Adventure of Quorpeck.5

The Goblin Trader throws himself at the seam in the cavern wall, knife tucked tight in one hand. The prophecy stone whines like a struck bell, and the wet floor splits with a sharp, ugly crack under his feet.

Dust rains from the ceiling in gritty veils. The goblin jerks a look back at Quorpeck, wide-eyed and pale, then shoves hard at a hidden panel already half-swallowed by shadow.

Another tremor rolls through the cove. The prophecy stone flickers wild, throwing long, broken shadows over the rune channels as pebbles skitter past Quorpeck’s boots.

The hidden panel gives way with a rasp of stone on stone, opening a narrow dark passage behind the goblin.

Quorpeck lunges for the prophecy stone as the pedestal shudders under the quake. His gauntleted hand clamps down on the cold, humming slab, and the pedestal cracks beneath it.

The stone tears free with a harsh grind of grit and chiseling rune-light. A spark bites Quorpeck’s palm through the glove, and the glow gutters to a dim, stubborn pulse.

The Goblin Trader flinches at the flash, then bolts through the opened passage, knife still in hand, shoulders hunched low against the falling dust.

Stone chips rattle down around Quorpeck’s boots as the cavern answers with another low, warning groan. In the trader’s wake, the dark passage swallows his shape, but his terror leaves the Black Ledger’s secret hanging in the air.

Quorpeck turns with the stone in hand and steps after him, the passage yawning narrow and black ahead.

Quorpeck catches the Goblin Trader at the passage mouth and hauls him back by the shoulder, the dwarf’s armored bulk driving through the dust with sheer force. The trader yelps, knife arm thrown wide as the hidden tunnel mouths black around them.

Quorpeck does not let go. He surges into the passage and drags the trader with him, forcing the goblin to run or be hauled along the stone seam. Dust pours from the ceiling behind them as the cove groans louder.

The tunnel tightens, but the trader is cornered in Quorpeck’s grip and the way ahead is now chosen. Behind them, a slab crashes somewhere in the cavern, sealing the retreating darkness with a thunderous ring.