After about five minutes of threading through the narrow passage, we finally reached a small cave where we could stand upright and stretch out from the cramped tunnel. Bass was the first to emerge, his voice echoing fondly, “Aww, I missed you, my love. I will never leave you again.”

  The moment we emerged from the cramped tunnel, our eyes met with a surreal sight. Bass, his face illuminated by a rare smile, was on one knee, tenderly pressing his lips to the war hammer he had found. The sight of his deep reverence for the weapon was almost moving, and as he continued to whisper to it in a language we couldn’t comprehend, it was clear that the hammer was his true love.

  Meanwhile, those of us of average height stumbled out of the passage, sighing in relief and stretching our limbs as if we’d just been liberated from the world's most uncomfortable yoga class.

  “I am not going back in there,” Jack muttered resolutely, touching his back.

  “I hear you on that,” Kaylie agreed. “I never want to see a small tunnel again.”

  We were all stretching and not looking around when the Dwarf spoke up, “Then you are not going to like where we are going.”

  That comment made us all look up and around. The mouth of the tunnel we had just emerged from was littered with rocks, as if a landslide had occurred. That must have been how it was sealed originally. Knowing that the spiders weren't strong enough, I doubted they could have opened the tunnel on their own.

  Turning my gaze to the cavern system beyond, I shone my light into the inky darkness, revealing a labyrinth of tunnels that stretched out in every direction. The walls were uneven. Some sloped upward, while others descended into the unknown depths. The tunnels were chaotic, with some passages wider than others, and some so narrow that I had to squeeze through sideways. The tunnels seemed to go endlessly, with no end in sight. I couldn’t help but wonder how long they had been digging.

  “How far do we have to go?” Sana exclaimed, sounding frustrated as if she wanted to get this over with as soon as possible.

  “It is much further to our settlement,” Bass replied.

  “Where do the tunnels go? Is there an easy exit?” Jack asked, still holding his back, but referring to the random channels around the cave we were in.

  “They go here and there,” replied Bass evasively.

  “He is lying,” Rabbit's voice echoed in my head, and I agreed he was deliberately withholding the truth to ensure we would help him. “I bet a lot of these tunnels don’t lead anywhere and are dead ends.”

  “How can you be certain?” I asked.

  “I can’t,” Rabbit replied. “The tunnels are in every direction. It seems like they're searching for something, but they clearly have no idea where it is. My guess is that they dig a tunnel up to a certain length, and if it leads nowhere, they abandon it. None of these tunnels appears to be for mining. If they were, this would be the most inefficient mining operation ever.”

  "You're lying," I accused Bass directly, causing everyone to turn their attention to us. "Some of these tunnels lead nowhere, and you're obviously searching for something. What are you looking for, and what's really going on here?"

  The look on the Dwarf’s face was priceless as his jaw hung open in shock. It took him a good five seconds to snap it shut and carefully choose his words. “You’re right. We are looking for something, but I can’t disclose what it is,” he admitted. “It's something my settlement has been searching for since we arrived here hundreds of years ago. I cannot betray my people.”

  “What settlement? They have all been taken,” I replied, trying to change his mind.

  “That may be so,” Bass responded firmly, “but I cannot betray that trust.”

  “It only took me just a few moments to piece this together. How long do you think it would be before the Unionists figure it out?” I pressed, watching the internal struggle play out on the Dwarf’s face. “And how long before they extract this information from your people?”

  Undeterred by Bass’s objection, I pressed forward with steely determination. I knew the measures I was about to take would be harsh, but I felt they were necessary. I needed to figure out what was going on before I put our group in more danger. With unwavering resolve, I pushed ahead, aware that my actions were distasteful yet needed.

  “Do you think the children would be able to keep their mouths shut for long?” I asked, hating myself.

  As I relentlessly probed and pushed, Bass’s gaze never wavered from mine. Amidst the intensity of the moment, a single tear cascaded down his cheek. The sight of a Dwarf shedding a tear shook me to my core, for it was not often that one saw a Dwarf reduced to tears, but my world’s perceptions of their race might not align with reality.

  How would society work without empathy?

  “You are right. The Union knew without even questioning my people,” Bass admitted, wiping his face. “I hoped to get you there so you could see for yourself. Maybe then I would have some leverage to bargain with, but it seems I must tell you or else I won’t get any help.”

  “Bass, I understand how you feel, and I do want to help, but like I said before, we aren’t going to embark on a suicide mission. No matter what secret your people held.”

