Walking through one of the large doors in the wall shivered as the air suddenly turned cold, he was no longer in the friendly earth caverns he had been wandering through before, he now found himself walking through arched tunnels of a black stone. Algae and wet moss clung to the walls, water dripping from the roof as if he was beneath a large river. Following the hallway he treaded carefully along the slippery floor, avoiding the deep puddles that littered it.
He soon came to a small room on the left side of the passage, the door was missing and the stone floor was littered with broken rubble and rocks, there was a large wooden ladder in the corner of the room stretching through the roof. Lemas could see nothing of importance in the room so stepping over the rubble he approached the ladder, he gripped it, pulling at it to test it's strength. It did not budge and appeared to be capable of holding his weight, it was as black as night above however and he could not tell what dangers lurked above, or even how far he would have to climb.
Lemas shuddered at the thought of what might lurk up there however he was underground and the most sensible thing to do would be to head up, he decided to climb. He looked once more and cursed himself, then began to climb. He climbed higher and higher, slowly loosing the dim light from the tunnel beneath him, soon it had vanished out of sight, however far above him, he could see a faint eerie glow penetrating the black. The green glow got stronger and stronger as he climbed. Soon he felt a ledge above the ladder, pulling himself up he gasped for breath as he law exhausted on the floor. He looked around him; he was in a tunnel as before but the earth was darker and there was no natural the light, the light, the glow he could see was lighting the whole area. It was from a small stream of eerie green water... slime, a foot or so wide running along the side of the tunnel. Lemas knelt down beside the stream and looked at it closely, it appeared to be a translucent green slime, he could see right through it, and it was not deep. It continued and turned a corner in the tunnel where he lost sight of it. Pulling himself to his feet he walked slowly towards the corner.
Turning the corner Lemas froze in shock. He was standing in a dark narrow tunnel with walls and a roof of earth, the tunnel could not have been more than 20 foot wide however it stretched and twisted in length as far as the eye could see. Before him there was a river of the green liquid, it looked extremely deep and he could see the bottom far below, only illuminated by the glow of the slime. He walked slowly along the rivers edge, it was narrow and he was careful not to fall... god knows what could happen in their. The tunnel seemed never ending and as he walked the river dimmed and darkness began to swallow the tunnel, soon the eerie green glow had become little more than a dim dying light, now dark green as opposed to the bright colour at which it had begun. Lemas began to get worried and quickened his pace. Thankfully the light did not dim any deeper and he was left with enough site to see, the river soon ended and he found himself at a dock of sorts... it was an odd looking place, no boats, no jetty but some ropes tied to rocks sticking from the ground beside the river. It appeared to have been used recently.
Lemas stepped over to the soft ground beside the river and examined it carefully looking for any signs of life. He found small footprints... small enough to be that of a child however sharp and pointed. "Gnomes", he muttered to himself and stepped briskly away from the soft ground being careful not to leave any footprints, the last thing he wanted was gnomes on his trail. Lemas sat on one of the rocks for a time... facing away from the river, no gnome was going to surprise him. He tried to think of what to do next however he could think of nothing, it was clear going back the way he came was no good at this stage, however the way forward was obviously blocked by the gnomes, and small as they are... it is not nice to run into a group of them. Especially not nice when your in their terrain, there tunnels. It is impossible to outrun a gnome when he knows his surroundings better than you... but that is true of most things in their home.
Presently Lemas heard voices, small... quite, highpitched voices. He ran over and pressed himself against a shadowed corner of the wall, thank god the river hid is footprints.
He soon came to a small room on the left side of the passage, the door was missing and the stone floor was littered with broken rubble and rocks, there was a large wooden ladder in the corner of the room stretching through the roof. Lemas could see nothing of importance in the room so stepping over the rubble he approached the ladder, he gripped it, pulling at it to test it's strength. It did not budge and appeared to be capable of holding his weight, it was as black as night above however and he could not tell what dangers lurked above, or even how far he would have to climb.
Lemas shuddered at the thought of what might lurk up there however he was underground and the most sensible thing to do would be to head up, he decided to climb. He looked once more and cursed himself, then began to climb. He climbed higher and higher, slowly loosing the dim light from the tunnel beneath him, soon it had vanished out of sight, however far above him, he could see a faint eerie glow penetrating the black. The green glow got stronger and stronger as he climbed. Soon he felt a ledge above the ladder, pulling himself up he gasped for breath as he law exhausted on the floor. He looked around him; he was in a tunnel as before but the earth was darker and there was no natural the light, the light, the glow he could see was lighting the whole area. It was from a small stream of eerie green water... slime, a foot or so wide running along the side of the tunnel. Lemas knelt down beside the stream and looked at it closely, it appeared to be a translucent green slime, he could see right through it, and it was not deep. It continued and turned a corner in the tunnel where he lost sight of it. Pulling himself to his feet he walked slowly towards the corner.
Turning the corner Lemas froze in shock. He was standing in a dark narrow tunnel with walls and a roof of earth, the tunnel could not have been more than 20 foot wide however it stretched and twisted in length as far as the eye could see. Before him there was a river of the green liquid, it looked extremely deep and he could see the bottom far below, only illuminated by the glow of the slime. He walked slowly along the rivers edge, it was narrow and he was careful not to fall... god knows what could happen in their. The tunnel seemed never ending and as he walked the river dimmed and darkness began to swallow the tunnel, soon the eerie green glow had become little more than a dim dying light, now dark green as opposed to the bright colour at which it had begun. Lemas began to get worried and quickened his pace. Thankfully the light did not dim any deeper and he was left with enough site to see, the river soon ended and he found himself at a dock of sorts... it was an odd looking place, no boats, no jetty but some ropes tied to rocks sticking from the ground beside the river. It appeared to have been used recently.
Lemas stepped over to the soft ground beside the river and examined it carefully looking for any signs of life. He found small footprints... small enough to be that of a child however sharp and pointed. "Gnomes", he muttered to himself and stepped briskly away from the soft ground being careful not to leave any footprints, the last thing he wanted was gnomes on his trail. Lemas sat on one of the rocks for a time... facing away from the river, no gnome was going to surprise him. He tried to think of what to do next however he could think of nothing, it was clear going back the way he came was no good at this stage, however the way forward was obviously blocked by the gnomes, and small as they are... it is not nice to run into a group of them. Especially not nice when your in their terrain, there tunnels. It is impossible to outrun a gnome when he knows his surroundings better than you... but that is true of most things in their home.
Presently Lemas heard voices, small... quite, highpitched voices. He ran over and pressed himself against a shadowed corner of the wall, thank god the river hid is footprints.