Before he could decide whether to approach her, Khyber Elessedil announced that they were going into the tunnel, all of them save for Skint, who would take Khyber’s coin and return to let the others know what was happening. If they weren’t back by nightfall, Seersha was to use the coin to summon Mirai and the Walker Boh. Railing, Farshaun, and the Speakman would be flown back out immediately, and Seersha and Skint would wait for the company’s return. Skint objected heatedly to being chosen, pointing out that he was the one best equipped to act as guide for the company. But his arguments did not change Khyber’s mind, so off he went, trudging back down the defile.

Khyber waited until he was gone and then turned to the others. “Stay close together. Don’t let the darkness confuse you. Put a hand on the shoulder of the person in front of you if necessary. But I don’t want lights of any kind, real or magic. We don’t know what that might draw, and I don’t want to find out the hard way. It takes about five minutes to go through. We can do it in the dark.”

“You stay in front of me, boy,” Crace Coram said quietly, leaning close to Redden. “I’ll watch your back.”

They went through the bright shimmer and into the darkness beyond in a long line. Redden felt the Dwarf Chieftain’s hand resting on his shoulder and kept his own on the back of the Troll who was walking just in front of him. It was impossible to see anything; the tunnel’s gloom was impenetrable. Navigating the blackness of the passageway seemed to take forever, but nothing happened to them as they moved through.

They reached the second shimmer, this one considerably darker and more resistant to their approach. It was as if it had a thicker substance; they could feel it pressing against them as they attempted to breach it.

“Keep going!” Khyber shouted back to them. “Push ahead!”

They did so, heads lowered against the membrane of gloom resisting them.