I gasped at the bloody, near-naked man screaming down the tunnel.

I raised my lantern, stoking the flames until the glass cracked and shattered. With a matching scream, I shot a torrent of fire in front of me.

The man ignored it, running through the fire and then through me, his body turning translucent in direct light.

"Jacob, what's wrong?!" Castille asked, more confused than scared.

Isla gasped as the man ran past her and through the tunnel wall.

"I-It was an echo like the kind we saw in the Undertown."

"So, Simon wasn't pulling our leg?" Castille asked.

"No, but I didn't think it would look so…"

"Real."

"Real. reeeaaalll. REAL!"

"Spirits below that's creepy."

"More echoes. The quintessence is responding to our presence underground."

"Speak for yourself. I'm not seeing or hearing anything," Castille said.

"The quintessence seems to like Jacob. Remember what Sim told us to do. No matter what, we have to ignore the echoes. The more we acknowledge their existence, the more will we feed them and the more real they become."

Spirits below. Literally.

"You told me that they weren't aware. That they weren't people."

"They aren't people—they're memories, and memories can still hurt us if we let them."

Now isn't that the truth?

I let out a shuddering breath.

"Ignoring them is easier said than done."

Castille clapped a hand on my shoulder.

"Maybe, you should have taken that drink."

I sighed.

"At least, we know we're close to the capital. The more quintessence, the more echoes."

Castille shook me by the shoulder.

"That's the spirit. Now, let's keep moving before Jacob dies of fright."

# # #

The closer we got to the capital, the louder the spirits of the land became. A chorus of whispers assaulted the ears of me, Isla and Dugan—one of the downsides of being Landbound. We also saw more echoes—images of dead men and women imprinted in the quintessence that soaked into the land. I tried talking to drown out the noise, only to have it echoed back to me in an alien dialect.

Maybe I should have had that drink.

Castille and Thor were only a little less miserable. She spent hours walking with her neck and back hunched, while Thor trudged along carrying a wagon's worth of gold on his back. By the end, his wheezing breath was louder than the whispering spirits around us.

Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

After hours of walking, the tunnel widened, and stairs emerged from the shadows.

"Finally!" Castille said, straightening her neck.

I raised my broken lantern over my head. We were in a wide cylinder with a staircase winding up the sides into darkness.

"I think we're under Miller's Hill."

"I admit it. Sim is good," Castille said, staring up while she stretched her back.

"Whoa," Isla said, entering the round room.

Dugan grunted, walking in last with Thor in tow. His face was slick with sweat.

"You, OK?"

"We'll manage."

You'll pass out halfway up the steps.

"Let's take a break."

Castille rolled her shoulders.

"Agreed."

We sat on the steps, drinking from our water skins and eating rations Isla packed for us. We ate in silence, accompanied by the voices of the dead and water dripping from the ceiling above.

"Do we want to go over the plan again?" I asked.

Castille eyed the top of the winding staircase.

"If Simon is being honest, these stairs will take us to the top of Miller's Hill. The plan is to move fast and move hard. Take out guards and then Rugar."

"Four on one, I like those odds."

Thor let out an annoyed grunt.

"Five on one," I said, correcting myself.

"I'm worried about how we get out," Isla said.

"Most of the mercenaries should be guarding the perimeter. As long as we keep things quiet, we should be able to walk out of the camp with little resistance. Maybe steal some horses on the way out."

Castille nodded to me.

"That means we're counting on you, assassin."

"No pressure," Isla said.

I stood up, stretching my arms and my chest.

"Alright, let's do this."

We climbed the stairs with me in the lead, followed by Isla, Castille, Dugan and Thor. After a few minutes of walking, we reached a dead end. The ceiling above us was soft earth with dangling roots of grass that brushed my head.

"My turn," Isla said.

She slipped past me on the steps to climb higher and sink her hand into the soil above. The earth peeled back into a round portal as wide as my shoulders, and blinding daylight beamed down through the hole.

I blinked, my eyes adjusting to wispy white clouds against a blue sky. Based on the position of the Sun, it was almost noon.

"I'll go first."

Isla stepped to the side to let me shove my head through the hole. We were behind a red and white canvas tent as wide as my room in Sin's mansion. This had to be where Rugar's camped.

I pulled my head back.

"Can you make the hole bigger?"

"Yes."

She pressed against me, reaching up to grab the ceiling.

She was close. Too close.

The hole widened into a square. I climbed up the last few steps, falling into a crouch at the top of Miller's Hill.

I understood why Rugar would choose this as his base. It gave him a clear view of the Northern Road all the way to the capital. I leaned over the hole.

"Clear," I whispered.

The rest of the party climbed out. We filed in behind the tent in the same order we went up the stairs. Castille, Dugan and I drew our weapons. Isla put her hand on my back. I checked over my shoulder and nodded. I poured will into my jacket, and the enchantment passed from Isla to Castille to Dugan and even Thor. We were all connected through touch.

"Slowly."

In a crouch, we worked our way around the left side of the tent, ducking under and over ground stakes and tent lines.

I held up my hand to stop moving, peeking around the corner to the front of the tent.

Two mercenaries stood by the entrance, old men in hunting leathers leaning on large, ugly clubs.

I kept my index and middle fingers raised and twirled them from left to right. Castille nodded and peeled away from our line.

I twisted out my dagger and waited.

After a minute, I heard my signal.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The steady rhythm echoed from the other side of the tent. The guards turned.

Now!

I threw my dagger.

Thunk!

Its tip sank into the base of the first guard's skull. I lunged forward, grabbing the club and body before they toppled to the ground.

The other guard tried to turn. Castille darted from the right side of the tent and swiped Dusk across his neck.

Thwack!

She caught the man's head in her free hand and grimaced as his body fell back into her arms.

I waited for the sound of movement inside the tent, for someone to shout and point from the small village of tents below us.

Nothing.

I dropped my enchantment.

Castille blinked at my sudden appearance. We nodded to each other, laying the bodies at our feet.

On my right, Isla, Dugan, and Thor joined us.

It was now or never.

The only thing that separated us from Rugar was a thin layer of canvas.

Castille and I grabbed either side of the tent's flaps and pulled them open.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.