Following the troll, Bones saw it enter the cavern at the deep end of the cave. Slowing his speed to a walk, he followed through. He found himself in the tunnel going down at an angle. It wasn't steep, but angled enough to slip and fall. The ground was wet and rocky with moss covering the side walls. Occasional droplets could be heard coming down the ceiling, echoing in the tunnel. This would be a bad location to fight something like a troll. Smart choice in running away. I should revise the information I read about the trolls. They didn't seem as solitary and the signs of intelligence were clear.

He slowly continued down the tunnel. The only sounds echoing, droplets and the clanking sound of his boots. I doubt I could be ambushed without hearing them coming. It wasn't even a minute in the tunnel when he saw the exit after the bend. He neared the exit and saw the tunnel led to a large cavern with a few cracks in the ceiling through which the light shone through. In front of him was a natural bridge connecting to the other side of the cavern, where there was an entrance to another tunnel. Bones looked down to the sides of the bridge and saw pitch black. An abyss stretching deeper than his senses could detect. He looked ahead and stepped forward.

Halfway through the bridge, he sensed the projectile coming at him. The bridge was wide enough he sidestepped the rock that flew past him. He saw the troll, the one with white in his eyes, picking up another decent sized rock and extending his hand. Bones frowned, looking at the troll. What is he doi...he didn't finish his thought as the rock accelerated towards him in an instant. He dodged again but another was sent his way, bigger than the first one. After a few more rocky projectiles, Bones retreated to the start of the bridge. He noticed the troll was picking up rocks of the same size but they were bigger when they were sent flying at him. “Earth manipulation? Empowerment?” If he could empower his bones, why couldn't others do the same with their perspective elements?

Sigh* I guess it's quantity over quality this time. He stepped on the bridge again and this time, started running while summoning normal sized bone lances. The troll reacted and did the same with rocks. Both flinging their projectiles at the same time. Projectiles collided, rocks cracked and crumbled and bones shattered, sending shrapnel all around. Still, Bones advanced with each exchange. Troll saw it and when the first of lances reached and hit, it ran away. Bones reached the other side, smirking inside. With leisure steps he entered the tunnel. Coward or bait? Baiting was more probable. Either way, he followed in the troll's footsteps.

He lost the sight of the troll. It didn't matter, he was lost anyway. He was who knows how deep underground and in the tunnel system connecting caverns of different sizes. So far, besides the troll, he encountered a dozen oversized insects and larvae. None bothered by his presence. This was the second cavern he found empty besides the first cavern with a bridge and rocks flinging troll. There were traces of the makeshift camp, a few makeshift utensils made of wood and bones and unidentified remains of something. “Where are they? Outside?” No, if Identify was to be believed, trolls outside were the mountain trolls and the one I was chasing was a cave troll.

Seeing nothing of value he moved towards the entrance to another tunnel. A few steps after, he detected another entrance in his peripheral vision.

“Oh?” He turned and saw the narrow entrance hidden in the rocky walls of the cavern. Piquing his interest, he approached and entered, disappearing behind a wall. The new tunnel wasn't as wide, as high or as long as the previous tunnels. Half a minute of walking later, he found himself at the edge of a cliff overlooking what looked like a tribe? A village? A commune of trolls or whatever you want to call it, down below. There were roughly twenty of them, more or less, and they all seemed to be doing something. Whether it was hitting rocks with a pickaxe or fetching water from the near underground water source.

Some of the trolls appeared to be on the lookout and one was unlike the rest. Bigger and meaner than the others, munching on the smaller pieces of rocks. A supervisor perhaps overseeing whatever they were doing down there? There's nothing to be done here. Bones turned back and went back the way he came from, finding himself in a previous cavern. He went through the other tunnel where steps led downstairs. Carefully and slowly, he descended.

The darkness of the tunnels didn't impede Bones mana vision and thanks to his senses he had no problem going down a hundred or so stairs. At the bottom was an entrance to the ever expanding cavern he saw from above. No other way around it? So be it. With a crouch and head low, he entered and immediately stuck to the walls. He circled the area, avoiding notice from any troll that may look and come his way. Such a shame, so much experience…too risky. Better be alive then dead...ah? *chuckles*

He wasn't THAT interested in what trolls were doing to stay and observe. His immediate attention after entering a cavern was to find an exit. From above, he saw the exit but down here it was a bit difficult to orient himself. Besides, from down here, he could see another exit in the opposite direction. Choose, the left side full of trolls or the right side full of trolls…shaking his head from his musings, he proceeded to the left exit of the cavern. There were plenty of rocks and boulders to sneak behind and with a little bit of luck on his side, he reached the exit.

