Khalid paused at the edge of the hallway, eyes narrowing at the secret door they’d just uncovered. He tilted his head, considering it for a moment, then looked to the others.
“Let’s mark it,” he said, tapping the frame with his knuckle. “We'll come back once we’ve finished sweeping the right-hand path. I don’t want anything behind us when we go deeper.”
The group nodded in agreement, falling back into formation as they turned west.
They entered a large, rectangular chamber, arranged mostly north to south. The air here was still, thick with dust and the faint scent of rot and mildew. It was clear this place had once served a purpose—rows of crumbling bed frames, rotted footlockers, and collapsed benches made it easy to guess that these had once been guard barracks.
Now, only ruin remained.
To the south, a set of stone steps descended into darkness, the stairwell yawning like an open throat. Where it led, none could say—not yet.
Instead, they turned north, following the path through a series of unremarkable rooms, each one more empty and time-worn than the last. Dust thickened, footprints marked their passage, but nothing stirred.
At last, they reached a door, its frame bowed slightly with age. Beyond it, they stepped into a familiar space—the cell room where they had first encountered the sinspawn, now quiet once more.
Retracing their steps, the group cut back toward the southeast, aiming to uncover the last corners of this level.
Their path brought them to a new chamber, and this one opened with more grandeur than most—a wide, half-circle room, its curved wall lined with giant brick ovens, long cold. Beneath the ovens, blackened pits and iron spits for roasting still remained, some warped and sagging with age.
The air carried the scent of old soot and long-dead fire.
This had once been a great kitchen—one meant to feed many. Now, only shadows dined here.
Gundar holds a fist in the air. Shhh! I hear somethin' rustlin' 'round one of them ovens.. He then points towards the southernmost oven.
"Agree. I hear it too." Verilich will launch into the air and scout from 10' above to investigate.
From 10' up, Verilich is unable to see inside the oven, except for the areas closest to the front.
"I don't hear anything," Khalid says as he advances into horsechopper range of the indicated oven.
Caius, taking his cue from Gundar and Verilich, will advance to open the oven.