With their apologies offered and Lyerin's patience worn thin, the soldiers fell silent, unwilling to test the Chieftain's ire any further.
The group regrouped, casting anxious glances at one another before turning their attention to the deeper passage of the underwater cave.
The flickering light from luminescent corals barely illuminated the path ahead, casting wavering, ghostly shadows that danced along the damp rock walls.
The silence was broken only by the steady drip-drip of water echoing around them, and the faint murmur of the ocean's currents outside.
Lyerin stepped forward, his movements confident and unhurried, as if the eerie atmosphere was nothing more than a mild curiosity. "Follow closely," he commanded, his voice cutting through the tension. "This part of the cave has… peculiarities."
The soldiers exchanged wary glances but obeyed, their footsteps echoing in the narrow corridor.