Chapter 12: Caves

  It had been about another handful of hours of traveling, yet they had finally gotten there. People milled about inside the cave; their voices would have reached her ears even if she wasn’t undead. Lights could be seen from the outside, and two undead stood by the entrance.

  There they were. The cave in front of them seemed to have been disorderly at some point. Yet, right now, the entrance was organized. The opening to the cave had been cleared of all rubble.

  Wooden supports aided the rock in staying upright. Death knights stood by it, keeping silent vigil. Evil eye couldn’t tell whether she was supposed to be happy, feel secure, or be terrified, and quivering when she looked at them. In all actuality, she didn’t really feel much when she looked upon them.

  To her, they couldn’t hold a candle to the power that Mr. Momon posed. Yet, that was a line of thinking that would get her all flustered as of now. Right now, she didn’t need that. She needed to be in the right head space and focused.

  She spped her cheeks, not that she could feel them with her mask, and walked into the dark and surprisingly dry cave behind Mr. Momon and Tatania. The sounds grew quiet as Mr. Momon was seen stepping inside.

  Why would people be silent and gawk when he was here? After all, they hadn’t done so when he was at the guild branch. Maybe it had something to do with him working. Seeing a legend just sitting there doesn’t have the same impact as seeing them work in their element.

  It was in this silence that the undead receptionist that she had seen before stood and spoke. She stepped onto a wooden crate and rang a bell in her hands. As she does so, all the teams look upon her.

  Evil Eye does so as well; and as she woman speaks, she notices that most of the men around her are looking at her rear end. Save for Mr. Momon. It doesn’t help but to stop Evil Eye from reminding herself that she hasn’t aged a day since her ascension into unlife.

  She looked at the woman’s massive chest, then to her own bug bites. She sighs and shakes her head. She should probably listen in on the speech she is making. Though, she can’t help but notice little Tatania’s gaze lingering on her.

  “Everyone, I am gd to see everyone who signed up could make it here this fine day. Now, business is at hand and business you all shall have,” as she spoke, an undead zombie came from the entrance with a crate in its hands.

  It came to each group one by one, and a member of each group grabbed a letter within the crate it held. The letters themselves seemed rather important, so Evil Eye focused on what the undead was saying. When the undead came to her group, Mr. Momon grabbed one of the letters from the crate, and broke the wax seal with a finger.

  “In these letters are the maps and paths you are allowed to go down. each one if different and there will be a equal number of people going down each accessible path. Of course, the map doesn’t have the whole of the cave mapped out,” the flesh covered lich spoke, her tone professional.

  “That is our job,” spoke a girl with reddish brown hair and a bow across her back.

  “That is correct,” the undead spoke, not even seemingly bothered by the interruption, “you all will be writing down the paths and drawing the rest of the map yourselves. Of course, this is why the mission required you to be at least decent at map making or drawing.”

  She looked around the cave for any questions, and when she found that none of them had any, she spoke again.

  “Now, if none of you have any questions, You may all go down the paths that the map you have indicates,” she said, and Mr. Momon looked down at the map in his hands.

  The other parties did so as well, making and speaking strategy as they conversed amongst themselves. Evil Eye couldn’t help but notice to barely any were making their way to the different paths from the main cavern.

  She smiled at this. They all seemed to be taking strategizing seriously. Something that she had seen many adventures simply did not deal with before things got dicey. It was good to see that they did so.

  Mr. Momon, after a minute of reading the map, sat on the ground with his legs in a Criss-cross-applesauce position. She kneeled next to him, looking at the map along with a now sitting Tatania. The map that he was holing in his hands indicated that they were to make their way down the path that was close to the ceiling.

  It was only now that she realized that she hadn’t looked around the cave in full. The different paths that marked the edges of the main cavern were alight with magic light. The path near the ceiling of the cavern had a wooden staircase built up to it.

  The other paths had light coming from them as well. Though, they were seemingly much more lit than the ceiling path. Talking about the ceiling, it was high. Thirty feet up at its peak, which the whole of the ceiling seeming wanted to ascend to. The lowest point was at twenty-five feet.

  “We should prepare food, in the case that this adventure takes long,” Tatania spoke, and Evil Eye and Mr. Momon nodded their heads in agreement.

  “I have brought with us, some mana glowsticks. We just bend them, and they light up in different greens and blues. It should work for the path ahead,” Mr. Momon spoke, “We also have our bed rolls, in case if we need to sleep, as well as all of our other supplies that can work when caving,” he said.

  Evil Eye nodded at that, then looked up at him and spoke. She had realized something. Something that made her rather flustered.

  “I only have basic sheets. I’ll get cold in the caves,” she said with a nervous tone of voice, “do you think I can sleep in…” she spoke but trailed off.

  “You can sleep in my bedroll with me,” Tatania spoke, “it would be strange if you slept in the same bedroll that Momon would be sleeping in. Besides, he sleeps in his armor,” she said, and Evil Eye wilted.

  The two others in the group looked at each other and sighed. This girl was going to be death of their patience. Tatania herself thought that the girl might as well just ask Momon out if she was that desperate.

  Momon himself thought that this might be a problem. That is, depending on what happens in the caves beneath the great Forest of Tob. Who knows, they might find some sort of treasure down there. Though, he thought that was highly unlikely. What was the chances that a dragon might be down there?

  …