Descending the Temple Depths

- Dirk -

While cleaning your machete, you almost think you spot a small glint of light from it, but maybe it was just a reflection? Anyway, it is gone by the time you move out.

- Rook -

Scouting ahead is hard with all the chatter from those following not far behind --talk is good, though and important to keep the morale up-- and the inconstant light from the occasional glowing fungus forms pools of darkness that each could be hiding more creepy-crawlies.

The shifting and moving glow from the weapons behind you cast your own shadow out in front down the corridor.

The architecture becomes more complex. There are now doorways on either side of the passage, leading to rooms that --in the wan fungal light-- appear empty at a casual glance.

What do you all do?

- Dirk -

The mushrooms smell unpleasant, and handling them makes your skin tingle, but you manage to collect a goodly amount of the glowing ones.

Adding them together in a bunch makes the light-source bigger, but not significantly brighter. At least you can move them to where you need them.

- Dirk -

This rooms looks like it might have been library or study a long time ago. The walls show signs that they had copious shelves lining them, but all the wood and books has been eaten by time and rot.

Another room has a solid stone table in the middle with, possibly, the faintest outline of carvings on it, buried under the moss if you choose to dig. You can not see enough to discern their intended meaning.

- Dirk and Deoring (and anyone else checking the rooms) -

Most of the corridors and rooms down here appear to have been untouched for... centuries? It is hard to say, but the thickness of the moss growth and rings(†) on the fungus suggest a very long time.

On the way out of the side-room, there are what look like signs of a more recent (though still pretty old, and covered-over) 'human activity'. There are gouges in the moss and the mushrooms are all newer-looking, like someone tried to clear them away a few decades ago.

Any 'reasons' for such activity is unclear at a casual examination.

- Dirk -

It might be that the type and shape of the previous clearing work indicates some form of makeshift fortification or barrier. Why someone would do that you can not tell.

There are no pages left after centuries of decay, but a few covers were made of something like resin covered metal and some pieces remain, just enough for you to assemble a guess about the language used.

• Why is the language the glyphs suggest really bad news for all of you down here?
• Do you tell the others what you find?

- Roald -

The moss feels about as dry as it always was, but it will take a long time for water to make its way through such a absorbent system of porous plan-matter.

The springy and undulating floor-covering makes it almost impossible to guess if you are going up- or downhill, or keeping to a level, there have been no stairs, so far. Maybe you can devise a way to tell as you progress?