Grem slashed at the Bonewalker one last time.

With a groan it flashed and disappeared.

“Five,” Dav said.

Grem grunted and sat down.

“That good thing to know,” he said.

Kim looked all around.

“I think we're clear,” she said. “I can't see any other mobs at all.”

“Let’s just go,” Dav said. “We should try to make some distance.”

“Dav welcome,” Grem muttered.

“Thank you, Grem, really,” Dav said. “We’re all just tired.”

“And a bit grumpy,” said Kim.

“No kidding,” Grem said. “That big news, Grem not notice it.”

Like usual, they had spent last night in a cave, lit up by torches. It was cramped and nobody had gotten enough sleep. Except for Grem.

It turned out that Pakmog snored.

Four nights. Four nights of tossing and turning and sticking their fingers in their ears.

Last night, Arn had just about decided to give Grem a kick and wake him up so that they could all share the pain. He’d only stopped because he wasn’t sure exactly what would happen if you kicked a Pakmog when he was asleep.

Everyone was grumpy over breakfast. Even Dav, who could usually find an interesting rock to talk about, chewed his bread silently and stared at the ground.

This was the fifth day that they had been looking for any sign of where everyone from the village had gone – where they had all disappeared to.

“Grem have good feeling,” he had said, sounding as close to cheerful as was possible for him. “Still smell men, maybe stronger. Maybe they closer.”

“The world just goes on and on,” Kim said. “I never thought about how big it is. They could be anywhere.”

Arn stared at the ground, too. It was hard to be excited about another long day of stomping through the woods, not hearing any voices and not seeing any people at all. He was feeling lost and weird without the village. At least when they had been stuck in the Underworld, there was a village to try to get back to. Now there was just the wide world.

That’s probably why nobody had noticed the mobs who were standing in the shadows under a cliff. They were getting careless.

So it was probably good that Grem could sleep, anyway.

It wasn't like they could fight the mobs. They’d all be long gone now if it weren’t for Grem.

The cliffs led to mountains, and they spent most of the morning going around those. Then there was a river, so they had to find a way around that.

“Enough!” Kim yelled when the sun was high up in the sky. “I’m tired, and I’m hungry. I want lunch.”

“Grem see something strange,” Grem said.

Arn flopped down on the ground and pulled a loaf of bread out of his robe.

“It will be there after I eat,” he said.

But Dav was still Dav. He ran over to Grem and looked where the Pakmog was pointing.

“That’s... very odd,” Dav said.

Arn was still grumpy.

A weird-looking cloud would be interesting to Dav, he thought. The rest of us are more interested in lunch and sitting down for a while.

“Great,” said Kim. “Is it anyone we know?”

“No, really,” said Dav. “It’s like, a shape. But it has to be huge. There's something shining on top of it.”

They both sighed and got up again.

They were looking down a slope to grassland that went far out into the distance. Dav squinted.

There was something there. Something shiny, like metal. There was definitely a bright light at the top.

“It’s what?” said Kim. “A triangle?”

“Grem not know. Look sort of like fortress, from far away.”

“We should...” Dav started to say.

Three arrows were suddenly sticking into the ground beside them.

Whack whack whack.

Just that fast.

Then something brushed past Arn’s head and stuck into the ground in front of him.

Whack.

“What?” said Kim.

Grem whirled around, pulling out his sword.

Another arrow appeared without any warning, but this one was sticking out of Grem’s arm.

“Run,” he grunted, and grabbed Kim with his good arm and started running down the slope without another word.

Dav and Arn looked at each other with wide eyes, then ran.

He heard someone shouting behind them.

“Who is it?” Arn said.

“Dunno,” Dav panted, “But they’re not friendly.”

Another arrow whisked through the air past Arn’s shoulder.

Grem, he realized. They’re aiming for Grem.

“Close up behind Grem!” Arn shouted.

Dav didn’t argue. He’d learned how to do that much, with everything they had been through. He just sped up and fell in beside Arn, so that they were between him and whoever was shooting.

“Why?” Dav said.

“I think they’re trying to get Grem.”

“You think they won’t shoot us?”

“I don’t know!”

He hadn’t thought about it very carefully. He just wanted to protect the Pakmog, since Grem had taken care of them so often. Of course it wouldn’t mean anything if whoever it was didn’t really care, and just shot them instead.

But there were no more arrows. He heard more shouting, and then a sound. Like thunder. Rumbling.

He looked back.

“Horses!” he yelled.

There were horses chasing them. Grem’s head turned to look.

“See men on those things,” he said. “They wearing armor!”

Dav and Arn were both panting and getting slower. Villagers weren’t meant to just keep running forever.

“Men on horses?” Dav gasped. “That’s how players get around!”

