The passage at the entrance extended upward underwater. If it rose above the waterline, it would become a section free of water.
They were underground. The winding entrance blocked out any possibility of light filtering in from outside, and all they could see was a nearly lightless, gloomy chamber.
"It's so dark." The moment Lord's voice left his mouth, it immediately produced layers of echoing reverberations.
"It's so dark..."
"Dark..."
"Ah..."
"We have to keep our voices down in here." Someone patted his knee, their voice lowered to a whisper. It sounded like Robbie.
"The air is surprisingly fresh."
"There must be some cracks we haven't noticed connecting this place to the outside."
In the pitch-black darkness, Richard suddenly saw a tiny orange flame ignite ahead. Sendak had taken the tinder from the sealed tube.
After walking two steps away, he tilted the wooden tube slightly. The fire fell straight down, and a blazing flame instantly flared up at his feet—the fuel in the brazier on the ground had caught fire. It was practically more flammable than strong liquor.
The surrounding dozen or so yards lit up as brightly as day, and the immediate consequence was:
"Fuck." Lord failed to control his emotions, so the echoes once again multiplied and returned his profanity to him again and again.
It really couldn't be blamed on him for making such a fuss. Even if Pompeii Knight King Arthur, who had been renowned for never changing expression hundreds of years ago, had been here, he would have had to start by paying his respects with a "fuck" before saying anything else.
Unlike the passage formed by natural cracks in the stone earlier, they were now standing at the entrance to an underground hall roughly ten yards square. The walls were smooth, the corners