Grapple held on with the fingers of his right hand to the ledge above him as his body precariously swung over the edge of what seemed to be a bottomless black pit.
"Nice trap," he said out loud as he swung his left hand back up to the ledge.
Fortunately for him, his torch had fallen just on the other side of the trap door as it had released and nearly claimed his life. The fire still burned and illuminated just enough of the cavern tunnel for him to see around him.
It appeared that the trap door had been constructed to give way just as someone put his or her weight onto it. The thing must have been expertly camouflaged for him not to notice it.
He was already on edge for having dodged the toxic darts, the spikes from the ceiling, and whatever it was that had attacked him as soon as he entered the dark and winding tunnel.
Grapple cursed as he sought a better purchase with his feet.
"Dwarves and their traps," he spat as he pulled himself up over the ledge and back onto what he hoped was solid ground.
A distant thud told him that the trap door had finally found the bottom of the darkness below him.
Grapple let out a low whistle as he stood to his feet and retrieved his torch.
"Some fall," he said even as his voice echoed throughout the tunnel.
He wasn't worried about anyone hearing him. Well, anyone still living anyways. The three skeletons of other treasure hunters had fallen at each trap Grapple had, so far, successfully maneuvered around.
It was a risky business to be sure. But to Grapple, the first one to successfully navigate the winding paths of the northern mountains and get this far into the tunnel where a treasure of untold value lay hidden, the rewards far outweighed the risks.
He surveyed the hall in front of him for as far as his torch would light.
Seems safe enough, he thought to himself with a mirthless chuckle.
Grapple knew these tunnels were far from safe.
Pulling at the short sword still sheathed on his belt to adjust it, he continued to walk down the corridor with a renewed light footedness.
Dwarves would gladly space their traps few and far between to let you think you have made it safely, just to ensnare you when you least expected.
Or, like this time, put the trigger to a collapsing wall right next to the previous trap because you normally assumed that there would be much more distance between dangers in a dwarven treasure tunnel.
His reflexes, lightning quick as they were, kept him from being squashed underneath a giant rock wall.
Unfortunately, his reaction had been to dive forward, and in so doing, he lost his torch to the crushing stone.
"Well planned, Grapple," he said in irritation with himself.
He hadn't wanted to do what he was about to.
Magic would make him much more easily detectable in these halls.
Still, the crushing darkness around him was already causing him to feel a bit claustrophobic.
He pulled out a simple stone that hung from a thin leather strap around his neck and spoke a few words into it.
A bright blue light began to emit from the stone and illuminate the passage before him. The necklace that hung around his neck would suffice for now.
Unfortunately, he was right about magic making him more traceable.
The walls around him began to glow with green runes just as the tunnel began to shudder.
"Time for haste," he said, abandoning caution and sprinting down the dwarven tunnel.
Whatever traps lay ahead would be quickly sprung.