It was Parlos the messenger and Yatrim the digger who accompanied Egalo on his underground journey to Mestrane. They set out at a quickened pace, Egalo leading the way with the shining bright Magi's stone and his companions brought along torches for their own light—remembering all too well what had happened a day prior when Egalo crawled at the speed of a slippery death worm through the narrow tunnel whilst taking the only light source available—being his Ertorin stone.

The underground tunnel headed south. Egalo's intuition had agreed with Baradorn that is was likely a secret passage to Mestrane created by either Dagnar or Randor. It was just tall enough for them to walk with their heads stooped, which wasn't an issue at first but after a while their necks grew sore and stiff and Egalo almost wished he could just crawl after a while.

Then there was Yatrim, who was hardly five foot and enjoyed an easy walk through the tunnel, head held high and a pleasant look upon his face. Parlos had his beak of a nose scrunched up like it always was when anything wasn't exactly as it should be. His eyebrows blended together to form a light unibrow. Egalo liked Parlos for his innocence and loyalty. He was a kind soul. Just the kind of man he needed that he could depend on to do what he asked of him when the time was right—at least he had hoped.

They had been walking for nearly an hour and Egalo called a halt to rest. It was more tiring than he had expected to walk his neck crooned down like a hunchback, and his upper spine was started to feel odd.

Yatrim laid his torch on the ground foolishly and watched as the sand and dirt ate up the flames and put an end to its flame. Parlos allowed a stupid grin to cross his face and Egalo smiled himself, but only because of the amusement he got from Parlos' odd face. Egalo hadn't realized he had been staring for so long as Parlos turned his head slowly as if a horror was to meet him on his left. The look on his face only turned Egalo to hysterics. It felt good to laugh. He couldn't remember the last time he had laughed—and what better time to do it than on his way to the darkest corner of the realm through an undiscovered tunnel that lead to who-knows-where.

The three sat in silence but not for long. The three of them heard it all at once. Then they saw it. Overhead the soil loosened slightly and the outline of what seemed to be a long, slithery creature moved along the thin layer of dirt. Crumbs of soil and dirt sprinkled their hair, and the sound reminded Egalo of some sort of purring critter. The movement stopped, Parlos and Yatrim exchanged glances, half-expecting the slithery thing to fall through the ground above them at any moment.

"How far under are we?" Parlos wondered aloud nervously.

"I'd say quite deep. I don't think the deepest hole we dug all those months ago would even come half as close as the depth of this tunnel. Let's keep moving. I don't want to stick around to find out whatever that was."

Parlos needed no second telling, but stopped himself from getting ahead of Egalo, who had taken his time getting to his feet and being careful not to bump his head on the thick layer of earth above him. The outline of the creature was no longer in sight, but the unsettling pur sound still occurred every once in a while, as they walked. Egalo felt uneasy, but pretended not to hear it, nonetheless. He could hear Parlos and Yatrim whispering about it behind him whenever it happened again, but Egalo would not feed into that fearful mindset, not now. Whatever dwelled on the other side of those meadows was surely worse than whatever critter lurked inside the earth. We are inside his territory, not ours. Men weren't meant to be this far under the earth.

The sight of the slithery critter resurfaced an hour later, almost on the hour. Its long body was apparent now, spanning the length of all three of their strides, and longer.

"It would seem the myths of old death worms suffocating the Carnakanes could indeed be true." Yatrim spoke with a sense of false confidence that Egalo saw right through. His fingers gripped around the hilt of his blade at his hip. His stone was no longer in its place inside the fine workings of his hilt, but he dared not lose his only source of light unless...

A short moment later his sword was out in front of him and his green stone radiated through the blade and lit the path before him. He heard whispers again from behind him and figured they must be in awe of his wonderful blade and its splendor. Men of the caves have likely never encountered such a blade. Perhaps not even an Ertorin stone, for that matter.

