Ewan still felt a great deal of reluctance in leading Storm to the Tunnels. It was not so much her physical safety, but her mental. That part of her he was constantly straining to understand would be the very purpose of her going into the Tunnels at all. It was an unsettling feeling.

Still, he lead her down the passageway between two buildings. The alleyway looked like many others in the city where houses or office buildings crunched together allowing only the shadows and servants crawl between their grandness or collapsing beauty. These two buildings were like stately, old matrons. Every stone was in place, but it took some effort to look suitable. The alleyway was much the same with a few bins and barrels, crates and cast offs pressed along the sides.

One of these crates Ewan moved and revealed a half grate that had one step down just below sight of the street level and a grate to be pulled away. Once the grate was pulled silently away and revealed an iron ladder sinking into darkness, Ewan looked up to Storm in silent question if she was ready.

Storm had remained silent as Ewan led her towards the Tunnels. While her movements did not appear to be stiff, she was glancing up at the open sky more often than not, to have an image of the open sky when perhaps darkness would be the only thing to greet her. It was not helpful that sky was overcast, and she cheated in shifting the clouds to allow a few rays to peak through and brighten the scene she was engraving into her mind.

The alleyway was already causing her to focus on deep breaths as she anticipated what they were approaching. She had handled Lladrana on several occasions, and this could not be any worse. To have Ewan anywhere near her was just an additional foundation to keep her steady. As he looked over to her, she gave a slight smile and a single nod of her head.

A nod, Ewan went down the ladder first, landing with a soft squish in the mire that always seeped its way down the Tunnels. The frequency of the rain at least had kept the stench down for the moment. The sewers of the city ran along different paths from the Tunnels, but that did not mean things from the upper world did not wash down into them, nor that the nearby sewers did not share some of their more malodorous odors as the days warmed.

There had been warning, signals, and cryptic notes that Ewan would be in the Tunnels that day with a guest. Still, it did no harm in taking a few steps one direction and another as he waited for Storm to join him. His hand remained on a hilt of the dirk at his hip.

She waited until she heard the sound of his boots hit the mire before repeated his descent down the ladder. Each step down felt like the space around her was becoming smaller and smaller, but she kept her pace even. Closing her eyes tightly, she saw the light from the sky etched into her lids, but it did little to help in the overwhelming panic. The smell was hardly noticeable as her boots hit the mire silently. She was clinging to her gift tightly, wrapping it around her as she was separated from the sky. Her words were barely audible as she didn't move from her position on the ladder, despite being on the ground, "I just need a moment or two."

Stepping up beside her, he set a hand ever so slightly upon her elbow. It was there just a moment. He did not respond more than that touch to her words. The small lantern, barely the size of a large apple, hung from a small hook on the delicately curved wall next to the ladder. In his first day he had fumbled for the lanterns, sometimes they were not there in use by someone else. Now, he reached confidently for where it should be and upon feeling the small chain lifted it to light.

The small door was opened, he scraped the matchstick against the iron ladder to flare it into life and set it to the small oil wick inside. The yellow-white glow rose and then fell into a steady flame. It did not shed light far, but in the gloam of the tunnels, it aided plenty. Ewan held it by the chain so the lantern shed light more along their feet and kept it from blinding them.

She shuddered at the touch of his arm, but only because it was a reminder of where she was. Her mind had gone far from the offer and her reason of being here in the short moment. Her mouth suddenly dry, she swallowed and tried to find composure. The sooner they got started, the sooner it would be over.

She removed her death grip on the ladder, and finally opened her eyes to spot Ewan with the lantern. With one last look up the ladder, she forced one step, and then more away from the latter and towards Ewan.

With Storm in motion, he turned to face her approach and gave the best smile he could manage. Though, with the glow of the lantern coming from below nearer his knees, the smile could not have looked as warm as he intended it to be. "The ladder will still be there when we are done, Storm, and many others like it. Perhaps today, just some time underground would be best." His concern was sincere, though he felt very much in his element here. These were the things he understood: secret passageways, codes, and darkness. The darkness most of all.

