Turn 2
Dame Simonetta leads the way through the tight-squeeze passage. In some places there is enough clearance she can crawl on all fours like a cat, but in other places she must wriggle on her belly like a snake. There are some less claustrophobic sections where she can bring her knees up to her chest, and feels like maybe she could reverse direction if necessary, or two Hobbets could squish past each other, but then there are tighter sections where she can just barely fit her shoulders with her arms stretched out in front of her. For her first time
spelunking, she does alright. 10'... 20'... 30'... 40'... 50'... 60'...
Turn 3
Dame Simonetta sees the tunnel ahead of her widen into a large, high-ceilinged cavern (Area 2 on the map). She wriggles her arms, head, and shoulders free of the passage to get a better look. The cavern is packed full of enormous white puffballs, like a flock of sheep. All is still and quiet, save for an occasional
drip of water from the ceiling high above and out of range of her lantern light.
Before
Simonetta can pull her hips and legs out of the tunnel, she is
sucker punched from above, never saw it coming! She feels a quick smack to the back of her head, her neck whiplashes, and her face connects with the stone floor. Adrenaline takes over as
her nose is broken and
she drops the lantern!
The long shadows flicker at crazy funhouse angles as the lantern rolls across the floor and comes to rest against a puffball. The light sputters but blessedly does not go out. Dame Simonetta wipes blood from her face with the back of her hand, and sizes up her assailant: A pale, shaggy, cave-adapted creature, twice the size of a Hobbet. It resembles something you would find in nature, but somehow twisted and
wrong. A eight-legged, horned goat, with a spider's abdomen and sting! It rears back with its front hooves in the air, opens its billy-goat mouth, and uncorks its baleful
baaaaaa!!!
Dame Simonetta, your turn! The others are behind you in the tunnel and can't see what's going on. It's all up to you.
Willie sees Dame Simonetta's feet kick in surprise!
The rest of you hear sounds of a struggle, but it's hard to tell what's happening.
What do you do?
Full size image:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/abdaGPbjkdkBkvv58