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Logically, Wolfram knows that it wasn't his fault, he couldn't have known there was an underground tunnel with a weak upper structure there. He couldn't have predicted it would collapse under his feet like that, leaving him to slide and tumble right down to the bottom. And he certainly hadn't been expecting Conrad to follow him in, or for the further collapse of part of the tunnel to trap them in the way it had. It wasn't his fault. It wasn't anyone's fault. He can't be angry at himself, so who is he to be angry at? The fact that he really has no one to be angry at... Just makes him more mad. And the pain letting itself be known in his leg doesn't help ease that anger any, either.

He shifts on the hard rock floor of the dark tunnel, and immediately hisses in pain. The noise is involuntary though, and he cuts it off quickly by biting his lip. It's too dark. His first instinct then is to use fire to light the way, but then there are two reasons why this would be a bad idea. The first reason was because they don't know what's in the tunnel, it could be filled with things that are flammable or worse, combustible. And the second reason... takes a minute to dawn on him, but once he feels the effects -- slight nausea, overall weakness -- he knows exactly what's happening, and why.

"Conrart. There are esoteric stones here." It very well could have been a mine for them, for all he knew. If it was, though, it wasn't as full of them as it may have once been, there aren't so many of them now as to make him sick. But it does mean using his magic is out of the question.

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Unpredictability, especially during a battle, is a word every trained solder should be aware of, and taught to create, in the back of the minds, any possible outcome that may occur; no matter how obscure they might be. If experience have taught him anything is that anything could happen. The sudden collapse, his brother Wolfram falling, and Yuri's reaction to it all are one of those many scenarios that Conrad knew could possibly happen. He made his choice; after realizing he would have fallen, regardless on what he could possibly have done as a large amount of the area has crumbled beneath them. Fortunately, Yuri was nowhere near the area Wolfram and himself found themselves in. Yozak could have possibly pulled the Maou away in the last second. He could always count on him to do that exactly as both his long time right-hand comrade and childhood friend.

All Conrad could do at this very moment is find a way to land on the ground with the least amount of damage to him. Who knows how deep the possible cavern might be. But as luck would have it, it wasn't too steep to kill them, but it was enough to injure them if they weren't quick enough to react. Thankfully his experience in the battle field has been of great use for moments like these as he landed on the ground without too much trouble. Of course his body ache all over from the sudden impact, but he found no broken, sprained, nor open wounds on his body. Well, none that he can see or feel at the moment. It took him a moment to be aware of their surroundings especially after hearing his brother's quick hiss of pain. Checking on him was one of his many priorities of the moment.

"Wolfram...?" asked Conrad as he began to search for his location in the darkened area they were currently in; however, his attention will be mainly at the dull light that seem to shine in odd areas, possibly walls. Wolfram's words brought him back to the current situation as he turned towards him, realizing he wasn't very far from him.

"It would seem as though we might have fallen in a old mine that used to produced them," began to say the elder brother as he continue to search his surroundings or as far as he is able to, at least. "I've heard of a possible excavation site in the area; however for the passageways to reach this far was unexpected. I do apologize for not having investigated the area further," began to add Conrad as he remember Yozak's explanation of the area before the battle; they really should have investigated if the old maps were accurate or not.

"How do you currently feel? Are you able to move?" he asked to make absolute certain his brother didn't suffer a head or internal injury along with saving his brother any possible embarrassment for having pointed out his painful hiss from before, it was clear he wished to hide it and he would go along with it for the time being.

As his sight began to adjust to the lack of light, Wolfram could just make out the shape of Conrad in the dark. He watched him, becoming mildly annoyed at his apology but making no comment on it. Certainly, Wolfram didn't hold him responsible for this but he also felt like that didn't need saying. It also hadn't warranted an apology from Conrad in the first place, in his opinion, thus the annoyance.

"I'm fine," he answered without really attempting to move again. It was a lie, he already knew it was too painful and he was too weak to walk anywhere. Stand, maybe, but walk? Well, he'd try, anyway. But not quite yet, there was something more important that needed attention. "Did you see what happened to Yuuri?"

Usually, Wolfram was hyper-aware of where Yuuri was at any given moment, especially if he's somewhere nearby. But once the ground had begun shifting underneath him, he'd lost track. Everything had happened too quickly. Still, he was almost positive that he'd been too far away to have been injured. But it wouldn't hurt to have that feeling confirmed by a second party.

