Water. Darkness. A round tunnel, stretching out endlessly.

“This is just another maze.”

I threw a rock into the water. It rippled. Duran, where he had his feet dangling into the water, grinned at me. “But we found the water!”

It had taken a great deal of finagling, but at least we’d dried out the lantern. I had almost given up on having any light. If this was what Teuthida demanded of her dedicants, maybe Andrena was better. At least she’d only asked Apis to pay for a beehive. In comparison, a completely reasonable demand.

“I hate mazes,” I said, pulling off my boots and letting the water drain out. “I hate squid, I hate the water, and I’m holding a grudge about my cloak. I just got it repaired.”

The water was suspiciously deep. The angle of the tunnel suggested that it was round and should only be a few hand-lengths deep, but when I looked down, I could see no bottom. I readjusted the sword on my back nervously. At least it hadn’t come loose. I didn’t want to think about what Andrena would do if I lost her maybe-priceless sword in someone else’s temple. Not that you have a right to be angry, I told her. You have to make yourself helpful to earn that.

In the darkness, I thought I saw something move. It glimmered slightly. I pulled back from the water. Surely a squid couldn’t survive here. They were ocean creatures. Even a goddess had limits.

“All of our wood is damp,” said Apis. He pulled himself out of the water, hair dripping, and held up the other backpack, which he’d gone swimming to find. “But the backpack did stay fastened. I knew it was a good idea to bargain for it.”

I took it from him with a sigh and started sorting through it. I held up a bag of oats. They were soaked even through the wax-coated wrapping. “Our food is ruined.”

“Maybe we can fish?”

“In this? It’s moving too fast. We don’t even have a pole. Unless you want to grab something with your bare hands.”

Duran, next to me, was still happily splashing in the water. Not a care in the world. I wished I was fifteen again. Everything had been much less complicated then.

I pushed the backpack closed and slung it over my shoulder. “We’ll just have to get to the next section of the temple,” I said, like it hadn’t been our goal all along. “Didn’t Vita say there were fish there?”

Apis leaned over the water and frowned. “I suppose so,” he said. “Maybe they have stashes of fishing rods there. Like there were stashes of food in the first maze.”

“I’m sure there are. Otherwise, why would old ladies attempt it? Surely that aunt wasn’t moving any faster than we are.” My words didn’t sound reassuring, even to me. I wrung a little more water out of my cloak. “Duran, stop splashing in the water. You’re going to summon monsters.”

He looked up at me. “Do you promise?”

“No. We’ve already fallen in a river today. Monsters would just make it worse.”

We flipped a coin for which way to go- upstream or downstream. The coin landed on the beetle. Upstream. I caught Duran peering into the depths of the water as we walked.

Something moved down there. I walked a little faster.

It was just a big fish. I was sure of it.

Did big fish have tentacles?

----------------------------------------

Unlike the rest of the temple, the tunnel just went on. And on. We only had a few elbow-lengths of space to move on the lip of stone before the sharp drop-off to the water below. At least we’d been able to refill our flasks. I couldn’t help but still be nervous about the depths below. I kept thinking I spotted the movement of something in the depths.

Then again, maybe I was just imagining it. I’d spent too long in this temple already.

That was why I’d thought I was imagining the light at the end of the tunnel. First it was nothing but a flickering. Then it had gotten larger, and I’d seen one figure. Then two. Maybe a third. Who else was down here? Katla?

“Vita?” I called, down the tunnel. I couldn’t make out the figures. Neither one seemed to be on crutches.

“Don’t get any closer!”

The figure held up the lantern. A woman and two men, as far as I could tell. And… a harp?

“It’s just Elysia!” I called out. “We thought we lost you!”

“I don’t know who that is, and I don’t like it!” shouted the woman. “How do I know that you’re not stealing our secrets!”

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“We don’t have any secrets!” said another figure. He seemed to think he was being quiet, but it echoed all the way down to us. I took a hesitant step forward.

“I have a rock, and I’ll use it!” called the woman. “Stay where you are!”

“Camilla, let’s not get excited,” said the man.

The man with the harp began to speak, but they both hushed him. I cleared my throat. “We’re just pilgrims,” I lied. “Here to find the center of the temple.”

“I don’t remember you!” she shouted. “And you’ve got a big sword!”

“So what? I’m allowed to have a big sword.”

“No, you’re not! You’re supposed to donate all of that.”

She had me there. “Fine, you caught me. I’m just here to find someone. Can we stop shouting now?”

Apis leaned forward. “They must have been here for the entire time, if they’re asking about your qualifications. Do you suppose they’ve been fishing for food?”

I stared at their group. “Not unless that harp’s got some bait on it.”

They were still speaking amongst themselves. Duran tugged at my cloak. It squished damply under his hand. Even after a full day of walking, it hadn’t dried out. It was unpleasantly moist and cold down here.

“I have an idea,” he whispered. It echoed off of the stone loudly.

“Well?”

“We can swim past them. We can all swim pretty fast. Before they notice, we’ll be gone.”

