Snorri sprinted upward along the sloping tunnel. It would only take him a minute or so to reach the gate. As he ran, he thought of the vast chambers of the colony deep beneath his feet. It was as he rounded a ben in the tunnel that he realised the centuries of dust that lay on the ancient stone floor meant no gnome had passed through the tunnel in a very, very long time, maybe centuries. It was a miracle that the lighting crystals on the ceiling still dutifully flickered over my head. It was a good indicator, but Snorri still had no idea whether the automatic mechanism of the gate would work or not. As he rounded the bend, Snorri was mildly aware of a sound similar to Arracops clicking echoing from far behind him in the high council’s chamber.
Snorri picked up his pace as he rounded the final bend of the tunnel. The vast stone doors extended maybe twenty times his height to where the tunnel ceiling violently sloped upwards to meet them. Snorri skidded to a halt at the gate control panel. He heaved at a heavy lever. the sound of vast gear similar to the ancient mechanisms of the lift system grinding in a low rumble above him. The ancient door began to shudder open. Snorri was vaguely aware of the clicking sound, which was beginning to get louder as its source began to grow louder as it raced up the tunnel to where he gripped the lever.
Snorri watched in bated breath as the doors shuddered open. He knew from the design of the lever that it was a dead man's switch. The second he let go, the doors would begin to ease themselves shut. He had to make sure he had enough time to get out before he was crushed by the heavy stone blocks. The clocking grew louder as Snorri began to see the shadow of something vast flickering towards the bend of the tunnel beyond his eyeline. Snorri flicked his eyes back to the still-opening gates. There was about a metre of space between each of the doors. The Snorri’s grip tightened on the lever as the thing finally rounded the corner.
Jarblack the spider king loaped his way into Snorri’s view atop his massive cave spider. Snorri glanced towards the door that led outside. It was nearly open by nearly two metres. Jarblack’s spider hissed as it spotted Snorri at the door control platform. Its rider spanked his head around before its eyes settled on where Snorri tightly gripped the door controls. The goblin tightened its grip on a long, sharp spear. It exposed its teeth in a predatory smile. With some unseen command, the Huge Cave Spider raced down the tunnel, its eight legs spinning its hulking arrachnoid body to focus on Snorri as it moved into position just in front of where the great stone door finally cranked to its fully open position.
Both goblins and spiders narrowed their gazes on the gnome. “Think you can run away now, demon? after you have killed all of my brothers?” Jarblack snarled down at Snorri from the spider's back, attempting to taunt him. Snorri let out a dark chuckle. If the creature wants to fight, Snorri would use the opportunity to his full advantage. “You think you can stop me?” he yelled to the goblin. The goblish words felt rough on his throat and sounded like they were being spoken in a thick but understandable accent. “It speaks,” the goblin almost sang in glee to his mount. “What fun this shall be!" The spider clocked its fangs in response, making a noise vaguely similar to the sound Snorri heard in his head when Arcacop was talking to him. “I slew Snarblac deep in the mountains belly,” Snorri began to boast as he stepped away from the control panel, finally releasing his left hand’s grip on the lever. The door began to rumble shut at roughly the same speed it had opened. “I beheaded Arrablac too, Your brother Zarblac through an oceon of corpses at me, and yet still I sunk my blade through his bone armour and cut him down.” With each of his boasts, Snorri closed in on the goblin. Slipping his left hand inside his cloak to pull out the last of the powder-filled glass bottles he had made deep below in the workshop “I killed GRUT in single combat, and Garblac, do you know how he died?” Snorri taught up at the spider rider, who was now pointing his spear directly at Snorri in a steady, two-handed grip. “How?” He snarled.
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“With a whimper.” Snorri screamed at the spider king. Jarblack roared and stabbed Norri. Snorri took one last look at the doors and threw the vial hard into the floor. He closed his eyes tight, but he was still blinded by the bright flash of light. Snorri dove blinded into the spot where the spiders legs had been in the moments before sliding underneath the creature, wildliy snapping his jaw, and colliding into the arachnid’s hard bone like rear leg. Snorri slashed wildly at the leg as he flung himself forward, his vision returning as he sprung to his feet and dove through the slowly closing door, pelting into the tunnel.
Jarblack to Goblin let out a scream as his spider reared and rocked wildly under him, trying to keep his mount under control. the massive spider leg out a wrench hiss as it shivered in pain, blinking away blindness from thousands of tiny beady eyes. The goblin jumped from the bucking spider and landed on the chamber's stone floor, spinning and searching for the gnome as it fled up the tunnel beyond. The door was closing quickly. The goblin narrowed his eyes on the gnome. Rearing back his spear and launching it through the air towards the creature, his injured leg gave way, sending him to the floor and hissing in pain.
Snorri snapped his head around and swung his sword up to parry the sudden, unexpected spear, but he was too slow. He turned his head only for the spear's tip to slash across his left eye. Snorri’s head explodes with pain, and half his vision explodes in a violent white static. He felt blood gushing down his face as the spear clattered into the tunnel’s floor behind him. He heard something swear loudly behind him, and a hammer with a head bigger than Snorri flew over the gnome's head. Singing through the air and smashing into the huge spider that was hissing in the tunnel beyond, as the hammer impacted the spider, sending a shower of purple spider blood raiding down on its rider. The hammer seemingly floated into the air, soaring back of Snorri’s head. “FOOL!” Arracop hissed.
Snorri snapped his head to see where the hammer had returned too. His eyes locked on a giant, twice the size of a gnome or goblin. Snorri readied his sword and screamed up at the creature. Before his vision began to blur. As the great doors of the colony’s gate closed behind him, his legs gave out. Snorri was definitely aware he was shaking. He tried to look up at the giant one more time as his knees gave out and darkness rolled in. no matter what the giant decided to do to him. He had done it. He had escaped.