Four men stumble through the cavern, shoulders hunched, boots dragging. We watch them from the shadows, our foes. I sense Enea at my side, holding her breath. I should tell her that there is no need for it. The distance and the river down there swallow all the noise we could make.

I listen to the flowing water, feeling the tension between my shoulders loosen. It begins as a low, constant rumble, a throat clearing that never ends, vibrating faintly over the cavern floor and up into our bones. Where the current strikes rock, it hisses like a breath drawn through clenched teeth. The sound gathers into a chorus of echoes that dance between the columns and stalactites, breaking and reshaping. They overlap into ghostly memories chasing each other until they warp and fade in the darkness, never quite settling in harmony. Sometimes the noise cracks into hollow booms, hinting at hidden depths, secrets better left undisturbed.

The men seem to feel it too. We watch them kneel next to the water, studying the tracks, their eyes flicking from shadow to shadow at each noise, tense and wary. They have survived the hailstorm, but its memory seems to linger on their skin. I can make out burns on their forearms, hastily wrapped in torn cloaks, drenched dark red. Their steps rattle with dust and smoke, leaving a scent trail of scorched leather that dissipates in the air current but still reaches our nostrils.

"We should all change before we follow them," I whisper. "They might smell us."

"Good idea," acknowledges Han Ke. He has already done so himself when he changed armor.

I share a look with Enea and Kenae, who blushes for some reason, eyeing the boy between us. Enea rolls her eyes and points toward the shadows behind a bend in the tunnel we dragged ourselves through. I nod before following her.

There was no hurry to get back. When I crouch next to Han Ke again, I see those men still by the river, arguing between themselves.

"I tell you their tracks end here," says one of them, a small, dark-haired fellow, limping along the river's shore. For some reason, he winces with each step. I squint my eyes, trying to focus. There is something dark underneath his skin. I tilt my head, trying to figure out what it could be. Obsidian shards, buried underneath the poultice they smeared across their wounds. Amateurs.

One of them carries a strange device, a pendulum made from twisted strands of bent wire, the end weighted down by a black stone. The man steadies it between his fingers. Then he raises his arm slowly, letting the end dangle.

It starts to tremble and vibrate, pointing deeper into the caves, where we saw the lizardmen scouts disappear. The man leans forward, brows furrowed in concentration. He turns, steadying his pendulum again before repeating his operation, obtaining the same result.

"There is no doubt about it, they went down that tunnel," he declares, nodding to himself.

The dark-haired scout crosses the stream before crouching again to study the ground. "There are only lizardmen tracks here, though," he comments after a while.

The men share a look. "You guys think the lizards took them?" asks a broad-shouldered man dressed in sturdy bronze armor.

Han Ke curses beside me.

"What is it?" I whisper.

The boy glances at me before answering. "I wasn't sure until now, but I recognize his voice." He shakes his head, staring at the men down in the cave. "That's Mon Veno. He is a fourth-year student from our academy. I know him because we had a few classes together. He is on a knight path like me."

"I see," comments Enea, a slight tremor in her voice. She bites her lips, staring at the men still talking between themselves. "How strong is he?"

"Not that strong for his advancement, but he has eleven open meridians," answers Han Ke, sounding distracted. "I remember him boasting about only being a few weeks away from reaching the Gold rank."

"E-Eleven," stutters Enea.

Han Ke tilts his head toward the girl. "Yeah, but don't worry. He isn't that strong for his advancement. I won half of my duels against him."

Should I be impressed by that? It's no surprise that a member of one of the leading clans is stronger than others for their advancement. I wonder if I could take him. Probably yes if I go all out, but it would be a drawn-out fight; knights are sturdy. And, with his advancement, the fourth-year boy probably has a complete set of techniques.

"We don't know how strong the others are, though," I comment. "Some of them could be gold-ranked. We should let them tire themselves on the lizards like we planned."

"Isn't the Mon clan a side branch from your Han clan?" asks Kenae.

