After making rather good time through a long stretch of the maze, you find yourself smack dab at what appears to be a dead end. Due to the good luck you have enjoyed in avoiding such blockades thus far it strikes you as only a very minor setback, and with a shrug you turn to head back the way you came.
The first indication that the supposed dead end is not what is seems is when you catch your foot on something and are sent sprawling onto the ground. You rise with a groan and cast your gaze along the ground, searching the covering of leaves and other decaying debris for what caused your fall. The offending object is partially hidden under a patch of sod, but vigorous scraping at it reveals a metal ring attached to something lurking just under the ground. As is often the case, curiosity gets the better of you and you find yourself tugging upon the ring with as much force as you can muster. For a moment it doesn't seem as if whatever is buried will yield itself to your eyes, but with a sudden snapping sound a large patch of earth comes up along with the ring, revealing the rotting and now broken remains of a wooden door below.
Peering down into the hole formed by the disengagement of a large chunk of the door, you see a set of rough earthen steps leading down into the ground. It doesn't take much effort to shift the remaining portion of the door out of the way, and after taking some hesitant steps down to the bottom of the stairs a long tunnel stands revealed. What might ordinarily be viewed as a root cellar is given new meaning by its placement in the maze, and you ponder all of the potential uses such a tunnel could have. A secret passage to the center of the maze? A special exit route for people who get tired of wandering in vain? A hidden still from years long gone, overlooked when the maze was erected? Extremely interested in finding the truth of the tunnel's purpose, you give one last look back up to the surface before steeling yourself against the somewhat dank and foreboding nature of the tunnel and pushing forward into the dim interior.
The tunnel gets progressively darker the further you go, as tunnels are wont to do. After turning two corners it becomes impossible to see, and you begin to find your way by feeling along the wall. The further you go the more oppressive the atmosphere becomes, giving birth to a unease within you. The stifling smell of mold develops after you have felt your way past two more turns, and you begin to regret coming down into the hole. Fears start to claw at your mind, and you decide to turn back before you are eaten by a grue or meet some equally horrific fate. However, just as you are about to turn around you spot a faint glimmer of light somewhere ahead.