Everyone is gathered outside the dungeon's door. Chandra is leaning against the stone hill the door is set into like she doesn't have a care in the world. Lyric looks ready to get to work--he's doing that thing where he pulls his bowstring absentmindedly. Carter is talking nonsense like he always does. I suppose that's unfair of me--he's spoken mostly nonsense in the time I've spent with him, but I've spent a fair amount of time traveling with the man.

  "I'm telling you Rebecca, we've got this!"

  "No, Carter, you don't. The dungeon is not some kind of joke."

  "He heard you the first twenty odd times you said as much," Lyric interjects.

  He is always so nasty about everything. Rebecca is reminding us we need to be careful for a reason. This place might really be as dangerous as the rumors say. I suppose he's probably just antsy to see things for himself--and a paycheck. I can't blame him.

  Honestly, when I first heard about this job through Rebecca's letter I was concerned for her mental health. The things she wrote sounded like the ravings of a mad woman. Glowing rocks? A strange land through a magic cave? That sounds a lot like someone is losing their cognitive abilities.

  Surprisingly, she isn't simply losing her mind.

  If Rebecca is crazy--then so are a good number of Daywark's guards.

  Oh, and Prince Theobald, I guess.

  "I'm telling you, we have everything we could possibly need!"

  "You've got the maps? They aren't perfect, but you need them just in case."

  I speak up "Rebecca, I've accounted for all our supplies for this expedition. Rest assured."

  "Well, if you say so, Petra."

  The other three in the party all look between me and Rebecca like they've witnessed something outrageous. The issue of being supplied and ready for the journey into the dungeon is no longer a concern now that I've attested to our readiness.

  Lyric is quick to pounce on the opportunity to leave.

  "We should get going, before the sun gets any lower."

  "Right. Of course... make sure you come back in one piece."

  We aren't visiting an active war zone, so how bad could it really be?

  The four of us say our goodbyes, each of us humoring Rebecca with a quick hug.

  It's a rather awkward affair. None of us are expecting to have any trouble returning. Finally, Rebecca leaves, apparently to tend to some business with the construction of the guild hall.

  Lyric is the first to start walking into the dungeon.

  "Let's get moving before she comes back to talk at us for another hour."

  "Agreed!" Carter says with a chuckle.

  Chandra sticks toward the back with me. The two men in the party are quick to push forward, their eyes focused on what's in front of them rather than what's around them. I sigh in disappointment. They didn't even stop to consider the door itself.

  My footsteps slow as I stand before the yawning stone gateway into the dungeon. The door is surprisingly beautiful up close. It's made of a pale smooth stone, its integrity unnaturally perfect. An unfamiliar mural is carved into the two halves of the open door.

  "What're you doing, Petra?" Chandra asks.

  I don't answer her immediately. My focus is on tracing the delicately carved lines on the door. I have to wonder who could have carved this door. Whoever they are, they seem to hold a certain woman in high regard. A goddess, or some other important figure, perhaps? Maybe even the one responsible for the dungeon appearing in the first place.

  "I was just studying the door. It's very intricately decorated!"

  "Girls! Pick up the pace, we're moving, with or without you!"

  Lyric is getting an attitude again. He and Carter are waiting for us down the long corridor just beyond the door. At the end of the hall is a spiral staircase--one that goes up. My eyes widen as realization dawns on me.

  I stumble back away from the door to get a good look behind it. It's flush with the hill, but this hill isn't very big, and that stone corridor that stretches out from the door isn't visible from the outside. The geometry makes no sense!

  "G-Guys! You have to see this!"

  The boys seem quite unenthusiastic about my insistence, but they do actually come back to see what the fuss is about.

  "This place is... The structure on the inside isn't visible from outside. This isn't how space should work, it's impossible for something like this to exist!"

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  "So what? It's just a door and a hallway. Big whoop."

  "No, Carter, Petra has a point. This place isn't as straightforward as we thought."

  Carter still doesn't seem to care about what I've pointed out. Chandra has a concerned look on her face, and Lyric's eyes are darting around more than before. At least the two members of my party with more sense than muscles understand how strange this is.

  With my observations about the door to the dungeon over with, we continue inside. I can't sense anything out of the ordinary as I step across the threshold of the door. I'll have to study the door more thoroughly on my own time.

  We ascend the spiral stairs in a single file line, with Lyric at the front. We're about halfway up when Lyric stops. Carter nearly knocks him over before stopping and looking around in confusion. To Carter's credit, I don't see anything amiss either

  "Lyric, why'd you stop?"

  The thin man raises a hand to get Carter to be quiet. He then points down in front of his foot, where the stairs appear to be a bit lumpy. Wait, no, the stairs aren't lumpy. There's some kind of lizard with the same coloration as the stone.

  "Petra, is this something new?"

  Oh, of course he's worried about the bounty. Any new creatures or interesting discoveries we bring back will be rewarded with coin. Unfortunately for Lyric, I know what that is, at least I've heard of it from Rebecca.