Parlos seemed to be the most spooked, but he broke his silence by changing the subject.

"So, what of this Mestrane army, lord Egalo? What sorts of evil are dealing with?"

Egalo couldn't help but chuckle at the way with which Parlos had asked. It come across quite casual, as if he were about to strategize a way to deal with his enemy in a game of Chess or Knights and Bandits.

"I'll say it again, Parlos, much worse than whatever that weird thing is in the earth above us."

"Forgive me, for I may sound foolish when I ask. But, are there humans...in Mestrane? I mean, what sorts of animals or creatures' dwell within?" Parlos had crouched very awkwardly low as he walked, in a fearful fret that his head might burst open the soil above him and drop the critter upon himself.

"Men are not abundant in these lands. It is the race of men that Mestrane want to get rid of, Parlos. In other words, we are certainly not going to be welcomed should our arrival go noticed."

Parlos swallowed hard and Yatrim grit his teeth. The two had not seen another race of beings beside themselves and the creatures that dwelled in the Carnakanes. Yatrim winced as the earth shook above him and a sprinkle of dirt and some thin roots spilled out and covered his head. He shook his head and ruffled his hair, but speckles of dirt had filled his scalp and Parlos ran his hand through his hair roughly to try and help but Yatrim had only scolded him for how roughly he had dug his knuckles into his scalp.

"Save your knuckle strength for the men on the other side of the meadows, Parlos. I think Yatrim's hair could use some fertilizing anyways." Yatrim hands went to his hair in defense but pursed his lips when he felt the center of his head thinning greatly, an insecurity that he had convinced himself naught but was often joked about by his friends. He wondered if he would ever see them again.

The tunnel continued on in a straight path. It had not bent nor curved once since they had begun their walk as they approached the third hour on route to Mestrane.

Parlos and Yatrim had begun debating the kinds of creatures that waited for them on the other side and Egalo listened quietly for a while. But a couple minutes had felt like a while enough before he couldn't help but bud in, "There are no such things in this land. What you will find are Maldurians, enslaved to the work of the one who deceives them."

"Who deceives them?" asked Parlos.

"It is a man by the name of King Steed. He is the false King of the Maldurians, but it is believed by the Magi Order that in Maldur law, the one who slays the King becomes the next Maldur King."

"Oh yes, I hear discussion amongst the outsiders who work besides me in the caves that this Maldur Slayer still lives somewhere in hiding, outside the border of the Carnakanes."

"Yes Yatrim, it is a great big world out there north of the Carnakanes. There is certainly no shortage of treachery either side of the Carnakanes."

The three men glanced overhead, realizing the critter had disappeared, and the purring sound was gone as well.

"Must have lost interest." Parlos sounded hopeful.

"That's what he wants you to think." Egalo held his sword firmly out in front of him, keeping his eyes glued to the wall of earth above him as he slowly trudged forwards. After much intense staring, the dirt sat the same as any other dirt ever had, compact and brownish orange. Various arbitrary roots sticking out from its dense nature.

"Let's keep moving quickly, I'd rather be out of this claustrophobic tunnel sooner rather than later." Together the three moved to a light canter now. It wasn't long after that they encountered the first bend in the tunnel.

"I'd say we took a turn for the worst, but I think this entire path is headed for the worst already." Yatrim had rarely spoke truer words, thought Egalo. Lucky for him it'll be me who has to do the saving, if there is to be any. I guess that's the life of a Magi Knight. Taking the lives of others into your own hands. What an exciting and burdensome life mission. Egalo could almost hear the disappointed words coming from Randor's mouth inside his head, and he wished he was already in Randor's presence, making a great escape from Mestrane without looking back. He didn't know if it was his imagination, but he felt a great deal more anxious suddenly.The stone can feel it too. We're in Mestrane. The three grew quieter as they went. More and more turns and bends appeared in the tunnel now, and its walls grew narrower. We're close now.

