Lia cocked her head to one side as she looked back at Val. “There isn’t much to the sword thing, really.” To prove her point, she split the greatsword back to her usual matched blades. “I guess it’s just...practice?”
“When you stop looking at the world through all of your mysticism, things are a lot easier to understand,” I said. For a moment, I contemplated explaining the concept of mana and how magic truly worked, but I quickly thought better of it and simply shook my head. “These things might be monstrous, but they’re also dumb. They’re suited for pack tactics and surprise attacks, so if you’re fighting them one-on-one, they only have a handful of tricks that they use over and over again.”
“You said the Serathids are invading Lybesa,” Val continued in her questioning. “Have they broken through the Mountain Gate?”
“Not yet, though with the sad force assigned there, it won’t be long,” I answered. “Regardless, these things clearly don’t need a bridge to cross the Maw. They’re still getting in.”
“I was unaware that they had spread beyond Kaldan,” she said quietly, her gaze falling to the ground.
“Another reason to thank your King,” I spat.
“He is not my King,” Val responded immediately, her voice low. “I no longer serve Virram Yorrell, both by his order and of my own volition.” We had known as much from our conversation at the Mountain Gate, but the statement was still strange to hear from Val herself. She bit her lip and shook her head before she continued. “Even so, I do not see how this invasion could be his doing, or what benefit it might bring him.”
“He already planned an invasion of his own country once,” I countered. “I don’t see why he wouldn’t do it again.”
Val gave a small nod and fell silent, and we continued to work our way through the mines. The restrictive size of the tunnels prevented our enemies from approaching stealthily or pressing a numbers advantage, and we effortlessly cleared any resistance we encountered. Without the ability to scout our path ahead with Detection, we were forced to choose a tunnel at random when the mineshafts split, and we doubled back on our own tracks three times over the course of our journey.
After what felt like hours of walking, we finally encountered a break in the monotony of the endless tunnels. A narrow passage broke through the tunnel wall ahead of us and wound its way down into the darkness. The rough-cut walls and steep, uneven floor were clear markers that the passage had been created by the monsters below us, and the loose debris piled by the entrance told us it was a recent construction. It was only wide enough for us to squeeze through single-file, and after a moment’s pause to prepare ourselves, I led the way into the crevice. I felt an uncomfortable sense of claustrophobia as we descended, pressed against the wall for support and guidance as the path awkwardly rose and fell beneath our feet.
As we sank farther and farther into the earth, the air in the passage shifted from cool and dry to a suffocating, humid vapor, heavy with the stench of death. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end as our path began to flatten out, and a flickering orange light appeared on the cave wall ahead of us. Lia and I cut off the mana lighting our swords in unison, and the three of us slowed our pace and silently crept towards the light source. A sputtering torch was mounted on a clearly manmade wall around the final bend in the passage; as we drew closer, I could see a long brick hallway extending out in both directions lined with wall sconces, most of which had burned themselves out.
A wave of deathly void energy washed over me as I stepped out of our rough passageway onto the dusty brick floor. I let out a loud hiss of pain and whirled around, holding out my hand to block Lia’s entrance into the hall. “Stop,” I whispered, clutching at the burning sensation in my right arm. “Don’t come in here.”
Val’s head poked out from above Lia’s, and she looked back and forth down the hallway. “What is it, Lux?”
Lia’s eyes locked with mine as she stood frozen in the entranceway. We’re getting close, her voice echoed in my head.
Yes. The familiar tingling of void energy shot up to my elbow, where I was able to hold it at bay. Lia, you can’t come in here. I don’t want the—
I leapt forward in vain as Lia stepped down into the hallway. She winced as her hand moved instinctively to her chest and hovered directly above the disfiguring black scars. You aren’t facing this alone.
I cupped her cheek with my hand and sent a surge of mana through her body in a preemptive defense against the darkness. While I could feel the burning in her chest through our mental link, my mana found no trace of the void energy within her. I let out a heavy sigh and rested my forehead against hers. That was stupid.
No. You thinking I would hide in that tunnel while you went on alone was stupid.
I didn’t—
You did, she cut me off. She raised a hand to my face and brushed away a strand of hair, tapping on my temple. We’re in this together.
I can’t lose you again. I picked my head up and looked over her at Val, who stood a step above us in the rough passageway, watching the two of us intently. I motioned her into the hallway with a flick of my head and gave Lia’s shoulder a gentle squeeze
