To Galen's dismay, Sev chose the lower of the two tunnels: the one that led downward, deeper into the earth.

"We are at a high elevation, yet," Sev reminded him quietly as they slipped along in the eerie, twilight gloom. "The peaks are above us, but the Sakkaran plains are still far below. I would rather we not emerge to find ourselves stranded on a snowy precipice and have to retrace our steps. Hopefully, this way will come out lower down."

"Hopefully," Galen echoed. Between freezing to death with a fine view of the heavens, or being eaten by barrowlings in the dark, he knew which fate he'd choose.

Fortunately, they had seen no more of the creatures, and their journey continued in peace; and while barrowlings were never far from his thoughts, Galen had plenty else to occupy his mind, and found it easy to become lost in awe at the decaying splendor of the Dweller realm.

"What do you think happened to them?" he asked. They had paused to rest upon the span of a wide stone bridge. Beneath it rushed the waters of a subterranean river, the noise of which made it safer to speak above a whisper. "To the Dwellers, I mean. Was it the barrowlings?"

Sev sliced an apple in two with a small knife and handed one half to Galen. "Doubtful. Look at this place." He waved at their surroundings. "The Dwellers were the most sophisticated race in Sakkara for their time, and would likely remain so, were they still here. They would not have had much to fear from barrowlings."

Galen bit into the apple, savoring the crunch of its flesh and the tart juice that burst across his tongue. He hadn't realized how hungry he was until they stopped, and hunger made everything taste three times as good as usual. "What, then?"

"Who knows? It might have been a plague — something their physicians couldn't cure — or a war. It might have been nothing in particular."

Galen chewed and swallowed before speaking. Half an apple wasn't much, but Sev was already rationing their food. If they were lucky, they would see daylight soon; if they were not lucky, then it was best to be prepared. "What do you mean?"

"Decadence — natural decline," Sev said, finishing his own meager portion in a few bites and wiping his fingers on his shirt. "Perhaps no single, specific disaster led to the Dwellers' ruin. It might have been many smaller things, and folly."

"Folly?"

Sev raised a brow at him. "Do you think Sakkara is the first empire ever to arise upon this land? There have been several, through the ages. Like living things, they are born and thrive for a time, and then decline into dust, leaving nothing but ruins and memories that fade to myth. It is seldom invaders, or plagues, or rains of fire that destroy them; more often than not, they destroy themselves from within."

Galen pondered this as he finished his apple and studied their surroundings.

Sev's opinion was that the great cavern into which they'd first emerged was the largest and served as the central hub from which other caverns branched like the roots of a tree. He surmised that each branch might have served like different districts in a city, or perhaps housed different classes or castes.

"The scholars at Jana Val would kill to make a study of this place," he continued. "I wish I had some parchment and ink to at least bring back a sketch or two."

"You speak as if you plan to return there," Galen noted carefully.

Sev got up and dusted himself off. "Jana Val is more than the headquarters of the Order," he said. "The monastery is like a small city unto itself, and quite beautiful. There are gardens for growing food, medicinal herbs, and alchemical ingredients, and the libraries are spectacular. The scholars enjoy the most freedom from the Order's rule. Even the High Council understands that the advancement of knowledge requires a certain freedom of thought. I have good friends there. You would enjoy it, I think."

"I'm sure I would," Galen agreed, "at least until they sacrificed me."

Sev helped him to his feet. "Obviously, I won't bring you there while that is even a remote possibility. I believe Anira, and her theory is sound, but I intend to confirm it. Someday, though, I wouldn't mind showing you the wonders of Jana Val."

Galen turned away and busied himself with his pack, rummaging for his water skin. He found it and took a sparing sip. It was nearly empty.

"Too bad we don't have Zen's nose for water," he said, peering over the edge of the stone bridge at the rushing torrent below.

"This stream is ice-melt from high in the peaks. If it's clear and cold, it should be among the cleanest you will find. Bat droppings are about the only thing that could taint it. We'll gather some from nearer the place where it emerges into the cavern, and we'll be safe."

Leading the way, he continued across the bridge before turning from the path and following the watercourse. The stream ran in a deep channel with sheer sides, and Galen wondered how they would reach it to refill their flasks. Nearer the wall of the cavern, he saw the water spilled from cracks in the rock before falling to its stony bed, and a long arm could reach the clear cascade with ease.

Sev filled his waterskin first and tasted the contents before replenishing Galen's.

"Drink as much as you like," he said. "We don't know when we'll come across another good source."

Galen tipped back his flask and let the icy water wash across his tongue. He was thirsty, but knew better than to drink too quickly, and took his time. With their thirst quenched, Sev refilled both skins to the brim one last time and Galen stowed his carefully in his pack before addressing the next most urgent cause of discomfort.

"You don't suppose we could find a Dweller latrine, do you?" he asked, studying the scattered ruins in search of a suitable spot to relieve himself.

