The boulders were indeed heavy… but his persistence to be free of this place lended aid to give him the strength to lift them. He didn’t even complain when Ichabod ordered him to move the rocks. Not a single threat was uttered even when the human had the guts to guide Ruin’s hands, to a boulder, with his own! Touching. There was touching and no maiming! Ruin ignored the shivers molesting their way up his skin to focus on the work instead. Stones were steadily being removed from the pile-up with each passing moment. They could practically smell their freedom until a warm draft rushed over the two.<br/><br/>The daemon dropped his rock and cautiously rose. Sounds of grinding and heavy breathing filled the cavernous room. Once again he yearned to have some eyes so he could see this enemy. He could sense the dark entities’ energies of the temple being amplified with each second.<br/><br/>Ruin shuddered as a sound resembling that of a human’s meat grinder pressed downward on them. Unusual fear plagued his body and the uncomfortable twitching of his runes meant Ichabod was in the same state of unrest.<br/><br/>“We need to get out of here!”<br/><br/>Ichabod gave a shrill cry before he grasped at his Ruin’s hand again. The two ran like they had been set on fire through what Ruin assumed was a doorway. The sound behind them screeched like talons down stone. Feet pounded on dark floor, bodies crashed into walls, but they kept going until they felt a bit more at ease. Ichabod finally stopped, panting, and the Daemon pulled his hand free; wiping the human’s sweat off his palms. A grimace filled face spoke lowly in the darkness.<br/><br/>“I dare not even ask what that was… This place is cursed.”<br/><br/>He could feel the human agree but something seemed off with the new Master. “What is it now?” His heart about plummeted into his stomach when the gambler confessed he couldn’t see a thing. Well, thinking back on their run now… they were crashing into walls repeatedly. An estranged sigh escaped his chapped lips.<br/><br/>“I am beginning to think staying with the Duke and taking my chances there would have been much simpler than coming with thee.” He hadn’t been blind that long either, so Ichabod asked a lot. Well at least with his heightened senses they would navigate better than stumbling completely unawares.  Briefly he pondered using a spell of light but decided to keep his songs to himself. “Tsk! Take hold of my hair then human. Do not pull on it or I will be cross! Ugh, such a waste of boots…”<br/><br/><br/>First his new leather shoes were discarded so he could feel the earth’s tremors and grooves. Second, the noble took one of his long silken strands and found Ichabod’s hand in the darkness. The wisp was settled into human fingers like ribbon before they began their maze-like journey.  Beetles skittered in the dark along with other creatures. Cold drafts wailed through hallway entrances that Ruin paused at sniffing and listening. “We will follow the wind’s cries. Somewhere gusts are coming in from outside… Let’s just hope it isn’t Banshees or Imps trying to drag us into their lairs with trickery.”<br/><br/>Maybe an hour or more passed in the pitch black. It was hard to tell sometimes. People often forgot how much sunlight discerned time and sleep patterns. With a growl Ruin stopped in a square room with a cross-road of doorways. “We’ve been here before! Our scent is overlapping and I’ve scratched a groove into the floor here with my toe twice now. But I’ve lead us down different hallways each time. There is sorcery at work here.”<br/><br/>His head turned back to face despite not having eyes, it was a natural habit. They both were weary and needed to rest. “I smell oils. There should be torches on the wall in here. Find those and light them then set up camp…. Ichabod.” He said Ichabod’s name almost begrudging but at least he said it. “I will lay a barrier around us. This is a Spell Song so don’t shite your pants when I sing it. It won’t harm you. It’ll keep the spirits which have been stalking us out though. They are hungry.” It was true. Ruin had felt their cold biting grasps down certain turns that he quickly avoided. Not wanting to spook the human, he remained quiet. However, once they passed the ambush location the phantasms followed hungrily at a distance, waiting for their prey to falter in their maze to suck on their life energy.<br/><br/>“So I suggest we make haste.”<br/><br/>While Ichabod felt about the walls to find the torches to light, Ruin sat crossed legged in the center of the room. Cross-roads held a lot more spiritual energy because they were choices.<span style="font-style: italic">’This is a good place to sing a song.’</span>He began humming a low tune that was enchanting. Soft words began to mix their way into the hymn in some sort of ancient language. The air crackled with electricity and each doorway glued with a blue light as his words grew louder in the hymn. His voice a sweet haunting chorale. Runes formed in smokey, blue shaded tendrils on the walls around them when he had finished. A cage of magical protection would let the two sleep tonight as phantasms with twisted faces of teeth rebounded off the barriers.<br/><br/>With a sigh of exhaustion, Ruin leaned back. His voice felt coarse from not using it often enough. When a hand touched soft fabric, he was surprised to find a bedroll behind him. “I see you finished setting up camp… These barriers should hold for a long while. Now let us rest and speak of our plans.”