5
For a moment, Torben felt as if he were entering a black hole as he was carried into the basement by Antauros. He was blinded by the light streaming through the doorway. As Antauros set him down on his own two feet, the darkness swallowed him, and for a moment, he felt like he was back in the vault under Karpella castle. His heart began pounding, and his head snapped from side to side, expecting to see Hrex bearing down on him, the dagger held in her gnarled, taloned hand. Then, pinpricks of illumination appeared around the space, growing stronger and stronger as the lanterns they belonged to were sparked into life. As the room they were in was slowly revealed, Torben’s heart began to slow back down to its regular rhythm, soothed by the light dispelling the demons of his mind.
The base
