Dragon Quest - I - Chapter 5, Part 2
2 - The Cave
(pp 186-192)
Plop, plop, plop. Step by step, the two’s feet sunk ankle-deep into the wet marsh. The forest was deep and thick. There wasn’t even a faint breeze, nor the singing of a single bird. The swamp water bubbled up here and there, stretching out beyond them. It was an odd, deep and pitch-black mud, strange and depthless.
Aleph and Galthira avoided the bottomless parts as best they could, choosing comparably firm ground to step on, as they continued their journey east.
After only an hour, they were soaked with sweat despite it being mid-winter. Their legs became stiff as rods. They walked, rested, walked, and kept going. The days went on and on like this, unending. Eventually they counted their seventh night since entering the swamp.
The two took a brief rest by laying against a large root that jutted from the mud before heading onward, searching for a suitably dry ground to set up camp, when suddenly the earth took on a sharp incline. They began to climb. Their feet no longer sunk down. The wet ground turned into solid footing.
They quickened their pace, then eventually exited the forest, where a wide mountain range stretched before them.
187
“We made it!” cried Aleph, eyes glittering, as he sprinted off towards the sound of waves crashing.
The rocks ended at the ocean, where under the glittering moonlight they could see violent churning waters, and across the cape stretched a jagged, dark coast.
“It’s Rimuldar! That’s Rimuldar, right?”
Staring out across the channel, Galthira simply nodded.
“You want to cross over to Rimuldar, then?” came a man’s voice from behind them.
Galthira spun around, hand on the hilt of his blade, to see a frail old man clad in robes. It was too dark to see his face beneath the hood, but his eyes were oddly piercing.
“I am not one to fear,” he spake, smiling faintly at the two adventurers on-guard. “I live deep within this marshland wood. Once, before the Dragonlord’s rule, this was the location of a prosperous port town. It was full of sailors, and tavern women, and its lights burned bright all throughout the night. Now… it is as you see it,” the old man sighed, looking about the ruined scape.
“Then why are you here?” inquired Aleph.
188
The mysterious old man ignored Aleph’s question and merely stared deeply at him. “If you’re going to Rimuldar, then I must tell you of the secret cave.”
“What cave?” responded Aleph, meeting Galthira’s questioning gaze.
“Nearly four hundred years ago, when the land was still under the control of the Dark Lord, this channel was as wild and untamed as it is now. The townspeople dug a secret cave down below. To that cape,” explained the old man, as he gestured to the dark crag in the distance.
“But the hero Loto defeated the Dark Lord, and the cave fell into disuse,” he explained. “It grew easier to head straight there by boat. A treacherous path through the rocks was unnecessary.”
“And where is this cave?” asked Aleph.
“Directly beneath us,” replied the strange old man, his gaze drifting to the dangerous-looking rocks ravaged by the waves below. “The entryway is hidden at the moment by the tide, but early tomorrow morning the cave will show itself. Be careful.”
The old man faded from view along with a gust of wind.
“I don’t like this one bit,” Galthira said as he clucked his tongue. For what reason did that stranger pay them this kindness?
189
“Well, we found the cave without any trouble, at least. We would’ve had to search for it anyway.”
The two of them camped that night in a hollow, hiding from the blasting wind.
The next morning, Aleph snapped awake from the sound of the crashing waves. Perhaps because of the exhaustion of tromping through the swamp, he had slept longer than usual. A ray of sunlight poked through the ashen grey winter sky. At some point when they didn’t notice, that great eagle had followed, and now circled high in the sky above.
“Aleph!” called Galthira, from an outcropping above. Aleph looked up, and followed Galthira’s pointed finger down to the rocks below, at crest of the waves. He gathered up his belongings and climbed down.
Beneath the outcropping, the cave’s entrance yawned open. The tide was just barely clipping the bottom. Galthira and Aleph jumped waist-deep into the waters, lit a torch and started into the cave. After progressing some ways, they hit an uprising, and pulled themselves soaking out of the saltwater.
Moss and seaweed covered the floor of the cave here, slipping their footing. At high tide, this much of the cave would still be underwater.
190
At the crest of the uprising, the cave curved to the left, and they came to a downward-sloping stair. In all corners jutted spider’s webs, and the steps were collapsed in places. The two brushed aside the webs and moved on, staying aware of their footing. The stairs went on for nearly half an hour, where the deeper recesses of the cave stretched out before them like a labyrinth.
Perhaps due to the bedrock being weaker here, the walls and ceiling of the cave were supported here and there by thick round logs and wooden slats, like that of a mine tunnel. The logs and boards were rotten through and broken in places, however, causing barrages of dust and small rocks to fall occasionally from above.
