The right fork in the tunnels.

“The right fork,” Domic says, and heads down it. They creep along, every so often passing by more of the glowing blue moss, which provides some light. They use the box lantern in dark places. As they walk, every so often they come across - paintings? Crude smears of blacks and reds on the walls, depicting figures with spears amongst easily recognizable dark and forbidding trees.

"Who do you think they were?" Cerni asks.

"I couldn't say. I think they were living here long before the Empire though," he says.

In one painting, Domic sees figures hunting what must be deer. In another, they flee from an obvious troll - hulking and stonelike. They stop before a larger painting - a ribald one. Two rows of black figures engage in carnal pleasures with one another in a broad field. One figure kneels before another, its head connected to the other's obvious penis. Across from them, one figure with the curves of a woman squirms atop the head of another. At the top of the rows, there are two other figures, larger and painted with more care than the others. They copulate on a platform, the blue male figure thrusting deeply into the red female, their heads turned to face the viewer. However, whatever their faces looked like has worn away.

"Looks like fun," Cerni says.

Before Domic can respond, they hear a snuffling and a growling ahead of them. He whips the lantern around, illuminating a large wolf, hackles raised, fangs bared.

“OH fuck!” Domic exclaims as it leaps at him!

“Kyyah!” Cerni snarls as she plunges her sword into its chest, then quickly removes it and brings it down through its skull as it loudly yelps. “You’re too fuckin’ slow,” she pants, shoving past him as they continue down the tunnel, away from the guttural shouts and grunts that start to sound behind them. They run, to the left and then straight, then down a right-hand loop…and into a large cavern. A big fire burns merrily in a hearth, benches and shelves are strewn haphazardly about, and on the floor sprawl a dozen orcs, dressed in stinking furs and brigandines. Domic half throws, half jumps with Cerni over to a large cluster of stalagmites, as they scramble to hide behind them. Before they can get the chance to review their situation, half a dozen orcs stomp down the path they just came from, making all kinds of ruckus.

Domic and Cerni carefully peek through gaps in the stalagmites, barely daring to breathe. The sleeping orcs wake up at the sound of the ruckus, frowning and complaining in their tongue. One of them, face smeared with blue paint, stands up and shouts something at a ponytailed orc at the head of the second group. The ponytailed orc yells a stream of words, stomps over and gestures back up the passageway and then down another tunnel. Blue Paint shrugs, and goes to lay down, but Ponytail kicks him and yells at him again. Blue Paint jumps up, shoves Ponytail and makes a rude gesture at him. Ponytail’s hand goes to a mace at his belt, but suddenly there is a thunderous yell. Domic and Cerni stare, eyes wide, as a truly massive orc appears in the cavern…and bangs his head against a low-hanging stalactite. He yelps and holds his head for a moment, before frowning at Blue Paint and Ponytail, standing silently and staring at him. He points at Blue Paint, then wordlessly down the second tunnel, and then to Ponytail, jerking his thumb back towards the tunnel they just came from. They and their respective groups scatter off down the tunnels, while the massive orc rubs his head. He looks around, grabs a tankard off a table, downs the liquid inside in one gulp, glares angrily at the offensive stalactite, and stomps off the way he came. Domic and Cerni are now alone…except for the blindfolded man, woman, and child trussed up and gagged in the corner.

“Come on, let’s cut them loose,” Cerni whispers.

“No. No, we can’t Cerni,” Domic says, grabbing her and keeping her in place.

“What? What do you mean we can’t? Uh, we need to get them out of here?”

“We might not even get out of here ourselves,” he hisses. “With orcs already looking for us in here? And through the forest? No, we can’t. You know I’m right.”

Cerni tries to break away from him. "Domic let me go, I'm going to free them," she hisses.