Miri and Anne continued riding their mounts, Tusko and Woolly, across the forest and grasslands—heading to the location where one of the riddle runes resided. During their ride, they were able to catch a glimpse of some of the fights happening all around them in the far distance. There were fights where contestants face against monsters, contestants face against other contestants, and monsters face against other monsters.

  As the two rode, they tried their best not to get involved in any of the fights, instead focusing on their original goal at hand. With that said, witnessing all these fights happening around them just goes to show how competitive the Pentacle Trials could actually be, which gave them even more motivation to not let their guard down.

  After riding for about ten minutes, the two of them had finally arrived at the entrance to a cave. After getting off their mounts and recalling them back to their mount runes, they began approaching the cave on foot.

  “I think we’re here,” Anne said.

  “You’re sure this is the place?” Miri asked.

  “Yes, I’m fairly positive of it,” Anne replied. “The spotted browncap is usually grown in caves. On the map that is provided to us, there is only one landmark that is labeled as a cave, which is here. Once we locate where the spotted browncaps are grown, we should be able to find the riddle rune.”

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Alright then. Lead the way,” Miri said.

  The two entered the cave, passing through long, twisted stretches of tunnel carved out of limestone and gypsum. So far, the areas they traversed were dark and damp, with mushrooms of all different kinds growing at various places—attaching themselves to walls and floors. Among them were several bundles of spotted browncaps, meaning that they were definitely in the right spot. However, all the twisting and winding tunnels made the whole cave seem like a maze—one that was very easy to get lost in.

  “Wait, hold on,” Anne warned, halting Miri from advancing further as she pointed to a group of mushrooms just up ahead. “See those purple mushrooms with the white spots on them. Those are mauve agaric, a type of poisonous mushroom. They release clouds of toxic spores whenever they are physically disturbed. Be sure not to step on them. And if you do happen to do so by accident, be sure to hold your breath in order to avoid inhaling its spores.”

  “Right, avoid touching the purple poisonous mushrooms at all costs. Got it,” Miri confirmed with a nod.

  They walked with slow, cautious steps to make sure they didn't step on the mauve agaric as they passed. Once they’d safely walked across the trail of toxic mushrooms, they advanced onward into another section of the cave, only to be greeted with a beastly presence above them.

  Though the ceiling was too dark for them to make out exactly what it was, it revealed a pair of crimson-red dots that appeared to be eyes. Then, another pair of red eyes revealed themselves. Then, several more. Then, a whole bunch of them—basically a sea of red eyes staring down at them.

  Then, the creatures hanging from above began descending down onto the two with a vicious, ambushing assault—revealing themselves as they approached.

  It was a swarm of giant foxbats.