Back home, he wouldn't have been so scared. He knew he could have beaten anything, or anyone, there. The only competition would be his friends, and they wouldn't hurt him.

Here, he couldn't gauge how strong people were. Things worked differently, and people had much more of a chance to be horribly scary. He felt like it was years ago again, when he was still a new little mage and had to be so wary of everything.

His caution made him perceptive, though. He noticed the purple flowers everywhere, even growing out of the walls. But as they neared the end of the tunnel, he really noticed it seemed to get damper going one way. Without much thought, he followed the earth that glistened under his light.