He was wrong though. They may have been in Mestrane, but the tunnel just kept on going. Endless stretches of twists and turns and narrow walls and short ceilings. Egalo was almost crouched to his knees now. Even Yatrim had to crouch and stoop low as they went. Their progress was hindered but Yatrim didn't mind, he almost hoped they'd never arrive so that he wouldn't have to find out what was at the end of the tunnel. He began to realize how greatly he dreaded his decision to come along with Egalo. He had been so honored in the moment he had not even taken a second to consider the option of saying no. When he came to think of it, he had always struggled to say no to favors. He looked at Parlos and figured he was feeling the same way.

The three of them turned another corner and to the disbelief of all three, they were not met with another stretch of tunnel but rather with an entire underground lair. Busy men with pasty white faces and marks of blues and reds ran from forehead to chin as they walked in a hustle across the polished dirt ground. Egalo shrunk back quickly into the tunnel, bumping Yatrim back and ultimately tripping Yatrim onto Parlos who made a loud grunt. Egalo had not even heard the grunt, but instead he peered his head around cautiously and continued staring in awe. There was a central hole in the middle that seemed as though it went down endlessly into the earth far, far below them. The ring around the central hole was where busy Maldurians and various beings busily carried out orders, many with pick axes in hand. The sound of axes clinking against rock and dirt rang through the air. Languages that Egalo had never heard filled the air as well and the smell of soot and sweat contributed to a congested air.

Parlos and Yatrim slowly peered their heads around Egalo's and their eyes widened as far as they could. Parlos curly hair tickled and Yatrim's eye and Yatrim sputtered his lips as a strand of curly black hair found a home in Yatrim's mouth. Egalo gave a stern look and ordered them to get behind him. This was no place for carelessness and unnecessary noises that could ultimately cost them being caught.

Egalo peered at the next man who walked by—soon realizing that in fact, it was not a man at all. The dark, holes for eyes and rotted flesh told Egalo he was one of the Deranged Men. Another passed by, and Egalo realized there were no humans here. Sounds of screaming and anguish rang out from down below, at one of the lower levels and Egalo dared not imagine what was going on below. Horrible sounds of gnashing and blades clashing filled the air and Egalo looked to the Deranged Men who just kept about their usual ways, strolling around the ring. Some aimlessly, others with some purpose as they strolled. Egalo heard the sound of marching feet and shied back inside the tunnel quickly. It was coming from the right, and he peered just a small glance from out of the narrow tunnel. There was a host of Maldurians in tight formation walking with tan tunics and long spears in hand. There was at least a dozen of them and the two at the front were in deep conversation in a tongue that Egalo could have sworn was aimless blabbering. Okay, but what now. What would Randor have wanted me to discover here. Or had he wanted me to discover this? He may not even be here. He could be down below, being tortured this moment, is that his scream? No, he wouldn't scream. Or maybe, maybe he's not even here. He probably escaped weeks ago, knowing him. Too late now, I'm not turning back.

Parlos wondered if it would be wise to turn back. There were hundreds of these creatures strolling right before their eyes. If they took one step out into the clearing they would be seen instantly. This place didn't have friendly noises coming from it, anyways. He looked at Yatrim who had a determined look about him. Maybe I ought to have the same courage. Even if he's faking it. I'll fake it too, thought Parlos. He sharpened his pointy nose, furrowed his brows and waited for Egalo's next move. It sure didn't come quickly. Soon, an hour passed. Egalo just stood crouched. Watching. How his spine did not ache from crouching like he did, Parlos had no idea.

