BDP: Questions

We are still lost. Our food supplies are already dwindling, and I question the wisdom of continuing south. We traveled several more hours after leaving the cave of hanging skulls without seeing anything remarkable, before finally deciding to camp for the night. The tunnels are dark and featureless, and at times I questioned my sanity. For a while yesterday I thought Princess Exotica was named Astra.

As we were bunking down last night, Velus apologized for throwing away the map, and even attempted to claim that he had been joking and that it had been lost after all. Exotica was still furious at him for relieving himself on what she believes was a sacred burial marker, but he insists he was only marking the territory so that we could find our way back if we needed to. I can see the wisdom of both their arguments.

During the night (if the word night has any meaning in the perpetual dark of these accursed tunnels) we were awoken by strange noises. They sounded like screams, coming from far away. It was impossible to tell what direction they emanated from; it was as if they surrounded us. They could have been human, but at times they seemed almost animal-like in their intensity and tone. All three of us were scared s---less (*), but the screams remained distant, so we stayed put.

It is morning now, and I haven't gotten much sleep. We have agreed to head south one more day before retracing our steps...yesterday I was so confident that this plan would work, but I fear we are heading deeper into the caves rather than heading out. Who's to say we won't reach a dead end after a week of traveling, if we last that long? What if these passages lead us in circles? What if some evil magic grips us, and we lose all sense of direction? And if we reach the dragon, will we be ready to do battle? Were those screams victims of the dragon, or of some other force, even more terrible and unspeakable? And will we be its next victims?

(*)Although this is only a personal journal, I wonder if it will someday be found and read by future generations. Not wanting to offend anyone, I thought it best to censor my potentially objectionable language.

1. Heading South some more...