The mass of natural stone pillars are daunting, but at least the space here has room to breathe and move. I shudder at the memory of the narrow tunnel we just exited, and feel the same relief from Rigi. Still, it’s not clear where to go next.

The chamber feels vast, though the torchlight only illuminates a small bubble immediately around us. The sound of water dripping is ubiquitous, and the stalactites and stalagmites appear shiny in the flickering light of the torch’s flame. There is an unpleasant smell of mold and decay, and the air is very humid.

I peer into the tangled maze of irregular stone columns and immediately reject any thought of striking off into the middle of them. We’d be lost for sure, I can see that right away. I wonder, briefly, if there might not be something in the middle of that mass of wet stone, something I need to find, but I’m determined to leave that as a last resort.

“Let’s stick to the wall,” I say aloud, mostly just to hear something besides the dripping of water. I don’t expect a reply from Delkash, nor do I receive one, but he falls in behind me like a shadow.

There are shallow pools of water scattered around, some of them reaching even to the walls, and we step carefully across them. Most of the stone formations are situated more toward to the center of the chamber, though, and we’re able to navigate around the few that get in our way. Still, these require us to briefly leave the wall of the cavern and my anxiety spikes each time, an irrational fear of getting lost rising up like a beast within me and clawing at my heart and throat. With effort, I beat it down, and we continue.

The walls of the cavern are slick with moisture and slimy with a mucus-like film. I touch it only when necessary to keep my balance, and fastidiously wipe my hands on my tunic afterward. Even Rigi seems to prefer a healthy distance between himself and the wall.

After several minutes we can tell that the chamber is enormous. It is difficult to keep our bearings, but the wall has been bending ever so slightly to the right, and shows no sign of ending. The wall continues to be solid, unbroken stone, smoothed by countless ages of water dribbling across its surface, and sculpted with thick aggregations of red and green and orange minerals. There have been no side passages, no cracks, no collapsed roof.

I’m beginning to wonder at the wisdom of my choice to follow this wall, to wonder whether we shouldn’t have struck out directly toward the middle of the stone formations after all, when the torch finally picks out something other than the smooth, sculpted wall ahead. As we draw closer I can see that it is a pair of hewn stone pillars, holding up an arch against the wall, beneath which a tall, dark passage leads away from the wide cavern we’ve been exploring.

“Finally,” I mutter, and I feel gratified to hear even Delkash utter what sounds like a sigh of relief.

The pillars are obviously of ancient make, with mineral deposits running like frozen sap down their sides. The stones of the pillars themselves are pitted and cracked, as if the humid air here has caused even rock to rot and crumble. I worry, momentarily, that the pillars might be in danger of collapse; they look as soft as leavened bread, and as full of holes.

I approach the pillars carefully, holding up the torch to get a clear look at them, and I closely examine them from top to bottom. The two pillars are about five feet apart, formed of multiple cylindrical sections that must have been formed separately and then stacked together. There does not appear to be any mortar between them, to hold them fast, and the arch across the top seems held only by the weight of the keystone in the middle. My anxiety spikes as I stand beneath the arch, feeling momentarily as though a breath would cause it all to come tumbling down on me, and I step back quickly.

I pause a moment, controlling my breathing and my racing heart. I curse this anxiety, and the dark and closeness of these caverns. My nerves are feeling like they’ve been scraped raw.

I shake my head, trying to speak sense to myself. These pillars have been here for years. Probably centuries, if not millennia. They’ve not crumbled in that time. They’ll not crumble now.

I square my shoulders and nod to Delkash. “Let’s go.”

He nods back.

Gripping my pack, and making sure Rigi is comfortable on my shoulder, I step forward under the arch.

At that very moment, whether due to the force of my stride or just the merest back luck, there is a sudden groaning sound that echoes through the cavern. A loud popping sound comes from above me, and pebbles and chunks of stone begin dropping around me.

“Run!” shouts Delkash from behind.

I need no further encouragement.

Rigi grips desperately, painfully to my shoulder and I sprint into the darkness, terrified that my flickering torch will die in the wind of my escape, terrified that the untold tons of stone above me might descend upon us at any moment, terrified that our only way out is being blocked up behind us. There is a mighty roar as of the world ending, followed by an ear-shattering crash and a wind from behind that carries a cloud of dust and the smell of earth and stone. As the sound fades and it becomes clear that no further collapse is imminent, I slow, then stop. Looking back, I see Delkash emerging from the cloud of dust, his black cloak now gray with the debris of the cave-in.

I start walking back the way we’d come, filled with a need to see, but Delkash stops me with a hand on my shoulder. “There is no point,” he says softly. “The way is blocked. There is no path for us now but forward.”

I take a breath. After a moment, I nod and turn back around.

“Fine,” I say. “Let’s press on, then.”