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I waited for roughly half an hour. No one jumped in.
Which was a good sign, after all they didn’t know if there was water or whatever down here. Sure, I wasn’t hurt. But what if I was? Normally I’d be dead, and they too if they’d jumped.
But since I wasn’t, I wanted to scream. I wanted to scream for help. Mom had been screaming my name the whole time. Yet, when I fell into the aerated water, I stopped hearing her. In fact, I didn’t hear anything anymore other than just the dripping sound. Besides, I could have sworn I saw the light disappear.
Screaming needlessly was only one reason for not screaming of course. The other one was simple. This was a cave. And judging by the severely connected and complicated flooring, it was some sort of dungeon or labyrinth. If there was one fiend, there had bound to be more. Giving them my location willingly when I had no real way to defend myself was the last thing I wanted.
My vision gradually got brighter and it was now I debated whether to venture forward or just stay put. They haven’t jumped and there’s no guarantee they will. Everything was connected in one way or another. So, there was a good chance I could leave this place. The hole above was already closing by the time I reached the water. Staying here didn’t guarantee Mom would come ....
But I had nothing to base that on. You’re not a kid anymore, stop panicking! I tapped on my shaking knees, trying to get some sense back into my body.
Sure, I was in a dungeon of sorts, alone. But I wasn’t completely powerless. If push came to shove, I could at least try to defend myself, even if... no, I didn’t want to die. Not again.
Should I cry? I’d tried before, to summon the goat. But she never came. So, taking that risk here, was a stupid idea.
I took a deep breath and a step. I confirmed whether the ground was really solid or not. Things were solid but I was somewhat traumatized from before. I carefully made my way to the door like opening. It didn’t lead down, but rather just straight. Which was good, because I was already pretty deep and didn’t want to just randomly keep going down to the center of the earth.
Heh, as if that was possible.
I could see pretty well now. But that was thanks to the glittering water. Wait... glittering water?
My dress was half drenched and also had a faint glow. I had no idea what that water even was but it didn’t hurt to carry some. I mean, GLITTERING WATER. So, I took out my waterbag and grabbed some water; less than a liter. I was not going to drink something so suspicious but as long as it was going to be my light source, I had no qualms.
How the hell did I not realize this sooner? When my eyes started adjusting, I didn’t even consider the possibility of the water being the light source... I probably registered that it was glowing but though nothing of it like an idiot.... I guess I was still a child in some departments. Which did mean one important thing- Be more mindful.
The water glowed through the bag. It was a faint glow like a small LED. But just that was enough to light up the dark. I waited another half an hour. Still nothing. Alright.
Looks older... the cave above was old but this place was probably older.
Took a lot of courage but I strode out. The hallway led straight, deeper. Crude walls, no sign of any fiends... and wait, there were no bugs here.
Doesn’t that mean there’s something worse? Or was it that most people didn’t come down here, so there was nothing to eat? The former seemed more plausible but I hoped that wasn’t the case. And if there really was some beastly thing in here, there was a good chance that thing would come to this room to drink the water, right?
Naïve? Sure. But I had to find a way to escape this place and survive.
I tried to tip toe as best as I could yet my steps reverberated. Just my steps, nothing else. I always had issues with cold damp places. Yet, for some reason I didn’t feel cold. Meaning this place was well insulated. And my dress was only half drenched. But I still should feel at least a little cold, right?
Trickle... some pebbles trickled down. I immediately took a defensive stance but there was nothing there.
Is there a floor above? If so, the possibility of someone being up was high. Or maybe there was a fiend up there instead.
I kept on walking cautiously. So far, I didn’t see any forks or stairs or holes or anything. No monsters, no bugs. It was both good and bad. Good because, I wasn’t in any imminent danger. Bad because it meant something worse could be around.
I’d played a lot of games in my life. I’d read a lot of novels. In a vast majority of them, stuff like this happened. The hero found himself in an impossible situation only to have a mysterious power awaken in him or maybe make a pact with something sealed in the depths of the ruins. But again, I wasn’t stupid enough to conclude I was some protagonist just because I’d been reborn. I was below average and had little to no chance of survival against a strong foe. Besides, I didn’t want to fight in the first place. If I could do without fighting, why wouldn’t I?