The cave-ins caused permissible passageways to open in several places. Freezing cold seepage dripped down and formed large pools, occasionally soaking them up to their hips.
It continued like this for another hour, then the cave split in two. Not knowing which way to proceed, the two decided to take a quick rest.
“How could the princess stay alive in a cave like this?” Aleph wondered aloud with a sigh, easing himself down on a jutting rock and leaning back against one of the logs bracing the cave wall.
Unfortunately, the log split in two from his weight, which caused other moulded logs and boards to break apart, and a small cavalcade of dirt and stone collapsed from above.
Aleph cried out and jumped out of the way.
191
In mere moments, the cave-in had completely separated him from Galthira. Aleph couldn’t tell how far the rockfall had spread. The ceiling quaked with the echoes of moving earth, earth which cut the two entirely off from one another.
“Galthira!” Aleph called out, but his voice merely echoed dully against the rock. Not knowing what to do, he stood silent in the darkness for several moments. This is useless, he thought -- Galthira surely would have begun to take the other path. Eventually, they might reconnect again. After taking a few moments to gather himself, Aleph began to head deeper into the cave.
After another hour had passed, he arrived at a crossroads. “I hope he’s all right,” Aleph muttered to himself, sitting himself down now that he was beginning to get consumed with worry. That was when he noticed something that looked like a door down the corridor to his right.
“What…?” Aleph shined his torch forward, squinting against the darkness. It was a door!
“Could she be--” he began, wondering immediately if perhaps Princess Laura was hidden behind the door.
192
Aleph ran over. It was sturdy, and crafted of iron. He shook the handle, but it was locked, and wouldn’t budge an inch.
“All right,” he muttered, grasping his amulet in one hand, drawing a symbol in the other, and began to chant. “Loto, my Hero, grant me your power… Open this door,” Aleph recited, focusing all of his spiritual energy into his fingertips and directed it at the portal.
A golden ray of light struck the door handle, eventually covering the entire frame with a dense shimmer. As the light faded, a wrenching sound came from beyond, and the door fell out of its frame with a crash.
“I did it,” breathed Aleph. He wanted to shout with joy, but the spell took so much of his vitality that he could barely stand. He forced himself to refocus his energy, then jumped through into what became a small, dark room, brandishing his torch.
“Aleph!?” came a surprised, feminine voice.
Aleph shone his torch toward the voice.
A small-framed, beautiful girl stood up from one corner of the room.
It was Cecille.
(pp 186-192)
Plop, plop, plop. Step by step, the two’s feet sunk ankle-deep into the wet marsh. The forest was deep and thick. There wasn’t even a faint breeze, nor the singing of a single bird. The swamp water bubbled up here and there, stretching out beyond them. It was an odd, deep and pitch-black mud, strange and depthless.
Aleph and Galthira avoided the bottomless parts as best they could, choosing comparably firm ground to step on, as they continued their journey east.
After only an hour, they were soaked with sweat despite it being mid-winter. Their legs became stiff as rods. They walked, rested, walked, and kept going. The days went on and on like this, unending. Eventually they counted their seventh night since entering the swamp.
The two took a brief rest by laying against a large root that jutted from the mud before heading onward, searching for a suitably dry ground to set up camp, when suddenly the earth took on a sharp incline. They began to climb. Their feet no longer sunk down. The wet ground turned into solid footing.
They quickened their pace, then eventually exited the forest, where a wide mountain range stretched before them.
187
“We made it!” cried Aleph, eyes glittering, as he sprinted off towards the sound of waves crashing.
The rocks ended at the ocean, where under the glittering moonlight they could see violent churning waters, and across the cape stretched a jagged, dark coast.
“It’s Rimuldar! That’s Rimuldar, right?”
Staring out across the channel, Galthira simply nodded.
“You want to cross over to Rimuldar, then?” came a man’s voice from behind them.
Galthira spun around, hand on the hilt of his blade, to see a frail old man clad in robes. It was too dark to see his face beneath the hood, but his eyes were oddly piercing.
“I am not one to fear,” he spake, smiling faintly at the two adventurers on-guard. “I live deep within this marshland wood. Once, before the Dragonlord’s rule, this was the location of a prosperous port town. It was full of sailors, and tavern women, and its lights burned bright all throughout the night. Now… it is as you see it,” the old man sighed, looking about the ruined scape.
“Then why are you here?” inquired Aleph.
188
The mysterious old man ignored Aleph’s question and merely stared deeply at him. “If you’re going to Rimuldar, then I must tell you of the secret cave.”
“What cave?” responded Aleph, meeting Galthira’s questioning gaze.
“Nearly four hundred years ago, when the land was still under the control of the Dark Lord, this channel was as wild and untamed as it is now. The townspeople dug a secret cave down below. To that cape,” explained the old man, as he gestured to the dark crag in the distance.
