The wind stilled, the sudden absence of the sound of rustling leaves setting Kaius's teeth on edge. He stopped. Listening. Nothing, not even the far off hoot of some beast. The deep glade was utterly surrounded by dead silence.
"I don't like this."
Porkchop's words carried with them the distinct feeling of unease. He could see it in the tension of his shoulders. The way his ears constantly flicked, searching for the slightest sound. Porkchop's pupils had widened, dilated so that it was impossible to tell if it was a reaction to the light, or fear.
"I don't either." Kaius called back behind him, clearing a path with heavy swings of his sword. Enchanted steel cut through the underbrush with ease, the blade impossible to dull despite his constant abuse.
They pushed onwards, the glade growing darker and more sinister by the minute.
Soon the trees towered far above the duo, providing a dim gloom that Kaius struggled to see through. The floor of the glade started to change. Brambles and ferns started to hide headstones, and each step through crunchy lichen regularly revealed the cold stone of a grave cover.
**Ding! General Skill Available! Would you like to learn: Pruning (Common)?**
Kaius turned down the skill with a grumble, cutting through another bramble. He grabbed the twisted branches, hurling them to the side to open the way forward. As soon as it was open he stopped fast. In front of him lay an open path, scything through the dense knot of thorny plant life that now coated the glade floor.
He could barely make it out, the heavy shadow of the deep glade preventing him from seeing more than fifteen or so strides in front of him. Flagstones lined the gap in the brambles, a walkway rapidly splitting off in both directions.
"I found something, be careful." He said, creeping forward with his sword held at the ready.
Porkchop huffed from behind him, stepping in close to cover the rear.
"Don't smell anything. Can't see anything either."
"Stand up and check would you? Can barely see my hand in front of my face, it's so dark" Kaius asked. Porkchop had far better night vision than him, at least for now. Any hint of where the path led would help them immensely.
Porkchop huffed. Rearing on his back legs, he strained to look through the darkness, swinging his head left and right. Kaius saw his head snap to something, to their front and left before he dropped back to all fours.
"Saw something, a building," Porkchop explained. "I can't see the path there though, too many bushes. Want to let me go first? Don't need you to clear the way anymore."
Kaius nodded, stepping forwards onto the mossy flagstones to let his companion pass. Porkchop took point, leading them left down the trail they had found.
Grumbling at the lacking light, Kaius scanned the area around them. Watching for threats. So far there had been nothing, but now that they were heading for a structure they were bound to run into obstacles. He hoped he could unlock Low Light Vision before then.
There was only one problem. Putting in enough effort to get the System to offer you a skill without there being any threat or challenge was slow. That went double for skills that had no knowledge based requirements, and had no associated action. If he didn't have Porkchop whose eyes could easily pierce the darkness, he would have turned back far earlier.
If he didn't get the skill soon, he was bound to get it in their first fight. The sheer pressure of having to fight while seeing so little would ensure it. Though, he was glad it wasn't completely pitch black. He needed some light to get offered the right skill.
"Kaius. Up ahead." His companion said, slowing down his pace.
He snapped his attention to the front, peering through the murky shadow, trying to spot movement.
"Enemies?" Kaius asked.
"No," Porkchop said, flicking his ears. "The path, it splits."
Kaius urged them onwards. After a short distance he saw what he meant. The section of path they had followed diverged. It shot off to the left and right, while their path forwards continued for a bare dozen strides before suddenly terminating in a tangled wall of vines and needle-like thorns the length of his finger.
Explorer's Toolkit started to tingle.
Mouth pressing into a thin line, Kaius considered their options. He had suspicions.
"Lets go right. It's in the direction of the structure you saw."
Porkchop grunted, setting off. Kaius followed close behind.
Barely a minute later and they hit another split.
"Right."
A dead end.
"Fuck." Kaius's mind raced. He couldn't be sure. Not yet.
They back tracked, taking the other turn in the path. They hit more branching paths.
"Direction?" Porkchop asked.
Kaius shook his head. "Keep following this one."
They hit another wall of the bramble. Explorer's Toolkit was all but screaming to him. He was right.
It was a maze.
Kaius tapped Porkchop on the hip, gesturing for the meles to stop when he looked back. He shared the news, getting a low growl of frustration in response.
"We could cut through? It's only bushes." Porkchop said, staring at the thick hedges that lined the path.
Kaius frowned, torn. His skill was far too active for this to be simple scenery. It was keeping him oriented, aware of the direction they were aiming for, even after constant turns. Yet it seemed like it was more than that. A constant low level warning.
He should at least try.
"Stay here."
He walked a little down the path, making sure he stayed close enough that Porkchop was still in his vision. Turning to one of the bramble walls, he drew his sword back, slashing at the tangled thorns. His sword cut through the first branch.
The hedge flailed. Thorn ridden vines unravelled, thrashing through the air like tentacles. Lashing in the direction of the biting steel.
With a curse Kaius leapt back, eyes wide as he watched the living whips tear across where he had been standing. Some vines crept out, crawling along the path as they searched for the interlocutor. Kaius backed up, avoiding the questing limbs.
After a few moments the writhing brambles slowed, retracting back into the hedge. Kaius stared at the spot, brow furrowed.
"No way we are cutting through." He whispered.
They were trapped in the maze.