Chapter IV: Labyrinth

The group continued through this open area. Jezran kept his light overhead, illuminating the path ahead of them.

The body of this creature made the terrain a little more difficult, but they made good progress until they reached the end of the open area.

Before them now was a tunnel, far removed from the ornate walls of the first room. It was hard to say whether it was made by some creature or man made, only that it was small enough that Hamish needed to duck his head to avoid hitting the ceiling as they entered. The walls, slightly damp and cold to the touch, were narrow enough that the party was forced to enter single file. Argent and Ari were at the front, Jezran and Selene in the middle, and Hamish taking up the rear.

Jezran slipped the light back under his hat as they entered, lighting a torch instead to see.

"Jezran," Argent said as they were a few minutes into the tunnel, "Can you check to see if there's anything nearby?"

"I can, but it will only work on anything in the tunnel with us. It does not have a limited range, but anything like these walls will block it." Jezran explained.

Argent nodded, "Then check as often as possible, everyone else, stay sharp."

The party fell into a similar routine of travel. Everyone was alert and ready, the only difference came from Jezran, who gave an update every few minutes reporting what he saw through the Eye of Arcana.

Nothing but the cold stone on either side and the endless black around them could be seen. Then the tunnel began branching off in several different directions.

Pausing their advance in front of four separate paths, everyone squeezed by to inspect one of the corridors before them.

"Jezran, are you getting anything from the Eye?" Argent asked.

He shook his head, "Unfortunately not. I suspect we've found ourselves at the beginning of a crossroad of diverging paths meant to confuse outsiders."

"So we've walked straight into a labyrinth?" Selene asked.

"It would appear so, my friend," Hamish said, but then chuckled, "Luckily, I doubt there is monster in here, too cramped."

Ari chuckled weakly.

Selene snorted, "True, guess that means you're the biggest monster in here, Hamish."

Argent was silent, staring down one of the tunnels intently. Finally, he sighed, drawing one of his knives and making a mark on the tunnel they came from.

He then turned to the party and said, "While I'd rather not leave a trace, if this is a maze, we'll need to know what routes we've travelled so we don't go in circles. I suggest we start by going straight. It may not lead us to the exit, but it should give us an idea how deep the maze goes. We'll plan accordingly once we're there."

The party nodded and they quickly fell back into single file as Argent led the way.

"Do you need one of my daggers, Hamish?" Selene offered as the party was about to head through the passageway.

"No need, my friend," Hamish said, pulling his razor from his pack, "I would not wish to dull your blade. My razor will do and only downside is I may let beard grow out until I get new one."

Selene snickered, "Be careful, or you might end up looking like Jezran."

Hamish guffawed, "If I did, I would look like big tree, people climb up my legs to see if my nose is ripe fruit."

Hamish and Selene shared a giggle.

"You know I can hear you," Jezran said, hand rubbing his beard.

"Sorry, no offense meant, Jezran. Your beard looks..." Selene said, trying to find the right word.

"Esteemed, regal, majestic?" Jezran offered.

Selene eyed the strange beard and thought a moment. Nope, not those words.

Ari whispered, "How about...wizard...y?"

Selene and Hamish eyed each other and nodded.

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"Yeah, it's very wizard-y," Selene declared.

Jezran nodded at that, satisfied. He then declared while stroking the beard fondly, "Yes, it is very wizardly."

Conversation died down after that as they continued to follow through with Argent's plan.

Unfortunately, this plan was short lived, as it was not long before they came to a dead end. Except it was not due to the end of the labyrinth, but rather that the passage was buried in rubble due to a collapse in the ceiling.

"Can you try to use your Passage spell on it, Jezran?" Argent suggested.

Jezran shook his head, "I'm a bit spent on magic, I'm afraid. It may work and get us to the other side, but if it doesn't, I've wasted energy that could be used in a fight."

Argent nodded, "Let's head back, then."

They turned back and decided to take the rightward path, hoping to reconverge on the original path ahead. Each attempt ended the same, it appeared that whole portions of the labyrinth had collapsed. After finding the umpteenth collapsed corridor leading back towards that section, they had been wandering for hours.

