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The old shopkeeper wasn't joking when he said it was an arduous journey to the Woodland cave system. By my estimation, it would be a two-day journey until we reached it, and we would be traversing some very rough terrain! We were familiar with the river that he had told us about because a tributary of it flowed through our own land. Finding it was simple, but the problem was the land around it. For the entire journey, we would be walking uphill, and fighting our way over countless large boulders that covered the countryside. The dense forests further complicated matters, making it totally impossible to travel in a straight line. We checked our compasses faithfully and frequently, but we were still forced to make constant course corrections to keep from drifting hopelessly off course.
It was late afternoon, and we had been hiking for close to four hours when Hank suddenly reached out and grabbed my arm.
“Randy, don't move,” he whispered urgently. “Look over to your left.”
I did as I was told, and wished I hadn't almost immediately. Roughly a hundred feet away from where we stood was an absolutely enormous black bear! It was grazing quietly on some berry bushes and did not pay us any mind, but I was terrified none the less. I knew that bears roamed these forests, and I had even seen tracks on our land in the early days before our business kicked off, but I never imagined that they could get that large!
“It's fine, let's just give it a wide berth. It doesn't look like it's interested in anything but that berry bush at the moment.” Hank whispered in my ear.
I did as he suggested and we worked our way around the massive animal before correcting and getting back on course. After that encounter though we both were much more vigilant for other forest creatures. Thankfully, we did not see anything else for the rest of the day.
As the day slipped into the West and nightfall crept upon us, Hank and I decided to stop and rest for the night. We found a cleft in one of the large rocks large enough to protect us from the elements and made our primitive camp there. We both broke into our rations and ate quietly, resting and thinking about the day that we had experienced. Finally, after some time, I spoke up.
“You know, Hank, the shopkeeper said that the caverns connected the Woodland realm to other areas.”
“Yes, what about it?”
“Well, I was thinking. How easy would it be for an animal like that bear we saw to wander in there and end up in a different environment? Or worse, wander in and get hopelessly lost?”
Hank was silent for awhile before answering.
“Pretty easy, I suppose.”
“Exactly. And if these caves lead to entirely different areas of the server, who knows what sorts of creatures could be lurking there. We need to be extremely vigilant when we go inside.”
“You're right. But the reality is that either way, we're going into that cave. We've come too far to turn back now.”
“I know that, Hank. I'm just thinking out loud. I'm nervous I guess.”
“I'm nervous too. But we'll get through this. And when we get back we'll shove it in the faces of all those lazy lumberjacks as well as the man from the Environmental League!”
“I agree,” I answered, feeling somehow rejuvenated. “Now let's get some sleep!”