Move 380:  A-Mazing

Smooth Caverns--Early, Day 38 (Marpenoth 21)

Renn cast a spell and the group moved along the left wall of the strange cavern. The inner wall they were following ended after about eighty feet.  There was another wall, again about fifteen feet high, beyond that one, forming another passage way towards the interior of the cavern.

"Shall we continue forward?" Renn said quietly, his voice came from not all that far ahead of the group.

"Whichever way you think is best, Renn," Jana whispered in reply.

"I'm going to hang back just a little," Echo said quietly. "I'll be right on the edge of the light. So I can watch these paths behind us better," she explained.

Azrun nodded silently, his eyes scanning the ceiling above.

Blacky nodded and said quietly "Gods this smells like a trap."

Moving forward another seventy feet brought the group to another almost identical spot. The wall they were following ended, and another spiraled out from somewhere deeper in the cave. From their path along the cavern perimeter, the walls seemed to be radiating out from the center.

"Are we going to circle the outside first?" Echo asked. "Before we go in it?"

"That sounds like a sensible idea," Renn agreed.  "If we get around the exterior without trouble, then we can decide how we wish to go about going in."

"Sounds good to me," Jana whispered.

The group continued along the cavern's perimeter. They came back to their starting point without finding another passage into the interior of the cave. If they chose to finish exploring this area, they would have to pick one of the three narrow passages that they had found.

"Might as well take the 1st one in. We'd better be prepared for anything." Blacky said reaching for a hand axe to fight in close quarters with.

"So we'll work our way inward?" Jana whispered.

Azrun nodded, "I guess we'll find out what kind of cheese is in the center..."

"The center it is then," Renn said from the front. "If I sense anything, I will let you know."

After a pause to let Renn get slightly ahead of them, the group headed down the passageway nearest the cavern entrance. Walking between the odd fifteen foot high walls was a little disconcerting, but they moved along with no hindrances. The path they followed curved around and inward, but it eventually ended in a cul-de-sac.

"Well," Jana said quietly, "this is anticlimactic."

Azrun looked around with a disappointed face, "Psshhh...let's go back out and try one of the other paths...or maybe I could get a boost and climb to the top of the wall and have a look from there...sure would be nice to have Aloysius here. He could float up with that ring and see what's going on."  With that Azrun went over and checked the wall to see if it was possible to get some sort of hand hold for climbing.

"Let me know if you want me to try too," Echo said from behind them.

Azrun shrugged, "I don't see why we both can't try. Better chance of one of getting up there that way."

Renn exhaled sharply when they came upon the alcove. "I'll help boost either of you up, should you want to try," Renn said when Azrun and Echo began examining the walls.

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