Gears churned. A loud roaring noise came from behind Belvadair. A heavy screeching noise, loudly rumbled down his spine. Belvadair lept forward in fear. His eye wide open as he curved his head over his shoulder. The wall.

The wall fucking opened up.

How-

What!

How the hell did that happen?! Fear combed through his blood, heavy thumping echoed in his ears. The white mask flinched as he heard the complaint of Zephiran.

It moved backwards, then to the side. One final screeching it sounded like it crumbled. Broke. The masked pup laid in silence before he uttered words.

"The hell..?"

For what little they could see, he would only see darkness. Filled with cold air and layered with dust of ages. Quickly he turned to Zephiran.

“You okay?"

The masked wolf set his fear to place upon his … friend? Comrade? Stranger? He wasn't sure what to call him yet. If he could trust. Whatever. But right now he wanted to check on him. Doing what he thought he could do best, putting a paw on his shoulder. Calling forth any power to try and make the silver pup feel better.

---

"Speaking"

Loud screeching noises began, causing the hackles on his silver fur to stand up. His vision still blurry from the sudden bonk on the head. Heartbeat thumped against his chest, eyes squinting as he saw something move. One last final CLUNCK!

And there appeared a doorway. Another entrance… to what? Cold air brushed out the doorway, sending a chill down Zephiran's spine.

It was only when he felt the paw on his shoulder when he turned to Belvadair. Whatever the touch was… made him feel better, less dizzy.

"Ya! Lookit! It seems another way down! Let's see if we can't find something cooler down there."

Zephiran would boom up onto his paws. A swift wag of his tail. This time his goal was to create the orb, perhaps see how much he could let it venture down the tunnel. At the mouth of the tunnel he stood, the bright orb came from photons he was able to grab from merely nothing. The bright blue orb, he casted and shooed as far as he felt he could let it go.

However he felt with every push he gave, it was already beginning to exhaust him. His eyes peeled for anything.

---

"Speaking"

(@ none.)

"Hey! I wanna see where that goes!"

Truthfully Belvadair wanted to stay where he could see. It seemed like the pup before him was alright. Belvadair moved to his dark paws, squeezed by Zephiran to chase after the bright blue orb.

The dark pup tried to call for his power, to see if there was anything here but.. Nothing happened! For now he trots after the orb. Carefully but his eyes stayed squinting towards the light.

---

"Speaking"

To their left, as they entered, a small lever was set into the wall.

The hall did not go far. Its depths might have been frightening given how dark and dusty the place was, but it ended abruptly shortly after in a blank stone wall.

Of course, by now, the pups might be starting to figure out: this place was not what it seemed. Given the simple storage nature of the cellar, it probably wasn't anything groundbreaking--but it hadn't been touched in centuries, and that in and of itself was perhaps interesting.

On the wall here, at the far end, another lever was waiting.

@Zephiran

While Belvadair dashed after his own light, Zephiran stopped at the entrance. The tunnel's mouth. Slowly but surely, he was getting it. Something different about this place. That thrilled him. His eyes blinked, with a flash of the light that passed him.

There was a piece of a stone sticking out of the side. But it was carved. Perfectly. Rounded the best it could be, although a little high for him to reach.

Zephiran turned his head towards Belvadair once more before he'd stand next to the sticking out lever. The sheer focus was controlling the orb until it went to the end of the tunnel. Each breath of Zephiran's was rugged and ragged. His chest heaved, he stumbled, leaning against the wall.

His light faltered, shattered to nothing but photons. The voice of his rasped, exhaustive. A simple sentence was all he could afford. After all this, he needed a nap. Zephiran knows he can't do much more of his power in such a short time.

"What’s. What's down there?"

---

"Speaking"

(@ none.)

Belvadair chased the light all the way down the short tunnel. It didn't take him long. His good eye peered around the short hallway. His tail swiftly flickered beside him, the pure darkness terrified him. The way he couldn't… see! Only when he had the other's power at his side.

He would need to see if he could get something like that to follow him. Squinting his eye, he couldn't find anything. When he thought he noticed something, the light flickered. Fading into darkness. In which, made the hair on his back rise.

Down at the beginning of the tunnel, he could still see the faint glow of the other one. His heart raced, a stutter to his own voice. Clear disturbance he was left in the dark.

"I couldn't see much!"

---

"Speaking"

"I.. I have some sort of object here. I.. I might be able to move it. Stay there! Don't move."

Just like how he did when he tripped, right? Zephiran mumbled to himself, put his paws against the wall to lean. The silver pup was able to put himself near the lever, and he let gravity help push him down.

Or well he seemed to push as hard as he could to pop the thing down. His ears flickered, waiting to see if he could hear anything. If anything happens.

---

"Speaking"

(@ none.)

As before, the wall began to slide away. Or rather, the door did: and beyond, oddly, was another cellar.

It was quite like the first one: shelves, some collapsed; jars and ceramic, quite a few of them crumbled into dust. A staircase led upward from within, carved out of the rock itself.

Of the items within this particular cellar, or at least the ones that had survived the test of time, one stood out: a container halfway between a basket and a bag, made of once-shining scales. It had been tough and flexible, about a foot tall and a foot wide, with a curved handle of metal connecting the two sides. Whatever the scales had once belonged to, they hadn't decayed over time; maybe they were even metal. It was hard to tell, now, because quite a few had fallen away, but those that remained kept the bag intact enough. They were dusty, muted and matted with grime, but the container overall was still functional. If anything had once been inside, it was empty now.

Another pressure stone stood at the far end of the room, undoubtedly leading to another cellar or corridor, but not yet opened.

@Zephiran

No way did he have to be told twice. Belvadair kept his paws planted in the cold stones. Even when the loud churning happened, the gears kicked in. Roaring with noise. The black pup couldn't see much from where he was standing, but he heard all of it.

Of course he spoke outwards towards the other. A loud shaken bark. His tail dipped between his legs. Though he tried his hardest to not show he was scared. He was. Shaken down to his core. Yet intrigued to know. Wouldn't anyone be?

"What is it?"

---

"Speaking"

No @ needed

Metal gears churned, with one final loud roaring noise. It clicked. The wall of the tunnel moved. Clicking and opening up into a cool space. Very similar to the already made cellar they had.

Zephiran slowly moved forward. It was difficult to see, but he could feel. Around and about. It was the same feeling he had in the other. Something shiny caught his eye.

Immediately he brushed over towards it. Across the cold flooring. Onto the broken shelves. Between a one made decaying bag and pot. Zephiran leaned to grab it with his teeth. A small but sturdy handle.

Whatever it was, it lasted a while. There was dust covering the layer of the container. All Zephiran thought? Was to keep it. Put stuff in it. Maybe he could use it to carry his stones! What a lovely idea!

But now he wondered.. Was there more? Ears flickered in the interest of finding more. Could there be more treasure lying in wait for them?

Shit. --

Belvadair.

He had left his friend out in the darkness. A swift curl of his tail as he turned to pop his head out from the opening. Gently and carefully he set the container down. Standing over it as he barked to the other.

"It's like a pot! But we can carry stuff in it!? "

He couldn't help but wonder. Should they explore more, or wait and see? They could always come back later too. Zephiran was nervous about leaving it any longer though.

---

"Speaking"

(@none)