  "Aye, you are a good person, and I owe you the truth, especially now when I have nothing left to lose," Bass began, his voice heavy with the weight of his words. "The place we visited was likely just a research lab. But there’s more. Much more. Ahead lies the Ancients' final Labyrinth city, a vast underground metropolis. The Goblins control the majority of this magnificent city, but we Dwarves have managed to hold onto a corner of it."

  “And?” I questioned.

  “And what?” Bass asked, clearly confused.

  “Sorry, he's new here,” Kaylie quickly intervened. “Alf, this isn't just a big deal. It's monumental. Every kingdom in the region would sacrifice every soldier in its army to control one of these cities.”

  “I just don’t see the significance,” I replied, shrugging. “Sure, they provide access to the Labyrinth, which is useful, but if they already own a city, why is it such a big deal? They could simply enter from there.”

  “You're right, this guy really is new,” Bass remarked, his tone tinged with snark.

  “He's a traveler,” Jack added, his voice dripping with derision.

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “It actually has nothing to do with access to the Labyrinth. Yes, it's connected, but for most rulers, that's irrelevant,” Sana explained in her usual instructive tone. “Remember the door we saw that was connected to the Labyrinth? That giant cut didn’t even scratch it, and that’s because it was drawing power from the Labyrinth itself.”

  “So, you’re saying the walls are stronger,” I interjected.

  Sana pinched the bridge of her nose, a hint of frustration in her gesture. “Yes, the walls are stronger, but that’s not why they’re valuable. It’s because they draw power from the Labyrinth, allowing the city to grant certain bonuses.”

  “Bonuses?” I asked, immediately seeing the value.

  Bass interjected, “The bonuses are really the whole point. For us, we envision building a smithing city, the first of its kind, where any goods made would benefit from these bonuses.”

  "There's a reason why no one chooses a smithing city," Jack replied.

  "True. If you choose one, you'd become an easy target. Someone could take over your city and change its bonus," Sana added.

  "Maybe, but we planned to keep it a secret while using the bonus to develop superior arms and armor for defending the city. Now that the information is leaking, I’m not sure we'll have time to prepare before the world descends on us," Bass countered.

  "So what type of bonus do people usually choose?" I asked, feeling out of the loop.

  "Martial," the three replied in unison, excluding Kaylie, who looked almost bored by the conversation and was staring off in another direction.

  "So why not choose smithing and then switch to a Martial bonus when the enemies are at the gates?" I questioned.

  "The city is Soul Bound to someone. To change that, the person to whom it's Soul Bound must die for ownership to transfer," Sana explained matter-of-factly.

  "Good point," I noted. "I doubt you'd find many volunteers willing to take on that role. But why haven’t you already chosen the bonus? Or have the Goblins, who control most of the city, made that choice for you?"

  Bass shifted uncomfortably under our gaze, but it was Kaylie who responded, her eyes still fixed on the tunnels. "I understand now. You’ve been searching for the city’s ring," she stated, her tone somewhere between a question and an assertion.

  "Ring?" I interjected, puzzled.

  Kaylie's gaze snapped back from the tunnels to the group, as if she had forgotten we were there while piecing together her theory. "The true owner of each city is recognized by their ring," she began, refocusing on us. "My relative told me about the first ruler of the Old City. He didn’t possess the ring when he was murdered. His son had it all along, ensuring that the bonus lasted even after his death."

  "I’m surprised you figured it out so quickly," Bass admitted. "We know the Goblins don’t have it, or else they would have overrun and murdered us long ago. It must still be near the city. Unless it's Soul Bound to someone, it would naturally be drawn back here."

  "Why is yours so difficult to find when all the other cities have their own rings?" I asked.

  “If you haven’t realized, this area has been buried. We dig in random directions, hoping to find accessible areas to search. We have discovered several areas, including the one we just exited, which was infested with spiders. My people had encountered it earlier and lost several members, leading us to seal it off."

  Bass's observations rang true. The door through which Sana and Kaylie had escaped the Giant Spider led to a dead end. Its exit was buried, effectively trapping them. Had we not won our fight, they might have eventually starved, stuck on the other side of that locked door. It seemed all the functional areas were at least partially buried. This led me to wonder if the ring, buried along with so much else, would ever be unearthed.

  “Alf,” Sana interrupted, snapping me out of my thoughts. “Show me your new ring.” I looked down at the nondescript ring I was wearing and lifted it toward her. Immediately, she slapped it away. “Not that foolish ring you slipped on without understanding its function. The other one. The one with the jewel.”

