Some Other World

Caves

After retrieving my backpack from the tree, I began to explore the cave I had found. There were some holes in the cliff face, allowing natural light in, and a small part of the waterfall trickled in, forming a pool over in one corner, which was what I had emerged from. The entire area was roomy and surprisingly dry.

In the far wall was an opening that was about a foot taller than me and about six feet wide. I could see that it led farther into the stone.

Pulling a dagger and a flashlight from the pack just to be safe, I cautiously walked through the opening.

It quickly became dark, but as I reached for the flashlight, a torch flared to life on my left.

I leapt back, holding the dagger in a defensive position, but no one was there.

Frowning, I moved to the wall and inspected the torch. There was no indication of a person having lit it.

"Magic?" I wondered aloud. Obviously, I got no answer.

I warily moved on, trying to keep the noise I made to a minimum so I would be able to hear anyone moving towards me.

Periodically, torches would light themselves along the path. There was never a person near them, but a lifetime of living with the Mist had taught me I couldn't always trust my eyes. So my dagger stayed at the ready.

After about three minutes, I came to a branch off. I quickly scraped a small arrow in the wall to tell myself the way back, then stepped to the left.

Seven torches lit themselves at the same time. I squinted in the sudden brightness.

I was in another cave, about the size of a typical master bedroom. The walls were bare other than the torches, but unnaturally smooth.

There were several scratched indents on the floor, like something had been secured and then later pried up. Other than that, the room was uninteresting. I made a mental note to make a map of these caves, so I wouldn't get lost.

Going back out into the tunnel, I took the other fork and kept walking.

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In the end I found a total of seven rooms. The mysterious torches lined them all, which made me suspicious, but there was no sign of life anywhere.

After returning to the main cave, I dug through my pack and laid out what was in it. There was trail mix and other dried foods that would keep for a while, an array of hunting knives for food, a blanket and the coil of rope I'd found before, along with several other camping items. I tossed the bag behind me as I separated out each material.

As I sat back on my heels, something brushed the back of my head. I whirled with a yelp of surprise, expecting an intruder of some sort.

What I saw was completely different and just as surprising.

A silver tent sat behind me, completely set up. I recognized it as being one similar to those of the Hunt.

There was a string hanging on one corner. I cautiously reached forward and pulled it. The tent collapsed and folded up on itself, turning back into the familiar backpack.

I raised an eyebrow and picked it up. Deciding to check something, I quickly swept the items that I had been inspecting back into the bag, then stood and took a deep breath.

I could break quite a few things if I was wrong, but I decided to try anyway.

I tossed the backpack forward. It landed with a thump and silently popped up as the tent again. I didn't hear any crashing, which was good. I stepped through the front flap.

Shelves lined the walls, holding all the items the pack carried. There was a portable hammock hanging in one side, and it was bigger on the inside than the outside.

"Thank you, Lady Artemis." I whispered. I had absolutely no clue if she could hear me, probably not, but I hoped she somehow could feel I was grateful to her. She had saved my life with this pack.

Grabbing a piece of paper that was in my supplies, I searched for a pen or something. To my surprise, a familiar one sat on one of the shelves.

Artemis had managed to sneak Riptide into my bag.

I uncapped it and smiled as the familiar bronze sword sprang to life. Slipping the cap on the back end, I began to draw out the cave system so I wouldn't get lost when exploring and checking things out.

My stomach rumbled loudly and I grunted in surprise. I'd been working in silence for so long that I wasn't expecting any noise.

Standing, I grabbed the bag of trail mix and poured a handful into my hand. Until I could figure out how to get food here, I'd have to ration things.

I returned to my map as I munched on the mix. Checking it over to make sure I hadn't missed anything, I placed it on one of the shelves with Riptide and stretched.

"A nap sounds good right now."