http://casualsgaming.com/2015/06/11/be-a-dwarf-in-space/

(Click here if you have Doren as your Companion.)

Spoiler: Spoiler

Piling some branches together and tying them up into a bundle, you light up the makeshift torch, which smoked as much as it offered light, forcing you to raise it higher above your head. The dark, cavernous tunnel in front of you, appearing like a huge gaping mouth that swallows you whole as you enter the long obscure passageway, riddled by rocks jutting down, and stone formations that try to creep their way up towards the ceiling. The tunnel filled with the sound of skittering insects that crawl deeper into hiding at the echo of your footsteps, which thudded into the rough surface. Your nose rankled up by the smell of decay, while Doren lightly steps into the tunnel behind you with a handheld up to his mouth in disgust.

Nerves on edge at the overwhelming sense of evil that pervades area, you continue to inch your way forward with dagger drawn, when you hear the unmistakable sound of bones cracking beneath you.

Mouth dry with fear, you freeze in place, and whip your head downward to see what it was you had stepped upon, when Doren lets out a startled gasp from behind as the light shines upon piles of discarded bones, which if you were to judge, were still fresh with more than a few bits of meat still clinging to them. And was probably the same reason why the elf had been too afraid to go on alone.

With the light from the entrance closing up behind you, you clench your jaw tight, and continue ahead, your breathing becoming harsh and ragged as more bones were crushed underfoot. The flicker of torchlight, sending up embers of flames into the air to create an almost beautiful pattern which dotted the air, while your shadow ghosted up alongside you.

Neck hairs prickling at the feel of Doren’s hot breath on your neck, you almost spin around to stab your blade through his heart, before letting out a heavy sigh to release your pent up anger, and roll your shoulders. Best you did not do anything you might regret just yet.

Your eyes darting towards the slightest sounds with water dripping off somewhere in the distance, and insects chirping every now again, you're forced almost to a slow crawl, your mind unable to help but dredge up thoughts of vampires lurking inside, watching you as you fumble your way forward. All the while hoping that this all part of your imagination, when hear the almost audible sound of a groan, echo along the corridor.

Heart pulsing, you lift your head to look around and spin back to see the elf muttering prayers beneath his breath, before you stare back out into the impenetrable darkness, a part of you almost certain now that something was stalking you.

Footsteps quickened, you rely upon your keen instincts to find your footing in the dark, when the ground ahead opens up into a wide circular cavern, almost like a chamber that has been dug here long ago. The faint moans you had heard earlier, muted to nothing.

There you try to calm yourself, and remind yourself that you’ve been through much worse places than here, and had probably done much worse, before gazing out into the open space, where you take in the hundreds of stalagmites that hang above, and stare down at the etching engraved into the triangular slab of stone that sits ahead of you.

Doren who had all but for a few moments ago had been praying for his life, switched from fear to ecstatic excitement as he shoved his way past you to examine the stone obelisk. “Oh my! Is this is most fascinating find?! Do to think this could withstand the testament of time?! By my guess, I would suggest, this my dear companion, is a dwarven marker set here long ago to guide fellow travelers such as ourselves towards safe harbor. Sadly, this one has aged poorly, but I believe it says. Brothers beware, there be a dragon abouts these tunnels."

The last words almost choked back into his throat as the whites of Doren’s eyes showed. The elf, glancing nervously behind him as though he expected a dragon to suddenly appear behind him, which in turn caused Doren to press in closer to your side before you push him away. “By a bellow-heart’s puke, enough of your damn cowering, this marker must be at least a thousand years old, chances are the dragon has already moved on.”

To which Doren replied with a twitchy smile. Right, you are my friend. Right you are.”

Stepping back away from the obelisk or whatever it was, you glance back the way you have come, before putting your head down and setting off once more into the interminable darkness with the next passage appearing behind the obelisk. This one, much like the first, smelled of desiccation, age, and dried up blood that made it seem like you were passing through a battlefield, and not a tunnel.

Worried by what was ahead, you notice the torch you carry, begin to flicker and die as it neared its end, and instinctively begin to stride much faster, almost galloping forward, forcing Doren to keep up with you, when you trip over something and slammed hard into the ground, the impact grazing your arms and legs on the rough surface of the cavern floor. (- 20 Health Points.)

