Hallway of Fog

"Does it hurt?" Nora asked while rolling a long piece of fabric around Kyren's arm. It was ripped from his own shirt despite Nora having been insisting on using hers, his reason being his shirt had already been soiled by all the blood anyway.

She did not dare to put too much force in her finger, her movements slowed down every time the cloth was pulled to circle tightly around the wound.

His arm was charred to black from the hand to his elbow, while the rest was covered in red patches of peeled skin. On the brightside, the burns helped stop bleeding so he did not lose too much blood. His ears had not fully recovered, but it was enough to hold a conversation in a quiet cavern.

"A little bit…" Kyren answered with a forceful blank face. His other hand was clasping to his thigh, away from Nora's line of sight. From time to time, that hand tightened and his eye twitched, yet the boy remained silent throughout the first aid process.

"Bear with it a bit more," she replied without taking her eyes off his arm, but he could feel her movement becoming more careful.

"And...done!" Nora said five minutes later. The improvised bandage covered his entire arm in two layers. He tried to move the injured limb around. The bandage interfered little with his movement and did not fall off, though it was still too painful to use the arm for the meantime.

"We still have to leave here quickly, else that wound can still get infected," Nora stood up, dusting herself off.

"Don't rush, get some rest first," Kyren patted the ground beside him, then pointed at the fake moon, "sit down and enjoy the scene a bit more, Nora. We may not have the chance to take a break later."

The girl frowned, "Not the time for dilly dally, Kyre. That's third degree burns. You need medical attention as soon as possible. I don't want you to collapse and make me carry you halfway."

He chuckled, "That's harsh. Just a few minutes, I don't feel like I can move much now."

"Then get on," Nora clicked her tongue, turned her back and kneeled down, "I'll carry you until you can move again."

"I thought you don't want to carry me," Kyren tried hard to hold in his laughter.

"Not everything is a joke, Kyre" the girl growled, "just get on, else that wound is going to get you killed."

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," Kyren said as he slowly stood up, walked to in front of her then kneeled down, showing his back, "let me carry you."

Nora was speechless. Looking at his back and wriggling fingers, her face twisted in annoyance. Her foot landed on his back and shoved him forward,

"Stop acting like a crackhead," she warned.

Kyren bursted into laughter as he rolled on the floor, ignoring the stinging pain on his arm.

"Sorry, sorry" he said, looking up at the giant luminescent stone on the ceiling, "I thought we would die."

"I know," Nora lowered her voice, "but we have no time. At this rate, we both can still die. I remember there's a place where belongings of the victims are stored, we can go there and find some medicine."

"No need for that," Kyren interrupted, jumping on his feet, "If we do that we will have to adjust the route. The distance would be too far and there would be more risks. We'll stick to the original route."

"You won't be able to last that long, I can guarantee just looking at your condition. I say we go to the storage, treat your wound, find some food, catch up on some sleep first," Nora reasoned.

"No," the boy insisted, "we will not take a detour. I know my body best. We'll be fine."

"Stop being stubborn," her voice was louder, almost yelling, "This isn't a problem that willpower can create a miracle, Kyre. Once the fever comes, you will slowly lose all body function, you can even slip into a coma. I can't take care of you while still trapped in this place."

"You don't have to," Kyren was no longer laughing, "I won't be a burden to you, Nora."

He stretched his muscles then pointed to the exit, "Break time's over. Shall we go?"

Nora opened her mouth but no words came out. There was nothing more she could say that would persuade him. She was sure of it. She stomped past the boy, mumbling, "I hate you."

"Then don't cry too much when I die," he chuckled, following after the girl.

"Stop mentioning death every time you open your mouth," Nora kicked back at his shin. Kyren jumped in pain, holding his leg, rubbing his shin, afraid that there might be a fracture. Without waiting for him, Nora walked out of the cavern, taking the torch on the ground.

The exit from the cavern was similar in shape to the entrance, a natural formation that resembled a gaping mouth, except that beyond it was only darkness, no luminescent stones or torches were in sight. The torch in Nora's hand only extended its brilliance a few mere meters ahead. They had to be on constant alert. As a result, their speed was reduced significantly.

Fortunately, no more accidents occured, Kyren and Nora entered the first two-strike zone after another hour. During the entire time, no one spoke a word.

