They arrived a day later at an area within the forest, devoid of trees. Half covered in monster guts and mud, they stopped there to clean themselves. As Ludo and Althea wiped their faces with a towel, Ludo couldn’t help but speak his mind.

“After we’re done, the first thing I’ll be doing with my money is get a bath worthy of a king.”

Althea let out a dry chuckle. Ludo was quick to discern why. Althea’s spirits were beginning to falter. They had continuously traveled through hazardous forest and battled bloodthirsty monsters for the last two days and still the Empty River was able to elude them. Even the map they had bought was of no use. Ludo ran up a nearby hill in a last ditch effort to find the landmark and as he caught sight of the view below, he couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

“What did you see!?” Althea yelled from the bottom of the hill.

“I think this is it!”

Althea ran up to him and gasped at the sight. Before them lay the aptly named Empty River. Its tall precipice led to a brook at the bottom inhabited by a throng of rocks.

“Think we can make to the other side before sunset?” Ludo said.

“We’ve fought a basilisk before, of course we can do it!”

Ludo couldn’t help but grin at Althea’s renewed enthusiasm.

Descending through a hazardous and makeshift path, they avoided loose and treacherous rocks and the annoying yet curious birds that flew too close to them to peck at their scalps. Despite these adversities, they managed to reach the bottom.

Ludo contemplated the titanic size of the cliffs on either side and felt slightly discouraged, knowing that he would have to climb them soon. Althea however, seemed optimistic with their situation, looking around and collecting anything that caught her attention while Ludo did a more pragmatic search, using his magical eyes to find herbs that he required.

They crossed the river soon after, it didn’t go past their ankles and rested by the wall they would soon climb. Ludo looked up at the scorching noon sun shining brightly. Sighing, he took a large gulp of water from his flask and turned to Althea.

“We’ll start climbing once the sun starts going down.” He said.

Althea looked at the massive wall opposite them. “Can we even reach the top by the end of day?”

“If we don’t find any trouble.”

“And you just jinxed us.”

Once the sun had gone down enough, they began their arduous journey up the cliff, climbing quickly with the last remaining hours of sunlight they had left. As they were halfway through their climb, the wind began to pick up in strong bursts that it made them loose their grip on the wall multiple times. To make matters worse, the overcurious birds descended on them once more.

“I hope you are not scared!” Althea said, unfazed by the troubles surrounding them.

“Not in a thousand years!” Ludo yelled back, in reality his stomach constricted every time he looked down.

While they continued climbing up, the once barren cliff gave way to a forest that seemed to defy the rules of the world. Sideways trees covered in vines grew out of every crack within the rocks.

“You sure seem enthusiastic.” Ludo said while Althea continued her hurried climb.

“Of course, the giant is close by! If we are lucky, I’ll be able to get the money!”

“We still have to track it down.”

“Doesn’t matter, we’re closer than before!”

Ludo saw that Althea slipped and she saved herself by grabbing onto a nearby branch.

“Careful!”

“It wasn’t me, the root hid in the wall.”

“What?”

Althea looked down at Ludo. “I don’t know! The root just hid in the wall and—”

The wall shuddered and growled, pieces of trees and rock fell down on Ludo and Althea and they tried their best to shield themselves from the debris without losing their grip. A very animalistic sound caused Ludo to jolt upwards to Althea and in the spur of the moment activated his magical eyes unknowingly.

His heart dropped, he was able to see within the wall and something evil was within. A worm of gigantic proportions appeared in his view and was ready to strike.

“Althea, jump!”

“What!? Are you crazy!?”

“Jump on my bag.”

“I—”

“NOW!”

Althea looked back and forth and jumped at Ludo. As she caught herself on Ludo’s bag, the worm broke through space where Althea had just been, sending chunks of rock, roots and trees flying towards the bottom of the river.