  "No, that's the one thing they've got captured. It's a bullhead gecko."

  "Tsk. Unfortunate."

  Lyric kicks the reptile in what he assumes to be the rear. It's actually the head, and he yelps when his foot doesn't do more than lightly push the bullhead gecko. The gecko opens its eyes to look at us for a moment. It moves before anyone has a chance to do anything about it, its feet sticking to the walls as it scampers away from us.

  My attention moves from the escaping creature to Lyric, who's holding his foot with a pained look on his face.

  "Are you okay, Lyric?"

  "I-I'm fine, Petra! I just need a second."

  We give Lyric more than a few seconds to recover. When he does, it's back to climbing the stairs. Rebecca told us all she knew about the layout of this place, yet her descriptions don't do it justice. The relatively normal looking valley we find ourselves in is enhanced by the fact we didn't ever go underground to get here--we went forward and up, through a strange door.

  My notebook is in my hands as I take in our surroundings. I'm quick to note down whatever I see. The entire valley is already named Green Valley, but the individual biomes within the valley have yet to be formally named.

  The plateau we've emerged atop is the easiest to name. It's an idyllic open meadow with rabbits hopping throughout. I think it's only fair to call it Fair Plateau. The name just sounds right, even if I can't say exactly why.

  "Fair Plateau. That's where we are."

  Neither Lyric nor Chandra say anything to refute my claim. Carter turns to squint at me, as if he's suspicious of something I've said.

  "Wait, how do you know this place's name?"

  "I didn't. I named it just now."

  "What?! Why do you get to name it?"

  Lyric rolls his eyes at Carter's childish interest. Chandra doesn't seem to care, as she's too busy watching the sky above us. It's up to me to humor Carter.

  "I don't have to be the one to name it. What would you call it, Carter?"

  Carter purses his lips. He rubs his scraggly chin, as if deep in thought.

  "I think we should call it... Fair Plateau!"

  The three of us give Carter confused looks. I'm not sure whether to be irritated with the man or to laugh. Why argue with me over the name if he thinks we should go with it anyway? Perhaps he wanted the satisfaction of being the one to name it. I shake my head and accept his 'suggestion.'

  "Sure, we can call it that?"

  "Awesome! I knew you'd like it."

  God, sometimes I can't tell if he's stupid or just screwing with us.

  Lyric doesn't bother to say anything as he starts to move from the gazebo. He crouches low, walking slowly toward a particular part of the field. Carter opens his mouth to ask what Lyric is doing, but Lyric is too quick for him to get the words out. The wiry man bolts--he moves far too fast for me to follow.

  Carter sounds just as surprised as I am by the sudden movement.

  "Woah! Damn, where's he going?"

  Neither Chandra nor I know, so we don't say. The three of us watch Lyric dart across the grass and lunge toward something unseen like a mountain lion attacking its prey. He stands up with a smug grin on his face. Held in his hand is a rabbit, the poor thing dangling by its ears.

  "Hah! And those dumb soldiers couldn't catch one alive?"

  By some amusing twist of fate Lyric's words are followed by the rabbit getting snatched right out of his grip. The normally perceptive man failed to notice the approaching bird due to his gloating. Now, his prize is clutched in the talons of the largest hawk I've ever seen.

  Lyric's eyes dart between his empty hand and the fleeing bird. His face starts to turn a shade of scarlet, indicative of his embarrassed rage. I believe Rebecca mentioned these birds. She called them great hawks, and warned they were very dangerous. Apparently several soldiers died battling the creatures.

  "Hey! You stupid overgrown chicken! That's not yours!" Lyric shouts.

  We watch with a mixture of amusement and concern as Lyric unslings his bow from his back. He draws an arrow, slotting it into place. The man crouches low as he pulls back the bow string as far back as it can go. The wood looks strained, but it holds.

  He releases the arrow.

  The twang of his bow firing is followed by a quiet whistling sound as the arrow soars up into the air. We have to squint to see what becomes of the shot. To my surprise, the arrow Lyric fired actually lands a shot on the bird. The great hawk's wing is pierced--it starts to plummet from the sky.

  "Hah! That will teach you to steal what isn't yours, you fat buzzard!"

  Chandra places a hand on Lyric's shoulder. She gives him a stern frown.

  "Calm yourself, Lyric. It's just one rabbit."

  "Why should I? It's the one who stole from me!"

  Chandra doesn't grace his question with a verbal reply. Instead she turns to look up at the sky where Lyric shot the bird down. There's something new taking up the space where the thieving great hawk once flew. Five great hawks are wheeling high above us. Could they be planning to attack us? Does this have anything to do with Lyric killing that hawk?

  Carter moves to stand by Chandra and Lyric, his sword drawn and a wicked grin on his face.

  "Finally! Something to fight! I was worried this place only had bunnies and lizards!"

  I decide against informing Carter that the lizard he just dismissed has killed at least one person. Better to not distract him from the incoming fight.