Hugh nodded at Vax's suggestion. It felt like the most sensible option, and at this point he didn't have a better one. And so he stopped, reaching for Vax's hand to wrap his in it, so he could have him stop or catch him if he did stumble. "Let's see what we can find then," he murmured in response.
There was a part of him that thought maybe they should go back not necessarily because they should quit, but because they needed more information. And the only thing that kept him from suggesting it was the fact that he didn't know if the information they needed would be available. But if there were people who knew that the darkness was hiding something down there, then there were probably people who had ideas about what it might be, and those people could be found - if not in the University and the library, then in the pubs and the taverns, and as much as Hugh didn't want to spend the time or the groundwork gathering and finding that information, it might be helpful. But also they were here, and while they were here there was no harm in finding out more about what lay ahead. They could always make a decision after that.
Shadow whimpered, or at least it was the closest thing to a whimper as a noise that she made,and Hugh reached his other hand down, to slip fingers into the fur behind her ears, a reminder that she was with her person, and they were in this together, but after he offered the reminder, he reached for his sword, and left his hand on the blade as they started to move forward. "I've got you when you're ready," he told Vax.