Hamish suggested a short rest before continuing, as they had now been down here now for almost a full day with very little rest. A fact that was beginning to affect everyone.

Argent agreed.

There was little room, so everyone simply sat where they stood in the corridor, using their packs as meager cushions against the wall. All except Hamish, who was forced to kneel as he could not sit properly.

A pity we can't find a safe place to set up camp, Selene thought as she looked at the bags under everyone's eyes. She then yawned loudly, I think we could all use a little sleep.

An hour passed. Suddenly Jezran, who was on watch at the center of the crossroads, gasped loudly as he jumped to his feet. Everyone who had been previously zoning in and out of awareness, immediately bolted up as well. He pointed down the corridor leading to the right of them and whispered, "There's something down there."

"What do you mean?" Ari asked.

"I've been checking the corridors with my Eye of Arcana every few minutes like Argent requested," Jezran explained, "That corridor shows...at least three living entities."

"How far away?" Argent asked.

"If I had to guess, probably a few hundred feet away..." Jezran then added, brow creasing, "...and closing. They're coming this way."

"What should we do, Argent?" Selene asked.

The elf stared down that hallway a moment, weighing his options.

"Wait." Jezran said, his voice concerned as he activated the Eye a second time, "I'm seeing another one, down this way."

He pointed down the corridor to their left, then he yelped as he activated it again, "Now this one...and this one too!"

Sweat beaded the wizard's brow as he whispered, "I think they know we're here. Every time I check, I detect more of them down each hall."

Hamish whispered something in his home tongue under his breath.

Ari blanched. Selene took a deep breath.

Argent stood frozen, "Everyone, back down the hall."

"But we'll be trapped down there," Selene whispered harshly.

"It can act as a funnel, giving us an equal footing against larger numbers," Argent stated calmly, "But I'm not planning to fight if we can avoid it."

The party returned to the collapsed portion of the corridor, walking single file with Hamish at the rear, following Selene.

As they reached the end, everyone could hear the sound of damp bodies sliding and sloshing towards them echo throughout the halls.

"Jezran, try to make a Passage. It will either get us out of this or we'll have to fight off the approaching horde." Argent stated bluntly.

Jezran swallowed hard, but nodded.

"I hope this works," Jezran whispered as he began preparing the spell.

Moments passed slowly as the party waited. Jezran's spell, so far as Selene understood, needed very specific requirements. If those parameters were not met, the spell would fail and nothing would happen. Jezran would likely be spent as well, unable to assist in the fight for their lives. Time was short as whatever was behind them rapidly sloshed towards the party.

Selene stood behind Hamish, so she could not see as much as she would like. She could peek past his side just enough to stare into the dark hallway past him. In the distance, she could see them. They appeared to be some kind of living slime, oozing and sliding across the floor, ceiling and walls.

Jezran let out a gasp.

Selene turned around, expecting the worst.

A massive hole now stood where the rubble once stood.

"I did it!" Jezran cried, voice slightly hoarse but smiling ear to ear.

"Everyone move, now!" Argent ordered, then bolted down the now open hallway.

The party raced through the passage, adrenaline replacing fatigue, with the wall of slime not far behind.

As the passage created by the spell gave way to the original hallway, Jezran shut the passage behind them.

"We made it," Selene said as she sat against the wall, catching her breath.

"Not yet," Argent said, then turned to Ari, "Can you do it?"

"Of course," Ari said, she rose and slipped past the party to the collapsed portion of the corridor. She placed both hands on the walls beside her, whispering an incantation. In a flash, the rubble froze solid, and was reinforced by a wall of ice.

"Now we're safe," Ari said, out of breath.

At that point, everyone collapsed. They were spent.

"Let's get a small fire going," Argent said, "Then everyone take a half dose of the potion. I"ll keep watch, we'll need to get moving as soon as you all awaken."

The party nodded, then prepared for the much needed rest of empty dreams.