Lion Head Mesa cartouche

"do you mean to drown us in a tomb of rock?" pharaoh demanded, though, as before, it was only a jest, only a joke, the hard words between them. and again, he wondered if satsu truly meant her ire. 
having inspected the area in the same manner, the royal began to cast about for this mentioned entrance, scuffling over rock roundnesses set against the ground.
"perhaps here," he offered in a smooth voice, using alabaster muzzle to push back the heavy fronds of a large fern. beyond, the looming darkness of a tunnel-way, and the scent of water upon the cooler air.
ramesses waited only a moment before he entered, shoulders brushing at once against the narrow walls.