Josh nearly skidded on a patch of moss lurking in the shadows, caught himself on a stone egg and plunged between a narrow gap after Rob. His ears were still muffled in silence, and he couldn’t help glancing behind him every few seconds, looking for the mother wyrm. She was turning away to the other side of the cavern, so he put his full attention forwards, and scrambled up onto a ledge. They had run from roughly the centre of the cavern, and were now half-way towards the edge, but the route was getting steeper.

There was no time to work out what was wrong with the get-out-of-jail-free coin, nor could he explain the problem to Rob, because neither of them could hear each other. Imagine if he got killed while holding a teleportation device, merely because he couldn’t work out how to use it.

Ahead, Rob boosted himself up onto the next level. Josh went to follow, then felt a shock vibrate through his body from behind. He slammed him into the cliff in front of him, while at the same time a dozen shards of rock pelted his back and shoulders. When he looked back, he saw, to his horror, that half the ledge was missing, and the giant maw of the mother wyrm was opening in front of him, displaying her vast, curved fangs and the white-hot glare from her throat.

He scrambled to the side, ducking behind a curved overhang just in time. The light brightened painfully, and a wash of heat flowed over him, singing his skin. When he glanced at the place he had been standing, he saw a burning white substance splashed all over the rock, accompanied by a strong chemical stink and clouds of black smoke.

The wyrm was spitting molten metal or something.

The white flare cooled and died down, evaporating as it burned itself out, leaving scorched marks behind. On a ledge directly above him he saw Rob, crouched behind his on shard of rock, with a fragment of stone in his hand. Rob hefted the stone and threw it away to the right. The head of the wyrm whipped around—but only after the stone landed. Josh realised she must be following the sound, rather than the movement, even though he couldn’t hear anything yet himself.

He muffled his nose and mouth with his sleeve to keep out the smoke, scrambled out of his hiding place—he’d been hiding in the remains of an egg, he realised—and ran for the ledge that Rob was crouched on. The rock was hot enough to scald his palms when he pulled himself up, and then he was running again. Ahead he could see the russet coat of the fox, still streaming blue fox fire as she vanished into a tunnel.

A way out?

He checked quickly over his shoulder for the mother wyrm. She was snorting angrily and shaking her head, as if she had only now realised that the thrown stone had been a decoy.

Josh tucked his staff underneath his arm and crawled rapidly into the tunnel after Rob, praying that the wyrm wouldn’t decide to spit white hot molten stuff after them.

He only realised he was scrambling forward in a panic when he crashed into Rob’s boots. His breath was coming in short gasps, and he immediately tried to reign it back, but he could feel his chest heaving. The tunnel above them expanded out until it was higher than Josh’s head, allowing them both to stagger upright. Josh grabbed Rob’s arm and tried to show him the coin, but the fox was already vanishing into a tunnel on the other side of the cave, and Rob merely tossed a glance at the coin before following.

It was a flicker out of the corner of Josh’s eye that warned him, and he reacted without thinking, bringing the quarterstaff up into a thrust. As before, when he’d killed TheAxeMan, the head of the staff turned into a spearhead, impaling the creature that had leapt at him.

It was a crocodile-snake, about six feet long, with a long, toothy maw, a slender body and small front limbs. The back limbs were larger, and coiled with power, but scrabbled uselessly before falling limp. The creature was the size of a small pony, and the weight of it wrenched the staff out of Josh’s hands, which was unfortunate, because there was a second one leaping from the ground towards him. He ran up the wall to avoid it, flipped into a somersault, and landed behind it, where the first one lay on the ground, with the spear still sticking out of it. He grabbed the weapon and wrenched it out, just as the second one coiled around in an eyeblink, and leapt at him again, hissing.

This time the spearhead skittered off its scales, so he leaped backwards to avoid its snapping teeth, reversed the spear, and hit it with the blunt end. Josh had expected a glancing blow, but instead there was a crunch, and the creature’s skull caved in. The butt of the spear had formed a small but heavy knob, like a mace, which had created enough force to dent the wyrmling’s scaled skin.