"Undoubtedly, if we had the time to search for one. I fear we must make do without." Sev pointed a little further along the cavern wall, where a piece of the roof had fallen and smashed into a pile of dust and rubble. "Go over there. Best not to risk contaminating the water. We may find ourselves downstream before long."

Galen left his pack with Sev and picked his way over to the spot. Stepping behind a large chunk of stone, he saw to his needs and was on his way back when he spotted movement higher up the cavern wall.

Like a huge, pale spider, a barrowling made its way down the rockface head first. On a ledge about ten feet above Sev, it paused and folded itself into a crouch, sniffing the air with its hideous face framed by fanlike ears.

Seeing Galen frozen with terror, Sev rose and started towards him, unaware of his peril. Wide-eyed, Galen shook his head and pointed desperately at the barrowling.

Slowly, Sev turned and looked up. For several long minutes, he remained absolutely still, and Galen hardly breathed. Above, the barrowling twitched its ears and clicked its long nails against the stone, though the sound was lost in the rush and tumble of the water's voice. Finally, it turned and crept back up the face of the rock, disappearing into a shadowy crevice.

Sev's shoulders slumped with relief. He picked up their packs, beckoned to Galen, and pointed towards the bridge and their chosen path. As swiftly and quietly as he could, Galen joined him.

"Some flow of air by the wall must have carried our scent to them," Sev whispered. "Fortunately, they are blind. They hunt by sound and smell, primarily."

"Should we use more salt?" Galen asked.

"Not a bad idea. A little goes a long way, but our sweat has likely washed it off by now."

Galen took his pack from Sev and retrieved the little wooden box from its depths. Each taking a pinch, they applied the powdery salts to their exposed skin and sprinkled a bit in their hair. Then, with their waterskins full and their packs on their backs once more, they continued on their way, careful to make as little noise as possible.

The ruins, at first so wondrous, soon grew tedious as fear replaced fascination in Galen's mind. Any shadow could hide a barrowling; or worse — more than one. The cavernous canyon along which they traversed continued to narrow, the walls moving closer together until Galen could have thrown a stone from one side and hit the other easily. The dim blue twilight that pervaded the place was both blessing and curse; for while it allowed them to see, it strained the eyes and provoked the imagination. More than once, Galen nearly reached for Sev as a 'barrowling' emerging from the gloom proved to be nothing more than a strangely shaped stone.

If Galen was glad of nothing else, it was that the cavern sloped always downward, and that any stairs they encountered were to be descended, rather than climbed. Going down was always easier than going up, though it felt as if they journeyed towards the center of the earth.

At last, the end of the cavern came into view, and Galen breathed a sigh of relief. There was a light there — a real, true light: the pale, but unmistakable light of day.

He nearly shouted with joy before Sev grasped his arm so tightly he barely suppressed a yelp of pain. Sev pointed, and Galen looked towards the passage again and felt his heart trip in his chest.

He'd become so accustomed to the tricks his eyes had played on him that he had erred the other way, and had failed to recognize a real barrowling when he saw one.

It crouched in the path ahead, blocking their way. It had not detected them yet, but the cavern had grown so narrow, with so much rubble piled against the walls, that there was no way around it.

"What do we do?" Galen mouthed, not daring a whisper.

Sev shook his head and beckoned for Galen to follow him. Galen obeyed and trailed him to the side of the path and behind a large boulder. Peering around Sev's shoulder, Galen watched the barrowling, trying to discern what it was doing, but as far as he could tell it was simply... sitting there.

It crouched on its haunches, scratching now and then at its pale, withered flanks, as it chittered softly to itself in a series of clicks and growls. Occasionally, it tilted its head from side to side and twitched its ears. After several long minutes had passed without change, Sev nudged Galen's shoulder and pointed first to the barrowling and then to the rock dust at their feet. In it, he wrote a word with his finger.

SENTRY

Galen struggled to read in the gloom, but understood. The barrowling was guarding the way out.

Sev pointed up, and to either side, and then wrote another word in the dust.

HIVE

Galen shuddered. There were many dark places among the jagged rocks, any of which might hide deep cracks leading to unknown horrors. If Sev was right, there could be dozens of barrowlings surrounding them even now.

Sev tapped him again and pointed to the dust, and Galen saw he'd written a whole sentence there. It was a question he'd asked him once before.

DO YOU TRUST ME?

Galen met Sev's eyes, which gleamed in the dark, and with the faintest trace of a cheeky grin, mouthed a soundless reply.

"No."

Sev nodded, a touch of humor warming the cold light in his eyes.

Scooping up a stone, he hurled it across the cavern, where it clattered among the rocks with a racket that made Galen flinch. Sev pulled him further into the shadows and crowded them both into the little nook of rock.

