Sonder pushed herself off the ledge, and for a moment she fell, until she was caught by a barrier she conjured.
It sank a bit at first when her weight fell on it, but then it was steady.
She stood suspended against the mountain's side, the darkness opening far below her.
The dust-creature darted toward her at once, pressing close as if afraid of being left behind.
As she floated upwards, the opening into the mountain grew more defined.
Light glowed within it, not the red like the peak's distant crown, but a pale and almost soft light.
None of it spilled outward. The edge of the entrance was a perfect boundary; inside was illuminated, outside remained dim and dark.
Sonder hovered just before the threshold, studying it for a moment. It was large enough that, if one of the feathered dragons folded its wings, it could fit inside.
She reached out with one hand, stopping just short of crossing into the threshold
Nothing happened.
The dust-creature shifted on her shoulder, hovering into the entrance, and then it turned, looking at Sonder.
It seemed like it was safe.
She stepped forward, and the barrier dissolved behind her.
It was a tunnel. The ground was flat, but the walls and ceiling were round and smooth, almost like glass, or molten rock.
The light was simply there. There were no torches or lamps or anything else; it had seemingly no source.
From her pack, she took her staff in both hands.
The dust-creature drifted ahead of her now, no longer clinging as tightly, its movements slow and exploratory. It floated a short distance forward, paused, then returned, as if checking and rechecking the space for danger.
Sonder matched its caution.
Every step echoed faintly, the sound swallowed almost as soon as it formed. The tunnel bent gently, never sharply, curving in a way that made it impossible to see far ahead. The light remained constant, unchanged by distance or direction.
There was nothing here.
And that absence unsettled her more than any obvious threat.
She had expected some kind of resistance; something to bar her way. Instead, the mountain was empty and lifeless.
But she did not lower her guard.
The farther she went down the tunnel, the wider it became. The ceiling lifted higher, the walls drawing back, and the pale light ahead darkened steadily; shadowed gradients instead of a uniform glow.
An opening emerged.
Sonder slowed, tightening her grip.
Beyond the tunnel lay a vast interior space - not natural stone of the mountain, or a cavern, but shaped and structured stone.
Pillars rose in even rows, supporting high, stretching arches. Stairways and balconies. And a single giant dark banner that hung from the high ceiling.
It looked like the inside of a castle.