You take the man’s hand, and you follow him, both of you stumbling through the catacombs. He tells old stories,
of an age long forgotten by mortal men. His grin is toothier than one you’d
ever seen before, but his visage becomes the sole source of familiarity in the dark, twisting maze.

Hours, or maybe days, into your journey, you finally find a shaft of pale sunlight petering down from a massive askew doorway.
You tell the man excitedly that you’ve both finally found the exit, but the stone gargoyle
on top of the doorway sneers down at you, suddenly as alive as any animal.

“So, you’ve brought another to the exit, have you?” It seems to speak to your companion, and not to you.

“I do what I must, creature,” the man replies.

“Well, the terms are as they have been every other time. One of you stays, a guide in the darkness.” The gargoyle gestures with its claw.
“The other leaves, and lives the rest of its mortal life.”

The man turns to you, and assures you that you can leave without him if necessary.