The princess led us closer to the castle and our destination. She paused every so often, peering through the dim light at the tunnel walls or the ground.
The princess stopped suddenly, and I almost bumped into her. There was a slight clicking noise.
“Down!” she yelled.
She fell to the ground, grabbing my robes and pulling me with her. I barely had time to put my hands out in front of me before my face hit the tunnel floor. Something whirled through the air above us like birds in flight.
We heard thuds and grunting as elves and dwarves flung themselves to the ground. One landed on top of us and didn’t move. The whirring echoed down the passageway, deadly in its quiet tune.
“Princess, what is it?” I asked.
“Quiet!”
The whirring noise stopped. None of us moved until the princess rose again. Two dwarves and an elf had fallen with tiny needles sticking out of their faces, necks, and arms. Their eyes bulged and their mouths were open. Their veins stuck out of their bodies, as if trying to leave their skin. Poison. Krystal’s face grew tight.
We were just starting to move the bodies to the side of the passageway until we could return to claim them, when a low rumbling noise surrounded us. The elves moved their ears, trying to pinpoint the sound. It sounded like it came from above.
“What—”
A stone the size of an ogre’s head crashed down on the elf standing next to me. I heard his skull crunch, and green blood splattered my face. Part of the stone chipped off and hit my forehead, causing a deep scratch. Stunned, I reached up to wipe the blood out of my eye.
“No time!” the princess said. “Run!” She pulled at my arm, forcing me out of my shock. She sprinted down the tunnels, and we followed.
The ceiling kept dropping stones. It sounded like the growling of a thousand monsters. The princess was barely ahead of the tide. Rocks landed near me, forcing me to dodge and leap them. The soldiers behind us had the worst of it. Their heavy armor provided them little protection from the rocks, and it slowed them down. As much as they darted and weaved, not all of them were able to avoid the rocks. Behind us, we heard deep dwarven grunts, and the higher-pitched yelps of elves. I wished I could use my magic, but it was impossible while on the run. The rocks fell too fast and too erratically, and my control of earth mana wasn’t strong enough to manipulate this many without stillness and concentration.
After a few minutes that seemed like hours, the princess reached a smaller passageway and turned off. The others funneled in behind us, and we waited, panting, as the deadly rain poured down in the main tunnel. We heard faint cries from those left behind. I winced with every one, until they went silent. The soldiers stared straight ahead, stony-faced, as did the princess.
Finally, it was over. Krystal held her left side and panted. All of us breathed hard in the stale air. The sweat ran down my face, mingling with the blood from my forehead. I ignored it, creating a fire so everyone could see.
“What happened?” Demay asked, leaning over with his hands on his knees.
Krystal's eyes narrowed. “Someone tripped one of the traps.”
“How many did we lose?” Jastillian asked.
“Three to the poison darts,” the princess said. “I don’t know how many to the rocks.”
We did a quick count. Out of the fifty we had started with, fifteen were missing. Jastillian and Prastian went back down the tunnel to check for survivors.
Blood and sweat ran into my left eye, and I wiped it aside.
“Hellsfire, you're hurt,” the princess said. She ripped off a piece of her tunic and wiped the blood from my face. She tied the cloth around my forehead.
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
Prastian and Jastillian returned, looking grim. Prastian caught the princess’s eye and shook his head once. No survivors. All fifteen missing were dead.
“Can the rest of your elves and dwarves continue?” Krystal asked.
“We can, Your Highness.”
“I’m glad,” she said. “This is going to put us behind.” She peered down the tunnels. “We must press on, but we can no longer take the shortest route.” She looked back at the rubble. “Please watch yourselves, and do not touch the walls. I don’t want to run into any more traps.”
We continued our journey through the tunnels, hurrying to make up for the lost time. Everyone hugged their weapons close to their bodies so they wouldn’t scrape against the walls. We made sure we didn’t touch anything but each other. I even wrapped my loose wizards robes closer to my body. The princess insisted on leading the way, so that everyone could follow in her exact footsteps. I didn’t like letting her go on alone, but she was in charge of this expedition, so I obeyed her.