Down the dark passageway...

The passage is dark in the way only underground can be, seeming to suck up all light and sound without exception. Taking a deep breath, you prepare to lower yourself down but you pause. Glancing around, you spy an ornate looking pairing knife and grab it before lowering yourself down the ladder. Janine finally finds her voice, "What are you doing? You don't know what's down there!" Her harsh whisper is terrified and you don't blame her but you need to get to the bottom of this, "The Burning Rose shall guide me." You step onto a dirt floor some ten feet below, the desiccated earth rising in a lethargic cloud.

"You don't even have a light!" You whisper a prayer, running your hand along the pairing knife, and the improvised weapon glows with a pale light. It's dim but it somehow pushes the darkness back so you can see a dozen or so paces in front of you, "The Burning Rose shall guide me." You smile up at Janine's awestruck face.

The tunnel is roughly square in shape, stretching out into the darkness before you at a slight downward tilt. Taking a deep breath, you set off down the tunnel, the sound of blood rushing in your ears rapidly becoming the only sound, "Sabine... wait." You turn, impressed to see Janine descending the ladder and turning to face you with a pale face, "This is my fight too. I should go with you." You nod, newfound respect blooming for the inexperienced acolyte. You stifle a snort. You weren't exactly the world-worn warrior you acted like around Janine. You suppose you were much the same a week ago, naive and untested.

The two of you plod along in silence for a time, the slope of the tunnel slowly increasing till you suddenly find yourselves descending stairs down into the earth. Far below, at the edge of your vision, you spy a flicker of light.

The passage led into a larger, more worn tunnel lit by torches. You make a mark on the wall next to the path up to the trap door. You grip the knife tightly. You doubt whoever was down here would be happy to see you. Janine stays uncomfortably close behind you, jumping every few moments at the total lack of noise. You can't deny that it is extremely eerie but you can feel the Rose's presence with every step.

After passing into half a dozen new passages, each slightly larger than the last, you cautiously peer out of a large passage into an immense chamber. You immediately recognize it from your vision of the Burning Rose and your gut clenches as you look out over the perfectly smooth pool of water stretching across its breadth.

"Sabine... is this...?"

"Yeah."

The room is lit by dozens of torches but still manages to be dim. Your eyes trace the edges, looking for signs of movement, before settling on the raised platform and the altar. You can just barely make out a figure standing behind it against the wall. You glance at Janine. She looked on the verge of panicking, you weren't sure she'd be much help if the figure was hostile. Other passages sprouted off the cavern in a dozen different directions, even if you were somehow able to sneak up on the figure, one shout might bring others.