Khaltar remained silent for a moment, processing everything Gorim had told him. Then, with a furrowed brow, he asked, "But why haven't you swum through the underwater tunnel like we did? It leads out of the cave, at least to somewhere else."
Gorim let out a low, bitter chuckle, shaking his head. He stared at the ground, his rough fingers tracing the haft of his axe as if the weight of his own thoughts were heavier than the weapon itself.
"Because," Gorim murmured, his voice barely above a whisper. "Every dwarf knows what lurks in Gehenna… the ghouls."
The air in the cave seemed to drop in temperature. A tense silence fell over the group, the flickering torchlight casting jagged shadows on the walls. Nadra stiffened. Hadeefa clutched her cloak a little tighter. Even Yaraq, always brash and confident, felt the hair on his arms rise.
"Ghouls?" Khaltar repeated, his voice calm, but his grip on his sword tightening.
Gorim sighed, rubbing his temples as if pushing away dark memories. "Aye. Gehenna is cursed. The drowned, the lost, the forsaken—all of them become part of it. It ain't just water down there, lad. The deeper you go, the closer you get to their grasp." He lifted his gaze, his weathered eyes filled with something unspoken. "You think I stayed here because I wanted to? I tried once. Thought I could make it out. But I saw them. Felt them."
Yaraq smirked, crossing his arms. "Well, you don't have to worry about them anymore, old man. Khaltar broke the bridge. So those ghouls won't be reaching us anytime soon."
For a moment, Gorim just stared at him. Then, suddenly, he burst into laughter—a deep, wheezing cackle that echoed through the cavern. He clutched his stomach, shaking his head as he gasped for breath.
"By the Forge, you mean to tell me… you saved your people by trapping them inside a cave?!" He wiped a tear from his eye, his laughter only growing louder. "Guess the Silver Axe and dwarves might be related after all—both blessed with the same legendary level of stupidity!"
His laughter turned almost maniacal, echoing tYaraq smirked, crossing his arms. "Well, you don't have to worry about them anymore, old man. Khaltar broke the bridge. So those ghouls won't be reaching us anytime soon."
For a moment, Gorim just stared at him. Then, suddenly, he burst into laughter—a deep, wheezing cackle that echoed through the cavern. He clutched his stomach, shaking his head as he gasped for breath.
"By the Forge, you mean to tell me… you saved your people by trapping them inside a cave?!" He wiped a tear from his eye, his laughter only growing louder. "Guess the Silver Axe and dwarves might be related after all—both blessed with the same legendary level of stupidity!"
His laughter turned almost maniacal, echoing through the tunnels. The others stared at him, unsure whether to be amused or deeply concerned. Khaltar rolled his eyes, while Nadra groaned, rubbing her temples.
"Well, I didn't hear you coming up with a better plan," Yaraq muttered, though the corner of his mouth twitched.
Gorim wheezed, still chuckling. "Aye, lad, that's fair! But next time, try to save your people without sealing them inside a deathtrap, eh?"
Through the tunnels. The others stared at him, unsure whether to be amused or deeply concerned. Khaltar rolled his eyes, while Nadra groaned, rubbing her temples.
"Well, I didn't hear you coming up with a better plan," Yaraq muttered, though the corner of his mouth twitched.
Gorim wheezed, still chuckling. "Aye, lad, that's fair! But next time, try to save your people without sealing them inside a deathtrap, eh?"
Nadra, the youngest among them, stepped forward, her dark eyes flashing with frustration. She clenched her fists, her voice sharp as a blade.
"Why are you laughing?!" she snapped, glaring at Gorim. "You're both acting like this is some kind of joke! We're trapped in a godforsaken cave, and you—an old man who should know better—are laughing about it?!"
Gorim's chuckles faded slightly, though a smirk remained on his lips. He scratched his beard, looking at her with something between amusement and pity. "Oh, lass… If you don't learn to laugh at misery, you'll go mad before the darkness takes you."
Hadeefa, the elder woman, nodded at Nadra, her voice calmer but just as firm. "Enough with the riddles, Gorim. Tell us the truth. Is there really no way out?"
Gorim sighed, leaning his weight against his axe. His smirk disappeared, replaced by something heavier. "I've been here for decades, woman. I've mapped every tunnel, crawled through every crevice, and risked my neck more times than I can count. There's no way out."
The words hit like a hammer. A tense silence followed.
Nadra's breath hitched. "No. That can't be true." She turned to Khaltar and Yaraq, searching for any sign of disagreement, any hope that the dwarf was wrong. But their faces were unreadable.
Hadeefa's brow furrowed. "You've been alone all this time?"
Gorim shrugged. "Aye. I've seen others come and go—travelers, scavengers, poor fools seeking shelter. None made it far. The tunnels take them. The ghouls, the beasts, the hunger. If they don't die fast, they die slow. Only difference is how much they scream."
