“You ever encounter a smell that just reminds you of home? Like you walk in somewhere, and a brief whiff makes you homesick?” Eryx said.

“Yeah, Ma’s lamb stew, just the right amount of onion and pepper just gets me,” Tobian said, leaning against a wall, watching the dark void of the hallway ahead of them. He had heard nothing from the group, and he’d quit counting the seconds.

A faint aroma wafted from behind him, the smell of cooked onions and pepper. His mother’s stew was on his mind; it was almost what he remembered. He looked around. No pot or simmering stew nearby, only the demon Eryx.

“Boy, I am hungry. I bet your mother is cooking up some right now,” Eryx said.

Tobian clenched his jaw and turned away from the demon. The aroma still lingered about, causing his stomach to growl in response. He started counting the seconds again, one one-thousand, two one-thousand, three one-thousand. At fifteen, his stomach growled again. He needed to busy himself, as staring into the black would only make waiting worse.

Tobian stepped back into the main room. Standing at one side, he reached into a pouch and called for a piece of chalk. With that in hand, he started placing markers on the floor, marking the end of his foot until he had ten marks on the floor. Standing at one end, he started calling forward small rocks to see how far he could throw them from the back.

“Ah, so you know about the Packwick abilities,” Eryx said softly as he floated near Tobian. “Few attempt to practice the calling portion.”

“You know about the Packwick ability?” Tobian said between the summons of some small stones.

“Yee..eesss, do you not know that all the talents are gifts granted to humanity from eons past?” Eryx said.

“I’ve never heard that,” Tobian said. He stopped summoning stones and went to pick them back up.

“I can tell you more. I even know someone who is a specialist in it.” Eryx said.

“That would be great!” Tobian said.

“We just need to swing by your parent’s house, ask permission, and maybe try some of that lamb stew. I am famished.” Eryx said.

“S…” Tobian caught himself before he agreed. “Not until after we are done with this dungeon.” He returned to his starting line, put the stones back into a bag, and resumed summoning them.

Several minutes passed, the silence only broken by the occasional thump of a stone hitting the floor. Then, after a few steps, Tobain picked them up and returned to a starting position. The demon positioned himself off to the side, where he could watch both entrances to the room.

Eryx floated up and positioned himself between Tobian and the dark hallway just seconds before the sound of footsteps signaled Darius’s arrival.

“Ah, just Darius,” Eryx said. The demon settled back down and focused on the prison entrance.

“We cleared a few rooms ahead. There shouldn’t be any traps, but they still haven’t figured out how to remove the darkness. If you bring a lantern or torch, you’ll be fine.” Darius glanced at the marks on the floor and some scattered rocks. “How’s the practice going?”

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“Slowly,” Tobian sighed, looking at the scuff marks left by the cast stones. “I need to track my progress, and using chalk to draw lines isn’t as precise.”

“It took me years to master the Gorathian Mansplitter. You’ll get it, and even with what you can do now, I’m sure you’ll find a use for it,” Darius said.

“Sure, if I’m carrying something with both hands, I can throw coins to a beggar,” Tobian sighed. “Did my Pa ever train his?”

“I’m not sure. I wasn’t here long before he retired. Ask Tristan or the Professor.” Darius shrugged.

“I can help you increase your skill, Tobain,” Eryx said.

“No!” Both Tobian and Darius said at the same time.

Tobian reached into the large backpack and pulled out a small oil lantern with flint and steel. Four strikes later, he was stepping into the darkness, holding the lantern in front of him. The inky blackness at the entrance to the hallway reminded him of water in the way it flowed around Darius as he entered first.

The air felt thick as Tobain stepped through, holding the lantern outstretched. As soon as he was on the other side, the hallway disappeared into a large, dim room. The lantern light barely reached the edges of the room. To the left and right, several narrow cells lined the walls. The slim doors of each cell were open. Inside each cell was a bed, chest, and desk.

Tobian scanned the room. It didn’t seem like there had been a fight or struggle here. Darius was already heading for the exit on the far side of the room.

“What was here?” Tobian said. He shifted his gaze into the magical spectrum, the walls and furniture in the cells were heavily enchanted. Large arcane runes carved into the doors shimmered in the altered sight.

“Barracks, I think,” Darius called over his shoulder as he exited the room. “We’ve cleared the next room also.”

Tobian slowly scanned the room with his magical sight, turning as he looked for anything valuable. While the furniture and bedding were normal, he saw the typical magic of these places covering the walls. Even the floor was glowing from enchantment. The doors to the rooms didn’t glow as much as the walls, but they were enchanted with magic centering on the runes. Three hinges per door, each on the outside, swung the door out from the room. The hinges appeared to be mundane.

“Who’d enchant a door?” Tobian mused aloud. He walked up to the nearest one and pushed it. The door quickly moved, swinging closed. Stifling a curse, Tobian prayed it didn’t lock shut as he reached for the cord that functioned as a handle. As the door opened, he sighed in relief.

The rooms were small, which made sense, but Tobian wondered if these were cells converted into barracks. He reached into a bag and pulled out a hammer and a spike. A dozen taps later, he had four doors and twelve pins. With one door resting on the floor, he took out some paper and charcoal to make a copy of the rune to show the Professor later.

Removing his backpack and laying it flat on the floor, he opened it as wide as possible, even loosening several straps. He pushed a corner of a door into the backpack. The corner vanished into the extra-dimensional space, and he aligned the rest of the door until the other corner could enter and pushed it. With a slight stretch, the backpack accommodated the door’s push. The narrow door barely fit into the magical backpack.

The desk and bed were normal. The drawers contained nothing beyond dried inkwells, pens, and some old parchment. With a disappointed sigh, Tobian checked the other rooms; there was nothing in them either. He grabbed the parchment, which was always useful, and then headed into the next room.

As if stepping through a curtain or veil, darkness engulfed Tobian again when he stepped out of the room. He stopped as he remembered his forgotten lantern in the other room. Before he turned to retrieve it, he scanned the darkness with his magical sight. Sparkling bits, suspended in midair, floated around, infused with weak magic. An outline shaped like Darius moved forward. He imagined the spell was causing the darkness in the air, and as the air shifted, it carried the bits along with it. He noted it as another thing to ask the Professor when he got the chance while retrieving his lantern.

Darius wasn’t in the next room as Tobian entered. The room was more familiar, a long rectangular shape with cells along each side. Scattered across the floor were several large snake corpses with mottled grey skin and patches of pink and magenta. Tobian remembered when he first saw one and how beautiful their color-changing scales looked. Someone killed the snakes in this room with a blade; multiple cuts and stab wounds covered their bodies. Definitely not killed by his friends. Tobian shuddered with disgust, remembering the Professor’s description of the avulsion process for cleanly separating the creature’s skin without breaking it.