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Message: <blockquote data-quote="howandwhy99" data-source="post: 2747596" data-attributes="member: 3192">Darius went first.  Looking inside with his dwarven vision he saw the dugout tunnel sloped down and several yards further was an intersection.  He walked up to it.  Crash!  The dirt floor collapsed under him and Darius fell ten feet into a pit.  Those outside heard.  Dalin lit a torch and Kayla followed him in.  “Not yet”, said Darius as he climbed from the pit.  But the two lit up the area anyways.  The tunnels left and right ended in wooden doors.  The main tunnel straightened and extended out of sight.  “Stand guard here with the light.  I’m going to check the left door,” said Darius and he moved away.  Dalin edged around the pit to the right cave.  Outside now one came back to report.  Dram was impatient and entered.  Diedre and Ben decided to stay behind and watch over Grog as Rose and Ormand entered too.  Dalin explained what had happened as Darius opened the left door and walked into the darkness beyond.  He saw the passage fork left and right again.  The passages curved all over.  Nothing was in a straight line here.  Prodding the floor in front of him with his sword he took the left passage.  “Left is always right, pappy used to say.”  Dram’s blood was still up.  Lighting a torch off of Dalin’s he inspect the right door.  It looked safe, so he opened it.  Cautiously he walked down the passage as Rose and Kayla followed.“Great.  Ormand, take this and guard the center passage”, said Dalin.  “I’m going with them.”  Darius found discovered another pit trap, this one already collapsed.  He skirted around it as the passage wound right.  Ahead an oddly shaped alcove had hundreds of mushrooms growing on its floor.  Pressing on he found the passage simply looped back to where he had entered.  Confident the floor was safe he started inspecting the walls for secret passages.  In the other tunnel Dram led until Kayla convinced him someone needed to check for more pit traps.  As the tunnel curved left it opened a long oddly shaped room.  The floor to the right was covered with mushrooms while the left-hand side was cleared to pass.  Rose spotted writing on the far wall.  Pockets of space were cut into the walls to allow more mushrooms to grow.  The little half-Fae collected some as she moved through.  On the far wall letters from the human tongue were carved, but had been almost entirely scratched away.  It looked to Rose like the same handwriting as the skinny man’s.  And it was less than a day old.  She told reported it to the others who had held back.  As he inspected the outer wall of the ring Darius discovered a stone behind the dirt just to the right of the mushroom alcove.  He pulled out his sword and started clearing it off.  It looked like a large stone door of some type, but without a handle.  A smooth circle was carved into its center.  Perplexed he went back to the intersection and saw Ormand all alone and looking scared.  He told Darius everyone else went through the other wooden door.  “That’s just great,” he said and took off after them. Just as Darius caught up, Kayla prodded into another pit trap.  Dram helped her collapse it and immediately pressed on.  As he had the only light most everyone else was forced to follow.  The passage kept curving to the left.  After a few more yards it split again, this time sharply to the right and sloping upward to the left.  Kayla saw Ormand silhouetted down the left passage.  “Ormand” she said and the man jumped.  “It’s okay.  We’re safe.  We’re going to explore a little farther.  Keep your eyes open.”  Ormond nodded, but only Darius could see it.  Dram led briskly down the left tunnel, the main one that ran straight from the entrance.  “It’s time to kill a witch.”The passage slowly curved left again, but at less of an angle.  After several yards another mushroom pocket was passed and the curve sharpened.  Dram saw the tunnel end with another wooden door.  Next to it was another mushroom pocket.  He shushed the others in warning.  Carefully prodding forward with his sword he made it to the door and listened.  There was no sound.  He searched the door and found it locked.  There was no handle or keyhole.  “I’m comin’ for ya!” he shouted and began to hack at the door.  The rest of the team waited fearing the worst.  After a few minutes the wooden door splintered into two.  Dram picked up his torch and tossed it into the room beyond.It was oddly shaped.  It looked like it was still being dug to make it larger.  All around the edges and in pockets more mushrooms grew.  Unfortunately the witch was not inside.  Dram prodded into the room and everyone else followed bumping into each other in the shadows.  Dalin noticed the ceiling had a tunnel leading upwards.  Dram and Dalin boosted Rose up and she climbed the vertical tunnel with her claws the rest of the way.  A wooden trapdoor was at the very top.  She found no traps, but discovered the door exited under the base of the tower outside. Rose waved to Pax with a smile.</blockquote>

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