“It worked. It actually worked!” Julien whoops as he flies down the chiseled steps. The shallow cuts on his arms and legs are completely forgotten. Lirza is right on his heels.
Behind them, the Mother’s maw claps shut on dusty air, missing them narrowly. Extended fully and her stronger half still in the water, she struggles to reach them. The pyramid, a ritual monument turned obstacle, trembles under her efforts.
Lirza draws abreast, breathing heavily. “You sound surprised.”
“Do I?” Julien glances sideways as he accelerates again, pulling ahead once more.
The base of the pyramid is still devoid of Slytar when they reach it. Not eager to greet the roaring mob that is undoubtedly making its way around it, Julien pauses only to slap some of the leftover Moth Dust on his exposed skin. It stings whenever it connects with one of the many cuts, but Julien winces only slightly. He holds out a half-empty leaf with creases to Lirza when she joins him.
She takes the offering, looking at him hard. “Julien? Why did you sound surprised?”
The pyramid still shakes. The Mother’s angry hisses rising to the cavernous ceiling above.
Before Julien can frame a reply, the Fool jumps in. “Less questioning! More running! Slap that powder on and run, lady!”
Julien fakes a laugh. “What he said. Remember. It’s your turn now. We need the shortest route out of this place.” He sees Lirza hesitate for a tense second before she applies the powder and takes off. Julien mouths a quick thank you to the Fool, who winks back. Then they chase after their guide.
They sprint from the cover of one rocky igloo-like house to the next. At each one, they peer around the corner to check for pursuers, trying to remain unnoticed. Just as they get ready to sprint to the sixth house, a large Slytar juvenile bars their way. Two bulbous eyes focus on the runaways as the large snout opens just a little.
Julien grips the hilt of his sword. His muscles are tense, ready to whip out the blade and carve Slytar steaks. “Stay calm,” he whispers, shooting Lirza a glance. “He’ll sniff first, remember?”
The words had hardly left his lips when a forked tongue flicks out. It passes alongside Julien twice, before, after a slight hesitation, it slobbers all over Lirza.
“Eww, why?”
“Shhh,” Julien cautions. Staring hard at the Slytar, he sees that the milky eyes seem more opaque than before. “It worked,” he hisses. “Now, tell him that prisoners are escaping towards the other side of town.”
Lirza takes a deep breath and rasps out one intelligible syllable after another. The tone is harsh and urgent. As she falls silent, the Slytar turns its head, roars, and runs off. Chasing phantoms.
When they reach the next house, Lirza falls into a coughing fit. “I hope we don’t meet many more of those.” She groans as she rubs her throat.
“Don’t worry about it. Just continue for as long as you can.”
Lirza can repeat the trick two times before her voice gives out, but it doesn’t matter. The Moth Dust performs miracles. Those who somehow break its charm are still dazed. Easy prey for Julien’s sword.
Gasping for breath, Julien and Lirza finally leave the rocky, igloo-like structures behind them. The translucent figure of the Fool is not even slightly winded. “There,” Lirza pants hoarsely, pointing at a narrow stream flowing along rocky banks around the settlement in the direction of the lake. “That’s the way out of here.”
Julien tries to spot the stream’s source. But a steep incline blocks his sight. “So, how much further from here?”
“Don’t know. Didn’t count my steps when they brought me here.”
By unspoken agreement, they reduce the pace to a brisk power walk; the Fool casts the occasional look backwards. Their breathing evens out as they climb a rocky slope, following the clear water of the dark underground brook upstream.
When they crest the hill, Julien is surprised to see the stream flowing from a thick patch of growth extending all the way to the edge of the cavern. It is a strange combination of slimy algae and mushrooms from where the dark water flows.
“There it is,” Lirza whispers. She hunches and increases the pace.
Every ten steps or so, the growth undergoes a mysterious change. Small, yellow caps pop up from the algae until they are quite prevalent. The water becomes murkier, even sludge-like. The mushrooms, in all shapes and sizes, grow taller and wider until they form a genuine shroomscape. Spread out over the rocky hills, they hide the tunnel Lirza had promised would take them out of the Slytar domains.
