Where? (Sinbad)

20. Branch Road of the Dungeon

After finally managing to escape from the fight against Drakon and his not-so-friendly friends, Sinbad and Hina found themselves entering a large open cavern. A seemingly endless series of catwalks hovered above them, connecting various tunnels and passageways. In the center of this cave stood a tall stone block. 

Hina and Sinbad glanced at each other before cautiously approaching the rock. Parts of it seemed to have been chipped away over time, erosion evident on the edges of the tablet. 

"What is this?" Hina asked, a mix of confusion and awe on his face.

"It's like this because we're getting closer to the heart of the dungeon," Sinbad replied excitedly as they both looked around at all the different walkways. "This is the branch road of the dungeon." 

"Wow..." Hina muttered as he took in the sheer size of the cavern they stood in.

"By the way," Sinbad began. "Sorry for dragging you around Hina.

"It's alright," Hina turned and looked towards two of several staircases. "Look. There are doors at the end of the staircases."

"But they're closed?" Sinbad questioned.

Curious, Hina turned to face the towering block of stone which stood even above his height and eyed it suspiciously. "There's this tablet. Do you think it might tell us which way to go?" 

"I don't know, lift me up so I can see it better," Sinbad nodded as Hina placed his hands under the pits of Sinbad's arms and hoisted him up to better read the letters on the tablet.

"What does it say? Which way do we need to go?" Hina asked after a few seconds of Sinbad humming in response to what he was seeing.

"I've got nothing!" Sinbad cheered excitedly as soon as Hina set him down. "I forgot to mention, I can't read or write a thing!"

Hina frowned as he examined the carvings on the tablet. "I can't say I've ever seen any kind of writing like this so I don't know how to read it either."

Sinbad hummed, slightly disappointed. "Man, I really thought this thing would help us figure out which way to go..."

"In that case," Hina spoke up. "We should head for the open door. It's better than staying here."

Sinbad frowned slightly at his suggestion, but with nothing to refute it, the sailor didn't have a reason to not listen. "I guess, but for some reason, I don't think that's the right way to go."

"But we can't read the tablet and all the other doors won't open," Hina argued logically. "What other choice do we have?"

Sinbad sighed in defeat. "Point taken."

With that, the pair made their way up several catwalks before pushing through the only open passageway. Just before stepping foot into the hall, Sinbad glanced back at the tablet, eyeing it with wariness. Even as they continued down the halls, taking various turns, something in Sinbad's gut didn't like the idea that the tablet was more important than what they'd taken it for. His intuition told him to turn back and return to the tablet but it wouldn't matter if he did seeing as how he couldn't read it anyhow.

Every step he took felt wrong. He couldn't quite place why but Sinbad knew it was wrong. 

.....................

The icy walls chilled the air as Eve didn't dare touch the frozen walls that seemed to burn with every minor bit of contact. The passageways seemed to be narrowing, much to Eve's discomfort, though she couldn't help but notice the alarmingly bright light up ahead. Suspicious, she stayed as close to the walls as possible, ignoring the burn that came with the cold as she tried to keep just a bit of distance while still remaining out of sight. She debated using her invisibility, but decided against it, unsure of what was up ahead.