The Continuing Adventure of Zasit Hardywall
I head down the unusual hall, which immediately branches out in many directions. It seems that I have entered a labyrinth of sorts, perhaps intended to trap and confuse outsiders. There may be something of value at its end, or it may merely have been the plaything of nobility. I will investigate.
The smoothed and engraved walls quickly come to an end, and I enter halls full of rough, unworked stone. I take note of one of the final engravings- it pictures an axedwarf slaying some sort of monstrosity, dated 270. The dwarves here were still fighting back their enemies only a couple years back, at least.
As I continue along the windings tunnels, I begin to feel the effects of what has been a very long day. Though tired, I will continue as long as I may.
The tunnels wind about, seemingly endless. I find myself backtracking several times.
Unbelievably, I come across what seems to be the end of a tunnel! A door stands before me.
I is a wondrously crafted work of what appears to be brass. I gaze at it for sometime before finally daring to enter.
The door eases open without trouble, and I enter what I immediately recognize as a tomb. Four engraved marble pillars surround a metal sarcophagus. The walls are smoothed marble.
Upon inspection, it becomes apparent that the sarcophagus is crafted of platinum! A rich resting place indeed, but my memories of the strange room above the fortress have not yet left me. There are yet richer artifacts here than this.
I crack open the slab and take a short look inside. The dessicated skeleton of a dwarf who clearly died in battle is settled at the bottom of the coffin. I know not who it might be.
A look at a nearby engraving offers what might be a clue. Is this the final resting place of Praetor Vox Nihili? I suspect that it is. However, other than his bones, he seems to have left no clues nor tools. I pay my respects to the great dwarf and move on.
Continuing along the length of the maze, I come across another door, this one made of stone and less richly adorned. Opening it, I find what seems to be a hastily-carved room!
This looks to be an emergency dormitory of sorts, clearly carved out sometime after Vox Nihili's tomb. This labyrinth hides many secrets. Did my brothers once seek refuge in this place?
A short ways north, I come upon another dormitory area. This one seems, if anything, even less complete.
Walking further north, I eventually come across a massive chamber off of a far bend in the labyrinth.
Here I find a multitude of workshops, hastily constructed, amid piles of leftover stone. And what's this?
A cage, with a massive, dead animal in it! The thing must have been dragged in here for some purpose, only to starve when its caretakers perished or abandoned it. The mystery deepens.
At the back of this expansive room, I find another living quarters, this one much smaller but more complete.
There is a grotesque statue in the corner. It seems to watch me as I move about. I do my best to ignore it.
I pull the lever in the center of the room, hoping to somehow learn more. Nothing happens, as far as I can tell, but several mechanisms attached to the lever do spin into action.
Heading back out through the great, open room, I notice that a mason's workshop here still has completed furniture sitting about, never moved to a stockpile or put into place. What happened here?
To the east, I find yet another attached room. This one has another lever, stairs downward, and a massive pit in its center.
I venture down the stairs and make my way into the pit. There is an iron cage in the center.
Heading west to the far opposite end, I find another iron cage. This sinister place may have been used to stage fights between captured beings. Was the massive, starved beast I saw earlier meant to fight in this crude arena?
I feel the effects of my exhaustion deepen and backtrack to the small, northern room. I find my way to the bed there.
I will sleep here, despite the unnerving watch of the grotesque THING on the far end of the room. It seems unlikely that I will be found in this distant corner while I sleep. If I am, this journal will remain, hidden under this bed, to tell others of what I have seen here.
