The eastern corridor sloped downward, and the air grew colder as Marian led the way. The faint sound of wind revealed a distant exit, so the group knew the directions they had been given were correct. Kurunta and Sharruma, right behind her, were now wary, so their loud argument, ongoing for some time, had dropped to a low tone but remained no less tense.

  Kurunta finally agreed to whatever they were discussing, then turned, making sure Hina was following them. Ignoring the hollow look in her eyes, he turned back and commanded, "Left at the next juncture."

  "Yes, Master," Marian nodded, holding her sword at the ready.

  As they rounded the bend, the path dropped into a natural chamber, its ceiling partially colpsed. The narrow gap in the wall, which filled the chamber with light, confirmed it was the meeting pce.

  Three men waited.

  But they were neither nobles nor priests. Nor were they well-armed mercenaries, because their clothes were mismatched, patched, and of lower quality than what the brothers wore. One leaned against the wall with a bored expression, while another smoked something that made Marian's eyes sting.

  The third, obviously the one in charge, stepped forward with a grin that was stained and missing a few teeth.

  "Welcome, brothers. Right on time," he said to them warmly, which was obviously fake.

  Sharruma's posture stiffened at the ck of a proper greeting, but he forced a smile. "We had some deys."

  Kurunta said nothing. He simply lifted the wooden box from his pack and set it on the ground between them, then stepped back.

  "This is the one?"

  Kurunta nodded once.

  The leader motioned to one of the other men, who tapped the box twice with a small copper rod; the rod turned red for a moment, then he nodded with approval.

  The leader then reached into his robes and tossed a small leather pouch.

  Sharruma snatched, opened it up, and nodded. "Pleasure doing business."

  One of the men chuckled. "If your family knew what you were moving, they'd skin you alive."

  Sharruma's smile faltered for a heartbeat.

  Marian kept her gaze down. Sves were not meant to react, not meant to hear.

  The leader waved them off. "Harith, don't be like that. These are our good friends, yes. Go on. We'll take it from here. Let us know if you want to do business again."

  Kurunta nodded sharply, then turned while looking at the two sves. "Come."

  They obeyed immediately, stepping back into the corridor. Behind them, the criminals murmured among themselves, which soon faded as they too retreated from the chamber.

  Sharruma and Kurunta said nothing as they walked. Their old argument was forgotten, repced by something that worried Marian.

  Whatever was in that box, whatever they had just traded for gold, was dangerous enough that the brothers feared being caught with it. Would even Hina's and her status as sves help them if they were?

  %%%%%%%%%%%%%

  Annabeth and Jason slowed considerably as the corridor shifted from a dipidated ruin to something more lived?in. Even the broken stones underfoot seemed repaired, and the dust was thinning, leaving no further footprints.

  Annabeth slowed, gncing around.

  Jason pointed ahead of them, his mage light revealing markings on the wall, made with charcoal rather than the ancient script carved into the walls as they had seen before.

  "Look at that."

  Annabeth squinted at a crude arrow, then at the words above. "Any idea what that says?"

  Jason stepped closer. “Sure, so, this one says 'To the Lower Market.'"

  "Oh, a market," Annabeth grinned excitedly.

  Jason returned it, then shrugged. "And this one, 'Don't go this way, it's dangerous.'"

  "Well, that was nice of them."

  "And, huh, this, well, let's just say this one is telling someone else to do something about their mother."

  Annabeth snorted. "Even in another world, people don't change."

  More writing followed as they walked, warnings, directions, and a few crude jokes. Annabeth couldn't read any of it, but Jason noticed something.

  "People must have used this route a lot."

  "Well, that arrow did say the Market was in this general direction."

  They stopped at a fork in the corridor. One path sloped downward, while the other curved sharply to the left. The writing on the wall, however, wasn't particurly helpful.

  Annabeth frowned. "Well? Which way now?"

  Jason scratched his chin, then pulled a bronze coin from his bag. "Heads left, tails down."

  He flipped it.