"Just how do you propose to manage this task and is there some way I can assist you other than making sure the light does not go out?"

The different direction of the source of light played some odd shadows against Ewan's smile, but his face would always provide some sort of warmth. She took another deep breath, and was incredibly grateful for that the time being, they were alone. "We might not get more than inspecting today, considering just how long and intricate you have made the tunnels sound. I am not as strong or as gifted down here, but we will find a pace that works." She took another deep breath, and shifted her weight from one leg to the other, "Your leading and guiding will be necessary. My sense of direction is all but lost down here, and without any familiarity, I would be lost in a moment." Her lips twitched into a smile, "But the best help will be you just staying with me. I could not ask for any better feeling of safety."

"Then you should begin. It will end more quickly if one begins that way." He nodded the direction he intended to go, so as not to leave her in question of anything while down here. He kept his ears attuned to the surroundings, listening for footfalls or voices. It took experience and time to tell which direction such things originated. He had no doubt Storm would have been able to know such details at the space of a moment above ground, but perhaps not so down below where the Earth tried to make its dominate force to bear.

While his ears listened, his eyes watched. They watched Storm as much as the tunnels. Her anxiety was like a drop of water, soft but incessant. It could not be ignored even in its faintness.

She nodded as he indicated the direction that they would be going in, before following him obediently. Walking and moving helped in keeping her thoughts to more practical matters. Her gift stretched the air in front of her to detect any motions or possible bumps. She kept it narrow, as the feelings of the wall would only magnify of the small space alloted to her. Though the knowledge of having to keep her gift so narrow was almost just as bad.

"Are there obvious weak spots? I would definitely like to see those if nothing else today. If a tunnel is weak, I do not want to wait to fix it. You said there was already a problem, yes?"

Another pacing away and he returned. "Today the password is to ask if one is a friend of oneself? In my case, I would ask if one is a friend of Quicksand, and the response to be that Quicksand is not found in the Den. We are not the only ones that use these tunnels, of course, but it does keep us from interfering with each other?s comings and goings. Some though, we know upon sighting they should not be here, and those must meet an unfortunate end." He spoke the last without a qualm. "We are, however, expected today, so there should be no trouble."

"Here." The words were abrupt as she finally found the spot she was searching for. The high stone under her fingers changed to a bright blue color, as did the others as she traced out the crooked line that rode high, almost to the top center of the tunnel. "It is not too large or pressing at the moment, but still not sound." She paused, stretching her gift more, and shuddered. "Under a building."

Ewan came close, not having the gifts of his wife, to study the demonstrative line of weakness. He looked up and down the tunnel, and down at his feet. "Right then. That one is going to be interesting to repair."

It was the slight tremor of her body that brought Ewan's hand once more to her, this time resting a moment on her shoulder. It was a gesture he would have given a young fighter facing his first battle. The comparison was off, but the emotional encouragement the same.

She took a deep breath as his hand rested on her shoulder for a moment, feeling the warmth through her clothing. "It does not have to be. In fact, I think I could fix it without disrupting the building above. It is just a matter of rearranging the Earth that is already there." She stepped back a bit, and looked back over to him, "But you did not wish to fix them today, yes? Only find them?"

"Yes, just find them today." He ran fingertips down the stones and then glanced to her. "How are you feeling?"

She couldn't help but feel deflated a little. It was going to be a daunting task. "More or less the same, but the less I think about it, the better off it is." She felt herself teetering towards rambling again, and ran a hand over the hair she had braided back, "I can continue."

"There are leagues of these tunnels Storm. We have gone but half a league if that." It was a statement of fact. He could not deny it nor would he keep her in the dark, she was in enough of that, of what she was facing. With a mild gesture of the hand holding the chain of the lantern, its light set to a gentle swinging, he continued down the corridor.

