"Get down, and don't touch the snakes!" The sun clan boss ordered.
The command cut through the cave's noise like a whip. Kael dropped without thinking, boots scraping on damp stone as the air around them trembled with the Basilisk's weight and the constant hiss of bodies packed too close for comfort.
The snakes were there in clusters along the slope, coiled and watchful like living rope, their presence a reminder that the "contract" was a thin sheet of paper held over a pit. One wrong move and it would tear.
The group understood the meaning immediately. It was their time in the grinder, but they couldn't simply trust the snakes. They had to pay attention in case the contract became void.
They were switching roles, not because they wanted to, but because the situation demanded it. The snakes had made it clear they would fight their share, but only within the boundaries of whatever agreement they had forced into place.
The two groups smoothly changed position.
