How much time had passed whilst they edged, blindly, down the tunnel, Thomas didn't know. But, eventually, they stopped to sit, cramped in the tight space, to fumble around in their packs for food.
Thomas had never considered himself tall, but that all changed as he tried to find room for his legs in the narrow passage.
"Ow! Thomas, keep your feet to yourself will you?" Avelyn kicked back at him but she missed, and there was a crunch as her foot slammed into the wall beside him, which was then joined by a string of curses.
Monty laughed, and quickly curbed the noise as it echoed all around them.
When silence returned, they waited until they heard no response to their noise before they sighed with relief.
The sound of bread being torn and water being gulped was almost deafening. Thomas's sense of hearing seemed to be improving to make up for his inability to see anything. Not that his eyes weren't also putting themselves in knots trying to make shadows out of pitch darkness. All he achieved was a pair of dry and sore eyes.
"So, which one of you wants to indulge me in a wonderful story about these Daekhu?"
"Depends, you sure they're not just made up?"
"Avelyn, don't. The lad lost two knives to those beasts, distracting them to give us enough time to get out of that situation."
"You're right, I'm sorry. Not to mention, he did find us a way out."
Thomas waved, even though he knew it was pointless. "Hello? I'm right here you know. You don't have to talk about me as if I'm not. Even if you can't see me."
She kicked at him again.
Monty chastised her. "Avelyn."
She sighed and Thomas heard her pull her feet up, away from him.
Monty pressed on, "Daekhu are vicious beasts, as you saw. They are incredibly strong, fast, and as Avelyn mentioned, they have venom in their fangs. A single bite from one of those beasts is enough to drive you insane if it doesn't kill you first. Though it's very rare anyone escapes a daekhu after being bitten to find that out."
Thomas remembered Dennis's tale. "So is that why no one ever came back from Roimar? Or, when they did, they were crazy?"
Monty grunted in agreement. "Must be. We should have known really. They're attracted to places where there has been alot of death. I don't know if they can feel it, smell it, or whatever. But, they congregate around it like vultures to a carcass."
Well you couldn't find much more death than a burnt down city, so it made sense that they were here, and if Monty knew they existed, he was right, they should of expected them.
Thomas berated himself for being so hard on Monty. Hadn't Avelyn said that they were rare, supposedly extinct. It wasn't fair to judge Monty for not assuming the absurd.
"You missed out a part." Avelyn interjected. "Another reason it's rare to survive an encounter with a Daekhu, is because once they get your scent, they will hunt you to the ends of the earth to finish the job."
"A bit extreme there Avelyn, don't you think? No one ever proved that."
"Oh come on! You know it and I know it. No one in our generation has even 'proved' they exist, let alone bothered to check their description is accurate. Seeing as Thomas was in that room too, they'll have his scent as well, so he needs to know. I'm telling you, we should have just stayed and had it out there are then."
Thomas felt his insides churn, and wondered if he was going to be sick. It certainly wasn't a good idea in such a confined space, but he wasn't sure he'd have a choice in the matter.
He didn't relish the idea of ever seeing a Daekhu ever again, and the thought of constantly looking over his shoulder, wondering when or if they would show up again was horrifying. Maybe Avelyn was right, maybe they should have just stayed and fought to the death, hopefully not theirs, whilst they were prepared.
There was a large sigh from Avelyn as she packed away her leftovers, which prompted Thomas and Monty to follow suit. As they climbed to their feet, they each tried not to bash their heads on the ceiling. Monty failed due to his height advantage on the others, and he cursed under his breath. Thomas could hear him rub his head as he set the pace down the never ending tunnel of darkness.
Thomas wondered how long their supplies would last them if they couldn't find a way out, and what might be waiting for them if they did. He thought more than once that they should turn back, but a vision of the Daekhu would flash in his mind, and he would squash the idea before he gave it voice. This internal conflict was driving him crazy.
"Don't worry lad, no one would have a tunnel this long without having it go somewhere. We'll find our way out."
Thomas smiled at Monty, even though he knew Monty couldn't see him. It didn't matter how he'd known his thoughts, as it was probably going through all their minds in an infuriating loop, what mattered was Monty's ability to raise morale.
