Olivia led them through the forest at a jog, darting around trees and over tree roots, up the gradual slope. Towards Blandmanch, and safety.

Hina didn't know how far away Blandmanch was exactly, but her estimate still had them at least a day's travel away.

And she didn't know about the others, but Hina couldn't maintain this pace much longer. Her lungs burned, her legs felt like weights.

Heavy footfalls in the forest behind them spurred her on.

The creature—the huld—wasn't chasing them in earnest, or it would have already caught them. There was no doubt in Hina's mind that the huge figure in the darkness last night could move much faster than she could, even if she was running at full speed.

Its legs must be taller than her whole body.

The fog in her head faded as she moved, the physical sensation wearing away at it until she felt clear. Clearer. Kai jogged beside her, Olivia was a little ahead.

The edges of Hina's vision were dim, and she was breathing hard. Her heart-beat roared within her ears as she watched the ground in front of her. Her only thought was on making the next step and the one after that.

Then there was a person in her way. Olivia stood still, facing forward.

Hina let her numb feet and legs stop falling forward. She rested her hands on her thighs while she caught her breath.

The footsteps continued behind them, getting closer.

"What is it?" asked Kai, only a little out of breath.

Hina forced herself to look up. Olivia was pointing ahead and a little to the left. The was a gap in the trees ahead, where rocky ground rose sharply. Rocky fingers of earth reached towards them on either side. The trees continued above.

They might be able to climb, if they did it quickly. Hina took a deep breath. She could climb, if she had to.

"Up?" asked Kai.

Olivia and Kai walked forward, closer to the slope.

Hina followed, forcing her tired legs to move. They wobbled as she walked.

"Or, in there?" said Olivia.

There was a triangular gap in the rocks ahead, a path leading away into darkness.

Olivia walked closer. "It looks like it goes in deep. And it's small enough that it won't be able to follow us in."

The footsteps picked up in speed, louder now in the enclosed space of the little valley. Hina could feel the vibrations through her aching feet.

Kai looked up the slope, then he looked at Hina and shrugged.

"In. We can hide and come out to climb when it's gone," she said.

"Alright." Kai slipped his hammer out of his belt and held it ready. "Me first."

He went in. Olivia followed, and Hina took up the rear.

The footsteps grew louder, and a massive shape appeared at the edge of the trees. Hina followed Olivia into the cave. "Hurry up, it's right behind us."

A few meters in, Hina scraped the side of her head on a low rock. She recoiled, staggering forward blindly until she bumped into Olivia, who had stopped ahead.

Something smelled foul in the enclosed space. Like sweat and bile. The air was thick with it. Hina gagged.

"Tight here," Kai's voice said. "And dark."

Hina's bag croaked sadly.

Something scraped in the passage behind them. A long low sound, growing louder.

The breeze brushed the back of Hina's dress against her legs, and she jumped forward. She turned and pressed her back against Olivia.

A shape was moving in the shadows.

Hina felt a hint of something moving in the back of her mind. Then there was light, and she could see the huge furry thing—a hand? It was groping at the space in front of her. She yelped.

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It had long sharp nails like claws, and dark fur on the backs of its fingers. It reached towards her.

Hina's knife was in her hand before she realised she'd drawn it. She stabbed at the hand.

The blade went into the tip of its index finger, black blood spilled out onto the dirt. The smell intensified—bile and death.

A deep rumbling voice bellowed in pain and outrage from outisde the cave. The hand jerked back.

Olivia's pressure against Hina's back shifted, and Hina stumbled backwards into the empty space behind her.

The hand reached down the tunnel, black and bloodied fingers groping blindly.

Hina shuffled back until there was solid stone behind her. A flash of blue—Olivia's dress in the narrow passage ahead. She crouched and followed.

Something brushed at her again and she pressed forward, shuffling as fast as she could.

And then she was clear.

Hina tumbled out of the narrow passage, into an open space. The smell faded—or maybe she was just used to it now.

The bellowing continued behind them. And the sound of scraping and shifting rock.

The scraping and shifting intensified, building to a roar. Dust and dirt rushed out of the opening, filling the air of the larger cave.

Hina coughed, and covered her mouth with her sleeve. She could barely see.

The sounds slowed and then stopped. The muffled bellowing faded.

It was still.

Hina sneezed. The dust tickled her lungs. She sneezed again. Her hands found Kai's, and then Olivia's. They were all coughing and sneezing.

The dust took a long time to settle.

And then Hina could see enough to get a better idea of their situation.

