The tunnel seemed to stretch for miles, always down, always deeper under the mountain. Math could sense the ancient mass of the stone above him, making the very air thick and dense. The weight of fear added its pressure to his chest. The tunnel arched overhead, uneven but smooth. The lichen glowed softly, just enough to make their way, but barely. The floor became more flattened as they went, as if uncountable feet had tramped it down over time. Or maybe those were the fears of his imagination telling him stories.

  The heat became more and more oppressive as they walked. At one point, Math reached out a hand and the wall itself was uncomfortable to the touch. He could see the sheen of sweat on the other two by the faint shine on their necks and foreheads.

  “Is this tunnel ever going to end? Why are we walking without a plan?” Math asked.

  Khel looked thoughtful. “The histories speak of tunnels under the mountains. It would take years to dig ourselves out, we’d starve before. Maybe we will come across a way out.”

  “And maybe we’ll be lost under the mountain forever,” Brand replied. “Maybe this cave goes nowhere but to the center of the Earth.”

  “Maybe,” Khel said. “But it’s the only hope we have.”

  The tunnel finally levelled out, after what seemed like hours but could have been days. The heat was oppressive. Math’s steps were heavy, his whole body drenched. He took a deep drink from his skin, but Khel warned him to conserve it. Water was going to be a problem, and soon. Then the tunnel opened up ahead of them. The chamber was round, almost circular, and near one wall was a blessing: a pool of water, bubbling up from the ground. Steam rose in heavy streamers, making the room itself thick and humid. As they approached, they could see that it was roiled by some current, as if an underground river was breaking the surface of the stone and then continuing back underground.

  The three of them pulled out their skins immediately and lowered themselves beside it.

  “Wait,” Math said, holding an arm in front of them. “Careful.” He touched a finger to the water and pulled it back quickly. “It’s burning hot.” He lowered the mouth of his skin carefully under the water, holding it by the strap and keeping his hand dry. Math drained the rest of his first, to quench his thirst and some of the heat. His own water was warm, but he wanted to make the best use of the water he had left.

  Still thirsty but knowing they had water once it cooled, the three sat at the edge of the chamber, leaning against the wall, and rested.

  “We must be deep under the mountain now, yeah?” Brand said.

  Before either of the others answered, Math caught something odd on the wall out of the corner of his eye and stood quickly. Taking a couple steps down the wall, feeling with his fingers, he peered closely.

  “There’s something scratched here,” he said.

  Khel and Brand stood. Khel approached to see what Math saw, but Brand started looking at the wall right behind him.

  “Here too,” said Brand. “I can’t make out what it is.”

  Khel looked closely at the spot Math was studying and ran his own fingers along the lichened surface. “You’re right.” He continued along the wall. “Some are old, and some are new. Someone must have been in here.”

  Khel took a closer look at the floor. “And this floor is worn smoother than the tunnel. Someone has walked here,” he said.

  Math looked. The floor was still rough, but more packed, more level in places. As he continued to study the room, he realized, “It’s smoother in paths between the other tunnels.” He drew in a breath excitedly. “Someone must have been here – and that means there’s another way out!” His voice got louder with excitement.

  Khel held up a hand sharply, cutting off Math’s next words. He froze, with his head cocked, listening intently. Math and Brand looked at each other but froze also, as Khel listened to the darkness.

  It was faint, but there was something – scratching, or moving, or shuffling. Faint, but becoming clearer as their ears got used to the silence. Something was out there, in the tunnels ahead. As they stood in silence, concentrating, Math realized it was slowly getting louder.

  Khel suddenly pointed urgently back the way they had come. Brand and Math didn’t need him to ask twice. As quickly but silently as they could, they moved back into the tunnel they came from. Before they were more than a few yards deep, other noises came to their awareness, separating themselves out from the sounds of movement: animalistic noises, grunts, more than one person – or thing- talking to one another.

  Dread. A wave of dread swept through Math’s body. He could feel Brand’s body next to him jerk as he felt it too. The three of them, without a word, pressed themselves tightly to the side of the walls.

  The sounds suddenly got louder, breaking out of the tunnels. Whatever it was had entered the room they just left. Math’s chest was tight, he struggled to take a breath. Fear clamped down on him, an iron band around his chest. The walls were not smooth and carved, they were natural, which left an uneven surface with small hills and valleys. They pressed themselves into the semi-recesses, trying to push themselves into the stone.

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  In the chamber, a dim reddish-orange light rose. Turning his head slightly he could see shapes moving, gathering. Too many shapes. They were smaller, maybe three feet high. Details were difficult to make out, but Math thought they were covered in fur and scraps of ragged clothing. Their faces were elongated, almost rat-like. The faint glow gleamed on talons, on wicked fangs, and on beady eyes like the glow from animal lurking in the darkness outside a campfire’s light.

  The air grew thicker with a nefarious presence, seeming to close in on Math. He knew someone – something – else was coming before it appeared in his eyesight. And when it did, he could feel the malice radiating off it in waves. It was large – taller by half than any of the three of them. Its skin was fluid, flowing, reflecting the light like liquid in firelight. The face itself seemed to shift and flow. It walked like a man, had arms like a man, but changed. Shapes appeared from the body and were reabsorbed. Limbs, wings, things unidentifiable.

