She backed up until she reached the main passage. He set an arrow to his bow, took aim, and loosed. The arrow cracked against the rock wall, followed by a twang as of a plucked string. A gusty grunt sounded, followed by a patter of darts filling the tunnel. They fell short of Luviara, but she leaped back anyway.

“Good shot, Jirvy,” remarked the haunt amiably. “As I was saying, I recommend we keep moving. Yet tell me, Deputy Courier, how is it you survived your investigation of this delving?”

“I stuck to the main passage. Most of these side tunnels exude a disturbing scent. I stuck to where the air smells fresh.”

Undaunted by her narrow escape, Luviara quivered with excitement as they continued upward, passing yet more branching corridors. “This place could house hundreds. I didn’t know swalters congregated in such large numbers. My observations suggest they never tolerate clans larger than twelve.”

“If we survive this mission,” the haunt replied sardonically, “then I will grant you a most gracious princely writ to explore at your leisure.”

She cleared her throat. “Only the emperor can do that, Your Exalted Highness.”

“Of course.”

“How is it you know all this hidden lore, Your Highness? I’ve never come across it, and I thought I had read everything.”

“It seems you have not,” he said drily. “Now, move.”

It was a stiff climb and a long one due to the twisting and strenuous nature of the route. The tunnel ended in a room like the bottom of a large well. Its shaft opened onto the cloudy sky, about twenty ells above.

“How do we get up that?” Xilsi asked with a skeptical snort. “Fly?”

Elen pointed. “It’s hard to make out, but there’s a ladder-like route built into the shaft. You have to have a good grip and strength for climbing. And a head for heights. I’ll go first. There’s a place I can rig my rope at the top.” She turned to the theurgist. “The rope can be tied about your chest, Your Worthiness, for added support, and to catch you if you fall.”

Luviara smiled. “I shan’t need any such consideration, but I thank you for your concern, Deputy Courier. I admire your deep knowledge of this region. It’s unexpected.”

“I have walked this route for ten years. Like you, I’m not averse to exploring when I have the time. There’s much to discover, if one knows how to look.”

“I should know better than to judge the provinces by the prejudices of the heartland. Old habits die hard. I hope you and I have more time to talk.”

The haunt shifted restlessly, and Elen wondered if he disliked being confined within a place where swalters had once lived. “To that end, I urge you, Deputy Courier, to lead the way.”