Cold sped through the mansion at speed to find the direction Chichi and the others of the second group of adventurers had taken, just prior to their separation. It took longer than he would have liked - the group had already succeeded in passing the equipment room and descending deep within the mountain itself, through a very uncomfortably-long tunnel and into deep, dark caverns filled with bubbling flows of slow-moving lava. How much time did they have left before their exit was blocked and they became trapped here? No sooner had he questioned it than he felt the echo of a deep, stabbing pain from somewhere outside. Not long. In the chaos of a rumbling earthquake growing stronger with every second and threatening to flatten them all as thoroughly as other members of the teams, the wolf burst through the passageway the group had just emerged. Larger than average, already growling - and to Darius and Oram, potentially somewhat familiar already.
The way they'd come was too far. Far too far. But the alternatives were practically non-existent; find a safe spot, hide, and hope that the volcano's eventual eruption didn't crush them all or burn them alive while they were still inside? Apparently they didn't have a choice. Just like the rest of them, he could hear the distant crumbling of their one and only escape disappearing under rubble and debris.
He growled again, louder, in frustration as he looked to the small rows of miniature volcanoes still spitting and bubbling with molten stone, then back to the group. He could only do as much as he could - the rest of it was up to them. But his first thought was Chichi, panicking between them all and crying about Zach. Zach was dead. Panic did nothing. He barked at her, and when that didn't work, he nudged at her sharply. She was supposed to be the guide, the leader, the one who knew something about this place that they didn't.
Could they go back the way they'd come? He'd seen another path there... but the smell had been wrong, dangerously wrong to his canine senses. How wrong? He shared it with Squeak. No... that's like here. They didn't want to dig deeper, they needed to break for the surface, if such a thing were even possible within the caverns.
Which way forwards? He didn't know. He couldn't make the choice for them. As utterly frustrating as it was, the wolf could only stand by and watch, acting as an extra set of eyes and adding his wolfish sense of smell to the proceedings in case they caught something particularly unusual.
The way they'd come was too far. Far too far. But the alternatives were practically non-existent; find a safe spot, hide, and hope that the volcano's eventual eruption didn't crush them all or burn them alive while they were still inside? Apparently they didn't have a choice. Just like the rest of them, he could hear the distant crumbling of their one and only escape disappearing under rubble and debris.
He growled again, louder, in frustration as he looked to the small rows of miniature volcanoes still spitting and bubbling with molten stone, then back to the group. He could only do as much as he could - the rest of it was up to them. But his first thought was Chichi, panicking between them all and crying about Zach. Zach was dead. Panic did nothing. He barked at her, and when that didn't work, he nudged at her sharply. She was supposed to be the guide, the leader, the one who knew something about this place that they didn't.
Could they go back the way they'd come? He'd seen another path there... but the smell had been wrong, dangerously wrong to his canine senses. How wrong? He shared it with Squeak. No... that's like here. They didn't want to dig deeper, they needed to break for the surface, if such a thing were even possible within the caverns.
Which way forwards? He didn't know. He couldn't make the choice for them. As utterly frustrating as it was, the wolf could only stand by and watch, acting as an extra set of eyes and adding his wolfish sense of smell to the proceedings in case they caught something particularly unusual.
