Herven's screams floated above the haze of orange shielding Ariden's view of the entire cavern. He ran to where he remembered her to be before the smoke-bombs went off and swung his arm in a wide arc. His fist hit a lump of flesh and Herven went down, crumpling to the ground with a heavy thud.

All around him, workers scampered in panic, unsure of what to think about the orange smoke rising in the cavern. Ariden had Faw and the Crimson Twins to thank for these ingenious inventions. That's why he had Lufi take the soap mixture from the Temple. They'd make good reactants for the effect he was going for.

He shed his stiff, formal coat, flinging it somewhere. Underneath, his stolen worker uniform dropped into view. Sweat trickled down the side of his face and on his back, his eyes already stinging. He tucked his nose into the crook of his arm, using his other one to grasp Herven by the collar. Then, he dove into the chaos.

Bodies slammed and bumped into him, making his hazy vision even more hazy. His throat itched and his tongue dried out. He began coughing into his sleeve, his lungs working overtime to dispel the chemical from his system. Where was the mask he had Cohnal stash around this cavern?

He edged closer to the crates to the opposite side of the cavern and looked behind them. Sure enough, salvation greeted him. His fingers closed around the mask. With the same maneuvers the twins taught him, he fiddled with the straps and buckles and fixed it upon his nose and mouth. He took a test breath and found it fine.

A shriek caught his attention. He whirled to find a fist sailing for his face. He ducked and scrambled away, his back slamming against a leg that vanished all too soon. It must have belonged to a running worker.

Herven staggered up, the side of her head dripping with a faint line of blood. Her chest heaved, the tight tunic making her movements much more dramatic. Her tight-fitting trousers made her legs look longer and slimmer. Strands of her once-pristine mauve hair had turned into a vulkraine's nest.

"You vile creature," she hissed. "Where's the Crown Prince?!"

For a cartel leader, she wasn't that smart to fail to see him standing in front of her, just with a mask. "What did you do?" Herven demanded, lunging towards Ariden who scampered back some more, looking for a way to shoot up and face her properly. "What happened to my treasures? Who are you? What do you want? You will pay!"

Ariden's eyes flitted throughout her frame, trying to find an opening in Herven's desperate stance. The mask's limited visor made it harder, as well as the veil of orange distorting his vision. This was just the tip of the proverbial mountain and she was already losing her mind. How could she survive when the plan was complete?

"Hey, Ari!" Lufi's voice floated through the crowd. He heard a grunt and the sound of a blade unsheathing. A thud and a growl later, her voice resurfaced again. "Crimson Tops secured the escape route as planned. We'll meet you there. The soldiers are here."

Ariden didn't reply. At least Lufi agreed to call them by their monikers to avoid anyone linking their names to their questionable activities. He dodged and sidestepped Herven who dashed towards him. He needed to secure her before the Palace sentries arrived. How to do that...?

Herven's leg swept underneath him. His legs slid out of his control and he slammed, back-first, into the rocky soil. Air was knocked out of his lungs and the limited breathing space of the mask made it harder to catch it again. Tria's warning shot to his head. Herven Fulmer isn't someone you could take on without repercussions. And it's true. Who knew what Herven would do to him if she figured out who he was.

Ariden summoned his magic to the surface then thought about it. The sentries might trace his trail in this place. His magic faded into a hiss in his veins just in time for a flash of silver to zip past his periphery. He rolled to one side, urging himself to a kneeling position. A sword stuck out of the spot where his head had just been.

The rock made a distinguishable chink as Herven pulled her weapon out. Her amber eyes dripped with hate, bloodshot and teary. It's a miracle she wasn't down on her knees, coughing her organs out.

With a scream the cartel leader leaped forward, her blade aiming for Ariden's neck. His dagger slid out of its sheath behind him. Sparks flashed in response to the orange shroud around them as the sharp metal connected. Ariden gritted his teeth, his arm shaking both from the vibration of the impact sent up in it and from the sheer effort of fighting against Herven's damning strength.

The cartel leader's teeth were bared, her breath coming in huge, angry gasps. They exchanged a few more blows with Ariden defending and moving backwards. Workers streamed into his periphery, all trickling past the bottleneck that was the tunnel. Among them was hopefully Lufi.

Herven herded them directly to the cavern's exit. Her own people jostled her and she knocked them out of the way to continue pursuing Ariden. She couldn't exactly swing a sword in a cramped tunnel so Ariden took advantage of the fact that she was looking for ways around that. He dived low, turning his dagger in his grip so the blade pointed south. Then, with a grunt, he dug the pommel against her ankle.

She screamed and moved to slice her sword down. Ariden brought his foot up, smacking straight to her wrist. Her sword clattered to the ground. It wasn't long before the feet of panicking workers swept it away. Then, Ariden shot up, jamming the same pommel at the side of Herven's head, hitting the same spot he did with his hand before. He caught the woman before her head hit the ground.