I reached the end of the corridor, and found my first fork. Two paths. Both lead the same way, down. Behind me there was only the glowing water room and nothing else. Maybe I should go back there and just wait.
But I didn’t have drinking water and I didn’t have any food. I was confident I could survive for a few days. But given how I was awfully young, I’d be in no condition to fight in that state. I wait a day, get weak, and then what? What if no help comes? What if someone convinces Mom that I’d be dead from a fall like that? Would I then just wait to die?
No.
I can’t... you can’t go back.
There was only one way forward.
And even if it meant going down to the depths of hell. I had to. I had to go forward.
Then again if there were fiends ahead, I wouldn’t mind just running back here....
***
I made a mental note of things that could go wrong and slowly descended. Despite being so far down, there were actual stairs. Carved into the earth. It did make me wonder whether this whole thing was man made or if people just came down here for some purpose and made it easier for them to explore. Considering the buildup of dust and the state of things, people hadn’t been here in ages.
The walls weren’t crude anymore. They were like actual corridors. And this place could change layouts and regenerate places? Who the fuck even built this? No, how did they build it?
But one thing was easy to understand, people in the past definitely used this place for something. Yet they had to abandon everything. Hmm...
I reached the end of the stairs and another hallway spread before me. This time, there were about five or six different paths, all going down. But why? Why was I just keep going down and down and...
No, this wasn’t good. At this rate I was just going to end up lost so-
So, I had to turn back and just stay put in the first room... or so I thought as I turned. But the stairs had disappeared.
“What the fuck...” the words leaked out. And it reverberated.
Trickle!
More and more pebbles trickled. Something was definitely above. But nothing on the ceiling. Seriously, what the fuck is going on?
I could of course stay here but I wasn’t sure how safe it was. It was warm, it was quiet but I had a feeling I couldn’t stay put, an instinct of sorts. And this baggy damp shirt was really getting annoyi-
Wait... the cloth had more or less been stuck to my body like it was wet. Which it kind of was but... I gently looked into my shirt, and stared at my arm. ‘It’s recovered?’ The scars were still there but the meat had regenerated. Somewhat.
Something dawned on me... a little too late, but... the aerated water was a healing spring. “Argh...” I sighed hard. How the hell did I forget common game sense, I had no idea.
But wait, I’d packed a liter worth of the stuff. That had to be worth something, right? Considering how Mom used herbs and bandages instead of that stuff, this was pretty rare....
So yeah, with a bit more confidence I drew a random number in my mind and went with descending stairs number 3.
Same with the next floor. The previous stairs disappeared and more and more stairs led down. Almost as though the dungeon itself wanted me to go down or something. However, the thing above just... got closer? I mean, we were still separated by a floor at least but it was definitely getting closer in a sense. I could actually hear its steps and even some growls. I considered it could be Mom. And though Mom was sort of a beast when it came to raw strength, she wasn’t a literal beast. That thing above was quadrupedal and I could bet my unborn children on that thing being vicious. I had no issues with betting unborn children on anything, cause well, they weren’t born yet.
Anyway, descending was a good choice. Leaving behind the healing spring probably wasn’t but what’s done is done.
Despite going down a few more floors, the scene didn’t change. It was almost as though I was just running around in circles. At least until I went down exactly 13 floors.
All of a sudden, the stairway leading up didn’t disappear and the corridor opened up in a big room. Yeah, I didn’t like where this was going. Not one bit.
This room had a striking resemblance to the one way above. However, it was larger, it was more archaic, and it gave me the shivers....
But wait, there were stairs on the other side. Stairs leading up. Temping as fuck.... No risks no merits... I really wanted to punch my subconscious but I took cautious steps. Confirming the floor wasn’t going to break, I made it into the large open room. I waited to hear any slithering or other sort of noise but nothing. Not even the growls or trickling from before. Which was good but... wait, this room wasn’t empty. Something was here. Something ... above. Why would a monster suddenly go silent....
