Day Seven. Morning.

I followed Sulan with my gaze until she vanished entirely but didn’t immediately move on. Crouching down low, I examined the passage in both directions. To the left, it sloped gently downwards, and to the right, it angled upwards.

The darkness in the tunnel was not absolute either. There were cracks in the ceiling through which light filtered in. Recalling the glimpse I’d caught of the cliff from outside, I realized the tunnel must run along the surface of the clifftop.

Which direction to explore first?

Left, I decided. Before tackling the wyvern herself, I needed to know what other surprises lay in the tunnel complex. Fading into the darkness, I crept through the pools of shadow, deftly avoiding the beams of light shining down.

My mindsight was open, and my attention was fixed on what was before me. Every so often, I stopped and slowed my breathing to listen intently. I couldn’t afford to get caught out by whatever lay ahead, and without Sulan’s sharp senses, I had to make do with my own less capable ones.

It almost made me regret sending the wolves away, but I would not subject the pair to the same risks I took with my own life.

As laborious as my advance was, I persisted in the same stop-start manner for the next twenty minutes.

Eventually, my abundance of caution paid off.

During one of my periodic stops, while crouched down behind a large rock and straining my ears, I picked out the faint thread of a conversation.

“... should go...”

The voice echoed weirdly as if coming from far off. Judging it safe, I crept out from behind the rock and into the center of the tunnel.

“… why do… have to guard it.”

The speakers were still too indistinct to identify clearly. Deciding the risk was worth the gain, I advanced silently forward.

“… the shield generator… too important… the likes of… to protect.”

I kept going.

“... stop panicking. Nothing is out there.”

I drew to a halt. I’d finally drawn close enough that the voices were fully audible, and I’d recognized the last speaker too. It was Worca.

Ishita’s sworn were here. All of them? I wondered.

“… my ward activated!”

That was Ishan. Also talking about a ward. What are those bloody things? More worrying still: if I had tripped a ward again, why had the Game not provided me with a warning message like it had earlier against Forsyth’s group?

“Relax, it’s probably just the wyvern,” Lutra said, sounding bored. He was the other human mage.

“It can’t be the beast,” Ishan insisted. “It’s him! I’m telling you! All of my wards were tripped this time.”

“If it is him, you’ve likely already given away our position with your chatter,” Worca said wryly.

“And I told you, you set too many of those damn wards,” Lutra chimed in. “Why in bloody hell would we need three detection wards?”

“Easy for you to scoff,” Ishan muttered. “You aren’t on your last life.”

“Lutra is right,” another interjected. That was Xrex, the leader of the four. “It must be the beast roaming the tunnels again. Just be thankful you haven’t drawn her attention again, Ishan. Do I need to remind you how well it went the last time she came here?”

“But—”

“Enough, you imbecile!” Xrex hissed. “I swear if you don’t still your tongue, I will strangle you myself!

Xrex’s scolding worked. The human must have believed the lizardman because he spoke no more. Poor Ishan, I thought, almost feeling sorry for the mage.

“Besides, there is no need to worry,” Lutra added soothingly. “I don’t care how good a sneak that bastard is, he ain’t getting through my paralyzing wards.”

Crouched in the center of the tunnel, I very carefully did not move. Fear urged me to flee, but I stayed in place, waiting to hear what else the four mages would reveal.

Unfortunately, it appeared their conversation was over. Realizing there was nothing further to gain, I retreated to plan my next move.

~~~

I returned to my starting point.

Sitting cross-legged in the t-junction, I considered what I’d learned. All four of Ishita’s sworn were here, and only one thing could have drawn them this far out of the safe zone: the shield generator.

It must be in the same cave they are in.

If not for the fragments of the conversation I’d overheard, knowing that much would have caused me to rush in. Despite being alone and unaided, with darkness on my side, I fancied my chances against the mages.

But.

But the repeated reference to wards gave me pause. I’d not detected any of Ishan’s wards in the passage, despite activating trap detect on my way back to the t-junction.

The wards were either not considered traps or beyond my ability to detect.

Either way, I couldn’t afford to charge the mages, not when they had prepared the ground to their benefit already. I shuddered, imagining being paralyzed and at the mercy of the four.

I have to find another way to get to them. My lips pursed, I gazed up the right tunnel. Perhaps…

I rose to my feet.

It was time to find the wyvern mother.

