Forging a Path

                  Rune and Enok traversed deeper and deeper into the underground city in the Valley of Myrr. Enok made a torch from a collection of organic materials, helping him see in the darker regions of the valley. Enok could tell that Rune increased his pace. Since Enok worked with animals his entire life, he felt like he could read animal behaviors, and Rune traveled with a sense of urgency.

                  Enok didn’t have time to talk as much as he usually did since he ran to keep pace with Rune. The deeper they descended into the valley, the narrower and more claustrophobic the tunnels and corridors became. Their previous ambush experience and the deeper darkness put Enok on edge. He scanned his surroundings, looking for any potential traps or attacks from the creatures of the valley.

                  Rune stopped, then lifted his head, sniffing the air. His agitated behavior escalated. He kept looking around at various locations of the tunnel, looking for additional corridors. But their current path lacked additional options of travel. Enok feared another trap scanning every section of the tunnel they traversed.

                  Then Enok heard it. He could hear a rumbling of noises and vibrations echoing throughout the subterranean valley. It had to be the girls, or Jonas and Yerik. Rune listened a moment like an intrigued canine friend, then cocked his head several times and launched in several leaps running forward. Enok shook his head, exhaling an exhausted breath, and joined in running as quickly as he could to keep up.

                  Enok trailed behind yet kept pace the best he could as he followed the fast creature forging ahead. Then Rune stopped. Enok worried he faced a new foe. When Enok caught up, he saw the problem. The tunnel ended in a collapse, too small for Rune to pass through. Enok examined the collapsed tunnel, looking for a solution. He realized he could crawl through the opening, although Rune could not fit all the way through.

                  Enok ran back out. “C’mon, we need to backtrack and find a new way around.” Enok waved at Rune to follow, but Rune ignored him. Enok turned back to face Rune. “C’mon, we’ve got to move! We need to find out where those noises are coming from!” Rune still ignored Enok.

                  They both looked upward. They could hear the vibrations of the noises increase. Then Enok noticed Rune looking at the collapse, then looking at the tunnel, then examining the way it was built, looking over the sides, ceiling and walls of the corridor.

                  “What… what are you doing?”

                  Rune then began digging around the debris of the collapse.

                  “Uh, what are you doing? Do you think that’s safe?”

                  Rune ignored Enok’s questions and kept digging. Then he began pulling out chunks of rubble, tossing them to the side. Enok took several steps back to avoid being hit by the discarded debris. He did his best to hold the torch light high enough to give Rune some light. Rune dug in with his feet and pushed with the full weight of his body, shoring up some of the collapsed debris. Then, scooping some large stones and rocks, Rune wedged them in for support.

                  Enok stared in shock, shaking his head. “I knew this creature was intelligent.”

                  Rune continued the behavior, digging, recycling debris, then shoring it up with other large rocks. After a short period, Rune had the collapsed tunnel carved out and supported with additional debris opening the tunnel back up. Rune looked over the stability of his work, and then with a huff, continued his rapid pace down the dark tunnel.

                  Enok shook his head. “I wondered how you get around down here. Well, I guess I know. Never underestimate the brilliance of the Ruundyr.” Then Enok took off in a run to catch up with the intelligent beast.