"If there's a running away piece to our plan," said Mouse. "Now would be the time to use it, don't you think?"

I reached for another arrow and drew it back, shooting another peasant through the right eye. The villager collapsed and I shot again, skewering another villager through the chest. This one didn't quit. Breath rattling like a dying man, the farmer lifted a scythe. Quin hammered their axe through the undead peasant's neck before he could bring the scythe down on us.

"It's called a fighting retreat, Mouse," said Quin. "Sounds better that way."

Mouse flinched as a crossbow bolt buried itself in the wall next to his head. He stared at the quivering bolt, eyes wide as buckets. "Can we fighting retreat the hell out of here then?"

I slipped the bow back into it's quiver and took up my sword. Things were too close for the bow and about to get messy. I scrambled to deflect an avalanche of blows from a chipped and rusted. The battered blade slammed into my guard and sent a painful shock ringing all the way to my elbow. I faltered and my blade slid out of position. My breath hitched in my throat and my heart fluttered as the world moved forward in slow motion. The undead man moved like he was swimming through honey, drawing the blade back for another strike, stepping into the blow, swinging the sword for my throat. I wouldn't stop it in time.

I was going to die.

A length of pale, ash wood slipped over my shoulder and caught the blow. Wood and steel clashed with a sharp snap. I slipped under the tangle of weapons and stuck low. The heavy sword sliced through the corpse's leg like an axe splitting dry kindling. He fell but there was no time to finish the job. A forest of weapons, rusted tools, and rotten sticks bristled towards us from a press of newly dead villagers, half rotten, shambling bodies, and corpses so old they were little more than desiccated flesh stretched over rattling frames of bone. Quin's axe crashed into the fray and blasted through the head of an eyeless horror that was all leathery skin and broken teeth. The corpse's head came apart in a cloud of dust.

"Back!" Quin shouted above the din of battle.

I turned to run, my legs were water and a lightning bolt of fear danced up and down my spine.

Quin caught my shoulder. "Back, but don't run." They took one step backwards, still deflecting blows as they went.

I separated a hand from a wrist, opened a throat and took my own step backwards.

"They're getting behind us!" shouted Mouse.

His hand fell on my shoulder and suddenly I knew to shift to my right and strike down, cleaving another arm nearly in two. Mouse's magic flowed through us and like we were escaping the party from hell, we pushed into the enemy lines. The only way out was straight through the middle. Bolstered by our little wizard, we tore through the undead like a thunderstorm. Quin was untouchable. The axe flashed like lightning, landing deathblow after deathblow. I parried high and rolled my wrist, twisting a sword out of my enemies hand. I could see the next three steps ahead and blocked a blow arcing down from my left. Spinning, I circled behind a farmer menacing Mouse with a hoe and snicked the farmer's head from his shoulders. Mouse stepped forward a jabbed one of the mumfied monsters in the stomach. It doubled over and I snarled, driving a boot into its teeth, bone shattered and Quin finished the job, driving the axe down through the top of it's head. The weapon stuck and Quin let it drop, ducking and dodging a tempest of strikes and slashes. Mouse and I came to their rescue, stepping past the horrors crowding around us as easily as if we were slipping across the dancefloor. I blocked high, parried low, struck. Something fell. There was no time to check if the corpse was dead or not, I was already moving, already another four steps ahead of the action. I had all the time in the world now. I ducked and came up swinging, taking a head clean off a pair of shoulders. Spinning, I slipped past a thrust and swung into an axe strike, redirecting the weapon. I only had to buy a few seconds. A sword down at me, it wouldn't kill me. Couldn't cut my armour. I stepped into the strike and caught it on my shoulder, gritting my teeth against the blunt red shock of impact. Another slash whistled towards me. It was going to miss. I didn't move. The corpse stumbled, and right on queue Quin filled the gap and ran it through with a sword. Mouse cleared a path through the corpses, swinging their staff in a series of wide strikes, shattering sword arms and breaking kneecaps with every strike.

With a few more steps we were through, and covered in smears of black and red gore we sprinted for the forest, nimble as spooked deer. We flowed over gnarls of roots, scamperd past fallen branches and loose stones, leapt streams. We ran until Mouse stumbled to a stop and the power left us. I staggered and flopped forward onto my face, splashing down into a cold stream. The ice water was a relief. I rolled to my back and lay there, taking in long ragged gasps of air. Quin's helmet clanged down next to me and they stripped off their greaves and mail leggings. Freed of some of their armour, Quin flopped down next to me and started gulping down water straight from the stream. Mouse collapsed downstream from Quin and threw off his helmet. He dunked his whole head in the water. The water ran red with blood.

"Mouse?" I coughed. "Are you okay?"

The wizard pulled his head out of the steam and fell back onto the shore. Blood pooled around his eyes and ran down from his nose. He didn't answer me.

"Mouse?" I sat up, panic filling me with renewed strength. I walked over to him and checked for cuts or other injuries.

"I think," said Mouse in a hoarse whisper. "I think I'm still alive."

Quin came to their feet with a groan. "Well that's a start. What hurts?"