  The larger figure moved in the center of the crowd. The smaller ones scampered and flowed around it as it moved. The group crossed the chamber while Math held his breath, gathering around the pool of water. They must have been drinking as they crowded around the edge, Math could hear the sounds of splashing and gurgling. Animalistic noises, grunts and squeals, that must be communication. A splash and a louder squeal made it sound as if one of the things had fallen in. As Math watched, he saw a figure crawl back up out of the pool and bend back over the edge to drink, apparently unharmed.

  The large figure said nothing and never approached the edge of the water.

  After they all apparently had drunk their fill, they began to move back across the chamber. As they entered a side tunnel, the noise and the dim light faded. Math realized he had not seen any torches or lanterns. He could not tell where that faint glow had come from.

  The three stayed frozen until well after the noise had faded to silence before any of them dared to breathe. Then finally they peeled themselves away from the hot walls of the tunnel, clothes now stuck to their backs with sweat. Sweat from the heat, and sweat from the unnatural fear.

  “Now what?” Math whispered.

  “We must be in their warrens,” Khel replied.

  “Under the mountain herself,” Brand added. Khel nodded.

  “Then we can find the Key?” Math asked.

  Khel nodded again. “But this will be a maze.”

  “And we have no map,” Math said. “How will we find the way?”

  “We don’t know the way,” Brand said. “But they do…”

  “That’s insane!” Math protested. “What, we sneak around behind them and hope we stumble across it before we stumble across more of them?”

  Brand shrugged. “What choice do we have? We’re stuck here to either starve to death, find our way out or find the Key. And if they have the Key, we have to get through them anyways. Not many ways to not die, really.”

  Khel looked thoughtful, though not particularly happy. “You may be right. I don’t see what choice we have. We’ll get discovered here eventually either way.”

  Math looked from one to the other. Not that he wanted to admit it, but they were right. They didn’t have a way out. He shook his head in frustration.

  “We either go the way they went at a distance, go the way they came from, or pick the third tunnel and hope,” Khel said.

  “The way they came from is more likely to lead to outside, don’t you think?” Brand asked. “I’m guessing that big shapeshifting guy is the same one who’s been attacking. Likely they were coming back from that, don’t you think?”

  “A good point,” Khel agreed. “If they were returning through another tunnel, the timing would be right, running into us here.”

  “If that’s so, then at least we could see if the others are ok, meet back up with them,” Math suggested.

  Khel and Brand both nodded. “Ok then,” Khel said. “That’s the direction we’ll go.”

  It made sense. Maybe the group was returning from the surface. There had to be other tunnels like this under the mountain. Math felt a little bit of hope.

  Khel crept forward along the side of the tunnel, listening intently. Brand and Math followed. Whatever extra glow had lit the chamber was gone when they stepped slowly into it. The faint shine of the lichen was all that was left to light their way.

  They paused at the tunnel mouth for many seconds, all three trying to pick up the sounds of movement or voices. Faint sounds came to Math’s ears, distant enough that he thought it was his imagination. After a time, they crept a few steps further into the open cave. The pool of water bubbled to their right, now wet from the creatures splashing around the edge and falling in and climbing out. One exit led to the left, where the pack had gone. One opened to the right, just past the water. The third opened between the two, forward and to the left.

  The option seemed clear. The tunnel to the right led most directly away from whatever evil creatures had just gathered in this room. The tunnel to the right most likely led to an exit. They didn’t have to discuss the matter, they headed to the right.

  As they approached, they could see the floor was scuffed and disturbed, the dirt and gravel showing the marks of feet dragging through it. Khel pointed it out to the others, but they had seen it.

  “I don’t know why we didn’t notice before. This way is used,” Khel said.

  Indeed, the ground looked different in a path between the tunnels. More tracked, more packed down, more scuffed. Math looked behind him to the tunnel they had just left.

  “Look,” he said. “They go that way too.”

  “And to the other opening,” Brand replied, pointing to the fourth exit. “They’re everywhere.”

  “Like I said. A maze,” Khel said. “And they know the way. We don’t.”

  “Still, the way they just came from, when we’ve just been attacked, is the most likely way to find the others,” Math added.

  Khel nodded his agreement, and Brand grunted his.

  “Let’s go, before they come back,” Brand said. “At least we know the big one went the other way.”

  The three of them moved quietly to the opposite tunnel, full attention focused on trying to hear any little noise from the direction the creatures had gone. This tunnel was much like the one they came in through, natural walls rippled and uneven but smooth, as if worn out by some ancient underground river. The floor was still much the same, but the scuffs and signs of the creatures’ passing were evident. Like the other passage, this one was slightly more even on the ground in the center, as if it had been frequently walked over the years. The same patchwork lichen continued to give off a glow, faint but just enough so they were not blind. The three of them moved as quietly but quickly as they could down the passageway.