Lost in the catacombs

It did not take long for the duchess to become hopelessly turned around. She had dashed headlong into the nearest opening in the ruins as the sounds of the bandits closed in around her. Cracks of light overhead had at first provided scant illumination in the dank halls and crumbling passageways, but as her winding path quickly began to descend, any light of the sun had vanished. Thankfully there were now other sources of light that kept her from being plunged into total darkness.

Strange moss and fungi interspersed the cracks and crevices of the passages emitting various hues of dull glowing light. As well, many ancient crystalline reliefs were inlaid in the crumbling sunken architecture around her the hummed with their own strange mystical lights. Whether it was magic or some other form of bioluminescence, Lucilla could not say.

While the presence of light was a relief, the state of the duchess' clothes left much to be desired. The bandit ambush had caught her unaware, and she had dashed off into the woods dressed in only her light evening dress and slippers. While her now tattered slippers still miraculously remained on her feet, her skirts had been snagged and ripped at by the scraggly branches that hung from the forest she had desperately ran through. The silken bodice of her dress hung loosely from her corseted brassiere, and her skirts had been ripped off at the knee while a slit had slowly torn its way up to nearly the top of her left thigh, nearly exposing the waistband of the tight lacy lingerie she wore beneath.

Thankfully, one of the few mercies of her situation was the temperature. Despite her state of dress, Lucilla was not cold. Far from it, actually. The sunken inner walls of Xerasm were warm with a humid air that flowed through them like the breath of some old beast. While not oppressively hot, the duchess suspected she could crawl through these passageways naked and still be comfortable. She prayed it did not come to that though.

It had been enough time now for the duchess to feel confident that the bandits were long gone. However, that good news was tempered by the fact that she was now lost somewhere in the old dead city. Lucilla knew the tales and legends of this place. The fact that she had made it so far in while remaining unmolested by any traps or nefarious creatures was something of a small miracle. However, as she glanced around at the twisting passages and halls that surrounded her, she had a sinking suspicion that would not be the case for long.