Chapter 394: The Celestial Shrine
The tunnel’s cold, damp walls were small. Stryg had to keep his head down to avoid crashing into a jutting rock. There were no torches on the walls, only a dim light at the end of the tunnel. The rocky path was uneven and slick. He kept staring at his feet, trying his best to avoid tripping. First Mother seemed entirely unaffected. She walked through the tunnel with an unbroken stride, back straight, head held high.
Stryg tried to catch up with Aurelia when he heard Plum cry out in surprise behind him. Stryg spun around worriedly and smacked his head into the tunnel’s ceiling. He flinched back and fell over in an awkward sprawl in the confined space.
“I’m alright, I’m alright!” Plum called out. “I just slipped on a wet rock.”
“And I caught you before your head cracked against the floor,” Tauri said wryly.
“That’s why I said I’m alright,” Plum grinned.
“Glad to hear it,” Stryg muttered as he rubbed his forehead.
Plum narrowed her eyes and tried her best to make out Stryg’s figure in the darkness, “Hey, you okay?”
“Just perfect,” he grunted.
By the time Stryg managed to stand up Aurelia was already at the end of the tunnel, waiting for them. It bothered him that what had taken First Mother only five minutes to walk through ended up taking his companions and him three times as long. The tunnel had been made for goblins and it felt as if the mountain itself was telling him he didn’t fit in with the Sylvan.