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[quote=Randold]Randold spoke up, "I think it is a bad idea for me stay behind, its best to stay together. The water has helped I believe I can manage just fine, besides it would be better to use the light source so that everyone can see." Randold held the light berry high in the air.[/quote]

The boy ducked and skittered backward as Randold stood up, suddenly frightened of the huge man; Randold's powerful presence was made frightful by the glow of the berry in his palm, which cast an eerie shadow on his bearded face.

"Yes, of course, of course," Tyaelaem stammered, crouched low so as not to incur Randold's wrath. "It was only an idea to leave you behind, but I'm usually full of funny ideas. Please, please, this way then. This way." He shuffled backward a little, bowing low, and grasped the princess' hand again -- not quite because it was necessary, now that Randold was with them (and Tyaelaem didn't dare to take the berry from him, so frightened was he now of approaching him), but because he simply liked holding the princess' hand.

[quote=Anise]She looked at the "nightstick". On it were runes she didn't understand, which she found disappointing as learning to read was something she had been taught at an early age. She ended up taking the boy's hand. She felt odd leading the way in a place that she was completely unfamiliar with. What happened if she got them lost? That was a silly thought considering she expected to be getting guidance from Tyaelaem. She waited for everyone to take a hand before she started walking down the only path she was aware of.[/quote]

The hallway was as wide as ten people across, and twice as tall as Randold. It was a wide, arched corridor with ancient, smooth stony rivulets that shimmered in the light in Randold's hand; this hallway had been carved out long ago by centuries of running water, and seemed untouched by human hands.

As they walked away from the pool of healing water -- and away from the subtle glow of Hania's sunken rosary -- Anise's vision began to fail. First, the distance ahead faded and darkened; then, everyone around her seemed dimmer, illuminated only by the light that Randold carried. Her nightstick had stopped working, and she could only see as far as anyone else. Soon enough, the stick was just a stick. No one else who touched it would be able to make it work again.

The hallway went on through a few twists and dark turns, while precious gems shimmered in the walls and above them -- until they could hear the sound of rushing water ahead.

"We're coming near the rootwind falls," Tyaelaem whispered, and he clutched Anise's hand tightly. "Watch out for pirates."

The corridor ended, and they emerged out of the bottom of a sheer rock face and stepped out into lush grass, softly illuminated by the stars above. The thunder of falling water roared in their ears.

To their right was a rock face curled with vines and moss that reached impossibly high. Something alive was flapping and circling high above in the darkness, but it was impossible to see.

To the left was a thin path that led through a grove of thick dark trees; glowing fruit, like the one in Randold's hand, grew like mushrooms on these trees: they were nestled in the crevices of their trunks and branches, and shone brightly in small clusters.

Straight ahead was tall grass, and two more of those dark trees. Five yards ahead of the mouth of the corridor, the land ended abruptly and dropped into a bottomless chasm. This is where the sound of a waterfall was coming from.

One would have to walk to the edge of the chasm and look down in order to see the colossal waterfall surging below. The dark trees stretched their roots out into the waterfall, as if drinking from it.

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