The Low Shepherd

You are not a hero; you are a guide. 

In the crushing dark of a forgotten dungeon, your only protection is a torch that is slowly burning out.
Behind you is your flock: small, fragile beings in your care.
They are a burden, but they are also your only hope of getting out alive.

In this top-down journey, your survival is a constant calculation of risk and resources.
The light from your torch is the only safe zone you have, but it’s constantly fading.
You must lead your followers from one brazier to the next, rekindling your flame before the dark closes in.

The shadows are staying back for now, but they grow impatient.
If you let them gather, they will merge into something larger – a threat brave enough to reach into the light and snatch a follower away. 

Your only defense is to send out one of your own.
Their light drives the creatures back and stops them from gathering, but it leaves them defenseless in the dark.
You must retrieve them before their light fails and they are taken.

Every soul you save is a victory; every one you lose is the price you pay to stay alive. 

How many will you lead to the surface?