“That wasn’t supposed to be part of the bounty mission,” said Rejah.

  He had acted on instinct and the truth of the matter was that this killing hadn’t been necessary.

  “I was expecting Eyeman. He came out of nowhere.”

  “It’ll be a matter of time until he’s missed.”

  “Yes. I know. I'm sorry Rejah! Maybe I shouldn't be doing this kind of work."

  “Keep going! There’s no time to talk,” she insisted.

  The passage was lit by occasional torches on the walls and they took one each and continued on. Further along, a massive circular stone door blocked the way. With some difficulty he was able to push it aside. Inside, there was a torchlit cave chamber. There was a circular platform inside and torchlight reflected off its shiny black surface.

  “Come on!”

  They passed along narrow corridors and then heard footsteps approaching. “Quick! Hide!” Rejah said. She ducked into a side passage and pulled him in after her. They heard the footsteps getting closer and voices. Rejah’s eyes were fixed on the entrance to the passage. His mouth went dry. The tribesmen passed by and they breathed a sigh of relief.

  “We mustn’t get caught,” said Rejah.

  “Yes!”

  They returned to the passage and turned a corner and heard the clank of armor and weapons behind them.

  An armed group were approaching, but there was nowhere for them to hide.

  “What do we do?”

  “Try this!” She put her feet against the wall of the passage and scaled the tunnel wall to its roof. Then she spread her arms and legs out to support her weight, so the men could pass beneath. He thought he was too big to do it - she was much lighter and more acrobatic.

  “Come on up!” she hissed.

  He shook his head and tried to copy her actions. It was very hard, but he managed to get up to the ceiling and stretch out his arms and hands. The unsuspecting tribesmen passed below them.

  They dropped back down to the .

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  "There are a lot of them here now!"

  They proceeded on and further along the passage was a man stone staircase leading up and they paused for a moment.

  “The Vault could be up there,” Rejah said.

  "We aren't looking for that."

  "I know, but we can take a look. These stairs look well used." The stairs up were long and winding. They held their torches aloft and ascended as fast as they could, while keeping as quiet as possible. A torch was at the top of the stairs and there was a small chamber and a wide passage.

  In the chamber stood a stone table with colored rocks on it. These colored stones had been sculpted into spheres of different sizes, from the size of a coin to the size of a large ball. They lay on the table and floated above it.

  “What do you think?” Rejah was curious. "I'll take some." She picked up a handful of small metal spheres . Red, purple, blue with silver filaments and black ones. Hastily, she shoved them into her pack and they moved on down the passage..

  The floor here was well trodden, with many footprints in the dust. “There have been a lot of people through here,"Rejah said.

  As they proceeded he thought he could hear voices ahead. One of them sounded very strange, a high pitched voice, like that of a child.

  Rejah nodded and they crept forward.

  In the middle of a cavern there was a floating stone platform. Standing on it were two figures. One was the size of a man and the other was small, like a child. The little one was not a child though, it appeared unnatural, as if had been crafted somehow, a combination of flesh, sinew and bone. It was white like chalk and seemed to be old enough to be ancient, as if a man had lived for a thousand years and been reduced to this. Its face was misshapen. This small figure was not Ashokian and its origin was a mystery. It was wearing a white gown with a black hem.

  The human sized figure was an Ashok tribesman; he pointed somewhere and the pair stepped off the platform and went in that direction.

  "What was that?" Rejah whispered.

  “No clue! A homunculus?!" They followed the pair down a tunnel, where there were steps down.

  They followed the homunculus and the tribesman down the stairs. The men entered a cavern at the bottom.

  Temon cautiously looked into the cavern and saw his target!

  Eyeman was sitting on a chair and with the small white figure standing in front of him and the pair were talking. Eyeman looked very different now. His tribal gear looked more impressive now, with a wide gold chain around his neck and log sleeved shirt with a bright and colorful zig-zag pattern.

  Eyeman stood up and gave a silver amulet to the small figure. The homunculus put it on his wrist and admired it, it spoke in an even higher pitch which was clearly a sign of appreciation.

  Then Eyeman, the homunculus and the tribesman left the cavern.

  Temon whispered. “We've got Eyeman now! Come on!" They followed the two Ashok and the homunculus at a distance along a corridor to a torchlit chamber with old Ashok symbols inscribed all over the walls.

  There was a blue flash as Temon was hit by an invisible barrier and thrown back onto the floor. He sprawled on the floor and managed to get up with Rejah's help.

  Eyeman shouted. “Tepa Yaro!” It was a warning.

  He shook with the shock from the barrier and his head was spinning. Then they heard the sound of clanking armor and saw the light from torches in the corridor ahead. “We have to fight,” he said.

  "No. We can't. There are too many! Run!”

  He felt a deep pang of regret about his failure to kill Eyeman, but had to forget it right then.

  They ran down the stairs and on into the labyrinth, with the sound of their pursuers gaining on them.