Excerpt: Chapter 7 of The Renegade Ocarinist (a clean fantasy adventure)

The dirt tunnel was damp, deep within the forest, and the ground squished beneath their steps. It wasn’t quite mud, as they found, but still it wasn’t easy to traverse.

Mum lit a torch and the light flickered as shadows danced along the walls. The air was cool, but not uncomfortable, and smelled heavily of musty soil. Lighting another torch from his, the big man handed it to Fat Will, who took the lead as he shuffled down the tunnel. Mum gestured for Mia to go next so he could bring up the rear in case anything trailed from behind. 

The tunnel descended, and as it did the air became warmer and had an unpleasant odor. The reddish-brown dirt had a darker appearance here and they knew they were nearly to the lair. Fat Will was ready for what lay ahead, as great reward would come to those who would perform this task. He had dreamed about it for months and his research had now led them here.

Mum wasn’t so sure. But Fat Will had offered him a handsome fortune in exchange for his service and that fortune would make his life much easier.

Mia tried looking ahead but the priest’s body blocked nearly the entire view ahead. She gave up after a couple moments, resigning herself to just follow him and hope to not be too surprised by what they would find.

Fat Will chanted a few words, half under his breath, ensuring that Mia didn’t understand what he said. It didn’t matter to her. She was accustomed to hearing him mutter under his breath. After about ten minutes of winding descent, the tunnel opened into a chamber familiar to her. It was the one she had seen in her visions.

It felt massive to the three, after having been in more cramped space, recently in the tunnel and prior in the clutch of darkness. Mia stretched, even as she looked across the room for what she knew to be here.

It wasn’t difficult to find. A raised stone in the middle of the room played as a bed to the most disturbingly foul creature that Mia had ever had the displeasure of seeing. Its muscles strained and buckled as it slept, a rancid hiss escaping from what she assumed to be lips. She wanted to get out of there.

“Go kill it and let’s be gone,” she said to Mum, half-heartedly pulling his arm toward the slumbering creature.

“Wait!” shaid Fat Will. He had seen what he needed to and although it was not what he wanted to see, he felt fortunate that he had.

“It’s protected by several glyphs,” he explained, pointing to pictures and shapes of deep crimson, each pulsating as if they pumped blood through the veins of the lair. “We’ll need to come back.”

“What?!” exclaimed Mia. “That’s crazy! I’m not coming back here!” she whispered, all in a huff.

“You will if you want the world to live, girl,” he replied. “You have a responsibility. You know what’s here. You’ve seen what it will do. And you know that only by destroying it will the world be safe. You can lead us back here to finish what we came here to do, but if you turn your back on this, on us, then you turn your back on the future!”

Fat Will finished his inspirational speech, wiping the spittle from his chin with the back of his gloved hand. He hadn’t meant to become that animated but the passion that burned within him pressed the man to speak with such force.

Mia pressed her lips together but said nothing, instead turning back toward the tunnel entrance, her arms crossed before her. Fat Will was muttering again as he pushed past her and she could swear that he included the words “mouthy tramp” before disappearing into the dark tunnel.