Disclaimer: I do not own Pendragon, or any characters except the Acolyte and Traveler mentioned. They belong to D.J. MacHale.

Author note: This story is supposed to come in between the seventh and eight book.

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"Bobby?"

"Yeah?"

"Where are we?"

This was not the star-marked door of Third Earth that Bobby had seen before. Even Courtney realized that something was wrong. They broke away from each other trying to find a way out, only to find grimy walls meeting their hands.

"I found a…ladder, I think." Bobby started climbing and anticipated what he would see. His excitement blinded him.

SMACK

"Ugh…I also found a door," Bobby uttered as he rubbed the freshly formed bump on his head. With his free hand he reached up, found a latch, and open the door slowly. He was cautious for any sign of movement, especially from a quig.

"Okay, let's try this way." Bobby let Courtney go ahead of him in case something came up behind them. When they rose above ground, they saw what they expected. They were now in a cavern similar to the one they just exited. Except for one thing, an opening carved out of the stone was in the wall across from them.

"Should we…?" Courtney started but didn't know if she should ask.

"No better way to know."

They started towards the opening and with each step they took ancient script shimmered on the stone surrounding the archway. Courtney pointed forwards with the only response of a nod from Bobby. A muggy breeze lingered in from the outside and dampened Bobby's face as it swept past him.

Past the opening Bobby could see a wood-and-rope bridge reaching towards the next piece of land. The only difference between the land they were standing on and the land across from them was a cavern, and buildings.

The cavern was at least one hundred feet wide and it was impossible to determine the depth as fog covered it completely. Jagged edges were the least comforting sight next to a rugged, worn-out old bridge. But there was a reason to cross it.

A piece of paper was sitting in the middle.

"There, what is it?" Courtney asked.

"I don't know, wanna go find out?" Bobby set his foot on the first plank of the bridge. It seemed sturdy. They continued on until they reached the parchment on the halfway plank. Bobby bent down to inspect it closer and saw a gold coin holding the paper down. He also saw a word that meant great trouble on this land, a word that was only written by an evil person when he needed to put Bobby down.

PENDRAGON.