“Could it be… a monster?”
If that was its call, then it must be enormous!

The thought made her shiver.

With her ear strained and her body ready to spring, she listened… but no other sounds came from the dark.

“It must’ve been just the wind… there’s no other explanation…”

Mustering her courage, Violet advanced, trembling as she clutched her staff.
They walked deeper until a strong gust of wind hit her, blowing from an opening ahead.

Peeking carefully past it, Violet found herself staring at a space of colossal proportions.
It was the heart of the cavern.
The ceiling was so high it vanished into darkness, and the path they’d been following now wound downward in a spiraling descent along the cavern wall.

“Incredible! Nainai, look!”

From the depths below came the thunderous roar of water—like a massive waterfall.
Violet leaned forward, trying to see what lay beneath, but the abyss was completely swallowed by darkness.

This place is huge…

The two began walking down the path, carefully watching their steps.

“Careful now—if we fall, we’ll be flatter than a pancake.”

Flapping wings echoed in the distance, followed by sharp, screeching cries.

Violet stiffened instantly—bats.
She shuddered and forced herself to keep walking, eyes darting nervously up at the cavern roof.

I hate bats… they’re disgusting…

They followed the gently sloping trail for a long time, hugging the cavern wall.
Violet wondered who could have possibly carved out such an enormous chamber, then turned to the dwarf.

“Do you think dwarves made this path?”

Intrigued by her question, Nainai began studying the walls and ground with greater attention, searching for any trace of his people’s craftsmanship.

The sound of rushing water grew louder and louder until, once they finally reached the bottom, they found themselves standing before a wide, roaring river.
It surged forward like a rapid, disappearing into the dark cracks of the cavern as it plunged beneath the stone wall and vanished completely.

The only way across was a small stone crossing—narrow, curved, and barely wide enough for a single person.
Violet approached it cautiously. It looked so thin she felt dizzy just imagining falling off it.

“Come closer, Nainai. Stay right behind me.
We need to move slowly and be very careful.”

The dwarf stepped up to her, grabbing onto the back of her cloak, and together they began crossing, one careful step at a time.

“I don’t get why anyone would build a bridge this tiny.
If they were going to build one anyway, they could’ve made it… I don’t know… normal?”

The crossing was short, and once they reached the other side, Violet let out a deep sigh of relief.

“We made it…”
She turned to look at the river behind them.
“It wasn’t that bad, right?”

Nainai released her cloak, giving a faint smile as he looked back at the narrow stone path they’d just traversed.

“You know… I think the worst is behind us.
We’re already at the bottom, so the exit shouldn’t be too far now…”

Looking around, Violet spotted yet another tunnel.

“Come on!”

They reached the opening and stepped inside.
The interior was different from the passages they had walked through so far. Crystals jutted out from the walls, absorbing the light from Violet’s staff and bouncing it from one to another, multiplying the glow.
It was a strange, mesmerizing display of dancing reflections.

“It’s beautiful…”
Violet and Nainai continued forward, dazzled by the shimmering colors.

“I’ve never seen anything like this…”

Suddenly Violet noticed a different kind of light ahead—a stronger, steadier glow coming from beyond the end of the path, where the tunnel opened into a larger chamber.

“…Could that be the exit?”

Once they reached the end, the corridor widened once more into a vast cavern.

Violet peeked around the corner.

And what she saw made her blood turn to ice.

At the center of the cavern, sitting on a massive log placed in front of a blazing fire…

…was a towering, menacing orc.

Damn it—just what we needed!

Pressing herself back behind the corner, Violet felt a wave of panic seize her.

“What do we do now?!”

The cavern was huge, and the orc sat with his back turned, staring into the fire.

Violet forced herself to think, squeezing her brain for anything resembling a plan. Then—an idea.

If we stick to the wall… move slowly… and make no noise…
…we might actually pull this off.

