The torchlight did little to put Vakdragnar at ease in the long descending caverns beneath the Goblin’s cave. The single light source threw shadows along the wall that folded into the terrain and made it difficult to see.

Despite the poor vision the torchlight provided, Vak was thankful that it gave him something else to occupy his mind. It was in the smaller rooms where he could see more clearly, and there was no immediate danger. That was when he found his mind wandering.

His relationship with Nina Hale, his traveling partner, had become complicated. On one side, they had only just met and were relative strangers. On the other, he had intruded upon intimate details of her life to locate her. There were things she did not know about her life, and finding the right words to tell her, after everything she’d suffered, was torment.

“Look at this strange urn, Vak!” She shouted excitedly from across the long corridor they stood. This part of the cavern was a stronghold for the cult of Karkazes long ago. Anka said it was a place of dark power.

There is that uneasy feeling again, Vak thought.

Vak had to walk a few feet across the corridor before the torchlight would show him the vase Nina was studying. It was surprising she wasn’t staying closer to the light, but this was not the first time she’d strayed.

“The little figures tell an ancient story.” She said while slowly turning the urn. She spoke like reading words from a page. “There was an ancient calamity, and a brave group came together to… oh, wait! Nope; it’s a sex urn.” She said, dropping the vase in disgust. It shattered against the tile floor.

“Wait!” Vak said far too late.

“What’s the matter?” She said, looking back at Vak.

It took Vak a moment to get past her indifference. “That was a piece of history.”

“Uh, I already told you, it was a bunch of creepy people commemorating their wild orgies.”

“It could have been valuable.”

“Who are we going to sell a vase to down here?” She said, arching an eyebrow.

“Well…” he stammered, unable to think of a response.

“Besides, I’m not certain I want anyone having it, what if it had some sort of power.” She said, shivering.

“By that logic, what if destroying it had set something loose?”

“Ugh, like some kind of ancient sex ghost? Yeah, that wouldn’t have been good at all.” She said, contemplating. “Eh, we would have just fought it.”

Vak cracked a small smile.

“There ya go,” She said gleefully. “No reason to be so serious. We’re on an adventure! I think we’re allowed to have some fun.”

“Very well. Shall we go, or do you see some more sex vases to smash?” Vak said with a slight smirk.

“Oh my stars, was that a joke, Vak?”

“Don’t be so surprised; I tell jokes. I am quite funny.” He said as they approached a closed door. Nina tried the handle, but the door was stuck fast.

“Hmm… the Magistrate is still weighing that verdict.” She said coyly.

“The Magistrate,” Vak said, feigning reverence. “I will be sure to be on my best behavior for his excellency.” He broke the door down with his shoulder as though enunciating his point. Nina rolled her eyes, but the smile on her face spoiled the effect.

The door opened out into another natural cavern. It was completely different from the rest of the Cult lair. This space held no symbols or furniture, and the walls and floor looked more natural. It was like stepping out of a house and into the backyard, sixty feet underground.

“This doesn’t look lived in.” She observed, looking around.

“No, it looks like a dead-end,” Vak said, walking over to a steep drop off in the center of the cave.

“They must not have wanted their members coming down here.” She said, pointing to a small wooden post sticking out of the ground. “Look, these used to be the anchor points of a rope bridge that extended across this gap.”

“Gap? This could go on for miles as far as we know.”

“No, only about forty feet, look.” She said as she produced a green ball of energy in her hand. She tossed it lazily across the room, lighting the cavern as it floated through.

Nina’s estimation turned out to be accurate. Nearly forty feet across, it struck a wall. It lit up the other side revealing another path further into the cavern and two more posts on that side of the ‘gap.’

“You were right,” Vak said, impressed. He watched for a moment as the green ball slowly winked out of existence like a firefly disappearing into the night.

“Don’t sound so surprised.”

“I did not mean any offense; it was just a miraculous guess.”

“Oh, I didn’t guess. I could see it.” She said, slowly pacing the length of the room.

“How?” Vak asked, and as she turned back around to him, he inhaled in alarm. Nina’s eyes were glowing a brilliant green.

