Karl focused on his meditation while the last shift of the night ended, and the newly formed fourth space began to rapidly expand in his mind, absorbing everything that it could get, along with the lingering remnants of energy that Karl’s blade had provided during the previous day’s fight.
With the other three spaces waiting for their occupants to advance, and this fourth space being so small, the change was immediately obvious, and the enhancement of the focus was expanding the area much more efficiently than simply pouring energy into the space had.
The Monks knew what they were doing for certain, and this was so far superior to trial and error that Karl felt silly for not having thought to ask them in the first place.
The others began to wake, and Karl could smell food cooking, so he shifted most of his focus to the outside world, and let the new space form naturally.
[What sort of new friend are we getting?] Thor asked as he took his cue from everyone else and began to eat breakfast.
[I have no idea. What sort of friend would you like?] Karl asked.
[More Lightning Cerro.] Thor replied confidently.
He really should have seen that one coming. Thor was a pack animal, so of course he would want to be with more of his kind if given the option.
Hawk chimed in with his opinion. [All that we’re going to find here are snowy things. Oh, the fluffy snow cats are alright, I think. They never finish their food.]
Rae wasn’t picky. [Just pick someone cool.]
[Alright, so we’re looking for someone cool, maybe a snow cat, and potentially a friend for Thor. But we should cover for holes in our skills. We don’t have anyone who enhances the group, except for defence, we don’t have a healer, and we only have one long ranged attacker.]
[Ooh, ooh, I can be the healer. Healer sounds like a fun job.] Thor volunteered.
[Well, alright, as soon as you learn healing magic, I will let you try out a run as the team’s healer, and I will tank with the Golems.] Karl replied, indulging the Cerro’s idea.
[That shouldn’t be hard. I have felt lots of healing already.] Thor replied, optimistically.
If he really could manage it, the new cleric students at the Seminary Academy would never live down the shame. Outclassed in their own class by a Lightning Cerro.
Karl was contemplating what would be best for the next addition to their team when breakfast was served, and it was time to start the serious part of their planning for the day.
Everyone could use a bit longer to recover after yesterday, at least a late morning start, and the cave had been safe so far. That led to the natural idea to make it their base for the next few days of exploration.
After the fiasco yesterday, they needed to know what was going on here, and if it was going to be an expanding threat to the surrounding areas.
If the ice continued to spread, it would be everyone’s problem soon, and they had a responsibility to at least try to find out what the situation was so that appropriate forces could be sent to deal with it.
Lotus gestured to the back wall of the cave as she was finishing breakfast. “Can you go grab some water and boil it for coffee? The runoff should be pure after being filtered by the sandstone around the cave.”
Karl walked to the back of the cave and extended the larger canteen toward the water flowing down the back wall. However, the moment that his fingers touched it, the wall vanished, revealing an extensive tunnel network extending from the room on the other side.
[I thought you checked the area.] Karl asked Rae as the spell vanished.
[You look with your eyes, not your limbs. Did you want me to check the water temperature when I could already see it was cold?] Rae retorted.
[Sorry, you’re right. But now we need to be on guard from this side as well.]
“Um, minor issue.” Karl called to the group, who turned to face the back wall that no longer existed.
“Fuck.” Prince Corbin breathed.
“Couldn’t have said it better myself.” Alice added as she prepared defensive magic.
A stale odour was coming from the caverns, and in the distance they could feel a pulse of magic, as if there was some grand spell active in the heart of the mountain.
“We will explore it after breakfast. The barrier over the entrance should keep anything from following us, and Corbin will feel if it is attacked, so at least one side is secure.” Alice sighed as she looked at the meal that was just waiting for water to make coffee.
Lotus made the water with magic, already heated, and got the meal served. Nobody wanted to go anywhere this morning, but now that they were looking at a huge tunnel complex and not just one small cave to hide in, they had to be proactive and ensure that they weren’t about to get ambushed.
Alice looked at the group they had assembled.
“Are you lot going to head back out and try your luck to finish your goals?” She asked.
Larry and Corbin shook their heads.
“If you don’t mind, we would prefer to stay with your group, strength in numbers. Yesterday’s fiasco nearly cost our Clan its most talented proteges, and we really can’t afford to have another ambush when it’s not safe for the helicopters to come extract us.” Corbin replied.
[See, he knows. Strength in numbers.] Thor agreed.
This day’s trip might be rough on him and Hawk, neither of whom would have an easy time in the caves, so they would have to spend most of their time in the beast spaces. But Alice’s Golem would have issues as well, unless she knew how to shorten it. They had been fighting all taller enemies outdoors since he met her, so there really hadn’t been a reason for her to do it before.
Dana’s golems were only a little taller than the tallest members of their group, but even their normal height would be a tight fit once they got further into the caves if Karl’s guess was right.
He had a lot of experience underground, and he was likely the only one who would be truly comfortable there, especially if the ceilings were high enough that he could stand properly upright and not have to use the miner’s duck walk.
Once the meal was finished and everything was cleaned and packed away, Karl led Rae in front of the group, as she was still a bit shorter than he was in her normal standing position, though much wider and longer. They could both see perfectly well no matter the light conditions, so they were the obvious choice to scout the area, and they could move ahead of the group to check the multiple tunnels that joined the room on the other side of the now vanished barrier.
Something felt wrong the moment that he stepped through, and when Karl turned to check on the group behind him, he saw the stone wall that had vanished on their side.
His hand passed through it, so he wasn’t trapped in here, but he would have to remember where it was, or they would end up lost in the tunnels.
Rae had the answer to that. She used her forelimb to carve her name into the stone by the door, so they would know if they saw it again.
“You check the left side first, and I will start from the right. Don’t get out of sight of each other, but look as far down the tunnel as you can.” Karl instructed.
The first one on the right made a steep downward slope, then a hard left, so he couldn’t see far until he moved down the ramp a way, then saw that it was a continued spiral downward.
So, he returned to the main room and checked the next. It extended for a hundred metres before making a ninety-degree left turn, obviously constructed and not natural. At the far end of that hallway was a closed door, but he could see the flickering of flames on the other side, so something was likely alive in there, and probably not Yeti.
Rae found a dead end, with a nice pit trap that she avoided due to her body design walking along the edges of the floor, and then another downward spiral that she didn’t fully explore before returning to Karl.
“Well, we know what is in the area now. Let’s ask the others what we’re doing.”
