The basilisk awoke from its slumber. Standing, it stood as tall as the entire room; its presence was imposing and dreadful. It charged towards the weary cohort. Fearstriken Ronn shouted, "Run! Scatter!" Dashing through the labyrinthian corridors, the cohort was slowly succumbing to the mighty beast as one after another they grew tired from their mad sprint and started to fall behind. Noticing the abysmal odds of survival, the paladin spoke,

"Scatter! We must at least save some of us!"

Running towards the next intersection, the group split in two. The ones that turned right were two regular soldiers, while the ones that turned left were Ronn and Peter. The basilisk was not interested in dealing with or eating a young boy or troublesome paladin. So it decided to go after the easier prey, the other soldiers. They knew they wouldn't last long so Ronn ordered Peter

"Boy we must return to the entrance"

Peter looked at the Paladin confused

"Why?? To die to that damned beast?"

The paladin gave him a stoic look and said

"Look at our situation right now. We are trapped. That swarm of bats surrounds the fortress, beasts roam the halls and those men were the ones who carried our food and water they are probably dead... We must head back to the gates because it is the only entrance we can find. we can hide from the mighty beast while it's not looking and maybe, survive do you understand?"

Peter gave a hopeless look

"Sir are we doomed?"

Ronn let out a sigh

"Maybe, maybe we are but the lord of light would not accept it if we didn't try"

Tracing their steps to the entrance and walking with the utmost caution they had found the corpses of the men who had split up with them. Their heads were crushed, their spears splintered, and their shields shattered. Peter turned to look away.

"By Solus..."

As Peter turned to look at Ronn, he noticed he was as stiff as a statue.

"Peter... Run!"

Quick on his feet, Peter dashed away from the corpses only to notice the great beast lurking in one of the corners. He had lured them there with the corpses of their comrades. The great beast rushed towards the paladin, headbutting him. He coughed up blood as his armor was dented. Turning to the young recruit, Ronn tossed a bronze necklace that held the symbol of the sun upon it and shouted,

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"Use that when you need it and run!"

As he said that, the beast swung his tail at the paladin. Without time to dodge, he blocked it with his sword, only for it to bend. The young recruit stood there frozen, watching the scene unfold. Seeing him still standing there, Ronn spoke once more,

"What did I say, Ru-!"

As he spoke, the beast lunged at him again, breaking his wounded arm. Turning away from the dying paladin, Peter ran, running like he had never run before. He discarded his shield, leaving only his spear, and ran. The sounds of battle continued to rage even after he was halfway through the labyrinthian fortress. He dashed between the corridors with ruthless efficiency, leaving him near the rotting gates. By now, the sounds of metal striking scale had stopped, only to be replaced by thuds.

It was more than just one lizard making that noise, however. But two? No more, three; maybe ten? No matter, Peter wasn't going to wait and find out. He held the necklace in his hand and opened the gates. Once opened, a swarm of blackness enveloped the entrance. Holding the necklace up high, He channeled what little mana a mere commoner like him possessed, and a blinding light shone. Closing his eyes, he ran he, ran as fast as he could. Yet the blinding light had only stunned the bats for a few moments, and the swarm was quickly catching up.

He dropped his spear, as it would only burden him, and started running faster as fast as he could. But his body could only take so much strain, and he started to falter. His legs were on fire, yet the swarm was still catching up. He took the necklace in his hand and threw it at the swarm, lighting up the entire cavern. The necklace drained every bit of mana in his system, yet he couldn't catch his breath as the second light was far dimmer and would only stun them temporarily.

He ran through cavern after cavern and finally made his way to the exit. The swarm chased him all the way there. Yet it seemed all the hope had left the young recruit's body as they'd finally caught up to him. Exiting the cave, he stood there in anticipation of his demise. Yet death did not come that day, as the bats simply stared at him from inside the cave. He looked up at the sky; the sun was setting. He couldn't rest. He found solace in escaping the vile creatures that roamed those dreaded caves, but he knew death would not release its hold on him that easily.

The Orusan Mountains were not a place for humans to live. He did not know what beasts would roam the craggy cliffs. So he had to find shelter quickly. Battered and bruised, the young soldier descended the mighty mountain. Unarmored and unarmed, he was left vulnerable to the elements. The cave did not lie too far from the forest floor, yet it was still a treacherous path to take, but it was the only one he could take.

Walking was a chore, but He knew that every step had to be taken carefully, as the fall from the cliffs would be fatal. A single misstep, a single mistake, even the most human of errors, would kill him. So he walked and walked. He was thirsty and hungry, and he knew the journey to the forest would not be the end. He had to return to Atarinsk; he needed to tell them of the horrors that lay there. They needed to kill that beast. Hiking down the mountain, he was exhausted and needed to find somewhere he could rest. Yet the dense foliage was the only refuge he could find, so he laid there and slept.

Awakening to the sun in high noon, he woke up from his bed of leaves and grass with an unpleasant feeling all over his body. Insect bites dotted his skin, and his skin laid bare under the sun was sunburnt. But he had to get up and find something to drink and eat. Finding a nearby creek, he drank greedily from it. With his thirst quenched, he washed away all the blood he could from his clothes and skin. He looked up at the sky, drew a deep breath, and headed south away from the Orusan mountains towards his home.