31

The room was enormous, the ceiling went up so high, and ti seemed like forever before Les made it to the center of the room. The closer Les got to the other end of the room, the shinier it seemed to be to her. she wondered at this and crept closer to one of the places where the fire was low, so that she could examine the wall more closely. At this close range, she could make out fine details on the sides of the basin, in what looked to be gold. The detailing was so fine and intricate it almost completely blended in with the dirt colored walls. Standing this close with her nose inches form it, Les could see that it wasn't dirt but carved stone. Whoever built this place took a lot of time and energy. Les kept moving towards the other end and wondered at the craftsmanship of the thrones as it appeared more and more clear to her with every step. Cautiously, when she reached it, Les mounted the short steps that climbed the platform. The floor of it was also intricately adorned with the gold from the walls and shone brightly like recently buffed marble. It was beautifully done and put together. Les let her eyes trail to the chairs, they were an utter masterpiece.

30

The basin of fire was so bright, it lit up, what she now saw as, the whole cavern. the basin itself touched down at this height only a few times throughout the entire room. Otherwise it went up into large arches around the room. Where she now stood was barely into the room and center of the opening she came in from. At the far end of the room there was what looked like chairs on a stage, cut out of the stone and there was a hall to both the left and right of it. Upon further observation, Les determined that this must be what a throne room or a palace ballroom might look like, if it were underground. she wondered where it came from, and why the tunnel led to her room. Les picked up her lantern to walk towards the thrones. As soon as the lantern was out of the black water completely, the light went out. She set it back down abruptly. Likewise, the room lit up again. Les was hesitant to explore this room without her lantern, she didn't know how long the magic black water would burn. But then again, it did seem to be alive. Les took a deep breath and ventured forth, once more.