Sonnet: The Cities of Steam, Brass, and Aether

Chapter Six

The air became more sulphurous and pungent the deeper they traveled; Henry put a hand to his nose and squeezed slightly, as if the action would help to remove the smell from it.

Their torch light only extended about twenty feet in front of them, causing the darkness to feel like it was engulfing them from all sides.

It didn't matter to Henry though, for he was a follower of the Fathomless One, and he wore the icy, cold, darkness of the oceans depths around him as if it was a familiar cloak that traveled with him for years; this darkness had much the same feel to it, and appeared to even his trained eyes to be a more natural dark then the first few tunnels they traveled through.

"So like... what's the point of all this stuff anyways?" Lavender asked nonchalantly, her voice musically rebounding up and down the twisting tunnels.

"Shh, not so loud Lavender! There are monsters down here that my daddy says will eat us if they get too close!" Grilimir replied in a very poor whisper; he wasn't much quieter than Lavender, "I was told we are to get through the dungeon with honor, otherwise I am a disgrace to my family name and will be shunned for the rest of my life!" He had seemingly already forgotten what he said about being quiet, raising his voice to a shout.

"Yeah... I mean that's generally the case for everybody that goes through Kimas though." Henry replied back to the group while keeping his eyes forward, wary of any possible danger. "Of course, I am an orphan. So I wont have anybody to go back to or likewise shun me when this is all over, so it really doesn't matter to me anyways does it?

Lavender chimed in when he had finished speaking, "Oh! I don't have a dad and my mom is dead, so I guess that makes me an orphan too!" She was just as loud as last time, perhaps even louder this time.

Henry could've sworn her lips were upturned ever so slightly as she tossed teasing glances towards Grilimir with her tongue out. "In fact, I was raised by wolves!"

"Wait really? Because my daddy says that wolves will rip out my throat if I get too close to one, were you raised to rip out peoples' throats?"

"Of course she wasn't raised by wolves, you idiot, she is just trying to mess with you."

"I was too! Watch, GRRR GRRR GRRR. Careful Grilgril, I will rip your throat out!"

She had definitely gotten louder then, Henry thought to himself while suppressing a chuckle.

"Well whatever, I don't believe you anymore. Anyways, I've got my daddy to go back to! Unless of course I fail this, then I guess I'll be an orphan too because my daddy said not to come back if that happens!"

They continued trekking onward through the winding, twisting, tunnels; which oftentimes would narrow so much that it forced the group to walk single file, while squeezing tightly through the spaces ahead.

At the narrowest points they were forced to turn sideways and shuffle, causing them to scrape their chests and backs against the scratchy, hard rock that had little care for their tender flesh.

"Awfully quiet aren't you Blair? Of course, you are the granddaughter of the Milzani... so it's not like you could fail anyways could you?" Henry asked the young girl who had yet to say anything to the group on the subject.

"If you think my family gives me some sort of special treatment, or doesn't have me undergoing grueling training for hours upon hours each day then you aren't as perceptive as you seem." She stated to the others, looking Henry dead in the eyes. "But all of you are mistaken for the objective anyways, you have made it to Kimas.

Now the only goal is to survive for the duration of the festival, and when we return home we will be welcomed as full-fledged members of society. Then we can start our apprenticeships... at least those of us who will have them."