Iona breathed a lungful of fresh air, as she walked with the group. Barrels of straw rested on their earthen beds, as they soaked in the dew dipped first rays of sunshine, adding their fragrance to the air. The puffs of clouds that scattered all along the blue skies looked as if the rains hardly affected the atmosphere here. Wind whipped her hair back as she searched for the first signs of the last house sitting on the edge of the village.
"If we are lucky, then we won't cross people working in the field," Rolfe murmured from behind.
"But I believe Caleb's magic is pretty good and we are masked by it," she replied.
"Yes, but the king is very clever and cruel, Iona," Rolfe sighed. They spotted the house in the distance and he pointed to it. "We have to head towards that hut. We will start our work from there."
Even as Iona nodded, she wondered how that small hut would be the start of a project as big as theirs. They all set off on the trail, following a wet track for a while. Iona couldn't help keeping her gaze off the snow clad mountain peaks that surrounded the place. She didn't know why, but a surge of feelings rushed inside her—a sense of belonging that left icy bursts of surprise in her mind. A shaky breath left her lips and she shoved the feeling down and continued to walk.
What looked like a lovely field turned into one of the most dangerous bogs. "Watch your feet!" Rolfe said. A fae soldier in front of them slipped and fell down. His wings and clothes got terribly splashed with mud. He cursed under his breath but that was a warning. Rolfe stuck close to Iona. The ground became rough and wetter. They could now see huge puddles of water holes that gleamed in the rays of the rising sun. "Step on the high tufts of grass, Iona," he warned. "That's the only place where you have solid ground beneath your foot.
Strangely, the fields in front of them got covered with thick fog that swirled till their knees. Whatever beauty that Iona found when she entered the village, soon drowned into malice. "This fog shouldn't be here. It is weird!" she breathed out. She jumped over a large water puddle to aim for a high tuft of grass, only to find that there was nothing beneath her foot. She splashed right into water and landed inside a particularly large puddle that was up to her thighs.
"Iona!" Rolfe shouted and ran to her. "I told you to be careful. This place is full of illusions! This fog is an illusion." He lunged for her to grab her waist and pull her out, but something wound around her legs, pulling her down.
"Fuck!" he cried. Yet another demon soldier came to help him to yank her out of water, but he slipped right beside her.
Her heart thundered with panic. "Th— there's something inside," she said as the demon clenched his jaw and tried to yank himself away. Whatever the creature was inside, its grip was so strong that it could hold two people easily. But if this was an illusion, then it couldn't be any creature. Was it magic that flowed inside?
Ileus came rushing forward but Rolfe stopped him. "No!" He grunted and drew his sword out. He was about to plunge the sword in the water when the demon shrieked. He started getting pulled inside the water at rapid speed. Iona held him to stop him from slipping, but the force was too strong. Rolfe thrusted his sword at the unknown creature around Iona's legs. The sword found it and the creature loosened its grip. He yanked Iona out of the puddle. When he turned to help his soldier, it was too late. The man was sucked in the puddle, his shriek sending shivers down his spine.
"Gods!" Iona said as her breath became shallow.
"There are several such illusions," said Rolfe. His jaw hardened. "Now all of you walk behind me and then also test the ground around you."
Loss of a soldier weighed on everyone as they all started forward. Soon strong gusts of winds buffeted them and fog swirled higher. The fae soldiers beat their wings hard against the gusts but the wind picked up the speed and it drove them to the wet ground. Rolfe held Iona in his arms and picked her from the ground. All at once, it became worse and gale hissed through the fields, hurtling them to the ground. However, just before they hit the ground, Rolfe turned and fell to the ground with Iona on him. Water splashed all around them as they skidded several meters through the trail. "Damn it!" he grated, as they scrambled back to their feet.
Iona tried to brush away the wet mud from her skin and face but to no avail. It only smeared more. "How come the gale didn't carry the fog away?" she asked.
"I told you, the king is clever. He has these illusions everywhere around Galahar. It is one of the reasons why people are scared to work in their fields." Rolfe was feeling down.
It was almost two hours later that they reached the hut. It looked like it had crouched like an old man against the dense gray of the skies. It was a thatched hut with walls made from gray and white stone. The owner, a demon with laugh lines etched around his face, was standing at the door as if waiting for them. Caleb lowered the illusion just enough for him to see Rolfe. As soon as the demon saw his prince, he nodded once. Caleb raised the illusion again. The man circled the hut and reached the backyard, which was circled by thick and tall logs. Covered in tall grass, the place looked as if it was abandoned long back. But the moment they came to stop in the center, the man bent down to pick up a small wooden lid.
The pit descended into a dark, long stair far beyond. Iona became tense as she stepped inside. Caleb, who was in the front, waved his hands forward and several orbs of light appeared. He had ordered everyone not to use their magic for only he would use magic that matched the king's and would thereby be least suspicious.
The place was damp, filled with cobwebs and there was no breeze. It was very silent, they all descended slowly. When they reached the landing of the stairs, they came across three dark passageways. The teams divided and each followed the passageway, which ended into large rooms and then more tunnels.
Iona was surprised when she found that at the end of each passageway there were several types of equipment placed in the corners of rooms. There were shovels, bricks, tar, clay, pipes amongst other things. Everyone knew what had to be done. They just picked what best suited their skills and walked to the tunnels further down.
Ileus and Kaizan came to Iona and in a low voice, Ileus said, "You have to guide us all. And we would like to take the tunnel that goes to the palace.. Make sure that Rolfe works in the farthest tunnel from the palace."
