I spent a good twenty minutes finding a safe path down into the cave, always sure to have a good footing in the grass. After a few more moments, I reached what looked to be the bottom, as the cave had leveled out. The vines were still thick this far down, still getting their fair share of sunlight. I did not feel remorse about cutting them down however. I wanted the sunshine to be in view as long as possible. But the sunlight could only make its way so far into the depths of the cavern, and soon left the daytime in my wake.
Occasionally I felt the cool breeze rustle against my clothes, making its way towards the entrance. I started to wonder about last night, if it was possible that this was the same breeze I felt on the top of the hill. Could it have come all the way from down below, deep within the cave? Was this cave bigger then I had originally thought? What was more disturbing than the breeze was the grass still beneath my feet. “I have to be at least two hundred yards in from the bottom of the entrance, and yet the grass continues to grow. This grass has never seen the sunlight, and most likely doesn’t see much water in this dry and rocky cave. What other mysteries surround this cave?”
Before I had realized my mistake, I was tumbling down a steep ravine, having been too busy searching the ceiling for signs of water seepage. Luckily the incline evened out quickly, receiving only minor bruising on my legs. My misstep had cost me though, having dropped my torch to stop my fall with my hands. I looked around quickly, hoping to find the spot of either the torch or my satchel. Darkness had surrounded me, so the torch must have gone out. “Great, I fall down in a cave in which I am unfamiliar with, and now I have lost not only all my tools, but my sense of direction as well. And now it’s pitch black around me, with who knows what’s out there. Dammit, all I need is the satchel to get another piece of wood so I can make another torch, with magic or whatever.” Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glint of something shiny. I cautiously shuffled my over to it, hoping to avoid another chasm. When I reached it, I touched it gently with my fingers, unsure if anything around me could be trusted. The object seemed metallic and cold to the touch. Once again the object formed a glint on one of its edges. I realized that the only possible way for a glint to appear was to have some sort of light shining upon it. I quickly turned around, trying to find the source of the light, but took me a few moments to figure out where it had come from. Far up above me, I could see my torch that I had dropped, and the top of the ravine. What struck me as odd was its position. “My torch is standing upright, as if someone had stuck it firmly into the ground. How strange. It’s not possible it did so after I dropped it, the stick doesn’t weigh enough to force itself into the ground.”
The still lit torch provided more light than I had originally thought, and showed the position of my satchel, lying open at the foot of the hill. Lying partially out of the satchel was the pickaxe, as if on purpose. I glanced back at the metallic object, and understood the reason the man gave me the pickaxe. “I’m not sure how this object is going to help in building a better home, but hopefully I can at least save some to take home. I’m sure it’s worth a fortune!” I created another torch, and made my way back over.
What seemed like hours went by as I hacked away at the metallic object embedded in the wall, slowly chipping away the chunks. I made sure to grab each and every bit, but the thought didn’t occur to me until I was almost finished - *I must have put a good three hundred pounds of this object into my satchel, and yet without realizing it, it all kept fitting, and did not add any weight!* I wanted to keep mining for this material, but it seemed to be all hacked away.
*SPLOT* As the time passed, I had forgotten that I was still inside the cave, and unsure if I was alone. *SPLOT* The noise echoed again around me, having a good feeling it had come from deeper within the cave. *SPLOT* It was louder, and seemed to be quickly approaching. I set down my torch, and was amazed to see it stand itself upright! “Not only is the gel magic, but the wood must be magi-“ *SPLOT!* I was too busy admiring the magical stick when something wet and rubbery slammed against my face, knocking me to the ground. This time I managed to hold onto my satchel, and drew out my sword. I looked down at my feet as I lied on my back, and could see a blue slime wiggling like Jell-O in the light of the flame. It jumped once more, and with closing my eyes, swung my sword and hoped to make contact before it landed on me.
I felt the sword slice through the gelatinous creature, and heard it hit a close wall to my right. I opened my eyes, and could see it still alive at the bottom of the wall. I got up, waiting for another attack. After a few seconds, I noticed it was not about to attack, so I made the move, rushing in. It hopped towards me just as I came near, and nearly missed my face. One lucky slash is all it took, its movements stagnant.
I started to pick up the gel, when I heard another splot, far down the hall. My gathering quickened, as I was in no shape to try to fight again. I also knew that there was bound to be many more.
The hill I had fallen down didn’t seem to be as steep as I originally thought, though there were a few spots I had to jump to, to continue upwards. I jogged down this next hall, seeing the sunlight hitting the bottom of the entrance in the distance. “Shoot, I forgot the torches! Oh well, I have a feeling that I’ll be returning tomorrow, so I guess I can just leave them there. I wonder how long the magical gel with burn for though?” It felt great to get the soft feeling of grass under my feet as I reached the bottom of the entrance. Along the way up, I could see the vines I had chopped down, crumpling under my feet. I looked up to see where I had chopped them off, and made a startling discovery – the vines had already started growing back! Some had even grown over a foot long, yet I had only been in the cave for a few hours!
“Ah, Tydides, good to see you again!” The man stood at the entrance to the cave, his arms crossed with a big grin on his face. “I hope you made good work with your time spent down in the cave, it has some valuable materials hidden deep within. Let me see what you have found.” The man extended his arm, his hand open to me. I pulled out a piece of the metallic object, and put it in his palm. “Mmm, copper ore. While not very valuable, it is good for a beginner like you.”
“Excuse me, beginner?” I took offense to the term, yet I had no idea why. “I don’t see what qualifies me as a beginner. And if this is copper, it is definitely of quality and value!”
“I apologize Tydides, it’s just that you haven’t shown me much in a way that I should be confident in your building abilities. I passed by your shack on the way here, and I should tell you that one of the walls fell over. A cute bunny has made itself a home inside, though. I’m sure he’ll be quite comfortable there. You, on the other hand, need something a little more fitting for a human.” He threw the copper ore back in my direction, me barely catching it. “As for that ore, you will soon find many other much more valuable items back behind you, buried within the darkness. I should also mention that in this land, life is more valuable than objects. I hope you remember that,” the man winking as he said this.
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