Split the party, Helena takes the left.

"We need to investigate both tunnels. Arthur will lead the party taking the right path. Take Liam, Natalie, and Paxia. I'll take Reese, Gorban, and Brintley to the left. If the path splits again and you can't follow which way they went, then backtrack to here and wait for us."

Everyone nodded in agreement and set off down their path. Helena wasn't the tracker that Natalie was, but she was able to follow the footprints in the dirt. The tunnels were growing darker. In the beginning they had some torches using blaze stones lighting along the walls, but now they were going deeper than the soldiers patrolled even in times of peace. Brintley stopped and pulled a lantern from her backpack. She lit it and passed it to Helena.

They followed the path to an open room and found another dead beast and a torn pack similar to one Reese was wearing. He identified it as one that one of packs his team used. The problem now was that the opened to three paths. The foot prints headed off to the left, but if any of the beasts were in the nearby tunnels, they could easily find themselves in an ambush.

"Reese, go back the other way and see if our friends are back yet. We will keep following the trail and see if we can find your team."

The soldier reluctantly agreed and took a spare lantern from Brintley. The team once more split and headed after the remaining patrol. This path wasn't straight like the others, it was a more natural cave formation than the previous tunnels, so it twisted and turned before opening up into another cavern. That's when they saw the glow of a torch laying on the floor and the sounds of struggles. From the door they could make out a figure grunting and trying to fight off something in the dark as well as panicked cries further in.

"W-we have to help!"

Gorban gave a grunt of agreement and charged forward. Brintley had her crossbow in her hands and was loading a bolt. But something didn't feel right. Helena drew her sword and prepared to charge after Gorban, but she worried about leaving Brintley alone by the door. A woman screamed in the darkness to "Get it out," furthering her concerns. If they didn't rescue her quickly, the woman who could possibly be Ashlin would have a belly full of tentacle cum.