Damien and Jen followed Eleck through dirt tunnels, the roots of trees growing above breaking through here and there. Their steps made no sound on the soft floor. The silence was jarring after the constant clomping of hard soles on stone back home.

Halfway up the wall a shrew stuck its head out, peered at them, and fled back into its little tunnel. What other vermin would pay them a visit in the night? Despite the crude surroundings there was no standing water, though a thick, loamy smell filled the air. Living like a mole wouldn’t have been Damien’s first choice, but the underground temple complex was nicer than it had any right to be.

They met no others on their short walk. There should have been other druids, temple servants, someone just walking around.

“Where is everyone?” Damien asked.

“The wise one ordered the temple cleared, he said in preparation for a festival.” Eleck glanced back at Damien. “In reality he wanted as few people as possible to know you’d arrived. His hope is that whoever’s responsible for moving the ley line won’t realize who you are before you find out who they are.”

“All the people we passed in the village know we’re here.” Jen said. “Some of them will almost certainly tell the ones we’re looking for about it.”

“They’ll say two new acolytes arrived. All new arrivals are brought first to the temple, nothing strange in that. Only the five of us know your true purpose here. We hope to keep it that way as long as possible. Here we are.”

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They stopped in front of a curtained-off opening. Eleck pulled the green cloth aside revealing a dirt cave with two beds that appeared to have grown out of the floor. Moss was placed on top for bedding. Damien had thought his room lacked decorations. This place even made the room he shared with Eli look like a palace.

“I’ll bring your evening meal shortly,” Eleck said. “Please remain in your room. The fewer people that see you the better.”

“I thought the temple was empty,” Jen said.

“It is, but why take chances? Good afternoon.” Eleck left them to explore their luxurious accommodations.

They went in and Damien slid the curtain shut, adding a soul force barrier for good measure. Next he reinforced the walls and floor with another barrier. His shoes made a satisfying clunk when he stepped on it. They were essentially surrounded by a soul force box.

Jen tossed her pack beside the right-hand bed and looked around at the glowing walls. “Overkill?”

Damien made the walls invisible. “You want to be asleep in a dirt cave if a quake hits tonight?”

“Huh. Good point. I also don’t want any mice burrowing in for a visit. What did you think of the wise one?”

Damien shook his head. “I never thought to see a man growing out of a wall. I’ve seen some weird stuff the past year, but that’s near the top of my list. His peculiar circumstances aside, the wise one’s concern seemed genuine.”

Jen nodded. “That’s the impression I got too. How do you want to handle the questioning?”

Damien dropped his rucksack and sat on the remarkably comfortable moss mattress across from his sister. “I figured we’d bring them in one at a time, I’ll fix it so they can’t lie, and ask if they had any part in moving the ley line. Simple yes or no question. I learned the hard way if you make it too complicated a clever person can talk their way around an actual lie.”

“Works for me. We should be able to question everyone in a day. Anyone that tries to lie or doesn’t show up we can assume is part of the problem.”

“Yeah. That reminds me.” Damien dug through his stuff and pulled out a pencil and paper. “I need to let the archmage know we arrived safe and plan to begin our investigation soon.”