---
Kai and Kathlyn walked.
Their steps echoed faintly in the narrow underground tunnels. The stone walls around them pulsed with thin lines of light, casting just enough glow to see where they were going. The air was cool, almost stale, but not suffocating
Neither of them spoke much.
Kathlyn walked slightly ahead, map in hand, eyes flicking down to the old markings every few minutes to make sure they were still on the right path. She looked tired the kind of tired that sunk into your bones but her shoulders stayed squared, her steps stable
Kai followed, keeping pace behind her his senses were sharp, on edge. Every small shift in the tunnel walls, every faint flicker in the light made him tense just a little.
They passed through chamber after chamber.