Egalo wondered what on earth the purpose of this underground lair could be. There was no lack of space above ground—and no one ever entered into Mestrane as it was. Nothing could be discovered that would be of use to anyone besides themselves. It was during his pondering that something caught his eye from across the way. On the other side of the giant hole in the center of the cavernous layer, someone was being prodded in the back with a spear by a Maldurian. He had a darker cloak about him, but it was tattered, and the hood was on. Could that be a human? His hands were bonded together, and he walked with a great limp. His head lifted slightly towards his direction and in that moment Egalo could swear their eyes met, even under that large hood, and Egalo's heart jumped out of his chest. Dagnar. Dalian bloody Dagnar. Egalo wondered if his eyes were playing tricks on him, he turned to Parlos and Yatrim to share his excitement, realizing he had not even paid them any mind for about an hour as he had stood and simply stared—searching for his next move. The excitement disappeared from his face. They were gone. A different kind of jump occurred in his heart now, in fact, it was racing. His hand slid instinctually down to his sword at his hip. Its presence was still concealed by his cloak, but his hand knew it was there. He walked back down the tunnel with his head crooned. Faster, and faster he walked. There were no double passage ways that he had seen on his way here, it had been a straight shot—or had it been? Egalo narrowed his eyes, peering at every crevice in the tunnel walls as he retraced his steps. How could they have been snuck out from under me like that? Without a sound...it was then that his he felt a cold shivering upon his spine and goosebumps over his arms. It was not what lie in front of him, but above him. He glanced up and moved back toward the tunnel nearer to the grand opening he had been peering out from.

There it was. A small hole in the top of the tunnel, big enough for a man to be scooped up through. Egalo unsheathed his sword now from his scabbard and the stone that was wedged inside his hilt glowed a fluorescent green. The metal of the hilt was hot to the touch, but not too hot to wield. His fingers gripped tightly around the handle and his breathing picked up. Egalo's mind raced, there could be a thousand things up there. But one stuck out. He remembered the way the walls had wiggled and moved, as if something were following them during the middle of their long journey through the tunnel. Egalo slowly stepped one step at a time towards the hole in the ceiling above, sword in hand. He unfastened his cloak with the other hand and let it drop to the dirt flooring.

The wall on his left bulged in the shape of a worm or snake and slithered parallel to him as he walked. Egalo was lightening quick with his sword, stabbing viciously through the dirt wall, surely he got it. But he didn't. His sword caught nothing, but dirt and the outline of the creature was gone. It was on his right, no it was back on his left again. Egalo stabbed right, stabbed left, but it was too quick. Egalo slowly sheathed his sword again, but as he did, he slipped the stone out from its place in his hilt. He could feel the indentations of crystal between his fingers as he held it. So many different edges and corners, all sharp and jagged under the rub of his thumb.

He clasped the stone as tight as he could in his right hand, the heat from the stone radiated around him. The dirt began to soften in the walls around him. Egalo could feel sweat dripping from his skin like a wet cloth over his body. His face shook as he struggled to maintain his tight grip on the stone. His palms bled from his grip on the jagged edged stone. The green light shone through his hand and he stifled a yell for fear of being caught by the Maldur who roamed the ring outside. His eyes turned an intense green and the light of the stone shone through him.

He peered about the tunnel intently. He could feel the heat concentrating over the top of his head. He cautiously laid a hand about his head and he lowered it simultaneously to get a look above him. The outline of the worm's body radiated a heat through the dirt, and Egalo allowed a dark grin to come over him. Got you, death worm. Egalo unsheathed his sword and stabbed through the dirt above his head and the soil, rocks, and body came piling down on top of him. Egalo gathered himself from the pile of dirt and dug anxiously through the dirt. The stone's radiance had left him, but as long as he had identified that creature, he cared not...

A body wrapped tightly like a worm in a cocoon made Egalo sick. He scratched and clawed at the white taping around the body with his bloody hands. Crimson red stained the cocoon as he struggled, but it was sticky. He was almost certain it was not a worm now, and he feared greatly the face that he would find underneath. Parlos. His pointy nose had poked through first as the white mesh was peeled away. He didn't need to see his face to know that the curly black hair belonged to Parlos. Egalo knew he was dead without checking his pulse. His body was already ice cold now, and tiny worms wiggled around all over the cocoon.