"It is," answers Han Ke, scratching his neck. "It's one of our oath-sworn servant families."

Great, politics. I roll my eyes. Han Ke opens his mouth as if to tell us something more, but then snaps it shut, glancing between us, before staring at the men again.

What has he dragged us into? Some inner clan struggle? Anger flares in my vision. At the boy, at the situation he got us into, at those stupid clans brawling for dominance between themselves. They have all that wealth, a treasure trove of information, and still behave like street rats in the slums, fighting for scraps of attention.

I feel the heat rising from my gut into my arms before my mind has a chance to catch it. My hands twitch, dreaming of grabbing the boy by the collar, of dragging him close, and beating him up until I shake loose the truths he keeps locked behind clenched teeth.

I take a deep breath, reining my anger in. I still need that boy. He could be my only way to get into the Han clan compound without raising suspicion for myself. Better to keep my silence until I have more information.

"But why aren't there almost any signs about a fight apart from that broken stalactite?" asks another of those men, a tall and lanky fellow whose eyes keep darting from shadow to shadow. "I don't like it. Too many things have gone sideways already. The boss said that the artifact he used would make the dungeon harder and get us into a rare instance. But he said nothing about it being a volcanic instance. And why hasn't he followed us inside? The dungeon is supposed to have a ten-person party limit."

Well, it seems that they don't know about Kylo.

"You sound like a superstitious old hag," scoffs the last of the men. Another broad-shouldered man with a mustache and a scar splitting his face diagonally from brow to chin over his nose. "And what? You think he double-crossed us?"

"He could have set us up against those kids, planning to wipe out whoever survives and leaves the dungeon. No witnesses," says lanky-fellow. The men share a few wary glances between themselves.

"Oh, come on," laughs Scarface. "You can't seriously believe that. He probably just got distracted until it was too late. Maybe went to pee or something. Probably drank too much wine last night." He sneers and spits on the ground. "You know how those young Han guys are. They think themselves better than us, but have their head lost in the clouds half of the time."

Han Ke courses under his breath. The man who got left outside is from his clan? Politics, then.

I should be angry at him. But for some reason, I feel relieved. It's definitely about him, not about me. Nobody suspects my connection to Master Wen. I have been jumping at shadows since I got into this city. Could I have overreacted? Maybe there wasn't any need to. We are far away from Cherry-Blossom Valley, and nobody knows my face.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

When we get back to the academy, I'll find myself an excuse to use runes again. I need my full toolkit if we get dragged into similar situations like this, following Han Ke around. First, we need to get out of here, though.

I'm sure our plan will work. The men continue talking, sounding suspicious. But they seem more suspicious about the missing member of their hit squad than about us, as if the seeds of doubt at their boss have taken root, refusing to leave.

I refocus on the conversation.

"I'm telling you, the lizardmen took them," says the knight, staring at the scout who is still studying tracks. "Think about it. We barely survived that storm and lost a man to those stupid fish. Half of those kids are probably already dead. Han Ke may be alive, thanks to his knight path, but the rest of them are rogues. That hail could have killed all of the girls. A bummer, really. We could have had some fun before selling them. This dungeon is way more difficult than it should be."

The scout looks back toward the tunnel they used to arrive here.

"At least two of them arrived here alive," he declares. "I made out at least two sets of distinct tracks reaching the river here, maybe three." He cracks his neck before staring briefly downstream, then upstream. My shoulders tense. If he gets the idea of following the shore to look for more tracks in depth, our ruse might be exposed. The man shakes his head. "But you might be right. They probably got here tired, barely surviving, and got surprised by the lizardmen." He points toward the ground. "You see those lizard tracks leaving? They are way deeper than the ones arriving at this cave, as if they were carrying captives."

I suppress a snicker and wink at Enea, nodding toward our enemy's squad's scout with my head. "Can you see it? You can be almost right but still arrive at the wrong conclusion?" I ask the girl. She giggles. "To confuse the weight of Han Ke's armor with our bodies…" I shake my head. "Amateurs."

