Mery led them back down the hall and to the room where they’d fought the mummy king the second time. The chamber was empty. Even the priest’s body was gone. Isa saw Mery and Lund exchange a look, but no one spoke.

If comrades had quietly taken away the young man’s body that meant that they’d ventured back into the tomb while Isa and her group were just yards away. And if they’d done that, what’s to say that they weren’t waiting just ahead in the dark hallway leading to great chamber.

As if he’d read Isa’s thoughts, Lund stopped just short of the threshold, where the dim light met the inky darkness of the long hallway. Mery turned right and moved slowly up the hall that she and Isa and Alice had so recently hurried down. Isa lagged behind, letting Alice and Dulrak get ahead of her. As they passed, Lund stepped away from the opening and followed behind. Isa said, “Did you see something?”

“No,” he said softly, “but why take chances?”

“Yeah.” Isa put her hand on the hilt of her sword, but she didn’t pull it free; she didn’t want the light.

Mery moved at a snail’s pace, one ball of light bobbing near the ground. They moved up the hall and into the small chamber with the secret opening. She led them through the opening and into the tunnel that the priests had used. Mery’s movement dropped to the walking equivalent of a crawl.

The tunnel was low and narrow, so they had to move single file. Mery was in the lead with Dulrak right behind her, then Alice, Isa, and Lund guarding the rear.

They’d gone about halfway up the tunnel, when Isa distinctly heard Mery say, “Fuck.” Then there was a hissing sound and a horrible smell. The smell seemed to cover Isa’s face like a mask, stinging her eyes and filling her mouth with an acrid and bitter taste.

As she coughed to try to breath, Isa felt Alice bump into her as she fell to the ground. Isa dropped to her knees. It was easier to breathe near the floor, and Alice was breathing, thankfully, but Isa could not rouse her.

Dulrak leaned down, and Isa felt his hand on her shoulder. “The poison got her? Is she unconscious?” Before Isa could answer, the dwarf was kneeling beside Alice. “Spare the dying, Isa. The spell, use it, and I’ll carry her the rest of the way.”

Isa’s eyes filled with tears. Spare the dying? Alice? But even now, the poison must be trickling down Alice’s throat, seeping into her lungs, filling her stomach. She didn’t want to say the words, didn’t want them to be true, but with a trembling hand Isa touched Alice’s forehead. She brushed back some wispy blonde hairs and whispered, “Spare the dying. Spare Alice. Spare her. I can’t— I can’t do this alone.”

Nothing in Alice’s countenance changed, and Isa just had to hope that the spell had done its work.

“I didn’t see it,” Mery spat and wiped her mouth. “And got a nose full— Alice? Damn it all! Is she….”

“She’s alive,” said Dulrak. “And I’ve got her.” He pulled her arms up and positioned her over one shoulder so that Alice balanced evenly. He wrapped an arm around her thighs to keep her in place, but as Dulrak took a step forward, Alice’s arms dropped, and her hands hit the ground.

“I can carry her,” said Lund.

“Nonsense. You’re a better fighter. Just bind her arms so they don’t fall down.”

“Bind her arms?” Isa repeated.

“You want her to wake up with scraped and bloody knuckles? Bind her arms.”

“I’ll do it,” said Mery. She tied one end of a scarf around Alice’s right wrist, looped the free end through Alice’s belt loop and then pulled the other arm up into position and tied the other wrist.

Dulrak took a practice step. Alice’s arms bounced, but they didn’t come free and fall.

The tunnel, which had been rising slowly, angled sharply upward now, and Isa felt her heart lift at the idea of being back above ground. It was as if they were surfacing from a long, deep dive.

They hadn’t gone far when Mery knelt to examine the floor. Her fingers brushed lightly against a seam in the floor. As if in response, something rumpled and shook the floor. A small cascade of pebbled skittered down the tunnel toward them.

“Ah damn, boulders!” Mery called out and dodged to the left. Isa followed her motions, moving to the left hand of the tunnel. She still felt woozy from the poison, a little lightheaded, but she laid herself flat against the wall beside Mery.

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Dulrak shifted to the right. “Ow,” he yelled. “Damn it all,” he muttered.

Everyone braced for the incoming boulders, but nothing came.

In the silence Dulrak said, “Can someone….?”

Isa looked over to see that two spikes had come out of the wall just at head height for Dulrak. One spike rested at the back of his head, and Isa could see blood dripping on to Alice’s back. The other spike had pierced Dulrak’s nose.

Lund came forward and tugged on Dulrak to free him. Isa noticed that ahead of them along the right wall were dozens of thin, sharp spikes.

“Clever bastards,” said Mery. “There are no fucking boulders. They expect you’ll impale yourself on their spikes, thinking you have to dodge a boulder or two.”

