At the moment, I’m not really putting up a full chapter, but it’s probably easier to read this way.  Again, this is part of my NaNo project, so it’s unedited.

Previous installments.

(image by Dave Bunnell, wikipedia, CC-SA)

The cavern was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen.  Filled with gigantic crystals which appeared to glow from within, they shimmered and glinted like ice.  But, unlike ice, the cavern was hot, almost unbearably so; the air felt thick with humidity. The crystals sprouted haphazardly from both the floor of the cave and the ceiling.  Many of the crystals were taller than the houses in Knell, and the width of a few feet. On the floor, near the base of the crystals, grew hundreds of mushrooms and other strange plants.   It was as if a rival world were growing here, beneath the surface of the jungle island.

It took a few minutes to regain our senses.  Gael ventured further into the space, stopping by one of the larger crystals, to examine it.  He tapped his sword against the side, and the crystal chipped, sending shards in all directions.

“What do you think it is?” I asked.

“I doubt it is any substance of value, no matter how pretty it is” Gael bend to pick up a shard.

“Why do you say that?”

“Too soft.  Crystals of value are usually harder; doesn’t scratch. And clarity is also an issue.”

“Since when do you know anything about stones?”

“I do read, you know.” He held the chipped stone out to me. “Here, you can probably keep that if you like.  A souvenir.”

I pocketed the chip, and Gael grinned at me. “What makes them glow?”

Gael bent down to examine the base of the large crystal, and pointed to the mushrooms which grew around the edge. “I think it’s these, actually.”

He picked a few mushrooms, holding them up to prove their bioluminescence, and placed them inside his pack, shrugging his shoulders at me when he noticed my questioning stare.  I fingered the chip in my pocket as I walked deeper into the cavern, trying to make sense of the sight, when I heard a sound.  Faint at first, but growing gradually, I realized it was coming from another doorway on the far end.  The shuffling of feet, many feet by the sound of it.  Gael pulled me backwards, down to a small space between two crystals, and held his sword in front of us, no doubt as a precaution, should our hiding place fail.  The torch was propped between another wall of crystals, and I hoped the flickering would not give us away.

The view of the doorway was obscured, but after a moment, two figures emerged into view.  More Mayrids.  These two looked very much like the others, but they had black markings down their arms, like some sort of body art.  Symbols which had no meaning to me, but no doubt had meaning to them.  One of the two was clearly the superior; it directed the lesser one in a language I had never heard.  A language both guttural and shrill which made my skin prickle in fear.  It pointed towards the stairs, and the other one led the way, its posture hunched in submissiveness.  As they disappeared up the stairs, I turned slightly to face Gael.

“We need to get out of here.”

“I know.” He stood slowly, and looked towards the door. “We need to find the artefact and get out of here.”

“I don’t know, Gael. Somehow, I don’t think it’s worth it.”

“We’ve come this far, Mar.” He placed a hand on my shoulder, reassuring. “I’d never let anything happen to you, you know that.”

“So what do we do?” As I asked him, he pulled out the map, unrolling it on the floor.

The map had changed again.  This time, it showed the path we had taken to the cavern, as well as a hive of smaller caves which stretched out just beyond the walls.  Behind us, down the darker path we had passed before the circular room, glowed a faint “X”.  Gael placed his finger on the “X”, and the mark disappeared, leaving another mark in its place.  A large leaf hanging off a vine.

“That may just be a clue.” Gael remarked, before rolling the map back up.  ”I think we need to go back.”

“But those monsters were there.  That’s where they went!”

“Yeah, but I’ve already killed two.  Two is easy, besides, how many more can there really be?”

There was no point in arguing with him, and he had been right about one thing.  We had come this far.  But one thing hung in the back of my mind, as we cautiously retraced our steps back to the darkened pass; did Lord Bertram really think this was safe?  Did he really think we’d survive this?  Mayrincourt did not bode well for our other destinations.