Creation - The Path of a God

Chapter 14

Walking through the darkness, Han was on guard considering their circumstance. They had entered the cave system that potentially had a connection to the strange behavior of monsters inside of the kingdom. Instead of the usual damp walls of caves he had visited on Earth, this cave was dry and acrid making it a little difficult to breathe.

The lights from their torches cast shadows onto the wall of the cave, making everything look a little sinister. They had been exploring the network of tunnels for an hour, following the trail left by monsters. Val had her guards positioned at both the front and the rear.

"Even though I am not an adventurer, it sure feels like I am, lately," Han joked out loud.

He looked up at the ceiling to make sure there were no monsters that were trying to sneak up on them.

"Yes. The Council requesting you to join this expedition was something I was vehemently against. It is not your job to go around the Kingdom for the interest of others, regardless of your abilities." Val agreed with his sentiments.

"Sounds like you have some differing opinions, you and the Council?" Han glanced at her.

As Val looked around her, making sure to keep her head on a swivel, she sighed in frustration. "I have begun to notice a drastic shift in behavior and mentality within the Academy. There have been more incidents between those belonging to the nobility and those who are not."

"But I thought that the Academy was above such things, where titles could be used to attack those of lesser status?" Han asked, trying to confirm what he had already started to notice.

"Even though the Academy was built on noble goals regarding equality for all, I have begun to understand that the Council is starting to deviate from its original purpose. In the beginning, the various nations had control over the education system, where only those in power appeared to gain benefits of such a system. The founder was a minor noble, who used his estate to create a school that anyone could attend and receive a high-level education." Val responded. Her face looked pained, as she thought about the place that gave her so many opportunities.

Han could understand her frustration about the whole situation. "What are you going to do about the Council's actions?" He asked her.

"I will continue to try and convince the other members to see that the path we are heading down will only cause the downfall of the academy." She stated, resolutely.

A sound of rocks being stirred and falling could be heard off in the darkness. All of them jerked towards the noise, trying to see what was happening. The guards tightened the grips on their swords and spears.

"Captain, send some men to investigate what caused that noise," Val ordered.

With a cool detachment of someone that had experienced combat, the Captain selected several people to go off and search for any signs. Compared to the level headed appearance of the Captain, the ones selected were sweating and looking nervous about venturing into the darkness. The light from the torches only seemed to accentuate the fact that they were on the tail of dangerous creatures.

"Yi, with how dark this tunnel is, why do you not create the glowing orbs you used inside of the pyramid?" Selestra whispered, leaning closer to Han.

Instead of answering her question, Han asked, "do you not get the feeling that something is off about this whole situation?"

Selestra looked back at him appearing confused. Seeing the confusion on her face, Brittany leaned in and said, "the moment Master arrived back from the ruins, the Council summoned him and sent him on this expedition along with someone that does not agree with their new ideology."