“It’s really deep, I can’t see the bottom,” Chaele said, looking down the pipe.

Kodish patted her on the back. “Like they say, ladies first.”

She nodded at him and started down the ladder. “Careful, Kodish, the ladder’s a little shaky.”

He gave it a nervous look. “Oh. That’s great.”

Though it was rickety, at least the bars were sturdy enough to support his weight. Once they’d gotten the hang of dropping each step, they picked up speed, and in no time, the ground was just a few feet to go.

“Ouch!” Chaele yelled and fell the last bit to the floor, landing on her butt in a pile of mud.

“Sorry!” Kodish called down. “Boot fell off.”

Once he reached the bottom and offered a hand, Chaele took it and stood up. She scowled at him. “Tie your shoe next time!”

Kodish bent down to tie it, but the leather string had snapped in half. “I’ve gotta get a new lace. Or maybe some twine—”

Chaele shushed him, holding a finger up to her lips. “Listen.”

An ominous song filled the air. Danger loomed ahead — they’d have to be extra careful in the dark, cramped underground. There wasn’t much room to navigate, and they’d have to walk single file. Kodish grabbed a barely-lit torch from the wall and held it up.

Chaele looked down and quickly kicked the mud off her boots with a loud thud. “We’ve got to be quiet.”

Kodish nodded, then led the way this time. After a couple of twists in the path, they saw the flickers of a flame illuminating the walls in the distance. He held up a hand, and Chaele stopped. He stepped as quietly as he could and peered into the open room — it looked like a living room. The fireplace was lit, but there wasn’t anyone on the old couch or leather armchair.

“Hey,” a voice said from behind.

Kodish and Chaele spun around but saw nothing.

“What’s up?” the voice said again.

Looking down, Chaele saw a talking mushroom holding a stick with a gem on top. “Uh, sorry. We were just taking a shortcut.”

“You shall not pass!” he yelled.

“But we already did pass you,” Kodish pointed out.

The mushroom looked defeated.

Chaele was about to kick him but realized he looked familiar. He was in one of the guides she’d read! “I’ve heard of you. You’re Gand—”

“Randolph the Gray,” he said, stroking his tiny beard. “You’re thinking of my cousin — don’t say his name. That’s the first condition we’re going to have to set here. But it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“I’m Chaele, and this is Kodish,” she said. “We’re trying to get to Faction City.”

The mushroom looked pensive. “Well, it would have been easier for you to take the road. This shortcut is full of danger unimaginable.”

The companions exchanged a worried look.

“Listen,” Randolph said, pushing past them and into the living room. He took a seat in the armchair. “Behind me are two paths to Faction City, each ruled by an evil demon lord. You must decide which you want to follow: the Trail of the Dragon… or the Trail of Powers. The Dragon Lord’s path is full of fiery obstacles and death traps! The Lord of Powers channels all forms of magics to prevent adventures from journeying through it with lethal attacks and scary monsters. Which will you decide?”

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“The dragon one,” Kodish said. “I don’t like monsters.”

“But that one has death traps,” Chaele said, stroking her chin. “And besides, we’re both not the best on our dexterity. We’ll take the Trail of Powers.”

Kodish huffed. “I don’t wanna.”

Chaele blinked. “Why not?”

“Don’t like scary monsters,” he said.

She eyed him up and down. “Really? Well, I don’t like traps. If they go to the same place, let’s just split up if you don’t want to come with me.”

“Fine,” the orc said, then started lumbering down the Trail of the Dragon.

Chaele watched him go until he disappeared into the dark. “Fine.”

Kodish didn’t have to travel far before reaching his first obstacle. The path was narrow again, and he realized he would only be able to move forward or backward. Or upward, he supposed, looking up at the five-foot-tall pillar in front of him.

He laughed. “Ooh, tough obstacle. Good thing I’m a good jumper.”

After he easily leaped to the top of the pillar, there was a gap, then another pillar, another gap, and so on, each five feet higher than the previous one. He rubbed his hands together, made sure his pack was tied tightly around him, then started his assent.

When he reached the peak, he looked down past the descending pillars, where a couple of giant turtles were wandering back and forth. And a lot faster than they should be able to. He leaped down and stopped at the bottom. The turtles saw him land and started moving toward him.

He reached for his sword and then hesitated, wondering if he’d be able to get through their tough shells. Instead, he formulated a plan — jump on them. He charged at the first one, jumped high, and landed square on top of it. The turtle flew out of its shell, into a wall — but the shell itself spun out from beneath him and crashed into the second turtle, killing it on impact. One of his boots came off and went flying down the trail, too.

But Kodish managed to land on his feet and cheered. Victory! He found his boot and decided he really needed to find something to lace it with.

Up ahead were some pipes, too small for him to fit through. As he peered down one of them, a sharp-toothed plant stuck its head out and snapped at him. He pulled away just in time to avoid getting hit.

He continued on. He had to crouch — the path was cramped above and on the sides, but soon, another opening was up ahead. A hovering light box floating high above the ground was all in this area. As he approached it, he noticed a symbol on there with some small writing.

He looked up at the box. “Ugh, can’t read.”

He decided just to jump and reach for it. But as he left the ground, his boot didn’t go with him, throwing him off balance. Instead of grabbing the box, he hit it with his head, and to his surprise, a golden star flew out of it onto the ground.

He rubbed his head — that hurt! The bright star was bouncing away from him, so he ran to catch it. Once he touched it, he felt an energy fill his body. He felt unstoppable, like he’d had one too many energy drinks. He ran down the path and saw several turtles, one after the other, marching toward him. He lowered his head and charged ahead, crashing through them with ease.

Kodish stopped to catch his breath. With his energy faded, he stopped to eat some bread. As he sat in silence, music filled the air again, sending shivers down his spine. Perhaps it was the Dragon Lord’s song.

He worked up his courage and headed down the path to the final room. He pulled out his sword and entered the well-lit space. He stepped in cautiously and counted a dozen sleeping turtles on the sides. In the middle of it stood another mushroom man, singing. This must be the legendary Gand—

“Shh, they’re sleeping,” the mushroom man said. “It’s me, Randolph.”

“How’d you get here so fast?” the orc demanded.

Randolph moved closer and pointed at his staff. “I can teleport.”

From another entrance to the room, Chaele came in, looking exhausted. “There you are, Kodish!”

The orc smiled. “You made it.”

“The exit is up ahead,” Randolph said. “Just take the ladder up, and you’ll be outside Faction City.”

“Thanks,” Chaele said to him, then motioned Kodish over. “Let’s get going. I’m exhausted.”

They waved farewell to Randolph and walked side-by-side, this time to the pipe exiting the underworld.

Kodish looked at the small circle of light above, then reached for the first rung. “Long way up.”

His elf friend stretched her arms out. “Of course it is.”

He took a few steps up the rung before shouting, “Watch out!”

Chaele looked up just in time to see Kodish’s boot falling. It smacked her in the face, knocking her into a pile of mud. She picked the shoe up and threw it at the orc, hitting him square in the head.

She blinked when a star fell off.