Hero by Heart

Chapter 42

The darkness seemed to swallow Link as the boulder was rolled back into place.
A little up ahead he could see firelight reflected on the walls, but the first steps were pitch black.
With his hand along the wall on his left, Link felt his way towards the light, alert on any sudden movement.
At the end of a short tunnel the cave suddenly opened up into a giant cavern, illuminated by countless torches.
For a second Link stood still, to take in his surroundings, deeply impressed by it despite the situation.
All across the ceiling dozens of stalactites pointed down, some as big as a grown man, with every now and then a drop of water falling from the pointy ends.
The floor was covered in stalagmites and puddles of water, which created a beautiful sound as water droplets fell onto the still surface.
Across the dusty floors there was a path, meandering between pillars and around water, with torches fastened to the dark stone wherever it was needed.
Link now carefully followed the path, making sure to remember which way he went and to look out for other tunnels, but for now this seemed to be the only way to go.
At the other end of the cave the path disappeared into a narrow tunnel, with just enough room for one person to walk through.
From somewhere up ahead Link could hear other sounds now, the murmur of voices and what he thought was the running of water.
He entered the tunnel, which was much brighter than the first one, thanks to the torches at an even interval.
Despite some twists and turns, Link judged that he was going in a decently straight line west, sloping up almost imperceptibly.
Without a warning he turned one last corner and found himself in another cavern, even bigger than the first.
There were no stalagmites on the floor here, seemingly having been cut away to make room.
Stalactites still littered the ceiling, and along the walls Link noticed even some big Luminous Stone formations, glowing faintly in the shadows.
Across the middle of the cave there was a small stream of fresh water, rapidly running over the rocks and disappearing through a gap in the wall.
But what stood out most to Link, was the amount of people he saw.
Despite the early hour, there were countless men and women scattered around the large space, sitting at tables or standing in little groups.
To his relief, Link noticed that almost all of them wore different variations of the outfit he wore.
Some of the people present wore their hood, or a mask, or even both, while others were bareheaded. He would have no trouble in hiding his face among them.
At a first glance it seemed like a bunch of randomly selected people, but something had put them together and caused them to hide out in these caves.
'Going in or out?' A voice suddenly ripped him out of his thoughts.
Link looked up to find a man standing in front of him, with only his black hair and dark eyes visible over the red mask.
He now quirked an eyebrow at Link, getting a little impatient with the idiot that was standing in the narrow passageway.
'In,' Link quickly muttered, stepping aside to let the man out.
The stranger nodded in greeting and disappeared around the corner, but Link now realized that he should do something instead of gaping around from the entrance.
In the middle of the room there were a few cooking fires lit, with meat roasting in the flames, spreading delicious smells that made Link's stomach rumble.
He headed that way and halted near one of them, unsure what to do now.
Luckily he didn't have to wait long, before a large woman glanced his way and smiled. 'What can I get ya?'
Link quickly took a look at the options and chose a good looking piece of meat, which the woman put on a plate and handed to him.
'Feel free to fill up,' she said, gesturing behind her to a table loaded with fruits and vegetables. 'The hunt was good today, so don't let it go to waste.' She winked. 'First come first served, right?'
Link smiled at her gratefully and did as he was told.
He then chose an empty seat at one of the wooden tables and removed his mask to eat, letting his eyes roam around.
Until now he had been incredibly lucky, having these people basically showing him exactly what to do. He wasn't so sure if he would be able to act so normal if someone started asking questions.