It’s beautiful, is my first thought. After so long having only the flickering light of my torch to illuminate the way ahead, to now see bright daylight makes more of an impression on me than I would have thought. It feels like having been stuck in a smog for years and now finally being able to breathe fresh air once more.

The fingers of light are coming from a large hole in the roof, a crevice which opens up from the top of one wall to a good few metres away. While I wouldn’t say the cave is well-lit – the shafts of light are far too confined for that – I can see a lot more than I would have been able to with only my torch as light. Looking back for a moment, I realise that what I had thought was paler rock was just the same material as the rest of the cavern, lightly illuminated. Returning my attention to the cave in front of me, I scan the place for threats.

It’s big, that’s for sure. Almost a cavern, really. The cave is about five or six metres high and at least three times that wide. As for the length, even the light streaming in from the ceiling can’t reach the furthest points of the cave. It does, however, glint off a large, fathomless pool that starts not far from where I’m standing.

The surface of the pool would have been glass-smooth, except for the drops of water that fall from more stalactites on the cavern ceiling. They shine like diamonds as they fall through the air only to then plink into the water and send ripples lapping at the edges. It’s deep. The water’s crystal clear, so I can see how the cave floor rapidly drops away until it’s out of sight. While clear at the edges, it’s completely black within a worryingly short time. I make a mental note to avoid falling in – if my clothes pull me down, I’ll be in big trouble. I send Bastet a warning about the cubs, knowing that they will all be curious.

The salt near the edges of the pool is even more thickly encrusted, indicating that the water is the source of it all. Why would there be salty water in the middle of a mountain? Maybe there’s some sort of salt deposit that the water’s dissolved? But surely it would have just all leaked out one way or another? I end up putting the question to one side: it’s at times like these that I miss the internet. Either way, my hopes rise at the thought that there might be another way out of here, one that doesn’t involve me squeezing myself into a pancake…

Careful not to step in the water, I narrow my eyes in thought as I walk around the pool to survey the rock wall below the base of the crevice. It should be possible to climb – there are plenty of handholds. A few dodgy spots where the rock presses outwards which would have to be purely strength based – I’d never have tried them with my previous level of fitness, but now…

If I could fix a rope harness up at the top, I could reduce the risk of falling badly, and then I’d have access to a large amount of salt… It’s definitely worth considering. Turning around to talk to Bastet – even if I can climb the wall, she probably can’t – I see what one of the cubs is doing.

For once, it’s not Trouble. Instead, Ninja is dipping her paw in the water, splashing curiously. I start striding towards her, an admonishment on my lips. Maybe it’s just salty water; maybe it’s caustic soda. Either way, it’s not a good idea to just stick her paw in unknown liquid. A particularly hard plash with her paw sends droplets all over her face and she backs up shaking her head and sneezing cutely.

I can’t help cooing a little bit at her adorableness, but the undercurrent of worry is still there. What if she’s got some of the liquid in her eyes and it makes her go blind? What if it is caustic and starts burning her down to the bone? Fortunately, when I get close enough to scoop her up, I see that the liquid doesn’t appear to be doing anything nefarious. Other than getting her wet, which is enough to make the little cub mewl grumpily.

“Then don’t go playing in strange liquids, silly thing,” I tell her sternly, though can’t prevent a fond note from entering my voice. I couldn’t say which of the raptorcats is my favourite, but Ninja is definitely the cutest.

The returning ripple from Ninja’s full-pawed splash returns to lap at my feet, more small waves following. Wait… Ninja didn’t splash that hard: she’s only a little cub, after all. Something in my hindbrain starts screaming and I don’t hesitate to obey the instinct. I would far rather act unnecessarily than hesitate when seconds count. I take a couple of quick steps to grab Stormcloud where she’s poking at a stalagmite.

“Get Trouble,” I snap at Bastet, already booking it towards the section of the cave where we came through. Before I manage to make it halfway to the natural archway, I see something which makes my hands itch for a weapon. It’s impossible at the moment, with my hands full as they are, but the moment I’ve put the cubs somewhere safe, I’ll be pulling out my mace for sure. Probably a spear too.

A monster from the deep has risen, a great black serpent. It’s long and thick, its head indistinguishable from its body. The brief glance I get of it before I continue running doesn’t reveal any vulnerable points like eyes. I suppose I shouldn’t expect some monster that lives in the dark to rely on sight.

Stumbling through the trip hazard of stalagmites – or stalactites – poking up from the floor, I make it back to the tunnel. Shoving the cubs in more roughly than I’d like, I quickly turn around and grab my spear and mace out of my Inventory. Sure, I could grab my bow and arrows too, but I don’t think they’re going to make much of an impression on this monster.

Bastet isn’t here yet. I run, stumble, and hop through the minefield back to the archway. She’s trapped, tucked into a corner as the water snake – or whatever it is – waves back and forth. Maybe it can’t detect us, I wonder, my mind racing. Maybe it is sensitive enough to detect the unusual ripple that Ninja created, but now it’s above water, it doesn’t know where we are.

If we could make it believe that it was just a rock or something that fell… It’s getting closer and closer to Bastet’s hiding place, rubbing its nose along the wall and approaching her inch by inch. It’s big, wider around than she’s tall, and she’s handicapped besides – I see Trouble held securely in her mouth. She’s pulled in close against the wall, but by the way the snake’s moving, it’s going to find her in a few seconds.