  "Tails," Annabeth said as Jason leaned to pick it up. "Looks like down we go."

  The corridor was definitely colder, which was a good sign. Even the air smelled better, cleaner than the necropolis above. After another half hour of walking, the passage opened into a small chamber with a stone fountain set into the far wall.

  Annabeth let out a relieved breath. "Thank God. Let's stay here tonight."

  Jason nodded, already kneeling to fill their fsks. He washed his face afterward. Annabeth watched him again, showing more grace than before, but wisely didn't comment on it.

  Instead, she began stripping off her armor and spshing water over her arms and neck. "That's cold, but who knew armor could stink so much."

  Jason handed her a cloth without a smirk.

  Once they were clean, they made a meal of ftbread and dried fruit with the st of the dried meat. They hadn't run into any monsters in a while, and it was beginning to worry them.

  Annabeth id out her bedroll. "You look exhausted, sweetheart. Go to sleep; I'll take first watch."

  "Thanks," Jason nodded, ignoring the endearment, eyes already drifting shut.

  Annabeth smiled, looking down at his sleeping form, then moved to the side, sitting against the wall. But she remained vigint because out there, there were other people, and if it was anything like Earth, not all of them were friendly.

  &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

  As Marian led the way, the corridor narrowed. The brothers followed behind at a leisurely pace, speaking in excited low tones. Suddenly, a faint skittering echoed ahead.

  The group froze.

  Kurunta sighed loudly. "What now?"

  Before Marian could answer, something lurched out of a side passage, a twisted, goblin-like creature with mottled gray skin and glowing yellow eyes; with its limbs too long, it charged, ape-like at them, its nails sparking against stone.

  Sharruma chuckled. "Oh, one of those. Girls, do handle it."

  The creature lunged.

  Marian sidestepped, sshing the creature's arm with her short bde. Hina moved aside and drove her spear into its ribs. The corrupted goblin shrieked and danced away.

  "Try aiming for the head," Sharruma called helpfully, leaning against the wall.

  Kurunta added with a smug ugh, "Or the heart. Or anything vital. Really, it's not complicated."

  Marian gritted her teeth but said nothing. These creatures could easily make short work of someone not as experienced as the two of them. She blocked a savage swing, pivoted, and smmed her bde up beneath the creature's jaw.

  Sharruma cpped slowly. "Well done. Very efficient."

  Kurunta waved dismissively. "Pick up the pace. I want to reach the next fountain before nightfall."

  Marian wiped her bde on the cloth, then continued onward. Hina, without a word, returned to the rear of the party.

  Thankfully, they didn't have to travel far. The fountain room, like most of the others, was small, with a stone basin built into the far wall.

  As they entered, Marian noticed someone must have camped here recently.

  Sharruma, however, didn't. "Set up the bedrolls. We leave at dawn."

  The two women moved to obey until an armored man wielding a rge hammer suddenly rose from where he had been resting in the shadows. His eyes narrowed, and his grip tightened on his weapon as he noticed the four strangers.

  Sharruma raised his hand in a traditional greeting; these meetings between travelers were always a bit dangerous, but the fountains were generally considered safe spots, almost holy ground in the necropolis.

  The man just shrugged.

  Marian felt her stomach drop. The stranger didn't understand the nguage.

  Sharruma stepped forward, amused. "Well, well. A stray."

  The man's grip tightened, and he shifted his weight.

  Kurunta turned toward the two sves. "Speak to him. Say that we are looking to share the space."

  Marian nodded, "Hi, is it okay for us to spend the night here? Don't worry, we'll stay on the other side of the room."

  The man blinked. "You… speak English?"

  Marian nodded quickly. "Yeah, we're not here to hurt you."

  "Oh, thank God," he smiled, obviously relieved. "We hoped we weren’t the only ones here."

  Behind her, Kurunta muttered something sharp in his own tongue. Marian didn't turn.

  The man, however, didn't lower his hammer. "Who are you?"

  She just shrugged. "Simple travelers. We, ahh, work for those two. And you?"

