"Yeah, let's do it," Cordelia whispered back and drew the dagger at her waist for the first time Erend had seen. He stuck his head through the gaping hole he'd cut in the barricade and had a look inside the corridors. They were the same sleek stone he remembered, but something felt off. Erend couldn't quite put a finger on what.

He carefully stepped onto the cold stone floor and turned to help Cordelia out. Her clothing got stuck against the rough texture of the wooden planks. With an echoing tear, rips of her long skirt tore off.

"Shit!" she whispered.

"We'll have to get you some pants. That's just not practical," Erend commented and took a look at her legs.

Flustered, she gasped, "What are you looking at!" and frantically pulled at the fabric of her skirt.

"Nothing, just checking to make sure you're alright."

"Well, I am! Keep your eyes to yourself," she mumbled with her cheeks glowing red.

Erend shook his head with a chuckle, "Alright, I will. Now calm down," he said and pressed a finger to his lips.

Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. They walked carefully through the corridor, tracing the path that Erend had taken to the pantry before. Each time they passed a door, he made sure to have a quick look if it was unlocked, if it wasn't he looked through the barred windows. More doors were unlocked this time than before, and they were more well-stocked with weapons and metals than they'd been previously. It didn't make sense for the orcs to stock them like this when they had recently been burglarized.

"Something's wrong," Erend mumbled.

"What is?"

"I don't know. Just be ready for when things go wrong. It will happen fast."

Cordelia nodded at his warning and started mobilizing her Source. He could feel it more clearly now than before. It moved in a wholly different way than his. It flowed calmly, like water---sort of like how Livune manipulated it. Why his was vibrating like mad he couldn't understand even if he tried. Maybe Livune could explain it to him if he asked politely.

The pantry wasn't further than a few paces away from them when they heard a rumbling sound out from behind them.

Cordelia whipped around and exclaimed a breathless, "What was that?"

"I really don't like this..." Erend mumbled and picked up the pace. He gave the pantry door a few tugs, it was locked.

"Sharpen," he commanded his blade and cut the door loose from its hinges. It fell against the stone floor with a wooden clatter. The sound echoed through the corridor like the tides. The rumbling stopped momentarily, then increased in power. It drew closer quickly.

Erend rushed inside the pantry and discarded the weapons in his Pocket onto the corridor's floor. Without much thought, he stuffed the foods that were dried and ready too eat without much-needed preparation into Pocket. Sausage links were swinging wildly in the nooses.

"Hurry," Cordelia pleaded at him from outside, "It's getting closer!"

Deciding enough was enough he channeled Source through the con tool and set fire to every flammable surface he could see in the room. The crackling of animal fats incinerating and the fragrant smells of cooking meat made his mouth water, proving a stark contrast to his wildly beating heart.

"Orcs!" Cordelia shouted. Just a moment later he could hear the wind whistling under the force of her spell.

Erend rushed outside to face the incoming horde. There were many, but not as many as he'd expected. The metallic clamor resounding did assure him that it wouldn't be the case for much longer.

With Force after Force, the small arsenal of weapons dwindled in numbers as blades, axes, and knives were sent flying at the approaching monstrosities. The orcs were sturdy to a degree that was sickening. Most of the weapons just clattered against their armor and fell to the ground without spilling blood. Some, however, hit their marks and slit throats.

The corridors were wide enough for Erend and Cordelia to walk alongside each other, but the orcs couldn't fit more than two if they were to walk shoulder to shoulder. It evened the odds somewhat.

"Aim for their legs!" Erend shouted without stopping the storm of blades. It hadn't been long since the throng of orcs entered their line of sight, yet blood already painted the corridor red. The ones who had their legs cut slowed their advance, but not for long as irritated allies cut them down from behind. The choir of angry snarls and death cries increased in strength as the orcs fell one after one, yet they had yet to see the end of the enemy forces.