Mouse shook his head. "Everything."

"That sounds ... less than good," I said.

Quin rummaged through my pack and took out a roll of cloth. "Let's get him patched up and then we can go from there." They unwound the bandage. "One problem at a time."

I turned Mouse's head back and forth. "I'm not seeing anything to fix."

Mouse waved vaguely in my direction. He let his arm go limp and fall to the mud like waving me away took every ounce of energy that he had. "It's fine," he panted. "It's the magic. Too much."

The sentence came out in one long, slurred mess so bad that I had to translate for Quin.

"What exactly happened?" asked Quin. "You drank too much magic and your mind threw up?"

Mouse gave them a thumbs up. "We would say it's an ethereal backlash across the psyche, but that works too."

"See," said Quin. "This is why no one likes wizards. You're always using a good coin sentence when a copper one will do."

I couldn't stop myself from laughing. It was such a dumb normal moment, the kind that happened nearly every day, but compared to the horror we'd just run out of, it was completely absurd.

"Do you think you can walk?" I asked. "We should probably keep moving before something crawls up out of hell and eats us alive."

"Where are we exactly?" said Mouse. "Or better question, how do we get back to the Guild?"

"There's a problem there," I said. "We ran the wrong way. I think our best option is to skirt around the village and make our way back to the horses."

Mouse groaned. "Is waiting here out of the question? I didn't see anyone following us, and I don't know if I can do anymore running, sneaking or fighting right now." He blinked and a fresh drop of blood leaked from the corner of his eye. "Unless you're going to carry me, I think I'm stuck here for a while."

"Just because you didn't see anyone doesn't mean we weren't followed," said Quin.

"You don't understand," said Mouse. He closed his eyes and tapped his forehead. "I saw it in here. They aren't going to follow us."

I frowned at Quin. "Why wouldn't they follow us?"

They shrugged. "Hard to say. Chances are we're not worth it. We killed quite a few on our way out. They were not the most skilled or coordinated things I've fought."

"If we can't move Mouse, what are our chances if we hold here until the rest of the guild comes?"

"We might be able to make it work," said Quin. They wrestled their mail back on and strapped their greaves over their shins. "There's a close stand of trees there, could be a good spot if we can get sir lazy here to move."

Mouse shifted and a crackle of green lightning arced over his entire body. "I'm still feeling some after effects, but I think I can get there."

I helped Mouse to his feet and took stock of our surroundings beyond the cold life giving water of the stream. We were in a mossy gully with the stream running down the center. To either side of us the ground rose slightly and tall grey birches crowded close together, leaning down towards the stream, and growing into a solid canopy of green above us. Mouse limped through the dappled half light and leaned against one of the trees to catch his breath.

"Everything okay?" I asked.

"It just hurts. Give me a minute."

I patted him on the shoulder and freed my bow from its quiver. The last thing we needed was more surprises. I pushed deeper into the gloom and scanned the shadows between the trees. There was a near perfect arch carved into a white stone boulder nestled between the trees. It definitely wasn't a natural formation.

"Mouse, Quin," I called out. "There's something here you should see." I nocked an arrow and took a trepidatious step forward. Peering into the dark, I drew the bow halfway and waited for trouble. The only thing that answered me was the soft sigh of the wind through the leaves, the sweet songs of birds, the bass buzz of a fat bee scudding through the air. I eased the tension off the bow string. The music of the forest was back. Hopefully, that was a good sign.

Quin joined me at the archway. "What are we looking at here?"

"I'm not sure," I said. "Do you have a torch or a light?"

There was a lot of annoyed rummaging through equipment, thrown supplies, and upended packs before Quin came up with a stub of a candle. We lit it, drew our swords and stepped into the dark. The arch led into a long hallway with crystal globes spaced evenly along it. I brought the candle closer to one of the spheres and peered inside.

"Shit," I whispered.

"Shit what?" asked Quin.

I brought the candle up to the crystal globe. "There's a shard of drakestone in here."

"The stuff that bursts into flames and explodes?"

"Yes."

"The stuff you probably should keep away from open flames?"

"In most cases, yes, but today I need you to trust me."

Quin groaned. "If you blow us up, I'm going to be pissed."

I touched the candle to the crystal globe and the stone inside glowed with a soft orange light.

"What is this place?" I asked in a low whisper. One by one, each globe in the hall flickered to life, filling the ruin with a gentle, warm light. Beside each light was a quiet alcove containing the broken remains of a shelf or a small table and a pair of chairs.

A wet cough from behind me broke the silence. I turned to find Mouse leaning in the archway. Another crackle of viridian energy crackled around him and he shuddered, grunting with pain. "It's an imperial study hall," he said. "The old mages of the empire would gather here to share notes and secrets. They had tons of these places secreted away all across the old empire."

"Huh," Quin grunted. "And this one is buried because ... ?"

"Because," said Mouse. "The Empire had no rules or restriction on their magic. If things got too explosive and messy, it was nice to have things good and contained away from your villages or strongholds." Mouse hobbled further into the tunnel and slipped into an alcove, pulling out an ancient book that was scorched to a blackened lump. "See? Someone here was playing with fire."