  The man hesitated, then lowered his weapon. "Lost."

  Hina stepped forward, voice soft. "You are from Earth?"

  "Yeah, we are. We got dragged here a few days ago. We didn't think there would be anyone else."

  Marian noticed her hesitation, then waved it away. "It's alright. You don't have to tell us everything."

  Behind them, Sharruma and Kurunta watched the exchange with growing interest.

  Sharruma murmured something to his brother in their own nguage. Then the two noticed the figure asleep; she, too, was uncolred.

  Summonses were valuable; uncimed ones were a fortune for the taking.

  The man, however, didn't notice the shift, speaking excitedly after finding that they understood English.

  He leaned in, lowering his voice. "Those two guys, who are they? They're from this world, right?"

  Marian nodded. "Yes, we work for their family."

  "I see." Then his eyes narrowed as he noticed the colrs on the two women and the metal bands on the men's arms.

  Kurunta, who had been watching them, shouted, "Girls."

  The man then blinked, noticing two colrs in the other man's hands.

  Marian's breath hitched. She understood instantly. Uncimed summons were worth a fortune, and the two brothers needed money for whatever they were doing.

  "Hold him down," Sharruma snapped.

  Marian and Hina moved at the same time; they had no choice but to grab the man, sending him to the floor before he could react.

  "HEY, LET GO!" he screamed as his hammer cttered to the floor.

  Sharruma then leaned down with a nasty grin on his face while his brother moved toward the sleeping woman on the floor.

  &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

  Jason dreamed of the woman who stood in the fiery world, but this time as the woman herself.

  The air was thick with ash, so dense it turned the world gray, as the volcano in the distance tore itself apart. People screamed, all around her, stumbling through the choking air, clutching, crying children, and dragging the wounded toward the necropolis gates.

  The woman and a small group of others did not run. With scorched robes and their lungs burning, the st of the imperial sorceresses slowly retreated in a ragged line, chanting as the heat and ash forced them back inch by inch.

  As their shields of soft light failed, they fell one by one, but still the line held.

  The woman didn't look around but could feel the magic faltering. However, even with her family gone and friends dying around her, she continued the slow, painful retreat.

  By the time they reached the necropolis entrance, only she and one other mage remained, who immediately colpsed just before the threshold, spitting out chunks of blood and ash.

  There was no one else behind the woman as a group dragged the unconscious sorceress to safety, while the stone doors smmed shut behind her.

  It was only then that she screamed, defiance in the face of grief, as everything she had ever known was destroyed by ash and fire.

  But then, she felt danger; someone was behind her.

  Jason jolted awake with a gasp, tears running down his face, but the nightmare hadn't ended.

  Annabeth was on the ground, struggling violently, her arms pinned by two women. He could see a man above her, forcing a metal colr around her neck. A second, within touching distance, was reaching for him with a second colr.

  Jason screamed something in their nguage, in pure fury. "WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?!"

  The shout froze everyone; however, for the two men, this beautiful woman was a rare prize, well clothed, her hair arranged in the traditional way. But she was alone, with no brothers, no husband, no one to protect her. A prize.

  The man lunged.

  Jason, still wrapped up in his nightmare, sent a burst of magic into the man's chest, hurling him across the chamber and into the wall with a sickening thud.

  The second man cursed, drawing his sword, while the first spat out a mouthful of blood, staggered to his feet, and unsheathed his own weapon. Then, as the two women continued to hold Annabeth down, they charged.

  They didn’t make it.

  Bolts of pure magic burned through the air, not a spell Jason knew, but one from the memory of a woman from his nightmare. The white?hot bolts crossed the room in seconds, punching fist?sized holes clean through the two men's heavy armor, spraying the walls with blood.

  They dropped instantly, swords cttering against stone as Jason didn’t stop, still furious and ready to put an end to the women as well, when the two began to scream in terror.

  "STOP! STOP! WE'RE SLAVES!"

  Then in English, "WE'RE FROM EARTH."