The worm was the most hideous creature Ludo had seen. With spines at both of its sides protruding like blades, large mandibles that closed with remarkable strength as it crushed the debris that it caught and ten antennae that resembled tree roots. The wonderful yet horrifying sight came and went quickly with the worm disappearing back into the wall. Not a second later, the ten antennae broke through the wall and slithered down into position, disappearing between the various roots and branches of the trees around them, waiting as bait for any unfortunate being to grab them.

Ludo still had his magic eyes activated and was able to see beyond the worm’s camouflage. They had a chance to survive.

“Listen!” Ludo whispered. “Don’t grab those things and you should be fine!”

“But I can’t see them!”

“Well I can. Don’t worry, I’ll guide you!”

Althea climbed off of Ludo and the two resumed their odyssey while the many antennae rustled with the wind, coming dangerously close to both of them at various times. For a few minutes it seemed like they would come out of it unscathed but this fleeting dream came crashing down when death appeared to them in the form of a bird who, willfully ignorant of the dangers around it, perched on one of the worm’s antennae besides Ludo and Althea.

Not a second later, the worm pushed its way out of the wall, the earth shook and to Ludo’s horror, the part of the cliff Althea was holding on to collapsed. Time seemed to Time seemed to stand freeze as Ludo watched her fall. A sudden impulse overpowered him and he let go of the cliff, catching Althea midway through her fall.

By some form of miracle, Ludo managed to grab a nearby vine and held on for dear life. Their luck looked like it had run out, as yet again the worm’s antennae pushed their way out of the wall as bait, crashing into them. Ludo and Althea did the only thing they could think of and let go of the vine. Not a second later the worm burst through the wall and managed to grab hold of Ludo’s bag.

The worm pulled Ludo back into its borrow, dragging Ludo within. Ludo struggled to free himself from his own bag as the worm thrashed around, its giant mandibles not letting go of the bag. After much struggle, he finally slipped out of the bag’s straps and ran away from the distracted worm, hiding behind a large rock. While the sound of the worm thrashing his bag echoed through the borrow, Ludo got to know his surroundings better.

The borrow itself was bigger than most houses in Balessia. The ground was moist and unpleasant to his touch, he could barely see beyond his hands and the distinctive smell of rot plagued his nose. Even in such a discomforting place, Ludo didn’t dare move. He waited for minutes until the worm calmed down to consider his options.

Fight the worm? I’ll just die instantly.

And so Ludo decided to take his chances and cautiously hugged the walls of the borrow passing closely by the worm as it made growling like noises. As he continued, he stepped on something and saw that it was his bag. Mangled and covered in a spit like substance, the placed it under his arm and passed by the giant monster before stopping in his tracks.

Before going on to accomplish his daring escape. Ludo stopped cold in his tracks by the most obvious obstacle, the engulfing darkness. Trying to recreate his previous feat with his power, Ludo closed his eyes and concentrated, earning no results out of such tepid attempts.

Clenching his firsts and squeezing his eyes shut, he repeated in his mind what he wanted to do, over and over and over again. He heard the worm stirring behind him, yet he chose to ignore it, he couldn’t get distracted now.

I WANT TO SEE!

Ludo opened his eyes again and saw the world around him change. The darkness gave way to a simplified world. The walls, roofs and floors were all but an outline that allowed him to see through, under and above them. With this, Ludo searched for a way out through the haphazard web of tunnels all around. He soon found it, a seemingly forgotten tunnel by its rough outline heading straight towards the surface.

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Not wishing to linger anymore until the worm got its appetite back, Ludo dashed towards this tunnel, towards salvation. It soon turned into a steep climb, but no obstacle would be enough to daunt him. Findings its walls to be littered with sod and animal remains as he climbed. He realized that this was some sort of dumping area for the worm’s food.

Despite the foul smell, he reached the top of the tunnel which was just as grim as he had imagined. Multiple bodies littered the cold chamber’s ground. Horrified at the view ahead of him, Ludo’s hadn’t noticed where he was walking and stepped on something hard. The thing made a jittering sound and hurried away from him. Ludo yelped as the thing scattered away and below him, the cave reverberated. The worm had most likely become aware of another within its home.

