EM AND ARKAYNA made their way through the tunnel, with Piper trailing along behind them. “If I remember the riddle right, the Codex piece should be down here,” Arkayna said. Her glowing staff cast long, menacing shadows across the cave walls.
They took another turn and finally found what they were looking for. On the side of the huge cavern was a carving of the Cosmoverse. It was engraved deep into the stone, with gems sparkling inside it.
“Whoa,” Em breathed. She’d never seen anything so beautiful. She only wished Zarya was there to see it for herself. Since they found the second Codex piece, it felt like everything had gone horribly wrong. The week before, Zarya had gotten a surprise visit from one of her first friends, a Sky Pirate named Kitty Boon. None of the other Mysticons had trusted Kitty, but Zarya had kept insisting they were being too hard on her. But Kitty had eventually tricked them all and stolen the Dragon Disk. She had traded it to Dreadbane for a treasure chest of gold.
It was devastating. The girls had tried not to blame Zarya because she blamed herself more than any of them did. But that morning they’d woken up to a note from her saying she’d run away. Zarya couldn’t stand the fact that Kitty had betrayed them, and she had let it happen. Zarya said she was quitting the Mysticons for good.
They were all upset, but Piper was taking it the hardest. She kept repeating to herself, “I am okay without Zarya. I am okay without Zarya.”
Now the three of them—Em, Piper, and Arkayna—had traveled to the Cavern of the Cosmos, trying to get to the third Codex piece before Dreadbane did. They were also hoping to ambush him and steal back the Dragon Disk.
“According to the riddle,” Arkayna said, trying to remember what they’d read before the Disk was stolen, “if we put the Dragon Disk in there—”
“It’ll unlock a secret compartment behind the Star of Gygax,” Em went on, tracing her finger along the carving to where a huge chunk was missing. “Huh? Where’s the Star of Gygax?”
“Someone beat us here,” Arkayna said. “They got the Codex piece.”
“No … these marks look familiar.” Em leaned in, studying the hole. She didn’t think Dreadbane had taken the piece out of the wall, not like that. This was the work of a Cave Crawler.
Just then they heard a familiar voice. “This way, General Tibion!”
“It’s Dreadbane!” Piper whispered. The girls dashed behind a stalagmite before the villain’s skeleton army could see them.
Dreadbane and his warriors assembled around the mural. General Tibion, a skeleton warrior who was Dreadbane’s second-in-command, inserted the Dragon Disk into the center. The entire carving glowed with bright light. But the process couldn’t finish without the missing piece of cave wall. The light dimmed, then shorted out.
“The Mysticons!” Tibion said, staring at the hole. “They tore the piece right out of the wall.”
“At least Dreadbane doesn’t have it…,” Arkayna whispered to the others. As soon as she said it, the cave started to rumble.
Em winced, hating that she was right. “Oh no. I think I know what does. Get down!”
Smash! A giant worm broke through the cave wall. It was the size of a train car, with huge, sharp teeth. Em and Arkayna ducked for cover, but Piper was frozen in fear. Arkayna wrestled her to the ground just in time.
“Retreat! On me! Retreat!” Dreadbane shouted, turning to run. His skeleton warriors followed him as the worm chased them down the tunnel.
“Quick! After them!” Arkayna said.
They were about to run when the worm smashed its tail against the side of the cave, sending a pile of rocks tumbling down. Em threw her hands up and created a force field, shielding the girls. When the dust finally settled, they emerged from the rubble.
“That was too close,” Arkayna said. “Everyone okay?”
“Just a few bumps and bruises, but I’m good,” Em said.
“What was that?” Piper asked.
“Every dwarven miner’s nightmare,” Em explained. “A Diamondback Cave Crawler. Good thing it was just a baby. They don’t usually travel this close to the surface. I’m guessing it got separated from its family.” She thought for a second. “The Cave Crawler must have eaten the Codex piece!”
“Let’s be careful, girls,” Arkayna said, climbing over the rock. Em led the way as they followed the worm’s trail through the tunnel. In a few minutes she was able to find where the skeleton tracks split from the worm trail.
“Dreadbane went that way,” Em said. Instead, they followed the worm’s trail to a large stone ledge overlooking a cavern. Sure enough, the worm was sleeping in the dirt below. “The good thing about it being a baby is that it needs a lot of sleep.”
“Piper, double back and guard the entrance,” Arkayna said. Piper turned to go, reluctantly. She still was feeling unsure without Zarya there, but she went off to keep watch.
Arkayna was too focused on the Cave Crawler to notice Piper’s concern. She asked Em, “Any idea how we get the Codex piece out of this thing?”
Em thought hard, then frowned. “Yeah,” she said, “I got nothing.”
Arkayna and Em tried to figure out the best way to get down without waking the sleeping Cave Crawler. They’d just decided to scale the cave wall when they heard something behind them.
“Piper?” Em asked.
Before anyone could respond, two skeleton warriors jumped out of the shadows and grabbed Arkayna’s and Em’s arms. They had no time to fight back. Dreadbane appeared, holding Piper. They were captured.