Fortunately, finding a cave distracted him enough for him to forget about the ‘girls’ conversation… at least for now. It was the only cave that we found within the time frame. When we returned to the field, the others had found a total of four. Damecus and Dietrich had found one whilst Phoenix and Farrow had found three. Agaroth had also returned with Kiyui.

  Kiyui informed us that the man we had healed earlier was doing much better. He also gave me a hug… which is something that I will never grow tired of receiving from him. It is always so comforting to be wrapped in his arms, smelling that sweet apple smell… I love just breathing him in.

  Anyway… after Kiyui cast connected voice on everyone we started to explore the different caves. Damecus planned the quickest route to check each of them out without too much backtracking and off we went.

  It was the third cave that we went to that seemed the most promising. It was one of the caves located by Phoenix and Farrow. The entrance was rather unassuming, but there was quite a network of tunnels within. We explored each tunnel, starting with the left and moving methodically to the next most left tunnel upon reaching a dead end. Damecus made a map of the network as we went to make sure that we never got lost.

  It was all going perfectly fine until we came to a tunnel that was partially caved in.

  Agaroth: “Well that’s fuckin’ helpful in it. No way my arse is fittin’ through that shite!”

  Phoenix: “Your arse doesn’t fit through a lot of things.”

  Agaroth: “Ay, don’t act like you can get through that. Your tits alone wouldnae let ya close.”

  Phoenix fixed him with an irritated stare.

  Phoenix: “As much as I am loathed to admit it, you are correct. I will not fit through there either.

  Damecus: “Svampe, is the source nearby?”

  Svampe: “This is definitely the closest that I’ve felt to it.”

  Damecus: “Which direction?”

  Svampe pointed slightly to the right of the blocked passageway.

  Kiyui: “Could we move the stones?”

  Dwynfel: “That would take a very long time… and we could just encounter another dead end on the other side. Or the tunnel could veer off in a direction away from what Svampe is sensing.”

  Damecus: “In addition, these stones may be supporting the tunnel in this area. Removing them could cause a further cave in. If we can avoid moving the stones, then we should.”

  Everybody paused for a moment; this is not a particularly easy choice. Do we risk moving the stones or do we try the other tunnels first? We have no way of knowing how extensive this network is. We could spend days exploring these tunnels, only to find that we needed to go through here the entire time.

  Kiyui: “I think I can fit.”

  He moved towards a small gap in the stones.

  Kiyui: “It’ll be a tight fit, but I think I can do it.”

  He gave a confident smile, which was met with looks of concern by everybody else.

  Damecus: “I do not like this plan. We know not what is on the other side. You are fragile. Without a frontliner, you are at risk.”

  Agaroth: “Never mind that. A know your nimble an’ all that shite, but what if it gets tighter further in? We cannae just crawl in an’ get ya.”

  Kiyui: “I’m telling you; I’ll be fine. I’m good on all fours.”

  He gave everyone a cheeky wink.

  Agaroth: “Of that I have no fuckin’ doubt.”

  Damecus: “That may be, but I will not let you go alone.”

  Dwynfel: “If he can fit, then I should be able to as well. I may not be as flexible, but physically I am smaller.”

  Kiyui: “Then it’s settled. I’ll go first, then at least you’ll get a good view.”

  He winked at me again, passed his quarterstaff to Agaroth for safe keeping and dispatched Feiffer down into the hole.

  Damecus: “I still do not like this.”

  Kiyui reached up and stroked Damecus’ cheek.

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  Kiyui: “Don’t worry so much, we got this.”

  He turned and started to manoeuvre his way through the hole. I turned to Damecus.

  Dwynfel: “For the record, I do not share his confidence in this and I am also worried.”

  I heard Kiyui’s voice echoing out of the tunnel.

  Kiyui: “You’re always worried, Dwyn. You don’t count. Now hurry up, it doesn’t look like it’s far to the other side.”

  I removed my pack and short sword and handed them to Damecus before pursuing Kiyui down the tiny… rather worrying looking tunnel through the rubble. I caught up to Kiyui fairly quickly. Unfortunately, as we progressed the tunnel got tighter and tighter. This wouldn’t have bothered me too much… if not for the fact that I was relying on Kiyui to provide light. The light source was in front of him and as the tunnel got tighter, the gaps between his body and the walls got smaller and smaller, letting less and less light through.

