Cornered

'I think I can hide here. It doesn't look that cramped.'

Niall attempted to jump atop a bookshelf in one of the rooms adjacent to the hallway and hide until the adventurers passed him by. He pushed a rotting wooden table from one of the corners and climbed atop. He felt like it was going to break beneath his paws at any moment. Distant footsteps could be heard getting closer. He had to jump! He leapt towards the top of the bookshelf and... success!

'It's awfully wet, I- AH!' he slipped.

He landed on the table, breaking it, causing a loud noise to echo throughout the hallway. No doubt the humans heard him, as they immediately halted their footsteps. He instantly regretted not logically hiding quietly in the corner instead.

Immediately without a thought, he sprinted towards the hallway entrance. To the left, he could see two adventurers. One didn't look well-equipped. He only had a bow and a dagger and was wearing ragged clothes. Niall noticed the lack of arrows on his back, instead noticing that he was carrying something wrapped in cloth rather than a quiver. The other one was a burly man with a spiked mace and an iron shield, wearing full leather armor. They did not have the same capacity to see well in the dark that Niall does.

'Okay, they haven't seen me yet. If I can avoid them, I'll be fine.'

He could attempt to just run away from them, but there was always the chance that he could back himself up into a corner.

Niall looked around and spotted an entrance to another room. He walked into the room and saw a few crates lying around. He positioned himself well to hide behind them and waited for the duo to pass him by. He heard their voices and eavesdropped on their conversation...

"I don't think that was just another rock falling. Something's definitely in here."

"Don't worry so much about it. The dungeon's about to be cleared. Probably just a kobold."

"I'll just check to be sure. You really had to leave behind your arrows for that bottle of wine?"

"Hey, we gotta celebrate!"

After a short swoop of the room, the burly man came out.

"Spotted some paw prints on the ground. You were right. I think it might've been a kobold. They seemed kinda big, though."

"Now that you mention it, I can see them, yeah."

Hearing this, Niall's heart sank. He knew they were going to follow his paw prints to where he was.

He tried to make his way through the crates, but it was too late. They were already inside the room with him. The only thing he could do was wait..

"Well, if it's just a kobold, even I can deal with him. The prints are leading right here. Just behind those crates."

Niall could only prepare himself to escape by dashing through. He could not take two armed people at once, much less one!

The burly man came in closer, shield in front, and Niall saw this as the perfect opportunity. He leapt onto the shield, pushing the surprised man to the ground, noticing that the ragged man was going for his dagger. He jumped from the man's shield to bite at the neck of the other person. He did not have enough time to react as his teeth dug deep into the artery, sending blood spewing everywhere, causing him to also fall to the ground on his back, shattering the wine bottle he was carrying.

The man with the mace and shield was getting up on his feet. Seeing this, Niall stopped biting at the throat and ran for the exit. The scent of the wine left a clear indicator of where they were, helping him avoid any more conflicts with them.

He arrived at the end of the hallway, where he could either take a left, a right or go down a brick stairwell. He assumed that this led to the lower level, so he took a right turn instead. He started trotting instead of running, seeing how they weren't following him anymore, and chose to rest for a period of time, having not eaten anything in hours.

'I think I'm safe here for a while. They'll probably tell the others that I'm around here, though, so I can't stick around much longer.'

The blue light once again appeared in front of Niall.

"You are not as unremarkable as I thought. You were able to defeat a human, albeit crudely. I suppose seeds do germinate, after all." spoke the ball of light. Niall decided to have a conversation, as he did not fully understand what was going on.

"What happened to the human I bit?"

"The human has bled to death. His soul has been absorbed into the heart of the dungeon. He served as a navigator for the group hunting for you in the lowest level."

"How can I hide around here? It's too open!"

"You are to find ways to do so. I have no strength left to modify the layout to suit your needs."

Even though they were telepathically speaking, Niall's voice was still shaking in his mind. He didn't know what to do. He did not want to constantly be on the run. The ball of light intruded his mind and spoke louder than ever.

"Seeing how you were able to defend yourself and escape, despite having some difficulties, instead of using the soul of the person you have slain to recover my power, I shall grant you access to the System of the dungeon."