Zofia struck the match, raising it to the pendant. Light flared around her, and with it came a new calm. Her breaths loosened. Séverin appeared at her side. He smiled. “Mind sharing the light, Phoenix?”

She nodded, holding out the pendant. One by one, Séverin lit their torches and handed them off to Enrique, Hypnos, and Laila.

“No one move,” said Séverin, holding up his torch. “We need to compare what’s before us to the mind Forged map. Beyond what research we’ve gathered, we don’t know anything about how the cave will react to our presence, so stay alert and stay close.”

Huge stalagmites—Zofia counted fifteen—jutted up at the edges of the cave, and dozens of mushrooms bloomed in the crevices. Not three meters away, a dark lake stretched out at least half a kilometer long. It was silent except for the occasional plink of water droplets beading off the cave ceiling and hitting the lake. The water lapped against a wall of shining black rock on the far end. She remembered from the mind Forged map that there was something behind the wall … a gleaming, amber light and automatons the size of buildings.

“We need to move closer to the lake,” said Enrique. “I thought the gilded skeleton would be here, but I don’t see it…”

They each took one step forward. At the front, Séverin held out his torch. The light traveled over the uneven ground before catching on a mottled piece of marble poking out of the silt about two meters away. Zofia recognized it as the paper-thin marble sign that had once been in the jaws of the skeleton.

But the skeleton was gone.

“That can’t be right,” said Enrique.

He moved to take a step forward when Séverin caught his hand. “Careful.”

Slowly, Enrique crouched on the ground. He pulled out a pair of gloves from his pocket and drew out the plaque before walking back to them.

“It still reads Forgive me,” he said, tilting his head and examining the marble. He turned around. “But how could the skeleton have vanished already? There’s no signs of rockfall that would have disturbed its place. And the lake must have been covered up until now.”

“Something could have taken it deeper into the lake,” said Séverin, eyeing the water.

“What, like a … creature?” asked Hypnos.

Beside him, Laila looked uneasy. Her gaze darted around the cave.

“We can’t be sure, but we can try to run some experiments from here, without disturbing anything else. It could be that parts of the chamber require activation before they reveal themselves to us,” Séverin said. “The best thing we can do is unload our belongings, evaluate our surroundings, and perhaps test the lake for reactions?”

Zofia nodded alongside Laila, Hypnos, and Enrique. Séverin dropped his rucksack and began rummaging through its contents.

“Secure the surroundings and check for any sign of recording activity. We can’t afford to rush anything at this stage, so move as slowly as you have to,” said Séverin. “Hypnos and Enrique, examine the shoreline. Laila, see if you can’t source anything un-Forged that can tell us more about what to expect. Zofia, use your nautical devices and measure the depths of the lake. Also, Enrique—”