Coming back

Dust flew into Mandira's face as she coughed and swatted the air.

"Ugh! Why is it always this dusty underground?" she complained, wiping her face with the sleeve of her robe.

Shennong, beside her, chuckled while pushing aside a large clump of dirt. "We are digging through earth, Archmage. Did you expect rose petals?"

"I expected magic, not manual labor," she grumbled. "This is barbaric."

"You could've floated above the tunnel if you didn't want the authentic underground experience."

"I didn't think you were serious when you said we'd dig all the way from your dungeon to the Academy."

"And yet," Shennong said with a grin, "here we are. Nearly there."

Mandira groaned, pulling her hood tighter. "Next time, remind me to just go there in person and risk alerting every detection ward instead."

The two of them moved forward, the narrow tunnel growing tighter as they approached a fork in the path. Shennong suddenly stopped and turned.