They looked, and true to his words, there was a door handle, but no visible way to unlock it. Tove spotted something though. "There are some markings down here". The rest of them crowded around where she pointed. "Where?" asked Gialli.

"Here" she said, tracing her hand along a section of the door. They squinted, but could only really discern a knotted section of wood, perhaps with some lines in it.

"Would you care to explain to the rest of us?" asked Reg, impatiently.

"Oh yeah sorry it's in druidic" she said. "I don't think any of you have studied that but uhhhh... this isn't very helpful".

"Oh goody"

"Again this is a translation, but it says: "Look upon the door and see the way is shut""

"I'm sorry?"

"Look upon the door and see the way is shut. It's even signed 'M'"

"Are you joking?"

"No."

"Fuck."

"Yes."

There was a brief lull in the conversation at that. Each of them tried to contemplate the deeper meaning of the message, and decided it was bullshit. They could all see that it was shut. Was this a joke by the designer of it, a taunt to any would-be grave robbers?

"Odin wanted us to get in here, so it must be possible," reasoned Teclis. "I doubt he'd have given us an impossible task."

"Then why did he need us to do it, instead of doing it himself?" said Alf.

"I think this is more meant to be a trial."

"Well I think this is just awful. At least we have this thrilling opportunity to sit around here for hours staring at a door."

Tove later decided that tempting fate like that, having just invoked Odin, was possibly a mistake. This was immediately proven correct as the light held by Reg flickered. That was not meant to happen. Not to a light powered by magic instead of fuel. It flickered again.

"Uhhh, Reg" said Tove "what's going on?"

"I don't know" he replied. "That is a bit concerning."

The light guttered and stuttered like a torch in the wind, throwing strange shadows about them. "Alf," Reg whispered "maybe you want to try". Alf obligingly held out his staff, and light bloomed atop it. Faintly. "Hmm" he opined. "That's not very good either."

They all began to look around into the mist nervously. Based on what they had seen of those figures, they didn't want the lights to go out. "If anyone has any smart ideas about the door, now would be the time to share them" said Reg. Gialli got to work, crouching low next to the door and trying to examine the hinges. He barely had time to try and make any kind of proper study of it when he heard a loud shout of "Clear!" from behind him, and he dove to one side. He made it just in time before he heard to loud thump of Talani's heavy boot impacting by the handle. "What did we just say about trying to break it?!" he cried.

"I didn't feel that your method was achieving results" Talani replied.

"And that did?" He gestured to the still very closed door.

"That, was merely a first attempt." Talani gave a barely noticeable grin as he unslung a brutally large axe, easily the height of any other person there, and much taller in most cases since three of them were dwarves. "I find this often works though."

Talani swung hard, ignoring a few shouts from around him. The blade impacted the wood, but the sound was more as if a great drum had been struck. Those of them who had been facing into the mist span around, just in time for a solid wall of sound and force to smack them square in the face. They went tumbling, all thrown several feet on to wet earth, the little light they had flickering again, struggling to stay lit. Talani was shifted only a short distance, but that still spoke to the strength of the blast.

"Why in the hell did you do that!" Gialli yelled.

"Nothing was moving."

"You didn't give me any time!"

"We don't seem to have very much of that."

"I have to agree with the big man here." said Reg "This is not going to plan." As if to illustrate his point, the light he was holding went out fully, leaving them just in the weak light being provided by Alf. It sparked back to life a couple of seconds later, but several of them had spotted the faint outlines of the figures in the darkness during that time.

Gialli continued to try to study the door in the fading light, searching desperately for any other keyhole, or weaknesses in the hinge. He was forced occasionally to try and shut out the distraction of the various yelling and thumping noises of the others. He searched thoroughly but fruitlessly as panic mounted and light faded.

About a minute passed with no results, and Gialli conceded. "Fine. Talani, see if you can do anything without making it blow up again." He then stood up and turned back, facing out again into the mists. Talani squared up to the door, and began shoving hard. Behind him, the others readied weapons as with every passing moment the dark crept in further, and the figures began crystallising, and coming closer. As far as the light could spill into the mist marked the edge of their safety, and this was shrinking.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"Shadows" whispered Reg, coming to a terrifying realisation. "They're shadows".

"What does that mean?" asked Tove.

"Good news or bad news?"

"Good". She was always an optimist.

"They can't physically touch you."

"That is good! What's the bad?"

"They can sap your very essence if they touch your shadow, leaving you a desiccated husk bereft of vitality."

"That is bad!"

"Surely we don't cast shadows in the dark?" asked Teclis.

