Zephyr chuckles quietly and flips his tail in the air in a mock huff.
The stairs spiral down into the earth, rough-cut stone underfoot and loam, then sandstone subsoil form the walls. After about five minutes descent you see light up ahead, yellow and flickering as if from candles.
The staircase ends at an opening dug from the subsoil, into a strange sight; something like a huge ornate dining room stretches away in front of you. Candles in free-standing candelabras stand along the long walls, illuminating an impressive dining table laden with more candleabras, crystal goblets, gleaming cutlery and piles of food. As you watch, more food is brought in from a side entrance by a strange-looking servant. About the size of a large dog, but a round, almost spherical creature on two stubby legs, its body and head all part of the same entity. It carries a tray balanced on its head, but it has no arms. A second creature waddles behind and transfers the tray to the table in its mouth. There is a powerful smell of decay and rot.
There is only one diner at the table. Sat at the far end, at the head, is a large toad-like beast, folds of green-brown horny skin hanging down beneath a wide-mouthed head surmounted with curling goat-like horns.
"I haven't had guests in years," it says, and snaps its fingers at one of the spherical servitors. "Show our guests to their places," it tells them. A long tongue lolls out of the side of its mouth, dribbling green slime. "I shall enjoy this," it says with a leer.
