The night was quiet on the other side of the wall. The air was brisk, but not bone chilling. The world was still as you could hear various bird calls, insects chirp, and the leaves move as the wind blew through them.

Xera Led Pluto across the fields towards the mountain range that lay on the horizon, silhouetted by the moonlight. When they were close to the base of the mountains, they stopped for some rest. They found some rabbits and Xera had Pluto try and hunt some. After a few minutes, he proudly brought one that he caught to the fire. Then he saw three more rabbits laying there with arrows sticking out of them. The pair sat and ate and talked about fighting strategies in case they were to run into any bandits.

Pluto took the first watch while Xera quickly slept. When he woke her, they switched places and he also took a quick nap. He didn’t sleep as long as he had slept most of the day away in Nevus. Xera woke him and they carried on.

When they reached the base of the mountain, the stopped at two black doors that seemed pressed into the stone itself.

“This is the Mountain Gate. Once opened, it will lead to a path through the mountain and on to the other side; although we have no need for that.”

Pluto didn’t see any way of opening the Gate and asked, “How does it open?”

“It only opens with permission from the Royal family of Nevus.”

Then he held up her left arm and lines began to form on the back of her hand. The lines became the symbol Pluto had seen in the city. It glowed and then the image was mirrored where the doors were split. A noise came from the gate and the doors slowly opened.

The doors led to a cave. Xera lit a torch and lit the path ahead of them as the doors closed with a thud. The cave had a stale, damp smell and there were echos of small things scuttling around. Around the edges of the cave walls were stalagmites covered in some sort of wax. There was a path that was outlined by a wooden walkway; although the wood was worn and rotting.

“I guess it’s been awhile since anyone came through here.” Xera remarked.

They followed the path through a narrow hallway. Inside, they lost any sense of direction. The hallway twisted until it opened to a vast room. The breaking of down let in a faint amount of light through an opening above them. They could see that the walkway turn into a wooden bridge that hung by rope over a great divide. There was a bitter scent in the air and the room felt warmer than the rest of the cave had been.

Xera stepped out onto the bridge and it shook. She paused for a moment and starred at Pluto before taking another step. She walked and paused until she made it to the end, where she sighed a sigh of relief. She motioned for Pluto to come and though he was second-guessing himself, he stepped forward. The bridge rocked as it did previously. He paused and when he took his next step, his foot went right through a rotted piece of wood.

He almost fell completely through the hole, but was able to catch himself on the piece in front of him. He began to pull himself up when the board began to crack. He pushed himself up as and grabbed one of the ropes, although it was frayed and falling apart. The entire bridge began to unravel; the rope split and the boards fell.

Pluto was rocked to the side, but held fast to the rope. He dared not to let go as everything fell apart. Xera shouted for him to hold on.

As if I would do anything else his inner voice spat.

Xera dropped the torch on the ground and pulled out some rope that she had packed with her. She tied it around her and the other end around one of the thick stalactites.

“I’m coming!” She shouted down to him.

The rope Pluto was holding on to broke loose from the bridge and he was swung into the wall. Had he not been holding on so tight, he would have fallen. He looked up and saw Xera scaling the wall down to him. When she got low enough, and at the end of her ropes length, she reached out to him. He was barely able to grab her hand and together they slowly made their way up the wall and over the ledge. When they reached the top the watched as the bridge fell apart and fell below. As the boards hit the bottom, they saw that some of the ground turn red then fade back to black.

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The pair dusted themselves off and made their way out of the cave. The cave opened up to the mountain path. Around each corner there were run-down, abandoned houses.

“It’s so strange that people lived here that were once from my city.” Xera said. “But, these houses are proof that Nevus was right.”

“So that means the feather must be here somewhere.” Pluto said.

“Agreed. I would imagine that if was part of the chief’s collection than it will be in a house that’s probably bigger than the rest or– ”

She was cut off because when she turned on the path there was a large, two-story house and outside of it there were chests and boxes surrounding the place.

“Well, I think we found it.” Pluto joked.

Pluto and Xera used a rope ladder that was out front and climbed up to where the house was. When they were at the base of the house they heard a sharp screeching from not too far off. They froze and looked towards where the sound originated from, but after a few moments of nothing, they returned their attentions to the house. Xera nocked and arrow and held the bow straight in front of her. Pluto readied his spear with a firm grip. Xera went to open the door with her unequipped hand and it fell off its hinges.

It was a wood, two-story house. It was clear that in its glory days that it help many parties. There were holes in the walls, scuffs all over the floor, and most of the windows were smashed. There was dust on everything and cobwebs covered the corners. Despite no one living in the house for quite some time, there was a stink that lingered in the wood; as though the residents could never fully leave.

They searched one two of the rooms downstairs, through dressers and chests they broke open , finding only knickknacks. They turned their attentions towards the upstairs and made it up a few steps before the unthinkable happened. When they pressed on the step, the entire stairway turned flat and made them slide down below the first floor. They were ejected into a stone basement. There was faint light that filtered down from the cracks in the ceiling, but didn’t help anything.

“That can’t be good.” Xera proclaimed, recovering herself.

“Now what?” Pluto asked.

Before she could answer his question they heard footsteps that seemed way to close. Within moments, two bandits burst into the basement through a hidden door, flooding the area with light. They were covered in animal skins and brought with them a stink that made Pluto and Xera want to cover their noses. They carried long, thick sticks in their hands and they both wore a sinister smile (even though they were missing some teeth).

“Well, look what we have here!” One of the bandits exclaimed.

The pair of bandits rushed at them. As quick as lightning, Xera shot and arrow and got one of them in the leg. Pluto was not as fast, but managed to crack his spear over the others head. Xera went over to the one she shot and kicked him in the gut. They both ran out of the room, hoping they wouldn’t alert any more bandits.

Unfortunately, bandits were patrolling the basement area like bees in a hive; they were everywhere!

“Why are they all hiding down here?” Pluto whispered.

“Something had to drive them here. Fear. Persecution. I’m not sure, but if we are to make it out of here we can’t make a sound.”

Pluto nodded and they pressed against a wall and followed it around one of the corners of the basement, as they would pause and go to slip behind guards. They made their way halfway through the room, when they were sneaking behind a bandit and Pluto tripped and fell into the bandit.

Pluto’s heart skipped a beat as the bandit turned at him, then the whole room was alerted to their presence. He could see the fury in Xera’s eyes as she pulled out her bow. The fight began and Xera was able to make her way to the end of the room. Pluto on the other hand wasn’t fairing as well. He was able to block most of the attacks, but was still hit a few times.

“RUN!” Xera screamed.

He tried to run, but couldn’t shake his pursuers. Xera was able to take out a few of the bandits, but as she nocked another arrow she felt a pair of strong hands grip her shoulders. She tried to wriggle free but to no avail.

Pluto’s heart sank; he blamed himself for their capture. The pair was brought to the center of the room and tied together. The man with the strong hands stood in front of them. He was a tall, burly man with three large scars across his weathered right cheek. He was adorned with various kinds of furs, teeth, and claws. At his belt he wore a chain with a hook at the end of it and around his neck was a rainbow-hued feather. The pairs eyes went wide when they saw it.

“You picked the wrong house to try and rob.” The man said with a sadistic grin. The rest of the bandits closed in a circle around them, all with malice in their eyes.