Chandea, Year of Severus, 15, I.R., the 48th day of Fall, Arenfall

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There was a different kind of tension in the air. Ulfaar's heart raced as he waited for Orphella to open the passage on the stone wall. The elf looked at him, worried at his current position.

Ulfaar's eyes met with the elf's, even without words or signals it was clear to the both of them that they were having a conversation. Her eyes spoke to him, asking him if he was alright. He tried his best to look alright in front of her, but it was clear that he wasn't.

The elf gave him a worried smile. Ulfaar wanted to tell Orphella not to worry but with Commander Crovar currently breathing on his neck, that would be impossible. The old Commander signaled the elf to prepare herself for the wall opening.

"U-ulf," He tapped on his back. "You better cover us as soon as the wall fades. I won't tolerate any mistakes!" Commander Crovar nudged him.

Ulfaar had no choice but to nod, but even that wasn't enough. Commander Crovar glared at him and waited for the proper response. "Y-yes…My Lord!"

Commander Crovar grinned smugly at him before setting his attention to the elf. He gestured to her to begin the process.

As Orphella started to write the pattern in the wall, Ulfaar was becoming restless. The patterned lines lit up after she was finished with her stoke. She finished the pattern with a quick chant and then the wall began to fade.

Commander Crovar and the elf ran towards the back and left Ulfaar alone and exposed. His heart beat erratically, as the overwhelming feeling of dread sunk in.

Ulfaar took a deep breath and lifted his shield on his restless shaking arm. He took out his heavy dwarven blade readied himself for an attack. As the wall faded, it exposed the dark and empty abyss waiting for them at the other side.

His knees shook at the overwhelming darkness right in front of him. He wanted to back out, but it was far too late for it. He looked back and glanced at the Commander. He wanted to drink a sip of water from his gourd dangling on his hip but Commander Crovar won't be very forgiving of his actions. He took a huge gulp of what's left of his saliva to dampen his throat.

"Y-you can do this…you c-can do th—" Commander Crovar pushed him cruelly into the thick darkness.

Ulfaar almost stumbled his way inside the other side. He immediately composed himself and let his instincts guide him. His eyes easily adjusted to the absence of light on his side of the cave. He scanned through the thick veil of mystery and saw nothing out of the ordinrary. The ground was dry and wasn't littered with debris and sharp materials coming from that explosion earlier.

The coast was clear. It was safe to go ahead and move on with their plan.

"Are you still alive?!" Commander Crovar's voice echoed through the dark void.

Ulfaar was relieved to hear a familiar voice, "Yes, I-I am my Lord!" He sighed and explained his whereabouts. "No signs of a threat here! No…ummm..m-mmmonsters here." He confidently said.

He didn't get a reply from the otherside for a while. Ulfaar began panicking after that. Somehow, the darkness was playing tricks on his mid and it was an unpleasant experience. The shadows suddenly formed silhouettes of monstrous figures passing by him.

His breath became shorter and shorter as the images became more defined. He saw the dark monstrosities coming alive, becoming more animated than ever. Now, the shades had noticed him and began to hover towards him.

Just before the shadows became more prominent, a light began to shine on him coming from his back. The squads had finally entered to the abyss. The knights lit their light runes while holding their blades. The light tore the dark veil surrounding him and revealed what he had already saw earlier.

The view was just a barren landscape, full of rocks and stalagmites trying to reach the cave's ceiling. The dry cracked ground laid no plants thriving on it and not a single drop of water was visible within their range.

"So, this is it?!" Commander Crovar asked Orphella who was walking beside him. "This was the darkness beyond that wall?"

The mute elf nodded in agreement.

"Huh?" Commander Crovar raised his eyebrows. "Well, let's survey the place!" He commanded.

The two squads spread themselves along the wide clearing and investigated any possible clues regarding the first and second squad's mysterious disappearances.

"There's another opening right here!" One of the knight's shouted.

Commander Crovar nodded at him and pointed his finger at Ulfaar.

"You there, U-Ulf!" The Commander called out. "Proceed to that opening." He ordered.

"Y-yes, My Lord!" Ulfaar quickly answered in for another humiliating action.

He approached the cave's opening and attempted to peek on what was waiting for them inside the cave. He squinted his eyes and adjusted his vision to see what was in the dark. Luckily for him, there was nothing.

He gave a signal to Commander Corvar after assessing the cave. The Commander ordered the first squad to follow him and explore the cave.

The Commander grinned at him, "Not bad! Now, you're learning!" He mockingly clapped his hands.

Ulfaar knew that the praise was nothing more than an empty and insincere way of insulting him.

"But, we are not done yet,U-ulf!" Commander Crovar said. "You are still going to be our main person to protect us while we are in there." He pointed to the cave once again.

Ulfaar was already tired with Commander Crovar's constant bullying, but he needed to endure all of it for the sake of his friends. Although still horrified by the darkness, he harnessed all the courage in him, and took his first step into the dark hollow cave. The rest of the first squad followed his lead.

He carefully treaded along the cave. Unfortunately for him, the squad was a lot farther from him and thus, couldn't share their light with him. Ulfaar didn't need the light for him to see his way, but it would've been very comforting to have that light with him especially against photophobic monsters. But Commander Crovar had other plans for him.

Making him advance in such a dark place would mean that he would be the bait, a fodder to the monsters that lurk in the dark crevices of the cave.

Ulfaar took a few more steps until he reached the corner with two diverging roads. The forked road became another anxiety-inducing moment for him because, not only did he had to choose one but he had to choose the right road or else everyone might be led to their death.

He stood in between the roads and was scratching his head when Commander Crovar caught up with him. The old Commander saw him standing in the middle of the crossroad and decided to approach him.

"What's the matter, U-ulf?" Commander Crovar asked.  "Is this decision too complicated for the likes of you?" He added.

Ulfaar took every insult coming from Commander Crovar with bitterness. He wanted to talk back, but he was afraid –too afraid to even look at him nor speak to him.

"If I choose one road and doom the rest of you, I—" He said

Commander Crovar rudely interrupted, "Then choose the road that a coward like you would choose for himself. An easy, monster-free path." The Commander spat.

Without thinking about it, Ulfaar chose the road on the left. He immediately took it, disregarding anymore of the Commander's harsh and hurtful words.

The road on the left was another winding yet narrow path. But it was nothing new to Ulfaar who had suffered walking in difficult conditions throughout this time. He swerved his way through the jagged rocks sticking out from the corners of the cave, avoiding any injuries along the way.

He slid through a small gap made by a collapsed boulder leaned against the wall and took a leap forward from another obstacle after that. Finally, he reached the end of the path.

He was about step outside of the tunnel when suddenly he heard clicking noises. He looked around and saw no one was behind him. He listened to it again, trying to locate where the sound was coming from. He heard the clicking noise once more and he was about to find out the hard way where it was coming form.

He peeked his head out of the cave's opening and saw the horror in front of him. Ulfaar's jaw dropped as he saw the monstrosities moving around the spacious den. The monsters were huge, almost nine footlings tall and had long burly appendages enough to tear a grown beastman apart. He carefully stepped back and tried his best to walk out of there slowly, not to make a sound.

Ulfaar knew it would be his death if he made the slightest sound. He tiptoed his way back to the path and was walking in batted breath as he had to carefully went past the hurdles earlier.

Suddenly, he heard a blood-curdling scream coming from the entrance of the path and now, felt the earth rumbling…