Hidden Tunnels and The Summoning of Flux

Drew moved forward to the wall while checking the entrances of the alley to see if anyone was looking in or paying attention to the dark area he found himself in.

He felt his body ease up as he entered stealth mode and found that his steps were lighter, causing fewer disturbances among the ground and debris on the floor.

He walked forward with delicate steps as he examined the wall closer and looked for anything that might suggest a way in.

The wall was taller than the other buildings in the city and it was made out of a thick dark wood that was accented and supported by small amounts of stone. It didn't stand out among the buildings around it but one thing that was noticeably different about it was that it didn't seem to have any windows on the exterior, at least not from Drew's point of perspective.

The rock where the boy had disappeared into wasn't any different from the stone surrounding it... at least that is what Drew thought at first.

He placed his hands upon the rough stone and found that it shifted slightly as he pressed against it.

It gently swung forward and revealed a small crawlspace that was about 3 feet tall and 3 feet wide.

It was completely dark and seemed to lead into pure nothingness.

'The tracks lead inside...' Drew thought as he began to hunch down to fit inside the crawlspace, a grimace clear on his face.

He moved into the space slowly and felt around with his hands to determine if there were any changes within the tunnel but he found that instead of a long trek like he found that it opened up into a fairly spacious room after a short crawl.

Drew cautiously stood up and tried to make out if there were any shapes in which he could see in this room.

He focused his eyes but couldn't manage to see anything as there was just a lack of light anywhere to have been seen.

'Hmm... I thought that the light from the entrance would have leaked in at least a little bit...' Drew thought as he realized the entrance had closed up behind him.

A knot slowly formed in his stomach as he realized that he might be trapped and with a lack of sight he had no easy way to escape.

He takes a deep breath to calm his nerves and then thought of any way he could create a light source with his limited supplies.

'I didn't think to bring a fucking lantern or anything when I go out to the market in broad daylight,' Drew cursed.

He patted down the light pack he brought with him and felt around his body for anything that could create a fire but found something he had not thought of for quite a while.

It was a lump of rough and crude wood in a pouch that he didn't use often.

He pulled it out and examined it with his hands before realizing it was the Wolf Medallion/Token he had received from the strange cat that called herself 'Jazzy' that he met at the marketplace.

'System, could you remind me of the function of the Wolf Totem?' Drew thought as the details of the item were fuzzy due to his lack of use.

After a second the system interface appeared within his mind detailing the item's abilities.

---

[Wolf Totem: Rarity: Uncommon]: Wolves are strong but their strength alone is insignificant when compared when they are together. You may use this item once per day and once you do you can summon a spirit wolf that is loyal to you by spending a large amount of mana. This wolf's strength is depending on your capabilities and it grows even stronger when it is in a group, growing stronger for each person apart of its pack. This wolf exists until killed or unsummoned. You may only summon one wolf at a time.

---

'A spirit wolf...'

The words twisted in his mind and he thought of the possibilities of it.

'A spirit-type creature might cause some sort of light that could help me out...'

'And I did get that strange skill that dealt with spirits from Oleander,'

'No harm in trying it out I suppose,'

He held the item and mentally thought of activating it.

He felt a slight burning sensation flood his right arm as he could see the faint wolf tattoo flair with a silvery light.

It was pulsing and seemed to be waiting for some sort of confirmation but Drew wasn't exactly sure what it was trying to confirm until the system prompted him once more.

[The item, [Wolf Totem], is requesting mana from the user. How much of your mana would you like to spend on this item's function?]

'I don't even know how many mana I have,' Drew thought in confusion.

'I suppose you can just use up as much as possible without injuring me,' He thought with a little hesitation.

As soon as he commanded the system he felt the tattoo flair once more and fill the space he was in with light.

He finally could see where he was.

He scanned his surroundings and found that it seemed to be a room filled with barrels and crates but he felt like something was off with them.

'It doesn't seem like anyone is watching me,' Relief filled Drew.

He felt the tattoo on his arm begin to twist slightly and lurched down from his forearm to his fingertips before escaping and becoming a stream of light that seemed to twist and spiral in space.

The noise of a wolf howl could be heard faintly echoing from within the Wolf Totem and as it let out the howl the mana in the air began to twist and fluctuate much faster than before.

The energy took on a shiny white light that seemed filled with particles that seemed to move in a strange flow.

They seemed to change from a state of moving forward, reversing, and stopping entirely.

After a few seconds the light finally finished twisting and what remained was a wolf that was 4 feet tall and much larger. Its eyes glinted intelligently and stared at Drew fondly as it slowly moved forward, its fur coalescing as it walked.

The wolf was magnificent. Its fur glowed and the muscles beneath were lean yet pronounced. Its eyes looked like an endless swirling pool of silvery translucent light.

It moved towards Drew slowly and as it moved it seemed to be forming a more physical form by the second, though it still retained its glow.

Drew felt the intense urge to reach his hand out and followed his instincts as the wolf placed its head upon his hand with a look of joy on its face.

'I should name it...' something whispered into the depths of Drew's mind.

He stared into its deep eyes for a moment before speaking out confidently.

"Your name... is Flux,"

The wolf closed its eyes and a slow energy left Drew's body as it flooded the wolf and caused the strange particles to speed up and continue their strange flow.

After a few seconds of this Flux grew a few inches bigger and opened its eyes with acceptance.

[View Bound Companions?]

Drew thought for a moment before deciding to decline for the moment.

'I need to get back my weapons or I am effectively useless in combat, I can't waste time looking over his capabilities,'

Drew looked at the wolf with respect and fondness before turning his attention to the strange storage room around him.

The room had many boxes that were filled with cheap merchant products that were not worth looting.

Drew pondered on the purpose of the room before coming to an understanding.

'If I were a group of thieves... I wouldn't have my hideout easily accessible,'

'And even if someone were to find my hideout... I would make it a front for the actual entrance into the main base,'

'The room was a front. If someone wandered upon it they would think it was simply a merchant's stache. If reported to the guards they would search it and find that it had basic wares that were not warranted for a deeper search. It may be reported to a merchant guild(If those even exist) but it wouldn't cause any real suspicion beyond the initial search,'

'But if there was an additional hidden entrance in this front then the guards are not likely to find it,'

Drew moved around the room quickly and checked beneath the boxes and barrels and also thoroughly checked the walls for any kind of mechanisms similar to that of the previous false wall.

The walls came back clean but when he moved a barrel to its side he found a slight discrepancy in the flooring that could be easily mistaken for damage caused to force or time.

He swept his hands across the surface and felt around the cracks that were present before finally finding a small finger indentation that could be used as leverage. He raised his hand and raised the stone paneling to reveal a hole that went a few dozen feet into the earth.

A loose rope ladder hung from the side and a small torch lit the way down from the bottom of the hole.

'Bingo,'