Suikoden VI

Chapter One: Part Two

Part Two

"...te! Daunte!"

Daunte slowly opened his eyes and found himself surrounded by darkness. After a moment he remembered what had happened—that he'd tumbled into the hidden room—and quickly sat up. His vision spun slightly, but he checked himself over for injuries. His right wrist ached and he felt a large lump on the side of his head, but he felt no broken bones and he saw no blood.

I'm all right. He breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Daunte!" the shout came again. "Thank Nagar you're all right!"

Daunte looked above him. He saw a hole in the wall high above him. It looked to be about 3 meters above his head, so he was certain he wouldn't be able to reach the hole without help.

Luckily for him, he saw help in the two relieved faces at the mouth of the hole. "Is this it?" Felicity asked him. "Is this what you were talking about, Daunte?"

"Hang on, we'll throw you down some rope!" Roen added. He briefly disappeared out of sight.

"H..." Daunte cleared his throat slightly. "What are you two doing here? Isn't it almost time for curfew?"

"We overhead one of the guard's say that they were going to work you all night as punishment for what happened yesterday," Felicity said grimly. "Roen and I volunteered to assist in your punishment, and so here we are."

Daunte was moved that his two friends would stick their necks out for him like this, but he was still concerned. "D-Did my fall get anyone's attention?"

To his relief, Felicity shook her head. "The guard on this Tier decided to leave and play some sort of dice game with the other guards. The only guards on duty in the general area are on the Upper Tier. So we should be okay to explore this room and find the True Rune."

"It's unbelievable," Roen said, coming back into view. "Gambling is against the law, and yet the guards are gambling in a prison camp."

"There's many things about this place that is breaking the law," Felicity muttered bitterly.

"In any case, here!" Roen tossed a shaggy rope through the hole. It hit the stone floor of the room with a slight 'thump'. "Give us a second, we'll be right down!"

"Did you see the True Rune yet?" Felicity asked.

Daunte shook his head. "I just woke up after my fall."

"Well, we'll find it in no time!" Felicity started down the rope first, holding the broken lantern Daunte had left up there earlier. The light quickly filled the chamber and Daunte was able to see his surroundings.

And Daunte saw that he was surrounded by glistening brick walls of blue-purple...but an otherwise empty room.

Oh no. Don't tell me I was mistaken!

As Felicity reached the floor, Daunte then saw a quick shadow across the wall. He turned around and breathed out a sigh of relief as he saw an open corridor in front of him. So there was more than this mysterious room down here.

"Daunte, look out!" Felicity suddenly shouted.

The shadow resurfaced and a large object flew at Daunte. He darted out of the way and caught sight of both his pick axe and his shovel. He quickly grabbed the pick axe as Felicity shrieked again. He heard scratching noises across the floor and spun around. He saw the red eyes first before large claws swung at him. Daunte jumped out of the way, but he couldn't avoid those claws raking across his arm. They tore through the sleeve and came very close to breaking his skin, but he was able to dodge that blow. He felt the pick axe slipping through his fingers, but he squeezed his palms around it as he surveyed his assailant.