  I had almost forgotten about that one, but it made more sense than the one I presented. I had obtained the ring with the small gem as a reward for solving puzzles in the last area we had explored. I had initially thought this ring would unlock the following location in my quest for treasure. However, if this ring served as a key to a Labyrinth city, its purpose might be more significant. Perhaps it wasn't just a key but rather a form of authorization. Maybe it granted control or access that only the city's ruler could wield.

  “A violet gem,” Sana murmured, inspecting the ring closely. “I haven’t heard of any cities with a violet gem. This might be it.”

  “Aye, I can confirm it,” Bass said somberly. “I could tell from the first time I examined it.”

  That admission stung, especially from someone I had just met. Initially, I didn't understand why it bothered me so much until I took an honest look at it. Honestly, it felt like I was being taken advantage of. I had saved Bass’s life and was now helping him possibly save his people again, yet he had kept this from me the entire time.

  But upon deeper reflection, I realized this perception wasn’t entirely accurate. Yes, I had saved Bass’s life, but that had been a matter of circumstance. I wasn’t about to let someone die when it cost me nothing more to save them. And was I truly going to save Bass’s people? I doubted it. Given our odds, it was unlikely I’d make a significant difference. We had to traverse this path to escape these tunnels, meaning Bass was actually aiding our escape from these buried sections.

  Understanding this, I no longer felt that his withholding information about the ring was such a betrayal. In reality, my concern over the ring stemmed more from my desire to return to my own world than from any true grievance with him.

  I think Sana was also suspicious of his deceit because she asked, “Were there any coins with the dead bodies? Are you holding out on us?”

  "Aye, there were some coins. I didn’t know you wanted them," the Dwarf said, his tone unconvincing and slightly defiant, clearly lying. “Since the three of us killed the spider, I guess it should be split three ways.”

  “Five,” I countered. “Unless you’re offering your share as thanks for saving your life.”

  “Five,” the Dwarf repeated begrudgingly, then reached into what I hoped was a purse hidden inside his pants, and not somewhere less savory. The idea of him storing money inside his underwear was unsettling. Hoping he wore undergarments, I didn’t want to take any chances.

  As he tried to hand me the coins, I held out my bag instead. “Just drop them in here. That way, I don’t need to touch them.”

  The others noticed what I was doing, and Jack was the first to speak up. "Why don't you hold onto my money too?"

  "Yeah, I don’t need all this loose change jangling around," Kaylie chimed in.

  While the other two were being polite, Sana was refreshingly blunt. "Don’t even bother asking me. I don’t want his ball money. Hold onto mine as well."

  “I like this one,” Bass said, offering a suggestive grin to Sana. Her gaze of disgust was in stark contrast to his expression, but he didn’t seem to mind.

  I could see what he found appealing about her. Sana was tall and strikingly beautiful, with dark hair that vividly contrasted her fair skin, making her features stand out dramatically. In a place where makeup was unheard of, her natural allure was not just rare, but otherworldly. Truly, Sana was among the most breathtaking women I had ever seen, effortlessly turning heads wherever she went.

  “We told you, Dwarves always try to cheat you. It doesn’t matter if you saved their life or not,” Sana complained.

  “What does my life have to do with my coin? I’d rather die than lose it,” Bass declared with conviction.

  “Wait, that makes no sense. If you had died, you wouldn’t have your coin,” I pointed out.

  “Aye, but to live without coin isn’t really living at all,” the Dwarf countered, his words snapping everything into perspective. Moreover, it was not only logical but also practical.

  “I don’t see how a society can function if everyone is so greedy for coin,” I stated, prompting Jack to give me a sidelong glance that questioned my own love for money.

  "Maybe it seems odd to you, but it’s equally strange to us that you would cheat your own people. We gather coin for the betterment of our community and strive to keep it within our population," Bass explained.

  Bass’s perspective began to click into place. I had initially thought it unworkable for everyone to be greedy, but I was mistaken. It made sense if everyone was greedy toward outsiders but not toward their own. This approach could foster a stronger and more cohesive society. However, it likely also led to a unique set of problems. Outsiders might target them because of their wealth and perceived unfair practices.

  After a much-needed break from bending over in the cramped cave, we were ready to move again. Just as Bass was about to enter the next tunnel, Sana interrupted, “Wait. Bass, why don’t you tie the light to your back? Each of us, except Jack, who is pulling up the rear, should do the same. If we still have a long journey ahead, it’ll free our hands instead of holding the lights the whole time.”

  Her suggestion was quickly embraced. The fatigue of holding the light sticks, especially in a cave too low to allow standing, was wearing on everyone. With the lights secured, we prepared to delve deeper into the shadows, each step taking us further toward the buried Labyrinth city.