Those eerie titters echo behind us for far too long. Something has to be following us, but we haven’t heard footsteps or seen any other evidence of their presence.

Except for the eyes. In the engulfing darkness, I catch glimpses of inhuman eyes. They shine on their own, as vibrant and intense as emeralds.

Despite their color, I don’t believe they belong to fairies. Or rather, they don’t belong to the kind we’ve encountered. They’re wide and childlike and a couple feet lower to the ground.

My guess is that they’re children, but I’d like to be wrong about that. Not because I have moral qualms about fighting fairy kids; the concept just seems a hell of a lot creepier. They’re likely to be much more whimsical. Less predictable. And at least adults have some level of restraint.

…I say, knowing absolute fuck-all about fairies. I know there’s superstition about saying the word “fairy.” Apparently that’s likely to summon them, and that makes them mad - though I doubt we can piss them off more than with murder. And I know that changelings are when fairies switch out your kids for their own. They’re also not tiny, winged, cheerful things. They tease. They prank. You know, like tying your shoes together or drowning you in your own bath tub. And they really, really dislike people disturbing their homes.

To think, I used to love fairies as a kid. I hope it doesn’t turn out that unicorns are dicks too.

An hour or so in, another legion of red birds floods the tunnel. The second they show, Ron whips out the gittern - no prompts needed - and lays down another hard rock, medieval minstrel riff. The beating of feathered wings drowns out whatever notes he plays, but as it turns out, we don’t need to hear the music for it to take effect. It’s like any other aura. So long as we’re close enough, we’re protected. As a bonus, Ron’s Level 10 class ability gives him a 50% chance of not getting hit by conditions in the first place. Bard-tanks for the win!

So, with our lilting accompaniment, we absolutely steamroll the tamer. After that, the birds become erratic, fluttering frantically every which way. This time, I get to partake in the action. And I’ll tell ya, you don’t know joy until you’ve skewered two birds per dagger mid-air.

In only minutes, the red beasts drop dead around us. That brings the rest of the team up to Level 12. Except for Ron. But he’s close enough.

Oh, and Elias also has his Level 10 class ability unlocked. Unfortunately, he says it requires a stun attack to work, so we’ll need to be on the lookout for a weapon with that ability.

Soon after, we hit our first fork in the road. Ahead, the path tapers into nothing as the stream continues through an opening about two-feet in diameter. So, technically, we could keep following the stream, but we’d have to army-crawl through six inches of water to do it. Alternatively, in the ground to our left, there’s a crevice.

“Um,” I say, weighing our options. “No.”

Elias lies flat on his stomach and peers over the edge. “I can’t see the bottom.”

“Well, you’re not wearing glasses, so...” I go prone beside him. “Scooch. Let me look.”

I look into the crevice. It is black.

“Okay, do any of us have lights?” I ask.

“I’m hungry,” Luci replies.

“We did not prepare for this trip, man,” adds Ron.

“All salient points. Elias?”

“We should have brought a light.”

“Alright, well. Zero points for all of you. So, unless anyone has a better idea, I’m throwing liquid fire down there.” To demonstrate, a bulb of luminous yellow ooze appears in my hand. “Objections?”

Inventory item removed: (1) Lesser Liquid Fire

The potion illuminates Elias’ sour expression, but he makes the teeniest li’l shrug that implies at least some level of acquiescence.

I prop myself onto my knees and gesture for Elias to do the same. No need to singe those pouty eyebrows.

“Then here goes!” I drop the bottle down the crevice.

Below, the cave ignites. Fire spills across the floor as scorching flames rapidly devour whatever magic-y methanol the potion’s got going. For mere seconds, they soar several feet high, bathing the cavern in amber light. Just as quickly, the blaze dwindles. The liquid glows with shallow waves of fire until every last milliliter is consumed.

God, I love fire.

I look back at the others, their figures smudged by the bright spots in my eyes. “So, it looks like a five foot drop? Then it opens up, at least a little. If it’s no good, we can climb back up.”

“Well, I don’t wanna go through that,” Luci says, gesturing at the stream.

“Yeah, I’m also of the opinion that we avoid the claustrophobic nightmare.”

“Agreed,” says Elias.

Ron gives his classic ‘rock-on’ sign.

And so we vote to descend even further.

Kneeling, I inch backwards toward the lip of the crevice, guiding one leg down, and then the other. My boot scrapes along the rock, nudging for a foothold. Gently, I ease myself down.

“My turn!” Luci exclaims, her leg appearing over the ledge. “Coming down!”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Once she’s secure, Ron follows. Then Elias, cursing as his metal leg clunks against the jagged rock. He awkwardly skids down the slant at the bottom before landing on the flattened path. When I begin to ask if he’s alright, he cuts me off with a quick shake of his head.

As my eyes adjust, the layout of the cave corridor becomes clear. I have to admit, the game designers were generous here. Radiant veins of silver weave through the limestone rocks like forks of lightning, cleaner and brighter than they’d ever be in real life. Obviously, we’d do better with lights of our own, but as with the rest of the dungeon, we’ll be able to see well enough to navigate our way forward without them.

Needless to say, next time, we’re most definitely not entering a dark stairwell without supplies. In fact, the moment we see a store, no matter what our plans are, I hereby vow that we will purchase more than just pants.

Again, there’s an unmistakable trail we’re meant to follow, whether trampled, hand-designed, or weathered into submission. Sharp stalactites curtain the sides, some joining with the rising stalagmites into chunky tethered columns. Here and there, the ceiling breaks into endless open shafts. Just pitch-black holes where anything could lurk. I try not to stand directly under them for too long. It feels like a great place for a giant spider to drop down or for a long, sticky tongue to snatch me up.

