Jere stretched his chain as far as possible, standing right outside of his tunnel. For several minutes now, footsteps echoed down the stairway. He was not yet sure if it was Juddken or one of Urash’s mercenaries. Standing next to the giant relief of Ati, Jere felt compelled to meditate. His time in the cells taught him the importance of that. Heikk wasn't getting any better, and Adok had not taken it well. One of them needed to be clearheaded.

Torchlight gradually illuminated the exit of the stairway, accompanied by two pairs of steps. Juddken stepped out of the light, his cavernous eyes scanning the room in bursts. He ignored Jere, his attention instead focused back on the stairway. Behind him exited an older gray-haired woman.

“The smell of a Southerner,” the woman said. “So the rumors are true.”

Though Jere struggled to make out her features, he recognized the woman’s soft voice. “Eanna.”

“Shame to meet you again in such a place.”

Jere grunted, uncomfortable speaking in Juddken’s presence. He was still in earshot, but his focus was on the triangular passageway across the room. Eanna’s presence likely meant that Jere would live another day. Eanna would not be so lucky.

“You should have stayed in your cage,” Eanna said playfully.

“It’s an improvement.”

Eanna slowly turned her attention to Ati’s shrine. She smiled softly. “Such a beautiful offering. Nothing fills the soul quite like it.”

“I suppose.”

“These desert Gods… I’ve forgotten which one I pretend to care about.” Eanna’s openness shocked Jere. There had long been a suspicion of Eanna being a shaman or a witch, but she provided very little proof. Perhaps she knew more about her situation than she let on.

“I am happy to see you, Jere,” Eanna said. “I knew I would before the end.”

“Oh?”

Eanna spun her head, and the shadows around her face smoothed over. The whites of her eyes glowed, almost piercing the darkness. Jere’s chest pounded at the remembrance of Malefica and her tarry eyes. This small woman had power that she had hidden from others, perhaps even more than Juddken. Yet she was still being led here.

“The Horror Gods remember who mocked them,” Eanna chanted, “their gluttony and their greed will consume them. They will lose their tongues, their scalps, and their heads. They will burn and drown. They will forget and be forgotten. Soon their memory will fade like ash in the wind.”

As Eanna announced this, Jere stepped back. He hadn't heard of horror gods before, nor understood what Eanna spoke of. Then Eanna's face sagged and she slumped over, becoming her usual self again.

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“You know what awaits you,” Jere whispered.

Eanna nodded. As she did, Juddken returned from his exploration. He put his hand on her shoulder before muttering a guttural sound and pointing to the triangular passageway. She turned and followed.

“You have friends here, Jere. Remember that.”

Eanna got on her knees and crawled through the passageway. Juddken followed, extinguishing his torch. Soon Jere was alone again. For better or worse, Eanna would keep Juddken distracted.

Jere returned to his spot along the tunnel, passing the multitude of boulders pushed aside by their work. Having two more pairs of hands certainly increased the speed of the work. Adok struggled as he chipped away caked mud with a smaller rock.

“Who was it?” Adok asked, not looking away from his digging.

“Juddken. He won’t be bothering us today.”

“Fuck,” Adok sighed. “Did he bring down another?”

“Yeah.”

“So we… live further,” Heikk said, crouched against another boulder. He could not stand anymore, and his entire body irradiated heat. He was far from helping anymore with digging at this point.

“Yes,” said Adok. “Further.” His voice quivered. He hadn't taken the situation well. He continued smashing away at his boulders, locked in on his task.

“Pace yourself,” said Jere. Adok ignored him, increasing his speed. There was a large boulder about a meter across close to being dislodged. It would have been a simple pulley maneuver away from loosening. But Adok barely seemed aware.

Jere grabbed Adok’s shoulder, pushing him against the wall. Adok grimaced, still trying to reach for the boulder.

“I can’t take it,” quivered Adok. “I feel like I’m fucking suffocating. How much longer do we wait? What’s stopping them from killing us all?”

“Nothing.”

“If it’s not Juddken, then it’ll be the other Corps. Or one of Urash’s mercenaries. Or the fucking screamers. And if we’re lucky, we’ll starve to death!”

Jere sighed. After spending two weeks in the cells, the underground cave was far from daunting to him. Somehow, in his hardened heart, Jere kept an iota of hope. He held Adok to the side, pushing past him and picking up a thinner rock. He pressed it between the boulder, pulling for a quick second before the boulder dislodged with a satisfying crunch. Jere heaved the boulder out of the way, letting it tumble to the ground.

“I’m not one for words. But we should have been dead many times. That counts for something.”

“Lever…” Heikk gasped. His body suddenly slumped over towards the new pocket within the fallen boulders. His arm reached forward before his body gave out underneath him.

Adok crouched down to hold up Heikk, and Jere inspected the boulder with his torch. Behind the new pocket, a thin metal rod jutted out of the wall. It was rusted and plain, as if an afterthought. Heikk had told them to look for a lever, one that appeared exactly as this one did.

“Hey,” Jere said, gesturing to the pocket. Adok lifted Heikk back against the wall. His eyes glazed over again, his one fleeting moment of lucency far passed.

“Oh,” said Adok. “That has to be it.”

“So we just pull it then?”

“That’s all Heikk told me.”

“What happens when we do?”

Adok shrugged. Jere wasn't a fan of that. Their entire purpose up to this point was to find this lever. But what would it do? Jere hoped it would open a passageway of some sort. But that was only an assumption: it just as easily result in another cave collapse that blocked it from before.

Jere looked back, desiring a quorum. “What do you-”

“Do it,” said Adok. “Whatever happens, happens.”

Jere grabbed the lever, pulling it with all his strength. It seemed to be connected to something heavy, heavy enough that someone as strong as Jere needed to strain pulling it. Eventually, the lever turned. As it did, a loud groaning sound permeated through the tunnel, its rumbling growing in intensity as Jere continued to pull. He could only hope the ceiling above didn't crush them all.