The cavern was small, but Ezo remembered that the path widened a few feet past the first bend. The light faded quickly, but Ezo felt Kammon working magic behind him, and soon the way was lit. Kammon handed him a lit torch, and Ezo took it and began forward again.

The walls pressed in, and Ezo was about to doubt his memory when he turned a corner in the pathway, and it opened up into a large cavern. Three separate tunnels branched out from there.

“I can’t believe I never found this,” Remec said softly. “I’ve been exploring the caves since I was a kid.”

“Someone wanted to make sure this place was a secret. Whatever Jacob was hiding, it was set here for a reason,” Kammon said.

Ezo looked at the three entrances. He remembered taking one as a child, so he knew the rightmost tunnel held nothing special. He ran his fingers over each stone, but he still didn’t know which direction to take.

“Ezo, look.”

Ezo had been so focused on the entrance of the tunnels that he hadn’t looked past it. Kammon pointed to a small mark a few feet away. There was a faint glint when he looked where Kammon indicated, but as he got closer, he saw a circle engraved into the stone with an owl in the center and a moon behind its head.

“Jacob’s mark,” Ezo said, tracing his fingers over the edges.

“And yours,” Kammon reminded him.

“This has to be it,” Remec said as he moved to stand behind them.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Ezo nodded as he stepped down the long tunnel. There were parts where the tunnel grew so tight he thought he might have to widen it himself to get through. Kammon was grumbling behind them about the height of the cavern, and Ezo wanted to tease him that being short had its advantages, but he bit his tongue. He was too nervous about whatever was at the end of their adventure.

He felt the source of the magic before he saw the end of the tunnel. As he closed the distance, he felt a small thrill as he approached a door. There was no lock and no knob to open it.

“How are we supposed to open that?” Remec asked.

“The corners,” Kammon pointed to the door’s edges, where the symbols of water and earth were carved into the wood.

It was just like Riverkeep. Ezo pressed his hands to the symbols and released a small stream of water and earth magic into the corresponding marks.

At first, nothing seemed to happen, but as Ezo waited, he noticed a small sliver of light coming from underneath the door. A moment later, it began to grind open. He stepped back and had to close his eyes as bright light filled the tunnel.

When Ezo could finally see, he stepped through the door. He stopped when a hand wrapped around his wrist.

“Ezo, you don’t know what’s down there,” Kammon cautioned him.

“It’s alright, Kammon. I think I know exactly what’s down there.”

Kammon’s brow furrowed, but he dropped Ezo’s arm. Before Ezo could say anything, Kammon rushed before him. Ezo stumbled after him with Remec right behind them.

Kammon stopped abruptly, and Ezo bumped into him. He was about to complain, but then his eyes adjusted enough to see what they had stepped into.

Light flickered into the room from a dozen small sun lights. Some seemed to be direct sunlight, while others were directed through tunnels and mirrors. A large desk dominated the room, and a shelf of books sat behind it. To the left was another shelf full of artifacts Ezo was itching to look at. To the right was a long hallway, and he turned toward it before the others realized he was moving.

“Ezo?”

He stopped, but not because of the voice that called his name. When he reached the hallway, a word had been carved into the mantle above it.

“Mountainkeep.”