Ding... Dong... Clang...
Underneath the snow-covered tundra, a dull thudding sound emerged from below the snow. A section of snow suddenly collapsed, revealing a dark hole.
Soon after, a Puki poked through the fragmented snow, ice shards clinging to its mushroom cap.
The Puki shook its body, then extended its mycelium tentacles to pull the two dwarves below out.
"How long... have we been crawling down there?" Pollock wiped his face, somewhat dazedly staring at the snow-falling Northern Territory, "Two days? Or three days?"
Gading lifted the forging hammer that was slightly deformed at the edges and complained, "If I'd known we'd have to chisel our way through, I would have brought a pickaxe no matter what!"
This underground tunnel crossing the Empire border wasn't a recent construction; Puki had initially dug it out with plenty of space.
