Night 60: Hall of Voices

[full_score]

((From here.))The terrain, at least, appeared a lot more stable than the last hall they'd entered. Claude's gaze swept across the dark path ahead, dimly lit by his friends' flashlights. As difficult as it was to see, he caught glimpses of symbols and signs painted in bright crimson on the walls. The sight immediately reminded of him blood. As a

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[razing_phoenix]

It was a relief that they didn't go toppling down some steep path the second that they stepped through the door this time. That only assuaged Guy's concerns slightly, though. While it was different from what they'd been put through last time, that also meant that it was a new puzzle that they had to solve.

The cavern that stretched out ahead of them was both dark and narrow. It was clear that they would to keep moving, though Guy couldn't help but feel unsettled when he realized that the walls around them were splattered with what looked to be blood and littered with strange carvings.

That was only as much as he could see directly around them, though, and this passageway clearly stretched much further. He glanced over at Anise, already feeling slightly claustrophobic with her so near to him. There wasn't a lot of space for them to work with, though.

The voice that sounded like it was coming from almost right behind him caused Guy to startle. His grip tightened on his sword as well, but in the end it seemed to have been nothing more than a voice. Of course, after being told to not look back, the urge to do just that was pretty strong, but Guy tried to resist. They needed to think this through first.

"Should we just start walking?" he asked the other two, realizing once again that this mainly depended on him and Anise. "Last time we just had to rely on bravery, so..."

[gald_digger]

Anise took a cautious first step into the room and was glad to find smooth, solid ground below her. As soon as that was confirmed, she started shining her flashlight about. When its light fell on the grotesque designs on the walls, she grimaced in disgust. Was that blood? "Creepy," she muttered.

When an unfamiliar voice reached her ears, the girl gave a little jump, then moved in a little closer to Claude. If something startled her again, she'd make sure the man she clung to was going to be the one who wouldn't scream and shove her away.

Guy was suggesting they move forward, and looking around, there really wasn't anywhere else to go. Though she looked a little hesitant, Anise slowly nodded. "Yeah... I guess that's all we can do." She took a few steps forward, pointing her flashlight around as she did. Without knowing what their challenge was, Anise was suspicious of everything around them: the floor beneath them, the carved-up walls, the darkness ahead... and most of all, that creepy voice.

"What do you think that means, 'don't look back'?" she asked, looking over to Guy. "Do you think they're going to send something to chase after us, or...?" In a narrow tunnel with nowhere to hide? It was just the kind of nasty thing Landel would try.

[full_score]

Regardless of what it meant, Claude didn't think he wanted to test it right then. Maybe if he'd been by himself he would have looked, but there was a chance he'd put his friends in danger if he glanced over his shoulder. At any rate, if any of them decided to check, it probably needed to be a joint decision. Three must enter, three must leave, the carving outside had said. They should try to work as a team.

Of course, Claude felt like it was difficult to carry his own weight when he couldn't even give any input. Instead, he did his best to look confident as he held his head up high and gazed into the narrow path ahead. There was no way to go except forward, and Claude couldn't help but feel like the longer they stayed in here, the more risky this became. That thought only intensified when he began to hear whispers and murmurs, spoken in a strange, foreign language he'd never heard before.

He tried to walk a little faster, but not so much that he'd accidentally leave Anise and Guy behind. He wanted to suggest that someone keep an eye on the ceiling while someone else focused on the floor, but, unfortunately, there wasn't any way for him to convey that.

[razing_phoenix]

While Anise didn't seem too confident in agreeing with him, that was still what she did. It didn't seem like any of them had any better ideas, and turning back wasn't an option. Apparently neither was looking back, but it seemed like the others were as stumped on that as he was.

Claude didn't hesitate too long before heading forward, though, and so Guy made sure to trail after him. He didn't mind bringing up the rear, especially if it was possible that there was going to be something biting at their heels. He'd rather whatever it was got to him first, instead of Claude or Anise. It went against his instincts to be expecting an attack from behind and not do anything about it, but what if disobeying those words had some sort of terrible consequence?

As they walked deeper down the dark cavern, however, Guy could have sworn that he heard voices whispering around him. He couldn't make out anything that was being said -- in fact, it was possibly in some sort of foreign language -- but it was unnerving nonetheless. "Do you hear that?" he called up to the others.

[gald_digger]

The sound of more strange voices brought a chill down Anise's spine. The first voice had been creepy enough, but these continued chattering along in sharp hisses and harsh whispers, as if carrying on an animated conversation... yet Anise couldn't understand a word of it.

"Yeah," she answered Guy, giving a few nods before she picked up her own pace to match Claude's. "Where's it coming from?"

Was someone watching them from somewhere they couldn't see? Under the light of the flashlight, the walls still looked pretty solid, though there was the chance of there being holes hidden in some of their jagged ridges. She couldn't find any, but it was still hard to shake the feeling that they were being watched.

"... They're getting louder," she observed after a long, uneasy pause. Anise could make out the sounds somewhat clearly, but the words themselves didn't mean anything to her. A foreign language? But more importantly... "Maybe they're somewhere ahead of us." That was the logical conclusion, if the voices got louder as they moved forward, even if they didn't really seem to come from a specific direction.

[full_score]

At this point, Claude wasn't sure whether he cared where the voices came from, as long as they didn't get separated or fall under attack. They didn't exactly sound like they were ahead of them, though. Rather, the voices seemed like they were all around, but only increased in intensity and volume the further they continued down the passageway.

Suddenly, though, among all the gibberish, he thought he heard someone hiss a name: Ronixis J. Kenni. Maybe it had been just his imagination, but that detail shook Claude's focus just enough. Did this things know something about his father? Before he had time to fully process his actions, Claude glanced over his shoulder.

Everything went black, and the night suddenly ended the same as usually did.