Avelyn spoke up from the middle of the line. "How long do you reckon this tunnel is?"
Thomas shrugged before he remembered Avelyn couldn't see him. "No idea, but we've been going at a rather slow pace, not being able to see and all."
"If I could take the lead rather than Monty, we could pick up the pace." She was taunting Monty, itching to move faster.
"And have you race off ahead, disappear, and leave us alone?" Thomas regretted the words as soon as they came out. He could just picture her pouting.
"I don't appreciate that, Thomas. I never abandon my friends."
He replaced the imaginary pout with a scowl, and fell back slightly just in case she decided to turn around and kick out at him again. "Sorry. But either way, caution is probably a better idea, seeing as we can't see a damned thing."
Monty grunted in agreement, and the matter was closed.
After what felt like an eternity, Monty gasped and Thomas could hear Avelyn try to shoulder past him. With the two of them taking up the entire tunnel ahead of him, and neither talking he didn't know what was going on.
"What..."
Both of them turned and shushed him. He could that tell they had turned around to face him, because there was a faint outline to each of their frames.
Outlines of light. There was light coming from somewhere.
Now he was scrambled to get a better look as well, and soon the three of them were unable to move forward, squashed uncomfortably into the small space.
Monty gave them both a final push that ended the struggle, and they fell back. Thomas saw his outline shake with silent laughter as he looked down at the two of them sprawled on the floor, limbs tangled together, before he turned and slowly moved towards the source of the light.
Thomas and Avelyn tripped each other up in their attempts to get back on their feet, so it took them a while to catch up to Monty. This time there was no urgent rush to see past him, but the impatience was practically tangible.
The tunnel grew wider and taller, and before long even Monty could stand upright without bashing his head on the ceiling.
The light had gotten stronger as well, and Thomas could just about see the features on Avelyn's face beside him now.
Then Monty wasn't in front of them anymore. He had stepped to the side as the tunnel walls came to an end, to allow them to see past his huge frame.
Before them lay a massive cavern. Thomas tried to take everything in at once, but his eyes burned with the sudden brightness, and he struggled to keep them open at first.
It was magical. Crystals coated the ceiling and walls, and grouped in clusters on the floor as well. Colours danced around them as the light refracted off the millions of surfaces available. It was impossible to tell where the light was coming from, but, regardless, Thomas was glad for it.
Thomas was still walking, entranced by the crystals, when Monty grabbed him from behind, breaking his trance. He shook his head and turned to glare at Monty, until he saw Monty gesture at the ground in front of his feet. He turned and fell backwards in shock.
Right in front of him, right where his next step would have taken him, was a drop that sent him reeling with vertigo. It was as pitch black as the tunnel had been. No way to tell how deep it was, nor what would be waiting at the bottom if you survived the fall. Thomas looked around the cavern again, and realised that there were similar pits of darkness dotted all around the place. They would have to watch their step in here for sure.
There were paths weaving around the mounds of crystals and pitfalls, some wider than others, and he was grateful to the crystals for their light. Without them, he dreaded to think how they could have traversed such a treacherous place.
They opted for the largest path they could find, and shuffled along, eyes stuck to the floor, watching their every step. Thomas paused here and there to touch the crystals. They were hard and cold, unmovable. Were these the crystals that Martin's client wanted? Did he just want one? How was he supposed to detach them? And why?
Eventually, they found themselves at another tunnel entrance, and Thomas realised that each path led to it's own tunnel.
They were in a maze. But was the maze natural or manmade? Or made by something else entirely?
The tunnel in front of them was much larger than where they had entered, and there were crystals along the ceiling, which gave the tunnel a gentle glow. It was much more subtle than the glaring brightness in the cavern.
Hope flared up in waves within Thomas. There had to be a way out of here, with all of these tunnels, you couldn't just have one entrance, and especially not one in a random house in the Ruins of Roimar that was connected to a tunnel left in utter darkness. They would find their way out, and they would have quite the story to tell around the campfire. Certainly something for Dennis to add to his tale of the Ruins of Roimar, if the Daekhu didn't quite spice it up enough.