The entrance to the tunnels is big enough that I only have to stoop a little to fit in.

  The earth is firmly packed creating a stable dry surface. The place smells of fresh loam and something sharper—like mouldy hay left too long in a damp barn. Misty pads ahead, her tail flicking with purpose. Her nose works the air constantly, and her ears twitch at every faint sound.

  As we enter the gloom quickly turns to pitch black, Elara murmurs a quiet incantation and with a small tingle of mana flowing, small globes of light appear on our hands.

  Elara stays close, our lights casting a pale blue glow that pushes back the encroaching darkness.

  “This isn’t natural,” she murmurs, brushing her fingers along the tunnel wall. “The structure... it’s been reinforced. See how the dirt’s interwoven with roots? The skeps are clever. They’ve co-opted the flora to stabilise the tunnels.”

  I grunt, keeping my voice low.

  “Clever’s one word for it. Dangerous is another.”

  The way is too narrow for my sword so I have my two venom fang daggers gripped tightly. They are heavy in my grip, but reassuring. Elara has a dagger and I also feel she has some sort of magic held ready.

  Misty pauses, her head whipping to the left. The faintest rustle echoes through the tunnel. A shift of soil. A scrape of something against stone. My heart lurches.

  ‘Movement’ she tells me simply, letting out a low growl.

  Naomi’s projection flickers into view beside me, her astral form translucent and not a little eery. “They’re not close yet, but I can sense them. At least three, maybe four.”

  “Brilliant,” I mutter, hefting my daggers pensively. “Let’s hope they are as easy as that one you killed back at the farm.”

  ‘They won’t be,’ Misty says. Her tail lashes once, a stark reminder that she’s the predator here.

  Elara glanced at Naomi’s astral projection.

  “You be careful young lady. A projection like that can drain you fast.”

  With a quick “I will,” her image vanishes as fast as it came.

  We move on, slower now, the air thickening with tension. The tunnel widens into a small chamber, the ceiling arching overhead like the ribs of some buried beast.

  Separating to check out the chamber, the blue lights catch on old bones scattered across the floor—ribcages, skulls, and femurs stripped clean. Some are animal, but others… I swallow hard and on closer look, they are humanoid, small, I can’t tell if they are human or something other.

  “They’ve been here a while,” Elara says, her voice tight. “These bones feel old.”

  Misty stops at the far side of the chamber, sniffing furiously.

  ‘The scent splits,’ she announces. ‘Two paths. One reeks of Skep. The other…’ She wrinkles her nose in disgust. ‘Decay.’

  “Decay could mean anything, from old bones like this chamber,” Elara indicates the littered floor. “Too something much worse.”

  I shiver a little at that thought, memories of events at the shrine fresh in my mind.

  “Better to deal with the living threats now than let them sneak up on us later.”

  Elara nods, and I fall in line behind the cat as Misty leads the way down the right-hand tunnel with the elf taking rear guard.

  The air feels colder here, heavier, like the earth is leaning in to watch us. My boots crunch softly against the ground, every step a betrayal of our presence.

  Ahead, Misty freezes. Her ears flatten. I tighten my grip on the weapons, adrenaline surging.

  ‘Hold,’ she hisses.

  The tunnel opens into another chamber, smaller this time, with only one exit on the opposite side. A skep prowls the centre of the room, its twin heads raised, nostrils flaring. The beast’s black fur ripples as it sniffs the air, clearly on edge. Behind it, a second skep roots through the debris, sharp claws tearing apart what looks like an old crate.

  The first one lets out a guttural growl, its heads snapping toward us simultaneously. It sees us. No more waiting.

  ‘Del, flank right,’ Misty orders, her voice sharp in my mind. As she rapidly grows into her fighting form.

  “Elara, light the room!” I bark

  Elara raises her hands, and a burst of white light floods the chamber. The skeps screech, recoiling from the sudden brilliance, but only for a moment. The first charges straight for me, its heads snapping and saliva dripping from jagged teeth.

