"Another bizarre being! Is this all looking like a big prank to me, or we're in the dream of a great lunatic," swore Walter, incredulous at what he had just seen.
Really what seemed to them like a rock 6.5 ft long, with brown skin that was slightly mottled and shiny with mucus that covered him, had started to move and gradually increase in size. At the ends came two fins with six black claws, worn from scratching against the ground on which they rested, to extract some stones to devour them.
"What does a Digger, or rather, a Delver do?" Frank asked.
"I feed on a mass resulting from the rocks that are dissolved in the slime that covers my body. That's why I dig those delicious boulders," said that rock in a tired, slurred voice, as if many years had passed in his long underground life. "I've been in that cave longer than any living thing you've known or read about. I know all the passages and galleries in this underworld, and I am largely responsible for creating them."
"Where are we exactly?" Barbara asked when the being seemed peaceful.
"I'd love to tell you, but could you guys get me something to eat first?" I'm tired of these common rocks. I've been eating them for many, many years! I wanted a better, more refined and appetizing delicacy. A precious gem, like the one of you carries in your pocket." said the monster, making them squirm.
"Sorry, my friend, but I cannot offer you this stone. It's the reason we're here, in this backwater," Frank said, pulling it out of his pocket and showing it to the bizarre creature.
"So, this is the legendary elemental stone, more precisely that of the water element. There are also those of the element fire, earth and air. They are ancient stones that emit power to their owner," explained Bolduf.
"And what do they want with that stone?" Frank asked.
"First give me something to eat," demanded the wise monster.
The group rummaged through their pockets, intending to find something to give the stone giant, but there were no gems, just coins from Walter's pocket that were left over from the change from the taxi that took them to Gef Pa'go.
"Hmm, these tidbits look appetizing to me," Delver added, devouring them like someone eating peanuts. "According to ancient prophecy when you bring the four elemental stones together, something will be revealed."
"Who's looking for these rocks?" asked Walter this time, regaining his belief in the fantastic events that had recently surrounded them.
Bolduf turned to Walter as if asking for more delicious appetizers, but the old man's pocket had run out.
"No food, no information," said the creature in a sweet but firm voice.
"Tell us then at least which path of these three to follow?" Barbara pleaded.
"No food, no information," this Delver insisted again.
"Oh, we'll never be able to get any information out of that brainless mountain of rock and goo," Frank replied impatiently.
"Be careful what you say, my young human. We diggers are peaceful, but if we need to, we'll face anyone in a fight to defend our honor. And you wouldn't want to do battle with a person who has lived over six thousand years."
"Excuse me," said the boy. "I didn't mean to hurt anyone's intellect and honor. It's just that the more time passes, the farther away we'll be to find my father."
"Time is relative, depending on the different perspectives."
"Well, we have nothing more to offer you. Let's get out of here and let this devourer go back to eating his pebbles," said Walter angrily.
YOU ARE READING
FRANK PAYNE AND THE MYSTERIOUS CAVE
FantasyHow far would you go to find your father missing and presumed dead five years ago, but who had just communicated with you in a totally unpredictable way? Frank Payne, a 17-year-old boy, has just received an enigmatic stone from the sea that turns hi...
