Val turned all her thoughts on her current sensations. A weight was on her chest, and her arms were bound by something. It could be attached to the thing in her chest, but it was hard to decern.
Next, she focused on her breaths. She knew that she wasn't smelling the sweet, little meadow she saw before. It had a mix of stale musk and something rotting.
'There is something on me, and something that smells like it is being turned into maggot food. This does not bode well for me!' Val lashed out.
'Those are good clues.' The inner voice retorted. 'Do you hear anything?'
Val went with the voice's nudge, and listened to her surroundings. It was eerily quiet. The combination of it all was making it hard for her to not be consumed by fear.
After what felt like an eternity, Val finally honed her hearing. There was a low hum. At first it didn't seem to be anything special about it, but then, she began to notice that it wasn't a single hum. It was coming from the being on top of her, as well as from her sides. They seemed to be synchronized.
'There is a humming that these things do. Is that what you're getting at?' Val desperately asked.
'Very good.' The voice praised her. 'These creatures operate with a hive mind. The hum is a means of communication as well as how they maintain their connection.'
'Well, I'm happy you know all of this. It's going to be great to die with this information.' Val sassed back.
'You really like to dive in head first.' The voice chuckled. 'You remind me of her.'
Val was confused, but really didn't feel like taking the time clarifying. She already had to go with whatever the voice said, even if she couldn't fully trust it. She's really starting to regret this whole adventure.
'What do I need to do?' Val seriously demanded.
'You must disrupt their hum. This will cause the creatures to release you.' The voice answered back.
'I can't move my body, but I'm guessing that there's something else. I don't have any talent in magic, but maybe we can reach out to Sparrow?' Val speculated.
'Yes, reaching out to your companion will help. You have a crystal to channel your energy. Focus on it, and it should bridge your minds.' The voice instructed.
'You can help us once I connect to Sparrow?' Val asked.
'No.' It replied. 'Only you can hear and interact with me. The means I'm using to communicate with you is of a special variety. Connect with your companion, and you can with together to escape this trial.'
Val did as she was told. Her crystal, though mostly used in low level spells, did have a small amount of its own energy. She tried with all her might to tap into it, but of course, it was easier said than done.
'Sometimes it is easier for beginners to visualize their destination.' The voice told her, as her frustration increased.
'It is a crystal. A little rock that can light up from time to time. What is there to visualize?' She snapped back.
'Think of it this way. The crystal does not have a light of its own, but rather, borrows energy from its surroundings. Much like how you fill a bucket with water. Your light is the river, and you wish to fill the bucket with your stream. Find your light, and then you can connect to the crystal.' It again tried to instruct Val.
Find her light? This too sounds rather vague and unhelpful. But Val recalled when she bought the crystal. The owner, a low level witch, showed her something similar to activate the simple spells. The owner said that everyone could feel the magic around by meditation and focusing on one's own heartbeat. The theory was that the heart represents one's life, so if one was to be in tune with it, then one can start to feel the magic all around.
Val slowed her mind, and focused on her pulse. It was weak, as she was unconscious, but it was easy to focus on. The more she felt it, the more she felt the buzz of the air around her. Since they were in a magic cave, the air was heavy with it.
Before long, Val was able to connect with her crystal. Now, she just needed to connect to Sparrow. For this, she focused on Sparrow's heartbeat as well. Sparrow's rhythm slowly matched her own. When they were in sync, then a connection was formed.
'Sparrow!' Val called out with her mind.
'Val?' Sparrow asked, tentatively. 'Is that you?'
'Surprisingly, yes.' Val responded. 'I was given a bit of a hand. I can't really explain it though.'
'We can talk about that later.' Sparrow refocused the conversation. 'How are we linked?'
'I have a crystal that channels a bit of magic. Nothing fancy, but at least we can talk.' Val explained.
'This is good. We can use it to combine our efforts.' Sparrow speculated. 'These creatures are slowly draining us. We won't last long.'
'Maybe if we make some noise, we can disrupt their hum?' Val offered.
'Smart.' Sparrow mulled it over. 'I noticed the hum as well. We may not be able to break through entirely, but as long as they detach, then we should regain some of our movement.'
'I guess there's nothing left, but to do it.' Val resolved.