The confusing twists and turns of the tunnel seemed to stretch on forever. The darkness was suffocating, and the only thing that lit their way was the torch. Not being able to see very far in front or behind you was not a good feeling. Like you weren't in control. But this was cool too, is gave a sense of mystery, not knowing what was there.

Suddenly they came to a split in the road. Left... or right? Comet felt the maned wolf bump her with their leg."Let's go right." It was a random choice, and there wasn't much to go off of anyway.

The tunnel to the right headed into the mountain for fifty yards before turning sharply and winding upward. It narrowed, so much so that the pair would need to crouch and squeeze to pass through the gap if they wished it.

Ahead, the slope was much more extreme--and slick, smooth, and without further casting of light, pitch black. If they managed to progress far enough without sliding back to the narrow point--two or three further hundred yards of slick tunnel, spiralling upward into the mountain's heart--they would find another fork.

This one led left and down, or right and further upward. The right held that acrid stink a little more strongly: whatever it was, is was more fresh in that direction. Left was broader, widening out, easier to traverse and with a rougher, snowy floor; dim light fed in from farther in, shimmering with aurora-light.

The pair will need to attempt to traverse this section of treacherously-floored tunnel, should they choose to continue. A failure will see them skidding back to the start. They will also need to create light to see, or be blind. This may take more than one turn. Should they eventually succeed, they may choose to turn left, toward fresh air, or right, into the acrid odor. The right side may prove dangerous.

@Comet @Esther

The two were sent down a twisting path that Esther didn't know if they wanted to traverse or not. Plus the fact that the light went out again - Esther didn't want to take more of the kid's fur to light it. Which meant they would choose which way to go and go in blind. Setting the bone down with a soft clink, Esther turned to Comet. It smelled bad - which meant danger. But the other side looked like it could provide something different.

The maned wolf wanted to know what was wrong with the other side, but they weren't going to bring the kid into the place. Which meant they would have to come back later - when they were alone. And face the potential danger that place had. Esther wondered if they would die. That thought was shoved so far away from them that it might have gone down the shadow's throat if it was possible.

"Let's go left." The maned wolf stated. They would not be facing danger today.

@Comet

"Yes, I think that would be best." The right side looked dangerous, and Comet didn't think that risking her life here was a good idea. But in order to take the left side, one would need to rekindle the torch, and traverse the slippery tunnel.

The pup rubbed off some of her fur and moved it towards the maned wolf. "Here."

@Esther

Esther wasn't going to lead a kid to her death, which meant the other side was the safer option. It looked that way, anyway. And the other side smelled weird, which just meant something in there had to be making that smell. Esther wanted to investigate, but not with a child. Perhaps they would bring a group with them eventually, to come back and take a look with them.

The kid shoved more of her fur at them, and Esther packed it into the bone again. There was a small amount of light coming out of the way they chose to go, Esther figured that meant the place had some kind of light in it when they got there. Robbing the kid of all of her fur wasn't a plan Esther had.

Well, it was time to cast the spell. If it went bad, Esther could always catch themselves aflame. Or Comet. Man, that would be kinda funny. Except the spell worked, and the fur inside was glowing a faint purple from the flames that were that same color, too.

Esther motioned for Comet to follow.

@Comet

Comet watched with relief as the bone torch once again lit up, the fumes drifting through the tunnel. Now that there was more light, she could see that before branching into two separate paths, the tunnel was dangerously smooth and slick, going upwards at a steep angle. She nodded to the maned wolf that she would try going up first, and see if she could make it.

Using her rough paw pads, she inched up the tunnel, but one false move of her claw sent her sliding right back to the start. "You try." Hopefully Esther would have more success.

@Esther