52 Whats in the Pit? (1/2)

The party gathered back at the outpost since it was cleared by Rydel and Maynard. Rydel climbed down the watchtower to meet everyone below.

”Well, we know how they're communicating,” said Rydel, showing the contact crystal to everyone. ”It's a good thing we caught them off guard and took the offensive.”

Going through the goblin captain's storage necklace, all they found were weapons and dried meat rations. They found some more weapons inside the outpost, but nothing else. It supported the idea that the goblins received some outside help to obtain better materials and hadn't advanced due to their intellectual advancement.

”Is there anything else?” asked Jack.

”Nope, none of the other goblins had anything besides a weapon,” answered Brunar, flinging a dagger into a pile of weapons.

”Alright, let's head out. If there's nothing here, then the other outposts are probably the same way. All that matters right now is getting to the goblin city.” Rydel took the lead and they tied themselves up to leave.

They used the same ambush tactic on another two outposts without any issues, other than lack of rest. Everyone pushed forward with a few yawns along the way, just waiting for the chance to see the city and take a much-needed break.

The third floor was dark and barren; not a single azure crystal was left to light the way. Not even a single creature could be found anywhere, so there weren't any threats besides the goblin outposts.

Having relaxed as they got in a rhythm, the party was getting tired and were distracted by any thought that crossed their minds. Even Rydel was starting to slack and wasn't quite as sharp as he could've been.

It had been over an hour since they passed the third outpost, but nothing was in sight. It was somehow appearing to get darker. Intrigued by this, Rydel heightened his focus again while the others simply followed along.

Out of know where Brunar ran into Rydel's unmoving back. Jack collided with Brunar's, Slivia with Jack's, and so on until the party was at a complete halt.

'What's going on?' asked Jack telepathically, not daring to speak aloud.

'Don't move, I'm trying to investigate the path. Something's off,' answered Rydel.

'Like what?' asked Maynard.

'I… I'm not sure. It's just like before but for some reason, everything in front of me is an even deeper shade of black. It feels like the world ends right here and stepping any further we would fall off the world's edge. In all my travels in this mine, I've never felt quite like this,' Rydel struggled to describe how he felt.

Jack took a moment to think before he replied in his mind, 'Can we walk around that blackness?'

'I think so,' answered Rydel with a shrug.

'Then that's what we'll do.'

Rydel nodded silently as he whispered, ”Everyone, be extremely careful to follow the exact direction I'm pulling you.”

The party leader took a few steps and pulled the rope carefully with his arm, making sure to lead the group around that strange darkness. Brunar was extra careful, sensing the seriousness of the situation. He would mirror Rydel, pulling the rope along carefully.

Each step was quiet yet strangely heavy on their hearts like they were silently traversing a cliff. The tension felt unnecessary, yet mandatory by the nature of that darkness.

The party did its best to continue despite a few yawns and the exhaustion that was setting in. Slivia was a good example of this as her footing was clumsy or overlooked at times.

The next person to show their tiredness was Troni, whose feet would fumble on occasion. Since the ground wasn't always even in that region of the mine and the darkness wouldn't let him see his own hand in front of him, Troni was the first person to trip and fall to his knees.

Troni quickly caught himself and tried to get back up, but the sudden tautness of the rope caught Slivia off guard. Maynard remained still, but Slivia's footing was lost and she fell backward.

The next in line was Jack, who heard Slivia groan as she was pulled down. He turned to look back instinctively as he was pulled down face first. When Jack landed, he was surprised to land softly. His head found a pillow-like cushion to break his fall and the ground beneath him felt extremely smooth to the touch. Enjoying the awkward circumstance, he let out a sigh of relief.