Her hands curled into loose fists as she followed him, "I am aware that there is a lot of ground to cover, nor do I anticipate being able to accomplish all today." Once again the feeling of hopelessness crowded her mind. "I will go as far as you say, and no more."

"I would rather it be as far as you say and no more, for if it were up to me we would leave now. However, I will respect that you know your limitations better than I, and should it become overwhelming, you will notify me." He paused his steps as well as his speech. "On further reflection, do let me know before it becomes overwhelming, as we would still need to get out of the Tunnels."

Another passage joined with the one and he paused. No voices or light to be heard, he continued on.

A wisp of a smile lingered on her lips, "I promise to notify you before I become a royal mess. Have faith, though. This is not the worse place I have been in. Wait." She turned around and walked back a few steps. "The ground is loose below us." She sucked in a deep breath, winced slightly of the earthy scents that reached her nose, and glanced around. No one would notice a mark down on the stone below the much. So instead she made a band of the same blue color, a foot in thickness, around the tunnel like a ring.

Ewan drew up short, but he did not step away. Instead, he crouched down setting his hand into the inch of algae and aged water sludge that lay an inch thick. He pressed upon the stones. "How bad is it?"

She used her boot to scoot his searching hands more to the right, "Bad enough for me to detect it. It is not terrible deep, however."

"Will these marks linger?" He questioned the blue indicators that Storm had been using to identify the troublesome areas.

"Yes. Until I remove them, or another such as me changes them back." She glanced to the side wall at the blue stones, "I am not sure how visible they will be without light. To make them glow, under here, seems to be unnecessary effort for just an indicator."

"Dangerous all the same. The places need be found again, but I would rather not everyone who travels these tunnels know the weaknesses. Let us test just how visible they are without light, if you think you can stand the deep darkness for a few moments."

"I can change the color if it is too bright. I should have asked first." She took a step away from the colored rocks so that she would not block his view. Closing her eyes, she tried to hope that the deep darkness would not make such a difference behind closed lids, before she nodded for him.

It hurt to see her fighting such strain and discomfort. Still, he made it as quick as he could. The lantern light was snuffed with a pinch of his fingers. Any attempt to hide the light would have been only party test, for light has a strange power to creep out of hiding.

The darkness swallowed them but even then as his eyes adjusted to the faintness of light that seeped around corners, filtered through imperfect seals around entrance ways. It was dark, but one could adjust.

The indicators were but mirages of that half light. With a flick of his wrist, he drew out another match, scratched it upon the side wall and brought the lantern back to its friendly glow. "There now. All is well." Though part of him wished for that deeper concealment once more.

She crossed her arms tightly over her chest just before she heard the faint but distinct sound of his fingers putting out the flame. Not a muscle twitched or flexed as her mind screamed and panicked about the dark unknown, despite the fact that her eyes had already witnessed the area around her. She could hear the thrumming of her heartbeat in her ear, and concentrated on that sound to keep her breathing even and her focus somewhere else.

The technique eased most of the discomfort in the short moments, enough to detach her mind far from her surroundings, until she heard him strike the match once more. She fought against her instinctual hope to open her eyes to find light, and instead anxiously waited for the sound of his voice. It helped settled the panic back to it's low but steady voice as she opened her eyes once more, "Is it suitable, or shall I change it?"

Even in the shadows that danced from the faint light, Ewan could see what that cost Storm. "It is suitable, and it is time to turn back. We will bring in an earth. One." He grit his teeth some, feeling the muscles in his neck tighten with tension. Compass was going to have something to say about it, but it was too much to ask. It was too much to have Storm relive moment after moment that terrible feeling of being trapped.

She took in a quick breath through her nose, and nodded. There was not enough will to get as much of the job done now as there was to be freed from being underground. "I will choose and ask someone that I would trust fiercely, and nothing less." Her thoughts strayed to Jeremiah, and it sucked the last light out of her eyes. She wanted to leave.