A sharp tale slammed into the back of Egalo's head, sending him sprawling back to the ground no sooner after he had tried to stand. An opening of thousands of razor-sharp teeth filled a crowded mouth and Egalo pushed himself back on his haunches as best he could. He fumbled for his sword, but he forgot he was holding the stone. The precious green stone rolled out of his palm and landed in front of him, between him and the worm. It had no eyes, but its nose was doing the work. Egalo picked up a rock and hurled it at the wall behind the worm. It contorted its thin striped, pale blue body and the rock was deteriorated to shreds in an instant.

Egalo's sword ripped through the worm's busy mouth, ending all movement inside of its body. It crumbled lifelessly to the ground, clogging up any option to head back the way he had come. Egalo dropped his sword and sat inconsolably, knees to chest. "This is a man's world. If there is anything a man ought to know, it's that the life of another is the most valuable thing in this life. And when that is lost, that is when you have failed." The words of his father echoed through his mind. Egalo remembered as a little boy, asking his father why he had to go to battle, to leave the family behind and go fight. "Then why are you going to fight, daddy? Aren't you going to kill people?" His father had chuckled with a gentle sadness in his eyes, "I'm not going because I want to kill people, I'm going because I want to fight to save people. Our people." Those had been the last words before a kiss on the forehead and a pat on the head. The last he had ever seen of his father. Egalo felt the tears begin to run down his cheek as they had then. The image of worms and white nesting slathered all over Parlos' body broke him down.

Egalo's head was forced to rise from its position upon his drawn-up knees. The Ertorin stone was no longer green for the first time he had ever seen. It was clear, crystal clear. Egalo leaned over and picked it up. He stared into the wondrous stone and felt a feeling of calmness he had never experienced before. He watched various unclear ships shifted around inside the stone. The image cleared up. Egalo could see it now. It was a view of the hole out in the middle of the underground lair, the big hole outside the tunnel that he had marveled at it. He watched curiously as the stone showed the hole from a high view from above ground. It moved slowly down through hole, heading straight for the bottom. Egalo had a strange feeling he knew where it was headed. He could not see anything on either of the various layers that surrounded the perimeter of the hole.

Eventually an image became clear as the stone maintained its clear resolution. It was the very bottom layer. A man in a black cloak was being prodded in the back with a spear. Egalo knew him—it was Dagnar. He had just seen him. Dagnar was on his knees now with his hands and arms still bound tight behind him. He suddenly became aware of Egalo's watching presence, and his head turned to him and his eyes widened in fear.

"YOU MUST LEAVE NOW. IT IS NOT SAFE. EVERYTHING IS NOT WHAT IT SEEMS!" The image was cut off as a Maldurian in a tan tunic and blue facial markings unsheathed a sword twice his height and raised it above his head. Egalo wanted to scream. Was that even real? His head was pounding. He had used the stone too much, and now his energy was drained. His head pounded. His hands were stained a crimson red. But he couldn't stop now. He gathered his sword from his scabbard and jammed the stone inside its place in the hilt and felt the power of the stone fill his sword. He rose and made his way to the entrance of the tunnel. A Maldur was walking by his lonesome just in reach, if he could just reach...

Something stopped him. Talking. Marching. A familiar voice. Egalo shrunk back into the shadows again. He almost tripped himself backing up for fear he would step upon the dead worm, or even Parlos dead body. The whole incident sent shock throughout his body. Parlos. He never asked to come. Yatrim. Where is he? His mind was distracted when he heard the familiar voice again.

"Indeed m'lord. This is it, it's quite a way and hard to travel at various points, but it'll get you from here to Raideth just fine."

"Ahh Randor Redcloak. Always up to some odd magic tricks, aren't you? And how do we know this isn't just some dead-end trap to suffocate the entire army? I would not hesitate to slit your throat myself if that were the case."