~~~

I slipped into the shadows as I crept up the tunnel.

Keeping my mindsight open, I moved cautiously, though I was not overly concerned about being detected. I’d successfully hidden from the wyvern in the forest, and this time around, my sneaking was higher and the environment more conducive.

Nearly one hundred steps later, the tunnel began to brighten. I was close to the cave mouth, I realized. I slowed my advance but kept going.

A little later, I arrived at a second t-junction. To my right was blue sky and bright morning sun—the cave opening set in the cliff face—while to my left was darkness—the wyvern’s lair.

Turning left, I slid along the side of the tunnel as I advanced into the beast’s den. In a few dozen yards, the shadows in the passage became comfortingly thick again, and not far off, I could hear the sound of dripping water. Beneath that, there was another noise as well.

The sound of heavy breathing.

The wyvern mother.

Pressing my back against the rock, I cocked my head to the side to listen.

The wyvern’s breathing sounded harsh and guttural. Rising and falling in an even tempo, it sent faint vibrations rippling through the ground on each crescendo.

Is she... snoring?

It certainly sounded that way.

My confidence buoyed, I crept further down the passage. With each step, the beast’s snores grew more distinct. I kept going. I had the vague inkling of a plan, but I needed to set eyes on the wyvern before I could determine how viable it was.

A minute later, a bright, burning ball appeared on the edge of my mindsight. The wyvern mother was close. A yard ahead, the tunnel turned sharply downwards, hiding what lay beyond. Both the sound of running water and the beast’s breathing had increased too. Stretching flat across the ground, I slid forward.

Cresting the top of the tunnel slope, I’d glance down.

Below me, the tunnel widened into a cavern. A gurgling stream flowed directly through its center. Curled up on the ground, with her head lying in the water, was the wyvern mother.

The beast’s eyes were closed, and her wings were tightly furled against her side. Like this, she seemed almost peaceful and no threat, but I was not deceived.

If the beast awoke, she would kill me in a heartbeat.

Staying where I was, I let my eyes rove over the area. Unlike the rest of the tunnel complex, the wyvern’s cave was not barren. Shrubbery, glowing mushrooms, and even some flowers peeked through the rocky outcroppings. Perhaps it was the presence of water and the weak light filtering down from the roof that allowed them to grow so.

Why did the wyvern choose this cave in particular? I wondered in idle speculation as I continued to scan the surroundings. Is it the greenery that—

My thoughts broke off.

Beyond the beast’s dominating bulk, I spotted a smallish body stretched out across the moss-covered ground.

Is that... a person?

From this far away, I couldn’t tell, but the shape did look humanoid. Whatever it was, it was outside the range of my mindsight, and I was not about to risk venturing into the cave itself.

It has to be a person or at least something living. Sulan did say she sensed two minds in this direction.

But why would the wyvern mother tolerate anything—much less a person–to live in her den? Only one way to find out. Reaching out with my will, I analyzed the unknown figure.

The target is Saya, a gnomish alchemist. She is a player and bears Marks of Lesser Dark.

My brows drew down in consternation. What was a player doing here? And one without a level. I paused as I realized the import of my last thought.

If the gnomish player did not have a level, that meant she was a civilian. Furthermore, I’d met only one other gnome in this sector, and it could not be a coincidence that it was the selfsame gnome who had taken out a bounty on the wyvern mother.

Whoever this Saya is, Gelar knows her. He must. But if he did, why hadn’t Gelar told me?

And more importantly, what did I do about it?