The rogue and Icarus were the only ones who survived.
They were the fastest of the bunch, and as they ran at full speed, the explosions behind them rocked the entire area.
They were still following the cave wall, so if the other party managed to survive, they still had a chance to meet them at the exit.
If they waited, that is.
Not that Icarus would blame them for fleeing this place, the dark forest was a true nightmare, and he couldn't say for sure that he wouldn't do the same in their place.
After a few minutes, the commotion behind them died down, leaving the pair running through the undergrowth in silence.
They did so for a long time, not speaking a word, simply focusing on covering as much distance between the horrors and them as they could.
But eventually the terror began to fade away into a dampened, but ever-present fear.
The pair slowed to a jog, then a walk, and finally stopped under a large shrub. They gasped for air, the exhaustion of the long run catching up to them. Icarus did not know how far they had run alongside the inside of the massive cavern, but he suspected they were around a third of the way around. He had been slightly following the wall with his eyes to look for any tunnel inside, but did not see anything yet.
meaning they would likely have to continue circling until they met up with the other team, under the assumption they had found it themselves.
Of course, that opened a whole can of assumptions on top of that.
The assumption that the other team had stayed safe enough to not have to scatter, the Assumption that they were following Bjorn's orders, and of course, the enormous assumption that they had not simply been wiped out.
Of course, if all of these were so, then they were in a good position, and if they were not, then they may as well be as good as dead.
Icarus vastly preferred the former option, as someone who had died before, and based on that, he assumed that due to their recent running, they were ahead of where the other team was, and although this cavern didn't seem to have a day or a night, just a strange glow which emanated from the roof far above, he felt tired, as though at the end of a very long day.
He sat on the ground beneath the tree, and the rogue stared at him incredulously. Icarus stared back with a lazy smile.
"What, never seen a guy rest under a tree before?"
The young man, who was only a few years older than Icarus, shook his head, a faint smile creasing his face as he held his eyes in his hand.
"Haha, not in a situation like this. That's for sure."
He continued laughing after saying this, but Icarus was too tired to care.
Moments passed before a realization hit him.
He stood and patted his bottom, and then looked to the man who had seemingly gone mad temporarily.
"Hey, I suppose now's as good a time to ask as any, what's your name?"
The man's laughs halted, and he stared for a moment, his eyes squinted in confusion.
"Oh. I forgot we didn't do that. I suppose we've been through enough for that now, haven't we?"
Icarus nodded, but took the opportunity to speak first.
"I am Icarus, and you?"
"I am called Skew, strange name I know, but I'm a slum kid, ya see."
Icarus could definitely see it.
"Same here."
Skew raised an eyebrow, "Really? A slummer knowing magic? How'd that happen?"
Icarus shook his head, "Long story, not something we should focus on here. I'm gonna set up shelter, and we can get some rest."
Skew crossed his arms. "Alright, keep ur secrets then I suppose."
Icarus put his hands on the ground, and a dome of earth encased them. Skew whistled, and soon the two were in total darkness.
"Well now, ain't this fancy. But how do we stop something sneaking up on us while we rest?"
Icarus lay down, "I have several golems primed to explode in a perimeter around this place. We will hear if anything breathing comes anywhere near us."
Skew let out a satisfied grunt, and Icarus heard him fall to the ground and swiftly fall into a state of rest.
He was amazed at the speed at which the man could pass out; he himself had countless worries at the moment.
Nevertheless, he eventually drifted off.
.
.
.
He awoke much later, finding himself in the darkness. Skew was sitting up, evidently on edge.
terrible sounds were audible in the distance, enormous, inhuman screams of pure agony were covering the entire area.
However, it was far out of range of any of the golems as Icarus checked each of them the moment he had gotten up.
After what felt like hours, the screams faded. Icarus had a sudden shudder as he realized that they had come from the direction they were walking in tomorrow.
He patted Skew on the back and lay back down.
"A problem for tommorow my friend."
His procrastinator's mind from his days on earth was still an amazing tool in situations like these.
Skew looked at him with a mortified expression, before just managing to squeak out: "I-I-I'm going to stay up for now."
.
.
.
A couple of hours later, they set out following the wall. Icarus made sure a golem was always at least 200 meters in front of them to scout for any danger.
But so far, there was nothing; the humanoid creatures seemed to infest certain areas, but in others, there was none at all.
But that just meant that coming upon one of these groups was inevitable.
however the golem came upon the reason for the lack of danger fairly quickly.
and the two of them soon after.
Dozens of monsters.
all dead, scattered at the base of a massive tree.
however this tree was wrong.
It was far larger than any of the other trees, and where any wood or bark would have been, there was flesh.
It was A massive tower of flesh, large enough to give birth to these abominations.
And it had been completely torn apart.