CH1000

“Oh, neat, claustrophobia. I wasn’t expecting to experience any of that,” Ben muttered as they arrived, finding what was actually a fairly large space once they stepped through the gate. There was no risk of hitting his head on anything, the cave was a bit over two stories high and seemed to stretch out for a while, even if the buildings around made it hard to tell for certain how vast it was, but that didn’t change two inescapable facts. There was a rough, stone ceiling over his head with enough dirt and rock above it that none of Ben’s senses were strong enough to tell him how high above the surface was, as well as the fact that the very thing that had ended his life on Earth had been a cave-in.

Neither of which was enough to paralyze him, but being there lent no comfort either. He felt suffocated in a way that was distracting more than anything else and left Thera to take his hand in concern.

“You okay?” she asked, knowing all too well the details of his death, even if she hadn’t been prepared for anything to spring up from it like that. But then, how often were they in any caves together? It was something neither could have expected when taking the quest, even if Ben tried to reassure her.

“Don’t worry, it’s just a teeny bit of discomfort. I’ll be fine.”

“You sure? It’s not too late to tell the guild we won’t do this one.”

“Ha, we’re literally right here; it’s definitely too late. Really, I’m okay. I just wasn’t expecting to be remotely uncomfortable. The fact coming here made me feel anything was just a bit of a surprise.”

“Mmh, well, if you’re sure. In that case, just don’t let go of my hand while we find the guild, don’t want you getting lost.”

Given the nature of the races down there, what light there was was low, kept that way for their comfort with only the minimum given for both the species that needed at least a little as well as any visitors like themselves. Except for any eyeless species living down there, of which there were more than a few already around, something comparable to the sun or even the sort of simple lamp Ben would have made for a room would have been too much for anything adapted to the dim they found themselves in.

A darkness that barely affected Thera, holding her dark sight to help her navigate as well as her other sense skills to make up a picture of the world around them, but then, it didn’t affect Ben either in any real way. He had his awakened material sense to tell him where anything was, his mind reading and soul sight to point out the people in his range, the senses that came with his authorities and as much as any of that, his alien sense, the strange conglomerate skill that replicated the various senses of each race he’d connected to, even if in a far more limited range. He didn’t need to be guided anywhere; he knew Thera was just using it as an excuse to try and lend a bit more comfort, but he was happy to let her, having no reason to be against it. If he was at all uncomfortable then why not rely on his partner in times like that? It was a far nicer option than dealing with it alone.

He couldn’t deny that it was helping either. Seemingly as a side-effect of their environmental desires, the buildings were close enough to keep the streets tight as they made their way through them, making bumping shoulders with others also going on their way an inevitability as they searched the area, eventually finding the guild near enough to the gate they came in from and let themselves inside, once more waiting in line before eventually being taken to the leader of that guild branch, taking a seat before him as they began.

“Thera and Ben,” Thera introduced themselves, handing over her card. “The first ranks brought on to help with the structural issues you’re having here. We’ve come to ask for the specific details of the quest.”

“Thank you for arriving so fast,” the moleman told them, bowing gently while his small eyes glittered in what little light the office held. “I take it you haven’t heard much then?”

“We’re based out of a smaller town without a gate, it seems like the priority was getting us out here instead of trying to get us the full picture. Why? Is something more going on?”

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“Mmh, I’m not sure I’d say that; it more comes down to what’s affecting our cave system to begin with. It’s sturdy, but in a lot of ways, it’s also quite delicate. There’s a balance to it, and unfortunately, burrowing demons are coming through and disrupting it.”

Of course this is a demon issue, Ben wanted to complain, not giving the thought voice when Thera was comfortably taking the lead on things and let her go on.

“They’re tunnelling through your walls then?”

“Through, above, below, beside, there’s a lot of directions for them to go to weaken our setup here and all of them could have devastating long-term effects. It’s manageable now, but eventually, it could mean a cave-in across the entire city, something no one wants to deal with.”