Chronicles of Sunno: The Serpent's Door

Sometimes they walked along flat stretches. Other times, they had to climb a small incline. But, in general, the path descended more and more. It wasn’t a comfortable route; the ground was covered with sand, dust, and small stones, which made them slip occasionally. The walls took unexpected turns, and the ceiling above their heads changed without warning; at one moment, it forced them to crouch, and at the next, it rose so high that the torchlight couldn’t reach it. Similarly, the walls constantly narrowed and widened. And everything was twists and turns, there wasn’t a single section that remained straight for more than ten yards. But at least they didn’t have to walk among stalactites and stalagmites. In these types of granite caves, it was very rare for them to form.

Lysandra stepped carefully, leaning on the rock walls. She didn’t want to twist an ankle, or worse, break a leg. Yes, her sister and her mother were there to heal any wounds they might get, but she didn’t want to go through that. She estimated that they had already been walking for about three hours, and she was trying to memorize the route they were following in case something unexpected happened and they had to return. She repeated the order of the turns over and over again. First to the left, then to the right, then left again, and finally the middle path, in a part where the route split into three. But always downwards, into the depths.

She was getting used to, or rather, resigning herself to this dense and claustrophobic environment. The heat and humidity made her sweat constantly, and she had already drunk a quarter of the water skin she carried. She was grateful they had brought enough. Though they wouldn’t die of thirst, since they had already crossed a couple of natural streams that emerged from the rocks, and they would undoubtedly encounter more along the way.

From time to time, she glanced back to check if her sister was okay, and although the darkness concealed the details, she guessed that Zari was probably feeling worse than her; the heat usually made her very ill. Behind her sister walked Wart, illuminated by the torch he carried. He didn’t seem particularly tired or annoyed. In fact, he even seemed to be smiling. How envious, to always be so cheerful and carefree.

Although she wasn’t exactly sad, either. Worried, of course. Even scared. Not just because of what they were going through at that moment, but because of the inevitable confrontation that awaited them when they reached the temple. But sad? No. Not anymore. In fact, she even felt a bit ashamed of her reaction the previous day toward her mother. Deep down, she knew perfectly well that Edel wouldn’t have put her or her fiancé in danger. Not knowingly, at least.

And though she wasn’t her biological mother, she couldn’t have had a better one. She still held some resentment for not confessing everything sooner. And she would compensate for it by remaining cold and proud a little longer. But sooner or later, she would have to make peace with her. And she sincerely hoped it would be soon.

As they moved on, she thought she heard a deep, continuous sound that grew louder with each step. After rounding another narrow bend, the path suddenly opened into a vast cavern. It was impossible to gauge its size in the darkness, but the echo of their footsteps suggested that this underground hollow must be immense. The roar of a fierce current could be heard ahead of them. And it smelled strongly of seawater. A salty, humid atmosphere.

“I think we can rest here,” Edel said, almost shouting. Lysa jumped, as none of them had spoken for quite some time. “Let’s light a fire.”

“I don’t recall hearing anything about bringing firewood,” Alaric grumbled.

“Because it wasn’t necessary. There’s driftwood everywhere on the shore.”

Surprised, they approached the water. The shore was made of small pebbles, and it didn’t take long for them to gather several pieces of driftwood. It wasn’t the best fuel for a fire, but their mother had no trouble making it burn brightly. The strong light of the fire warmly embraced them and finally allowed them to glimpse the shimmering on the walls and the stone vault towering above them. Just as she had imagined, the cavern was enormous. And most of it was flooded, forming a vast underground lake.

“That current you see in front of you isn’t really a river. It’s seawater entering the cave as the tide rises, filling the lake, carrying wood, fish, and other things with it. When the tide goes out, all that water flows back to the sea.”

“Then, are we just at sea level? I thought we’d be much lower,” Alaric replied.

