Clay Tunnel The rich scent of damp earth fills your nostrils; the cold, wet air brushes cooly against your face. Slick clay coats the walls and floor, making walking difficult even on the much-travelled path grooved into the ground.
cavern clay walls floor path ground The clay floor is wet; tracks appear in the grooves worn along its soft surface... most of them are heading east. The cavern is narrowing somewhat, funneling you through the darkness and away from the hollow echoing of dripping water.
Clay Tunnel Rivulets of water streak down the walls; the soft tunnel sides are grooved, eroded where water has washed the slate-hued clay down to the puddled floor. To the east, the clay begins to darken to a rich black.
puddle floor water Groundwater, seeping in through tunnel walls, runs in rivulets through clay to lie in murky puddles on the floor.
Black Clay Tunnel The black clay floor slopes gently to the south, creating precarious footing for those who walk here. The walls are wet, as is the floor; the slick clay offers little in the way of support as you struggle to remain upright. You hear water dripping far to the west. clay floor walls Black and wet, the walls and floor glisten from your light, bouncing it back again and creating frightening shadows against the split layers of clay.
Limestone and Clay Tunnel Lumps of crumbly limestone jut upward from the clay floor making this stretch of tunnel uneven and precarious. The walls here are a sloppy amalagam of rock with mud and clay smeared in the crevices, running down toward the floor. The tunnel heads north and south into fields of darkness.
walls Sharp and rocky, the walls are clotted with rock and lumps of clay.
Bend in a Limestone Tunnel Jagged limestone forms this bend in the tunnel. The walls are rough and slimy as clumps of mud and clay cling to the rocky strata. A receding film of clay has left the floor wet and slick. To the east, the mud recedes even more, leaving bare, dry rock. The tunnel heads north and east.
Although the tunnel to the east is dark, you can see that the composition of the tunnels is slowly changing from clay to limestone as the tunnel head eastward.
Sharp Limestone Tunnel Sharp, stratified slats of limestone jut from the walls like blades. The floor here is dry, crumbly rock, dusted with a layer of rubble and sand. Thick green moss grows in the cracks and crevices and spreads across the floor and ceiling. The tunnel heads straight east and west. From the east comes a slight, stirring breeze.
walls blades The limestone here lies in thin, horizontal strata. Much of the rock has eroded, leaving sharp outcroppings that could easily cut cloth and flesh. Much of the stone is covered with moss.
moss This moss is thick and green and covers much of the walls and ceiling.
Limestone Chamber This rough-hewn, circular chamber is littered with rubble and sand. Footprints have scattered the sand around the floor; most of the prints head north toward a broad opening at the foot of a steep slope. A smaller tunnel heads west into darkness.
footprints This area has seen much activity, as the rubble and sand on the floor have been scattered all around.
Mossy Clay Tunnel This tunnel heads straight north-south, though both directions are completely dark. Spidery veins of moss poke through the clay, reaching out as if grasping for those who pass by. The encompassing silence here is broken only by the gentle trickle of water. From the south comes a sharp, acrid smell. veins moss The moss looks sickly and dying, as if it doesn't get enough air or moisture from the think clay walls.
Bend in a Muddy Tunnel The slimy, water-slicked clay tunnel bends to the north and west. The walls of this large tunnel are marked with long, horizontal streaks in the clay as if something very large had passed through here. The floor is pockmarked with small, murky puddles that look almost like milk against the gray-white clay.
streaks The streaks are of the same height and length, and have pulled the west clay westward, as if something very wide has passed though here.
puddles Groundwater leaks in through the clay walls and gathers on the floor in thick, gray-white puddles.
Atop A Muddy Slope An enormous, muddy slope plunges toward a black chamber. The murky water that runs down the walls and drips from the ceiling gathers here in a puddle and runs down the slope, disappearing into darkness. An acrid stench rises from below, accompanied by a faint, chilling breeze.
puddle water The puddle is foul, reeking of stench only slightly less obnoxious than that which rides the air currents upward from the chamber below. A broad, muddy slope heads downward, though the chamber at the bottom is too dark to reveal any details.