"True, that armor is heavy, but not that heavy." I can practically feel the girl's worries melting away with the tension leaving her shoulders. Good, she needed a boost of confidence.

"Hunter stupid," scoffs Kylo into our minds. Enea giggles even louder, infecting the rest of us, before she starts petting the cat, who has found a new resting place sitting on the petite teenager's shoulder. "Enea, no worry. Hunter kill themselves. If not, Kylo kill, sneaky. They no smart. They never see Kylo."

"So, what are we waiting for?" asks Mon Veno. "Those kids are probably dead by now if those lizards took them. Let's clear this stupid dungeon, confirm Han Ke's body, and leave. I can't wait to get out of here."

"The fact that they took captives hints at those lizards being organized and having a leader," comments the scout. "If a shaman is leading their tribe, it could be dangerous. They love hiding behind the masses to keep delvers occupied, while attacking with ranged magic from a distance."

"Are you a pussy or what?" scoffs Mon Veno. "You think one Gold and three High Silvers will have difficulties? If there is a shaman, we three will occupy the horde, while you sneak past their ranks and kill the bastard. At least it's something we can face head-on and not some stupid rocks falling from the sky." He shakes his head, readjusting one of his bandages. "I'm telling you, if it wasn't for it being a stupid, volcanic-themed dungeon where even the damn environment is dangerous, we would be way overqualified to clear it. The lizards will be weak."

"That's true," comments the lanky guy.

"We should still be careful. If the kids got jumped, we could get ambushed too," says the scout.

Mon Veno crosses the river and claps him on the shoulder. "Don't worry so much, Ken. The kids were probably wounded and on their last legs, rushed too fast, fleeing the storm without taking the time to heal their wounds. I heard it was the first dungeon for the three girls. You know how it is with newbies."

"True," sighs the scout.

"Come on, let's get moving," says Scarface. "Maybe we can catch them distracted by their prisoners."

We watch them disappear into the tunnel. I bite the inside of my cheek. Let's hope they don't catch those lizard scouts before they get back to wherever their horde or village is. We should be prepared for both outcomes, though.

I crack my neck before taking out a hemp rope from my ring under the watchful eyes of my companions.

"You came prepared, huh?" mumbles Kenae.

Han Ke gives me an approving nod. "Great idea, we won't lose time backtracking through those tunnels."

"Obviously," I say, rolling my eyes. I tie the rope to a stalagmite thicker than my leg, pulling at it to test; it holds steady.

The rope bites into my palms like a living thing, coarse fibers rasping and scraping against the tender skin, drawing tiny lines of fire where the friction meets flesh. But it's less than I would have expected for my lack of calluses. Probably a side effect of advancement. The reminder that I'm not some lowly Tin-grade hiding in the gutter hits my mind like the tide. I'm a Silver; a year ago, I would never have believed it.

I descend at a breakneck speed, my feet sliding over the wet stone of the cave wall, feeling the slow-burning of the abrasion between my fingers, unable to pierce my skin. I reach the ground sooner than expected and step to the side.

I stare at my hands in wonder, waiting for my companions to follow. Not even a mark of what should have burnt me. The numbness is already fading.

Behind me, Enea reaches the ground with a low thump, followed by Kenae and Han Ke closely after.

"Wait," says the boy, before any of us can leave. "I have an idea." He takes out another bow, handing it to Kenae. Then he looks up at me. "Do you have a bow in your ring, Minae?" he asks. "I'm sorry, I don't have more myself, but it would let us intercede in their fight with the lizards without getting close."

"Yeah, sure," I say, taking a look. In fact, I have more than one. "Do you want one too?" I ask.

"You have two? Awesome!"

I hand him one of the sturdier-looking ones, a longbow made out of black wood, a bit awkward to carry if we have to go through narrow tunnels, but I suppose that he can store it if he needs to. I take out an almost identical bow for myself, drawing it to check the draw weight. Too easy. I hope it will punch through their armor. It is probably Silver-ranked, but I think I could have drawn it at High Copper after training with Bae. I need to check for something better once we get back.

