"Don't step on that."
The merman boy suddenly reached out and grabbed Ric's wrist just as his foot hovered above a patch of strange blue grass.
Ric froze mid-step and glanced down.
"The grass screams when you step on it," the merman boy whispered, his voice barely audible. "And monsters follow the scream."
Ric slowly withdrew his foot, careful not to brush even a single blade of grass.
"Don't make any noise here," one of the girls warned, looking nervously into the darkness. "Hordes of strange humanoid monsters live below. If they hear us, they'll know we're here."
Ric and Ranar exchanged a glance, both feeling a cold chill creep down their backs.
Without another word, they followed the children as they carefully climbed the jagged walls of the cave.
The climb was steep and uneven.
Sharp rocks scraped their palms while loose gravel crumbled beneath their feet.
Eventually they reached a narrow ledge high above the cavern floor.
