We then pass under an archway, and now the walls are made of carefully fitted together stones, all apparently of the same age and type. The floor, still made of packed earth, proceeds at a noticeable downward slant.
After a short distance, the hallway levels out and splits. There is a turn to the left, which you figure must go roughly west, and also a meter or two straight ahead the hallway opens into a larger darkness. I ignore both of those options, and instead pass through an archway on the right, lit up by more than merely my lone candle. Just before the light passes below the arch, plunging the rest of the hall into shadow, it seems to you that the texture of the floor farther ahead changes somehow.