As the three rode down the hill, the thief Gideon fidgeted in his saddle. 
 
 “ I can smell it! I can almost taste it! All that gold, ours! OURS! ” Gideon vibrated with excitement. In his trembling hands he held a paper-thin, iridescent metal rectangle wrapped in a faded map. 
 
 Three moons and six days past, the three had discovered the card and the map when cleansing an infestation of twisted Falaut degenerates from another Old One fortress. They had found the items clutched in the hands of a corpse. It had been dead so long that it disintegrated as Callister pulled the card from its hands. Emblazoned on the card were the words “ Dr. R. Derek – Senior Director of Robotics Research at Fort Knox ”, which Esmeralda translated from the Old Tongue to the New. Most of the words were meaningless, but the name of Fort Knox brought to mind the legends of endless chambers of gold, sealed within the impenetrable fortress. 
 
 The map was labeled “ CLASSIFIED: FORT KNOX LAND-MINE PLACEMENT ”, showing a perfectly drawn aerial view of the fortress ’ s grounds, with hundreds of dots distributed across the terrain. 
 
 “ The Land-Mine is a thing of death, ” Esmeralda had said. “ They hide below the ground and spew fire and blades. No healer can save you from its breath. ” 
 
 The three arrived and dismounted next to a crooked steel post. The pole looked like a tree, frozen in time as it bent backward in a fierce wind. 
 
 Esmeralda took the map from Gideon and sat on the grass, setting her staff beside her. She went silent, somehow even quieter than usual. She pulled the headband away from her forehead, revealing her third eye. Both Gideon and Callister jerked their gaze away so that they would not meet hers as she pored over the map, lost in thought. 
 
 Callister tied their giant riding hounds to the post. Gideon paced around in circles until he picked up a smooth stone from the ground. He rubbed his hands over its surface and nodded. He glanced over at the map and prepared to throw the stone. 
 
 “ What are you doing? ” Callister asked. 
 
 Gideon shrugged. “ I just want to see what happens. ” 
 
 Gideon flung the stone and watched it sail through the air in a perfect arc. It landed on the front road of the Fortress with a quiet tink. 
 
 A deafening explosion ripped through the air from where the stone landed. Lights as bright as the sun snapped on and quickly swept over the grounds, appearing to scan for something. The wail of a banshee screamed out from the Fortress, loud enough to hear over the ringing in the three ’ s ears from the explosion. The hounds bayed and struggled against their restraints. 
 
 Esmeralda jumped to her feet, and the three shielded their eyes as one of the lights locked onto their location. Callister heard a sound like a swarm of hornets. A horde of black, droning monsters hovered in the sky, fast approaching their position. Callister ’ s eyes darted around the landscape, searching for cover, but the only environment around the Fortress was open plain. 
 
 Esmeralda bolted towards the Fort. “ Follow my exact path! ” 
 
 She sprinted in an erratic, jagged pattern across the plain. Callister and Gideon followed her as best as they could, fearing with each step that their next would catch them in the jaws of a Land-Mine. Their eyes remained fixed on Esmeralda ’ s path, and behind them they heard an impossibly fast series of cracks, each as loud as thunder, and cries of pain from their riding hounds. 
 
 Esmeralda ’ s path straightened, and the three stood at the great door. Callister looked over his shoulder to see the cloud moving towards them. Their hounds lay mangled in a pool of blood, still tied to the post. 
 
 The door was entirely smooth, without aperture or handle, save for a square of black glass in the center. 
 
 “ Gideon! The KEY! ” Esmeralda screamed to be heard above the alarm ’ s wail. 
 
 “ What key? Is there even a keyhole?! ” 
 
 “ THE CARD! THE CARD IS THE KEY! ” The droning grew louder. 
 
 “ What? That doesn ’ t make any sense! ” 
 
 “ JUST GIVE HER THE FUCKING CARD, ” Callister yelled. 
 
 Callister slapped Gideon across the face. Nursing his cheek with one hand, Gideon offered the card to Esmeralda with the other. She tore it from his grip and pressed it to the black glass. Green light shone from within the square, and the door slid to the side with unnatural speed and silence. The three rushed inside, and Esmeralda slammed a button labeled “ SEAL ” next to the wall. As quickly as it opened, the door slid shut. 

