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the Banished Lands. Its inhabitants were by and large unpleasant. And predatory.
    His thoughts drifted back to those left behind, to Vandil, to his Gadrai sword-brothers, to Romar and most of all to Kastell. Yet again he saw Jael stepping in front of Kastell, stabbing him. He
should have stayed closer. His vision blurred with tears and he swiped at his eyes, fist clenching.
    A sound drew his attention: a scraping, submerged in the deep shadows of a side tunnel. He stared into the darkness, thought he saw the hint of movement just beyond the torchlight’s reach.
Something big. There was a faint reflection. He hissed a warning and drew his sword.
    ‘What’s wrong?’ Tahir said, as Orgull joined them.
    ‘Something’s down there,’ Maquin muttered.
    ‘What?’
    ‘I don’t know.
Something
.’
    Maquin walked into the side tunnel, his torch held high. Darkness retreated before the light, revealing nothing but empty space.
    ‘Nothing there now,’ Tahir pointed out.
    ‘Come on,’ Orgull said. ‘Tahir, guard our backs.’
    ‘Aye, chief.’
    They walked on, their pace quicker, now, the tunnel rising steeply.
A good sign
, thought Maquin, sweat trickling down his back.
Up is far better than down
. The tunnel was also
getting narrower, the roof lower.
Not such a good sign. Will it just end? What then?
Soon after, Orgull called a halt. He raised a hand to the tunnel’s roof, fingers tracing a tree
root poking through the stone, twisted and knotted.
    ‘Must be near the surface,’ Maquin said.
    ‘We must have walked more than a league by now,’ Tahir commented.
    ‘Aye. We’re out past Haldis, I’d guess, but not much further,’ Maquin said.
    ‘Is all well back there, Tahir?’ asked Orgull.
    ‘Nothing to see,’ the warrior replied.
    ‘Good. Onwards,’ their leader said and set off.
    It was not long before Orgull stopped again. The tunnel came to an abrupt end, a dozen wide steps leading sharply up to the roof, where it met a round, flat-bottomed stone. Orgull climbed the
steps and tapped the stone with his axe. He climbed higher, braced his shoulder against the stone and heaved. With a grating sound the stone shifted, minutely, earth falling from about its rim.
    ‘Help,’ grunted Orgull.
    The steps were wide enough for two abreast so Maquin climbed up beside Orgull, adding his weight and strength. Together they strained and Maquin felt the stone shift, dirt falling into his face,
then there was a wash of fresh air, a glimpse of moonlight.
    ‘Keep pushing,’ Orgull muttered. ‘Nearly there.’
    Then Tahir screamed. Maquin and Orgull dropped the stone back in place and turned.
    Something had hold of Tahir: a many-legged, chitinous creature, all bristle, eyes and fangs, as wide as an adult boar, but far longer, its segmented body swallowed by shadow. Tahir was screaming
as he hammered futilely at the creature with his spear.
    Maquin darted forwards, jabbing his own weapon. It slid off a hard, shiny carapace. He thrust his torch at the beast, but a sharp-spined leg smashed it out of his hand, the blue light sputtering
out. He launched forwards with his spear again; the blade scraped along the creature’s hard shell, then sank into a gap between segments. It let out a high-pitched squeal, dropped Tahir and
reared up, fangs and forelegs waving, almost filling the tunnel. Maquin grabbed Tahir’s wrist and dragged him back. The creature scuttled after them, a green, jelly-like substance oozing from
the wound in its side. It sank a fang into Tahir’s leg, just below the knee. Tahir screamed and thrashed.
    Then Orgull was there, bellowing for Maquin to get back, for Tahir to stay down. He swung his new war-axe, smashed it with all of his prodigious strength into the creature’s head. There
was a sickening crack. The thing’s legs jerked, twitching furiously, its mandibles clacking. With a sigh it sank to the floor, spasmed once more and then was still.
    ‘Get it off me,’ Tahir hissed, a fang still