Isa offered the hem of her cloak for Dulrak to stop his bleeding nose. He waved her away. “It will stop soon enough. Dwarfs, we’re a hearty bunch. Good, thick blood.” He shifted Alice’s body on his shoulder and said, “Onward out of this damned hole. Even I’m ready to surface.”

No more than 20 yards ahead Mery stopped again. In the distance a patch of gray stood out from the dim tunnel view. It was too much to hope that Isa was seeing the dawn in the sky, and she kept quiet even as she wanted to call out with relief.

Mery scurried silently ahead. After a moment she waved the others forward. At her motion, the four of them brought their heads together. “I don’t hear anything,” Mery barely made a sound. “So maybe we’re lucky. Lund, go first?”

He nodded and slowly pulled his sword free. Pushing past Isa, Lund moved toward the lighter patch of gray. Although Lund moved slowly, Isa could hear the squeak of sand under his boots.

“Isa?” Mery waved her through.

Isa nodded and ducked between Dulrak and Mery. She kept her hand on her sword hilt, but she didn’t activate it. She moved to Lund’s left. He’d be blind to periphery movement from that side, and Isa wasn’t about to let him fight with that vulnerability.

The tunnel turned sharply upward at a 40-degree angle, and Isa felt her thigh muscles begin to burn as she hiked upward behind Lund.

The square of gray grew bigger with each step Isa took until they were within 20 feet of the entrance. Lund suddenly threw up his hand, gesturing Isa to stop. He turned carefully and put his hand over his mouth.

Whatever he heard, it was too soft for Isa to make out, but of course she trusted Lund.

“Someone out there.” His words were like breath in her ear. Lund cupped Isa’s elbow, and they stepped forward in tandem like they were dancing. Several shapes were visible by the light of a dying fire.

“You,” he said, “stay back. Left.”

She nodded and watched as Lund padded forward, He was never the quietest member of the group but this time, he did well. He had almost reached the group before they noticed him.

Alarm raced through the group at the fire, and Isa saw one figure begin directing the others. The clumps sorted themselves out to be a group of spellcasters and several spear-wielding warriors. Their leader was a woman dressed in dark robes. Her hair was bound on top of her head, held in place by some spiny ornament.

Before Lund could close on her, the woman threw two daggers at him. One sliced past his head, and the other one lodged in the hollow of his shoulder.

Isa heard Lund grunt as the blade pierced his skin, but he kept his two-handed grip on his sword and descended on the woman with a flurry of sword strokes.

One of the spellcasters stepped forward and threw a handful of something into the air. As the glittering material began to shift down, he began to chant a spell. Isa flinched, waiting for the impact of whatever damage would result from the spell, but when nothing happened – nothing that Isa could see or feel – she pulled her sun blade free and charged at that spellcaster. Her blade ran right through the man’s middle, and he crumpled to the ground, blood bubbling at his lips.

As she turned to find Lund, she realized that she had done exactly what Lund had told her not to do. She’d left his side; she’d waded into the battle; she’d left herself and Lund exposed to flanking attacks from unseen troops.

Metal rang against metal as Lund fought with the leader. She flashed daggers, blocking his attacks where she could, but Isa could see that Lund had at least landed one or two blows.

The woman crouched low and swept her dagger at crotch level. Lund jackknifed to avoid the blade, and the woman fell back on her hands and kicked upward, trying to kick his face. In a blur, Lund’s greatsword lopped off the woman’s leg at the knee.

The severed limb tumbled to the ground, a muted noise even as silence descended on the group. The leader gasped as she grabbed what remained of her leg with both hands. She began to speak, but she toppled over before she got more than a few words out.

Even though Lund struck down the leader of the group, he was still vulnerable on his left side, so Isa pivoted that way just as a shaft of burning light slammed down where she’d just been.

Isa knew that spell: sacred flame. If these casters were clerics, they could cast sacred flame all day long; Isa would need to stay alert to avoid getting hit by one.

Lund moved toward the group of warriors and, to a man, they shuffled backward as he advanced. The one at the front stopped, thumped his spear on the ground, and then ran forward with the spear aimed at Lund’s chest.

With more grace than expected, Lund ducked the spear point and brought his sword low across the man’s middle. The warrior fell bleeding, his spear forgotten.

One of the spellcasters dropped to her knees beside the warrior and laid a hand on his bloody stomach, whispering words in his ear. Isa lunged toward the woman, hating herself for doing it and knowing that it was the right choice – she had to target the healer.

Before she could reach the healer, however, another one of the clerics blocked Isa’s way, his club held out like a quarterstaff. Isa was too focused on fighting the man in front of her that she forgot that there was one more magic user unaccounted for. The shaft of magic light hit Isa like a spear, and she dropped to the ground unconscious.

Spoiler: Current Hit Points:

Current HP

Alice - down

Dulrak - 25

Isa - down

Lund - 14

Mery - 11