Pursuit into the Forgotten Tunnel

Thava slips through the break in the wall into a forgotten maintenance tunnel. The market noise fades behind him, replaced by dripping stone, damp earth, and the rank bite of old oil.

The passage is narrow enough to brush his shoulders, with iron clamps jutting from the walls and a slick run of moss underfoot. Ahead, Vane’s shape flickers in the weak light, already moving deeper.

Thava keeps low and follows, Garrick’s gun steady in his grip. Dust sifts from the ceiling as something shifts farther ahead, and the old stones answer with a thin, uneasy groan.

Vane does not stop. He throws one glance back over his shoulder, then vanishes around the bend, forcing Thava to choose between pursuit and the growing sense that this tunnel was built for hiding things.