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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 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 its fill 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.
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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.
Choice 5. (Companion Option Only.)
Having always had a dark inkling that it would either be you or the elf, you turn and smile at your companion. “Listen, it looks like we have some trouble up ahead, so I need you to stay close behind me. You understand?”
Blue eyes briefly narrowed in suspicion, Doren nods his head, and you lead him out of the tunnel. The young elf, for the moment doing as he was told, when you whirl around suddenly and club the fae on the side of the head with the pommel of your dagger, badly dazing the elf who struggles to draw his sword.
Taking a step back to avoid his wild strikes, you kick Doren in the chest and send him reeling into the cluster of sleeping dwarves who upon sensing the elf’s presence immediately leap upon him with savage cries of hunger. Doren letting out a gut-wrenching scream of terror as the filthy little beasts quickly fall upon him, tearing him apart limb from limb, and devouring his innards.
With ferals busy with your distraction, you slip away to the sounds of Doren’s anguished screams.
Battle Results
None
Loot
None