The sand whipped around the boulders, stinging eyes and forcing squints. Then came the first cut, a thin line of blood appeared on Malcolm's cheek. Another sliced across Valgrin's hand. Black, glassy shards, impossibly light yet razor-edged, spun through the air like obsidian confetti, carried by winds that grew stronger with each gust. The group stumbled to a halt, backs pressed against stone, arms raised against the airborne barrage that seemed to hunt them with deliberate malice.

  Malcolm lowered his arm for a second, to shout, “We can’t stay here. If we hold on to the person in front of us, can we continue to follow Skwilly?” He quickly threw his arm back in front of his face.

  Izzy worked on using a scarf to tie to Skwilly, to act as a lead. Her hands trembled as they tied the knot, fighting against the sand and the sharp rock chips. She shouted back to the group, “I can follow Skwilly, someone grab me, and so on. If anyone loses contact with their follower, stop the group so the lost person can find us.”

  Chained together by scarfs, belts, and arms, the group stayed as close to the wall as possible and slowly fought against the blowing tempest.

  Malcolm stumbled into Izzy, “Sorry,” he mumbled.

  Izzy turned back to him and shared some information. He then turned and got Ylnah and Valgrin’s attention. “No cover for about ten feet coming up in the next few steps. Skwilly says we’ll be at the shelter about another ten feet past this no cover stretch. Soon as you’re ready to go, let me know and I’ll pass it up to Izzy and Skwilly.” He watched as both pulled at the clothes they had wrapped around their head and neck, a few adjustments later Valgrin nodded they were ready. Malcolm let Izzy and Skwilly know. Within two steps the hellish storm turned it up a few notches.

  The lack of cover unleashed pure chaos. Malcolm squinted through blood-crusted eyelashes as the wind seemed to attack from every direction at once, driving obsidian-like shards deep into exposed skin. Ten feet might as well have been ten miles. Ylnah's face had become a crimson mask, her shoulders hunched against the onslaught as she stumbled forward. Malcolm tightened his grip on the belt in front of him, his heart hammering against his ribs. One misstep, one lost connection, and they'd be separated forever in this maelstrom from the deepest pits of hell.

  A slight break in the wind motivated everyone to run, to get to cover and to the shelter. Ylnah used her sleeve to keep the blood out of her eyes. Valgrin waved Malcolm forward, which he had no trouble doing, his need for shelter becoming his singular focus.

  A couple of steps later he felt Izzy take a sharp right turn, he followed with the others in tow. Malcolm's legs gave way as he stumbled into the cave's entrance chamber, his shoulder scraping against rough stone as he slid down the wall. His lungs burned with each ragged breath, and he wiped at the crusted blood on his face, wincing as his fingers found fresh cuts. Behind him, the howl of the obsidian-laden wind faded to a distant scream.

  “I never want to experience anything like that again. I can fight enemies, how to you overcome sandblasting your skin off of you.” Valgrin grumbled as he unwrapped a tunic from around his head and slid down next to Malcolm. He opened his arms to give Skwilly a hug as the priggy made his way over to Valgrin.

  Malcolm reached over to pat Skwilly, “Thank you! Saved our bacon today,” He quipped then found a stone logged into Skwilly’s side, he pulled at it gently. “Any more of these?” He and Valgrin checked and pulled out a couple more of the sharp stones.

  Valgrin shook his head as he grumbled something under his breath while pulling one of the rocks out of Skwilly’s side. “Sorry, buddy. I should have given you one of my tunics, didn’t think about it until now.”

  “What would a tunic have done?” Malcolm asked then jabbed a finger in the air. “In fact now that I think about it, how did the tunics work for you guys?”

  “You know armored cloth stands up to attacks.” Ylnah paused mopping her face.

  “You have armored tunics? I thought I was the only one with that.”

  “You’re the only one with the ability to do that to anything you wear.” Izzy reached up and brushed a lock of Malcolm’s hair to the side. “I’m guessing you can increase the effectiveness by pushing more magic into your clothing.”

  “I had a few in the backpack Fred gave me,” Valgrin added. “Then Ylnah’s dad made sure both of us had enough to go a couple of weeks without doing laundry.”

  “Izzy?” Malcolm turned, his forehead creased.

  “My undergarments are armored,” She answered. “My clothing is Spirit-silk, it’s more durable and offers better armor. Now that we’ve caught our breath and healed up a bit, let us get out of the entrance.” She stood up and headed through the opening on the right of the chamber.

  Valgrin stood, turned to Ylnah and asked, “You able to do one of your Force Wall things over the opening, save us from getting surprised from that direction. I hope.”

  Ylnah nodded as she stood, then took a few steps. “I’ll leave some small gaps at the top for airflow.”