Uh-uh...yeah- totally made sense. It stared at me as I stared back. Big red eyes, a perfectly white body that almost blended with the ceiling and scales. No, it wasn’t a snake... four legs and a tail. Yeah, totally made sense.... But I wished it didn’t.
Wham!
It crashed before me dusting up a cloud, but I jumped back just in time. I covered my eyes so I didn’t get dust in. “Cough! Cough!”
A lizard.
A big lizard, bigger than a monitor one: probably double. The scales were oddly similar to that of a Nile croc. In fact, it was basically the size of a salt water croc; but damn long neck.
Well, that’s not good.
I pulled out my knife and kept an eye on the exit so I could run? What exit? Both had disappeared.
Yeah, okay, so, this was definitely a boss room. “WAHHH!” I cried... nothing happened.
Nothing other than the lizard thing cackling. Oh yeah, thing was intelligent. “Stay away from me. Or my Mother would torch your fucking head and feed it to the fish.”
“Ke k eke!” It kept cackling and in a split second drew in lots of air and... “FUUU!!”
Blew it out in a yellow fashion. Houston, we had ignition!
“AHH!” I screamed and rolled.
Fucking hell it was a fire breathing lizard. No wings, and small as fuck but that thing was a dragon.
A DRAGON!
Lin
Lin was furious.
Not at the cave, or the people holding her down, but at herself. She did this. She was responsible for the boy. Sure, Sol was more mature than most boys his age, however, bringing him to a deadly cave she knew to be extremely dangerous, was the stupidest thing she’d ever done in her life.
At the time, she didn’t think much of it. Sol was at that curious age and he eventually had to learn how things worked. He had to learn just how dangerous the world truly was. That not every time Lin or Sisna was going to be there when a random tiger bit down on his arm. Even after having his arm nearly chewed off, Sol had hardly showed any signs of fear. In fact, the boy was now eager to learn how to hunt. And worse, Den even promised him that he'd take him to hunts from next year. So, she wanted to scare him a little. Perhaps to make up the excuse to keep him to herself for a few more years.
She knew the day would eventually come. The day when Sol would grow up and leave. However, before that... she could at least....
But again, her intention was only to scare him; they entered the cave, he started shivering. Since he was scared, it was all good. She fought the serpent, secured Derek, and all was good. Mission accomplished.
Crack.
Everything fell apart. In one fell swoop Sol fell, and the next thing she knew, the floor closed up. No matter how much she slammed the ground, nothing happened.
This wasn’t the first time she experienced the harshness of the west cave. Back in her early teens, she’d been naïve enough to come here alone and fight off a few giant spiders; Lin was young, had no real family, and wanted to prove herself to the world. Not because she wanted recognition but because she wanted to show the middle finger to everyone who thought she would die.
The spiders had her surrounded and she almost died. Or she would have, if the floor hadn’t caved in. She fell to the fourth floor where luckily, she met three brothers. Lin joined their party, and somehow made it back out alive. She’d grossly underestimated the cave, and the dangers it posed. “Teach me more about this place,” she said. Lin bent her ideals a little and put her pride aside for the first time.
She became friends with the brothers, and they were technically her first friends. Lin of course still valued her independence and only relied on the brothers in case she really needed their help. In return, she helped them out when they were in need. Together they dived into the cave again and again, hunted monsters, collected rare treasures and became somewhat famous in the village.
Lin came close to death on several accounts, so she knew just how dangerous the cave was.
Yet-
“You know the floor would only grow back stronger,” Xena said.
Derek was breathing quite heavily. The antidote was working but he’d lost a lot of blood and they had to get him medical attention right away. Xena alone couldn’t carry him back.
Yet, Lin couldn’t bring herself to move from the damn spot. Her heart raced, and squeezed in her chest. She breathed, she breathed and she breathed a ton, yet, air didn’t seem to get in.
“It’s alright,” Derek sweated, barely conscious. “Let her be...” He passed out.
Stomping her feet one last time, Lin grabbed one arm of Derek. “Let’s get him out. Zorin should send someone over, so stay put outside.”
“What about you?”