“And we’ve descended quite a bit,” Edel nodded, “but the entrance we came from is very high up. We won’t be able to go any lower because the deeper caves are flooded. From here, it’s fairly flat until we get closer to the exit. As I said, the climb will be tough, as the barren valley is even higher than our home.”

They ate a little and rested. Alaric commented that he would have liked to fish, but unfortunately for him, they didn’t have that much time. It was pleasant to spend a while in a more open area. Even the air, though salty, wasn’t as heavy as in the narrow tunnels they had just left behind.

Lysa stood up and wandered along the shore. She approached a small stone bridge arching to the opposite side of the current, where a couple of other tunnels seemed to open. Then, she walked, watching the dark water flow out of the cavern in a foamy whirlpool toward the outside. She wondered if she could follow the current out to the sea. She even thought she saw glimmers at the bottom of the channel, as if daylight was filtering through. Perhaps the outside wasn’t that far away.

“If you think you can jump in and swim out to the sea, you’d better forget it,” Edel said behind her, having approached in silence. “The light you see is daylight, but it does strange things down there. The exit is very far away.”

Lysa clenched her fists and was about to turn away without responding, though she held back. It was foolish to keep up that attitude.

“I wasn’t thinking about jumping, Mother,” she said, relaxing with a sigh. “To be honest, I wouldn’t mind taking a dip with how hot it is.”

The older woman smiled at finally receiving a response. She stepped closer.

“I wouldn’t advise it. It’s not too deep, but the floor is treacherous. I tried it once, and the current almost carried me away.”

“Alone, down here? That sounds risky.”

“No, I wasn’t alone,” her mother replied, with a hint of nostalgia in her voice. “I told you I dated a boy a long time ago. I was young and foolish. He saved my life here.”

“Well, well, Mother. Alone in this cavern with that boy. I wonder what else you did besides taking a swim,” Lysa teased, with a bit of sarcasm.

“I won’t answer that,” her mother replied with dignity. But she placed a hand on Lysa’s shoulder and, leaning closer with a wink, whispered with a giggle, “Though you can imagine.”

They returned to the group. Lysa noticed then that the others were watching them out of the corner of their eyes, pretending not to. So, she grabbed her mother’s arm. Everyone seemed to relax. Zari smiled. A simple change in attitude seemed to improve things in an instant.

After the brief rest, they prepared to continue. They crossed the bridge and reached the opposite shore, next to the rock wall, which opened into two paths.

“Right,” her mother indicated. “Be careful now not to get separated. This area is full of tunnels eroded by water over millennia, it’s a real maze. Don’t stray from me, and make sure the person behind you doesn’t lag.”

They left behind the vastness of the lake cavern and returned to the narrow corridors. They moved more quickly, as, just as Edel had mentioned, the route was fairly flat. The woman walked confidently, leading them through the tangle of tunnels and openings that appeared on both sides. And above, and even below their feet. On a couple of occasions, they had to jump over dark holes, real traps if they weren’t careful. Lysa had given up. They had been in this stone labyrinth for a couple of hours now, and it had been a while since she lost track of the turns her mother was taking. If they left her there alone, she would be unable to find her way back. And with that unsettling thought, she hurried to catch up to Alaric, not wanting to lose sight of him.

Until suddenly, Edel stopped short. So suddenly that Alaric couldn’t avoid bumping into her. And Lysa into him. And then Zari, who in turn was knocked into by Wart. The silence surrounding them was broken in a chain of pushes, “Gods,” “Ouch,” “Sorry,” and various groans and exclamations.

“What’s wrong, Edel? I almost trampled you,” Alaric complained, as he tried to step back to give the older woman space.

“The path... it’s gone.”

“What do you mean ‘it’s gone,’ Mother?” Lysa asked, alarmed.

“Exactly what I said. Look.”

Edel pointed ahead, and Alaric brought the torch closer to shed more light. In front of them was a wall of rocks and stones, blocking the tunnel. A large landslide. Even with the right tools, it would take them days, if not weeks, to clear the way.

