The Legend of the Labyrinth

[Kade Rivok]

Dantin didn't like that the two bat sisters were being put up front and in danger.  He understood the reasoning behind it, as they were quick and would have the easiest time escaping from anything that might be ahead.  Even so, he didn't like it.  Pawing at one of his daggers nervously, he unconsciously moved ahead of the group and kept close to Pekepeke, making sure to stick to the sides of the passage.  Whatever they ran into, he wanted to be in a position where he could do... well, he wasn't sure what he actually could do, but he wanted to be able to do something, at least.  It grew darker and darker as they moved down the corridor, and the mouse wrapped his cloak about himself and blended with the darkness, trying to move as silently as he could.  This happened to be one of the few things he was good at, after all.

[Verdauga]

Chycer turned back to watch the other beasts move down the hallway, giving them as much room as he could before leaving himself. Whatever it was that caused all this noise was better left alone. Now that the other beasts were sufficiently far away, Ara calmly stepped back, keeping his eyes on the darkened hallway in front of him. Realizing a missing piece of his plan, Chycer dared raising his voice and called back, "Torunis; test for traps ahead of the others. Brink; If he falls into any pits, get him --" Chycer stopped when he noticed a soft thudding amidst the rumbling. "Get him out, Brink."
Ara felt his heart pounding and his paws shivering as he slowly retreated down the hall.

[Ebantu the Kararehe]

  Pekepeke flew beside Waiata, jerking in fright whenever a new rumble shook the air. She tried to speak, found she couldn't and swallowed hard. Whatever it was making the noise, it was big and angry.
  "Wh-what do you think it is, it is?" she asked in a whisper, her voice trembling.

[shisteer of nothing much]

Waiata gave Pekepeke a reassuring squeeze, heard another loud rumble and shoved her behind, out of the way of danger.
"I don't know, don't know. I can't even tell where it's coming from, coming from. Stay behind me, behind me."
Waiata winced as she felt another deep growl, touching the hilt of her knife.
"Keep a lookout for traps, for traps. We don't want the other beasts to fall into any pits in the midst of this."

[Booklover]

Every sound the shrew heard, whether it was a falling rock or just the footsteps of her companions set her teeth on edge. The rumbles were getting louder and closer, as well as more common. Even the bow in her hands did nothing to reassure her, as the rumbles seemed to suggest it was something big, angry, and not a beast she'd come across, from what she could tell. She wished they could move quicker, but the lighting from the torches was poor at best, and the possibility of traps too high for that to be safe, although there probably wasn't much 'safe' around here. Best stick to above ground in future, she thought to herself. If there was a future. For possibly the first time in her life, the shrew who some knew as The Wanderer, was actually feeling some fear.

[shisteer of nothing much]

Waiata tensed as she heard and felt another rumble, its sinister echoes bouncing of the labyrinth walls. This was not what she was used to. It felt like a completely different place to where she'd lived all her life. Her home had been dark and comforting, its walls telling a beast where she was, if she didn't know already, which was a rare occasion. This place was very different. The darkness seemed to be a physical force, no less clear and still easier to see by than if there was daylight but somehow holding a sense of foreboding. The walls were blank, bare of any runes or markings, and the noises... they need further description. The very fact that there was noise was unusual. Home was silent, apart from the occasional wing beat and the gentle, soothing hum of quiet discussion.
Waiata shuddered as another rumble shook the air. This adventure was not as fun as she'd thought it would be.

[The Skarzs]

  As the Intruders continued down the tunnel, Stoneater found them at last. As it heard their footsteps and their hushed voices, it let out another vocalization, much different than any it had made before. This sound was a long, grinding hum, ending in a loud, hollow exhalation of air and something akin to the cracking of a tree as it fell down in a violent storm.
  Stoneater climbed through a tunnel that ran perpendicular to the explorers', into the dim light. It did not matter; it could see them in the dark if it needed to. But they could see it.
  The creature would have towered over the tallest badger, broad shoulders like the peak of a mountain broken off and set on its body. A squat head sat low on the shoulders, red eyes glowing with a hunger from generations of starvation and set above a dark opening that was its mouth, slightly agape to expose a set of black teeth, sparkling like splinters of obsidian.
  The ground trembled as it took a step with its giant feet, moving the bulk of its body with unkept strength. The skin, or scales, that covered Stoneater's body was shown in what light their was,  an unbroken layer of plates and angles and bulges as if it had been fashioned from the very guts of the earth itself.
  A mighty arm stretched out toward the travellers, and Stoneater came at them.

