10-18-2016, 09:20 PM
One of Valeriya's hands pressed against the stone wall as the other fell to her thigh. The blocks were loose, and in places, crumbled into dust beneath the slightest pressure. The scent in this part of the labyrinth wrinkled her nose, and she should be glad of the dim light so to avoid seeing what was underfoot. However, she didn't need full torchlight to know, the crunch under her steps spoke of bones. It was when the crunching stopped and she stepped in something soft that she cringed.
The light was dim by normal standards. Only one small torch was shared between the three people, and it was wrapped with blubber oil that burned low and hot, a deep blue much like the expanse of emptiness she sometimes saw with The Eye of the world Above. The blue torchlight made finding their way forward more of a tactile challenge than visual, but Valeriya knew these passageways. Her first kill had been nearby. That was twenty years ago. It was the first time she had ever been Up so high. She wondered how much further it was to reach the Above.
So the light was low by normal standards, but she could see plenty, and she avoided looking at her feet anyway. The passage way narrowed ahead so they would need to duck for a while. The nest was nearby, this pit was a shallow bowl of a 'room', but it was the best way to sneak up onto the nest, from behind, for the surprise. Her silvery pale gaze narrowed at a sound, then. More than the soft creaking of the party's leather pants, including her own. Her hand pulled the stiletto from its sheathe, her fingers wringing the handle like she was wringing a neck. A second stiletto went to her other hand, and she nodded.
Her heart pounded, but she willed her breath to steady in the approach. Silence. Silent as the grave. The crunching underfoot softened. The creaking of leather lessened. She moved so slow, finding her way carefully. So close. She could hear the grizzly snorts of a beast eating. It dumped a bone aside, snatched a new piece with a wet, tearing sound, and snarled, sniffed and snorted its way through its meat. Hopefully whatever the oni was eating was enough to salvage.
Edited by Valeriya, Oct 18 2016, 09:31 PM.
The light was dim by normal standards. Only one small torch was shared between the three people, and it was wrapped with blubber oil that burned low and hot, a deep blue much like the expanse of emptiness she sometimes saw with The Eye of the world Above. The blue torchlight made finding their way forward more of a tactile challenge than visual, but Valeriya knew these passageways. Her first kill had been nearby. That was twenty years ago. It was the first time she had ever been Up so high. She wondered how much further it was to reach the Above.
So the light was low by normal standards, but she could see plenty, and she avoided looking at her feet anyway. The passage way narrowed ahead so they would need to duck for a while. The nest was nearby, this pit was a shallow bowl of a 'room', but it was the best way to sneak up onto the nest, from behind, for the surprise. Her silvery pale gaze narrowed at a sound, then. More than the soft creaking of the party's leather pants, including her own. Her hand pulled the stiletto from its sheathe, her fingers wringing the handle like she was wringing a neck. A second stiletto went to her other hand, and she nodded.
Her heart pounded, but she willed her breath to steady in the approach. Silence. Silent as the grave. The crunching underfoot softened. The creaking of leather lessened. She moved so slow, finding her way carefully. So close. She could hear the grizzly snorts of a beast eating. It dumped a bone aside, snatched a new piece with a wet, tearing sound, and snarled, sniffed and snorted its way through its meat. Hopefully whatever the oni was eating was enough to salvage.
Edited by Valeriya, Oct 18 2016, 09:31 PM.
The Eye of the Khylsty