Progress along the secret tunnel became rather more circumspect after the echoes in the deep drifted to their ears. Hands held down gear that might flap loose, steps shuffled, conversation became sporadic, and one eye was kept into the darkness behind them. Lifter, especially, found himself forced to move with extreme caution, his bulky metal form and oversized weaponry ill-suited to a stealthy procession.
Eventually, it became clear that whatever had been in the main tunnel had never been aware of their presence – or had taken the decision not to follow them. Either way, it allowed the three a small measure of relief as they travelled. The secret passage, if that was indeed what it was, meandered and twisted, at times seeming to be a burrow rather than a deliberately carved tunnel, and certainly much longer than it would have been had a simple ambush been the goal.
Which made it all the more strange when the tunnel abruptly ended in a large cavern, one that had all the look of an abandoned military encampment. Weapon racks, crudely forged of metal pieces, were pressed up against the walls. Ashen stains on the floor could have indicated where fire pits once rested. The remains of crates and barrels, one or two bearing obviously dwarven sigils, lay scattered about. No tents or bedding were to be found amidst the debris, but perhaps whomever had resided here had taken them when they left. It was a strange place.