[Verdauga]

As the gargantuan...thing... emerged from the darkness, Ara felt his resolve evaporate. Nothing could stop this creature; it was a veritable force of nature. Ara's voice rose to a shriek as he shouted
"RUUNN!!!"
  He turned toward the rest of the group and took a few steps, before, spinning around and flinging his torch at the thing's face. Light or darkness, trap or door, hallway or room; nothing mattered now. They had to escape.

[Booklover]

The shrew's feet seemed almost glued to the floor in fear, but somehow she managed to turn and run. Where, it didn't matter. Away from the ginormous beast, with scales of a material impossible to recognise in the dim light but nonetheless clearly strong enough to withstand any weapon the group had, and the blood-red eyes that looked like a dancing flame. The ground was shaking, though it was hard to tell how much of the shaking was from her own fear and how much was caused by the steps of the monster. Any cautiousness to avoid possible traps was gone now as she sprinted down the corridor of rumbling stone. She had no idea whether the other beasts were safe or not, and their shouts couldn't even be heard over the pounding steps of the monster and the crashes as rock broke from the roof, coming down hard onto the floor. Her only thought was for escape.

[shisteer of nothing much]

Waiata froze for half a second as she heard the creature break through behind the group, then she came to life again, her heart pounding as she made sure she was between her sister and the monster and they joined every other beast in the group to retreat with as much haste as possible. No attempt at stealth or caution was made as the group charged heedlessly on.

[The Skarzs]

  With a roar, Stoneater charged them as they ran away. It reached out and tried to catch the straggler, barely missing them by a fraction of an inch. This caused it to stumble slightly, giving its prey a chance to gain ground, but it was quickly after them again.

[Ebantu the Kararehe]

  Pekepeke was more terrified than she had ever been in her entire life. This...thingwas far worse than anything she had ever imagined could live in the network of caves and tunnels around her home. She gave an almost silent squeak of fear as she felt Waiata push her ahead, then she flew. Her wings were a blur as she sped down the tunnel and overtook the rest of the group, not knowing or caring where she was going.   

[Verdauga]

Bounding down the hall, Ara pushed forward anyone who started to slow. The beast rumbled after them, getting louder, every step sounding like a death knell. Dantin and Pekepeke were just ahead of him.
"Weel," he thought wildly, " at least we're moving."

[Kade Rivok]

It was strange, Dantin was afraid, but instead of panicking he'd entered into some sort of cold calmness.  Time seemed to be moving at the correct speed, but everything felt... slow.  The mouse was hyper aware of all the sounds and sights around him as he ran: the frantic wing beats above him, the desperate footsteps behind him, and the ever present rumbling of whatever that creature was giving chase.  The tunnel stretched into the dark distance in ahead of him, and he felt as if he could see every minute detail of the rocky passage, every crack and scratch in the walls.  He realized, there were indeed scratches along the tunnels, as if countless claw marks had been left by some horrible creature, and he was sure that same creature now followed them.  As they ran, his hyper aware senses noticed a deep shadow in the side of the tunnel, not to far away from where they were running.  It looked to be some sort of small entrance, and based on the size he figured that it would be just big enough for them to enter without that creature being able to follow.

"To the left, ahead!"  He called out, pointing at the pathway.

[shisteer of nothing much]

Waiata looked up as Dantin called out, her sharp eyes picking out the narrow entrance. She sped up and flew alongside Pekepeke, gesturing to the dark gap in the stone wall. Not waiting to see if Pekepeke had got her message, she grabbed the younger bat's paw and pulled her into the crevice, not slowing her pace till they were well into what she could now see was a narrow tunnel. There needed to be enough room for every other beast to get in.