West followed in the hot wake of Roman’s frustration, an uncomfortable contrast to Sunny’s cold bleakness. The moment they crested the stairs into the fourth hall, the too-familiar mechanisms within the walls came to life.

“Oh, wonderful,” Roman spat as the doorway behind them sealed. “And I bet if we were close, the way forward is blocked too. Is this how it’s going to be? Any time we make progress, we’ll be cut off?” Sunny looked away. “Naturally,” he muttered fiercely, picking a direction and starting off.

“Hol’ up there, Roman,” West called. “It’s time we stopped fer a rest now, aye?”

Roman whipped around and snarled. “We just did.”

Baffled, West followed his gaze back where they’d left Vera. “Back there? When the lass died? Lad, that wasnae a rest.” West slung off his pack and set it firmly on the ground. “Ye promised a proper one once we got through to the next hall, and I’m keepin’ ye to that.”

“The situation’s a little dire to be taking a break for a nap, Investigator!”

“Nae lad, it’s the opposite. It’s too serious fer us to be runnin’ around in a tizzy til we’re stumblin’ o’er our own feet.” West rummaged through his pack until he found the bundle of food from the innkeep. Pleased, he sat on the stone floor and unwrapped it. “‘Ere Sunneh, ye’ve gotta be hungry, arenae ye?” He picked out the salted pork, then offered cloth with the remaining bread and cheese. “Go on, take it.”

Sunny hesitated, but only for a moment. Even if she wanted to turn down the food, there was a harsh chatter in her ear– Lím didn’t look like he’d be so polite. “All r-right. Thank you,” she said, accepting the food. She rested Vera’s wand case on the ground a few paces away and sat, tucking the skirt of her dress under her.

The motion caught Roman's attention. “Why do you have that?” His eyes locked on the case Sunny had unslung from her shoulder.

Sunny faltered under the scrutiny. “It’s– I didn’t think we ought to l-leave it. We might find a use–“

“That’s not yours.” Roman stalked forward, menacing enough that without thinking about it, West was back on his feet, putting a restraining hand in the swordsman’s path.

“Easy, lad. Sunneh’s jes’ keepin’ it along,” West said. “Ye were leavin’ it behind anyways, werenae ye?”

“That doesn’t mean that she can just take it. Give it over,” Roman ordered, holding out his hand. Shakily, Sunny stood and passed the case over. The swordsman looped it over his shoulder, then crossed to the opposite side of the hall and plopped down with a solid thunk.

Well, at least he’s not arguin’ about takin a rest now, West thought with a sigh. Sunny stepped back, uncertain, but West gave her a don’t-worry-about-it shrug and nodded her back to eat. Unsettled, Sunny resumed her seat and regarded her meal with a glum frown.

Leading by example, West ripped off a bite of pork and chewed, making every smack sound extra satisfied, then took a long swig from his waterskin. “Heads up,” he said, tossing the waterskin to Sunny. Eyes wide, she nearly fumbled it, but then nodded gratefully and drank. Lím chittered demandingly until Sunny pulled off pieces of bread and passed them, fingertips to greedy paws, to the squirrel. Only after he’d stuffed his cheeks full did the Mani take even a small bite of her own, chewing with resignation. Roman produced a stiff sheet of jerky from his pack and began tearing at it with his teeth, to West’s satisfaction. Whatever faults the swordsman had displayed, at least he had the sense to eat.

West tried to bait his companions into conversation several times, but only got a few grunts in return. This is a right mess, sure enough, he sighed. Roman didn’t seem overwrought for having lost his longtime ally, only frustrated. West was more concerned for Sunny, drawn too deep into her thoughts to manage more than a few bites.

Well, if she wasn’t eating much, at least she was getting something down. Him staring at her probably wasn’t going to help any. He checked the timekeeper on the back of his badge. They’d been on the move about two hours already, with just one room between them and what Sunny had said would be the final hall. Even if they had to backtrack, they had plenty of time before dawn. Satisfied, West returned his badge to his vest pocket, pushed his pack against the wall, and settled his head on it.

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“Investigator, I was kidding before. You aren’t really going to take a nap, are you?” Roman, contemptuous, broke the silence.

“I mean, if ye wanted to take one instead, I can keep watch,” West offered, but knowing perfectly well that Roman wasn’t the type, didn’t so much as lift his head. He heard the swordsman snort in disgust, and answered with an exaggerated yawn. “Jes’ let me know if anythin’ should happen, I’ll nae be sleepin’ heavy.”

