Noiggakuq once again arrived at the Underway. It was the third night since she met the Sacred Den Master, but she had had no further luck in finding another ground mana flower. The first two had been easy to find, located right around the immediate vicinity. But she knew from experience that she was unlikely to find anymore unless she ventured out further. This seemed be borne out last night when she combed the area and couldn’t detect even the slightest whiff of concentrated Ground mana.

So, for tonight, she intended to head deeper.

She made her final preparations just inside the tunnel. She took a bite of the healing herb mana honey and a swig of Juosiutik’s potion, then took out her light crystal. She would need to be at maximum alertness if she wanted to make it back.

She then walked down the dirt tunnel until she arrived at the underground river. Here, the dirt gave way to stone, the river carving its way down into the roots of the world. Mushrooms and cave plants grew along its banks, while she could catch a glimpse of the occasional fish in the river itself. Such were the means by which the karnuq had sustained themselves on their travels through the deep.

And such were the signals that Noiggakuq would need to be extra cautious. The proof that she was not alone down here.

She put away her light crystal and then waited for her eyes to adjust. A group of karnuq could afford to use such things, but since she was alone it would only make her a target. Fortunately, the river was not entirely devoid of light. Small flashes of bioluminescence sparkled in the dark as insects, fungi, plants, and fish made their presence known. Small sparks of mana spoke to tiny battles being raged all through the dark as well. It was not enough to see much of anything, but with a karnuq’s vision Noiggakuq could at least watch her step. She would, then, trust in her nose to find anything else she needed to know about.

And so she crept into the dark, sticking to the wall to avoid falling into the river should she trip. Down, down the river she went until, finally, the wall started to curve away from the river, opening up into a much, much wider area. The river she had been following extended into the dark where she could hear the much larger one it fed into. The tunnel expanded to tower high into the air, far higher than even several karnuq. Stalagmites, stalactites, and pillars larger than a karnuq filled the area. Patches of moss created little floating lights while glowing mushrooms clung to the walls and pillars.

She had arrived in the Underway, the true Underway. A series of massive tunnels that crisscrossed underneath the surface of the world. They dove deep enough that the Hunger had not yet taken them all over, allowing for a degree of travel underneath the corrupted surface.

Sometimes. Even down here, there were signs that the Hunger was seeping into the ground. More than once the karnuq had to change courses because they found signs of corruption along their original route. More and more of the tunnels they knew of had become inaccessible over time, some very rapidly. And it was not unheard of to encounter shades in the deep. Noiggakuq would just have to hope that she wouldn’t meet one tonight.

And so she began to travel down the Underway, sticking close to the pillars and stalagmites. Few predators down here relied solely on sight but it was still wise to stick to cover. She continuously sniffed the air, trying to work out the scents of different manas she could smell. Searching for the concentrated Ground mana…while hoping to detect anything she didn’t want to find.

She stopped and slowly crouched against a pillar. She caught a cool and acrid scent that was tinged with hints of Dark mana. A scent she had been trained to keep an eye out for, as her skill in that regard had saved a hunter more than once.

The scent of a cave panther. A dangerous foe even for a veteran hunter. A death sentence for Noiggakuq, should it set its sights on her while she was alone.

She sat completely still, not making a single sound or vibration. She had taken steps before this trip to eliminate her own scent as well, so, hopefully, the cave panther wouldn’t be able to detect her. She stayed there for what felt like an eternity, breathing as softly as she could.

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But then, finally, the scent started to recede. The cave panther was moving away.

She remained still for a while longer, until she was absolutely sure she could detect no trace of the scent. Then, she slowly began to creep forward, hugging the wall of the tunnel. By all wisdom, she should have turned back now.

But Noiggakuq would not.

By all wisdom, she shouldn’t be here at all. She was small. She was weak. She couldn’t fight. She couldn’t survive on her own. Until she started to sniff mana, she was nothing but a drain on the clan.

She had heard the conversations between the adults when their supplies ran low.