“Don’t know!” yelled Grem, “But they catching us!”

Arn looked again. They were getting closer. The horses were way faster than them.

“What do we do?”

Kim pointed. She was half-running and half being dragged by Grem. There was a dark opening in the ground ahead, going down into the rocks below.

“Cave!” she yelled. “Go in!”

“Mobs!” Arn yelled back.

“Maybe mobs!” yelled Grem. “Men for sure!”

There was no arguing with Grem’s logic. The riders were even closer now.

“Go,” yelled Dav. “Just go in!”

They all jumped into the cave entrance without even looking to see if anything was waiting for them.

They collapsed in a heap, gasping for breath, but Grem jumped up.

“No stopping!” he growled. “They still coming!”

The sound of the all the horses was very, very close. Grem pushed them ahead of him, herding them down into the darkness of the cave. They could hear shouting from outside.

“We keep going,” Grem said. “So deep they scared to come. Grem know how caves work.”

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“I can’t see anything!” Kim whispered.

“Pakmog eyes good,” Grem said. “Grem tell you if bad thing coming.”

“What about cliffs?” Dav said.

“Grem probably see those too.”

“Great,” said Arn.

But he could hear voices. It sounded like they were in the cave. The men were coming. So there was no choice. They had to go deeper.

It was so nice and sunny out today, Arn thought. He already missed the sun.

They shuffled deeper into the cave, moving as fast as they could.

“Good,” Grem said. “Goes deep, this good.”

“Great,” muttered Arn.

The sounds of the men chasing them weren’t as loud now.

“Do you think they gave up? Can we stop?” Kim said.

“What we do? Go up again?”

“Is there another way?” Dav said.

“Lots of caves go up again, other places,” Grem said.

“But you don’t know about this one,” said Arn.

“Grem know caves. We go back, men there for sure. You listen to Grem.”

It was still pitch black as far as Arn could see. He tripped over a block and fell to his knees.

“Not so flat here,” Grem said. “Watch out.”

“Thanks for the warning.”

But there was something... the darkness wasn’t total now.

“I think it must be lava,” Kim said.

They came on it around two more corners. There was a big pool of lava in the cave floor, lighting up a slightly bigger chamber.

With a Night Spider beside it, staring at them.

They were common enough mobs at night of course, and they hid away in places like this during the daytime. They didn’t attack unless you bothered them, but they were known for having nasty poisonous bites.

They all walked along the far wall of the chamber, keeping their eyes on the mob. It turned to face them, and its weird green eyes watched them, but then it turned around again, going back to whatever it was a Spider thought about all day.

“Oh Grem!” Kim said suddenly. “Your arm!”

“It okay,” Grem said.

“No it’s not!”

The arrow still stuck straight out of his upper arm. They could all see it in the lava light.

“What should we do?” Arn said to Dav.

“I...” Dav hesitated. “I don’t know. “

“Grem know. Pull it out.”

“How?”

Dav looked lost.

“How Dav think pull arrow out? Pull arrow. Out.”

Kim poked at Grem's arm, and he growled.

“Won't it hurt you?” she said.

“Hurt a bunch. Make Grem mad. But Grem not stupid mob, not attack anybody.”

“Can you maybe kneel down?” Arn said. “So we can pull it straight out?”

That seemed like the best idea to him. Grem made another unhappy noise but got down on his knees and held on to a block.

“Pull hard,” he said. “Go fast.”

“Is it safer that way?” Dav said.

Arn had never seen Dav look so worried about trying something new.

“Just want it done. Hurry up,” Grem said.

Arn wrapped his hands around the shaft of the arrow.

“You take the top,” he said to Dav.

Dav grimaced and got in beside Arn.

“On three,” Arn said. “One... Two... THREE!”

They both yanked as hard as they could.

The arrow flew out of their hands, high up in the air and Grem yelled loud enough to hurt their ears. He puffed out his chest and raised his arms up, looking like he was about to attack Arn and Dav.

Then the arrow fell to the ground again. Or it would have, if the Spider hadn’t been in the way. The arrow thwacked into the mob point first, and it jumped and whirled around, suddenly staring right at them all again and hissing.

“Oh no!” Kim said.

“Stupid MEN with stupid ARROWS!” Grem yelled, rubbing his arm.

“The Spider!” Kim shouted.

They all turned to look. It was coming towards them, still hissing angrily.

“It's going to attack us!” Dav said.

“You think?” said Grem.

They were all backing away but it kept coming. They could see the white points of it’s fangs in the lava light.

Grem growled and pulled out his blade. He ran towards it and met the mob halfway to the lava pool. His sword slashed back and forth, and the spider hissed and spit, trying to bite him. It was fast - it dodged his swings almost as quick as he made them.

