Percy skidded round the corner, hooves barely finding purchase on the aged, worn stone. Tiny pebbles skittered away, settling into cracks as they went.

"What the hell was that thing?!" Percy whispered hoarsely to Lujayn, who was hidden behind an armoured humanoid statue across the hallway. She silenced him with a quick shake of her head. There was no telling whether the skull had gone; it could still be lurking, waiting for them to reveal themselves before striking.

Several excruciatingly long minutes passed, and Lujayn stepped cautiously out from behind the statue. At her nod, Percy moved out too and looked down the hall for any sign of Alder and Lord Annaeus. Finding none, he walked slowly down the hall away from the keyhole chamber, eyes peeled for a flash of Annaeus' purple cloak or the glint of Alder's harness buckles.

He found them beyond the doorway. How they'd managed to get so far in such a short time was beyond him - he chalked it up to sheer terror and adrenaline lending power to their legs. His eyes widened as he realised what was in front of them; a long, crumbling stone bridge, spanning a relatively wide gap over what could be a very long drop. Grey mist rose from it, swirling slowly. The ground beneath was hidden from view.

"That's not ominous at all," Percy muttered.

Lujayn brushed past him, surveying the bridge. "We've got to get going. We don't know if the skull will continue hunting us or not."

Alder looked relieved to see them. "You're alive!"

"We are," a slight smile graced Lujayn's face. "Let's get across. Now."

They were halfway across when the whispers started. Soft at first, and then more and more demanding as they went on, getting louder.

"Ignore them!" Percy's ears were flattened against his head. "Keep going!"

He reached the other end of the bridge and looked back.

Annaeus was staring into the void. Fuck.

"Listen to them, Alder!" Annaeus screeched, pleasure obvious in his tone. "They want to make me their king!"

"No, my lord! They're not real!" Alder yelled, trying to make himself heard above the voices.

Annaeus lunged towards the side of the crumbling bridge, sending several chunks of stone crumbling into the abyss.

"Lujayn!" Percy called. His mentor was behind the other two.

The decaying bridge was fragile, and the weight of three coursers was becoming too much for it. More and more pieces fell now, and Percy lunged forward, grabbing Annaeus by his stupid purple cloak. The baron collapsed easily, dead weight against Percy's attempts to pull him. He struggled, legs kicking out towards the bridge.

"Nooo!" Annaeus cried, "Put me down!"

"You're going to get us all killed, you great fool," Percy snarled, words muffled by the baron's cloak.

Alder leapt the short distance to solid ground, leaving Lujayn alone on the bridge. The warrior was just a few steps from the edge when the bridge began to crumble under her feet. One back hoof sought purchase, finding nothing but thin air, and Lujayn began to teeter over the abyss.

Percy spat the cloak from his mouth and rushed forward, reaching for Lujayn's hood, and missed. Lujayn's teeth found his barding.

"Hang on!" Percy grunted, powerful haunches bunched as he hauled backwards hard against the weight of his mentor and her armour.

His damaged barding tore. A great strip of red cloth came loose from the saddle he wore, and Lujayn lurched again towards the edge. Finding her within reach now, Percy gripped her chestplate in his teeth and renewed his efforts.

With a scream of exertion, he pulled her onto the landing. They both fell to the ground, panting hard.

Lujayn rose first. glaring at Annaeus. The veneer of professionalism that had grown thinner by the day had finally cracked. "You piteous, weak fool," she said, voice laced with venom. "You have done nothing but endanger us over and over. You complain every step, every turn; once we are back aboveground, I will be reporting you to the guild as an Invalid. Nobody will take you through the dungeons again."

Annaeus, wide-eyed, could do nothing but whimper.