It was nearly dusk when the Paladin found the cave entrance nestled in the Pale Foothills. The map and Kobelt’s recollection had guided her true. It was not the fairy tale-style cave entrance she imagined–more of a yawning hole in the ground, hidden between craggy boulders. If one was not watching where they were going and happened upon it, they could easily tumble in.

  Chastity crouched in frost-bitten foliage some distance away and watched. There was no movement, no unnatural noises, no signs of activity. But the ground around the cavemouth was scarred and distressed, as if heavily trafficked and recently. And Chastity had reason to believe as many as ten enemies waited within.

  As well as many more prisoners to set free, she reminded herself.

  As the light faded and no goblins emerged, Chastity steeled herself. She lit her lantern and held it aloft in one hand while she drew a javelin with the other. And so she approached the entrance.

  Abandoned? Chastity wondered. Is that the name of the place or is the system telling me the cave is actually abandoned?

  There was only one way to find out. Whatever was down there, she had an obligation to investigate.

  Through the opening the cave slanted steeply downwards, a diagonal tunnel into the middle of the earth. She peered in, but all was dark. Again, she heard no noises coming from within.

  That Radiant Light ability would have really come in handy right about now, she thought.

  In this narrow shaft, the lantern only shined so far, and the proximate brightness obscured her ability to see much further beyond the sphere of illumination. The ground was slippery beneath her boots with loose gravel and sandy soil, and Chastity had to brace the sides of her hands against the cave walls to keep from sliding. But she began her descent.

  A few haphazardly installed wooden props and a crossbar were the first signs that work had taken place here. While it was a naturally occurring cave, it had been crudely expanded through the mining efforts. With the inconvenient entrance, she had to assume ropes or other equipment were used to haul out the gold or whatever else was being mined. Lower she went, deeper into the Sk?rselden crust, the lantern staving off the encroaching darkness.

  She was on guard, ready to defend against a surprise attack, ready for a goblin or ork to spring for the shadows. But she did not see a tripwire pulled taut across the bottom of the tunnel. Her ankle struck it, nearly toppling her.

  CRASH! BOOM! SHOOM!

  A chain reaction. There was a terrible rumble from behind and a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

  Oh no!

  Chastity turned and scrambled back up the shaft, only to be met by a choking cloud of dust. She waved her hands and coughed until at last the air settled. But the entrance was blocked. The remains of the wooden support structure lay buried under a crush of fallen rock and debris.

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  She had no tools to dig herself out, and no guarantee attempting so would not cause a worse collapse. Had blasting powder been invented in this world? She had no idea. The shaft looked well and truly sealed. This had been an intentional cave-in. She was trapped.

  A wave of claustrophobia hit her. She remembered a scene from a scary movie her freshman roommate had unfortunately talked her into watching years ago–The Descent. It involved a group of female spelunkers trapped underground. A shudder raced up Chastity’s spine.

  Stupid! Why did you have to think of that just now!? she chided herself. She hated scary movies. Real life had enough horror stories that she saw no need to invent new ones. And this new world had plenty as well.

  Chastity turned and faced the darkness.

  Courage is action is the face of fear… she repeated to herself. Courage is action in the face of fear. Courage is action in the face of fear!

  There could still be others down here. Slaves left behind to die, or enemies lying in ambush. Either way, the answers she sought lay below. Maybe there were other exits from the cave system. For now, the only way out was through. She pressed on, vigilant for any other nasty surprises.

  Eventually, the steep entry tunnel leveled out and opened into a wider space. She held the lantern high and the light revealed a series of natural chambers, with passageways leading further down and branching off in different directions. It was more spacious here, and she could stand to her full height and move about comfortably if she avoided the occasional stalactite. But the smell was terrible, like open latrines mingled with layers of congealed sweat and misery.

  She could make out inert shapes, shadows that revealed themselves to be the detritus of a camp. Rows of empty wooden cages. A pair of shackles strewn on the ground. The broken handle of some mining tool. Something akin to torn burlap. One chamber had a mess of straw and blankets crawling with tiny flea-like insects. There was an overturned wooden barrel and several empty crates.

  So this must have been the goblin camp in this section of the cave, Chastity thought as she explored. And through that other passage was where they kept the prisoners. The mining shafts must be further in. It sure seems like they left in a hurry.

  She returned to the chamber with the wooden cages, carefully inspecting them. They were scarcely wider than a broom closet, and half as tall. Besides fleas and larvae there were no signs of life. Her heart ached at the thought of Kobelt and others being kept in these inhumane conditions for God knows how long. But the cave did indeed seem abandoned now.

  Crudely carved into the rock wall behind one of the cages were some symbols. No, they were words–scratched out in the Common Tongue. Chastity swung open the cage door and held the lantern close.

  “Fiddlebrook,” she read aloud.

  Is that a place? A name? she wondered. The word didn’t mean anything to her, so she continued her search.

  Soon she came to the edge of a pit, deeper than her light could penetrate. She heard the faintest drip, drip, drip from somewhere in the cave system, the sound bouncing off the walls to reach her ear. By now she was fairly certain no goblins were here and decided to take a risk.

  “Hello?” she called into the pit. “Is anyone here!?” Her voice boomed, amplifying and echoing throughout the chambers.

  Her call was met by a sudden rush, like a violent wind. Up from the depths erupted a black, swirling cloud. Deafening shrieks pinged all around her.

  Chastity ducked, shielding her head with her javelin-holding arm.

  “I-Identify!” she yelled, as if the system would struggle to hear her over the cacophony.

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