Eyes drifting back to see what had caused your fall, you instinctively let out a wince at the four skeletons bodies huddled up together, their arms wrapped around each other with a fifth skeleton, a small child caught in their midst. Doren letting out a curse of surprise as his whole body began to tremble in fear, his hand going to the hilt of his sword, which upon closer inspection was a fake, much like everything else the elf carried with him. The damn mud sap probably thought to keep himself safe by buying a cheap facade meant to dissuade uninvited guests from interfering with him.

Not really liking the way they had all died simultaneously together, you quickly dust yourself off and set off again at a brutal, unrelenting pace. A part of yourself not wishing to dwell on what had happened to them, nor that your torch was almost about to go out, and that you would be forever lost here in these maze of tunnels with that worthless elf behind you to keep you company. Besides which, you could already feel your fingers begin to burn as the last flickers of flamelight licked your hand, pushing you to move even faster.

The flames burning your hand into a bloody red raw mess of welts that eventually force you to ditch aside the torch, grab hold of Doren roughly by the collar, and blindly reach out for the walls as you feel your way forward. The young elf muttering complaint after complaint underneath his breath behind you, until you squeeze his neck.

Fuelled by a mix of anger and desire to finally be out of this place, you press on silently for miles, dragging Doren behind you, while your fingers lightly scrape the rugged walls when another cavern opens up ahead of you, filled with a pale luminescent light that comes from the clear sparkling white crystals embedded in the walls.

Finally able to see again, you release the bumbling idiot, and fumble your way towards the cavern’s opening, before being ground to a halt, your heart thundering inside of you again at the sight of grey lumps writhing upon the ground.

Dwarflike in appearance and stature, you quickly realize that these must be the feral dwarves you had heard so much about. Rabid dwarves that had lost all sense of themselves as they were gripped by an overwhelming hunger for flesh. The dwarves rumored to be cursed by some deity from long ago for committing some foul crime.

Having experienced the savagery of a sane dwarf, you did not relish the idea of going up against so many ferals in one place, not whilst you had the elf with you. Or perhaps this was as good a time as any to leave the useless fae behind and continue alone.

Head crooked to look about the great cavern, you try to see another way through to the other side, but so far only several options come to mind. On your left, in a small cleft caused by a nearby rock formation was hole perhaps large enough for you to squeeze yourself inside, which could be used to your advantage to clean out the nest without the worry of being outflanked.

Then there were the stalagmites that hung above, if you could bring them all down somehow, you could kill them all in one fell swoop, but it would take a great deal of strength, not to mention time.

And lastly at the edges, and throughout the cavern, there was enough decent cover between the rocks, that you could probably sneak your way past them.

Choice 1. Do you use the crevice to battle the monsters?

Choice 2. Do you search for a way to drop the stalagmites on top of the dwarves?

Choice 3. Do you throw caution to the wind and attack the creatures head-on, using the advantage of surprise?

Choice 4. Do you creep around the sides of the chamber to try and avoid detection?

Choice 5. Do you use Doren as bait to help you escape?

(Click here if you do not have Doren as a companion.)

Spoiler: Spoiler

Piling some branches together and tying them up into a bundle, you lit up the makeshift torch, which smoked as much as it offered light, forcing him to raise it high above his head. The dark, cavernous tunnel a huge gaping mouth that swallowed him whole as he entered the long obscure passageway, riddled by rocks, jutting stones that stabbed downward, and rock formations that tried to creep their way up towards the ceiling. The tunnel filled with the sound of skittering insects that crawled deeper into hiding, and the echo of footsteps as his boots thudded into the rough surface.you’s nose rankled by the smell of decay.

Nerves on edge at the overwhelming sense of evil that pervaded area, he inched forward with dagger drawn, when he heard the unmistakable sound of bones cracking beneath his boots.

Mouth dry with fear, he froze in place for a second, and whipped his head down to see what it was he had stepped upon and saw pile upon pile of discarded bones, which if you were to judge, were still fresh with more than a few bits of meat clinging to them. And was no doubt why the elf had been too afraid to continue further alone. Something he should be considering himself.

With the light from the entrance closing up behind him, he continued deeper into the underground tunnel, his breathing becoming harsh as more bones crunch underfoot. The flicker of torchlight, sending up embers of flames into the air to create an almost beautiful swirl, while his shadow ghosted along with him.

