: Actually "entombed" is a pretty harsh word. It
: would tend to mean that when all those tons of rock
: came crashing down, the dwarves left inside were
: doomed to die by starvation. If they had escaped they
: wouldn't have been _entombed_ now would they?
They wouldn't have been entombed *any more*, but that doesn't mean that they weren't entombed initially--that is, simply trapped in a tomb-like space completely enclosed by solid rock. Entombed *can* just mean "buried," you see--and I've seen it used that way more than once--although the most literal meaning is admittedly "buried until death".
Alternatively, ten thousand Dwarves *could have* died in there, so that they were entombed in the most literal sense--but meanwhile a few other Dwarves could have hit upon an escape route and made it out.
--SiliconDream
