The Legend of the Labyrinth

[The Skarzs]

   Algirdas allowed himself a moment of smug satisfaction when the others joined him, but hid it as soon as he turned his thoughts back to the situation at paw. The others were looking to him as a leader now: Him! And he wasn't going to let them down.
  "First thing first," he said. "Waiata, fly ahead down this tunnel and see where it leads. The rest of us will see about getting some light before you come back."

[shisteer of nothing much]

  Waiata nodded agreeably, rolling her eyes at the mention of light. Why did these beasts always have to blind themselves? They would survive much better if they used their ears, but no, they had to make things uncomfortable.
  Giving her sister a hug and forcing a bright smile, the bat took to the air and disappeared down the tunnel, her wings flapping silently and her ears attuned for any sign of danger, eyes scanning the walls carefully. There hadn't been any visible runes for a while, but they may come back with important information that could help their entire group survive.

[Verdauga]

The hallways beyond branched out a few times, but were otherwise blank-faced. Watching for Stoneater to make an appearance, Ara scuttled over to an intersecting hall on the right. Small rooms, hardly large enough for three beasts, dotted both walls all the way to the next passage. Apparently they weren't the first to have trouble with the monster; but if the walls could stop it was another question entirely.

Warily, Ara hasted back to Brink to relay his findings.
"We can't stop the beastly thing, but we can harass it. If you get into one of those rooms, I'll get it to focus on me. Once I do, move to the next closest room and try to distract it. It won't be able to reach you in there unless you let it."
Ara winked and extended his paw. "What say you, old sport? Not the safest chore in the world, but I'll be with you every step o' the way."

[shisteer of nothing much]

  Waiata flapped silently back to her group and threw Algirdas a salute, landing in front of him to make her report. They hadn't made a huge amount of progress along the tunnel, but they'd managed to make fire and the bat kept her wing up to shield her eyes.
  "There are a few intersections ahead, ahead, each branching off in different directions, directions. The first one goes off to the right and up, and up. That would likely be the best route to take, to take. Plenty of little rooms to hide in from the monster, monster. No writing on the walls, the walls. Don't know about traps, about traps."
  Waiata stopped, her report finished but for the snatches of conversation she'd overheard from the other group. She wasn't sure if she should tell them what they said. Maybe Dantin and Pekepeke, but she was still a little unsure of Algirdas.
  "What are our moves now, moves now?"

[The Skarzs]

  "Up is where we want to go, so that's the route we'll take," Algirdas said, masking his own unsureness. They could be lost down here forever, but moving toward the surface was better than nothing. He held up a little oil lamp he had kept in his pack, lit and giving off a little illumination. "Everybeast get a light. If we get separated somehow you don't wanna be left in the dark. Come on." With that, he headed the group off down the tunnel.