Onward. I begin to wonder—really wonder—just how deep this cave goes. It was an academic question before; now it is real, and immediate.

Delkash says nothing as he follows me, but I can hear his steps and the tap of his staff on the stone floor, and I know he is there. His motivations are ambiguous to me. A witness? What does that mean? What is he witnessing? How are my actions worth such scrutiny? Can I trust him to help me if I am in danger? At the very least, can I trust that he won’t seek to harm me?

Such are my thoughts when we enter another cavern, this one much smaller than the one we just left. The ceiling is just a few feet above us, and the entire chamber is not more than a dozen feet across. Six small tunnels exit it at various points along the wall, each no more than a couple of feet wide.

I consider the small tunnels and am suddenly sure that Delkash will insist we take one. I am not normally prone to claustrophobia, and have spent plenty of time in caves and crannies in my service to Oden, but the thought of squeezing myself into one of those tunnels leaves my stomach feeling unsettled, and queasy.

I set my pack down and gently set Rigi atop it before turning to examine each passage carefully. My Sight suggests nothing, so I turn to more mundane considerations, looking for any sign of these passages having been taken before. The thought that makes my throat tighten and my breath come in tight gasps is of picking one of these passages, and having it dead-end with no way to turn around. Or worse, of the passage narrowing to the point that I get stuck and can’t free myself.

I close my eyes tightly and focus on steadying my breathing, using some mental discipline techniques that Oden taught me when he first took me as his apprentice. The exercise helps, and I feel my racing heart slow.

Opening my eyes again, I keep a tight reign on my thoughts, focusing only on analyzing what I see.

Six small tunnels, each a couple of feet across.

Small stones and coarse dust strewn about the floor, with no sign of prior footprints.

No scuff marks or other signs of wear on any of the openings. No carvings or other markings visible anywhere.

I bring my ear to each tunnel in turn, straining to hear anything, to smell anything.

Nothing…

Except—there. As I crouch in front of the sixth tunnel, I feel the faintest breath of wind on my face, a hint of coolness in the already cool air. I purse my lips. It’s the only difference I can detect between them all. And if there’s any movement of air, that suggests the tunnel must connect to something…

I turn to Delkash, who has been watching me closely this whole time. “I think we should take this tunnel,” I say. “There is a hint of wind. I think there must be something on the other side.”

Delkash nods. “As you say,” he says.

I realize for the first time that he’s not only tall, but broad in the shoulders. “Will you be okay?” I ask.

He smiles. “Don’t worry about me,” he says. “I’ll manage.”

I’m skeptical, but I’ve got enough to worry about without also worrying about him. I figure that if he can feed the village of Raven Hill, he can get himself through a tight passage or two.

I consider telling Rigi to stay here and wait for me, but I know he’ll never accept that. He certainly can’t ride on my shoulder in there. I settle on placing him ahead of me in the passage, and tying my pack to my right foot, where I can pull it with me. I douse my torch, knowing I can’t possibly keep it lit in such a situation, and then, clutching my staff in my right hand, I feed myself head first into the tunnel. I gently nudge Rigi forward, whistling and murmuring to him to settle his anxiety.

The going is slow, and dark, and uncomfortable, and it is soon obvious that that passage bends as it goes. We reach one bend where my staff gets stuck, and I spend several minutes working out how to free it and maneuver it through the turn. The passage also narrows in places, requiring me to slither on my stomach with my hands stretched uncomfortably over my head; my pack gets caught multiple times, but with a bit of work I’m able each time to use my feet to find the snag and adjust the pack around it.

Through it all, I am fighting the panic that almost overtook me in the previous chamber, the thought that I might get stuck here, or lost. I can feel Rigi’s worry in the back of my mind, feeding into my own. He does not like being prodded forward, and especially does not like squeezing through the tight bits, though he certainly has an easier time of it than I do. Somewhere behind me, I assume Delkash is following as best he can, but I cannot hear him, and I do not call to him.

He will follow, or he won’t. He is not my problem.

I focus on each section of tunnel traversed, and keep a tight reign on my thoughts. They are like a net full of eels, wriggling and squirming and slippery, and taking advantage of every weakness in the net. It is a constant struggle to keep my mind on the task at hand.

Finally, though, I feel Rigi’s pleasure at hopping out into a wider space. I follow him a moment later, pulling myself out and hugging the wall until I can pull my flint and steel from my pack and relight my torch. I get the flame going just as Delkash pulls himself from the tunnel, and dusts his cloak off.

He looks around at the place we’ve found ourselves, and hums appreciatively. I look around as well.

The torch light reveals a maze of teeth and fangs, or at least, that’s what it looks like to me at first. I realize they are stone columns, stalagmites and stalactites, reaching floor to lofty ceiling in all directions, and I feel bewildered.

Shaking my head, I crouch down so that Rigi can regain his perch on my shoulder.

Onward.