"At least it's a relatively safe place to hide until the guild arrives," I said.

"How far does it go?" asked Quin,

Mouse shrugged, sending another flash of emerald sparks flaring out from his shoulders. "It's hard to say. You know how the Imperial stone singers could build."

"I really don't," said Quin, shaking their head.

Mouse tested his weight on the remains of a chair that was plastered with cobwebs. "If we have any luck at all, we'll find you a history book down here."

A breath of damp, icy wind blew up the tunnel and a brittle crash followed it, like glass being stuck.

"Mouse," I said. "The only luck we have is bad luck."

Quin drew their sword and inched down the tunnel, creeping further into the gloom sworp point first. I drew my own blade and followed close, sword held high and ready to bring it down hard on anything that came near us. The trek down the hallway was maddening, I kept looking over my shoulder to make sure we were making any progress at all.The tunnel stretched forward forever, every few steps was a globe of drakestone followed by a recess with a shelf, display case, cabinet, or table. It was unending, unchanging. Every few steps, I turned and saw the entrance was nothing more than a tiny pinprick of light. Something whispered in the shadow ahead of us.

"What in all hells was that?" I asked.

Quin swallowed hard and squared their shoulders. "I'm not sure." They put their head down and took another step forward, walking like nothing in the world could stop them. If a brick wall sprung up in front of us, I was sure they would go straight through it. I wished I had even half that confidence. If I were here alone I would of turned around and run a long time ago. Quin skidded to a stop.

A shadow roiled ahead of us. The lights flickered.

"Did you see that?" I whispered.

"I did," said Quin. Their voice was still cool and steady, but I knew Quin too well. I knew they were barely keeping it together. They leaned back, away from the darkness slightly, and their hands shook.

"Should we keep going? Or head back?" I turned around, looking for the light of the entrance. There was only darkness behind us. "Or not."

Quin pulled their helmet off and tossed it aside. "Can't see a damn thing in here."

The shadows around us deepened and the globes behind us faded and died. Something in the dark ahead of us screamed. It was a deep bass note like the voice of a mountain. It vibrated through my chest and set my knees shaking.

"Yeah?" Quin shouted into the void. "You can go to hell too!"

My mouth felt like it was packed full of sawdust and I could barely speak past the lump in my throat. "We should go shouldn't we?"

Quin kept staring down into the dark. "And let this rotten son of a whore win? To hell with that." A nerve twitched in their jaw and their eyes smoldered with rage.

A mournful bass note rolled out of the black. I inched away from the dark and pressed myself into one of the reading nooks. I'd be safe here. Whatever was down here with us would just stroll on by and I'd stay here and it wouldn't see me and I'd be safe. I slid down the wall until I was sitting and pulled my knees up to my chest. This was a good plan for now. I'd stay here at least until my heart stopped pounding against my ribs.

The darkness heard me. It was in my head, tasting my thoughts. It laughed, a sound like old bones grinding together that sent dust raining down from the ceiling.

"Shut up!" Quin shouted, holding one hand to the side of their head.

The void laughed again, and Quin went pale. They stood straighter and their eyes went wide.

"No," they whispered. "No you wouldn't. I won't let you hurt her."

Another grinding laugh rolled up the tunnel, showing with ancient debris and fresh soil. A slimy, frigid earthworm. Rolled down my neck and crawled under my shirt.

Quin grit their teeth, raised their sword, and charged.

A hand fell on my shoulder, and I screamed.

"Parsnip?" said Mouse. "Quin? Everything okay?"

I turned and found myself not three steps away from Mouse. His hand was on my shoulder and the tunnel was just as bright and cozy as when we'd left it.

"You've just been standing there," Mouse continued. "Staring at nothing for the past five minutes."

I shuddered and did my best to shake off the feeling that a million worms were crawling over me and covering me in filth and slime. "He's here," I whispered. "He's in our heads."

Mouse took me by the shoulders and stared up into my eyes. "Snip. Remember, you're the one in control. You're you."

I nodded and glanced down to my arm.

Mouse pushed up my sleeve and tore the bandage off my new tattoo, revealing a snarling drake coiled down my forearm surrounded in flames. "This is you, Parsnip. You can fight this."

A fist of terror crushed my heart. "I can't. I'm not strong enough."

Quin looked back towards the entrance. "If you're not going to fight, we'll have to head back out there and run."

A shadow crossed in front of the door frame.

"What do you want to do?" asked Quin. "Fifty devils we know? Or one we don't?"

I looked down at the drake on my arm, all teeth and claws, spoiling for a fight. "I can't do another fight with those things." I couldn't keep the tremor from my voice. The memories of shambling corpses, rotten flesh, weapons, and blood, so much blood, hit me like a storm surge and threatened to bowl me over. I blinked back the tears and swallowed past the lump in my throat. "We can't fight that many of them. Not without Mouse's powers." I turned towards the gloom beyond the glow of drake lamps. "We go deeper and we'll hide until the Guild can find us."