Bloodlines of the Ancient Pantheons

Chapter 396: CCCXCVI. The Groan

Walking, he noticed that the lowest point of that vertical and almost a hundred meters deep cave, was a circumference similar to the breach on the surface, but smaller, the diameter of which was only a few tens of meters.

The walls seemed to close the circle and on them, apart from the large statue of the wolf Fenrir, there was nothing else.

Just when he believed that getting off to that point had been completely useless, Dag saw a tunnel entering the curved wall.

"You've found the passage, there it is!" Gridd said, keeping the tone of her voice low. 

"I don't like... I don't like it at all, I have a bad feeling! It's very dark down here, but it looks even worse in there! Are you sure you want to get in that gloomy tunnel?!" Karl said, finally drawing the attention of Dag, who turned to him, with a slightly annoyed air.

"I have a mission for you, my friend..." 

"A mission? I thought I was already on a mission... what is it?" 

"You have to go back to the surface and tell others that they can come down because this area is safe. In the meantime, Gridd and I will inspect the interior of the cave, which is the only passage that leads here."

"What? Do I have to go up alone? What about you? What will you do if you are attacked and there is no one ready to heal you? What if... if..."

"Karl, that's enough! This is an order from your Captain! Climb to the top of the cave and tell the Masters that they can descend by paying attention to the rough path. Go!" Dag replied in a stern tone, giving Karl a shock, who was not proving very cooperative.

The young healer nodded his head and with the torch pointed in front of him, began to walk, retracing the uphill path in reverse, moving at a quick pace to feel less cold.

"Let's go... on this side, Thalos" Dag called, uttering a brief whistle, which drew the wolf, who, holding his head down, entered with the two warriors in that dark tunnel.

"You told him to come with us... you knew already his character, you could imagine he didn't have the temper for this kind of thing" Gridd said, looking at Dag, focused on the mission.

"I thought he was a little more cooperative and that he would help us... or at least that he'd been quiet! His endless chatter clouds my mind and doesn't make me think lucidly! Sending him up there, I did both of us a favor, believe me." 

"Shhh! I heard something!" Gridd replied, stopping immediately and pulling out one of her swords, holding up the torch.

Dag immediately began to look forward, but he could not see anything and focused on the sound, distinguishing a heavy breath, which did not seem to belong to a wolf, but to a human being.

With the Giantbane in his right hand and the torch in the left one, putting one foot in front of the other, Dag proceeded very slowly, preventing the wolf from walking in front of him, knowing that Thalos would not be able to keep a low profile.

The light of the torch illuminated the corridor about three meters wide and dug into the rock, through a cone of light, which as Dag and Gridd advanced, allowed them to see an inch of ground at a time.

The sound of their footsteps, however hard they could strive, was impossible to hide, because of the rocky and slippery terrain under their feet.

Besides, Dag knew that walking through a tunnel with torches, they were certainly visible to anyone on the other side, who would catch a glimpse of the lights.

The deep breaths became short and frequent until they turned into groans of pain. 

At one point, Dag smelled blood and stopped, blocking his sister Gridd and ordering her to stay in her position without moving.

When he was sure that Gridd understood, he proceeded alone for a few more meters, and his torch, on the ground before his eyes, lit up a foot resting in a pool of blood.

For a second, Dag felt a strong terror, not being ready to actually meet someone in that wild and crumbling place.

Unwittingly, seized by his strong survival instincts, he pointed forward his Giantbane, ready to eliminate any threat.

"Hey! Hey, you! Who's there?!" the Warchief exclaimed, realizing that it was a man, but failing to realize what he was doing.

*cough*urrgh*

Dag took two more steps forward, and the torchlight illuminated the rest of his body, making him discover that the man was slumped over the ground, his head resting on the wall and a hand still on his chest, covering a deep bleeding wound.

"What's going on?! And who are you?!" Gridd asked, approaching cautiously and always standing behind Dag, who had the weapon pointed at the man, even though he seemed unable to move.

The stranger, in his thirties, was wearing particular robes, very different from the warriors that Dag and Gridd were used to seeing.

His feet were bare, uncovered, despite the cold, as well as his legs, not covered with pants, but by a kind of skirt that reached up to the knees.

Even his chest was devoid of clothes or armor, with a huge tattoo in the middle of it, impossible to decipher, being completely covered in blood.

On his face, blue facial paints surrounded his eyes and ears, dripping down his neck due to other blood coming from wounds on his forehead, under the short, grayish hair.

"Argh... uhmpf..." 

The man continued to make verses of effort, trying to move backward with one arm and resting his torso on the wall, as if he wanted to try to respond to Dag and Gridd, not intimidated by their presence.

Dag approached him and pointed the Giantbane at his neck: "She asked you a question! What is it, have you lost your tongue?"