Page 51 of Red Ruin

The two of them tumble through the sea of hellfire in a snarling, rolling ball that rockets right to me.

The trolls launch boulders and beams of ice, and thanks to Vhex and Remy not able or willing to give a single fuck, I’m about to be besieged.

I run.

There’s a reason I picked this cave.

It’s as deep as I hoped.

Fire and steam blast behind me as I flee. The uneven floor shakes. I trip on loose rock just in time to sprawl flat on my face and take a spray of burning embers to the back of my thigh.

With a yelp, I curl into a ball around my glaive.

The ceiling starts to fall.

I pray for a curtain of shadow to shield me from the falling rocks. Or maybe a flaming hot helping hand, which could melt the danger away with an easy wave.

Nothing.

No one comes.

Not Vhex Trezzoran.

Not Remington Azrid.

And certainly never Kevan Kyorgos.

Gritting through the burn in my leg that aches much worse than a simple graze, I plant my glaive and climb to my feet.

Stumbling, trying to cover my head, I shuffle down the darkened tunnel.

Alone.

I flew in an airplane when I was little, before the giant rocs spawned and killed the last of commercial air travel.

What’s true then is true now.

When the masks drop, you have to save yourself before you think about saving anyone else.

I trip forward into the tunnel, only slowing when the roar quiets and no more rocks are falling on my head.

I choke on smoke and whirling dust.

If the Sentinels pull out a win without killing each other, I’ll take care of them every way I can.

If they lose to the trolls…

I need to find my own way out and warn the Farguard to prepare.

I glance back once, then move ahead.

We’re all on our own.

As I trudge through the dusty darkness, I sense a shift in the air. Far ahead, I swear I spot a glow.

I squint, not sure if I’m hallucinating, but the cave must be a purpose-built tunnel. Its shape stays the same, unnaturally round, and the path never forks.

After walking until my calves burn, I reach the tunnel’s end. It opens to a cathedral-sized cavern, lit with a flickering, white glow.

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