“I’ll consider it.” Duran’s opinion of our swimming ability was wildly optimistic.

As I turned back to the group in front of us, the suspicious woman lowered her lantern. “I agree to your offer for parlay,” she shouted across.

“What?”

“Send forward a member of your group to negotiate an agreement,” she said. “I will speak to them on neutral ground.”

“Sorry, who put you in charge of these tunnels?”

“As a representative of the government,” she said, “It is up to me to make sure that no one misuses-” One of her companions leaned in and whispered something in her ear. She sighed. “I mean, we don’t want to get in a fight with anyone, and we think your sword is suspicious, so we want to make sure you don’t have any ill intentions. Can we speak to one of you one-on-one before we let you pass?”

As much as I hated to admit it, she was able to block us. I might as well hear them out. I turned to Duran and Apis. Apis and I spoke at once, faces in our own little huddle.

“I’ll go.”

I turned to him. “I’m the one with a sword.”

“I’m the one without a sword,” he pointed out, which was horribly reasonable of him. “I’m less threatening.”

“I should go,” said Duran, a little late. “I’m the most charming.”

We both ignored him. “Fine,” I said. “But don’t sign us up for any favors. We’re too over-booked as it is.”

“I would never.” I squinted at him. “Well, I’ll only sign us up for favors that really need done. It’s a temple! We can’t just ignore the needy.”

“Just get us past these people,” I said. “Good luck.”

I held Duran back as Apis straightened his tunic and stepped forward. After a moment, the woman stepped forward. Unfortunately, they weren’t speaking loud enough for the echoes to reach us. I was forced to wring more water out of my cloak as I waited.

Apis began gesturing vaguely. The woman reached for what looked like a dagger. I stepped forward, ready to defend him, when they shook hands. He turned and smiled at me.

My gut dropped. “Tell me we don’t have more members of the group,” I said.

He’d already trotted back to us and slung his backpack over his shoulders. “It’s a small world! Her companion is actually the missing assistant of our old companion Herminus. Can you believe it?”

I tried to stare past the bright pool of light of her lantern to the two men behind her. One of them was trying to straighten a clearly torn tunic and a pair of uneven glasses. He looked nervous at the sight of my sword. The other was struggling to carry a harp that was missing a few strings.

“I should have known,” I said. “Why couldn’t we have found Katla’s group? They might have had a few rabbits.”

At least Camilla (the woman) and her group (Gnaeus, the harpist, and Balbinus, the missing assistant) had some information for us. “There’s a grate up ahead,” she said, gesturing. “We’ve been trying to get through for ages, but we’re just not strong enough as a group.” She glared at Balbinus. “Some of us spend all of our time in the library.”

He walked a little faster. “Some of us need to draft our motions multiple times!”

“I believe that music is the strongest power there is,” said Gnaeus. Before he could strum the harp, Balbinus’s hand reached out to stop him.

“Maybe later,” he said. “We’re all so…. tired right now. We can’t appreciate the music.”

Just what I needed. More people. I walked a little faster, but I couldn’t get rid of Camilla. She was nearly at a run. “So why do you have a sword?” she said. She tried to poke at it, but I dodged her hand. My feet were nearly slipping on the wet stone. I could hear Duran, running to catch up with me. Apis’s voice had faded to an echoing mutter behind me. “Are you planning on fighting someone inside?”

“We’re here to find someone, not as pilgrims,” I said. “Always better to have a sword. Just in case.”

“But who is it for? All we have are statues!”

I thought of the Voice of Teuthida. Hopefully she was still in the capital, but…

“I don’t have the best experience with squids,” I said. “Are you always this nosy?”

“Only when it’s important.” She folded her arms. “Who are you here to find? Maybe we can help. I met many people outside of the entrance, waiting to be admitted by the priestesses. I’m very sociable, after all.” The more she explained how friendly she was, the less I believed her. Still, it was worth a try.

“His name is Durandus the First. Owner of the One Horse Inn.”

She was suspiciously silent.

“You don’t know him, do you.”

“No, I just-” She frowned. “I thought he escaped. You didn’t see him outside?”

I stopped walking. “What do you mean, you thought he escaped?”

“The day everything collapsed,” she said. “I saw him running. He was faster than Balbinus and I- we were checking the temple, making sure we’d be here for our councilmen to establish their-”

“Get on with it.”

“Well, he was with those…” She made a vague gesture. “Those strange northern people. They’re very efficient. I assumed they would have left by now. He really wasn’t back in his inn?”

“We stopped by on the way up. I didn’t see him.” Strange northern people. Katla’s group? It had to be.

“You’re sure you didn’t see him?”

“I think I would have noticed,” I snapped. “Otherwise, this would be a massive waste of time. Why does it matter so much to you, anyway? Were you a big fan of the inn?”

“I’m just…” Camilla coughed. “Well, my councilman was with that group as well. I was hoping he had escaped.” She gestured ahead of us. “It’s only a few minutes more to the gate. Shall we?