Fahzel set forth on his journey not
remembering the name of the village he had just left. It was not because he
was forgetful but more because he always focused on the goals of his future and
felt the past was a mere distraction of memories that played with emotions.
He so wished Miali could join him on his apprentice adventure. Fahzel
still chuckled when he thought about the gifts Miali left.
Fahzel
was approaching a large boulder surrounded by what looked to be sunflowers but
these were a pale blue in color and instead of the towering height true
sunflowers had over a dwarf, these were at eyes level with Fahzel. He
veered down the path just a little bit when he saw the opening of the
cave. He slowed his pace, cautiously peering into the opening, only seeing
moist rock walls leading into darkness. He lit a torch and proceeded in.
"Oh
great, nothing but mud, spider webs, and debris," he thought to
himself. Looking around, the cavern was rather large with a mound
of dirt to the far right, and walls to the left that jutted out almost blocking
the only visible opening leading further into the cavern. Several steps
in Fahzel saw the largest rats he had ever seen scurry around the mound and
upon drawing his glaive, the rats whom don't seem to be bothered by his presence
escape down the opening to the left.
A
little disappointed Fahzel quickens his pace and follows the rats downward to
the left which is just a long continuation of the cavern. Even with torch
in hand Fahzel was startled when he heard a soft snort and growl and then the
giant bear's head turned, he could see the large teeth which stopped Fahzel
dead in his tracks. With the glaive still in his hands he took a swing or two at the bear before this beast could
attack him first, and his first blow had struck the shoulder of the bear and
with a wince and loud raging growl, the bear barely brushed past him, escaping
out the initial entrance. Fahzel felt some gratification that this blow
was accurate and damaging since it was only his first foray with the
glaive but was also disappointed another adversary escaped him.
Taking
a breather Fahzel noticed a small crate of softs, and upon searching it, he
found two small bottles embossed with a simple gem in the form of a
heart. He tucked them into his belt pouch. The chamber continued
flowing left and it was obvious the path was winding downward and circling
behind itself continuing to go deeper and deeper. At one point the
tunnel-like path ended into a room with almost the same features as the first
room he encountered. Upon the back wall Fahzel saw his prey, he knew the
rats would not escape him. Whether these were the same rats or not it
didn't matter to Fahzel he made sure his first initial swing was going to be on
point this time. He slashed through several of the rats with one huge
sweep of the weapon. The rats attempted to fight back but Fazel’s next
few blows rid these vermin surprisingly fast. Not knowing the worth of
any remains Fahzel took several Rat Bones and added them to his satchel.
The
room didn't really have any exits only an archway into a room or normal
proportions. This could have been a place other journeyman used for rest
and enjoyment of some fine ale. There was a large door at the far end of
the room but before Fahzel proceeded, he secured his satchel and its
belongings, made sure he had more use out of his torch, and then approached
this large door. The handles didn't appear to be locked. Rather
they were sealed shut by the ceiling which showed signs of settling. So
much that the large doors would not budge, at least not by his
hands.
Fahzel now lay his glaive on
the ground and he scoured the room while taking observation of every piece of
detail. There were some rotted stumps near some larger rocks, some
makeshift tree-branch ballasts leaning against some of the walls, and a few
rusted bear traps. In a corner back near the entrance he saw a
puddle. Inspecting the walls around the puddle Fahzel did not see any
wetness on the walls or ceiling. Fahzel knew he had to make a choice,
leave this cavern he had found or proceed to dig into this puddle with hope of
finding treasure or something to open that door.