  When she finished she and the others followed Izzy into the next chamber.

  Malcolm stepped into the chamber and froze, the sandstorm forgotten. The cavern opened before him like some impossible sanctuary. Light from Skwilly's glow caught swirls of orange, bronze, and silver minerals in the walls that seemed to dance and shimmer, almost responding to their presence. The circular room stretched at least forty yards across, with a domed ceiling soaring overhead where natural chimneys punctured the rock and swallowed the light. Previous visitors had built fires beneath these openings. The floor felt oddly level underfoot, almost deliberately so. Malcolm exchanged a glance with Valgrin, eyebrow raised. This place wasn't just shelter, it was luxury compared to what they'd endured. Almost suspiciously perfect, like finding a five-star hotel in the middle of a war zone.

  Valgrin dropped his pack, “I agree,” he pointed to Malcolm. “To on the nose, I mean its perfect for travelers to get out of a storm. We better keep a watch for whatever surprise is coming our way.”

  Malcolm’s fingers dropped from examining the wall, “And I agree with the watch idea. This place is great, but it is making the hair on the back of my neck stand up.”

  “Why is that a problem?” Skwilly asked.

  “Earth saying means you feel something wrong, maybe even dangerous.” Malcolm answered.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  Izzy's boots scraped against the stone floor as she emerged from the shadows, her fingers trailing along the cavern wall. Tiny flecks of bronze mineral clung to her fingertips. She knelt beside the circular depression near the entrance, brushing away ancient ash. "This fire pit's still good." She nodded toward the blackened ceiling chimney above, then gestured to the spot where Valgrin's pack lay. "And another one here. Those two fires should be enough." She pointed to other circles of ash, “Though we have more choices.” Her shoulders relaxed as she stretched her neck, "Storm might blow itself out before we need to worry about watches. Right now, I’m still rested from the last couple of days.”

  Ylnah dropped her pack next to Valgrin’s, “I’m good with here and I’m still rested up. After settling in anyone want to join me in exploring the other chamber, the one we didn’t go into. Entrance looked like some of us may have to crawl to get through it. Skwilly, I’d like you to come with me, its nice not to have to worry about light.”

  The priggy beamed at Ylnah, “I’d be glad to join you. Its nice to be useful.”

  One by one the packs dropped to the ground. Malcolm walked over to the old fire pit by the entrance, carry three quarter pieces of log that Izzy pulled out of her pack. As he cleared the ash out and placed the logs, he muttered. “Never would have even thought about packing wood.” He chuckled to himself, “Not the type to burn that is.”

  He glanced over his shoulder to see Izzy crouched beside a pile of kindling, her fingers working methodically as Valgrin hovered nearby with flint in hand. Malcolm's lips curled into a grin as he struck his own flint against steel, sending sparks dancing onto his tinder. The dry moss caught immediately. He blew gently, coaxing the ember until it bloomed into a proper flame that licked at the wood. "Slowpokes!" The cavern walls caught his taunt, throwing it back in fading echoes, "slowpokes...slowpokes...pokes..." His boots scuffed against stone as he sauntered back to the others, arriving just as Valgrin's face lit up orange in the glow of their newly birthed fire.

  Izzy volunteered to stay by the fire and make sure nothing happened, while the others investigated the rest of the cave.

  Malcolm dropped to his hands and knees behind Ylnah, watching as Skwilly strolled effortlessly through the four-foot opening while Valgrin merely ducked. He rose to his feet beside Ylnah, both dusting the grit from their hands, in what turned out to be an unremarkable oblong chamber, perhaps twenty feet across. Nothing like the vibrant mineral-streaked walls they'd just left behind, just flat granite gray that made his eyes search desperately for something to focus on. But at the far end, something caught his attention. Partially buried under cave rubble lay what could only be worked stone with perfect right angles and smooth surfaces peeking out from beneath the collapse. Malcolm's pulse quickened. Malcolm's boot kicked something that didn't sound like natural stone. He crouched, running his fingertips over a perfectly squared corner of stone jutting from the rubble. The stone felt cool and slick as polished marble beneath the rough pads of his fingertips.

  "What the hell…" he whispered, voice barely audible over the sound of Ylnah's sharp intake of breath behind him.

  "Skwilly!" Ylnah's voice echoed against the walls as she traced along a series of perfect triangles and circles carved into what could only be a lintel, half-swallowed by fallen rock. "We need more of your light down here!"

  Skwilly's luminescence intensified as he scuttled forward, casting long shadows across the chamber as Valgrin's boots scraped against loose dirt behind him. As the light struck the carved stone at a new angle, Malcolm's breath caught. Within each triangle and circle, hair-thin lines formed spirals and jagged runes that seemed to pulse with the shifting illumination.

