They entered the tunnel heading down underground. Gilyon cast a spell of magelight so he could see in the dark. The air was dry and dusty. The stone bricks of the wall seemed old but untouched. Every step they made echoed, such small noises seemed louder than any other time. Both of them listened carefully.

The long and empty corridor continued in a three branched fork. They looked at each other for a slight moment just to know they thinking the same thing. Then again they looked at the corridors. Gilyon sent the magelight from his shoulder forward in the one on left just to reveal that after a few meters a huge part of the floor is missing. He stepped carefully closer but still couldn’t see the bottom of the opening.

“Okay. So we won’t go this way” he backed away. “Unfortunately, there is nothing about the layout of the library in my studies.”

So they had to decide for themselves which way to go.

Freyan picked up a smaller stone from the tarnished corridor and tossed into the middle one with a bit extra effort. It ricochet from the floor to the wall until it went through a magical trap. A fire hued energy barrier appeared out of nowhere and zapped the stone farther on the passage.

“Maybe it’s not the best choice either. But it’s just a hunch” he shrugged as if it was no heavier topic than the weather.

They both turned to the passage on the right.

“We have to go someway” said Gilyon stating the obvious. “Toss an other one.”

So Freyan did, though there wasn’t many rubble left to throw around. What he picked up was the last fitting one, the rest on the foundered corridor was no larger than dust. Again Freyan threw the stone and they could hear nothing but the it bouncing about. They looked at each other for a meaningful moment. Gilyon didn’t hesitated. He stepped into the corridor with anticipation. And Freyan followed.

“So, do you think this one is safe?” asked Freyan.

“No” the mage stated what was evident. And than again saying it out loud reassured him of this thought. He put up a full globe shaped barrier around them. “Try to follow the way I move. This is the biggest barrier I can make. Especially in a narrow place like this.”

Freyan felt strange, a bit claustrophobic having limitations in his moves. He looked around as they went. After a few moments he started to see sparks. Sparks so little first he thought only his eyes are tricking him. But no. The appearance of the white and blueish sparks were irregular as much as he could tell, but they were definitely the part of the barrier protecting them.

As he listened so close all his senses started to sharpen. He suddenly heard a small click.

“What was that?” he asked unsuspectingly.

“What?” he got a question to his question. And as Gilyon moved forward without stopping he could hear an other click.

A bunch of small darts shot out of both sides of the wall. As Freyan was paying attention to the person next to him he could only saw them for a moment before they smacked into the magic barrier. They both stopped and looked puzzled.

“So what did you hear?”

“A clicking sound.”

“Okay… So now we know we have to watch out for those. Anything else you notice tell me right away. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“And probably anything else even the slightest unsettling or strange thing.”

Freyan nodded. Step by step he came to realize how much he could focus on the things around him. How sharp he could see. How well he could hear. There were times he even thought he could sense some kind of vibration in the air every time the magical barrier protecting them sparked. But paying too much attention could lead him astray. He noticed it when he started to hear specifically the mage’s heart beat.

After a while what seemed more than long minutes to Freyan, he put his arm before Gilyon stopping him. The mage looked at him, but this time he didn’t have to ask what is it.

“There are holes in the ground.”

The mage looked down, and ordered his magical light descend next to the ground. Indeed there were evenly placed holes there as if someone drilled them into the stone.

“Should we try to jump?” he looked at Freyan with a half-smile.

“I… don’t know.”

“Well it’s not far. We could manage…”

“Yeah… But…”

“But?”

“I’m worried. What if there is an other trap on the other side?”

“Can you see anything?”

Freyan focused more on ahead.

“There are scratches on the wall… And a dark stain on the other. The corridor leads on ahead going down.”

“Anything else?”

“No… nothing that I can see.”

“Well then… I would say that you have more chance to survive but that would be rude of me” with that said Gilyon stepped back so he could have enough momentum to jump. He jumped over the trap and resummoned the protective barrier on landing with just enough time to close it even from below. There was a moment of silence and surprise. Then the two of them took in the moment that they are safe, for now.

“It went better than I expected” Gilyon smiled like a moron. “Come on you should be able to make it” he waved Freyan.

So Freyan did the same. A step or two back and jump. What else could he do? Even with the better reflexes for some reason he couldn’t land as gracefully like the mage. Was he too preoccupied with worries? Probably.

“Alright. Let’s go on. And please be just as watchful.”