While waiting for Conrad's response, he began his attempts to stand. And he managed, with a few more hisses of pain. It became clearer though that walking without assistance really would be out of the question. Even to stand, he needed the solid rock wall behind him to lean against.

Although Wolfram didn't blame him for the fall, Conrad did blame himself for almost needlessly placing Yuri in danger especially when he was responsible for his majesty's safety. It was only fortunate that he wasn't with them because he hardly had enough time to save himself nor Wolfram for that matter. Somehow his apology could have possibly been said for having been unable to better aid his youngest sibling, even if he was a trained soldier.

"Yes, but only barely," began to explain Conrad as he silently watched over his brother, as best as he could, through the darkness, "Don't worry. His majesty was barely by the area of combat." And to better put his younger brother more at ease, because he knew perfectly well of his brother's constant worry over his majesty's safety, he will add further, "Josak was by his side at the time. I trust he would have pulled his majesty away if he happen to be near the collapse."

After all, the Maou's safety was everyone's top priority, not just their own. If anything else, Conrad would remove anyone from his majesty's service if they didn't feel the same way. But for now, Conrad can, more or less, rest easy as he knew Yuri wasn't with them at the moment, and knowing him -- he must be trying to find a way to get in contact with them. That's why Conrad's attention will be fully on Wolfram as he watched his younger brother stand on his own two feet; although he could already tell he might be not as well as he claims to be.

"It's good to know you don't have any internal injuries," added Conrad with a faint smile on his lips, but he will easily point out, "But with the esoteric stones surrounding us while being surrounded in darkness, it might be best to move to another area." As Wolfram was leaning against a wall, Conrad will suggest, "Hold onto the wall and I'll be your moving crutch. With the light being as limited as it is, it would be safer if we follow the wall while holding onto one another just in case." More like, he knows Wolfram must be injured or else he wouldn't be using the cave's wall for support.

Conrad's explanation did ease his worry about Yuuri further, confirming what he'd already suspected. He knew that if Yuuri had actually been hurt, he'd know it. He'd feel it. He just would. And that feeling wasn't there. Not that there wasn't still the worry that their foolish if well-meaning Maoh might attempt some sort of rescue without putting enough thought into it. But if Josak was there, it wasn't likely he'd let him do so by himself. As much as Wolfram would prefer to do so personally, there were other people there to watch after him.

Of all the people Wolfram could have wound up down here with, it was really probably best that it was Conrad. Not that it needed to be said or that he was willing to say it, but he was glad it was Conrad. Though both he and Gwendal were skilled at handling their younger brother, Conrad was more patient. He also wasn't affected by the esoteric stones, so there was that bonus, as well.

Conrad knew what to say to, for the most part, curb Wolfram's anger and embarrassment. He gave a nod in response to his words, before realizing that the other likely couldn't see him well. So he added in a "Fine," that was supposed to be more curt than it wound up being. To his dismay, it sounded weak. That was definitely the stones' doing. He could only hope that moving further along the tunnel would take them away from them and out of the affected radius.

Following Conrad's shape in the darkness, Wolfram made an attempt to reach out and grab his arm, though it was difficult to tell the distance with the lack of light. A very audible huff escaped him as his fingertips just grazed the fabric of his brother's uniform. "Move closer."

He probably would have been able to reach had he moved further away from the wall, but he had the feeling that if he tried he'd likely stumble and fall. And honestly at this point he'd reached his quota of embarrassment for the day.

With the level of darkness in the cave, Conrad could only hope there was no twisting paths, more of the current stone surrounding them, nor any wild animals that would harm them. Although he knew they could handle themselves well in any kind of situation, at the moment it would be far too difficult to defend nor maneuver when they are unfamiliar with their surroundings. If only they had a way to create a torch of some kind, that might be the best course of action to take once Wolfram feels better.

Wolfram's command to move forward will definitely have Conrad return to his current predicament of helping his youngest brother, who clearly was injured as even he knew his Wolfram was not as spoiled as to ask one to move unless he absolutely needed it. "All right, all right," was all Conrad could say as he got closer and reached for his brother's hand, guiding it to the back of his neck as he held onto Wolfram's other side.

"Just let me know when you're ready to move," began to ask Conrad, "Try your utmost to keep your hand on the wall while offer me a forewarning if you feel the ground underneath you is unstable." Last thing they need to fall deeper into the cave, then they'll be worse for wear.

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