The Heart of Fang

The gaping maw before him was breathtaking. Tarmen felt a small tinge of excitement within him, urging him into the darkness.
Gripping the rope he had brought, he pulled himself away from the alluring void. He needed to
He had only brought a few torches, just enough to get him here and back.
He had used less before though.
For the town's safety, yeah.

He made his first steps tenuously, making several hard taps to test the rock's strength as he hugged the left wall. He had left himself in the dark for this part, fully aware that he could never memorize the way back with just his sight. Instead he had secured the rope to a pillar near the opening and now trailed it behind him, pulling it taut every few feet to ensure its security.

While vast, the cavern seemed to lack any sinkholes or side tunnels, trailing ever forward. He had already lost track of time, unsure if he had been walking for minutes, hours, inches or miles. The only true sense of distance for him was the fact he had already tied the other length of rope he had to his life line. The sounds reverberated all around him, pounding his ears in a way that invigorated the excitement swirling in his chest. In this endless darkness, he had a taste of pure freedom. The first he had had since arriving.
In his jubilation he missed the slight decline he had been led to, only noticing it when he missed a step and slipped. His gut twisted at the thought of sliding into oblivion, but his rope held firm as his hands were dragged a few more feet. He had forgotten what a good rope burn felt like and by Zin was it making up for lost time.
This did give him the chance to realize he had yet to find an end to the cave, still only having the one wall to lean on to get him up. A quick check of his person discovered no serious wounds, but a slickness that could be blood or cave slime was now apparent.
Choosing slime until he could see again, he wiped off what he could and moved on. Not even ten more steps were gained when his foot bumped into a wall. Thinking he had finally reached the end, he gave the surface a grateful pat, only to freeze at its touch.
This rock was different. He guided his hand over a greater swath to be sure and was not disappointed. Smooth, it was too smooth to be natural. The more he felt, the more he recognized the precise angles of stone cutting and grooves signifying rock stacked on one another.
His trip out of the cave was a much quicker ordeal, the excitement in him nearly bubbling over. If the tribesmen were too scared to work, then maybe he could convince them to rediscover a part of their past.