Edel pointed ahead, and Alaric brought the torch closer to get a better view. In front of them was a wall of rocks and stones, blocking the tunnel. A large collapse. Even with the proper tools, it would take them days, if not weeks, to remove all the debris.

"The last time I was here, the path was clear... well, time spares no one, not even the stone," Edel resignedly said in a tired tone.

"Could we try clearing the way ourselves, Mother?" Lysa asked, though she could already guess the answer. The amount of material was overwhelming.

"Breaking part of that rock using the Power... best not," the elderly woman responded, shaking her head. "It's too much, and we could cause more collapses."

"Gods! Please tell me there's another way," exclaimed Alaric.

"There is... I think," Edel replied, though her tone was less certain this time.

"You think?"

"I know it exists. But I've never taken it. A secondary route that was made in case something like this ever happened. A path that probably hasn’t seen anyone pass through it in hundreds of years. Longer, deeper... I can’t even guarantee it's still open."

"Do we have any other choice?" Lysa couldn’t hide the worry in her voice.

"No, if we want to reach our destination in less than three days. We must return to the lake and take the alternate route before the tide starts to rise, or else we'll be trapped in these caves until the water level goes down again. That would make us lose the entire night."

"Forward, then. We don't have time to waste, so let's head back as soon as possible," said Alaric, stepping aside for Edel to take the lead again.

It was incredible how her mother, at her age, could move so quickly and nimbly through the narrow rock corridors. Even Alaric, with his long legs, struggled to keep up with the pace. Lysa half-ran as best as she could behind him, but she was short of breath, starting to pant. The wound in her chest was taking its toll again. Slowly, she fell behind until Alaric's silhouette disappeared around a bend. Though she kept chasing the flickering torchlight, panic began to swell within her.

"Not so fast, please!"

Her voice echoed through the cavern, but it seemed the distance between her and Alaric only grew. She turned nervously to see if her sister was still behind her. She saw the faint glow of Wart’s torch fading around another bend.

"No, not that way!"

She ran back to warn Zarinia and the boy, but when she rounded the corner, all she found was the fading light disappearing down another path.

"Zarinia! Wart! Come back, it’s this way!"

She chased after the light, which quickly dissipated between the tunnel's twists. One more bend, and the glow was gone. Suddenly, Lysa found herself alone in the dark.

"Mother! Alaric!"

The only answer she got was her own voice, repeated hundreds of times around her. She began to tremble. Her sister and Wart had gotten lost. She had gotten lost. And all that surrounded her were echoes and such impenetrable darkness that she had to feel her eyelids to make sure her eyes were open.

“Don’t panic. Don’t lose your head,” she thought to herself. She thought she heard distant voices calling her name.

"Here! I'm here!"

She moved forward, groping her way until it felt like she was turning in a different direction. What was she doing? She couldn’t continue like this; she could easily fall into a hole in the ground, breaking her leg—or her neck.

“First, I need some light. Then, I’ll go back the same way until I find Mother and Alaric, and when we’re together, we’ll go find Zari and Wart.”

Light. One might think that for a witch as capable as her, creating light would be as easy as pie. But the truth was, light couldn’t just be conjured from thin air. What options did she have? Heating a stone until it glowed red would give her some light, but not enough. And how would she carry it without burning herself? "Light. I need light." She rummaged through her pouch and sighed in relief. She didn’t remember packing a torch, but surely her mother had done it for her. Or Alaric, who always made sure everything was planned and prepared. She carefully pulled it out and had to feel both ends to figure out which side was flammable. Then, she focused, and the tarred cloth heated until it ignited with a brief flash of fire. She breathed out in relief, the small source of light giving her a renewed sense of hope.

"Mother! Alaric! Zarinia! Wart!" she shouted.

"Mother! Alaric! Zarinia! Wart!" the depths echoed back, almost mockingly.

