บท 24: No Objections
The group of four manoeuvred their way through the collapsed and tight entrance to the dungeon, soon arriving in the unremarkable maze of grey corridors, only the light seeping in from behind them was willing to illuminate their way.
This was no problem though, Cassi had a bag full of various equipment meant for all sorts of adventures, which were rarely of use since they didn't live up to the name of their occupation.
Pulling an unlit torch and somewhat reflective stone, she lightly hit the wall with the latter to create a small spark, lighting the torch in a blaze as the animal fat it had been rubbed in ignited with ease.
"I see three different pathways, Which do we take first?" Lynn spoke up as she inspected her crossbow, the blonde girl was the designated ranged support, and considering the sort of junk of a weapon she was carrying around, she was a rather skilled markswoman.
Cassi repositioned the visor-less kettle helm on her head as she nodded energetically.
"Left!" she exclaimed.
"Don't you know the basic rule of labyrinths? Always follow the wall to the right!" Eppie waved her hand around as if she was a teacher in a class of unruly children.
"We'll just have to turn around and follow that same wall when going back, and I refuse to spend any night here and sleep in this… Place" the mage shuddered at the thought as she inspected the surroundings.
The dungeon seemed rather mundane and empty, in fact, she felt like this was the most basic dungeon possible, even though she had never been to any other.
Still, there was something off putting about being in here, it was like visiting an old home, but strangers now lived here, and the house had been rebuilt, it was simultaneously familiar yet utterly alien.
'I hate this place' her mind was already made.
Tahnee didn't say anything and didn't look disturbed in the least, whilst Cassi and Lynn were simply looking forward to what they would be able to find in here.
The leader sighed and gestured for Tahnee to lead the way.
The easily slumbering girl was the one with the best gear out of them, since she was always the one standing right at the front.
An old kite shield Cassi had 'found' and a short spear recuperated after a longer spear had been broken in half and thrown away by a fool with no idea what value objects held.
All of the girls wore cheap but trustworthy gambeson, since it was the cheapest armour one could offer themselves, Eppie knew a little about sewing and such, so she was able to get some that were torn apart and then put them together at an even cheaper price.
The real boon however, was Tahnee's chainmail, truly giving her the identity of the group's hit-taker, a real piece of modern blacksmithing, earned with great efforts because Lynn's brother was a blacksmith and that she knew things about him he would never want his wife to know.
Saving on every expense and blackmailing even your own family was the truest essence and most primordial skills an adventurer could have.
Which was why, despite looking like four rickety peasants enrolled for war as meat shields, these four girls were the cream of the top, from the one city they lived next to.
Tahnee was right in the front, Lynn and Eppie stayed in the center of the formation, the first ready to shoot at whatever made the dire mistake of moving, the latter pre-weaving a classic fireball spell, probably the most known of all.
Cassi stayed in the rear, just in case something attacked from behind.
The group paid attention to any trap or malevolent contraption but the dungeon was truly bare of anything dungeon-related, there had been no monsters, no environmental hazards, no traps, no enigma to solve.
No nothing.
It was almost disappointing, though for Eppie, it was only straining her nerves even further, her outlook was that this calm could only be for a grander storm, even if by all means, calm was generally just calm.
"Hold on" Cassi whispered, a clear sign that she was serious, which was worrying in of itself.
"I heard something up ahead" the redhead had quite the fine hearing, she probably could have made for a phenomenal musician had she ever gotten the occasion to hold an instrument.
Alas, she was born in the backwaters of a backwater kingdom, without much appreciation for the fine arts.
"What is it?" Eppie crouched down and extended her mana sense to try and get an idea of what Cassi was talking about.
If she focused really hard, she should be able to get an idea of the general shape of what was ahead.
Unless it had no mana at all, she should be able to notice anything on account that the air around was nearly dry of any natural mana.
She sensed nothing.
Tilting her head, she trusted in Cassi's ears and she trusted her not to mess around in such a situation, especially when their only lights were a torch and a fireball spell, they were surrounded by darkness and had been walking for a few minutes already.
Tahnee was steady and ready to intercept whatever could be lurking.
Lynn aimed her crossbow at the dark space.
"Where is it?" she muttered softly, Cassi placed her mace under her arm and leaned in next to her friend's face.
"More to the right… Stop, aim slightly down…" she guided Lynn's aim, pinpointing the position of the unknown creature based on its last location.
It had stopped moving the instant Cassi had heard it, as though it had been staring right at her and probing for a reaction out of her.
That was ludicrous however, how could anything dwelling deep in this dungeon know that she, out of the four of them, would be able to hear it?
The bolt was shot, piercing through the air and an old cobweb stretched in the middle of the hallways.
It struck something hard, something that was standing right outside of the range of the torch, right at its very limit as the bolt fell on the ground.
'It just… Took it?' Eppie shot her fireball forward without hesitation.
A brick coming from the walls was thrown right at them, blocked by Tahnee, Cassi could clearly hear something crawling up and away, the sound disappearing in the distance.
"We're leaving right now" no one had any objection.
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