  Shit… shit… I think I’m stuck… shit. I can’t move forward… shit. I can’t be stuck… he’s bigger than I am… how did he get through if I can’t… shit… is it my hips? No… it’s my belt… my belt is caught on something… can I undo it? Nope… I’m well and truly wedged in here… shit.

  Kiyui: “Dwyn, I’m out the other side, are you okay?”

  Dwynfel: “My belt is caught on something.”

  Agaroth: “Fuck’s sake…”

  Damecus: “Be quiet and trust them to deal with it.”

  Kiyui: “I’m coming back, hold on.”

  Just stay calm… don’t panic… you just need to dislodge yourself. The fact that it is pitch fucking black really isn’t helping my nerves here at all. Just stay calm… Kiyui will be here in a second… Kiyui will have light… it’s going to be fine.

  Oh, thank the gods… I can see his light. A little orb of light floated towards me through the darkness and stopped just ahead of me. After it, came Kiyui… shuffling delicately down the tunnel towards me. He looked at me calmly and as he reached me, he took my hand in his.

  Kiyui: “I’m here, what are we dealing with?”

  Dwynfel: “My belt is caught on something.”

  Kiyui: “Can you move backwards to dislodge it?”

  Dwynfel: “I don’t seem to have enough strength… maybe if you push me.”

  Kiyui: “On it.”

  Kiyui shuffled forwards and placed his hands on my shoulders. He then gently kissed me on the forehead.

  Kiyui: “Don’t worry, this isn’t the first tight hole you’ve been in.”

  Agaroth: “For fuck’s sake, quit the flirtin’ ya little shit and help the wee twat out.”

  Kiyui: “You ready, Dwyn?”

  Dwynfel: “Three… two… one… go.”

  I attempted to push myself back using the rocks and Kiyui pushed me back as hard as he could… it only took a few seconds but I suddenly shifted backwards. Unfortunately, as I did, one of the rocks I was pushing against also moved. Suddenly dust started to sprinkle down from the gaps in the stones above us.

  Kiyui: “We need to get out of here, now.”

  Agaroth: “The fuck’s goin’ on in there?”

  There was no time to answer him. Kiyui started shuffling back as fast as he could and I started moving after him as quickly as I could… being mindful of my belt… but also mindful of the fact that the ceiling was about to fall down and crush us.

  I have no idea how, but even moving backwards out of here, Kiyui is much faster than I am. How can he move so fast in such tight spaces? Fuck… I need to move faster… I really need to move faster… fuck… the dust is getting worse… more of it is falling… I can hear the stones shifting… fuck… fuck... fuck… get out of here… get out of here.

  I reached the opening at the end and Kiyui immediately reached in and pulled me out. As he did, we heard various stones falling within the tunnel.

  Damecus: “We heard rocks fall. Are you two alright?”

  I lay on the ground, hyperventilating.

  Kiyui: “We’re fine. Bit out of breath, but fine. Don’t think we’ll be coming back the way we came though.”

  Agaroth: “Well that’s just fuckin’ fantastic isn’t it. Now we’re split up in this fuckin’ maze.”

  Damecus: “At least we can still communicate as long as we don’t get too far apart. Kiyui, what is the passageway like on your end?”

  Kiyui: “Not really a passageway anymore. More of a giant cavern. I can hear the river up ahead. If I enhance my light spell, I may be able to see clearer.”

  Damecus: “Refrain from doing that for now. It may alert other creatures of your presence. Wait for us to find you.”

  Dwynfel: “Kiyui… can you teleport us… back to the others?”

  Kiyui: “That would be a bad idea. I don’t know the area well enough for me to direct it with any accuracy. We’d be teleporting blind. Besides, by the time I get the spell set up they’ll probably almost be here.”

  I nodded in understanding. Still trying to control my breathing.

  Damecus: “Can you see any other entrances to the cavern?”

  Kiyui: “I can see at least two.”

  Damecus: “Good, then chances are that we will be able to reach you via one of those entrances. Just don’t stray too far.”

  Kiyui: “Understood.”