Marianne looked at the hole the skaven made. Pitch black. No doubt the skavens had better eyes that could navigate such a place with easy unlike the human eyes she had. She certainly couldn't just stroll in without any light, which was why she took a torch first with her. With her axe in her right hand and her torch in her left, she entered.

Her steps were certainly slow and cumbersome compared to Siph and Sylvia. Even though she had a torch with her, she couldn't march forward with certainty like Siph could, while Sylvia had the advantage of her sharp eyes that could navigate in the dark well. Her heart for some reason started to beat more frequently as she walked forward. Perhaps it was her battle instinct, she thought to herself. There was something beyond this passage that held immense power.

Her doubt was soon answered when she heard the bell rang. Its terrible noise stroke deep into her very soul, surprising her and making her torch fall to the ground, extinguishing the flame it carried. Her eyes widened as she crouched down, covering her ears with both of her hands. Cold sweat dampened her dress once more as her entire body shook. The noise... the noise was so... so horrid. It was definitely worse than Grendrick's shout of terror.

Doom. That word filled her entire mind.

Marianne stayed like that for as long as the bell echoed, and even some time after that. Only after she regained her composure then she rose up from her crouching position, with her body still shaking from the terror. Her panicked mind urged her, pleaded to her to retreat, as they told her that whoever made that noise was something she couldn't even dream to conquer. Doom still echoed in her thoughts. And the darkness surrounding her certainly didn't help. She tried as hard as she could to calm her mind down but even her rational mind told her that she would certainly have difficulties if she had to fight an opponent as strong as the Stormvermin, if not more, as she no longer had her mantis available to use. In the end, she rationalized that she should regroup with the others still behind her as the opponent at the end of this passage was something they should all tackle together.

And so she turned back. And this time she actually ran instead of walking. She didn't get far however before she bumped into something, making her fall to the ground. However, that something soon spoke, revealing the familiar voice of Fariha.

[@Rekaigan]