Suddenly, Julien gags. That foul smell! Something about it is familiar, though Julien can’t quite place it. Like a terrible dream temporarily forgotten. The final transition takes Julien by surprise. The mushrooms grow larger still, and now they glow.
Julien and Lirza step around mushrooms the size of tall shrubs and pools infested by algae. Rounding a final large group of mushrooms, they face a yawning opening from where a literal glowing shitstream flows into a small marsh. Its stench is unbearable.
The group circles the small, algae-filled marsh. Surrounded by glowing mushrooms, they find a mostly dry bank that leads into darkness.
“This it?” Julien asks in a nasal tone, pinching his nose with his fingers and breathing through his mouth.
Lirza nods and responds in the same tone. “If we stay on this bank and keep going upwards through the winding tunnel, we will eventually enter a sewer system. I’m not quite sure where to go from there, though.”
“I’m sure we’ll find a way.” Julien slices off two glowing mushrooms and turns towards the Fool. “This is where we temporarily say goodbye, buddy. With no idea what’s ahead, I think it’s better to conserve some energy.”
The Fool smiles. For once, it seems to reach his eyes. “That sounds wise. See you on the other side then, Julien.”
“Synthisa Passiva.” Julien utters the words, the Fool disappears, and the remaining duo step through the arch and start climbing up the narrow bank into the damp, smelly tunnel.
They follow the twisting tunnel up and up, ignoring the narrower side passages. The light of the mushrooms dims slowly but surely. Suddenly, Lirza stops, causing Julien to almost bump into her.
“Alright,” she says, turning towards him. “Now that we’re far enough, I want to know. Back at the bottom of the pyramid, you sounded surprised. Why?”
Julien notices the sharp look in her eyes. “Can’t it wait until we’re somewhere less…odorous?”
“No. I want to know whether I did right by trusting you and your plan.”
“We got out, didn’t we?” Julien says pointedly. “Besides, if we waste the light of our mushrooms, we’ll soon be in the dark. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not be.”
Lirza crosses her arms. “Just a bit further in are luminous rocks embedded in the walls. There’s no need to worry about light. Now tell me, Julien. Were you in control?”
“Of course not,” Julien exclaims. “What part about the humongous snake appearing and that stupid duel seemed planned? Look. Stuff happened, and I improvised. I was still able to dust everyone, and it worked like a charm. We’re fine.”
Hearing that, Lirza’s look softens a little. “Sorry for doubting. It’s just that I have bad experiences trusting people who gamble with their life. It’s what got me here.”
Julien smiles. “No worries. Let’s get out of here.”
Lirza was right. As soon as the glow from the mushrooms dies out, faint lights coming from the walls still provide just enough illumination to see their way ahead.
Something about the pale light seems oddly familiar. And not just the light. It’s the way they shuffle forward on slightly damp ground. The way he takes shallow breaths through his mouth to avoid the horrid smell. When they round a corner and the floor starts evening out, Julien is all but certain. He’s been here before.
As the thought sinks in, he struggles to suppress a feeling of entrapment. Maybe they’re in a different tunnel? One that would lead them into the open air instead of towards a maze filled with oversized rodents? But then they reach an intersection that looks undoubtedly familiar. Even the pile that was rummaged through by Rotta looks mostly undisturbed.
Oh no.
“Not much further now. Just at the end of this passage to the right,” Lirza states, shuffling onwards.
Julien stops her. “Don’t bother,” he says with a dead voice.
“What do you mean?”
“This is where I entered your world. The path to the right is blocked farther in. The passage going straight ahead leads to a room with a collapsed ceiling. No way out there. And the path to the left…”
He shudders.
“What about it?”
“That depends. How do you feel about large rats?”
Lirza’s eyes pop as she turns pale. “Not particularly positive.”