"Wake up kid. Wake up"
An unfamiliar but soft voice could be heard over a low ringing sound. A hand emitting a green light hovered above his eyes.
As his vision began to focus, Jay could see a caramel toned woman with tied back brown hair over him. His head was laid on her lap as she brought him back to consciousness.
Her soft voice and warm healing ability made him feel safe.
It was a comfortable feeling, one he had never had the privilege of feeling before.
He recognized her as a member of the adventurer's group. She wore a set of light armor with no headpiece exposing her green eyes. On her back was a bow but no quiver or arrows could be seen. On her hip was a small blade.
"What happened?" Jay asked as the woman let out a bright smile indicating that she was happy to see that he had regained consciousnesses.
"You fell unconscious as a result of entering an intermediate portal without proper tools or training." she replied.
"What about the rest of you? Did you all not receive the same effects?" he asked as he stood up. He was currently holding himself back from asking about what an "intermediate portal" was even though he had an idea.
"We are professionals who have experienced many ups and downs. We train against magic attacks which strengthen not only our body but our minds. With the proper training or tools, you can enter a higher level portal without feeling the after effects." the lady answered as they both stood up.
She extended her hand towards him, most likely for a handshake.
Reluctantly, Jay extended his hand as well showing his appreciation for her help. He felt safe with her but still did not trust the group.
Now looking around, he noticed many missing members. Out of the original twenty something, only seven remained.
"Where are the others?" he asked.
A large man with a shaved head and goatee wearing a silver chest plate and tights stood next to the lady. He had a large battle axe in one hand. His left eye was closed with a scar going straight through it and probably no longer worked.
"We got separated when going through the tunnels. The seven of us landed here and you dropped in shortly afterwards." he replied.
Not only had the group discovered a seemingly dangerous portal but they also got separated upon entering that very portal. This was another worst case scenario and Jay was not ok with it.
The surrounding area was a small tunnel with barely enough space to stand side by side. The other members of the group that landed with them were looking around while on high alert.
The large man could see Jay's worry and commented to calm his nerves. "We have already checked down one direction which is merely a dead end. We awaited your recovery before moving on."
"Let's get a move on" the woman said as she strutted ahead not giving Jay anymore chances to ask questions.
The group began to traverse the unexplored direction of the tunnel. The only way ahead was to walk one behind the other due to the tunnel's lack of space with the large man leading the team.
...
Half an hour had passed.
The group was still on high alert but had yet to encounter any beast.
Walking for a while with not much to do, the woman had decided it would be great to get to know Jay and vice versa.
Her name was Kate Roswald, one of the three children of the Roswald family.
Her parents were both well respected adventurers and had trained her to become one at a young age. Her weapon was a magical bow and she would use her wind magic to create arrows. She was only 21 and had accomplished many great feats. Besides wind magic, she could use healing magic which she was taught in academy after deciding to contribute as a support role.
The large man with the silver chest plate was Lance Silverridge. Another adventurer who had accomplished many great feats like Kate. He was 32 and came from a family of knights. Not wanting to be a knight like his father he became an adventurer who wielded a battle axe and could use body enhancing magic. He was an only child but had many friends who he considered his brothers and sisters.
The others in the group included Grey Farleyy (a fire user), Thomas Blackwood (an earth user), Amber Oakley (another fire user), Claire Cramwell (another wind user), and Lynn Garfield (another earth user.)
Each shared their origins with Jay in hopes of brightening their current situation. However, when asked about his origins Jay had simply stayed quiet as if he had not heard the question.
Finally, the tunnel had led to a fork in the path. A left and right path was now visible and the group was unsure of which to follow.
Kate without hesitation chose the left path as there was no way to know which path would be a better choice. The group had nothing to go off and followed her lead to the left path but was soon met by a dead end.
They turned and headed down the right path.
After travelling down the right path for several minutes, the group had once again encountered a fork in the path. Once again Kate chose the left.
Unlike the last time, the left path was correct as they once again traveled until meeting another set of choices. This time however, it was possible to go straight as well as left or right.
"It's just path after path." Amber said with an obviously annoyed tone. "It's like we're in a maze."
The group had all decided to stay together rather than to split up and therefore would all travel down a single choice together.
"Uh, why don't you choose." Kate said looking at Jay with her friendly smile.
Not sure why she chose him and frankly not caring, Jay chose the right path as he too had no idea on which way could be correct and which would lead to a dead end.
His choice was wrong which meant the group had to turn back. They then chose the left path which was also wrong and finally went down the path continuing straight ahead.
Before long, the group arrived at a huge open area. The group was now able to stand side by side or even space out.
Each direction around the open area had another path. One left, right, and even straight. Unlike the others, these tunnels were far wider and taller than any human would need it to be. It was as if a giant needed to traverse these paths.
Taking a breather to look around for other members or nearby beast, Jay and the others discovered nothing out of the ordinary except the bones of beast.
The bones were completely rid of meat and were dry enough to be considered not new. Examining the bones, Lance concluded that they had originated from a large and most likely powerful beast.
"The area is clear " Kate yelled from across the open space.
As if she had said some sort of trigger word, Kate could now feel the area begin to shake. Looking around, she could see the others had also noticed the shaking.
Boom
Boom
Boom
A loud sound could be heard coming closer through the middle tunnel. This was not the same sound that was heard in the forest.
The sound got closer and closer until the cause could almost be seen.