Josh looked around hastily for any other wyrmlings, then spared a bemused glance at the mace attachment, which was already melting back into a spear. It was just as well, as it made the weapon feel unwieldy and unbalanced.

Rob had only just realised something was wrong. He turned, his sword at the ready, but both wyrmlings were dead. He prodded a wyrmling corpse distastefully with one foot, gave Josh a nod, and continued through the tunnel, his eye flicking carefully over the walls.

The coin! Josh had dropped the coin. He looked around frantically, even as the light from the fox fire began to fade as the fox drew further ahead.

He hastily dropped to his knees, running his hands over the ground, and then cursed himself for his stupidity. It was magic. He should be able to feel it. The room as nearly pitch black, and if another wyrmling attacked him now, he would be easy prey. He cast his senses out, and felt a tiny ping. He leapt for it, cracking his knee painfully on a ridge of uneven ground. The moment his fingers closed around it, he launched himself fast as he dared after Rob.

The next tunnel led into a sharp slope leading down, covered in scree, leading into a maze of rock formations. Rob skidded down first, while the fox waited impatiently from atop a nearby boulder.

Josh was only halfway down when the wyrmlings attacked again. The first he knew of it was when the fox vanished and Rob was throwing himself into a lunge, sword extended to impale the wyrmling leaping down towards him.

There was a second one going for Rob’s back, in a pincer attack. Josh shouted involuntarily, just as it landed on Rob’s back, it’s maw ready to envelop his head. But Rob had drawn a falchion, and reached behind him to thrust it at the monster.

At that point, Josh arrived in a spray of gravel, and jammed his spear up into the wyrmling’s belly. The thrust went awry, but it distracted the wyrmling, which flung itself away from Rob and vanished into the darkness.

There was blood pouring down Rob’s neck from a head wound. Josh’s eyes widened and he pointed urgently, but all Rob did was swipe at the blood, grimace, and then ignore it.

They had to get out of here.

Josh held up the coin again, pointed at it and then pointed urgently at the ceiling.

“Way … out …” he mouthed. He saw Rob’s eyes widen with realisation. Rob looked around, calling out something that Josh couldn’t hear. The fox appeared immediately, landing lightly on Rob’s shoulder, and peering intently at the coin in Josh’s palm. Her fox fire flared, lighting up the coin, which lay tails side up, ready to send them to Dendral if only Josh could get it to work.

Josh started when the fox hopped across to his shoulder, and coiled around the back of his neck to poke her nose closer to the coin. One of her tails brushed his ear, the fur coarse and bushy, and suddenly he could hear her voice reverberating in his head, without first passing through his ears.

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“Where will it take us?”

“To Dendral,” Josh replied.

“And the other side?”

Josh hesitated.

“To the Queen of the Fey,” he said reluctantly.

The fox immediately tensed.

“Bugger,” she said, eloquently. She leaped back to Rob, presumably to pass on the information. Josh looked up and saw Rob’s eyes narrow in calculation, just as the jumble of rock around them unfolded and heaved itself to its feet.

Both Rob and Josh went flying. Josh kept hold of the coin, this time, but lost hold of his staff. He still couldn’t hear, but there was a low rumble all around them, a vibration he could feel in his bones. His staff was lying a few feet away. He peeled himself off the ground and ran towards it just as a giant tail came slamming down in front of him, the shockwave catapulting him into the air. He landed on the ground again, with a jolt that winded him. The tail lifted again, and Josh rolled away from it. But his staff was now on the other side.

He glanced over at Rob, who was ducking agilely around the legs of the monster, with the fox clinging desperately to his back.