"Easy, Elri'ktor. The Dark Lord himself has already checked it and sent his own dragonfolk through it. There should be no issues in getting you to Raideth." Egalo almost had his hand over his own mouth for fear a noise would slip from his mouth without his doing. There is no way that is Randor. It must be a different one. He must be deceiving them, he would never betray the Magi Order, nor the realm.

"That's good news, Magi scum. Because now that I come to think of it, you'll be leading the front lines right by my side. I hope that's okay with you?" Elri'ktor's laugh made Egalo's head hurt worse somehow. His rusty voice had not sounded human in the slightest. Egalo remembered learning something about the voice of his kind, something Randor had said. Randor. Rage beheld Egalo, I am so close, yet I cannot show myself. If he is a traitor as it sounds, I should have his head on the ground. No, I could never. He made me what I am. A thousand thoughts raced through his head. His mind swirled back to Dagnar. "Everything is not what it seems!"Dagnar had said. He wondered if Dagnar was dead now. Sometimes the stone sent messages with visions that weren't necessarily true, but Egalo had heard tales of true visions that were more than a warning and were rather a truth that The Creator sought to send upon those bearing the stone.

Egalo's ears tuned back in at the sound of his master's voice, "I trust that the Dark Lord reward me greatly when all is said and done for my role in all of this."

"Don't get carried away, scum. The work has not yet begun." A roar of laughter as horrid as death riddled the air, making the smell of soot and congestion all the more pungent as Egalo breathed.

"Do not mistake me for a fool, Elri'ktor. I am confident of my ability to lead the army. We will not be seen. It is the army above us that will draw the attention. Torval and his men will travel in pure daylight with all the men he has and all of the terrible devices that the Dark Lord has entrusted them to siege his own castle at Raideth." Randor spoke so assuredly that Egalo began not to believe it was truly his voice he was hearing.

"I hope you speak true, Magi. A dragon beast is born in the ground, but once a dragon is grown, his days are never spent within the ground again."

"The same can be said for the Orcs, although I do believe they quite enjoy staying underground. Their native land is an entire civilization lived underground. And whilst you speak of dragons, you can hardly speak of yourself as one of their kind." Randor and Elri'ktor passed by Egalo's position at the mouth of the tunnel and he cowered his face in the shadows as they passed.

"Do not belittle me, scum. I am more fully dragon than I am a man. Give me your pretty little stone and I am twice the creature you could ever hope to be." He snarled at Randor now, his teeth made an odd clattering noise at he did so.

Their voices carried away as Randor and the horrible creature Elri'ktor continued onward around the ring. Egalo peered back out of the tunnel one last time. Egalo almost wished he hadn't, as he suddenly realized what the giant hole was for. A giant roar shook the entire lair. Dirt and soil came crumbling down on top of Egalo's head, not for the first time. From deep down below the rumbling was louder than any organism Egalo had ever heard. Maldur who had gathered around the railing along the edge of the ring reeled away from the railing just in time for a giant wave of molten fire and lava to shoot up out of the ground and sent flashes of light and heat throughout the air. Some Maldur caught flame and cried out in agony as their flesh melted from their faces. Some Deranged Men who stood and watched had lowered their visors and helmets over their faces, but even some of their metal plates and steely armor began to melt away from the heat.

Rising from the depths of the great hole emerged a great, scaly beast. Restraints and collars around its neck failed to keep it stabilized, as they simply snapped or burned from the heat radiated from its green scales. Its face emerged first, and the sight of it was enough to turn Egalo away in horror. Never had he seen such a frightful creature in his life.

Egalo knew not what happened at the top of the hole, nor what creatures, structures, towers, nor vile beasts dwelled there. He had learned that the evil creature called Elri'ktor now had a higher master to answer to, which was news to him and likely to the whole realm. What he did know, was that darkness was coming, and he saw no way of stopping it.