“It is part of my talents,” Nina said. Her explanation seemed intentionally vague, and with Vak’s recent experience with mages, he was a bit suspicious. He immediately felt a pang of guilt, but the suspicions lingered.

“Nina, your powers…”

“Yes?”

“Have you always had them?”

“Oh, no. I wasn’t born with them or anything. I had to teach myself. I’ve only been practicing for the last four months or so.”

“Four months?”

“Impressive, right? I’ve heard people study at the Zoftwiten Institute for years.”

“And you just taught yourself?”

“Yeah, well… okay, not entirely. About four months ago, I was waiting tables at the Flame’s Fondness, and he walks in.”

“Who?”

“None other than Mr. Adventure himself, Seren Miller!”

“Seren Miller?” Vak asked in disbelief. He’d heard of the legend. Many had set out to find riches in the world after the Godsend. Seren had done that and more. There were entire books of his exploits. He’d saved towns, battled the undead, fought against corrupt Lords, and destroyed rampaging monsters. Vak had read all his exploits.

“The one and only! I tried to act cool, but inside I was losing it.”

“I bet!” Vak said.

“Hmm?”

“I mean, I bet he was intimidating,” Vak said a bit ashamed.

“You know at first, he was, but as I talked with him, I found him welcoming. He was telling me about how he was on this new adventure.”

“New adventure?”

“Yeah, he called it a quest for knowledge. He said there was so much everyone got wrong. That seeing the world had opened his eyes and given such a unique perspective on things.”

“Amazing,” Vak said. He hung on every word. “So, what was this knowledge for?”

“Oh, I have no idea,” Nina said a bit sheepishly.

“What do you mean? You did not ask him?”

“He didn’t tell me everything, oh! He gave me a book. He said if I studied it, it would open my eyes to the truth of things.”

“That book taught you your powers?”

“Kind of, it’s hard to explain. The book was a puzzle, and once I figured out how to solve it, I opened a way to the source of my powers.”

“That sounds... ominous.”

“It kind of is, I don’t know how else to explain it. There is this invisible, intangible, Well of Power, and I can touch it with my decisions. The result: magic. Yeah, I know it sounds weird. I think of it as collecting water from an ocean with a bucket. I’m still learning.”

“And this power is what let you summon Zogmodeth?”

“I think so. I told you before, I was terrified and needed help, and there was this moment of understanding that the well would save me if I agreed.”

“Agreed, how?”

“It’s hard to explain. I had this moment of decision. It was like I could refuse it or ask it for help. At that moment, I didn’t feel like I should say no.”

“You do not have to be defensive. I would have made the same decision in your shoes.”

“Ha!”

“Ha?”

“In my shoes, you would have ripped those thugs’ heads off and used them for kicking balls.”

“I can assure you I would not!” Vak said, a bit concerned with the imagery.

“I just mean, you defeated a demon with your bare hands.” She told him with a look of admiration. “I envy your strength. Oooh!” Something on the side of the room had caught her eye. She walked over to the edge of the gap.

“What is it?”

“I think I found a way across.” She said, slowly stepping along the wall. Vak rushed over and saw she was inching across a ledge only a foot wide.

“Wait, hold on,” Vak called after her as she inched her way across. “It is too narrow for me to follow.”

“Hmm?” She called back, looking at him. “Good point. Toss me a rope!”

“You are certain you do not want to come back and tie it around your waist?”

“Nah, no time for that, just toss it.” Vak took out the rope. It was the very same Dam stole from that shopkeeper back in Tirough. The one Vak stole from them. He tossed the end to her, and she missed it.

“A little higher, please!” She called as Vak pulled the rope back and tossed it again. This time she leaned out for it and lost her balance. She screamed as she fell down the hole.

Vak ran to the edge of the steep incline to see her fall into the darkness below. It all happened so fast that there wasn’t time to do anything. He stood there looking down in disbelief, the rope in hand. Then he felt the line go taught, and it nearly pulled him from his feet.

“Nina!” Vak called down.

“Yeah, sorry about that,” She called up at him. “Could you pull me up?”