She was completely disoriented. Which way had she come from? She was sure that in the darkness, she had been turning around on herself, but she didn’t know how much. The small joy brought by the torch was suddenly swept away by a whirlwind of anxiety, making her breathing increasingly ragged. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest, and the hot, heavy air refused to enter her lungs. She began to feel dizzy. The rocky walls spun around her. She was suffocating.

“Enough. Calm down, Lysandra, for all the gods’ sake. You won’t get out of here this way.”

She sat down on the rocky floor, closed her eyes, and tried to steady her breathing. Little by little, she recovered.

"Okay. I won’t solve anything standing still. And since I have no idea where I am, it doesn’t matter which direction I go."

She picked up a small stone from the ground, moistened one side with the sweat from her forehead, and tossed it in the air.

“Dry stone, right. Wet stone, left.” Chance decided for her, and she headed to the right, holding the torch high. She walked for a while. Quite a while, actually, though she couldn’t say exactly how long. She had completely lost track of time, but she could guess as she nervously watched the torch slowly burning away. Still, it was no use worrying about that.

Every now and then, she shouted, but the only response was the echo of her own voice. She continued until the path split in two directions.

"And now what? Do I flip the stone again?"

She shrugged indifferently and bent down to pick up another stone. But she froze when she heard a gurgling sound. Maybe it was her imagination. She raised the torchlight to both sides of the path. If there was something there, it was beyond her limited view. She waited a bit. There was nothing to be heard. She stood up carefully, and suddenly, the gurgling sound came again, low and guttural. It seemed to come from the path to the right. It sounded closer.

“Hello?” she whispered, her voice trembling and unsure.

The answer was a broken roar, freezing her in place, followed by the sound of countless cracks and clicks rushing toward her at great speed.

Lysa didn’t think twice and didn’t let fear paralyze her. She couldn’t create a flame from nothing, but she could feed an existing fire. She pointed the torch down the corridor, concentrated, and spoke the right words. The flame grew, expanding with force until it became a stream of fire that lit up those depths like never before. Though perhaps, she would have preferred not to have so much light, because what she saw made her breath leave her body, and her legs tremble until they nearly gave out beneath her. She couldn’t help but let out a scream of terror.

The creature howling in front of her, engulfed in flames, twisted and writhed, crawling along the walls of the cave. It was black, large, and very long, though it wasn’t clear if its body was covered in hair or spines. It resembled a centipede, but nearly the height of a pony, and where an insect head should have been, there was an abomination: a grotesquely human skull, covered with gleaming, whitish eyes spread all over its surface, with a pair of mandibles like those of an ant—huge and perverse—snapping in the air, ready to devour.

When the flame lost its strength, Lysa turned on her heel and began to run, holding the torch in front of her to light the way. Sparks and heat whipped at her face, but she didn’t care. She couldn’t stop. She could feel the creature behind her, its countless insect legs thundering like a river of gravel tumbling down a mountainside.

Fear gave her wings. The tunnels and openings flew past her. And then, she began to splash.

The pit she had entered without thinking had water nearly up to her ankles. She didn’t remember passing through any flooded cave except for the lake cavern. For a moment, she thought about turning back, but distant roars made her forget about that. She kept running. The water level kept rising, and soon, she was waist-deep. Ice-cold water. It was the tide, rising. She finally stopped. What to do? Continue and possibly drown? Go back and face that thing? Or were there more? The sounds were multiplying, coming at her faster and faster.

She decided to keep going. If the water was coming from the lake cavern, perhaps she’d have a chance to get there. And at least, she wouldn’t be so lost. She pushed forward against the current, now up to her shoulders. The cold was agonizing, her muscles were freezing up, and her waterlogged clothes grew heavier by the second. Suddenly, she thought she heard a voice. No, there were several voices! They sounded distant and muffled, but they were definitely coming from somewhere ahead.