Han Ke hands each of us a glass jar filled with some blue, syrupy liquid, ignoring the bewildered look Enea gives him.

"Dip your arrowheads in this right before shooting," he says with a smirk.

Poison? I glance at the boy. It's not something I would have expected of him. Maybe whatever games those noble scions play are as dangerous as the streets can be.

"What is it?" asks Kenae.

"It's Ice-veins poison," explains the boy. "It's used to hunt spirit beasts. It works by freezing your meridians into solid crystal while numbing them, so it's hard to detect if you are distracted by something else. The effect doesn't last long, but if you use a technique with the affected meridians before purging it, your meridians will crack."

Enea stares at the boy, wide-eyed. "Where do you get it? Is something like that even legal?"

The boy scratches his neck. "Err, most alchemists should know how to make it. But you need a specialized hunting license to buy it. Because, well, it could leave someone crippled. But if you kill whoever you are using it on, who will notice? Right?" He clears his throat, looking at us sheepishly. "I may have gotten it from my clan's stores when nobody was looking."

Bummer, I would have loved to buy some for myself. Han Ke isn't getting the jar he gave me back from me. I should probably check what else I can get at the local alchemists. I wonder if there is a black market here. I need to check it out. I have been way too distracted lately.

"Come on, let's follow those bastards, before they get too far ahead," urges Kenae.

"Wait!" I say, grasping her shoulder. "We shouldn't rush. We can't risk reaching them before they engage with those lizards. We want to surprise them mid-fight. Don't we?"

"True."

We stalk toward the tunnel those men disappeared into, led by Enea, even though there is no need for her scouting skills. They have taken no measures to hide their trail. They must feel confident that there is no one following them, eager in their rush to leave the dungeon behind them.

We hurry through tunnel after tunnel without speaking, slipping through the shadows the glowing moss casts between bends and obstacles.

The sound of a distant clash reaches our ears. Grunts. The ring of metal impacting metal or stone. We share a look, then dart closer until we arrive at where the tunnel opens into a large cavern.

"Wait!" whispers Han Ke. "Let them tire themselves a bit more before we reveal ourselves."

We crouch in the shadows next to each other. Unseen by lizards and humans. They are too distracted trying to kill each other. The men mow down lizards after lizards with practiced efficiency, like farmers harvesting wheat. There might be a lot of them, dozens, maybe hundreds, but they were right when they said that they weren't strong. Well, most of them aren't strong. A small lizardman in the back, protected by two massive bodyguards who look dangerous. I see his eyes glinting with intelligence as he slings fireball after fireball whenever there is a clean line between the tide of bodies rushing at the intruders.

Kenae leans back against the cave wall. "Phew, this would have been a lot of work. So nice of them to do it for us," she jokes.

"True," says Han Ke, his hands resting on the bow I gave him, almost larger than the man himself.

"Can you see their scout?" asks Enea, sounding a bit anxious.

True, there are only three of those men.

I let my gaze wander over the curious landscape, searching for the missing scout. Where could he be hiding? A steaming lake occupies half of the cave, smelling faintly of rotten eggs. It can't be there unless he is diving, but there are no ripples in the water.

I see a shadow slip between the rows of gigantic mushrooms that form an underground forest.

"There," I say, pointing him out. "He has almost reached the shaman."

Han Ke tenses. He dips an arrowhead into the poison before nocking it, without drawing yet. We imitate him, ready for action. "Let's wait for him to engage the shaman before we shoot," he whispers. "I take the scout, Enea takes Mon Veno, Minae, the one with the scar, and Kenae, the last one."

"Okay."

We watch the scout slowly stalk toward his still-unaware target. Han Ke draws.

We imitate him. I feel the tension build up in my shoulders as we wait, not enough to tire myself.

"Now," he says.

Four arrows streak through the cave almost in unison.

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