Each panel was no thicker than Jig’s thumb. While the others planned the safest way to cross, Jig dropped to his hands and knees and crawled to the tunnel’s edge. Peering over the edge, he saw nothing but blackness beneath the bridge. Wind brushed past his face and pushed his ears back. The walls of the pit were smooth black stone. Not polished like the marble, but still too smooth to climb. What were you expecting? A nice ladder and a sign saying “Here’s the safe bridge for goblins only”?

Something landed on Jig’s back. He shouted and rolled away, kicking wildly at his attacker. Smudge slipped off his shoulder and started to fall, and Jig barely managed to grab one of the spider’s suddenly hot legs. Once he was back in the tunnel, Smudge scurried a good six feet away from the edge and cowered there.

The attacker turned out to be the end of a rope. Darnak and Riana both laughed at him, while Barius muttered something about “stupid, cowardly creatures.” Jig noticed they had each wrapped a loop of rope about their waists.

“Best to be safe when crossing these things,” Darnak explained. He helped Jig up and tied the rope around his waist with a sure hand. “Earthmaker willing, we’ll not be needing this. But I’ve not yet seen a bottomless pit that didn’t have some nastiness hidden away, waiting to knock you to your doom.”

“You’ve crossed these before?” Jig asked.

“Oh, aye. Back when I was a lad, there wasn’t a wizard around who didn’t conjure up his own bottomless pit. They’re less common these days, but you still find ’em lying about in older labyrinths and lairs. They’re useful things. If you can cut a shaft through the entire place, you’ve got some ventilation. Otherwise the air gets stale and things start to die. Not to mention the stink.”

He lowered his voice, as if sharing a secret. “Truth is, they’re not really bottomless. You’ll fall for a while, no doubt, but sooner or later you find the bottom. A real bottomless pit takes too much magic.”

Perhaps that was supposed to reassure him, Jig didn’t know. He saw Darnak take another drink of ale, and decided that strong drink would have been far more comforting. Strong drink he could enjoy back in the goblin lair would be even better.

“Onward,” said Barius. He walked close behind Ryslind, lantern held high to light up the bridge. Riana followed, then Darnak, still scribbling at his map, and Jig brought up the rear. That meant he would be the last one to step onto those floating tiles.

He watched as each member of the group stepped onto the bridge, and each time he expected the tiles to crumble away at the touch of their feet. The tiles didn’t even wiggle.