Alter had found an activity that he somehow managed to hate even more than mining. Fero'hart had come with him, thank the stars, so at least he wouldn't be alone in the creepy hallways. Trekking trough the bunker itself was horrible, too, with bugs popping out of nowhere constantly, running across the underground bunker before disappearing again, out of sight. They had, at least, found two more companions there, two Tsabhua from Xione going by Eridanus and Sagitta. Neither seemed particularly enthusiastic about the flooded hallways, but Alter supposed there was strength in numbers, especially when you were about to explore dark, flooded tunnels. They quickly arrived at the flooded tunnel that Woodland had mentioned before, and soon came to the same conclusion that she did not overreact in the slightest. The tunnel was dark, uncomfortably soggy, and then finally filled with water top to bottom. Alter let out an awkward chuckle. "Seems calling it flooded wasn't an overreaction." the Tsabhua seemed less excited- Alter couldn't blame them, seeing they couldn't hold their breath for nearly as long as Alter could. While they did have some diving equipment, for the Tsabhua one small mistake would easily cost them their lives.

Even Alter felt uncomfortable at that. "How about I check it out first? Seeing as y'know-" he awkwardly gestured to himself. Eridanus was quick to agree, nodding. "You can go ahead, see if there's air pockets and such ahead. Depending on how long the flooded parts go on for, we might need to go back and get more supplies." the last part seemed more directed to Sagitta than to Alter and Fero'hart, but neither really noticed. Alter awkwardly slipped into the water, Fero'hart following him as far as he could. It seemed like the path ahead was angled slightly downwards, and at some point Fero'hart couldn't stand anymore. "Be careful out there- whatever is out there isn't worth a life." he reassured the reef belemoid, who smiled at him bravely and then disappeared under the water. The water was incredibly cold. Alter had noticed this when he first stepped in, but as it surrounded his entire body it became harder to ignore. He swam around mostly blindly for a bit, not accustomed to these circumstances in the slightest, having only lived in warmer regions of the planet. Trying to swim along a wall, Alter was surprised when he noticed another

ripples that could only really mean the water surface. He poked his head out, curiously looking around- only to realize that he was in yet another dark hallway. He looked around, wandering the halls for a short while- he eventually noticed a split of sorts though, three new hallways jutting out to all sides. Alter was curious about them, but quickly realized he would not be able to explore them all safely, especially without concerning the others. He sighed, jumping back into the cold waters. it wasn't long until he was reunited with the rest of the group. "The hallway dips down a bit, but seems to go back up after a kilometer or so. After that, the hallway returns to normal for a bit, but splits into three more sections- I was worried I wouldn't be able to find my way back if I took a wrong turn, so I came back." Eridanus and Sagitta were instantly whispering amongst each other. Alter looked at Fero'hart confusedly, wondering if anything had happened while he was gone, but Fero just shrugged, unsure about the secrecy himself. "Ah- I suppose we can come back with more gear, then. Something to mark our

path, at least- we'll be busy keeping an eye on our oxygen levels, so remembering the path wouldn't go over well." Fero mused. Alter gave Eridanus and Sagitta a strange look as he passed the two, who didn't seem to be leaving yet. "We'll ah- see you around, I guess? Gonna run back home for some more supplies I hope I was helpful to your mission- good luck out there."