Josh didn’t want to leave the staff behind, but he risked being flattened if he tried to retrieve it. All his spells were useless. He didn’t have any feathers with him, and they wouldn’t have done him any good anyway. The tail swung towards him and he jumped out of the way again, this time managing to stay on his feet. Instead of swinging back towards him, the tail continued sweeping around. The new monster was a wyrmling, but much bigger than the small ones that had attacked previously, about the size of a large elephant. It kept rotating, snapping its jaws at Rob as he ducked and weaved around its legs.

Josh grabbed his spear. Could he go for its eyes?

Even as he had that thought, the monster roared again, a sensation that was felt rather than heard through the soles of his feet. He danced to the side, hefting the spear like a javelin, but before he had an opportunity to throw it, the ceiling exploded.

Giant claws stabbed down, pulling shards of rock away, and letting in a harsh white glow from above.

The mother wyrm!

Josh fumbled for the coin, and then sprinted for Rob. The white glare faded, leaving them in darkness. Josh blinked, trying to understand what he was seeing, outlined as it was by the blue light of the fox fire. The mother wyrm’s head dipped down, grasped the back of the large wyrmling’s neck, and gently lifted it out of the cavern, setting it to the side as it if weighed no more than a kitten.

Then the white glare reignited.

That meant she was going to spit molten rock or whatever it was at them.

Josh reached Rob just as her maw came down again. He held out the coin, hoping it was still tails up. Rob seemed to know what to do, because he put his finger on the coin. The fox clambered up Rob’s shoulder, ran delicately down his arm, and placed her paw on the coin too.

The last thing Josh felt, before everything dissipated in a white glare, was Rob flipping the coin from heads to tails.

The next thing he was aware of was falling over backwards onto a hard, marble floor. He was in a brightly lit room, looking up at a ceiling mural, depicting lords and ladies dancing. So, the Queen of the Fey’s castle then.

He raised his head and saw Rob sprawled opposite him, with the fox off to the side. Only one tail was in evidence, and she was clapped to the floor with flattened ears. Josh was full of aches and pains, and his skin stung in various places where he had scraped it while falling. He was also covered in rock dust. At least his hearing seemed to be back.

“Do you have a name?” he asked the fox.

“I do,” the fox said solemnly.

Josh hesitated, but she didn’t elaborate.

“She’s Foxy,” Rob said, then rolled over and coughed.

“Your name is Foxy?” Josh couldn’t help asking incredulously.

“No.” The fox sounded prim.

“Fey, right, mate?” Rob explained. “They don’t give their fookin’ names. That’s just what I call her.”

Josh hadn’t realised the fox counted as fey. Most of the otherworldly creatures in Six Spires were inspired by European mythology.

“Are you a kitsune?” he asked her. “That’s a Japanese legend.”

Foxy’s tail stiffened and her eyes narrowed suspiciously. But before she could respond her eyes darted to behind Josh. Her tail fluffed up in alarm and she darted away, running to hide behind Rob, who was now sitting up. She peeked cautiously out from under his arm.

Josh was still lying down, so it was easier to tip his head back to see who was behind them. He saw a vision in a flowing dress of periwinkle blue, with golden hair tumbling over her shoulders, caught by a diadem winking with gems.

“You would be correct,” said the Queen of the Fey. “She is a legacy fragment.”

What was a legacy fragment?

The Queen stopped directly above Josh and smiled down at him in a knowing way. He had to physically clench his jaw to stop himself from asking. He already owed her a journey, whatever that meant.

“Three journeys?” she asked, lifting one eyebrow as she surveyed the room’s occupants.

“Three?” Josh sat up hurriedly, and winced at the extra aches and pains that announced themselves.

“One for each traveller.” The Queen’s dark eyes moved onto Rob. “You have come to challenge my Champion,” she stated.

Rob set his jaw mulishly in reply. The Queen considered him thoughtfully.

“You shall do so at sundown,” she said at last, decisively.

With that she walked away. The fox let out a relieved sigh, and shook herself all over. Several servants came in, dishing out hot, lemon-scented towels on silver trays, followed by the butler with long, white, eyebrow whiskers, the one Josh had met when he had first arrived.

