Kiro opened his eyes and noticed he'd been bound and gagged. He looked around but couldn't see anything. He could hear water dripping somewhere and the cold made him shake as he laid there.
"Hold on, Master." Toma whispered. Kiro felt the little nose on his wrist and resisted the urge to move. He could feel the fox's hot breath as Toma used his teeth to untie his restraints.
"Thanks, Toma." Kiro whispered taking the gag out. He slowly sat up and tried to feel around but could only feel hard stone everywhere. "Are we in some kind of hole?"
"I don't know, Master. I went inside your soul to sleep after I got cold. I woke up a little before you." Toma started glowing faintly to get a little light around them.
They were in a small hole not very wide but deep. Kiro looked up and couldn't make out anything.
"Toma, think you could climb up my arms and reach the top of the hole?" Kiro asked looking at the fox.
"I could try." Toma jumped up onto Kiro's shoulders and slowly made his way up Kiro's arms. Standing eloquently on his hands, Toma made a jump for it. He barely got his top half up and scratched hard to lift his bottom half out of the hole. Kiro could tell he was putting all his effort into it. Finally, he got himself out and crouched near the edge.
"How do I get you out, Master?" Toma asked slightly whining.
"Forget about me for now. See if you can get out and find out where we are. If you can, find Leda." Kiro watch the emotions cross over Toma's face as he fought with himself.
"I'll bring help back, Master. Please be careful and don't die." Toma said worriedly.
"I'll trt not to, Toma. Now go." Kiro watch the only light he had fade away as he contemplated what to do next.
He wasn't sure how much time had passed but it felt like hours when he saw a light slowly getting brighter. He looked up and waited hoping it was Toma back with help but scared to make noise if it wasn't.
"You're awake." The voice was thickly accented and feminine. The fire's light came closer and above him stood a woman in a very lowcut dress with a slit up both legs. Her skin was tan and unblemished with piercing gold eyes.
"Hi." Kiro felt stupid after the word left his mouth.
"Hello, forest blade wielder. I am Severesti. May I know your name?" She asked seductively. What was with this woman?
"I'm Kiro. Nice to meet you. May I ask why I'm here?" Kiro tried to remain polite hoping to stay on her good side. He didn't know what was going on, but someone was strong enough to carry him here as dead weight and he didn't want to mess with them.
"The forest blade has accepted you as it's master, Kiro. Do you know what this means?" The woman asked quirking a well formed brow.
"No..." Kiro hesitated. He only had the blade because the wolves had given it to him. He had barely practiced kendo in school much less become a master of any sword style.
"You are immune to natural curses and illness. It is an effective weapon against witches and demons as well as monsters. However, it only accepts someone who has killed." She lowered her gaze to him and he felt intimidated.
"Some bandits attacked us and one turned to dust." Kiro felt himself explain before he even noticed.
"That makes sense. I didn't feel any malice from you yesterday when I watched, but one can never be too cautious." Severesti threw a fireball at the cieling causing it to light up the cave. She then lowered a ladder, allowing Kiro to climb up.