Vak felt an instant wave of relief as he began to pull her back up slowly. When she was close enough, Vak grabbed Nina’s arm and pulled her back onto solid ground. He took a few steps and then fell to the ground, his legs giving out. They were shaking from the shock of what had almost happened. Nina walked over to him and sat down.

“Okay, sorry about that,” She said sheepishly. Vak looked back at her, feeling incredibly exhausted. “I’ll tie the rope around my waist next time.”

“Next time?”

“Well… we still have to get across, right? I figure I could tie the rope to that pillar over there, and you could tie the other end over here, and then you could pull yourself across?” Nina said.

Vak fell back and laid down on the cave floor.

“Are you alright?” She said, moving over to him.

“Are you?” Vak wondered.

“Sure, a few scrapes, no big deal.”

“You nearly died.”

“Yeah, it seems to be happening a lot.” She said, trying to force a laugh from Vak.

“You want to just rush back across?”

“Sure.”

“How?”

“Well, if I don’t keep going, then we have to turn back.”

“Okay?” Vak said, sitting up. “Maybe this is as far as we can go?”

“What kind of adventuring spirit is that? The whole point of an adventure is to push yourself. To take risks.”

“Nina…”

“Besides, I’d rather be dead than go back to that.”

“To Tirough?”

“To that life! I was dying there, slowly, and without any options. That city felt more like a prison than a home.”

“I… alright, strangely, I know how you feel,” Vak said, remembering how he first felt standing within the stone walls.

“Right?”

“But you have people there who care about you: friends, a job.”

“I was planning on leaving.”

“What?”

“I wanted to for a while, I was just saving up the coin, and I would have been gone within the month if…” She trailed off.

“If you didn’t accidentally summon an overprotective demon to steal you away from it all?”

“Yeah... “ She said.

“Sorry.” Vak apologized.

“Why?”

“That was insensitive.”

“No, you’re right. I did it. Now, I’m trying to make the best of it. Turn the negative into what I always wanted to do anyway.”

“That is an amazing perspective.”

“Yup. I’m finally sitting in a cave with a shirtless demon slayer. I must be doing something right?”

“I…” Vak just stared back at her, unsure how to proceed.

“That was a joke.” She said, looking concerned.

“Ah.”

“Look, sorry, I didn’t mean it.”

“Oh, do not apologize. I am not upset. There are just some things I have been keeping from you. They are troubling, and I do not know how you will react.”

“Keeping from me? What?”

“It is about that night.” Vak trailed off. He had no idea how to begin to tell her.

“Hey,” She said, kneeling in front of him. “Whatever it is, you will feel better if you tell me. I promise I will not judge.”

“It isn’t about me. It is about Destin Huxley.”

“Destin?”

“In investigating what happened to you, I came across a pretty tangled web. Destin did not want you to go on an adventure. He thought you were being…”

“What?”

“Reckless,” Vak said apologetically.

“Oh,” She said, pulling her legs up against her chest. “I... guess he was right.”

“No, do not listen to him. He is an ass!”

“What?”

“He hired those bandits to break into your apartment and kidnap you.”

“He WHAT!?”

“He told me that he hoped it would traumatize you into staying.”

“That asshole!”

“He had a friend within the Grievspair Organization, and he asked them to kidnap you. I… I am sorry.”

“Ten of the Hells! If I ever see him again…” She left the threat hanging in the air, then stood up and began tying the rope around her waist.

“Nina?”

“I am not letting that doughy, ass-dragon dictate my life. Tie the rope.”

“Are you…”

“Tie. The. Rope.” She said, emphasizing each word. Vak did not feel it was wise to try and talk her out of this, so he made sure the rope was well secured as she began to crawl across the tiny ledge again. She slowly crept into the darkness. “Shit!” She called.

“Nina? What is it?”

“The ledge ends. I am going to have to… jump!” She said as Vak heard a small heave and then a tiny thud.

“Nina?” Vak called after a minute.

“It’s alright! I’m fine! The rope is secure on my end. Come on across.”

Vak looked down at his knot and then into the darkness. The woman was a waitress, how much did he trust her to tie a secure knot? He reached down to pull on the rope; it seemed safe. Vak took a long, slow exhale. What choice did he really have? He put his arm around it and began to crawl out into the void.