Varik nodded once. Then, without another word, he strode directly toward the breach.
Lucen fell into step beside him. "No pep talk? No 'be careful, kid'? I'm hurt."
Varik didn't look at him. "If you needed a pep talk, you wouldn't be here."
Lucen's grin widened. "'Flattering. Keep it up and I'll think you care."
Then they stepped through.
—
The shift hit like a punch to the gut. Air pressure collapsing inward, light folding in on itself, and then—
They were standing ankle-deep in black water.
The dungeon stretched wide around them, a swamp under a false blood-red sky. Dead trees jutted like spears from the mire, their branches clawing upward. The air smelled of rot and iron.
Lucen wrinkled his nose. "Charming. Think they'll let us leave a bad review?"
Something moved in the water nearby. Slow ripples spreading outward.
Varik's hand went to his sword. "Stay alert."
