human
Create a brief description of a gloomy scene outside a wilderness cave with lanterns.
assistant
Once, lanterns might have lit the trail. Their corroded remnants hang from the leaning poles of lichen-eaten wood to either side of the path, barely visible in the oppressive gloom. Snatches of an overpowering, fetid stench ebb and flow on the musty air currents. The rock floor is almost glassy smooth, as if worn that way by countless footsteps.