Mama Preed grasped Kain's hand in a deathgrip. "Thadon, honey, we should leave." Thadon stood unmoving.
"There's only a minor chance –" Thadon began, but he could never finish. A dark form exploded from the shadows towards the young Bosmer. Kain paled with horror as he realized it was a basilisk; a giant white snake with gleaming red eyes and huge white fangs. The basilisk had to be at least forty feet long and as wide as a tree trunk.
Thadon didn't even turn around as the basilisk bit into Thadon's chest, lifting him off and ground and waving him around in the air.
"Thadon!" Kain shouted in despair, and fumbled for a weapon. He found his bullwhip and grabbed it. Kain lashed the whip out at the basilisk, but it only struck its side. The creature didn't even seem to be affected.
Mama Preed took out her crossbow and fired at the basilisk. The bolt just embedded itself in its hide. "Nothing's working!" Mama shouted. The basilisk continued to fly Thadon around the room. Kain's student wasn't even screaming.
[i]I can't lose him![/i] Kain thought desperately. He cracked his whip at the basilisk, and it happened to hit the creature's eye. The dark red eye of the beast split open as the basilisk dropped Thadon abruptly. It thrashed around, bumping into the walls violently, and then turned, slithering back into the darkness. The tunnels shook even more.
Kain and Mama Preed rushed over to the Wood Elf student, lying on the floor. The pair ripped off Thadon's upper robes, now soaked with blood. Thadon's bare chest revealed two large fang marks just above his belly button. The wounds were black around the edges.
"Poison," Kain whispered. He checked Thadon's pulse. Nothing. Sighing, Kain reached up to Thadon's face and closed the Bosmer's eyes, frozen in fear.
"It's too late for him." Mama said, looking away. The tunnel shook some more. "Kain, we must get going, back to the others. We need to get out of here."
Kain nodded numbly. His student was dead. Kain had known Thadon for years and despite the Wood Elf's unlikable personality, Kain viewed him as a close friend and apprentice. "Yeah," He eventually said. "Yeah, let's go."
Mama stood, still looking away from Thaon. She helped Kain up and the two started to go back – when the tunnel shook more than it ever had. Kain was thrown against the wall and Mama fell to her knees, steadying herself on the ground. Suddenly, rocks started falling. The cave creaked, howled and groaned as more rocks fell, and as quickly as it began, it ended.
Mama stood, swaying slightly. "Kain…" She said softly, looking towards the way back. "The cave in… we're trapped."
Kain looked into the darkness where the basilisk fled. "Not trapped," He said grimly. "We just need to go into the dark… towards the basilisk."
...
Kidroni walked silently alongside Drake and Ella. He was in no mood to talk, and neither were Mama's apprentices. He counted them lucky that the crystals on the wall gave them light.
Drake's black leather armor and dark skin made him blend into the cave walls, a walking shadow. Ella's white armor and lighter brown skin made her stick out more obviously. The young woman seemed to be in the best mood of them all, humming softly and smiling as they passed new crystal and rock formations. Drake just scowled.
"I think I see a light," Drake whispered. Ahead of them, the tunnel turned a corner into the unknown, but a light shined against the wall against it, brighter than the crystals. The Redguard didn't know why he whispered, except the silence seemed to press down on them all like a physical presence.
"Let's go!" Ella said in a singsong voice and ran ahead of the group. Drake quickened his pace to follow her, but the older Altmer continued his slow pace. Ella stopped when she reached the corner, staring out at whatever she saw. Once Drake reached her, he stopped abruptly as well.
"Professor!" Drake whispered. "Come here! You must see this!"
"Coming, coming," Kidroni mumbled and half walked, half hobbled over to meet the young apprentices. He stared out at the source of the light and swore silently.
Ahead of them, the tunnel emptied into a large chamber full of Specters, glowing a soft blue light. But Specters weren't the only ones down there; there were also mortals that seemed to be working alongside the ghostly presences. There were dozens of torches that lines the walls.
"What is this?" Kidroni asked, astonished. "This operation in the jungle is larger than we thought."
"We need to warn the others," Ella said in a hushed tone. Before anyone could respond, the cave started to shake violently. Rocks fell behind the trio as the way back was quickly sealed off. The ground started to crack under them as Kidroni, Ella and Drake were thrown down a steep hill into the cavern containing the Viscount's minions.
A tall Orc woman in a white jumpsuit was standing in front of the entrance to the cavern and Kidroni and the apprentices fell in. She stopped, confused with the sudden appearance of the invaders and the cave shaking. She finally got herself together to muster a shout: "Intruders! Intruders!"
Drake jumped to his feet as Ella slowly did the same. The Redguard man helped the professor up, ignoring the screaming woman for now. Before anything could be done about the Orc, a large beast erupted from a dark hole beside her and stretched into the chamber. Kidroni uttered a quiet prayer. "Basilisk!"
The basilisk grabbed the Orc woman in its fangs and waved her in the air before throwing her against a wall. The woman was clearly already dead. The cavern continued to shake violently as Specters hurried to combat the huge snake beast, ignoring Kidroni and his companions completely.
"Go," The professor urged, not willing to pass up the chance. He ran alongside the edge of the cavern to the opposite side, hopefully to an exit. Screams from behind indicated that the basilisk was winning the fight against the Specters.
Boulders started to fall from the ceiling, crushing equipment and campsites that the Viscount's men set up. "For the love of Mara, hurry it up!" Kidroni screamed. The cavern stretched several dozen meters to the other side.
The cavern was slowly growing dark as torches fell off the wall and extinguished themselves on the floor. Drake narrowly avoided a torch striking his head. The trio eventually reached the end of the cavern, which led out into another tunnel, but it was blocked by some rubble. Around a dozen mortals crowded around the rubble, taking turns climbing up and over the debris.
"What will we do?" Ella asked, frightened. The young woman's smile had vanished, and her eyes glowed with a mix of confusion and hard determination.
"We can't wait for them," Drake said, and sized up the workers. "They're unarmed. I say we take our chances."
Kidroni shook his head, but it was unnecessary. The ground shook near the workers as a creature slithered out of a small hole.
"Talos preserve us, it's another basilisk!" Ella shouted.