Base of a Sandy Slope This is the foot of a broad, sandy slope, which heads upward toward a darkened chamber. The walls here are a splotchy mixture of porous sandstone and tight, compacted sand. To the south, a broad opening leads to a circular chamber. From above comes a soft wind that gently stirs the sand.
The Ant Tunnels The sandy walls are deeply grooved where passing ants have brushed away sections. Even as you walk by you passing shakes loose small clots of sand the crumble to the floor littering it with more dirst. The air is thick with dry, floting dust. The passageway continues to slope downward the further east you head.
The Ant Tunnels The pebble and sand floor crunches as you step, sounding much louder to your alert senses than it actually is. Glancing around, you notice that small vine-like roots from the vegetation above have begun to push through parts of the ceiling.
pebble sand floor The floor, although packed tightly, is really nothing more than sand and small pebbles. Your weight leaves small indentations, and you see other footprints pressed into the dun-colored surface.
vegetation roots ceiling Pale roots from above-ground growths push their way through the ceiling. Smalls bits of earth cling to the gnarled tendrils as they grow down, seeking for earth that is no longer there.
The Ant Tunnels Bits of sand crumble from the abrasive walls, tumbling across the floor. A soft wind washes through, accompanied by the faintest, acrid odor. Hundreds of narrow footprints mark the sand; parts of the walls are marred with long slashes.
sand wall floor slashes Sand that has fallen from the rough tunnel walls lies sprinkled along the hard-packed sandy floor. Slashes in the walls indicated hurried, clumsy movement through the narrow tunnel.
footprints narrow Small indentations pushed into the sand punctuate the uneven surface of the floor. Certainly non-human, the prints appear to be going both north and west.
smell You breathe in, wincing a bit at the sharp odor of the tunnels. The dust floating in the dry air does nothing to help the sulphuric, acrid stench.
rsmell You breathes in, wincing a bit at the sharp odor of the tunnels.
The Ant Tunnels Spidery veins of moss run across the walls, reaching out like dark green fingers, breaking the surface of the hard-packed sand. Heading north along the narrow passage, the odd scrabbling and clacking sounds grow louder, though their source is still undetermined. Footprints pressed into the sandy floor seem to be scattered erratically.
moss fingers walls green veins surface sand Streaks of dark moss and mold line the sandy walls, breaking the dun-colored monotony of the tunnel sides.
footprints floor The wildly chaotic array of footprints seems to belong to an army of ants, or at the very least, a few very busy ants.
The Ant Tunnels The ceiling is pitted and scarred where roots from above-ground vegetation have forced their way through the tunnel's earthen walls. Bits of dirt and moss cling to the roots, the moss spreading out to grow on the sandy walls. The tunnel heads south and west; both directions are quite dark.
ceiling roots vegetation Pale roots hang limply, seeking water from earth that is no longer there. Some of them managed to re-direct themselves from the ceiling and now cling to the walls stubbornly, drawing moisture from the nearly-dry tunnel walls.
dirt moss walls Dark moss grows on the hanging roots, advancing up the tendrils until it reaches the ceiling and walls where in clings in desperation, seeking water from the dry sand.
Sandy Chamber Dust motes float around and the dry air here smells musty. This high juncture of the three tunnels is lined with moldy strands of vegetation; dried roots from above-ground plants hang like an uneven fringe from the ceiling. Velvety-black darkness heavily shrouds the surrounding tunnels. motes dust The dry air is cool. Small drafts waft over your skin, bringing with it dust and a fine sort of silt that covers your skin and causes your eyes to water.
juncture strands vegetation roots fringe The high ceiling's arch is interrupted at irregular intervals by the twining, dried roots of above-ground plants. Having pushed through the pressed surface of the cavern walls, the roots have withered from lack of water.