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Scrabbling at the ground, I manage to grab and break off a chunk of calcified rock. Throwing it in the opposite direction of the snake from where Bastet is, I hold my breath. I’m gratified when the loud plop the stone makes as it falls into the pool garners a reaction.

The snake twists quickly and shoots directly towards the stone. I frown as I watch it. It’s not moving like any snake I’ve ever seen – mostly on the internet. But I can’t put my finger on why it seems so strange. After considering it for a moment, I dismiss the thought. We need to get out of here; that’s what’s important.

Bastet has put the distraction of the enemy to good use and is sprinting towards me as fast as she can. She’s almost to my position when one of her back claws slides on the damp and slippery stone. She regains her balance quickly, but not quick enough to avoid touching the shallows of the pool.

My theories of the creature being sensitive to water movement must be correct as it immediately reacts. Leaving the site of the falling stone alone, the monster shoots straight towards us.

Bracing myself, I ready my weapons. As soon as Bastet has bounded past, her eyes wide and feathers sticking up on end, I jab with my spear. In the time it takes me to do that, the snake shoots past, following the running raptorcat. My spear rebounds off the monster’s skin uselessly, not a mark on its skin. Swinging my mace with all my strength, I grimace as it also rebounds, the vibrations from its impact reverberating through the rest of the mace and stinging my hand. It’s like I’ve swung a wooden bat at a solid iron pole. What kind of monster is this?

My attacks have had one effect – they’ve drawn the monster’s attention. It pulls back, much slower than it had been moving when it struck. I dare to glance to the side to check on Bastet. She’s nowhere to be seen – I hope that’s because she’s managed to escape rather than because she’s been squashed into a paste by this insanely strong monster.

Now I need to escape too. I start edging backwards, keeping my eyes on the snake while also trying not to trip over the pointy pieces of rock that threaten to snare my feet. The snake doesn’t seem to be about to attack… It’s poised menacingly, but hasn’t started feeling around for me, or striking at me yet.

Then I see something that makes me swallow dryly, my bowels turning to water. The snake isn’t alone.

Heads of other black snakes are emerging from the water. One, two, four, six, ten...I lose count as they fill the space above the pool, each one waving its pointed nose around, swaying back and forth. Each is surprisingly uniform, no real difference in size. Black skin, smooth lines, no obvious weaknesses.

Then the pieces fall in place. This isn’t a snake. Memories of watching the Fellowship of the Ring flash through my mind: the moment when Boromir threw a stone in the water. This is something far worse than a snake.

Losing my nerve completely, I turn and run towards the tunnel, my only thought that of escape. My eyes are probably as wide as Bastet’s had been. Perhaps she’d already known that this was something we couldn’t hope to face, not when my mace and spear just bounce off its skin.

I don’t make it. Halfway there, a blow takes me off my feet. I’m airborne for a brief moment before I make contact with the wall. It’s unforgiving, the impact making even my enhanced body explode with pain. I tumble down uncontrollably, having been flung up several metres into the air.

The impact with the ground is no better than that of the wall and if I’d had breath in my lungs, I’d have screamed. As it is, pained whimpers pant through my broken jaw. I can’t count how many injuries I have. Everything hurts.

I didn’t slam head-first against the wall; that’s the only blessing. Instead, I hit it hip-first and that’s now either fractured or heavily bruised with how it feels. And even if I didn’t hit the wall head-first, I still hit hard enough to break my jaw, so the world is fading in and out, my brain threatening me with unconsciousness. The world starts spinning, thoughts becoming fractured and hard to hold together.

Stay awake. Bad things will happen if I go to sleep.

Stay awake. Don’t sleep. Not time.

Stay awake. Need...something.

Something.

He...head?

Head hurts.

Hurts...heal?

Heal. Yes, heal.

My hurting brain grasps onto the thought and tries to run with it. The problem is, I can’t string thoughts together enough to work out how to heal. I remember it’s something to do with energy, with a coolness that brings relief to pain.

Desperately, knowing that things are getting worse as an emotion, even if I can’t attach any logic to it, I reach for that cool feeling. It feels like I’m trying to grasp a cloud, my claw-like fingers just dragging uselessly through the substance.

No.

No.

It’s my energy, it will obey.

And it does. There’s a moment of hesitation, a moment where I refuse to consider failure, and then energy is pouring into me.

It circles the injury in my head, the coolness soothing the pulsing, throbbing pain. I ‘feel’ with the energy as it pulls something out of my brain, slotting everything back into place and fixing it. The energy sends tendrils down to my hip and to a tiny fracture in my upper spine that I hadn’t even noticed in the wash of agony everywhere.

And then it fades. My brain now working correctly – and I refuse to even touch on the idea that I might have just had something sticking in it a moment ago – I notice that my mana bar is completely empty. At least it managed to fully sustain brain surgery – no, not thinking about that.

I’m still in pain, but I’m desperate to know what’s going on. Opening my eyes, I see the monster is still thrashing its tentacles around, but it seems to be giving up the search, tentacles withdrawing one by one. I wonder why it hasn’t found me, but then realise that I’ve been ‘lucky’. I’ve fallen behind a few large pillars of calcified rock and they’ve served to hide and protect me even as my impact with them has done more damage.

Then I see something beyond the stalagmites and still-writhing tentacles that makes my heart sink into my boots. Somehow, the monster’s thrashing has caused actual damage to the wall in multiple places. One of which was where the tunnel entrance used to be.

The way is shut.