The barrowling screeched — a noise that made Galen's eyes water and his teeth clench — and then it skittered past them, the sharp claws on its hands and feet clicking and scratching against the stone.

The noise faded, and they heard it searching among the rocks where Sev's misleading missile had landed, and Sev's grip on Galen eased.

He raised his finger to his lips and pointed towards the end of the cavern and the passageway beyond, giving him a light push.

Galen understood and began to move as quietly as he could towards the lighted tunnel. He was nearly there when Sev grasped the back of his shirt and pulled him to a halt. Ahead, another barrowling emerged from the shadows to the left of the passageway, where a second tunnel — this one cloaked in shadow— branched away into the dark.

The barrowling's pale, sightless eyes were the first thing he saw, moving like two independent orbs until the rest of the creature's awful face emerged into the light.

Fear tingled through Galen's veins and he froze in place.

Above him and from the shadowed crevices in the walls, more barrowlings emerged, drawn by the screeching alarm of their sentinel. They were surrounded.

Slowly, Sev crouched and picked up another stone. With the slightest flick of his wrist, he tossed it to the side.

A wave of chittering passed through the chamber, as wind among withered leaves, but none of the barrowlings moved. Instead, as the sounds echoed around the chamber like a flock of birds circling for a roost, a sudden certainty sank in Galen's heart.

The barrowlings were not mindless beasts. Sev had fooled the first one, but it had not been fooled twice. Instead, it had passed its lesson learned on to its fellows, and now — somehow — they were using sound to hunt them, just as surely as a dog might follow a scent.

Sev arrived at the same conclusion; and as the barrowlings all turned their fanlike ears in their direction, he gave Galen a sudden rough shove and released his voice in a shout.

"Run!"

Startled into panicked flight like a pheasant beaten from the bush, Galen sprinted for the promised deliverance of light. A barrowling lunged at him and missed. A second dropped from the ceiling like a fat spider and landed in front of him. With a wild yell, Galen leapt clear of it and ran on. The lighted passageway narrowed quickly to little more than a crack, and with a cry of terror, Galen burst from the darkness only to find himself high upon a sheer cliff of ice.

Blinded by the glare of sunlight on snow, Galen recoiled.

Blinking against the blotches in his vision, he turned and found neither Sev nor barrowlings at his back, but an empty passageway. Heart in his throat, he waited, but when nothing emerged from the gloom he forced himself to retrace his steps.

A second later, Sev flew around the corner with his sword drawn, black blood smearing the blade and the pale fire of the Hand licking up his arms. He collided with Galen chest to chest, and they fell against the side of the passageway in a heap.

"Sev!" Galen gasped, pushing him away. "It's no good! We're on a glacier."

"Fuck," Sev hissed, glancing past him and into the expanse of open air and ice beyond. "We're too high up. The base of the mountains is lower on the Sakkaran side. We'll freeze if the fall doesn't kill us."

"What about them?" Galen asked, staring back the way they'd come.

"I slew one or two," Sev said breathlessly.

"That's all?" Galen gasped.

"Yes," Sev answered calmly. "They'll be on us in a moment. Once they've finished eating."

Galen shuddered as he recalled how the barrowlings in the Pinedark had put their dead to good use.

"There was another passageway," Sev said. "We could try that."

"You mean the one that barrowling came out of?" Galen squeaked.

"It's that, or let the cold take us."

"I'd rather freeze than—"

A cracking sound interrupted him, and Galen looked down at his feet. The floor was... transparent. A bluish void yawned beneath him, with no bottom in sight.

"Sev?"

Sev wasn't paying attention to him, though, because there were other noises in the passageway: the all-too-familiar clicks and growls of barrowlings as they approached.

Blue fire flickered up Sev's arms and across his shoulders. "Galen... when I say to run, I want you to run, alright? Run back the way we came. You've got the salts. Use them. Hide yourself. The way is clear enough. Get back to the Haven and stay there. For me. Understand?"

"Sev..."

Ignoring him, Sev planted his feet in a fighting stance, eyes fixed on the end of the passageway.

A barrowling poked its ugly face around the corner, ears flared, and shrieked.

"Run," Sev breathed, and tensed his muscles for a spring.

Galen clamped his arms around Sev's waist and held him back.

"Galen! What—"

Eyes wide, Galen pointed down. Sev swore and tried to push him closer to the wall, where the floor appeared thickest, but it was too late. Even as the barrowlings rounded the corner, climbing over each other in their eagerness to reach their prey, cracks appeared between their feet.

Sev dropped his sword and clasped Galen in his arms, and with a crunch and crumble of breaking ice, the ground beneath their feet gave way and they fell into the abyss.

***

A/N: I could NOT get the AI I typically use to give me a good approximation of a barrowling that fit what I had in mind, so I had to make an attempt at drawing one myself. And so I present... my hand-drawn concept of a barrowling 😁(I suck at background detail, lol):