Ant Larvae Nursery The nearly-smooth textures of sand and mold that dapple the ceiling is interrupted by snarled roots that have pushed their way into the dark hollowness of this tunnel. The dank smell of rotting vegetation and mildewed earth hangs heavily in the air.
sand ceiling mold roots Roots of above-ground plants have pushed through the tunnel walls and, finding no moisture, begun to dry and decay.
sniff You smell the decaying plant life and mold. Ewww.
sniff You inhales deeply. Sandy Chamber The dry floor here crunches a bit as you move, the sound amplifying and echoing through the dark, narrow tunnels. Small grooves lines the sand and clay walls, crevicing the cool surface and giving the walls an uneven and unreliable appearance. Pieces of ant chitin, like dark dry wafers, lie scattered across the floor. An odd, heavy smell permeates the area.
floor chitin ant Sand that has been brushed and broken away from the walls lies in tiny drifts. Chitin from one or many long-dead ants lies dried and crumbled, abandoned to decay.
grooves walls Grooves scar the dry and dusty walls where the ants tunneled their way through the soil.
smell Musty and sour, the smell of the decaying chitin wafts up from the sandy floor.
chsmell You inhales deeply, then pales somewhat at the smell.
gross The small pieces of chitin are coated with a greying, dark slime, a result of its decayed state. Almost every piece crumbles easily and you can't find any pieces big enough to make it worth taking.
chgross You begins to reach down for a piece of decaying chitin, then stands back up with a queasy frown.
Ant Larvae Nursery A long fissure runs along the southern wall; sand gouged from the lip of the deep cut lies scattered across the floor in dusty piles. Moss grows deep within the crevice, thriving where condensation has pooled within the jagged groove.
fissure cut crevice moss groove Dark green and plush, the velvety moss covers the inside of the deep cut set inside the tunnel wall. Moisture has pooled along the inside of the cut, sustaining the growing moss.
sea You find an old skeleton tangled up in the moss.
Ant Larvae Nursery Molding vegetation covers the sandy walls in an uneven patchwork of colors. Tendrils of roots from trees somewhere overhead poke out from the walls and ceiling like fingers waiting to grab the unwary passer-by. The soft floor is littered with pieces of dark gray, flaking ant chitin.
roots tree ceiling tendrils The roots protrude from the wall and ceiling in many places and frequently show signs of being bit back by the ants' mandibles. In places it seems the roots are the only thing keeping the sand wall from eroding away altogether and collapsing inward to fill the cavern.
vegetation walls Decaying vegetation has attempted to grow on the sandy walls, and failed. Subdued shades of reds and greens splotch the yellows and browns of the sandy walls, all slowly fading to a gray color over the years.
chitin Sand that has been brushed and broken away from the walls lies in tiny drifts. Chitin from one or many long-dead ants lies dried and crumbled, abandoned to decay.
gross The small pieces of chitin are coated with a greying, dark slime, a result of its decayed state. Almost every piece crumbles easily and you can't find any pieces big enough to make it worth taking.
chgross You begins to reach down for a piece of decaying chitin, then stands back up with a queasy frown. search You look through the tendrils of the roots for anything of interest but find they are merely useless roots.
Ant Larvae Nursery The walls of sand and mud are lined with grooves from the occasional bump or scrape as ants pass by. Clots of dirt from the wall stand in small mounds on the floor where they are trampled into the soft sand that conceals the harder mud floor beneath. A frail moss has found a thin purchase among the hardened mud and is doing its best to prevent the erosion of the tunnels.
moss walls A clinging, green-brown moss seems to be the only thing holding large sections of the sandy walls together.
clots clumps mounds Little clots of dirt have fallen to the floor in mounds at the base of the wall.
thud A small chunk of the wall breaks away and crumbles to the wall increasing the size of a dirt mound at the base.
search A thorough examination of the dirt clot shows it to be nothing more than dirt.
rsearch You goes poking at dirt clots on the ground.
search Examining the moss you find it to be a small plant that spreads out over the wall in wide patches. Disturbing it the way you have causes several more chunks of dirt to fall to the floor.
rsearch You examines the moss and, in the process, looses a cascade of dirt clods to the floor.
Ant Tunnels - Sandy Passage The gnawed ends of roots poke through the dry soil where they are showing signs of decay amidst the humid air. The air to the north seems to be several degrees warmer and carries with it the stench of dying vegetation. The air is relatively still this deep in the tunnels so the change in the air, cooler and much less rancid smelling, is sudden and noticable to the south.
roots ends soil Gnawed and gnarled roots, their plumpness shriveling to nothing more than dessicated tendrils, poke through the soil of the tunnel walls and ceiling. Most of the ends have curled around in a last desperate attempt to return to the soil they mistakenly deserted.
