"I think that's the cave," Ammierra pointed at a gaping void on a hill that's half covered by vines and ivy a couple of yards northwest from where they were. It was reasonably easy to find the place. A manmade trail obscured by bushes, fallen rocks leading towards the jagged opening.

"Lucia," Yurika nudged the Zanj. She was sleeping on her mount. Before they embarked toward the cave Lucia had requested Ammierra to charm her mount. The charm would make the mount to automatically follow Ammierra and her mount without the need of anyone steering it. So the Zanj could take a couple of hours nap, she hadn't had the chance of sleeping last night. Running around inside the labyrinth trying to find ways out while marking it was not an easy job and it took a toll on the Zanj.

"Lucia, I think we have arrived, wake up please," Yurika nudged her once more. This time the raven-haired girl stirred. Her foxy eyes blinked a couple of times before she finally pushed herself up.

"Urgh okay nap time is over," she said while stretching and yawning loudly. She bobbed her head towards the cave.

"Yep, that's the place. You can break the charm now, Ammierra Llana. Thank you," Lucia grabbed the rein and looked at the others, "let's go we don't have all day."

With that said, the moment Ammierra broke the charm, Lucia prodded her mount and advanced toward the cave followed by the others.

The cave mouth was broad and the sunlight reached inside almost a few meters deep. Going deeper the light started to dim, chilling blackness started to grab every corner. The absence of light brought the absence of warm touch of the sun.

"Okay, starting this point we need to walk while leading our mount. It will be too much for our Camelous to carry us and find footing. They will end up as a burden if they slip and broke their legs," said Lucia as she leaped off from the mount, "We will need them still to reach Marama, so better safe than sorry."

The noise of those disturbed rocks echoed off the wall of the cave as everyone got off from their mount. The temperature dropped as they entered the massive underground chamber, sending a violent chill down their spine. Marc chanted light magic and created a light of cloud above their head. The light was sufficient enough for around a meter ahead of them but that was the limit The brightness of the cloud reached neither the wall nor ceiling, confining their vision to a small circle of the flickering orange cast.

"So you said you have marked the way," Jace's voice echoed involuntarily, "what kind of sign we need to pay attention to? So we can all pay more attention to our surrounding."

"You will see it. It is as obvious as the sun," Lucia chuckled and winked at Jace.

As they explored further to the cave, they arrived at a place with a few passages. They tunneled like giant snakes curling and twisting deep inside the hills.

"I guess this place lived up to its name," Lyall whistled while his navy eyes tried their best to track into the passages, "So which way?"

Yurika glanced around the passage and her eyes stumbled upon a glowing yellowish streak on one of the stones near one of the passages.

"I think that's the one," she pointed out.

"When she said it will be as obvious as the sun, she literary meant it," Lyall whooped, his laughter vibrated the passage and echoed back, "I wonder what kind of paint you used. It actually glowed in the dark."

Lucia grinned, "That's a crafter secret. Anyway from here on, please keep your voice as low as possible. We don't want to wake the cave dwel--."

Lucia words were cut by a strange noise. It was almost like birds chirping but combined by scratching noise. It was faint but enough to make them tense.

"What was that?" Wen's eyes widen in an alert.

Lucia rolled her eyes, "too late, they know we are here. Let's move faster before they catch us. No more talking. If u need to say anything, please use the telepathy."

They moved faster as they ushered their mount along. The strange noises for some reason disappear, leaving them with frigid silence that interspersed with the echoes of their footsteps. Crushing the stones and whatever in their ways as they went deeper, moving passage by passage in silence.

'Wen,' Yurika called her friend. The silence made her more anxious, her ears strained to any unusual noise around her. Her shoulders hitched almost imperceptibly at every sound.

'Yuu, this is bad, seriously bad,' Wen replied, her inner voice sounded panic, 'I can't believe I actually forgot what this place called beside Poroiwi.'

The next passage was quite narrow, so they had to walk one by one and slower.

'What do you mean?'

'This place also called as the deathly ant hills.'

Yurika could almost hear herself gulping in fear.

'Rufas monsters live in this cave, not only they are quite dangerous as one. They also work as a group. No wonder no one lives to tell what's inside this cave labyrinth.'

The tunnel felt longer and dizzying, every turn grew more and more confusing, and Yurika could almost sure that they had walked in circles several times before discovering Lucia's mark that led to another passage. She had tried to keep a record of the path, but it was impossible.

'Wen, do you think the noises before... were from them?' asked Yurika, as she tried her best to walk around the rocky path. She didn't really want to look down, after a couple of time her eyes captured not only stone, dirt and mud they have been stepping on. Bones and dead bodies were also scattered on their path. The deeper they went the damper the place also the more signs of death all around them.

Suddenly her leg got caught on something, she tried to pull it, shake it to no avail. She pulled harder but whatever caught her right leg was sure clung on her tightly. Nervously her fuchsia eyes glanced down, staring down to what held her. The dim light revealed a hand was clinging on her leg. It didn't clutch strongly on her but it moved as if trying to pull her.

Panicked, Yurika started to kick and shake her captured leg. Anything to unhook it. But instead of managing to escape from the clutch, her body flail and with a loud thump she fell.

The whole place vibrated once more, everyone froze. Waiting and listening to any strange movement or noises. A second pass, two seconds, three seconds.... everyone held their breath in anticipation. But there was nothing... so they started to relax their tense shoulders.

Yurika was still on the ground, she was also frozen in fear. She could sense the stabbing glared from Jace and the others. Silent angry whispers waves of thoughts for her clumsiness. She carefully tried to scramble back up. As she finally up, her eyes fell on one of the holes on the wall. Two round large eyes, high in the dark of one of the holes were staring back at her, and then a massive form lumbered out of the dark with a complaining growl that strangely sounded like hundreds ... no thousands chirping noise. Then she realized there wasn't just one it was actually hundreds of them peeking through the porous wall.

"RUFAS!" Wen shrieked, she quickly slapped her mouth shut, but it was too late. More and more creatures thronged out from the wall.

Yurika stunned, her eyes couldn't move away from the dark compound eyes. She felt like she was hypnotized by them. Then someone hand grabbed hold of her hand and pulled her away at the nick of time. Just a second away right before a gush of acid was spewed at her face.

"RUN!" Ordered Jace, and everyone took off at a dead run. To fight off one Rufas wouldn't be so bad, but a hundred of them... would be suicidal. Rock splintered and cracked behind them as the beasts gave chase, and the group tore through the tunnels, not really paying attention to where they were going and didn't really care about their mounts who were running as panic as their rider. They were lucky to manage to stay in a group even though they were running without paying any direction. But when they arrived in a wide dome area, they knew that they had strayed away from their actual course.

"Oh no, it's the queen chamber," dreaded Lucia as her silver eyes bore on the center of the dome.

A giant Rufas, with powerful mandibles, hard, armour-like exoskeleton perforated with spiracles for gaseous exchange, large compound eyes of hundreds of lenses working together to form a single image. It's elbowed antennae moved as it detecting their presence.