“But the hero Loto defeated the Dark Lord, and the cave fell into disuse,” he explained. “It grew easier to head straight there by boat. A treacherous path through the rocks was unnecessary.”
“And where is this cave?” asked Aleph.
“Directly beneath us,” replied the strange old man, his gaze drifting to the dangerous-looking rocks ravaged by the waves below. “The entryway is hidden at the moment by the tide, but early tomorrow morning the cave will show itself. Be careful.”
The old man faded from view along with a gust of wind.
“I don’t like this one bit,” Galthira said as he clucked his tongue. For what reason did that stranger pay them this kindness?
189
“Well, we found the cave without any trouble, at least. We would’ve had to search for it anyway.”
The two of them camped that night in a hollow, hiding from the blasting wind.
The next morning, Aleph snapped awake from the sound of the crashing waves. Perhaps because of the exhaustion of tromping through the swamp, he had slept longer than usual. A ray of sunlight poked through the ashen grey winter sky. At some point when they didn’t notice, that great eagle had followed, and now circled high in the sky above.
“Aleph!” called Galthira, from an outcropping above. Aleph looked up, and followed Galthira’s pointed finger down to the rocks below, at crest of the waves. He gathered up his belongings and climbed down.
Beneath the outcropping, the cave’s entrance yawned open. The tide was just barely clipping the bottom. Galthira and Aleph jumped waist-deep into the waters, lit a torch and started into the cave. After progressing some ways, they hit an uprising, and pulled themselves soaking out of the saltwater.
Moss and seaweed covered the floor of the cave here, slipping their footing. At high tide, this much of the cave would still be underwater.
190
At the crest of the uprising, the cave curved to the left, and they came to a downward-sloping stair. In all corners jutted spider’s webs, and the steps were collapsed in places. The two brushed aside the webs and moved on, staying aware of their footing. The stairs went on for nearly half an hour, where the deeper recesses of the cave stretched out before them like a labyrinth.
Perhaps due to the bedrock being weaker here, the walls and ceiling of the cave were supported here and there by thick round logs and wooden slats, like that of a mine tunnel. The logs and boards were rotten through and broken in places, however, causing barrages of dust and small rocks to fall occasionally from above.
The cave-ins caused permissible passageways to open in several places. Freezing cold seepage dripped down and formed large pools, occasionally soaking them up to their hips.
It continued like this for another hour, then the cave split in two. Not knowing which way to proceed, the two decided to take a quick rest.
“How could the princess stay alive in a cave like this?” Aleph wondered aloud with a sigh, easing himself down on a jutting rock and leaning back against one of the logs bracing the cave wall.
Unfortunately, the log split in two from his weight, which caused other moulded logs and boards to break apart, and a small cavalcade of dirt and stone collapsed from above.
Aleph cried out and jumped out of the way.
191
In mere moments, the cave-in had completely separated him from Galthira. Aleph couldn’t tell how far the rockfall had spread. The ceiling quaked with the echoes of moving earth, earth which cut the two entirely off from one another.
“Galthira!” Aleph called out, but his voice merely echoed dully against the rock. Not knowing what to do, he stood silent in the darkness for several moments. This is useless, he thought -- Galthira surely would have begun to take the other path. Eventually, they might reconnect again. After taking a few moments to gather himself, Aleph began to head deeper into the cave.
After another hour had passed, he arrived at a crossroads. “I hope he’s all right,” Aleph muttered to himself, sitting himself down now that he was beginning to get consumed with worry. That was when he noticed something that looked like a door down the corridor to his right.
“What…?” Aleph shined his torch forward, squinting against the darkness. It was a door!
“Could she be--” he began, wondering immediately if perhaps Princess Laura was hidden behind the door.
192
Aleph ran over. It was sturdy, and crafted of iron. He shook the handle, but it was locked, and wouldn’t budge an inch.
“All right,” he muttered, grasping his amulet in one hand, drawing a symbol in the other, and began to chant. “Loto, my Hero, grant me your power… Open this door,” Aleph recited, focusing all of his spiritual energy into his fingertips and directed it at the portal.
A golden ray of light struck the door handle, eventually covering the entire frame with a dense shimmer. As the light faded, a wrenching sound came from beyond, and the door fell out of its frame with a crash.
“I did it,” breathed Aleph. He wanted to shout with joy, but the spell took so much of his vitality that he could barely stand. He forced himself to refocus his energy, then jumped through into what became a small, dark room, brandishing his torch.
“Aleph!?” came a surprised, feminine voice.
Aleph shone his torch toward the voice.
A small-framed, beautiful girl stood up from one corner of the room.
It was Cecille.
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