But then it jumped, high up into the air, straight for Grem's head. The Pakmog was fast too though – he knocked it aside, and when it fell to the floor he gave it a huge kick, which sent it flying straight into the pool of lava. The was a flash of flame and a disgusting smell, and the thing was gone.

Then Grem sat down hard on the rocks and rubbed his shoulder.

“Okay,” he said. “That probably good thing. Grem not so angry now.”

They set out again after Kim spent some time looking at Grem's arm.

“It's not looking too bad,” she said.

“Pakmog tough,” Grem said, nodding. “Take more than stupid arrow to really hurt Grem.”

The cave went on and on and on, but didn't seem to be going much deeper.

“You not see men with those horse things before?” said Grem as they scrambled along in the dark.

Dav shook his head. “I’ve never even heard of that. It’s not something villagers do. I can’t even imagine how you’d get near them in the first place. But it can’t be players. Can it?”

Grem grunted.

“Those guys are trouble,” he muttered. “That’s for sure.”

“I see light again!” Kim gasped.

“You bet,” said Grem. “Daytime light, we near above.”

“You sound disappointed,” Arn said.

“Cave feel more like home,” Grem said. “Never have walls around mean never know which way to watch out.”

“I get that,” Dav said. “It’s like a villager without a house to stay in at night. You’re always exposed.”

In fact there was a huge opening. As they got near to it, daylight streamed in, and they could see clouds and blue sky.

“Ugh,” said Kim. “No offence Grem, but I need to get out of here.”

But before she started to run he held up his hand.

“Not go,” he said. “First we sneak.”

“Sneak?”

“Grem’s right,” Dav said. “Maybe those men, or players, or whoever, know about this opening. Maybe they’re waiting.”

“Dav think same thing Grem think,” Grem said. “That first time.”

Dav grinned at him.

“You want to do the sneaking?”

Grem nodded.

“Grem extra good sneaker, you see.”

He dropped down to his knees and crawled up the rocks to the surface. He was very slow and careful about it. In fact he was so slow that Arn eventually sat down to wait.

“He’s taking forever,” Kim said.

“I guess that's the thing about good sneaking,” Arn said. “It has to be really, really sneaky.”

“What do we do if they're out there waiting for us?” Kim said.

Dav shook his head.

“I seriously have no idea.”

But once Grem had slowly – very very slowly – poked his head up into the daylight and looked all around, he motioned to them to come up.

“Look good,” he said quietly. “Can't see men. Can't smell men trying to hide.”

“So should we go?” Arn said.

“Look like Kim decide,” Grem said.

She was already climbing up onto the grass.

“What is THAT?” she said.

They all scrambled up after her, and found themselves on an open plain of grass, with wild flowers all around them.

Plus something else. They all stared up in amazement. It was huge. It went up way, way higher than any building they had ever seen. It was a pyramid. Arn had seen pictures in the books. But those were usually made of some kind of stone.

This one looked like glass and metal. Mostly sparkling blue glass. It was like a huge jewel. He'd never heard of anything like that before. It didn't look like it belonged there at all. At the very top, the point shone brightly with some kind of light.

“I guess this is what we saw before,” Kim said.

“What is it?” said Dav.

“That not normal thing?” said Grem.

“Not even close,” said Kim. “I think it's a player building.”

“Lots of player buildings,” Arn said, pointing.

“Oh my gosh,” said Kim. “Look at them all.”

They were dotted all across the plain. The blue pyramid was just nearest of them. Arn could see what looked like houses, but bigger and more complicated houses than any village had ever had. They were more like the player house back home, but these ones made it look like a tiny little hut. They were huge, long places with rows of columns that shone in the sunlight, the color of every kind of stone in the world. There were rows of trees and things, and big square and circular lakes in front of them.

But nearer, just past the pyramid, there were tall, square buildings that stuck up into the clouds. They crowded across the horizon, as far as they could see.

“I need to go see this,” said Dav.

Grem shook his head.

“Dav not know what place is like, probably shouldn't poke his nose all around. Maybe something bite it.”

But Dav was already heading out towards the pyramid.

Arn sighed and looked through his robe for something to eat. They were probably going to be there for a while.

“Dav stop!” Grem yelled.

“It's fine,” Dav yelled back. “I think there's something like a room at the top!”

Grem growled angrily and started running.

“What's he...” Kim started to say and then gasped.

Grem caught up with Dav and nearly jumped on top of him. He wrapped both of his arms around the villager and pulled him down to the ground.

“Hey!” Dav yelled.

Arn wasn't sure what was going on, so he ran to catch up with them. What was wrong with Grem? It wasn't like him to suddenly get mad for no reason. He listened to Dav sometimes now, even though he still thought there was something wrong with his head.

