The air inside the tunnel was stale and damp, every breath tasting faintly of fungus. The four warriors moved single-file, weapons angled in tight spaces, boots crunching over brittle gravel.
The glow of Caleb's arrowhead lit the walls — slick with moss, roots pulsing faintly beneath the surface like veins under skin.
"Too quiet," Gideon muttered from behind.Malachi grunted. "Don't jinx it."
Eliakim kept his gaze forward. "We're moving slower than I'd like. If the Talons want to box us in, this is the place."
---
The warning came in the tremor — faint, but enough to ripple the moss along the wall. Then the roots burst inward like spears, tearing through stone as if it were paper.
"Down!" Eliakim snapped, ducking just as a root-construct emerged from the wall — its form a twisted mass of bark and sinew, the 'face' a hollow knot glowing green.
Two more followed, filling the tunnel with writhing limbs. They struck in coordinated thrusts, forcing the group backward toward the faint light of the open canyon.
"They're herding us," Caleb said, loosing an arrow that pinned one construct to the wall before it burst into mulch."And we're not letting them," Gideon growled, swinging his axe in the confined space, the blade chewing through one root before it could coil around Malachi's leg.
Still, each step forward felt like two back — the roots regenerating faster than they could cut them down.
---
The air ahead shifted — a blur of motion, then clang! Caleb's bow went skittering across the tunnel floor.
The figure stepped into the dim light: lean, dark-clad, movements too clean to read. His weapon was a thin, curved saber that gleamed like a shard of moonlight. One step, one swing — and Gideon's axe haft bore a shallow cut, the first in its history.
"Talon…" Eliakim breathed.The man bowed slightly without breaking eye contact. "Zaryth."
What followed was a blur — Zaryth moving between them like water slipping through cracks. In two motions, Malachi's mace spun from his grip; in three, Caleb's quiver strap was sliced, arrows scattering. He didn't strike to wound, only to strip them bare, his blade never lingering in one place long enough to be caught.
"Fall back!" Eliakim barked, chaining a lash toward Zaryth — but the Talon was gone before the hook could bite, reappearing behind Gideon with the saber resting lightly on his shoulder.
The root-constructs surged again, this time in rhythm with Zaryth's movements, cutting off every escape except back toward the open ground. And somewhere beyond that, the rest of the Talons would be waiting.
---
The ground shuddered — this time more violently. From the rear, Vaeryn appeared, staff braced against the floor. "Tunnel's unstable! Move!"
"No time!" Caleb shot back, yanking an arrow from the scattered pile.
"Trust me," Vaeryn said, his voice oddly calm — then he struck the ceiling.
The impact tore through the tunnel's spine, stone splitting with a deafening crack. Dust poured down like smoke, and then the floor itself gave way.
Eliakim felt the ground vanish beneath his boots. He hit hard, the air knocked from his chest, and rolled on loose stone until he stopped against a root-webbed wall. Groaning, he glanced up just in time to see Gideon and Malachi vanish in the dust above — the collapse sealing them away.
Only Caleb and Vaeryn had fallen with him.
---
They landed in a side shaft, the tunnel narrower, the air colder. The sounds of battle above faded to a dull rumble.
Eliakim turned on Vaeryn immediately. "That was no accident."
Vaeryn didn't flinch. "You're right. It wasn't."Caleb tensed, drawing his dagger since his bow was gone. "Start talking."
Vaeryn's eyes glinted in the dim light. "I am working with the elves… but not the way you think."
Eliakim's jaw tightened. "Then how?"
A faint smile ghosted across Vaeryn's face. "The others… they want to kill you. I want you to live long enough to do something far worse."
He didn't elaborate. Instead, he turned and started down the cold, root-lined shaft, expecting them to follow.
Eliakim and Caleb exchanged a glance. Whatever this was, it had just gotten more complicated.