Then, hefting her lumpy form over his shoulders, he proceeded to run, joining the stream of people running towards the other cavern. When they got there, the same scenario greeted them. Orange clouds enveloped the whole expanse, making the workers run around in circles and bump into crates or into each other. Ariden, though the scratchy visor of his mask, spied a tunnel Cohnal and Aeril discovered when they went on a stakeout in this place ages ago.

However, they've got a small problem. Weaving through the mess of frantic workers, an armed fight clearly was taking place long before Ariden got here. He set Herven down and fished a set of ymil twine from his pocket. It'd be hard to saw in two when she woke up so it's the best bet to keep her in place until the Palace sentries get here.

Grunts and screams of aggression rang around him, one of them distinctly Ralei's. What was he still doing here? Shouldn't he have escaped by now? This wasn't the plan!

Ariden pushed Herven's unconscious form inside the space between the wall of crates and the cavern's tall, stone wall. Then, with a grunt, he turned to the last stack of crates and began pushing it to seal her in for hopefully a long time. He was about to finish when a sword pierced the crate inches from his nose. He whirled and ducked as another slash went for his neck. A string of curses flew out of his lips. That's a huge sword. What was it called?

The word came to him just as a feminine growl erupted from behind the soldier attacking him. Lufi's blond locks flashed in the air just as her dagger slashed down. A cutlass. That's the sword these people have been using. Uncharacteristic, considering they were miles away from the sea.

The soldier fell away from Ariden and slammed face-first into the ground. Lufi turned to him with a nod. Blood splattered her visor and dripped down her mask. Because of it too, he couldn't tell if she was smiling or telling him to hurry up. Ariden turned back to the crates he had been pushing and finished his job. He dusted his fingers and turned to Lufi. He didn't see the cutlass aimed at her face.

The air gave a silent hiss as the blade cut through Lufi's mask, sending her stumbling back down. Ariden's fingers moved on their accord, summoning magic to his veins. A mound of rock speared from the wall and slammed into Lufi's assailant. He flew a few distances away but that's the least of Ariden's concerns. He knelt beside Lufi and checked her injury.

"Stop fussing and go," Lufi growled, pushing him away and staggering to her feet. Her mask had been reduced to half, exposing her skin and nose to the orange clouds wafting around them. They needed to get out of here.

Ariden turned to her. "Can you run?"

She looked at him like he had gone crazy. Her hand was pressed against her right eye. Blood colored her fingers and seeped through her nails. "I was born to run," she said. "Stop looking at me like that. I'm fine. It's just a scratch."

She pushed past him and darted towards their escape route. Ariden made to follow. He removed his mask as soon as he and Lufi had crossed the dark tunnel and put two fingers into his mouth. He whistled in a call resembling the ones made by wimbills—a hollow sing-song note—to signal anyone still inside that they had made it safely. No one answered back in a similar call. They're all out. That's a relief.

The two of them tore through the length of the tunnel, the darkness their only comfort and companion. Something scratched and sparkled behind them. Rudik's asscheeks. They're being pursued. "Run faster!" he called to Lufi. She didn't answer. Let him hope she heard him and followed. He forced his own legs to pump, his footsteps pounding in his chest and his heartbeat ringing in his ears. His breaths were nothing but shallow gasps, the toll of moving around settling on him.

The tunnel began shaking, the ground turning more and more unstable. Someone was using their synnavaim to influence the earth. This was bad. He gritted his teeth and pushed forward. Faster. That's when a streak of silver whizzed towards them. Ariden saw the thick blade. It was aimed at Lufi.

No!

All of his thoughts flew out of his mind as he threw himself forward, slamming into Lufi's back. Something sank in his flesh and burning pain erupted in his form, forcing him to stumble to his knees. He wasn't able to stop the cry from escaping his lips. In the darkness, he heard Lufi's ragged breath behind him. "Are you hurt?" she was saying. "What's going on?"

Ariden forced his tongue to unlatch from the floor of his mouth. Blood coated his teeth so much he had to spit some out. "When I give the signal," he said through gritted teeth. "Run."

With shaking fingers, he dug the terznite ore from his pocket and closed his fingers around it. A headache dulled most of his senses as it pounded at the back of his skull. His arms felt heavy and his stomach felt like it was being pulled taut.

He clenched his jaw, digging his teeth against the inside of his cheek to keep himself awake. Warmth flooded his veins as his magic swirled to the surface. The ore in his palm glowed and shook, absorbing the magic from his system.

He strained his ears to the scratching sounds of pursuit edging towards them. Closer. He needed them closer. Come on. Closer.

Closer.

Ariden let the ore fly.

"Go!" he yelled to Lufi. He, himself, shot up and ran forward as the ore gave a solid thunk against the tunnel's wall. Then, with a booming sound and the heat to rival a thousand suns, the ore exploded in a shower of debris and large chunks of rock.

The light swallowed Ariden, the force of the blast propelling him forward. Lufi's cry was evident in his ears, having slammed into her from behind. Then, before he could pick himself up, the darkness claimed him next.