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Message: <blockquote data-quote="talien" data-source="post: 4808246" data-attributes="member: 3285">Darkmar: Part 4 – Navigation Through the Upper HouseInside, the fluting of the pipes was more clearly audible. As Kham walk, the sound sometimes seemed closer, or sometimes it was dim, or disappeared entirely.  Kham traveled for miles.Skiz popped his head out of the haversack.  “Where we going, boss?”“Not sure, Skiz.  But I’m hoping we find our way to the end before I run out of food or I’m going to have to eat you.”Skiz sniffed up at him.  “More likely the other way around, boss.”“Very funny.”Kham walked on and on.  He passed through a massive chamber that took hours to cross, all the while out of sight of walls or ceiling. He journeyed beyond a corridor that opened into a succession of thousands of empty cells. Sometimes the way was illuminated: a shaft of weak light slid down into a chamber from an unknown source, a gleam of phosphorescence seeped from cracks in the floor, and flat stones gave off a gray glimmer.  But most of the time Kham journeyed in darkness.  With Daemonscar, he could see no matter how dark it became…but the others might not be so lucky.He imagined how they would survive.  Beldin and Sebastian could see in the dark.  But Vlad was not so gifted.  The Milandisian would eventually be plunged into total darkness.  And then how would he find his way?Kham came across a fountain set in the wall.  The water smelled sweet.  “Water!” shouted Skiz.  The rat hopped out of Kham’s haversack and began to drink.  “Is it okay?”“If it’s good enough for a rat, boss, it’s good enough for you.”Kham leaned down next to his talking rat and palmed some water.  After taking a deep breath, he took a drink of it. It tasted bitter, but his thirst was sated. He refilled his wineskin.Kham shared a piece of jerky with Skiz, tearing off a piece of it for him.  “That’s the last of our food.  Don’t eat it all at once.”They ate in silence.  Skiz reared up on his hind legs to look around. “This place has weird paintings, boss.”Kham had become so accustomed to not looking anywhere but ahead that he didn’t notice.  Friezes depicted black sailing ships navigating interplanetary space. Another frieze showed amoeboid creatures emerging from the hulls of black ships and conquering and then ruling a face of bronze humanoids.“K’n-yan.  They were the race before humans discovered the Unspeakable One.  Looks like even the k’n-yan are new to the scene compared to those blobs.”Skiz froze.  “I hear piping nearby.”“We’ve been hearing that for days,” muttered Kham.  But it was true, the pipes were louder.Kham picked up Skiz and deposited him back into the haversack.  They took off towards a stairway leading upwards.  As he climbed, the music grew in volume and become frenzied. When he reached the top, the noise stopped.  Kham found himself in a space quite unlike any other.</blockquote>

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