Song of the Day Nineteen, The Cavern

Sword in hand, the hero descended into the pit that had only yesterday been a lake. Now, still dripping, the gaping maw of a massive cavern was accessible, an it was into this cavern the hero advanced. From this cave had pured forth all the evils the land had endured, and within it would the hero subdue the lord of the darkness. He was met with great resistance. Beings born of fire and forged of sin clamored about him, but could not harm him for the light of the scepter he held as a torch. The cave was deep, and pools of water were scattered about the ground. As he advanced, a drumming began to echo from the depths, and a feeling of foreboding grew in the hero's heart. He passed glowing stalagmites and menacingly sharp stalactites, which he feared would fall a skewer him. Yet he pressed on and didn't turn back. He felt his apprehension grow dark and dense, knotting his stomach in dread. The fiends about him suddenly scurried away as the hero stepped onto a ledge overlooking a massive room lit by blood-red candles and smoky with incense. A hulking form moved in the hellish twilight and the drums fell silent.