Leaving behind the rocky caves and narrow passageways, the two of them were greeted by a thick layer of fog. Visibility was almost zero, they could not even see their hands in front of them. To avoid getting lost, Nora grabbed hold of his burnt arm. Kyren felt the ground with his feet. It was smooth, no longer sticky and bumpy. Even without sight, it was clear that the new zone was a new kind of structure, possibly manmade. He was not excited. New environment meant new enemies.

Another problem arose when they were reaching the first intersection. The distance on the map was inaccurate, so Kyren had been counting the number of junctions they had passed to navigate. They were supposed to turn right at the second intersection.

With the presence of the obstructing mist, they were left with no choice but to feel the wall and find every intersection with their sense of touch. Only then could they know how may junctions they had passed, and where to take a turn.

Ambush became their imminent concern.

Nora volunteered. Kyren did not object since with the current state of his body, him acting as scout would be more burdensome to her than helpful.

"Run at the first sign of danger," he reminded her.

To avoid attracting the attention of monsters sensitive to sounds, they decided to use Morse code by tapping on a part of the other's body.

Nora tapped back in acknowledgement, turning 90 degrees in place, facing the direction of the wall.

Their hands were connected, Kyren was right behind the girl, ready to pull her back the moment he noticed anything suspicious. He sniffed the air, humidity cooled his nostrils with every breath. The pungent smell of insects had long gone. Instead, there was a faint sourness. His ears focused, but no sounds were heard, apart from his own beating heart.

Nora lowered her center of gravity, knees bent. The torch was held in a reverse grip, lowered around her chest level. She took light and careful steps, muscles in her thighs tensed, ready to burst into a sprint at any moment. Her strides were wide. Alerted but not afraid.

Cluck.

The torch was stopped. Nora felt a recoil of the impact. She had touched the wall. It was a hard surface. She drew a spiral shape with the flame to inspect larger and larger portions of the wall.

There was no sticky substance, no soft creatures, no incongruous texture, no random holes. It was a normal, simple wall.

"Clear," she tapped on the boy in Morse code.

The current area was marked with two strikes, more dangerous than the insect nest. Both of them remembered the horror in that cavern. The lack of enemies kept their minds on edge. The torch was run against the wall. Kyren and Nora felt that their steps and breaths were still too loud and tried to walk slower, breathe lighter.

Yet, the sounds of their heartbeat still stood out in the dead silence. They could hear blood pumping through the arteries.

Their hands felt unstable, their steps were clumsy, their focus slipped.

There was fear of ambush, of the unknown, of the invisible gazes watching them, waiting, following.

Even the fog itself was unusual. Nora had experienced foggy mornings before, yet none of those days could be compared to the murky white air that filled the hallway. Even when her palm touched her nose, or her face was less than an inch from the wall, she still could not see anything.

Was this really fog?

Nora took a gulp of air in her lungs. Then, after a few seconds of hesitation, she licked the air. Tasted like water. It was indeed vapor.

Then was it magic?

Nora concentrated and visualized the image of a magic circle in her mind. Starting from the shapes of the symbols, their locations, the circles and patterns that connected them, the spell was slowly being constructed.

A warm current flooded her mind. It was a strange feeling, one that she could never have imagined until a few hours ago. Soothing and nourishing like a gentle stream of silky milk. Her mood was lifted just from feeling its presence. The stinging pain on her temples disappeared. Magic manifested the constructed circle onto her palm. The shining magic circle analysed any traces of magic within the air and transmitted the result directly into her mind.

While the spell was still in its process, she hoped that her suspicion was wrong. "I only learnt two spells from that person, the parchments don't have anything that can help in this kind of situation," she was not experienced when it came to dealing with magic, or any other creature that used magic.

Her breath hastened when thinking of the possibility of facing monsters with magic. No, it was not a mere possibility, but the definite future. Perhaps they would have to face the master of this dungeon at some point. What should she do then?

It was her responsibility. She was the one wielding magic. When the time came, she would not hesitate to step up.

But was she ready?

Was she enough?

It was then that the spell returned the analysis. Golden rims enveloped her iries. The surroundings turned dark. Nora took a deep breath as her feet came to a stop. The white mist was filled with countless dark particles that turned her vision black. She looked at her body, discovering they were trying to penetrate through her skin, but were blocked by a thin layer of golden light.

Her magic had blocked the foreign magic from intruding.

But Kyren?

Her heart stopped for a moment. She did not realize since when her hand had felt empty.

She whipped back, yelled into the thick fog, "Kyre!"

There was no answer. Only her echo in the empty hallway.