Cordelia fired off shot after shot of condensed Source, the impact left the orcs with sizzling skin. Erend threw a glance inside the pantry and concluded that the fire had become large enough that the orcs wouldn't be able to stop it. "Keep firing while we move!"

The orcs clawed their way past their injured and dead comrades like frenzied beasts on the hunt. Their charge cut off the only path back to the tunnels, forcing them to run toward the corridor with the laboratory. Erend threw a regretful glance at the remaining weapons that lay at his feet, then Forced another two into a violent arc before he pulled Cordelia along with him.

Caught between a rock and a hard place.

On one end they had a charging horde of angry orcs and on the other the unknown nooks and crannies of the prison. The unknown did seem a lot more enticing than facing a veritable horde head-on though, and so they ran while Cordelia fired off as many of the Source bolts as she could manage without burning herself out. They passed the wall where the embroidered map had hung before, then the laboratory.

Think, think, think!

Cordelia turned around to sprint with him. She was pale as a ghost, the strain of constantly throwing spells already weighing on her. "We need to break through them somehow!" Erend managed between ragged breaths.

"Impossible! There's too many!"

"We can't just let them take us!"

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"I know, I don't intend to!"

Erend looked around as they passed the laboratory, the sleek corridor formed a large T. From one of the directions the orcs usually poured out, the question was which led where. He tried to discern where the rumbling had come from last time but came up short. Without further thought, he took off to the left, but quickly turned around as another horde of orcs were barreling down the halls.

"Oh shit!" he exclaimed and pulled Cordelia along yet again.

"Quite the predicament, squire," Livune spoke in his mind.

As if I don't already know that!

The two ran into the last remaining corridor, narrowly avoiding getting cut off by the first throng of orcs. Behind them, they could hear the orcs verbally fighting using their language of snarls and grunts. The horde slowed somewhat, allowing Erend and Cordelia to catch some of their breath before heading down a dwindling set of spiral stairs. The stairs were dimly lit by torches hanging alongside the walls of the deep pit. Each step was slippery by condensation and unevenly cut, making for treacherous footing, as shown by the couple of orcs who were sent flying into the dark abyss below with a heart-wrenching howl.

The two hurriedly, but carefully headed down the steps while the horde behind them had to slow down considerably. It was enough to let them pull ahead by a fair bit. The clunky, heavy armors of the orcs, along with their bulging muscles weighed them down enough that the slippery stairs proved to be a dangerous adversary. They even stopped fighting and pushing at each other as they chased Erend and Cordelia down into the bottomless pit.

With time, the distance between the orcs and the two grew. Erend and Cordelia had lost sight of the pursuers above, but they could still hear their snarling complaints echo down the rugged stone walls. Each step they took sent sounds akin to thunder rumbling down and up.

They could see neither the top of the stairs nor the bottom, only the torches lighting the near-endless spiral gave them a sense of direction. The walls were sleek without any crevices, alcoves, or doors.

Cordelia tugged at the hem of his shirt from behind and whispered, "Can't we rest for a bit?"

The sound of her voice pulled Erend from his stupor, "Yes. Of course. Sorry."

"It's alright," Cordelia sat down with a groan and pulled off her shoes. Her feet were bloodied from the recent days of trekking and running. Erend made sure to add proper walking boots to the list of things they needed to get her.

"Are you going to be okay?" Erend asked and nodded at a particularly large and pus-filled blister.

"Yeah... sorry you have to see this. Not very ladylike of me."

"I don't mind. Can you heal it?"

"You know, I always thought that it would be a waste to cast for something like this. But now I can't think of a better way to use it," she sighed. "I'll heal it after some rest. I'm still a bit queasy from casting so much before."

"Okay. Good. I reckon we can rest here for quite a bit."

"Any plans on how to get out?"

"Not really any plans yet. I've some ideas at least, but most are a gamble."

"Tell me," it sounded like an order, but her eyes were soft and kind.

"I think I should be able to use the augment to freeze the moist steps into something way more slippery. If we lure the orcs down over it that should take quite a few of them down."

"There's no way they'll all fall for the same trick."