West dozed. Proper sleep felt impossible in this place, but even only closing his eyes gave him a chance to rejuvenate and recenter. And besides, he wasn’t the one that really needed a break.

After a time, he cracked an eye open and peeked at Sunny. She must have found her appetite– there were only a few morsels left. Even more encouraging, she was repurposing the cloth wrapping to bandage her arm, giving the injury its first modicum of care. He closed his eyes again before she could notice him watching.

A few minutes later, West snuck another peek. Sunny slept, slumped against the wall as if her exhaustion had caught her unprepared. Lím surprised him with his wakefulness– the small creature perched in Sunny’s lap, keeping a haggard watch. Roman busied himself by polishing the edge of his sword, seeming a world calmer for the break. Satisfied, West let himself doze off again, more deeply now than before.

West woke of his own accord some time later. Stretching his hands up with a crack on his joints, West sat up. “How long was I asleep fer?”

“Plenty long,” Roman said dryly, taking the Investigator’s stirring as an invitation to stand and shoulder the wand case. At West’s expectant stare, he sighed and clarified: “Short of an hour, by my reckoning. Any longer and I’d have woken you myself.”

“Good,” he said. “Sunneh, are ye awake?”

The Mani didn’t stir until Lím scampered up to her shoulder. Startled awake, it took her several hazy blinks to piece the world together. “I’m up,” she muttered, supporting herself against the wall as she staggered to her feet.

The short rest hadn’t banished the dark circles under her eyes, but Sunny seemed doggedly ready to move onward. Roman appeared, if still impatient, a touch less savage in his temper now. And even Lím had a bit of vigor in him again, not just tucking into Sunny’s arms for sleep like he had done before. Their time resting had done them right.

West smiled. “Are ye both ready to continue on?”

“Please, yes,” Roman said, while Sunny nodded once.

“Righ’ then. Roman, which way do ye think we oughta go?” West offered the lead as an olive branch. The nobleman took his deference as a matter of course, nodding down the hall and directing them onward.

Signs of old violence welcomed them down the hall. Char-black scorches marred floor and wall and ceiling. West hesitated to walk among them. “Traps here?” he questioned.

“N-no,” Sunny said, directing her gaze onward from the battle scars. West tried to imagine what situation might have blackened the bricks so thoroughly here– what fiery spells a spellcaster might have fought back with, or what magic tool could have left its destructive mark. Whatever the battle, it had been fierce, and he knew from the corpses back at the stage room, it had been a losing one.

He didn’t have long to ponder it before they came across a new passage. Drawing near the opening, Sunny peered inside. “N-not this one,” she said adamantly, stepping back.

Roman glanced at her. “Why? This is the direction we need to go, isn’t it?”

“It is, but t-this room is too dangerous. We’ve tried it twice, and… we sh-should find another way.”

“If you’ve tried it twice, you can tell us what kind of challenge is in it.” Roman smiled, exuding the same charming confidence that had always put Vera at ease. “Maybe we’re properly equipped for it.”

“No. You’re not.” Sunny shook her head. “It’s… without the right t-tools, it comes down to luck. Pure l-luck.”

“Well, that puts us righ’ out,” West reasoned. “Ye gotta figure that anyone comin’ by this place cannae be all that lucky to begin with, after all.”

But a loop of the hall later, and they were outside the unlucky door again with no alternate path forward. “We sh-should go back,” Sunny said. “There was a inward doorway back there, it might let us move the walls– or it’ll double us back to the third hall, and we can find something from there–”

“This room,” Roman pointed at it, “will almost certainly let us through to the fifth hall. And the fifth hall is the last one. Yes?”

“... It is,” Sunny admitted. “So far as I know.” Roman's eyes sparked at her uncertainty, and she revised, “I th-think it is!”

“It best be,” he growled.

“Hol’ on lad, let's stop and think about–” But West hadn’t even finished his sentence, and Roman was moving ahead and into the room. “Damn it, would ye take a moment and jes’ lis’n!”

Already, Roman was through the threshold. At the hint of hesitation from the others, West heard the gears of the inner wall clicking into place. With a dismayed “oh!”, Sunny hurried to follow, and West swore as he did the same.

The wall ground shut behind them, and West felt the crunch of the stopping gears deep in his gut. This is going to be right bad.