She was sick and tired of it. And now, now she had the opportunity to gain some power of her own. To ensure that she could survive, that she could decide her own fate. That she would not be left at the mercy of those who thought of her as a burden.

And to do that, she would have to brave the dark, and all the dangers it held. She would have to defy wisdom and do what even a veteran hunter would not.

So, she pressed on.

And then, finally, she caught a whiff of Ground mana. The combination of earthy and metallic scents that existed all around her, but concentrated such that it no longer faded into the background of other scents. She nearly broke out into a run, but she caught herself. She forced herself to continue creeping, sniffing rapidly to search for any scents other than the Ground mana. But she found nothing, so she continued her slow advance.

She found a small tunnel in the wall she was following and slowly made her way inside. The tunnel was only a bit taller than the average karnuq, and began to turn back from stone to dirt. Even smaller tunnels veered off to the sides, setting her on edge, but the scent continued down the main one so on she went.

And then, finally, she found it. She was overwhelmed by the scent of Ground mana as she stepped into a small cave at the end of the tunnel. There, sitting in a patch of dirt, was a Ground mana flower. Its petals were as brown as its stem and glowed with a faint, brown light. The Ground mana sat heavy on her, pushing her down towards the ground but surrounding her with warmth, making her want to roll into the dirt. She couldn’t help but grin as she walked over to the flower and crouched down. She gently dug into the dirt and then gathered the flower up, roots and all. She grinned and laughed a bit as she held the flower in her hands, before placing it into her bag.

Now, she could finally…

But before she could finish her thought, the ground exploded. Something heavy struck her back, and she heard loud snarling.

Noiggakuq fell to the ground, reaching for the knife at her side. She swung wildly, having no idea what she was even swinging at. But, she managed to strike something as she heard a yelp, then whatever it was backed off her. She quickly clambered away and scrambled to her feet, facing her assailant. She frowned and narrowed her eyes.

A wolf-mole shook its head, pawing at the scratch on its face her wild swings had inflicted. It was a low, heavy creature with the massive claws of a mole in front, but a long, snarling snout filled with teeth. And, worst of all, it smelt heavily of Ground mana, its scent having been masked by the Ground mana flower she had found. That was why she hadn’t any idea it was here.

And now, it was standing between her and the only exit.

Noiggakuq had no illusions as to what would happen next. Her little knife could annoy the creature, but there was no chance she could kill it. Likewise, now that it was on-guard, there was little chance she could get past the battering claws or the snapping jaws. Her only hope was to escape, but the predator filled the tunnel. The wolf-mole watched her knife warily, but it made no move to retreat. It would not give her the chance to leave.

She was trapped. She grit her teeth.

But then, she had a thought. She slowly reached into her bag with her free hand, keeping her eyes and knife in the direction of the wolf-mole, and reached around until she found what she was looking for. She pulled out a small package wrapped in cloth and then tossed it at the wolf-mole. The wolf-mole scurried back to avoid the package, which landed on the ground. It then started to sniff…

The moment it did it paused, and then crawled to the package, sniffing it heavily. It pawed at it with a set of claws, scraping off some of the cloth. Noiggakuq sniffed the air and smiled. Fortunately, she had grabbed the right one.

“Go ahead, monster. Eat your fill.”

The wolf-mole did just that, gobbling up the piece of honeycomb she had broken off and packaged, scarfing down the mana-rich food with gusto. Unfortunately, that did not sate its hunger, and it turned to Noiggakuq once more. It growled and slowly crawled forward. Noiggakuq frowned and backed up, but then her back hit the wall.

And then the wolf-mole paused again. It suddenly began to whine and paw at its nose. Its eyes twitched every which way, and then it shuddered. Then, it plopped down on the ground and made no further movements, though its eyes continued glancing around.

Noiggakuq took a deep breath. It was now or never.

Then she ran straight at the monster. It made no move to attack her. She leapt over it, onto its back, and still it did not respond. It couldn’t.

And so she slid off its back and then ran down the tunnel as fast as she could.