“I’m going in.” She was going to get Derek out, and then head straight back in. Lin knew how the cave worked, and she was confident she could find him... she had to!
Xena didn’t say a word. Given how long the fall was, Xena was sure the boy wouldn’t survive. But she prayed, at the very least his body didn’t show up at the entrance. She knew just how much Lin cared for the boy and just how devasted she’d be.
They reached the entrance and both of them heaved a sigh of relief. Sol’s dead body wasn’t here. Meaning the boy still had to be alive.
One thing bothered Lin. While there were multiple floors and rooms and paths in this cave. People who fell through the crack to the depths, usually didn’t show up at the entrance. So there really was a good chance Sol fell and died in the lower floors. The floors inaccessible through the typical pathways.
But-
But it still gave her hope. If he wasn’t here, he had to be alive. He just had to! “Alright- be careful-” Lin took off. Or would have, if something didn’t hold her down.
It was Derek, he’d regained consciousness and held the lady’s arm. “It’s suicide. The fourth floor is crawling with those things. Only one followed me up, but there were at least half a dozen.”
“I can take them.”
“No, you cannot!” He coughed, wheezed, but didn’t let go.
“Fucking let go!” Lin almost punched the man but stopped at the last second. “Please... He’s my boy.”
“I know,” he said. “Get some help, go!” He urged Xena, who for better or worse had frozen stiff.
But, with some egging on from her husband, she left.
Meanwhile, he still held Lin firm. “Look, I understand you want to run in there right now. I know you want to save him. But wait till Den and the rest get here. They’re your best bet to save him.”
“Den’s not here...” Lin groaned. “He left for Aihan....” She slammed her fist on the wall.
Each passing breath only made her chest grow heavier and her eyes moister. She could break into tears any moment now. Yet, she held everything back. She had to go back.
She just...
Sol...
.
..
...
Xena brought some help. Serec and Xerec.
“I’ll take him back. You three take a look,” Serec picked up Derek. “You put on some weight man,” like a potato sack.
“Shove it,” Derek mumbled.
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll get back as fast as possible!”
They left right away.
The three ran into the cave. Running was highly dangerous since the floors could break. Yet, Lin intentionally ran. If the floor broke, great!
They didn’t.
She passed the second floor, she passed the third, and on the fourth- there were six serpents. Mostly juvenile serpents. Perhaps the one on the second floor was one of their parents.
Hiss! They came in all together. Yet- Lin fired off all her arrows in a frenzy! Xerec swung his axe around with ease, as though it had no weight. While Xena covered them both.
The snakes were agile but they were hardly a threat. “We need to find another path,” Xerec said.
The way ahead was filled with poisonous blood from the snakes. They couldn’t risk going into that. There was always a chance more snakes would pile up here thanks to the smell of flesh and blood. Not just snakes, possibly something even worse.
But Lin knew the other path would only lead them back to the entrance. “No, we go-”
“No, we don’t. Your kid wouldn’t want you dead,” Xerec grabbed her and dragged her back.
“But I brought him here! I have to save him!”
“It’s not your fault man,” Xerec was at a loss for words. He just didn’t know what to say at these moments. “He’s a smart kid, he’ll stay put!”
If only that thin moron was here- or so he thought.
Xena too didn’t know what to say or do. From the moment the boy fell, she couldn’t believe her reality. It was her- she thought. It was her fault. The floor cracked when she took a step. And if she hadn’t moved, the floor wouldn’t have cracked anymore. If she just hadn’t gotten off... No, thinking about that wasn’t going to help. It cracked, he fell, and now they had to rescue him. That was it.
Yet...
Yet, she ground her teeth in frustration.
And although they did drag Lin back out, Lin almost overpowered Xerec who was touted to be the strongest Southerner in the whole village. “LET ME GO!” And she was relentless.
“We must wait till the venom disperses,” Xerec insisted.
“It’s going to take hours!”
“We’ll camp here,” Xena finally said. “We’ll. We’ll all stay here and-”
Lin was furious. She wasn’t furious at the others. But she was furious at herself. However- “No, go home. You have people who need you right now.” -However, she wasn’t completely overtaken with grief and rage.
