335 Into Darkness

"Are you certain you want to do this?" Captain Kaleesh looked at Arran with troubled eyes, but he did not reject the idea out of hand.

Before Arran could answer, Lasha turned to the captain. "You actually plan to let him go through with this idiot plan?! Are you mad?!"

"It's not that I want this," the captain replied. "But right now, our options are few. If Arran wishes to go…" He did not finish the sentence, though he cast another troubled look at Arran.

"Other than the captain, I'm the strongest among us," Arran said. "And by myself, I have a good chance of escaping even if the creatures are still around. But with a larger group, we'll wake every single thing that's lurking down there."

It was all true, of course. A single scout's chances would have a better chance of success than a large group, and of all the mercenaries, Arran was the most suitable for the task — even if he hadn't been hiding his strength.