But then he saw it. Dav had been staring up at the glowing lights on top of the pyramid, and hadn't even noticed that he'd been walking towards a cliff.

Arn caught up with them just as Dav was dusting his robe off and peering down over the edge.

“Sorry Grem,” he said. “I promise I'll listen next time.”

Arn looked over the edge too, then instantly stepped back, feeling dizzy. It went a long way down. A long, long way. There was something birdlike flapping through the air down there.

“Hope so,” Grem said. “Like I say, this place looks not safe.”

“It's a crevasse,” Dav said. He was staring into the gap again. “I've read about them. They really do go a long way down!”

Kim tiptoed up beside him and leaned out to look down.

“Ugh,” she said. “No thanks. Too deep for me.”

“Which way do you think?” Dav said to Grem.

“It maybe stop over there,” Grem said, pointing.

“Great!” said Dav. “You lead the way, okay? I promise I'll listen to you, but I need to go see this!”

“We still sneak, okay? Grem not know if maybe men are looking for us still.”

It was a fair point, Arn realized. This time there might not be a cave just waiting for them to hide in. And those men – whoever they were – would attack Grem if they saw him again. Arn didn't doubt it for a second.

“He's right,” Arn said. “We need to keep Grem safe. Even if it means we don't get to see everything we want to.”

Dav nodded glumly.

“Okay, okay,” he said. “I'll be good.”

But the pyramid was a bit disappointing. They walked all the way along the bottom without finding a single door, or any kind of opening. There was just the smooth metal and glass walls. They couldn't see anything inside. Dav poked at everything and would have spent the whole day there if they had let him.

He even got Grem to try hitting the shiny surface with his good arm. It made a deep BONG sound, but other than that, nothing happened at all. Dav probably would have spent the rest of the day walking around it, looking for some kind of clue about how to get in, if they had let him.

But finally Grem grunted and pointed at the sky.

“We find place for night soon,” he said.

Kim pulled Dav away from the pyramid, and he came along looking sad.

“Maybe there's some place we can stay in those huge buildings,” she said.

“There could be doors. And torches!” Arn said.

It would be amazing to actually spend the night inside again. It had been so many days now. He had never even imagined spending so many nights outside, unprotected.

“Plus there might be other things,” Kim said, looking at Dav. “Books. Things players made.”

He grinned at her.

“I know, I know. That place just seemed special. It doesn't feel like it fits here, if you know what I mean.”

Arn wasn't sure that he did, but he was still imagining finding a nice safe room with a strong door. Suddenly that was the only thing he cared about.

It wasn't a long walk to the first of the tall, square buildings. They got there before the sun had gone down much farther in the sky. But just like the pyramid, there were no obvious doors anywhere, only the tall, blank walls looming over them. They wandered down the brick paths between them, looking for anything they could recognize. It was all so strange that even Dav wasn't sure what anything meant.

“They have to be houses, or buildings anyway,” he said. “And that means there's a way in.”

“You see way, you say so,” Grem said. “But this another place where something bite Dav's nose if he not careful.”

Kim pointed down the path towards the far distance.

“I see trees,” she said. “That's the way out. Maybe.”

Grem looked like he approved of that, at least.

“Good,” he said. “Place give Grem the creeps.”

Arn's vision of a nice safe room to spend the night in was fading fast.

“I just wish...” he said.

Suddenly an arrow thumped into the ground in front of them. Grem whipped out his sword and shouted for them all to come to him. Nobody hesitated. They stood around Grem, looking in every direction at once. They waited for the men on horseback to come charging around a corner at them.

But nothing moved.

“Hello!” Dav shouted. “Don't attack us! We're not dangerous!”

“Dav speak for himself,” Grem muttered, still looking all over.

“Who are you?” a voice yelled back. It sounded like a villager. It might have been a woman.

They looked at each other, and Arn shrugged.

“I'm Arn, this is Dav, and Kim, and Grem.”

There was silence.

Kim spoke up.

“Don't worry about Grem, he's friendly.”

Grem frowned.

“Depends,” he muttered. “Not sure who talking.”

“What do you want?” yelled the voice.

Then another voice spoke up. This one was definitely a girl.

“Are you from the Iron City?” she said.

“What's that?” said Dav. “I've never heard of it. Where is it? What's it like?”

The voices were quiet again. Arn got the impression that this wasn't the kind of answer they were expecting.

“Are you going to the Village of Peace to see the Brother?”

“The what?” said Arn. “What does that mean?”

There was no answer, but he thought he could hear the two of them arguing in low voices from somewhere nearby. The echoes made it hard to figure out where the sounds were coming from.

“Try anything funny and you'll regret it,” said a voice behind them.