The eyes, of course, continue to follow us. At one point, Luci trips, scraping her bare leg on a serrated ridge. For a moment, her entire thigh blossoms with little beads of blood. Then it heals.

But in that moment, there’s a flash of movement. A grainy silhouette. Then the pitter-patter of feet as whatever it is flees back to the shadows.

I’m also greeted with a notification somewhere along the way.

Skill Proficiency Increased:

Hiking 6

“So, lemme get this right,” says Luci. “Lord Cathal is keeping that girl, Afric, somewhere down here? Like, in a fairy cave?”

“Possibly,” I reply. “Also possibly, there is no Afric, and Éogan lured us here for… reasons. That’s as far as I’ve gotten on that theory.”

Ron gasps. “Lord Cathal’s a fairy!”

“Um…?” I hum. “Unless they have categories of fairies with absolutely zero charm, I kinda doubt that.”

“Totally,” agrees Luci. “That guy measures girls’ shorts.”

“That’s several people we’ve encountered who couldn’t be trusted,” states Elias. “The lord, the boy, the guards, the fisherman…”

“Psh, the fisherman was just uber weirded out by your leg,” Luci snipes. “And the guards are like, doing their job. And Éogan’s alright sometimes.”

Ron gives him a conciliatory, yet forceful pat on the back. “I used to have trust issues too, man.”

“They aren’t issues when it’s been shown that-” He pauses.

“When it’s been shown that…” Luci repeats mockingly.

Elias holds out a finger, turning his attention to the path behind us.

“You’re always hearing stuff,” Luci scoffs.

“I’ve been hearing them too,” I say.

“Hearing what?”

I shrug. “Fairy kids.”

“Fairy what? Where?”

Elias waves us off. “It’s not them. Voices. Listen.”

“More beast tamers?” she asks.

“Shhh.”

The group stills.

I’ve never been a huge fan of the quiet. Too many thoughts. Too much tinnitus. Just dead air hounding you for some sound that it deems worthwhile.

However, the quiet of a cave has a different quality. It isn’t the absence of sound. It’s the fullness of silence. There’s a weight to it.

But noise, especially the unnatural kind, carries easily in a tunnel like this. So when the brassy, snobby tenor of a crass young man sounds, it’s like he’s speaking right into my ear.

My spine chills as my eyes find Elias.

“It’s them.”

“Who?” asks Luci. Her voice is sharp. Loud. Too loud.

“Quiet. We need to be quiet,” I whisper. My heart races. They weren’t supposed to get out. How did they get out?

“You said they were restrained,” says Elias, his tone as hushed and cold as winter ice.

“They were. I don’t know what happened.”

I listen again, praying I’m wrong. But that tone is unmistakable. His sardonic laugh cuts through the air, rebounding against the cavern walls. They could be anywhere in the tunnel. Ten minutes behind, two minutes behind, seconds behind, weapons aimed.

A female voice responds. Melissa? Melinda? Was that her name?

How? How did they escape? Was it me? Lord Cathal? Éogan? They said they had the visa quest. They should be heading for the necromancer right now. Are they seriously coming after us?

Of course they are. The man said he would. He’s clearly their leader. And why not? He’s cocky enough. Why gun for the visa quest when you can clear a dungeon, take out another team, max out your XP in a low-level region, and then portal out?

Shit. This was not meant to happen. And everything was going so well. I like it down here. Even with creepy eyes and deadly birds and enchanting fae, I like it. And now…

Is this my fault?

“Do they have a quest down here?” Elias asks.

“I don’t know. But I think they’re here for us.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because one of them said if he gets out, he’s going to hunt us down and kill us.”

“What?!”

Luci steps between us. “Who’s hunting us? What’s going on?”

Ron taps nervously on the base of his gittern. “You’re mega freakin’ me out, dudes.”

“What are they?” asks Elias. He’s calm, calculated. “Can we fight them?”

“I think an archer, a fire mage, maybe. Two others. I don’t know their level. All I know is they were captured by Lord Cathal. That could put them anywhere below 25.” A pit forms in my stomach, like rot digging its way down. “We can’t outrun them.”

Elias’ jaw tightens. “Luci can’t join us.”

“What do you mean, I can’t join you?” Panic rises in her voice. “What are you talking about?”

“She has to,” I say. “Or we’ll be outnumbered.”

“Helen-”

“I know.”

“Then we need to prepare,” replies Elias. He removes his bag, setting it behind a rock. “We can ambush them.”

My throat clenches. “Is that what you want?”

For a moment, he closes his eyes. When he opens them, he’s looking at Luci. “No. I… We can’t be the ones to make the first move.”

I inhale deeply, trying to slow down my breathing. “Okay. Let’s do it like this. You and Ron, come with me. Luci, stay a little farther back. Actually, get up on the ledge. Stay hidden. But get ready to fire. I have a trap, so I’ll put that over the path.”

“I do as well,” Elias adds.

“Oh, you do? Yeah, great. Put yours across the ledge in front of Luci in case they go that direction. I’ll sneak forward a little. I’ll try to talk to them, but there’s a woman who’s really good at persuasion and if she leveled it up since I saw her, it could be a problem. If they make the first move, I’ll come back. We’ll make our stand. If I do something stupid, um, intervene. Please. And, and that’s it. I think. Right? Wait, potions. Um…”

“You need to breathe,” says Elias.

Inventory item added: (1) Lesser Stamina Draught

Inventory item added: (1) Wits Draught

“Thanks. Thank you.”

We fall into silence again, listening. Waiting.

Luci clutches my arm. “Helen, what’s going on?”

My hand wraps around hers. God, her fingers are small. She has so much more to grow. “It’s okay. It’ll be okay.”