Beatrix and Nanook entered the den where Blaine and Bartholomew were tied up. Blaine looked at them with a scowl.

“Aight! We got a job fo ye, this kid says ye can elp em,” Nanook explained, “So we need ye to fight the baby lindworms fo us, I’ll show ye the way, but then yer on yer own,” 

“What happens when we defeat them?” Blaine asked.

“Then we lead ya to Haoran,” 

“Are they big?” Bartholomew asked. 

“Nah, just wee lil ones fo now,” 

“Then why do you need us to take care of it? You seem capable enough,”  Blaine questioned. 

“Ah, don look too far into it, we just ‘ate those buggers, rather ye do it,”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine guys! Besides, I can breathe fire now, and you both are so strong you could probably take them all on by yourself!” Beatrix exclaimed. 

Blaine stared hard at Nanook, all he saw was a calm looking griffin. There wasn’t much to read, “fine,” 

“Good! I’ll untie ye guys and show ya where they’re at,” 

So Nanook untied Blaine and Beatrix untied Bartholomew. He used his teeth to scrape at the thick wiry vines that entangled Bartholomew. He stood up and shook off the dirt and earwax flung out of his light brown cow-like ears. 

“C’mon then, I'll lead the way,” Nanook walked out the door, his small little grey tail wagged with each stride. 

They followed him through the camp, it was smokey from all the fires they lit, the clouds clogged up Beatrix’s nose. Nanook greeted everyone he walked past with a nod and a smile as they walked away from the camp and up the mountain. The path was laid out clear, even though there was snow covering the edges, this trail was maintained. 

They continued walking in silence, Blaine seemed stressed, his eyes darted around them. Occasionally his head would whip up and look all around him. Soon the trail became less noticeable, covered in snow, there was only their foot prints on the clear, new snow. 

It was not a long walk, only a few minutes later they arrived at the dark mouth of a gasping cave. 

“We’re ‘ere!” Nanook exclaimed, “Take a looksy, see anything?”

The three of them peered into the cave, it was pitch black, the kind of darkness that makes you see things that aren’t real. The darkness that makes you wonder where you are, and what’s in here with you. 

“How deep is it?” Beatrix looked over his shoulder to ask, but then him and Bartholomew were shoved down into the cave without warning. Masako jumped down from a ledge and dragged Blaine down to the ground quickly. She gashed his back, blood poured out of him. She bit his hind leg and Nanook grabbed his face with his talons and threw him backwards into the cave. 

It was a long fall, they landed hard on stone, and when they tried to get up they slipped on orange oozy slime. It covered the ground and now covered their bodies and legs. 

“Bartholomew?” Beatrix cried. It was too dark to see anything besides the bioluminescent orange goo, but that did not give off much light, he could only see his paws. 

“Beatrix?” Bartholomew answered. 

“You two! Stay where you are!” Blaine shouted, “Beatrix, just say my name over and over again and I will come to you!”

“Okay!” he shouted, “Blaine! Blaine! Blaine!” Beatrix continued to shout his leader's name, it felt like calling into the darkness, praying for a light. Beatrix heard the sloshing sounds of Blaine's feet in the slime started to come closer, so he shouted louder. 

“I see you!” Blaine called.

“Where?” Beatrix asked. 

Blaine touches a gooey paw to Beatrix’s back. Beatrix’s face glowed at the sight of safety, both metaphorically and literally, the smile was everywhere. In the distance, Beatrix saw a glowing orange figure appear just barely out of the darkness. It was lumpy, and it sounded heavy, he could hear it wheezing as it breathed. 

“Blaine? What’s that…?” he asked with fright.

“I…I don’t know,” he whispered, “Stay behind me,” Blaine got into a fighting stance, ready to take on whatever this slimy goop blob was. 

Suddenly, the blob started running, or something close to running. It tripped on its own feet and gasped for air, it was also saying something. 

“It’s in my mouth!” A gurgly voice yelped. 

They both immediately relaxed. The only idiot in this cave was Bartholomew, and this blob creature was clearly an idiot. 

Bartholomew almost went right past them as he ran and cried. No doubt he couldn’t see a thing. Blaine raised his arm and caught Bartholomew before he got away. 

“I ate it!” he sobbed. 

“That’s not the worst of our problems, goose brain!” Blaine snapped. 

Bartholomew whipped his eyes as best he could, the goo didn’t hurt, but it was uncomfortable. 

“What do we do?” Beatrix asked.

“I think…maybe we just keep walking,”

Bartholomew and Beatrix looked at each other with disturbed looks, “Okay?”