“Healing baths have been arranged for you, gentle folk,” he said in his smooth yet scratchy voice. “If you will follow me.”

The healing baths were truly amazing. They consisted of a series of sunken pools filled with steamy, fragrant water, each with a pile of bright green leaves about the size of Josh’s palm lying beside them. One of the servants showed them how to wipe the leaves across their wounds, instantly numbing the pain, then left them to peel off their clothing and step into the baths.

Foxy daintily tested the water with one paw, rather like a cat, then shook the droplets off with distaste, and curled her tail primly around her feet.

Josh hissed as he lowered himself in. The water was just on the uncomfortable side of hot, but he could feel his muscles loosening. All of a sudden, he felt a wave of tiredness overcome him. Rob had already tipped his head back and started to snore. Josh fought to keep his eyes open, even though his head was nodding.

He realised he had nearly fallen asleep, and jerked himself up. To his alarm, the shadows coming from the long windows across from him had moved which meant he had been asleep. His head had been resting on a folded-up towel, which had been placed there after he got in. That meant the servants had been checking up on them. His clothes had been cleaned, dried, ironed and now sat in a folded pile just within reach.

Josh looked over at Rob, who was blinking awake and rubbing his face with one hand.

“Sundown soon,” Josh observed.

“Finally,” Foxy said. She had made herself a nest of towels and was sprawled inside them. “I was beginning to think we’d be lost in fairyland forever.”

“Nobody invited you to come along,” Rob pointed out.

“You’d be dead if it wasn’t for me.” Despite being a fox, there was a recognisably smug look on her face.

Josh noticed that Rob didn’t correct her.

Once they were dried and dressed, the servants reappeared. It wasn’t until they were back in the corridor that Josh realised Rob was being led in the opposite direction from him.

“The Queen will see you now,” the servant told Josh, seeing his hesitation. Josh’s wariness increased.

“You’re alright, mate,” Rob said, unhelpfully, before striding off after his own guide.

The servant conducted Josh to a tower room, octagonal in shape, with tall open windows leading to a balcony that overlooked a sea. Josh did a double take. Sea? The palace was no longer in the centre of a mirror-calm lake. He could hear waves crashing at the base of the tower, and the eerie cry of seagulls as they wheeled in a cloudy grey sky above.

The Queen was reclining on a chaise longue, dressed in leggings, soft-leather boots, a wide leather belt, and a billowing white shirt. There was even a wide-brimmed hat with a feather in it sprawled on a nearby table.

That was the third outfit he had seen her in so far. Did she change clothing as regularly as the palace location, or had he been here for three days now without realising?

There was something familiar about the set up.

“This is the revelation scene from the game,” Josh said, suddenly realising. “When the player finds out that the warrior handmaiden he’s been having adventures with is the Queen herself.”

“Does it meet your expectations?” the Queen asked, tilting her head back to regard him.

Josh found himself flushing at the memory of the romance options the quest had introduced at that point.

“It feels slightly weird. The game isn’t meant to be real. Or have real people in it.” He avoided her gaze and looked around. “Is this place real?”

“That depends on how one defines reality.”

Josh thought about that.

“So, is reality a physical substrate that exists independently in itself, or is it subjective experience dependent on the observer?” he asked.

There was a short silence.

“Oh,” he said, feeling his ears grow hotter than ever. “You didn’t mean … uh …”

He realised the Queen was laughing silently.

“That will teach me to make gnomic utterances.” She gestured to a couch beside her. “Come, sit.”

Josh perched cautiously on the edge of it.

“You can think of the fey realm—the part under my control, at least—as a series of fragments, all linked together.”

“Like zones in a game.” Spiralia had been a seamless open world game, but each separate area had been controlled by its own server node.

The Queen sat up, suddenly intent.

“Tell me!” she commanded, “I want to hear everything about your life on Earth!”

“Er…” Josh said. Why Earth? “What do you want to know?”