Yaraq scoffed, crossing his arms. "You're saying you survived but no one else did? What makes you so special, old man?"
Gorim smirked again, tapping the hilt of his axe. "Because I know when to fight and when to run. And, lad—" he looked Yaraq dead in the eyes, his voice dropping to a growl, "I never run."
Khaltar exhaled, rubbing his temple. "So what, then? We just rot in here?"
Gorim shrugged. "That depends on how much you like the taste of worms."
Nadra shook her head, taking a step forward, her frustration boiling over. "No. I refuse to believe that." She pointed toward the distant tunnels. "There has to be a way. If there was a way in, there's a way out."
Gorim gave her a long, measured look. Then, slowly, he chuckled again—this time not in mockery, but with something resembling admiration.
"Hah… You've got fire, girl. Reminds me of someone I used to know."
Arianne, who had been quiet until now, finally spoke up. Her voice was steady, though the dim torchlight revealed the tightness in her jaw.
"Enough arguing." She looked at each of them, her sharp green eyes cutting through the tension. "If we're stuck here, we need a plan. Sitting around bickering like old men at a market stall won't help us."
She crossed her arms. "We need food and water first. If we're traveling through these tunnels, we'll need supplies—whatever we can find. And we need a way to make sure we don't get lost."
Yaraq frowned. "And how do you plan on doing that? Marking the walls? You think we'll have time to scratch runes into the stone while ghouls are breathing down our necks?"
Arianne didn't flinch. "No. We use rope."
Khaltar raised an eyebrow. "Rope?"
She nodded. "We tie it to something here and let it unspool as we move. That way, no matter how deep we go, we have a way to backtrack. If things go wrong, we follow the rope home."
Gorim snorted, shaking his head. "Clever, lass. But useless if something down there cuts the rope."
Arianne didn't back down. "Then we check it constantly. Reinforce it if we have to. Unless you've got a better idea, Gorim?"
The old dwarf grumbled but said nothing.
Hadeefa nodded in agreement. "It's a smart plan. If we don't find an exit, at least we won't starve to death in the dark."
Nadra sighed, rubbing her arms. "And where exactly are we getting all this food and rope?"
Arianne turned to Gorim. "You've survived here for decades. There has to be something. Caches, old supplies, anything."
Gorim scratched his beard, exhaling. "Aye… There might be something. The dwarves had storerooms once. But if they're still intact, that's another question."
Yaraq smirked. "Then we find out. Better than waiting here to die."
Gorim chuckled darkly. "Fine, fine. But if something eats you along the way, don't come haunting me."
Arianne turned to the rest. "We start gathering now. Food, water, rope—whatever we can carry. If we're doing this, we do it right."
Hadeefa folded her arms and frowned. "This cave is just another underground cavern, not some dwarven stronghold. There are no vaults, no storerooms 'made by dwarves.'" She glanced at Gorim. "The storerooms you mentioned must be in another cave."
Gorim let out a deep sigh, rubbing his temple. "Aye, they are. If they still exist at all." He looked at the dark tunnels ahead. "It would take at least two days to reach them. And that's if we don't get lost. Or eaten."
Arianne, impatient with the back and forth, raised a hand. "Then forget the storerooms. We use what's here."
Yaraq scoffed. "What exactly do you think we can use? Stones and dust?"
Arianne shot him a sharp glare. "Roots, wood, vines—we can make rope. There's water down here somewhere; otherwise, Gorim wouldn't have survived. We fish, we catch salamanders and rats, maybe even a cave goat if we're lucky. Mushrooms grow in damp places."
Khaltar looked skeptical. "You want us to eat rats?"
Arianne rolled her eyes. "You'd rather starve?"
Nadra made a face. "But how do we know what's safe? Some mushrooms can kill you."
Gorim chuckled darkly. "The dwarf's right, lass. Pick the wrong one, and you won't have to worry about getting out of here."
Arianne sighed. "Then we test them. Small bites, wait a few hours. Or better yet, Gorim, you tell us which ones won't kill us."
Gorim grumbled but nodded. "Fine. I'll help. But don't go crying if you don't like the taste."
Hadeefa tapped her chin. "And what about fire? If we're going to cook anything, we need a heat source."
Arianne gestured to the scattered deadwood and dried vines along the cavern floor. "There's enough to start small fires, at least for a while. We ration what we have, use it wisely."
The group fell into a brief silence, considering the plan. Finally, Yaraq smirked. "Alright. You seem to know what you're doing. Let's see if you can turn rats and mushrooms into a feast."
Arianne gave him a flat look. "You'll be the first one I serve."
With that, the group split up, each taking on a task. Some searched for food, others for water, and a few gathered vines and wood. The cave was no dwarven fortress, but if they worked together, it just might be enough to survive.