Thane saw the three standing at the edge of the path, stiff with fear and utterly clueless about where to step next. The darkness pressed in like a hand over their mouths; the sounds of death still hung in the tunnel like smoke and had made them small and unsure, like figures carved from shadow. He lifted the scepter, angled the ember crystal away from their faces, and slowly poured a trickle of mana into the staff.
Fire surged to life, a tight, bright bloom that threw long, leaping shapes across the stone. The three finally saw Thane.
