Katarzyna successfully slipped past the giant hairless creature to rejoin her party members on the opposite side of it, and the now reunited group pressed onwards into the next chamber. 

They were now fully in unfamiliar territory, having strayed from their previous route through this section of the dungeon. With any luck, this new path would lead them in another fruitful direction. 

The smell of damp earth and plant life met the noses of the group as they walked down the corridor into the next chamber. They wove through hanging vines to enter the room, which was lined with tall, ivy-covered columns. 

“Whoa,” Katarzyna said aloud, looking around at their overgrown surroundings, and the mysterious light coming from the ceiling. Was it sunlight? How deeply buried was this section of the dungeon, anyways? 

“Where is that light coming from?” Evangeline asked aloud the question that was on Katarzyna’s mind. Tuesday squinted at the light.

“I’m not sure. This part of the dungeon should be too deep for sunlight to reach.”

“...Weird.” Katarzyna remarked. 

Kendall’s hawk, Sawyer, ruffled his feathers as he rode on Kendall’s back. Kendall glanced back at him.

“Something bothering you, buddy?” 

Sawyer, obviously, did not respond, but Kendall got the sense that something had indeed bothered him. Well, if there was any trouble, they’d properly find out about it soon enough, most likely. 

Katarzyna walked along towards the back of their group, nearly abreast with Tuesday, when suddenly she saw a dark shape moving in her peripheral and stopped. Tuesday stopped with her, looking at her quizzically.

“...Did you see that?”

“See what?” 

Katarzyna looked around, but could not see any trace of what she’d spotted a moment ago. She shook her head.

“Nothing, I guess.” They continued walking. 

Next it was Evangeline who saw something out of the corner of her eye and stopped abruptly, nearly causing Katarzyna to bump into her. 

“Did you see something?” Katarzyna asked.

“Yes, I did.” Evangeline replied. “Something’s following us.”

Kendall stopped now too. 

“Have you guys gotten to see what it looks like?”

“I didn’t get a clear look at it when I saw it. Did you, Evangeline?” Katarzyna looked at her. Evangeline shook her head.

“No, I just saw something moving, and when I turned my head it was gone.”

Kendall looked around thoughtfully for a moment. Sawyer again ruffled his feathers.

“Huh.” He blinked. “Well, I guess we’ll keep it moving for now and if whatever it is starts causing trouble we’ll deal with it then.” 

Evangeline and Katarzyna nodded in assent, but Tuesday looked troubled. 

“I saw it just now, while we were talking.” She said. “But I couldn’t tell what it was either. Maybe it’s more than one thing.” She shook her head. 

“We could stop and try to look around for it, if you think that would be better?” Kendall offered. Tuesday hesitated, thinking carefully about the situation. 

“Maybe that would be best? We could maybe catch it by surprise if we take the initiative to seek it out. Maybe you could have Sawyer fly up and see what he sees.”

“Good call,” Kendall said, gesturing to Sawyer, who lifted off with a flap of his great wings. 

The group carefully examined their surroundings while Sawyer flapped from branch to branch overhead. They kept catching glimpses of moving shadows in their peripheral vision, but none of them could ever get a clear glimpse of whatever it was that was lurking in the leaves. 

Finally, the group, Sawyer included, all saw the movement at once. Sawyer immediately let out a call, and swooped in to accost the thing.

“Get ‘em, Sawyer!” Kendall called out to his bird, trotting over to where he saw Sawyer swoop, hoping to finally get a look at whatever was stalking them.