"The moon is out though" Reg replied. "It will be faint, but dark enough for them to move in through this mist."

"What's our solution then?"

"Hope that the light holds out for long enough to get through this door."

In uncalled-for answer to his question, the voices struck up again through the mists. "The light" they whispered, words caressing each ear. "The light". All aside from Reg jumped at the sound, and Reg just shrugged. "There you go" he said, casually. "The voices".

"You said pay attention to them right?" asked Tove.

"Yes."

"So what are they trying to say here?"

"I assume that we should be trying to keep the light on, so that these shadows don't do unfortunate things to us." There was another crashing thud from behind them as Talani tried the door again with a dinnerplate-sized boot. "What if it means the opposite?" she asked.

"Do you really want these lights to go out?!" Reg cried.

"I'm only suggesting it." Her suggestion came closer and closer to reality as Alf's steady light continued to dim, and Reg's continued to flicker.

"I don't want to become a husk" said Alf, "but we're not going anywhere fast this way."

"Five seconds." Reg declared. "I will turn this off for five seconds and then I will turn it back on. Alf, agreed?"

"Agreed. I'll count us down." Teclis, Gialli and Tove prepared to defend themselves as Alf began a slow count. "Three". Grips tightened on weapons. "Two". Feet firmly planted. "One". They each took a deep breath. "Now". The lights went out, and immediately there was a loud yelp from behind them. They turned in panic towards the door and saw it was still there; but Talani was gone.

They remembered their situation, and span back around towards the figures. Like ghosts, they had stolen closer, moving an alarming distance in such a short time. "Lights!" Reg yelled, and followed his own instructions. Weak light filled the area and the shadows halted. There was an even more pressing question now though. "Talani!" shouted Tove. "Where are you?!" Only silence met her, and she rushed to the door, pounding on it as hard as she could. "Talani!"

"I'm here." The muffled voice of Talani came from the other side of the wood, and Tove let out the breath she didn't know she was holding.

"What happened?" She half-yelled.

"I have no idea. I just fell through."

The rest of them began backing up towards the door, tightening closer together as the lights continued to dim, shrinking their area of safety.

"Well what can you see?" She asked.

"Nothing at all. It's pitch-black in here" came the response again. "I'm trying to feel for a handle."

"Can you really see nothing at all?" asked Alf. "Use your eyes man, how shit are they?"

"My eyes are fine old man, they just don't see well in the dark."

"Wait what did you say?!" blurted Reg.

"I said I can't see in the fucking dark! Do you want it written into my forehead?!" The voice coming back was muffled, but not the emotion.

"No, listen to me everyone -" he was cut short as the light he held flickered, and then went out entirely. He shook his hand, willing it to relight, but nothing happened. The only illumination now was coming from Alf, and this was barely enough to cover them all. They were scarcely out of reach of these shadows now, which were lunging hungrily and only just held at bay.

"Look upon the door and see the way is shut." Reg whispered in an explanatory tone. "Don't you see: look upon it, and see that it is shut." He stressed the words as if trying to teach a lesson.

"You're worse than Talani" Alf cried "get to the bloody point!"

"I think it means that if you can see the door, it will be shut to you."

"Hurry up!" implored Tove.

"Try walking through with your eyes closed."

"Seriously?" asked Alf.

"You go last since you have the light."

"Wonderful." It dimmed further, and now they were close enough to hear the mists moving around the shadows, as if they had physical mass. "The light" chimed the voices, helpful as ever.

"I'll go first." Putting action to words he turned smartly, closed his eyes, and half ran at the door. As funny as it would have been to see him ricochet straight off it, there was a sense of relief as he disappeared, as if the door was made of air as well. There was a small scrum to see who would go next. Tove shouldered her way to the front, placed a hand against the door, then closed her eyes and fell through. "After you, I insist" said Teclis, offering a gentlemanly hand to Gialli and Mersingmergr. "No, I couldn't. I mustn't leave Alf behind".

"Well, only if you're sure," said Teclis "it's terribly kind of you."

"COULD YOU HURRY THE FUCK UP" Alf yelled. They were almost in darkness now.

"Sorry for being polite" Teclis muttered, before he too closed his eyes and plunged through.

"Don't dawdle, Father" Gialli said. This was not a term Alf appreciated. They were not related, he was just a senior religious figure in their society. Gialli instructed Mersingmergr to close its eyes, then followed it through. Alf just muttered something impolite, and dove through the door with his eyes closed. Luckily for him, this meant he never saw his own light go out, nor how close the shadows came to him.