darkness under every stone

Darkness has a funny association for the sentient mind. Being capable of imagination the self-aware becomes inclined to imagine the possible, and the shroud of mystery created by the absence of light creates a great opportunity for these imaginations to run wild with fear. In reality the eyes are equally blinded by bright lights as they are in darkness, and bright enough light can permanently scar the eyes, leaving the vision forever impaired. And yet while more dangerous and equally good at concealing the world from the eye the sentient mind fears it very little if at all. The most blinding of all combinations though is to hold a bright light in between oneself and deep darkness.

For this reason Alex did his best to keep the torch over his head in this tight space, keeping him almost prone for the best visibility. Trailing not far behind him Raven was simply hunched down into the tunnel letting Alex lead the way, unable to see much beyond the torch bearer, but still able to see well enough that he could inspect the tunnel as they went.

"This really does look unnatural, no matter how smooth the surfaces are the shape is too perfectly even. But who would make it so small?"

"Ever seen a dwarf?" Demon asked ahead from somewhere in the darkness.

"Well yes, but isn't this a little cumbersome even for them? Can they swing a tool in this cramped space?"

"Not sure, but the smaller the tunnel the less dust there is to dispose of later."

The tunnel continued strait ahead, if it had an incline it was impossible to determine. Alex looked back at the tiny speck of light now that was all that could be seen of the outside world. "We're probably close to one thousand paces and there's no change to the tunnel in either size or direction. I think it's safe to assume it's unnatural in construction, the air is damp with no draft but the stones are also dry."

"And that means what exactly?" asked Raven.

"It means there's one other option for how this tunnel was formed besides dwarves." Alex sighed, "There's a good chance this tunnel was made by goblins, although it doesn't have the lingering stench of their dung they might have been the reason the quarry was shut down."

Demon sauntered into the light, "Maybe so, but I cannot smell the dirty creatures, nor can I sense their minds. So we're unlikely to find anything of even limited intelligence in here."

Alex peered back into the darkness, "All the same lets figure out if we need to collapse this tunnel, "I'm a little surprised we haven't encountered any cavern's yet if there were other openings in the cliffs."

Silence was the reply to Alex's observation.

A short bit further into the tunnel Alex asked, "Demon...do you remember the necromancy cult we raided up north that was trying to make a castle out of dragon bones?"

"What about it?"

"Remember how they were molding the shape of bones into unnatural shapes? Could a tunnel like this be made with earth magic?"

Silence hung for a minute before Demon answered, "In theory, yes. I don't know that I've ever seen anyone who did thought."

Alex peered into the endless darkness before him, "Neither have I, not even among the dwarves. But it's the best explanation I can come up with."

"It's a reasonable one. I'm a little surprised I hadn't thought of it myself."

"Never occurred to me either," Raven added, "and I've a servant of two gods."

"True," Alex said, "But Terruch isn't one of the two so the abilities and limitations of earth magic shouldn't be in your arsenal of knowledge."

Raven sighed, "Servents of the Golem Father aren't known for being creative. They tend to be set in their ways, you could say their doctrines are 'set in stone'." Raven laughed at his own joke.

Alex noticed that the laugh was nervous, and with the unnatural tension the very unnatural space was presenting he couldn't find fault in Raven's discomfort.

"I hear water drips now master." Demon said, despite her small size Alex could still hear the rush of air coming out of her tiny lungs.

Sure enough Alex and Raven could soon hear the reverberating plink of water drops on a smooth stone surface, an irregular pattern of varying pitches and vibrato indicating a larger cavern with more than one source droplet sounds.

Alex and Raven shuffled forward faster looking forward to the open expanse of a cave over the cramped tunnel.

The change was abrupt, the tunnel simply ended into the wall of the cavern. Raven might have pushed Alex into the void beyond had they not both seen Demon standing on the edge of the lip looking down into the darkness below.

Alex reached the torch into the darkness and peered over the edge as well, the light illumenated what appeared to be a large slab of stone at an odd angle, it would be a drop, but it was probably safe enough. Looking up Alex saw nothing except for the occasional glint when a droplet of water caught the light just right to reflect it back, and before him a void that was both inviting and threatening at the same time, daring him to enter the unknown on faith alone.

Raven wiggled forward to peer out the end of the tunnel as well, "Ah...I can't see anything."

"Because you have lousy human eyes." Demon rebuked.

"Oy! I wasn't lucky enough to be born a cat."

"Neither was I. Alex shoved me in this body against my will."

"I have an attachment to living, although I'm not fond of my overall problem these eyes are a serious perk."

"How far can you see?"

"The rock below us," Alex answered, "probably a safe drop although getting back up might be a trick."

"Want me to wait up here while you go down in case you need a hand getting back up?"

"Sure," Alex slid out of his pack and handed the torch to Raven, "If I break my neck don't jump after me, wait until I get back up and drop me a rope. It's in that side pocket."

Raven made a funny face, "If you break your neck?"

"It's another perk of the curse," Demon answered, "If one of us die we'll keep reviving like the undead we are."

"Nice perk."

Alex laughed darkly, "Try dying sometime and then tell me about how nice it is to come back knowing you can do it a few thousand times and still come back."

Demon sat down and waved a paw, "Break a leg master."

Alex glared at her, "Bitch" was muttered then he slid off the edge into the darkness.