Chapter 2: The group

'A way out!' He thought staring at the opening that had appeared on the wall.

Scrambling to his feet he walked through the narrow exit. He felt ecstatic getting out of the dark room that trapped him for who knows how long.

Stepping into a long passageway extending out in both directions greeted him. A thin line running along the top of each wall exuded enough light to illuminate the hallway.

'Looks like I'm not out of whatever this place is just yet. But I need to find more. I can't leave without finding out who I am and why I can't remember.' he thought to himself.

"Vshhh!!" The doorway he had come through closed shut leaving him in the new section.

This place was really starting to confuse him but he needed to keep moving. Down the path before him it went as far as he could see. While the other behind him turned to the right about a few hundred feet down.

After some thought he decided to follow the path behind him as it turned out of view. It seemed safer than following the path that could go on forever.

Spending the next few minutes coming to the bend in the path a new hall came into view. He frowned realizing this path now seemed to go on forever as well. Deciding to just dedicate himself to this way he kept walking. Every now and then the lights would flicker threatening to engulf him in darkness once more but they would always return to normal.

His stomach grumbled again and he was feeling weaker and weaker. It also had not gotten any warmer as he was not wearing anything.

"I'm so hungry…and cold… and tired" he groaned out between steps.

He lost track of how much time passed but he never gave up. Turning the 4th corner he was filled with dread. It was a dead end.

Just before he lost his sanity he noticed another hand shaped indent on the wall.

'Yes, Finally! This has to do something. Maybe I can talk to the voice this time.' He thought getting excited.

As he approached and placed his hand into the indent he could here faint voices. There was definitely more than one but they were too faded to make out any words. The strange thing was it didn't sound like voice he heard before. In fact they seemed to be coming from the other side of the wall.

The same familiar light shone around his hand before a line shot out from the top and bottom splitting the wall in two. The two sides slowly and smoothly separated, opening into another room.

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The dark corridors were becoming a pain to navigate as they became lost in the massive maze like structure. It was less troublesome since the lights randomly sputtered on a few hours back. They were beginning to worry about running out of oil for their lanterns.

Five bodies could be seen moving down the path conversing with one another.

"Dammit Dorothy! how much further are we going to go." A bigger man with a large beard grumbled.

"Stop complaining John. You were paid to be muscle not annoy us." A shorter old man in a cloak spoke calmly. The only facial feature you could make out was the long beard flowing from under his hood.

John didn't look to happy but shut his mouth. He had been paid fairly well for this job due to its strange and dangerous nature. Danger didn't scare the man though it only brought forth a challenge for him to conquer.

"We will go as far as we need too. There are treasures and objects here worth more than you know." Dorothy stated grasping her satchel. She was a larger woman with short black hair that reached her chin and fairly large muscles.

"Don't forget our deal. We aren't leaving until we find her" said a young woman named Emily. She appeared to be around the age of 20 and had a beautiful but bitter face. Her long blonde hair was tied back in a pony tail that almost touched the back of her knees.

"I won't…but at the same time we will not stay down here forever. Have you forgotten the creatures we've encountered in this crevice? The chances she is alive are to say the least unlikely. It's been 10 years Emily." Dorothy said with a look of pity.

"She is alive!! Don't you dare say otherwise!" Emily voiced out slamming her fist against the hard wall.

The group did not bother responding. They knew that when she got like this there was no point arguing with her.

Before the next bend Emily stopped the group pulling out a small parchment. She looked over it for a few seconds marking it with with a wooden stick tipped in charcoal.

"This is it. Just up ahead is the room with several sealed doors. I haven't gone any farther than that. You better be able to open it Veron." Emily said.

"There should be no problem. I assure you miss, I know what I am doing." The older man in the hood responded with strong confidence.

Continuing forward sure enough they entered into a large room where the ceiling was so high it disappeared into darkness and 3 large doors could be seen one on each wall. A few dry bones were scattered about along with blood smeared across several surfaces.

"Looks like the people who chased me out last time are gone." Emily stated.

"We both know damn well they aren't people"Dorothy said while cautiously leading the group forward. She held a large sword in her hands.

John followed directly behind her holding a light to illuminate as much of the shadows as it could reach.

Approaching the middle door, Veron worked his way to the front of the group. He placed a long wooden staff on the ground along with a bag before touching the door.

The shape of a hand was carved into it. He began to mutter words while tracing his fingers around its surface. Light gathered around his hands and he spoke louder. The group listened to him speaking in some unknown tongue.

They couldn't understand his words but each one gave off a strange feeling.

After a few moments he stopped while stumbling back gasping for air. Rushing over Dorothy supported him before he fell over.

"What's wrong!? Are you ok?" Dorothy asked slightly panicked.

Veron coughed roughly into his hand while grabbing his staff with the other he used it to help him stand. Bringing his hand down from his mouth it was dripping with blood.

"I'm…cough*… I'm fine. What in the 7 kingdoms is this place?" Vernon said between raspy breaths.

"The door…can you open it?" Dorothy asked worried the expedition was for naught.

"I don't understand what happened. My strength was suddenly pulled from my body. I've never seen magic like this…it's power is beyond my knowledge." Veron spoke in a somber way at first before he got exited at the discovery he was soon to make.

"I must research more of these amazing ruins! The immense knowledge and power I could…" he said returning back to his old eccentric self.

"Fucking shit!!!" Emily screamed out throwing her bag onto the floor.

"Useless! What was the point in all this if I can't get through! Ughhh I've already searched the rest of this hellish hole." She continued.

No one said a word but the entire group was disheartened. They hadn't found many items of value and so far their trouble had far outweighed the benefit's.

"What now ladies?" John asked smirking while getting comfortable against a wall. He had already been payed so this development meant less work for him.

The room shook and the door a few feet to the left of John started to light up. He jumped to his feet dashing over to the rest of the group at a surprising speed. Pulling the large great sword from his back he swiveled to face the door. The others had also drawn their weapons and were facing the door.

"Veron is this your doing?" Dorothy asked quickly.

"No, it's reacting on its own." He responded in a more serious tone.

As the two sides of the door slid away opening up, a small figure could be seen standing at the center. It appeared to be a small boy covered in red. He didn't move an inch and neither did the group as they stood at a stand still.

"H-Hello?…Who are you?" The boy stuttered out nervously.