“Here! I’m here!” she screamed with all her might.

The voices stopped, and then came back, more urgently.

“Lysa! Lysa, where are you?!”

It was her mother’s voice, no doubt. It sounded muted and far away, like it was coming from above her.

“I’m in a cave below you. The water is flooding it.”

In fact, the water was now up to her neck. She was trembling from the cold, struggling to keep the torch above her head. She realized she was starting to lose her footing.

“There are things down here, too. Bugs. Or something like that. Really big ones.”

“Hold on, we’re getting you out of there.”

“Hurry, I won’t last much longer!”

The voices became a murmur. They seemed to be talking amongst themselves. And suddenly, Lysa felt something coil around her leg. Something cold and slimy, digging into her flesh, making her scream in pain. It was a muffled, strangled scream, as whatever had grabbed her dragged her under, forcing her to swallow salty water and making her drop the torch. It floated for a moment, still lit, but quickly went out. Everything around Lysa turned into darkness, freezing cold, and pain.

The air left her lungs, and her body stopped responding. She tried to fight against whatever was tearing at her leg, but it was too strong, too fast. And just when she was about to give up and lose consciousness, she saw a glow above her. A hand plunged into the water, grabbing hers and pulling her up. Whatever had gripped her leg loosened its hold, surprised by the sudden brightness.

They dragged her onto the floor. Soaking wet, coughing, and spitting out water, she looked around. She was in another cave, though she didn’t recognize where. They all looked the same to her. There was plenty of light, as several torches were propped against the walls. There were Wart and Alaric, who had just dragged her out of a large hole in the rock. They were watching her with concern. And leaning against the wall was her mother, looking exhausted. Next to her was Zari, comforting her and smiling at Lysa with tears in her eyes.

“Are you alright?” Alaric asked, taking her hand and helping her sit up.

“Yes, I think so,” she said, still coughing, though she couldn’t help but groan in pain when she put weight on her leg. She noticed it was bleeding; the fabric of her skirt was completely torn, and a piece of skin was hanging loose.

“Zari, take care of your sister. I’m fine,” said Edel, closing her eyes and leaning back against the wall to rest.

“What happened? I thought you’d gotten lost too,” Lysa asked, trying to manage the pain.

“Well, we think you got distracted and took a wrong turn without realizing,” Zari replied, trying to sound calm as she began applying a healing spell to Lysa’s leg. Her hands glowed with a soft, warm light, and Lysa felt immediate relief at the touch. “We found Alaric, who had stopped when he realized you weren’t behind him.”

“I’m sorry. I truly apologize,” Alaric said, taking her hand. “It was my fault. I should have made sure you were following.”

“Don’t worry, it’s my fault. I was too clumsy and distracted. But how did you pull me out of there?”

“Thank Mother…” Zari answered, focused on her spell.

“Yes, it was spectacular!” Wart exclaimed, excited, with wide eyes. “Magic like the legends, with lots of sparks and lights! She blew the rock apart!”

“It’s not that impressive, young one,” her mother replied, still with her eyes closed. “But breaking stone isn’t easy; it requires channeling quite a bit of Power.”

“Thank you…” Lysa managed to say, her voice breaking. She hobbled over to her mother to hug her.

“My dear child. I don’t know what I would have done if I’d lost you.”

“I hate to be a killjoy, but we can’t stay here much longer,” Alaric said, pointing to the hole Edel had made in the ground. Foamy water was starting to gush through.

“Can you walk, Lysa?”

“Yes. Thanks, Zari, it doesn’t hurt anymore. And you, Mother, are you alright?”

“I will be. Let’s keep moving before everything gets flooded.”

Lysa nodded and grabbed a torch from the wall. Her clothes were still soaked, and she was freezing, but she didn’t want to show any sign of weakness. With one last glance at the hole in the wall, just in case anything else emerged, the group set off once again, heading into the dark passage that would lead them back to the lake cavern.