It was easy to imagine what she was walking through. Winter snow building up, then melting in spring and summer. Gradually spilling into the depths, before breaking out the other side. Erosion, over the course of centuries or millennia. Her fingers glided over the tips of the stalagmites, knuckles rapping against their sides. Whatever flowing waters had crafted this tunnel was gone now. Perhaps it was glacial then, rather than snowmelt.

Regardless, she was reaching the point where light had all but vanished and still, there wasn’t a thing in the air that suggested the presence of any particular beast. If she wanted to go further, she would have to go up with a torch, but at that point, she may as well be climbing the mountain in its entirety, just to poke and prod at a beast that may have done nothing more than acted like an old man, shouting at the kids outside the street before going back to sleep.

She snorted at the image.

This was no place for smiles and jokes. Even without a monstrosity, there was still [i]something[/i] skittering about in the dark, something that had an advantage over her in this gloom. Was it the creature that exploded? Or something else? The orc runt tightened her grip on her antlers, holding it close to her body like a makeshift shield. If she could lead it back to that forest of stone, there would be light enough for her to see. And if it attacked her here, she could flash freeze it so long as she wasn’t immediately crippled.

There was risk and there was reward, but mostly, there was a simple need to walk back. Step by step, at the same tempo as dripping water.
[@Zeroth]