“Who are you?” I asked.
“No one important.”
“You’re sure about that?”
“Yes.”
I wished my brother Kull were here. He had an uncanny ability to see through lies, a talent that would have been extremely useful.
“Arguing will get us nowhere,” Maveryck said, finally breaking away from my gaze. “Now, will you please release me so we can find a way out of this place?”
“Do you know how to get out?”
“I might… if I had the ability to walk.”
I kept him pinned to the wall a moment longer, not trusting him but unsure what to do about it. Finally, I backed away.
“Thank you,” he said, straightening his tunic as he walked away.
“Don’t get comfortable.” I retrieved my knife from its spot on the floor before following him through the narrow tunnels. Gripping the knife’s handle, the worn wood warmed in my hands. Not long ago, I’d used a goblin blade as my weapon of choice, and the feel of the carved onyx hilt had felt comfortable and familiar. But I’d sworn never to use the dagger again, using instead the less-effective Wult blade. I’d never once been tempted to use the old knife, but sometimes I wished I could find a blade that suited me as well as the goblin weapon.
The walls of the cavern blurred as we walked from one tunnel to the next. I had no idea where we were or where to go. I looked closer at the walls as we walked, and I noticed some of the remains were arranged in an almost-artistic manner. In one area, a heart-shaped outline had been formed using skulls. When we arrived in a circular room, we found a central pillar made completely of leg bones.
“What is this place?” I asked.
“I can’t say for sure, but I’ve studied a few Earth Kingdom texts, and the only place matching this description are the catacombs under a European city—Paris, I believe.”
“We’re in France?” I asked.
“Possibly. You know of it?”
“Yes, I journeyed to Earth Kingdom not long ago—to America. I had a memory charm so I haven’t forgotten. But years ago, I made a quest here with my brother. At that time, I had no memory charm, so I remember nothing of it.”
“That’s unfortunate. Paris is rumored to be a beautiful city.”
I eyed the walls. “Beautiful?”
“Yes, so they say. Perhaps once we’re out of these tombs, we’ll see why.”
After what felt like hours of aimless wandering, we found a rusty gate and made our way through only to be greeted by more tunnels. Soon, we found a twisting hallway made of mortared stones, and at its end, in a small, circular room, we found a sculpture of a fortress.
“At least it’s not made of bones,” I said as I inspected the statue.
“Yes, which means we may be nearing the end of these tunnels.”
We walked past the sculpture and entered another hallway barred by a pair of doors that creaked as we pushed them open. As we entered the next chamber, we found a set of stone steps leading up.
Maveryck and I stared at the light shining overhead. Sounds of motorized vehicles and drifting conversations came from above.
“Do you think it’s safe up there?” I asked.
“Whether it is or not, we can’t stay down here.”
Gripping the iron railing, the metal chilled my hands as I ascended the stairs up into another chamber and finally walked into a small building, out a doorway, and into the open world. Maveryck stood beside me as we surveyed our new surroundings.
We faced a small black building. A sign was tacked on the wall near the door with unfamiliar words written on it.
“Can you read it?” I asked Maveryck.
“Some of it. Six million people entombed. French Revolution. Something about overcrowded cemeteries. It seems these catacombs were built to serve as a place to keep the dead. Oddly enough, they built it in one of Earth Kingdom’s magical epicenters.”
“And that’s why the portal brought us here?”
“Yes, in all likelihood. But the question is—where do we go now?”
I looked out over the paved courtyard overshadowed with trees. Beyond the treetops, buildings rose in the distance. Soft music and a chorus of voices drifted from cobbled streets. People walked past us, some casting sidelong glances at my attire of bloodstained armor and Maveryck’s ornate elven clothing.
“We need to find the staff,” Maveryck said, “but in the meantime, we’ll need food and shelter, and in order to get them, we’ll need money.”
“How will we get money?”
He was silent for a moment. “I’m not sure, but we can’t get it here.”
We walked away from the small building and onto the streets, but I wasn’t prepared for the unfamiliar sounds and smells. The city was a bright, noisy place filled with crowds of people and motorized vehicles. It was nothing like the last time I’d visited Earth, where we’d camped in tents and attended a festival away from the cities. And this place was a far cry from Faythander, where magic grew in the trees and in the soil, breathing life and energy while fueling the world.
Here, cars and buses sped down the road, and I narrowly avoided being hit by one as we made our way onto a landing beside the street.
Walking down the crowded sidewalks, the reality of our situation began to sink in. We had no coins to barter with, no place to sleep, and no contacts or help of any kind. I’d been in perilous situations before, but that was on Faythander where I understood how to survive.
I would rather be dropped into the wild lands any day than be transported here.
As the sun dipped lower toward the horizon, Maveryck still had yet to procure money or shelter of any kind. We neared the city’s center, where a square-shaped tower that tapered to a point rose above the other buildings.
“That’s an odd building,” I said. “What do you think is its purpose?”
“I’m not sure of its purpose, but I do know the Earthlanders call it the Eiffel Tower.”
I shot him a questioning glance. “Eiffel
