The journey to the center of the Swamp of Sudura was surprisingly harmless. Kayla thought it was too harmless. The swamp was definitely alive with activity. They could hear it in the distance. Someone somewhere was taking the brunt of the swamp’s fury, and although her heart empathized with the person’s peril, Kayla was grateful for the reprieve. Nevertheless, her hand remained on the hilt of her sword.

Kevin pushed back a large palmetto leaf. “Here we are.”

Kayla peered into the thickening shadows. Gnarly vines draped the entrance of a small cavern entrance. A wooden sign flopped to one side, weatherbeaten from the countless storms passing over the swamp.

HE WHO IS WORTHY SHALL PERFECT THE CHALLENGES AND UNLOCK THE JEWEL OF LARIDAL, THEREBY RELEASING ALL WANDERERS WHOM THE JEWEL TOUCHES FROM EXILE ON RAROGAN.

Kayla glanced down. The seal of the king. This notice was as authentic as they come. Her shoulders sagged as she gazed at the familiar design, a sword crossed with a ram’s horn. She had once worn that regal emblem with pride across her headband. Until that day she…

Kayla shook her head, dispelling her thoughts. Her emotions were not as easily cast aside, though, and she could feel the resentment burgeoning within her. How dare he cast her out of Nev? Out of everyone, he chose her for his son and then banished her without so much as a second thought? All because her people were becoming too powerful and mighty? A threat to his throne? Unnoticed, her ring darkened with a few more scratches, and it weighed a fraction of an ounce more.

“Let’s go,” Kayla mumbled. She drew her sword, holding it as a barrier between the tangible darkness inside the cave. Kevin followed close behind, glancing warily all around as the darkness of the cavern swallowed the last bit of light. Kayla felt her way forward, unwilling to light anything for fear of attracting a giant creature or Onkron. She knew as they neared the core and the Jewel of Laridal, it would be harder to keep their presence a secret for long.

“This doesn’t look like the first Challenge,” Kevin said anxiously, his voice barely a whisper. “I could’ve sworn it was a quicksand pit.”

Kayla groaned. Of course. It would be just like the king to make it impossible to map out the Challenges. Why set his people free when they might could overtake his throne? Even though they wouldn’t have usurped it?

Kayla’s next foot stepped into nothing, and she staggered backwards. Kevin snagged her shirt before she fell. “Watch out for the edge.”

Kayla knelt down and felt the floor. “It’s not a cliff. It’s a slope.” Her brow furrowed. “And it’s moving.”

Without warning, the floor jolted upward, and they tumbled downhill. Small rocks and brambles littered the hill, and the jagged edges tore at Kayla’s face and neck. She attempted to protect her head with her arms, but there was little she could do.

It seemed like an eternity before they hit the bottom. The ground suddenly leveled out, leaving Kayla coughing and gasping for air. Groaning, she sat up, peering around the inky darkness, wishing there was a light. Or her sword. She had lost her sword sometime during the fall.

Kayla wiped at the blood trickling from her cheek. “Kevin?”

An eerie chirping permeated the darkness in response, and Kayla’s spine stiffened. Hastily, she felt the ground beneath her. Soft foliage and animal fur. The faint stench of mammal carcasses.

The chirping increased excitedly, and fear stabbed Kayla’s heart. This was a raptor’s nest she fell into. And she was bleeding.