  I sidestep and swing my dagger, the blade catching the creature’s side. It yelps but doesn’t stop.

  One head lunges for my leg, and I barely twist away in time, the teeth grazing my boot. The second head snaps for my arm, but before it can sink its fangs in, Misty leaps from the shadows. Her claws rake across its back, leaving deep gouges. The skep shrieks and collapses under her weight.

  The second one is on Elara. She thrusts her hand forward, a burst of magic slamming into its chest. The creature skids back but recovers almost instantly, lunging again. Elara slams forward her dagger, taking it in the throat as a fountain of blood gushes out, it falls to the ground twitching spasmodically.

  Breathing heavily, I step back from the carnage. Blood pools on the ground, the sharp tang of iron filling the air. Misty licks her paw, cleaning a streak of blood from her fur.

  ‘Efficient,’ she says, her tone almost bored. ‘But noisy.’

  “Misty is complaining we made too much noise,” I tell Elara.

  “We didn’t have much choice,” Elara replies, dimming her light back to its former quiet blue glow. She glances at the tunnel ahead. “If they didn’t know we were here before, they do now.”

  ‘Good,’ Misty tells me, her tail swishing. ‘That saves us the trouble of hunting.’

  Naomi flickers in beside me, her expression grim. “You need to keep moving. They are moving to try and surround you.”

  I nod, already stepping toward the next tunnel as she vanishes once more. The adrenaline hasn’t worn off yet, but my muscles ache with the effort of staying ready. “Let’s go before reinforcements show up.”

  We press on, the air growing thicker with each step. The faint hum of movement echoes through the tunnels, a constant reminder of the threat lurking ahead. The faint decay-scented path Misty had identified lingers in the back of my mind, gnawing at my resolve. The stakes here feel higher than any other encounter so far, and I can tell Elara feels it too.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  The tunnel narrows again, forcing us, in places to squeeze through narrow choke points.

  Misty leads, her sleek form slipping through the space effortlessly. I follow closely, daggers at the ready, their weight both a comfort and a grim reminder of what lies ahead. Behind me, Elara whispers another incantation, summoning faint, vine-like patterns to ripple briefly across her free hand before fading.

  “I’m keeping them ready,” she says, her voice soft but steady. “The vines will be slower in these tight spaces, but I’d rather have the option.”

  I nod, my throat dry. “Good. Anything that keeps them off us is worth it.”

  A skittering noise stops us cold. My breath catches as Misty’s ears swivel, locking onto a faint scrape just ahead. She lowers herself to the ground, every muscle coiled. I glance back at Elara, whose dagger is already raised.

  ‘Just one,’ Misty informs me, her mental tone sharper than usual. ‘Scout. Left tunnel.’

  Naomi’s voice whispers through the gloom, her astral form flickering briefly by my side. “You can take it quickly. But be careful—the others are circling closer.”

  Before I can reply, she vanishes, leaving only the cold, heavy quiet. Misty doesn’t wait. She streaks forward, a blur of fur and claws. I charge after her, rounding the corner to see a lone skep recoiling under her sudden assault. It barely has time to snarl before her teeth sink into its left-hand throat. There’s a sickening crunch, and it falls limp.

  ‘Handled,’ Misty says, spitting the taste from her mouth. ‘But we’ve got company. Move.’

  Her warning isn’t empty. The vibrations in the ground are unmistakable now—a rhythmic pounding that grows stronger with every second. I can hear them, too: the guttural growls, the scrape of claws against earth. The colony knows we’re here, and they’re converging.

  “Elara, can you block the tunnel behind us?” I ask as we push forward.

  She nods, already raising her hand. Roots burst from the ground and walls, twisting into a makeshift barrier. “It won’t hold them for long,” she warns, sweat beading on her brow. “But it’ll buy us time.”

  “Time’s all we need,” I reply, though I’m not sure I believe it.

