The Tunnels [I]

Each of these wolves was far larger than a Courser horse. Their grey furs and deep blue eyes were enough to identify them. Tundra wolves! Level five beasts.

He had no chance against them.

The ones to the sides put on a sudden burst of speed that propelled them closer to Lindley. Soon, he could hear them panting as they began to close in on him. Tired and worn out, he continued to run towards a small hill, overlooking a narrow valley. He collapsed against the base of the hill and took a few seconds to catch his breath.

Sensing danger, he turned towards the direction he was running from and saw a tundrawolf, stopped a stone's throw from him. It was the biggest wolf Lindley had ever seen. The wolf was powerful enough to kill him with one bite to the neck. This was turning out to be a disastrous journey for him.

Why this day? He thought. If he had known that he would be chased by a pack of tundrawolves, he would have taken a different route.

The wolf, its head low to the ground, stood still, watching Lindley. A deep growl rumbling from its throat. Lindley stopped and drew out the longsword given to him by the knight. He'd seen wolves take down prey before. It wasn't pretty, and unless they managed to snap the creature's neck, it looked extremely painful.

The huge tundrawolves circled him, pacing and watching, ever drawing closer. They continued this routine until the nearest was no more than five or six paces away. Their breath formed a nimbus of misty cloud around them. Yet, they didn't attack him, but they were hounding him.

The stink of them hit Lindley and he coughed in apprehension. He was turning in all directions trying to keep the tundrawolves at bay when he saw a narrow opening at the base of the rocky hill.

Living gods! Without a second thought, he ran to the crevice and began squeezing his body through. By the time they realised what was happening, Lindley had gained a few precious seconds on them.

The wolves quickly bore down on him. But before their fangs could get hold of him, he had managed to pull himself through to the other side of the crevice.

He watched the wolves' snarling and growling, trying to get inside but were too large to fit in. Their deadly eyes set on him as he moved away from the crevice, backwards. Behind the wolves, he could see the eyes of the Amarok, partially concealed in a shimmering shadow.

Slowly, he turned around and stared into the darkness that was partially lit by the rays of sunlight that passed through the small opening, high above. Gradually his eyes began to adjust.

Stony walls, detached stones, and scuttling insects appeared before him in subtle shades of red.

In a hunched position, he began moving down the low tunnel. At some points he was forced to crawl on his belly over heaps of rubble where the tunnel had caved in. The foul air was oppressive, and he breathed it in shallow gasps through his open mouth. Determined to find another opening out of the hole, away from the tundrawolves, Lindley moved forward.

All of a sudden, after covering several yards, he came to a halt. The passageway, which had been level, up to this point, suddenly plunged down before him. From his position, he could hear the sound of scuttling legs. He knew they had to be critters or spiders. He stood there thinking of what to do. He had to be extremely careful, but he knew there had to be another exit and he could find it.

Keeping his center of balance low to the floor, he inched his way cautiously forward. Then, he saw the vague bodies of the creatures as they drew nearer. Despite the dark passages keeping them shrouded, Lindley knew what they were.

Spinning spiders!

There were not many of them, but they were more dangerous. So, he was highly concerned of their presence. Tunnel crawlers had sharp pincers, and they normally move in large numbers. He had faced surface spiders before, but never the tunnel crawlers.

Nevertheless, he was grateful to be facing these ones. They were level one beasts and had no magical attributes. What more, he saw only a handful number of them coming from the passage ahead.

No matter how the situation might appeared to him, Lindley knew it was an opportunity for him to get familiar with the feel of a sword. There was no better way than to face the least dangerous, no-magic beasts.

Quickly, he brought out the steel sword and took the defence stance. He had little experience with blades, but he hoped it would be enough.

The spiders were faster than him, but with the sharp sword in his hand, he was better positioned. He only needed to avoid their sharp claws which he found out was almost impossible. Despite taking some injuries, he continued to battle the spiders.

Struggling with fatigue, his legs skidded on a layer of spider's ichor and he fell into a trap hole. His hands shot out for holds, but it was of no use as his legs and fingers scrabbled furiously against the slimy surface. He landed hard, but the heap of straws cushioned his fall. Still the impact knocked the breath out of him.

It took him several long minutes before he regained his consciousness. He checked his satchel for some herbs, and dumped them in his mouth. Then he closed his eyes and rested his back on the chamber's wall.

Moments later, he opened his eyes, and look around The darkness here was highly unnerving but he had no choice, but to look for an exit.

After his eyes had adjusted a bit, he saw a glimmer of light at the far side of the tunnel. Slowly, he walked towards the light. His legs crushed what sounded like remains of some animals as he walked.

The further he walked, the more of the eerie feeling he had. It was as if the whole tunnel was not made of stone, but was alive. The feeling was as if he had been swallowed by an enormous creature, and was now moving around in its stomach. Hot bile rose in his throat. He tried to force the image out of his mind, but to no avail.

He had gone only a short distance when the tunnel directed upwards. He moved a few paces down the passageway. Anxiously, he moved down the slime-covered passage.

Lindley froze, one hand on the tunnel and one on the hilt of his sword, as an eerie moan echoed out of the passage ahead. Strong and insidious, it shook his body like a struck gong. The tunnel he'd been climbing leveled off ahead into a ledge overlooking a chasm hundreds of paces high and deep.

Suddenly, a shape swept downward across the empty space beyond the ledge. A flying creature fluttered there like a flung cloak, its back as black as the darkness of the cavern, its belly as yellow as the earth crystals.

Twin points of red—the creature's eyes—glowed above a gaping mouth. A tail snapped like a whip in the creature's wake, and then the thing was gone.

A shadow scourge! A high level abyssal beast, and it was hunting for preys.