There were no alternatives. Turning back, retracing the entire enormous cave, and repeating all the way out was absolutely out of the question.

Violet turned to Nainai, staring him straight in the eyes.

“We’re going to walk very slowly, hug the wall, and stay completely silent… got it?”

The dwarf simply stared at her—no reaction at all.

“Perfect! Let’s go!”

She extinguished the magic light and began moving, pressing her back tightly against the rock. She gestured for Nainai to follow.
He obeyed, shuffling behind her with slow steps, eyes fixed on her.

That’s it… nice and easy…

Step by step, Violet made her way across the cavern, careful not to let her feet scrape against the stone.
The orc was enormous—monstrous even—and worse, right beside him lay a gigantic, spike-covered club, reflecting the firelight in distorted shapes.

Violet could hear her own heartbeat pounding like a drum.

She was just past the halfway point when suddenly—
the rope pulled tight.

She froze and turned.

Nainai had stopped moving.
Even though he hadn’t reacted to anything until now… he was staring directly at the gigantic orc.

No.
No no no no NO—

Too late.

“Hiiiii!”

The dwarf’s cheerful greeting echoed through the chamber, bouncing again and again until it became a monstrous, booming HI rolling through the cave.

Violet turned to stone.

The orc didn’t react at first, still staring into the flames.

W-we survived…?

Then the giant moved.

Slowly… heavily… he turned his massive head toward them.

“…Mmmhh?”

He examined them for a long moment—
then realization dawned.

With a guttural roar, the orc rose to his feet, seizing the enormous club and lifting it effortlessly.

He took a step toward them.
Then another.
Each impact made the ground tremble.

“RUN! Nainai, RUN!!”

Violet launched forward— and immediately snapped back as the rope jerked her in place.

Nainai hadn’t moved an inch.

She barely had time to see the spiked club descending toward her before she threw herself backward to dodge the blow.

The violent strike smashed into the cavern wall, shattering it apart.
Violet screamed and dropped to the ground, covering her head as stone fragments exploded in every direction.
The orc hefted the club again, ready to deliver another swing.

There was no escape.
They were trapped.

“N-No! Please don’t kill me…!”

Violet protected her head with her arms, eyes squeezed shut, fully prepared to die right there.

Then— a guttural voice, deep and strangely pronounced, addressed her with a threatening, sharp tone.

“You… you come… make fun… of Gronk!”

Violet’s eyes snapped open.
The giant brute stood over her.

“…What?”

“You… come… make fun… of Gronk!”

The monster glared at them, baring enormous tusks. He looked moments away from turning them into paste.

“No, wait! Why would we ever make fun of you? I don’t even know your name!”

“…Gronk!”

Gronk? That’s his name?

“I don’t understand you…”

The orc, irritated, exaggerated his words.

“Gronk! My name… Gronk!”

Seeing the momentary shift in his focus, Violet seized the opportunity.

“N–Nice to meet you! I’m Violet… and this is Nainai.”

The dwarf stood there calmly, staring up at the giant creature without the slightest hint of fear.

Gronk examined them both, studying the strange little girl and the dwarf tied to her.

“Mmmhh… why dwarf tied… rope?
Maybe… he… your… slave???”

The orc’s lip curled in annoyance as he stared at the rope linking them together.

Violet instinctively touched the rope at her waist, then glanced at Nainai.

If he really thinks I’m his owner, this is going to end badly. I need to fix this!

“No!! We’re travelers! It’s a long story… I can tell you if you want…!”

She spoke quickly, desperately trying to convince the beast.

“You… not come… make fun… of Gronk?”
The orc seemed to calm down a little.

“Then what you… do… here?”

Violet realized the orc had lowered his weapon and was actually considering her words.

“Well, actually we’re just passing through… we’re heading north! It’s easy, really! You just keep the sun on your left and—”

The orc raised his eyes toward the cavern ceiling, looking around in confusion.

“Mmmhhh? Sun? Where… sun?”