The cave was wide, with a shallow roof that rose to just over their heads. The ground sloped downwards, becoming a much taller space towards the bottom. The dim light—Olivia's working, Hina assumed—didn't reach all the way across the room.

The far side of the cave was dark.

Beasts might live in that darkness. But nothing seemed to be moving right now.

"Everyone okay?" Hina asked.

Olivia nodded stiffly, her eyes were wide.

Kai shook his head. "Are we trapped?"

"I don't think so—this cave, the bit that we're in now, is huge. There's probably another way out, further down the hill. But we'll dig out if we need to," Hina said.

She squeezed Olivia's hand. Olivia startled, shifting back slight in a twitchy movement. "Are you okay, Olivia?"

Olivia nodded, blue eyes staring back at Hina. Her expression was blank.

"Not injured?" Hina asked.

"I am unharmed," Olivia said. She took a deep breath. "Thank you."

Hina set her bag down and opened it, revealing Bean, who squawked grumpily. He hopped out, climbing up her arm to her shoulder, where his claws dug in sharply. He croaked and moaned and then croaked again. "Bad place," he said. "Bad place."

"Hey, hey. It'll be okay, little bird."

She held up a finger to stroke him.

Beak clacking, he snapped at her finger. And then he went still. She stroked the side of his head for a moment. "We'll be okay." He leaned in to her finger.

Hina took her water bottle out of the bag and took a sip. She passed it to Kai, who drank deeply before handing it back.

"How much water do you have, Olivia?"

"I'm fine for now."

"We're going to need more than that, Olivia. We don't know how long we'll be down here." She searched for words with a tired brain, and then continued. "We need to know what our problems are before we can solve them."

Olivia gave a half laugh. "Other than being trapped in a cave? And the huld trying to eat us, you mean?" She paused and took a deep breath. "I understand what you mean."

She sighed and then unclipped the buckles on her satchel with a practiced hand. Her left hand flipped the top open and reached into the bag.

Her arm went in further than made sense to Hina, as the girl groped around for a moment, arm muscles making little movements. Olivia's hand came back into view holding an oversized canteen, as big as Hina's water bottle.

"See?" Olivia said, setting the canteen onto the ground with a thud and a muffled slosh.

Hina stared. There was no possible way that such a large container could fit in Olivia's satchel, which looked a better fit for carrying documents than luggage. "How?"

"It's." Olivia sighed. "It's a storage device."

"A what?" said Kai. He was staring at the canteen too.

"It's bigger on the inside."

"Isn't it heavy?"

Olivia shook her head. "Not much heavier than an ordinary bag of this size. The things inside the bag aren't physically inside it. It's kind of like the mouth of the bag is linked to another place. I don't really understand the theory, it's... complicated."

"Where did you get it?" Hina asked.

"It was a gift from my mother, for meeting her requirements for the journey to the city. They obviously wanted me to have the best chance of arriving safely. I'm not supposed to let anyone know that I have it. And that's ruined now." She clutched the bag close to her chest and shuffled back against the wall. "If you try to steal it from me, I'll—I'll haunt you—I'll haunt you to your deaths!"

"Hey, hey," Hina made soothing noises. "It's okay. We'll be okay. Nobody is going to steal anything from you. We're going to get out of here. Together."

Her everything ached, but Hina's head was complaining the loudest. She needed to sit and rest. But before that. "I think we're out of immediate danger. We have water for a couple of days if we stretch it out. We have light—how long can you hold the light, Olivia?"

Olivia was bent forward over her bag, with her head down. "A couple of hours, maybe?"

"Can you teach me how to do it? So we can share the work?"

Olivia hesitated. "I'm not supposed to. But fine." She sat up and put two arms into her satchel and rooted around for a while. She brought out a yellowed card and looked at it for a moment. "Please, please don't turn yourself into a horrible monster. Okay?" She held out the card to Hina.

"Okay?" Hina took the card. "What... what does that mean, exactly?"

"You know what happens when you mess up a working? You must know."

Hina shook her head. "No. Sorry."

Olivia sighed. "Just... be careful, okay? Don't perform workings beyond your skill level, or when you're too tired to focus. And don't try to do anything that you don't understand. And if it feels wrong, stop."

"What happens if I don't? If I do the wrong things and mess up?"

"Most of the time, nothing. But uncontrolled workings—anything can happen. You're providing power and intent to change the world and then letting the working do whatever it wants with that power."

"And people die from that?"

"If they're lucky."

"And what if they're not?"

"That's where the worst kinds of monsters come from."