Neck hairs prickling at the feeling of being watched, he almost spun around, before releasing a heavy sigh to calm himself. The waiting darkness working on each nerve.

Dagger drawn, and eyes darting towards the slightest sounds, he almost slowed to a crawl, all the while inwardly hoping that this dread he felt inside of him was all some type of paranoia of his own making when heard the almost audible sound of a groan, echo along the corridor.

Heart racing, his head spun back to stare out into the walls of impenetrable darkness, a part of him almost certain now that something was stalking them.

His pace increased, you relied upon his keen instincts to find his footing in the dark, when the ground ahead opened up into a wide circular cavern, almost like a chamber that had been dug here long ago. The faint moans he had heard earlier, muted to nothing.

There he tried to calm himself, and remind himself that he had been through much worse, and had probably done much worse, before gazing out into the open space, where he saw hundreds of stalagmites hanging above, and etchings scratched into a triangular block of stone that sat ahead of him.

Torch brought closer to study the markings, he tried to understand what the words could mean, but the language was foreign to him.

Stepping back, he glanced behind him to make sure he was alone, before putting his head down and setting off once more into the interminable darkness with the next passage appearing behind the stone. Much like the first, the smell of desiccation was much stronger in this tunnel, until you thought he was rolling about in a blood strewn battlefield.

Worried by what was ahead, he noticed the torch in his hand flare and begin to die away as it neared its end, and instinctively began to stride much faster, almost galloping forward, when he tripped over something and slammed hard into the ground, grazing his arms and legs on the rough surface of the cavern floor. (- 20 Health Points.)

Eyes drifting back to see what he had caused his fall, he instinctively let out a wince at the four skeletons huddled together, their arms wrapped around each other with a fifth skeleton, a small child caught in their midst.

Not really liking the way they had all died simultaneously together, he quickly dusted himself off, and set off again at a brutal, unrelenting pace. A part of himself not wishing to dwell on what had happened to them, nor that his torch was almost about to go out, and that he would be forever lost here in these maze of tunnels with that fool behind him to keep him company. Besides which he could feel his fingers begin to burn as the last flickers of flamelight licked his hand, pushing him to move even faster.

Hand blackened to a red raw mess, he was eventually forced to ditch the branches aside, and blindly reach out for the walls beside him. you fuelled by a mix of anger and desire to leave this place as his fingers lightly scraped the rugged walls when another cavern opened up ahead of him, filled with a pale luminescent light that came from clear white crystals embedded in the walls.

Finally able to see again, he fumbled his way towards the cavern’s opening, before being ground to a halt, his heart thundering inside of him at the sight of grey lumps writhing upon the ground.

Dwarflike in appearance and stature, he quickly realized that these had to be the feral dwarves he had heard spoken of so much in town. Rabid dwarves that had lost all sense of themselves as they aged and lost their minds to the overwhelming desire for flesh. The dwarves were said to be cursed by some deity from long ago for committing some foul crime.

Having experienced the savagery of a sane dwarf, you did not relish the idea of going up against so many ferals in one place, not whilst he had the elf with him. Or perhaps this was as good a time as any to leave the useless fae behind and continue alone.

Head crooked to look about the great cavern, he hoped to see another way through to the other side which would not mean disturbing the filthy little beasts. But so far only several options came to mind. On his left, in a small cleft caused by a nearby rock formation was hole perhaps large enough for him to squeeze inside, which could be used to his advantage to clean out the nest without the worry of being flanked.

Then there was the ton of stalagmites that hung above the sleeping ferals, if he could bring them all down somehow, he could kill them all in one fell swoop, but it would take a great deal of strength, not to mention time.

And lastly at the edges, and throughout the cavern, there was enough decent cover between the rocks, that he could probably use it to sneak his way by them.

Choice 1. Do you use the crevice to battle the monsters?

Choice 2. Do you search for a way to drop the stalagmites on top of the dwarves?

Choice 3. Do you throw caution to the wind and attack the creatures head-on, using the advantage of surprise?

Choice 4. Do you creep around the sides of the chamber to try and avoid detection?

Choice 5. Option five is not available to those without Doren as a companion.