Again, packed and supplied with a light breakfast in their stomachs, they marched on. The night had been a long nervous one and they still had no idea why it had been so easy to escape. Either way, Prism kept them in line. They took a short bath in the river after filling up their wineskins and headed out immediately after.
      "They might come after us, so keep close and keep walking." He warned them.
      A small hiss stopped them.
      "What's that?" Emeryl asked fearfully. Small tapping sounds crawled around them.
      "I don't know..." Prism stepped back. Slowly, out of the darkness, a large one foot spider crept towards them.
      "Awww... Isn't that cute! It's a baby giant spider!" Emeryl knelt next to it with sparkling green eyes.
      Behind them Prism broke into a hot sweat. Visions of the hairy, horrid monstrosities that cornered him in the canyon haunted him. Just above Alan was prancing around, taking them one by one. But still, those giant black jaws kept snapping at him, hissing and spitting.
      "AAA!" Prism shrieked, scampering away.
      "P...Prism! Wait!" Eric ran after him.
      "Cute spider, good spider." Emeryl picked the little black spider up and cradled it in his arms.
      "Oh yes you are, you're the cutest gigantic spider ever!" he nuzzled it, "Good spider? Good... spider... ahhh... good... spider..." He gradually noticed the shadow lumbering over him. Moving his eyes up from the ground, he saw the hairy legs and body with small eyes blinking out of sequence. Mostly toxic juices dripped off its equally gigantic jaws. From where Emeryl sat he could tell the climax of its back almost scraped the roof.
      "Good, mommy, spider... Good, mommy..." Emeryl, still clinging to the baby spider, withdrew and darted after Prism and Eric.
      "Wait!" he cried.
      Dashing past all of them in the darkest of shadows, the red white and black circled to the back of the giant spider.
      It screeched, filling the caverns with an echoing howl. Emeryl forced himself to look back. On top of it the cat girl was clinging on, tearing into it's skin with her short claws.
      "Eric! Prism!" Emeryl yelled.
      "I got him, I got him!" Eric dragged Prism back. Their feet were slightly soggy from running all the way back to the river. Prism was still blank in the face, completely filled with terror.
      "Prism, snap out of it!" Emeryl ran beside Eric with spider in hand.
      "Where did she come from?" Eric clumsily drew the sword halfway from its sheath.
      "What, are you doing? No! No! No! You're holding it wrong! Alan always held it with one hand!" Prism grabbed Eric's hand, attempting to correct his sword handling.
      "But I've never used a sword before!" he defensively resisted, "Maybe, just like this."
      By now the girl had stabbed the spider several times with a short dirk, and it slowly weakened under her wrath. As they began to notice the cat girl already beaten the spider they tried to sheath the sword again. Hissing and spitting the black spider curled up, bleeding from its back and sides. From atop its back she leapt off to a safer distance. Several seconds later it crumpled and died.
      Wiping slime from her nose she cut a chunk out of its belly.
      "What are you staring at? Start a fire!" she stuck a branch in the middle of her chunk and sat a few yards away from the dead spider.
      Hesitantly, Emeryl approached her hugging his giant spider, "Nee... Thank you."
      Glaring at him, she flicked back her ears.
      "Who are you?" Prism asked as he and Eric approached her.
      "My name's Bentora. You said you knew a way out. Where is it?" she glowered their way. Her nose wrinkled lightly as they sat around a new bonfire Prism sparked. Without thought she roasted the meat over it.
      "Well, technically we know the way out because that's the way we got in. But we fell through the floor, so we're looking for another way back up." Emeryl opened his arms as the spider climbed on top of his head, making a nest.
      "Hungry?" she chopped another chunk of the spider's belly.
      "Eee! Don't look Spidey!" he covered the spider's face.
      "Freak." She tossed the meat by the fire.
      "So you're the one who let us out..." Prism reluctantly accepted a small portion of the meat.
      "Yeah, I was gonna follow you up, but apparently you're just as hopeless as everyone else." She spat. Eric held some meat over the fire before devouring it in thick lumps.
      "Sorry..." Emeryl apologized, pulling out a leftover fruit.
      "We're not exactly hopeless, we know there's a way out. We just have to figure out how to get to it." Prism corrected her.
      "You're positive?" she narrowed her eyes.
      "Certain." Prism nodded, "It's only logical."
      "Then I'm coming. You guys are a bunch of wimps anyway..." she sniggered at them, "Running away from a spider..."
      "Bentora? That name sounds familiar." Eric interrupted Prism before he got a chance to reply.
      "Hmph." She sneered. Prism put the fire out as they finished another quick breakfast.
      Thoughtfully, Eric kept his eyes on the ground until he figured it out.
      "Bentora, you were that little girl that lived in Cervik!" he whispered. She glared at him hatefully.
      "Little girl? I think, didn't you and Lafia used to play together? She sold my mom some cake once." Prism added.
