“Yeah, something like that . . .” Lucas muttered, trying to imagine what silk road one would find underground. Oh well. He pushed open the door of the house to find an empty room. The only other exit was located at the bottom of a three-person-wide staircase, which was located at the opposite side of the wooden shack from the door. The steps were neither wood nor stone. Rather, the stairs were dirt, and they looked as if they had been carved out once and then smoothed out by people walking. There was a dip in the center of the staircase from where it had clearly been used most. “No use pondering over it. Let’s just get moving.”

After descending the stairs and opening the door, they were greeted by a dark and damp dirt tunnel that reminded Lucas of something more common in a cave, behind a waterfall, or out in the wilderness rather than a tunnel dug out underneath a home.

“Anyone have a torch?” Lucas asked. He couldn’t see anything through the darkness that enveloped them at the bottom of the stairs.

“I do,” Bonnie said, pulling one out. “I’ve got to stay prepared to meet my clients’ needs, so consider it a complimentary service.”

Lucas laughed. “Service with a smile.”

“Don’t need one here,” Nick said as he began channeling Firebolt. Red energy ran through the staff and created a small globe of light that lit up the surrounding five meters. Right before he finished the spell and sent the burning orb tumbling down the hallway, he canceled it and began channeling it again. Even though it burnt Arcane Energy to do this, with how much Nick and Lucas had compared to how little the Level 1 spell cost, they both could afford to do this. “Mages are the best,” Nick said, sticking his tongue out at Bonnie immediately after.

Lucas noted Nick’s trick but didn’t bother doing it as well. Between Bonnie’s torch and Nick’s constant recasting of Firebolt, there was enough light that they could see everything around them.

What had looked like only a simple dirt tunnel earlier was only made creepier by the addition of lighting. Patches of soil along the ground and areas of the wall were glistening with a sticky-looking substance, and there were strange droplets of water suspended mid-air.

“This place gives me the creeps,” Bonnie said. “I hate places like this.”

“I’m not going to argue with the fox,” Nick said, rechanneling Firebolt yet again. “This whole place is garbage. What the heck did the player mean by silk road?”

Lucas paused, and the other two stopped and turned around to see what the holdup was. “I think I know why there are so many droplets hanging in the air,” Lucas said. “I think we’re on the silk road.”

“What? What do you mean? Stop messing with me,” Nick said.