"I reckon they'd be more willing to if there were two mages nearby casting at them," he smiled. I still have a lot of juice left, but my ranged spells are quite limited without weapons to use.

"You could probably sharpen the stones with the augment," Cordelia absentmindedly revealed while massaging her blistered feet.

Of course!

Erend rubbed the palm of his hand against his face, "Gods... how did I not think of that?"

"I've been thinking of it since you first used it in the cave. Thought it was obvious," Cordelia tweeted, the schadenfreude obvious for all to see.

Erend rolled his eyes and sighed, "So, what do you think?"

"I think it's the only plan we've got. And getting back up and meeting up with Charles instead of heading down deeper into the unknown seems like a preferable outcome."

"Agreed," Erend nodded along and cast Pocket. He retrieved a few items of food and offered half to Cordelia who happily accepted his offering.

After chowing down the food the two got to work and start walking up the stairs again. As their legs started to ache from the climb they could finally hear the disappointed orcs again. They were close.

"Stop," Erend whispered and held a hand out toward Cordelia. Then he bent down and continued, "Freeze." The Source swirled around his words, caressing the stony steps with its power. Before their very eyes, they could see the moisture crystalizing. When the deed was done, the ice was barely visible. The layer of moisture had been thin, so the ice had taken on the same dark color of stone that the steps had.

"Let's move a bit further down before we start the attack," Cordelia suggested.

When they had retreated a few paces Erend filled his lungs and bellowed, "Come at me you bastards!" his voice was sent bouncing against the walls. The flames lighting the dark pit trembled in response. It didn't take long for the orcs to grow agitated, their voices grew in volume, and their steps made the spiraling stairs quake under their collective weight. Soon they could see the figures walking down the stairs as quickly as they could.

"Let's go!" Erend ordered and mobilized his Source. The power thrummed to life, initially coalescing at his feet before a stone was sent thumping out of the ground in response to his stomp. "Sharpen," he ordered and struck out with his fist, sending the stone flying toward the approaching orcs. The sides of the stone peeled off, making it into a menacing spike as it whistled through the air. The orcs were tightly grouped up as they hurried on down and thus neither he nor Cordelia had to focus on aiming their spells at any individual orc and just cast straight into the center mass of the group.

Terrified howls rang out as Erend stone spike pierced through their formation. Blood splattered as it passed through the chin of one orc, then into the shoulder of the one behind it. Even more, screams rang out when Cordelia's bolt of pure Source splattered against them and tore at their skin like acid. They started to panic and picked up the pace all the while being bombarded by a barrage of spells.

The simple plan worked as they'd hoped, they managed to kill or maim at the very least ten orcs before they reached the ice and were sent sliding into the dark abyss. Yet there was still no end to the orcs heading down the stairs.

The Source swirled around madly in the dimly lit stairs. One spell after the other they kept firing. Cordelia's breath had grown haggard and her pace had slowed considerably. Erend's throat burned from the constant stream of Source passing through it. Each word made him feel like he was spitting lava, yet he didn't stop until the orcs managed to get past the spot of ice.

"Keep firing, I'll hold them off!" he shouted with a raspy voice and drew his blade.

The hilt felt as comfortable as ever, the weight of the sword had felt natural to him ever since awakening, and more so with each passing day. Flames reflected of the dark blade's surface, coloring it in shades of hellfire.

The stairs were too narrow for the orcs to be able to go down shoulder to shoulder, the odds were in his favor. As the first orc neared, he lunged at it with a feint, then nimbly stepped down to dodge the retaliatory swing of its axe. The height difference was further amplified by the stairs and made it difficult for him to deliver a killing blow, luckily he could just send them tumbling down the deep.

He lunged in again and cut at the orc's unarmored calf, slicing it open with ease. The orc screamed and staggered to its side.

Erend smirked, "Force." he ordered. The Source listened. It shoved at the staggering orc, making it dive headfirst into the darkness below.

One down, an endless horde to go.