The first sign that something strange was going on was when the whole of the Sun Room began to violently tremble and shake. It felt to Elizabeth as though the Darkstone Tower had been struck by a ferocious earthquake, the epicentre coming from her boots.

　　The next indication that something odd was afoot came from the assorted expressions of: "What in skull`s teeth is happening?"

　　Elizabeth opened her eyes as the shockwave subsided to find that the door to the Sun Room had been blasted off its hinges. A small troop of Blackcoats was charging through it towards them, only - and this was the really unusual thing - none of the Blackcoats were actually moving. Instead, they were enveloped in a warm shimmering light and were completely frozen, suspended in space, like prehistoric insects trapped in a pool of amber.

　　Aelgren waved a hand in front of a glowing distorted face, to no response. "What have you done now, lassie?" he groaned, with weary endeavour.

　　Elizabeth felt suddenly very drained. Her eyelids were leaden and waves of sleep were lapping about her toes.

　　"I didn`t do . . . what`s going on?" she said, as the floor rolled like a barrel.

　　Izzario caught her before she fell. "It looks like time alteration magic. You`ve either slowed them down or sped us up. Or something".

　　Elizabeth rubbed her eyes and blinked. "Oh. How long will they stay like that for?"

　　"Impossible to say. A few minutes perhaps".

　　"So we need to be quick", fired Luella, resuming her search for an exit.

　　Elizabeth unleashed a tremendous yawn.

　　"I`m not surprised you`re worn out", said Izzario. "It takes time to learn how to use magic properly, and right now it seems to be going off whenever you get angry or scared".

　　Elizabeth yawned again, gazing up at the ceiling where the beams of light were now all skew-whiff and pointing at odd angles. "Sorry. I don`t mean to, it`s just - "

　　"Fascinating!"

　　Barnaby, who was in a world of his own and completely oblivious to everything else, was studying the sundial, enrapt. "Look at this", he breathed.

　　"Is it a secret exit?" Luella asked, in a voice that let everyone know that nothing else would do.

　　"Not exactly".

　　Izzario helped Elizabeth over to the large stone disc, where a series of geometrical patterns were etched clearly into the rim: two circles, a triangle, a square and a pentagon, with a nine-sided shape and a crescent moon at the end of the line.

　　"What`s it supposed to be?" puzzled Aelgren.

　　"I have no idea".

　　But Elizabeth knew what it was in a bright rush of excitement. "They`re not shapes", she thrilled " - they`re numbers. Look, count their sides: 3 1 4 1 5 9 2!"

　　"And how is this supposed to help?" said Aelgren, looking twice as confused as before.

　　Elizabeth`s brain was oozing with delight, like sticky chocolate pudding. "Because it`s pi", she beamed. "It`s a sequence!"Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

　　Barnaby scratched the milky smooth crown of his head. "Well I never. So it is. But what would that be doing here?"

　　"Perhaps it`s a code?" Elizabeth suggested. "The next few numbers are 6 5 3 5 8 9 7 . . . "

　　Barnaby had gone again. He climbed onto the sundial, grabbed the metal fin and gave it a decisive twist towards the 6` on the solar clock.

　　It made a hefty, discernible tick.

　　The same thing happened when he pointed at the number 5`, and when Barnaby turned the fin to face the 3` the sundial rolled, with a grumble, to one side.

　　Luella raced over to investigate the very obvious hole that had now appeared in the floor.

　　"Oh look", said Barnaby. "I think it`s a secret exit".

　　Luella rolled her eyes so hard that they almost rolled out of her head.

　　"According to legend", Izzario said, "this place is full of hidden tunnels. It`s said that King Velyn had them built so he could escape if the tower was invaded".

　　"Well I can`t see any other way out", remarked Luella, swinging over the side.

　　The tunnel at the foot of the ladder was swallowed by an impenetrable gloom as the sundial slid back into place with a bump.

　　"We should have taken some of that sun with us", said Aelgren, ruefully.

　　"That would have been useful", Barnaby agreed. "I don`t fancy wandering about this place in the dark. It`s bad enough when you can see where you`re going".

　　Elizabeth couldn`t argue with that. The tunnel was so black she couldn`t even see the end of her nose.

　　Slowly, a thought began to circle around an idea.

　　"I could, um . . . try and make us a light", she suggested, cautiously. "With magic. I`ve been thinking, and I`m pretty sure that I can - "

　　"No", snapped Izzario. "Don`t do anything! The way you`re going you`ll probably magic us into a wall. I really think it`s best if you just leave this one to us".

　　Elizabeth crossed her arms and pulled a miffed face that nobody could see. A train of thoughts fumed across her head. But that`s what got us into this mess in the first place. I wasn`t the one who lost the Omnaria. I didn`t crash the Odyssey. And I don`t have to creep around wearing fancy dress, because I don`t have a reward out for me!

　　An unsettling silence crept through the dark like ninjas.

　　And Elizabeth had a very horrid feeling.

　　"Did I just say all that out loud?"

　　"Aye, you did", muttered Aelgren.

　　"Sorry, I do that sometimes".

　　Izzario sighed, with an embarrassed glance at his costume. "Look, all I`m saying is that we need to be careful. You have a power that is unlike anything I`ve ever seen, but what good is it going to be if we get turned into - "

　　"RATS!"

　　For one atom-splitting moment Elizabeth imagined herself with a scrawny tail and whiskers, before a jittery Luella said: "There it is again. Ugh. Something ran over my foot!"

　　Elizabeth thought she heard a scuffling noise and her skin began to prickle.

　　"We have to move", urged Luella. "We can`t stay here, it`s - "

　　A hissing, rasping, high-pitched scream, like the ultrasonic soundwave of a thousand miniature dragons.

　　"I have a very strong feeling that I`m about to agree with you", said Izzario, as the wall of noise grew louder.

　　"But we cannae see any - "

　　"FLAZAM!" Elizabeth yelled.

　　A silver orb spread out from the palm of her hand, the light illuminating the tunnel to reveal - which was the most important thing at that particular point - an onrushing, torrential horde of monstrous tar-black rats.

　　A sea of hideous orange eyes raced towards her, specks of light on a churning wave, the rising screamburst about to slam into them . . . NOW!

　　The writhing mass of hairless wormtails swarmed along the tunnel. A hailstorm of tiny needles lashed Elizabeth`s brain. She screwed up her face as the pain grew stronger, clenched her teeth and grimaced at the flashing, burning heat.

　　It ended with an ear-popping wallop!

　　"All right, I definitely can`t stand rats", panted Luella, once the stream of rodents began to recede.

　　Izzario watched the last of them vanish. "They look as though they`re running away from something", he said.

　　"And whatever it is", noted Aelgren, "must be worth running away from. Gollin half-rats dinnae spook easily".

　　"Half-rats?" Luella exclaimed.

　　"Aye. You should see the bigguns. Some of them can grow as big as a - "

　　"Aaaaa-hem", said Elizabeth, loudly clearing her throat and holding up her hand, which was shimmering like a tiny coil of starlight. "Oh, and we`re still here".

　　Barnaby and Aelgren looked ever so slightly impressed.

　　"Very well", said Izzario, reluctantly, after a pause. "But don`t start getting ahead of yourself. Nothing fancy, all right?"

　　"You`re welcome", Elizabeth replied, with a sunny tilt of her head.

　　"So", said Luella, looking up and down the tunnel, "which way are we going to go now?"

　　Elizabeth stared in the direction that had spawned the plague of rats.

　　"We", she said, with her green eyes gleaming brightly, "are going to see what`s over there".