Entering another tunnel, he stepped towards sounds echoing deep down in the tunnel. He wouldn't be alone in the tunnel this time. He started walking faster towards the sounds. If there was going to be a fight, he wanted to distance himself from the cavern as much as he could, not to draw attention by fighting. Sounds were louder and he could make out at least two different sources of sound. Few steps more and he saw them when he stepped out behind a bend. Two trolls, slowly walking towards him, too lost in grunts and hand gestures to notice him. One had to go down immediately! With resolve he drew deep from the well of his mana and empowered the two lances he summoned. Before trolls managed to react to the slight disturbance of ambient mana in front of them, lances were sent flying. In a second, one lance pierced the large head of the troll while the other lance grazed the cheek of the other, removing a sizable chunk of flesh from its face.

A wailing grunt sounded out filled with pain, mixed with gurgling and choking noises that quickly turned into a rage filled growl that echoed down the tunnel. “Shit!” A quick barrage of lances silenced the troll and again, the tunnel was silent, but not for long. A distant roar was heard that grew louder and louder as it traveled down the tunnel. Bones stood in a spot for a second, gears in his head turning but coming up with nothing. Shit! He started running. Distant stomps of trolls' feet could be heard echoing. There was no time to take it slow and think things through. He needed to get away. There was bound to be another cavern at the end of the tunnel and he was faster than his entourage.

Another roar was heard. Probably from seeing dead bodies of the trolls I killed. Sound of stomps became quicker! “Crap, crap, crap…” and then, like he found a sanctuary, he took in a breath of relief at seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Reaching the end, a hall larger than any cave he ever saw, spread out before him. Sparkling crystals on the ceiling illuminated the hall in dim light. In front of him were wide stairs with torches by side, lighting the way down. Further down, at the base of the stairs he saw a stone pathway with pillars following from sides and stretching hundreds of meters until they reached a pyramid. “What is this?”

A sight in front of him filled him with more questions he didn't have time to process. Looking around and over the pyramid, he saw trolls in the distance. Barely visible due to the color of the grey stone and the color of their skin, matching the stone. They appeared to be kneeling? To whom? His sight went up the pyramid and stopped at the top. He gaze frozen as at the top, on the throne, sat a figure, nay, a troll! Unlike any troll he had seen so far. It seemed darker than the rest but more than that, it was bulkier and so tall, it was hard to miss. What really drew Bones attention and made him freeze was the piercing eyes. The gaze that was directed directly at him.

His soul stirred, his mana flow in turmoil. No thoughts came to his mind. Just the feeling, a sense of danger like he never felt before. His fiery eyes shone brighter and brighter as he slowly stepped back into the darkness of the tunnel behind him. His eyes, never leaving the eyes of the predator sitting at the throne. A ding sound vibrated somewhere behind in his mind but he paid it no mind. As he stepped back far enough to lose the sight of the troll, the incoming sounds echoing louder and louder behind him, snapped him out of his daze. He turned around, filled with an unknown rage and shame at the constant running away.

He took a step forward and it felt light, like he was floating. He raised a hand and a pristine white lance appeared. Longer and sturdier than a normal lance. He flicked his wrist and the lance zoomed in on a troll appearing in his sight behind a bent, in an instant. It went through the troll and disappeared behind it. Bones summoned another and another with each step he took. More trolls appeared but they fell as quickly as they appeared. The tunnel was crowded with trolls and corpses. Some tried to turn away and make a run for it but it was futile. There were too many of them in a somewhat narrow tunnel. They fell one by one and some rushed him in a desperate attempt but couldn't reach him. Every lance was empowered with mana, his core overloading.

A loud boom sounded out from behind the group of trolls in the front. The biggest and meanest looking troll appeared, swinging a huge mace made of stone in his hands. It roared, snuffing the grunting sounds of other trolls. It stepped over the corpses of the fallen until it reached the front. It roared again, taunting Bones with hand gestures but Bones stayed silent. The gaze of the king still lingering in his eyes. He continued forward with small steps, the mana empowering him like never before. A hand extended and lance summoned. Troll was welcoming an attack, but froze as Bones took a step back, rotated his waist and punched the shit out of the bunt side of the lance. The fist released a shockwave of mana on impact, sending lance rocketing through the troll and others in line behind him until it embedded itself in the wall of the tunnel. Cracks appearing on the wall like spider webs and the lance poofed into a cloud of smoke.

The rest of the trolls were visibly shaken. Due to rage or fear, Bones didn't know, but every one of them was hesitant to step forward. So Bones took a step towards them. They started mingling, pushing each other. Grunts grew louder, one over the other, as Bones was approaching. A few in the front prepared their weapons, ready to attack. Just as both sides were about to attack, a snort sounded out throughout the hall and into the tunnel. Sheer vibrations of the sound shaking the walls. Trolls froze and Bones turned sideways, looking in the direction of the hall. A second later, he turned around and continued down the tunnel, the trolls parting ways for him to pass.