Ant Tunnels - Sandy Passage The earthen strata shows definite alterations in the soil type. As the tunnel angles downward to the south the bands of dark, moist clay increase and run together until they presumably comprise the entire wall further into the darkness. Where the tunnel angles upwards to the north the dark bands disappear almost completely to be overtaken by the lighter sand and hardened clay.
Ant Tunnels - Sandy Passage The damp clay of the walls is speckled with the grit of dry sandy patches where the moisture has evaporated. Mold seems to proliferate around the rim of the opening where this tunnel opens eastward into another. Though the tunnel to the north narrows some it also slants slightly upward to a dryer zone of soil.
mold opening Mold, dull black in color, insinuates itself into the damp clay that forms the eastward egress into an adjoining tunnel. To the north, the appearance of the growth lessens as the tunnel rises toward drier ground.
The Ant Tunnels Small echoes reach your ears, indicating activity in other parts of the nest. Dust motes hang in the air of this dry tunnel, but from somewhere to the west, you hear the faint dripping of water. Eastward a faint, green glow eases the darkness somewhat; a darkness that only deepens as you travel further from the wan light source.
The darkness of this room is lessened by a faint glow from the eastern passageway. Perhaps you should investigate.
The Ant Tunnels This tunnel looks half-finished, the walls, floor and ceiling clotted and muddy. Footprints head east. Oddly, not all the footprints are those of ants. The sound of trickling water fills this cavern along with the vile stench of death, which comes from the north.
footprints While most of these footprints were obviously made by insects, some of them are those of a large biped, probably a human.
close A slimy mud wall blocks progress to the east.
already The mud to the east has already been cleared away.
dig You clear away the mud wall to the east.
rdig You clears away the mud wall to the east.
The Ant Tunnels The stench of death clings to the stale air and to the slime-covered mud walls. This tunnel looks to have been begun, then hastily abandoned. It is small and amorphous, the walls are rough, the floor swampy. On the ceiling is a large, vaguely rectangular hole. Directly beneath the hole is an old wooden coffin, rotted with water damage and caked with mud. hole This hole is just over six feet long and three feet wide. It looks as though the ants tunneled under something that later fell through the soft clay.
You open the warped coffin. The stench of death rises as a zombie sits upright, its claws extended.
ropen You opens the old coffin. The stench of death rises as a zombie sits upright, its claws extended.
scent Bile rises in the back of your through and the thick, vile stench of death fills your nostrils and seeps into your lungs.
Foot of a Muddy Slope An oozing sludge gathers here as water slides down a muddy slope to mingle with the already soft clay floor. The walls are rippled, glistening clay, dripping murky water. An acrid stench drifts through the icy air seeming to come from the west. A large tunnel heads west, or a muddy slope heads up to another tunnel.
Cold, Wet Tunnel Groundwater leaks through the clay ceiling and falls like cold, murky rain. The floor is covered with an inch-thick layer of water, rippling as drops break its gray-white surface. This tunnel bends east toward another tunnel or south toward an large chamber.
water floor layer The water here is cold and thick with mud. It gathered in grooves and pits worn into the soft clay floor.
Muddy Chamber This enormous chamber is roughly circular, the clay walls soaring to meet a ceiling twelve feet high. Thick, icy water congeals in sunken pits on the floor, and a deep, broad groove has been worn into the mud. The chamber narrows out to the north and heads toward a tunnel, while to the west it grows even larger.
The chamber narrows out to the north and becomes a tunnel leading into darkness.
Ant Queen's Chamber This muddy, water-soaked chamber is more than twenty feet across and almost as high. A broad, deep groove runs the length of the floor. A gray, slick ooze covers the floor. To the east, a large opening leads toward a wide tunnel. groove It would have taken a considerable weight to press this deep a groove into the clay.
Image: http://www.little-nerd.com/e107_files/public/1232083847_5_FT0_timetraveler.jpg Golden like showers