Ludo looked around with his magical eyes and saw that there was just a thin layer of dirt between him and the surface. Deactivating the eyes, as it was draining his strength, Ludo jumped on a rock and began to pull the sod and roots from the roof, dirtying himself in the process.

It was around this time when he heard a distinctive clicking sound coming from all directions. Ludo looked around, taking out his sword. From the darkness, inhuman silhouette began to appear. At first Ludo thought that he was dealing with spirits but as they came closer, he was able to see them properly. They were giant insects, tens of them. Long, flat and gray, and sported a fearsome appearance. Yet for how threatening they looked, they were more interested on picking dirt and remains.

“They’re more interested in that than me…” Ludo sighed with relief, placing his sword back in the scabbard and continued to dig his way to freedom. So fixated was he in this that he had not noticed he had covered himself in the bug’s food.

Ludo had noticed in time, as the bugs were subtly approaching. Taking out his sword yet again, he struck at the first one of the bugs that dared touch him. The monster hissed and retreated. The other monsters took action, closing in on him. Ludo struck at them but their thick carapace protected them better than any man-made armor. As one of the monster’s jaws grabbed its leg, Ludo kicked it with all his might, pushing it away.

The other monsters reacted differently than before, hissing and clicking their jaws before swarming him. Ludo was able to save himself thanks to his speed, jumping over the giant insects as they tried to get hold of him.

Surviving through sheer luck rather than skill, he was able to hold off the monsters until something unexpected came to save him. At first it was barely noticeable but the feeling of the tunnel all around him shaking was more than enough evidence that something huge was coming his way. The worm.

Ludo and the insects stopped their squabble and frantically sought to survive the incoming storm. Some dug themselves into the ground or disappeared into small slots in the walls and the rest hopelessly fled. Ludo grabbed one of the bugs making a hole and threw it to the side, taking the hole for himself. Not much later the worm appeared creating mass havoc in the tunnel. It maimed, hunted and ate most of the bugs on its way before breaking through the chamber’s floor and disappearing as quickly as it appeared by creating a new tunnel.

Shocked and paralyzed, Ludo stayed in his little hole for minutes, expecting the worm to return to finish him off. As time went by, it became increasingly obvious to him that the worm had not seen him and thus he hastily finished excavating his way out. Feeling a wave of relief as the small bits of sunlight broke through the dirt, illuminating the entire chamber.

The chamber was given enough light for Ludo to see its content. Apart from the plethora of waste there were two extra things that shimmered with the afternoon sunlight. Two pouches sat amongst the dirt, tied shut with golden and brazen ropes. Ludo couldn’t help but take them and immediately afterwards jumped out of the hole. He ran as far away as his legs could take him until he collapsed against a tree.

Even as he lay there, his mind was restless. Was Althea safe? Had she been eaten by the worm? Had she gone away?

I need to find her!

Despite his body begging and screaming in pain, he couldn’t just let Althea be all alone in such a dangerous place. With great difficulty, Ludo got back to his feet and wandered through the forest with the last few hours of sunlight he had left. Determined to find her.

As Ludo limped through the forest, exhausted, he knelt before a stream and began to drink from it. His flask had been punctured by the worm. While he drank, he heard the faint sound of leaves rustling. Leaping to his feet, Ludo drew his sword, aiming it at the direction of the noise.

“Who is is!”

The rustling of the leaves only intensified as Ludo said that. Now convinced that he was about to face a monster, he readied his sword to fight any nightmarish fiend that wanted to dine on him. However, a familiar sight of white snow hair and crystal blue eyes appeared, Althea. She was clenching the sword Ludo gave her tightly and slightly drawn to strike. As she realized it was him she let her sword down and both sighed with relief.

“Are you alright!?” Althea said.

“Yeah.” Ludo tried to walk up to her but his leg limp was now getting worse.