  The tunnel twists sharply, and the smell hits me first—something rancid, a mix of decay and filth. Misty halts abruptly, her fur bristling.

  ‘Nest ahead,’ she announces, her tone wary. ‘Four, maybe five inside. One’s bigger.’

  I glance back at Elara. “Ready?”

  She nods, her grip on her dagger tightening. “Let’s end this quickly.”

  We step into the chamber, and the skeps are waiting. Four of the creatures prowl the perimeter, their twin heads swivelling in eerie synchrony. In the centre, a larger one bares its teeth, its growl low and menacing.

  The battle is immediate and chaotic. Elara sends vines snaking across the floor, tripping one of the smaller skeps as it lunges for me. I take the opening, driving my dagger into its chest. The venom works quickly, and it collapses, twitching.

  Misty takes down another, her claws flashing in the dim light. The big one charges her, but she’s too fast, darting aside and raking her claws along its flank. It howls in rage, one head snapping at her while the other watches us.

  “Elara, light!” I shout.

  She responds instantly, her spell illuminating the chamber with a searing brilliance. The skeps recoil, their sensitive eyes unable to handle the sudden glare. I seize the moment, rushing another one. My blade finds its mark, slicing deep into its side. It lets out a garbled shriek before collapsing.

  The bigger beast is the last to fall, a combined effort from Misty’s claws and Elara’s dagger finally bringing it down. The chamber falls silent, save for our ragged breathing.

  Elara slumps against the wall, her magic clearly draining her. “That… wasn’t subtle,” she says between breaths.

  “Subtle’s overrated,” I reply, wiping my blade clean. The chamber reeks of blood and death, and I can’t shake the feeling that this was only a prelude., as I identify the bigger skep

  Identify

  Skep Guard – Beast, male

  Level – 9

  Scavenger

  Strengths: Strong olfaction

  Weaknesses: Light

  Skill: Unknown

  Lore: Skeps are pack animals, often living in large colonies underground or in cave systems. They have poor eyesight and can be easily disorientated by bright lights. They have a very strong sense of smell and use this to hunt out food to scavenge and return to the home nest. The guards typically defend the lair mother and direct the lesser skeps.

  ‘It was too noisy,’ Misty confirms grimly. She’s already at the next tunnel, her nose working overtime. ‘We’re close now. The scent is stronger—foul and sharp. The lair mother is near.’

  Elara straightens, her exhaustion giving way to determination.

  “Then let’s finish this.”

  We press on, the tunnel widening slightly as we move. The air grows colder, and the smell intensifies, nearly making me gag. The walls glisten with moisture, and I can hear a faint, rhythmic sound—like a heartbeat, but impossibly loud.

  ‘We’re here,’ Misty says, her voice a low hiss. She stops at the mouth of a massive chamber, her tail lashing.

  I peer inside, my stomach twisting at the sight. The lair mother’s chamber is vast, its ceiling disappearing into darkness. The floor is a tangled mess of bones, half-eaten carcasses, and nests crafted from filth. At the centre, a hulking figure looms—the lair mother herself. She’s enormous, her twin heads scanning the room with unnerving intelligence. Around her, smaller skeps skitter nervously, their movements jerky and frantic. As we watch, her head snaps down and grabs up a small skep which she proceeds to rapidly devour, before spitting out bones to join the rest of the floor litter.

  Elara’s light dims slightly, as if the oppressive atmosphere is swallowing it. “She’s enormous,” she whispers. “We can’t take her here. Not like this.”

  She’s right. The lair mother is surrounded, and the chamber is too open for us to gain any advantage. But retreating isn’t an option either—not with the colony already hunting us.

  ‘We need a plan,’ Misty says, her eyes locked on the massive creature. ‘Quickly.’

  I nod, my mind racing. The lair mother turns slightly, one head sniffing the air. She knows we’re here.

  And then her gaze locks on us.

  The room explodes into chaos.