Charge forward! Who needs to worry about things like safety?

You grin at Felix. "What, you thought I'd let you have all the glory? Gather your men. I'll head into that tunnel first."

He chuckles. "As you will, Lentillus. Praxis! Gentus! Form up here and accompany the lord."

You move quickly into the passageway, {if Gladius Held=True}sword{else}spear{endif} held tightly and ready for action. The two infantrymen follow close behind you. It's a narrow, crooked passageway, and it winds deeper into the rock. As you move forward your pace quickens along with your heartbeat. This is it - it's leading to something, you can feel it. There's a great prize to be won soon if you're just bold enough to claim it! By the time you get to the end of the passageway you're practically running, the soldiers trotting along behind you.

The passageway suddenly opens out into a small but wondrous chamber, an underground grotto of sorts. A hole in the rocky ceiling lets in sunlight, and a small, twisted pine tree is growing in the shaft of day. The tree stands on a small, rocky mound surrounded by a pool of clear water. No wonder the bandits have been able to hide out here - they have a source of fresh water within their encampment itself!

Just as you take all this in, there's a sudden movement to your right, on the edge of your vision. You feel a sharp pain and gaze down in wonderment at the ax embedded in your chest. Looking up, you see a lithe blonde woman, face twisted with rage and hatred, spinning away from you, gripping another ax and yelling a war cry. You hear the men behind you shout for their companions as they ready themselves to face her, while you fall to the floor, clutching your chest. Your last conscious thoughts are that there's no way she'll escape reprisal from all the legionnaires here...but then, that will do nothing to help you.