      "Yes, I played with Lafia. She was the one that got deformed into a rabbit. Lot's of people were touching animals when that happened." She answered.
      Prism turned slightly, "Eric, how did you live?"
      "I, I ran into the alley, and curled up, and watched everyone run down the street. That's all I remember." Eric thoughtfully answered, "My old shirt got caught inside my arm somehow, but I was able to tear the sleeve off."
      "Ew. I didn't need to know that." Emeryl winced.
      Both Bentora and Emeryl twitched their ears.
      "What?" Prism asked nervously.
      "The others are coming, we better head for the caves." She sheathed the dagger under her collar.
      "This whole place is a cave." Prism reminded her.
      She gave him a wary glance, "Follow me!"
      Using all fours she scuttled off, leaving the dead spider behind. Shrugging, Eric climbed over it after her, followed by Prism and finally Emeryl.
      They ran out of the forest where the cave narrowed until they saw both sides again. Pausing, they studied a new problem. Three caves in the wall stared back at them.
      "Which way?" Prism asked Bentora.
      "How should I know?" she peered in one of the caves.
      "We'll split up. If we run into a dead end, come back." Prism briefly ordered. They looked through each tunnel momentarily. Two looked normal, the last one to the left had water covering the ground. It was impossible to see how deep it went.
      "I can take this." Prism told them.
      "Then I'll take the middle." Emeryl replied.
      "That leaves this one for us." Bentora darted away before they had a chance to stop her. With a shrug Eric followed her. Glancing over his shoulder, Emeryl watched Prism drop the rag to the ground and create a round gray disc with nearly a three foot diameter. Slowly, it hovered into the air and he stepped on it.
      "Cool." Emeryl whispered, noticed Prism looking at him, then fled into the middle cave with the spider still clinging to his head.
      Floating around three feet above the ground, Prism began hovering over the water. It still could be any depth, but the disc remained steady. Suddenly, he burst into high speeds past forty miles per hour. Wind in his face, hair blowing behind him he glided along steadily. Ripples trickled through the water as he levitated by. It didn't take long at these speeds to see the light at the end. He slowed as he neared it, then stopped completely at the edge.
      Immediately outside the tunnel was a huge chasm that he couldn't see the bottom to. A few yards above was the cave's roof. The wall was very steep, with some rough ledges leading to nowhere. Beside his cave, a few yards away, he could make out the indent of another cave.
      "Aaa!" Emeryl's head popped out of the cave as he barely managed to stop.
      "Emeryl?" Prism floated on the edge.
      "I almost fell down there!" he panted, "Where's Bentora and Eric?"
      Prism shrugged, "Not here, maybe a dead end."
      Sitting on the disc he pulled out his book.
      "Prism..." Emeryl glanced back at his cave, "I hear something coming."
      "It must be Bentora's people. Hold on." Prism flipped a page.
      "They're getting close!" Emeryl began hopping up and down.
      Checking behind him, all Prism saw was water.
      "Climb the ledge, come over here, it's safe." Prism told Emeryl.
      "Can't you float here and get me?" Emeryl squealed.
      "No. This disc only floats three feet off the ground, I'll fall down too." Prism explained.
      Sighing, Emeryl put one foot out on the thin ledge. Prism put the book away, reaching out for his arm. Nervously, Emeryl took another step, then another. Tediously slow, he came closer to Prism until he could almost reach him.
      "HA!" the rabbit girl screeched to a halt at the cave's edge.
      "Uh, ah!" Emeryl jumped from the surprise and slipped. Trying to cling to the edge he abruptly fell back into the abyss.
      "Emeryl! Dorre doke tatsu!" he threw down a spell in hopes that it would work on Emeryl. He disappeared into the darkness without another sound.
      "Emeryl!" Prism yelled again. No response.
      Next to him the rabbit began edging across, with other creatures emerging from the cave.
      Taking a deep breath Prism held onto the side of the disc tightly. With a wince and an adrenaline pumped heart, he floated it over the edge.
      He plummeted nearly straight down. Spinning uncontrollably down he let out a scream that seemed to be left behind him. Wind slapped his face flailing his hair into a frenzy.
      Suddenly he toppled off the disc, smacking against something soft and warm and rolling a few feet.
      He dared to open his eyes and see Eric.
      "Ow!" Eric shoved him off. A little bit back Bentora stared at them queerly.
      "Where's the elf?" she asked.
      Prism noticed his disc still floating three feet above the ground behind them.
      "He fell." Prism answered, "But I got a feather fall off."
      "A what?" Bentora raised a brow.
      "Nevermind. He should be ok. Maybe he just hasn't fallen the whole way yet." Prism dusted himself off. He had a few bruises from the rough landing, but was fine other than that.
      "Emeryl! Emeryl!" they began calling, searching for the elf.