  Ylnah inhaled audibly, her fingers pulling at her hair as she leaned in, her face next to Malcolm’s. “I don’t recognize these.”

  “Valgrin, can you run and get Izzy in here?” Malcolm called out over his shoulder.

  Within a few minutes Izzy walked up, “I hear you found something?”

  Ylnah pulled away as Malcolm pointed to the markings on the lintel. “Any of these look familiar?”

  Izzy's fingertips hovered over the symbols, not quite touching them. Her breath fogged the stone as she leaned closer. "These aren't…I mean, look at how the lines connect here, and here." She tapped the edge of a triangle where hairline etchings spiraled inward. "Could be words, could be pictures, could be…"

  A scraping sound echoed from the far wall. Malcolm turned to see Ylnah on her knees, dust clouding around her as she frantically brushed away debris with the side of her hand. Something glinted in the dirt.

  "Hey!" she called, not looking up from her work. "Over here!"

  Malcolm's boots crunched across the chamber floor as he and Valgrin converged on Ylnah's position, their shadows stretching long across the skeletal hand she’d uncovered. A dull gleam caught Malcolm’s eye, dull metal encircled what remained of the wrist, continuing up where ulna met radius in a pattern that reminded him of a woven basket.

  “Breath,” Valgrin tapped Ylnah on the shoulder, “breath.”

  Ylnah turned to face them, her grin seemed to highlight the crimson streak across her cheek. “Look at this bracer. First scan shows that it is an old magic, complex magic at that. It’ll take me awhile to figure it out.” She lifted the arm of the skeleton, “Did confirm it should be safe to touch.” She said as she pulled the bracer off the boney remains. “Hmm, must have been looking at the back of it, look at this gem, has to be the size of my fist.”

  Ylnah's fingers trembled as she lifted the ancient bracer toward Skwilly's light. Dust cascaded from its surface, revealing intricate metalwork. Skwilly's glow caught the facets of the teardrop gem, sending blood-red reflections dancing across her face. She spat on her sleeve and rubbed at the centuries of grime, revealing ribbons of silver that snaked between strands of pewter making the artifact appear to ripple and shift in her grasp.

  Valgrin let out a low whistle. “That is some craftsmanship. The weave is more complicated than a lot of baskets I’ve seen.”

  “Uh-huh,” Ylnah grunted, distracted by her find. She pressed both ends between her hand, the bracer contracting as she did. “Metal, but flexible?”

  “Looks sort of like a large version of a finger trap, ” Malcolm leaned in for a closer look. “Agree Valgrin?”

  Valgrin tapped his nose, his forehead furled, “Yeah, vaguely. The weave is a little looser, don’t remember that much space between the strips of material on a finger trap. Kind of behaves like a spring.”

  Ylnah listened to both, “Finger trap?”

  “A toy back home,” Malcolm answered. “It’s thin wood, with a criss-cross weave. If you put a finger in the hole on either side you can’t pull them out, you have to push first to expand the holes and then you can pull one out and then the other. The ribbons of metal on that bracer are more of a serpentine shape but same principle.”

  “Oh, I see, I think.” Ylnah’s voice trailed off, she quickly slid the bracer on her arm as both Malcolm and Valgrin yelled at her.

  “Why did you do that?” Valgrin’s demanded to know.

  “I’m fine. I checked everything came back safe. Right now it is just a fancy piece of jewelry.”

  Izzy appeared at Malcolm side, “Your shouting interrupted my trying to figure out the symbols. Actually, was about to give up, I can’t translate. What was the shouting about?”

  Valgrin, Malcolm, and Ylnah voices all jousted to be heard. Izzy settled them down and asked questions that brought her up to date. “That wasn’t the smartest thing to do. Wonder who gave you the idea to just do whatever without fully checking things out, hmm?” She turned to Malcolm as she finished the question.

  Malcolm pretended to study the ceiling for a few moments, “Fine, I’m a bad example. Do as I say, not as I do…a good rule to follow when it comes to looking at my as someone to follow. That said, I never put anything on, just stuck my hand through a magical curtain.” He paused, looked at the floor, then back up. “Okay saying it out loud, mine was just as stupid.”

  Izzy pointed at Ylnah, “You try taking it off yet?”

  Ylnah removed the bracer, then put it back on. “All works as normal and I don’t feel anything.”

  “Famous last words.” Skwilly added.

  “We don’t have the tools to do any excavating. I suggest we head back to the camp, we can check the sandstorm on the way back.” Izzy started walking out of the chamber.

  “I suggest we all follow her.” Malcolm said with a grin.