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Piling together some branches and tying them up in a bundle. You light up your makeshift torch and enter the dark, cold tunnels. Weapon and torch ready in hand you slowly make your way into the cave. The long narrow tunnel stretches out before, widening ever so slightly the deeper in you go in. The rank of the odor of desiccation and decay tickles your nostrils, causing you sneeze. A sneeze that echoes for miles, before fading away into the impenetrable darkness ahead of you. Nerves on edge at the overwhelming sense of evil that pervades every inch of this place, you creep forward, lightly stepping upon the stony ground. When you hear something crack beneath your feet. Warily you look down and see piles upon piles of bones; scattered throughout the tunnel. Reminding you that beasts must dwell here. You look back the way, you've come in the hopes of turning back, but the entrance to the cave has disappeared. In its place you hear a harsh, ragged breathing that grates upon the senses.
Controlling your rising panic, that something is behind you, blocking your way out of here. You press on ahead deeper into the cave. All the while hoping that whatever was behind you has already had it's full of meat for the day. Almost immediately, as if to deny your wish, the groaning behind you becomes louder and closer. Heart pulsing rapidly, you speed up your pace, until eventually, the underground cave widens out, and you can no longer hear the harsh breathing. Heart still racing, you pause for a minute to calm yourself down and look around. Hanging above you from the ceiling are thousands of pointy stalagmites, that look just about ready to fall off and kill you. You also see some type of drawing scrawled into the side of the cave wall. Bringing your torch closer to the wall to examine the drawing, you conclude it must be a Dwarven marker. Placed here to guide would-be travelers to their city. Unfortunately for you most of the marker has faded away over time. However, you can make out Dwarven words engraved at the top that could prove important.
You step away from the markings on the wall, glance back the way you've come, before putting your head down and setting off once more; using the makeshift torch to guide you. Minutes pass by within the deathly silent tunnels, the smell of desiccation growing stronger and stronger, the further in you go. Worried by what's ahead of you, you notice the torch begin to flicker as it nears the end. Instinctively you stride forward even faster, almost running, when you trip over something and slam into the ground; your arms and hands grazing the rough stone floor. You looking back to see what had tripped you, and see four skeletons huddled together upon the cave floor, their arms wrapped around each other with a fifth skeleton, small as a child lying in the middle. Not sure, how these creatures had died, you quickly dust yourself off and get back up. No time to dwell on what happened to them. You pick up the torch, you had dropped, burning your fingers and continue until you reach a massive, open-spaced chamber that is eerily filled with a pale white light.
At the far end of the chamber you see another tunnel that probably leads deeper into the underground cave system, but between you and your goal is lies a group of maybe twenty to thirty creatures dressed in ragged clothes worn out through age sleeping pressed against each other upon the cold hard floor. Dwarflike in appearance and stature, you realize these must be the feral dwarves. Rabid creatures that have lost all sense of themselves, they will be difficult to face in battle without seriously getting wounded. You look about the chamber hoping to see another way forward and see a crack in the chamber's wall. Big enough, that you might be able to squeeze yourself through. You also notice that the creatures are sleeping directly beneath stalagmites that look ready to fall. Lastly, at the edges of the chamber, you do see some decent places, where you could hide as you creep your way around the chamber to the other side.
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Choice 4. Do you creep around the sides of the chamber to try and avoid detection?
(Click here if you have Doren as a companion.)
Spoiler: Spoiler
Preferring the much stealthier option of sneaking your way around, you gesture for Doren to follow you quietly, hunch down, and slowly ghost your way around the cavern’s edges, moving from one rock formation to the next, when one of the sleeping forms begins to move.
Rolling up to the balls of its feet, it blearily stares around with bloodshot red eyes, and touches a finger to its unkempt beard to pull something out and put it in its mouth, before gazing about the cavern warily.
Head quickly ducked back down, you wait for the lone dwarf to go back to sleep, but the creature it seems is no longer interested in that. Its red eyes continue to rove about the cavern’s walls before it slowly makes its way towards your position.
Dagger poised to strike, you keep hoping the dwarf will turn back and give up the search, when it's bulbous round head appears around the corner and in a flash it is on top of you, slashing at you with it's blackened claws, it’s filthy brown beard scrubbing up against your cheek as it tries to take a bite out of your face, when Doren hits it over the head with a large chunk of rock.
Knocked out cold, you waste no time and slip the dagger between its ribs, then stab it once more good measure. The foul-smelling beast, wriggling about on the floor beneath you, trying to get back up, when at last the damn thing lies still.
Relieved beyond anything that it was finally dead, you urge Doren to hurry after you and dart away towards the nearby tunnel where you slip away without searching for any loot.
Battle Results
- 30 Health Points
Loot
None
(Click here if you do not Doren as a companion.)
Spoiler: Spoiler
Preferring the much stealthier option of sneaking your way around, you hunch yourself down, and slowly ghost your way forward around the cavern’s edges, moving from one rock formation to the next, when one of the sleeping forms begins to move.
Rolling up to the balls of its feet, it blearily stares around with bloodshot red eyes, and touches a finger to its unkempt beard to pull something out and put it in its mouth, before gazing about the cavern warily.
Head quickly ducked back down, you wait for the lone dwarf to go back to sleep, but the creature it seems is no longer interested in that. Its red eyes continue to rove about the cavern’s walls before it slowly makes its way towards your position.
Dagger poised to strike, you keep hoping the dwarf will turn back and give up the search, when it's bulbous round head appears around the corner and in a flash it is on top of you, slashing at you with it's blackened claws, it’s filthy brown beard scrubbing up against your cheek as it tries to take a bite out of your face.
Blood pounding loudly in your ears, you manage to wrestle the creature to the ground, and before the dwarf can struggle any further, you slip your dagger in between its ribs, then stab it again for good measure. The foul-smelling beast, wriggling about on the floor beneath you, trying to get back up, when at last the damn thing lies still.
Relieved beyond anything that it was finally dead, you dart away towards the nearby tunnel and slip out without searching for any loot.
Battle Results
- 50 Health Points
Loot
None