Before he could say anything else, Althea slung his arm around her shoulder and let him lean on her. She helped him over to the place she had set up her tent for the night. Ludo sat on a log by the makeshift campfire and soon after Althea offered him some soup she had cooked. Despite her keen efforts at nursing him, her gaze seemed lost.

“Are you alright?” Ludo said.

Althea jolted and apologized. “Sorry! It’s that, I thought you had died!”

“You shouldn’t apologize, I was the one being reckless.”

“But the worm attacked us because of me.”

"Look, it doesn’t matter anymore. What’s important is that we both made out alive.”

Althea nodded without saying much after, both of them agreed to take turns to watch over the area for monsters while the other rested.

The first thing Ludo did with the first rays of the sun was to wash his face of any leftover dirt, promising to throw his spent clothes into the first pyre he could find in Balessia once he returned. They resumed their journey only stopping at noon and under the shadow of a large tree to eat. While resting he took out the two pouches he had grabbed inside the worm’s burrow and sure enough the brazen and golden ropes shined brightly on the sunlight. He wasn’t sure what they were yet but the sight of them made Althea shriek.

“What’s the matter?” Ludo said.

“That’s a soul!”

Ludo took a few seconds to process what Althea had just said before dropping the pouches on the floor in shock.

“Don’t treat them that!” Althea rushed to grab the pouches and brushed away the dirt and dust it had gathered.

Now of all times, he remembered that dreadful day in the dungeon and how he had torn open the four pouches left behind by Bergmann and Liam. Two let out all the loot the adventurers had on them by the time they died whilee the remaining two had nothing but some sort of dust. At that moment a horrid thought crushed Ludo’s spirit.

Did I destroy their souls!?

“Althea, what happens when someone opens the pouch with the soul?” Ludo said.

Althea looked at him with a mixture of dread and disgust. “First of all that’s horrible.”

“I understand.”

“But if the soul is released it becomes part of the world again. Becoming one with magic and allowing new life to be born. How come you don’t remember?”

There was a brief pause of awkward silence as Ludo tried his best to drift the conversation away from the topic.

“Is this common knowledge?”

“Of course! Everyone’s been told the tale of the wise man and the soul. Right?”

Ludo apologized repeatedly before capitulating and explaining to Althea that he had awoken one day in the middle of the forest with no prior memories. Althea’s eyes sparkled and she merrily began to explain how souls were connected to the world and the stories of old.

“You can tell me the stories after we slay the giant,” Ludo stopped Althea and undid the knot of the brazen rope, spilling the pouch’s contents. Potions, papers, leftover ingredients, a robe and a staff all lay between Ludo and Althea and the two didn’t waste a single second inspecting all of it.

It was obvious from the belongings that they were of a wizard’s. Ludo’s wondered how such a person had ended in such a situation when he heard Althea gasp. Ludo looked at her and saw that she was reading something. Ludo glanced over her shoulder to read its contents.

To anyone reading this. I, Otar, I’m dead. Fatally wounded while fighting the giant. The rest of my party perished too. To whoever has read this, turn back now as you have entered its territory. The matter of my soul is simple, release it so that I may be useful to the world one last time. if you think that the divinities are at your side and still wish to fight the giant, you will find the giant’s borrow in the map I’ve left behind. Good luck or may you have a quick death.

Ludo and Althea looked at each other and carried out Otar’s last wishes. Althea undid the golden rope and let the soul free. A blue mist parted from its prison and aimlessly danced around. Gradually disappearing from the teary view of Ludo and Althea until it became one with the air around them. After cleaning their tears, both began to read the map left behind by Otar.

The map had been scribbled all over with notes, advice and commentaries from Otar and two others which had signed their notes as Sevan and Poghos, most likely dead by the hands of the giant. One of the notes piqued Ludo and Althea’s interest. An unexceptional area of the map had been circled over multiple times to the point that some of the paper had been torn from the abuse. Above the circle was a simple phrase that only bolstered their spirits.

GIANT’S LAIR