The journey through the underground corridors turned out to be longer than you would like.

You and your half-orc companion walk for a long time through winding underground corridors.

The sensations of the proximity of the exit and the blow of a weak cool breeze turn out to be deceptive.

An extensive network of underground corridors of artificial origin (perhaps these are the remains of the dungeons of some ancient settlement) is connected to an even more extensive and large-scale network of underground caves.

The strange variety of mushrooms that grow on the walls of the caves emit a dim light of light bluish, violet-purple and yellowish shades. Thanks to this fact, it is easier for both of you to move forward and look at the area - after all, the light source is not only Oolok’s torch.

However, there is no reason for excessive optimism.

The path you both are on is characterized by a slow downhill path.

At first, this is not very noticeable.

However, after many hours of moving through these underground tunnels, it becomes clear to you that as you move forward, you are going deeper into the depths of the dungeon, and not getting closer to the exit to the surface.

Of course, there is a faint hope that you will get lucky and find a branch in the labyrinth of caves that will lead upward.

But so far this optimistic assumption has not been justified.

You and Oolok spend the rest of the day unsuccessfully searching for a way out of this vast dungeon.

The half-orc swears in irritation: “Fucking crap! It seems we are lost in these stinking dungeons!”

You realize with fear that he is right.

The labyrinth of these underground caves is unfamiliar territory for both you and Oolok. Finding a way out of here turned out to be far from being as simple a task as you might have thought at first.

You and the half-orc feel extremely tired. Combined with the fact that Oolok is injured, this circumstance forces you both to stop for the night.

The terrain of underground caves is unusual, uncomfortable and... frightening.

But you have **** now.

You help a half-orc set up makeshift places to stay for the night.

A bag instead of a pillow. A meager dinner from the supplies that the half-orc was able to steal from Castle Tideblade. A small amount of water.

Oolok grumpily says, “We don’t have much water. Tomorrow we will have to make every effort to find at least something useful in these fucking caves. The main thing is to find water. If we fail, we will simply die from dehydration. Now we need to rest. We'll take turns sleeping. When one is sleeping, the other is watching the area.”

You tremble slightly with the realization that the sad possibility of your life ending due to dehydration, mentioned by the half-orc, has a fairly high probability.

Then you go to bed.

It's not that easy to fall asleep in this place. The glow of mushrooms and moss that grow on the walls of caves affects your perception. For some reason this glow is annoying and disturbing. However, due to the exhaustion of your body, after an hour you manage to fall asleep.

The last thing you see before falling asleep is the muscular back of Oolok, who peers into the darkness of the dungeon, observing the area.

Your sleep is calm at first.

After a while, you begin to see strange images.

These images are replaced one after another, alternating with the abyss of impenetrable darkness.

An absurd mixture of your memories and some fantasies.

An image of Tobbin's Tavern in flames.

In the flashes of flame you see strange silhouettes of grotesque monsters, whose bodies are curved in unnatural poses.

An image of the retreating port of the city of Skelweerd.

The vast expanse of the sea and many waves that wash the sides of your ship.

A strange hum is growing every moment. Many silhouettes of clawed, bloody hands emerge from the water and pierce the sides of the ship.

The majestic walls and towers of Tideblade Castle.

The cloudless sky above the castle gradually takes on a frightening leaden-dark hue. The sun turns an unnatural dark purple hue.

In a dream, your image moves through these places, obeying some inexorable will that influences you from the outside.

You realize that this is all a dream.

You are trying to somehow control your dream. You strain your will to eliminate the scary elements of the dream.

However, you can't change anything.

You move among these frightening, absurd images, as if you are a weak-willed puppet of someone's cruel will.

You look at your hands.

Narrow and long chains of strange crimson metal pierce the flesh of your hands. These chains go up. Into leaden dark skies.

The silhouette of Tideblade Castle shakes as if due to an earthquake.

You fall through the ground, feeling a rapidly increasing horror pierce your soul.

You wake up feeling your skin is drenched in cold sweat.

The short four-hour nap is over...

Oolok glances briefly in your direction and says: “Now it’s my turn to sleep.”

He calmly lies down on the ground and puts his bag under his head.

Trying to calm down the trembling in your body, you get up and walk around one of the large stalagmites that are located on the floor of the cave.

Then you sit down and lean your back against the stalagmite.

A glance towards the half-orc allows you to understand that he fell asleep quickly enough.

You sigh and look into the darkness of the caves.

Quiet sound of drops.

The dim glow of mushrooms and moss.

Some distant, incomprehensible sounds.

A huge network of underground caves in which you get lost.

You are like a grain of sand that fell into the abyss of the dungeons.

This place makes you feel your own insignificance.

You try to suppress the panic attacks and continue to observe the area.

After hours of observation, you notice a quiet rustling sound. A couple of times you see small silhouettes moving quickly among the stalagmites and moss.

You even manage to see these creatures: they look like small, nimble lizards (about 10 centimeters in size) with extremely pale scales and red eyes. Albino lizards. You might assume that these native animals feed on moss or fungi.

Your waking hours last.

You feel hungry and thirsty. Food and drink were scanty.

Finally, you have waited for the moment when the half-orc wakes up.

Oolok yawns and says: “I hope we can get out of this shitty place today...”

You both quickly gather your things and continue through the extensive network of underground caves.