Anderil

XVI*

Eldwin's body became heavier as he felt himself sink into the cold abyss. His mind wheeled with what he should be doing now. He couldn't see anything, and as for his feeling, it was all cold and wet. Eldwin flung his arms out and around, searching for something or someone to grab onto. The sound of a nearby splash erupted close to him as the pressure around his body changed. He spun around in the water, searching for whatever had just joined them while praying it wasn't the monster.

As his body sank lower, his lungs began burning. He puffed his cheeks out, trying to get any extra spot of air he could. He wished to swim upwards and refill his lungs, but with all his flailing, he forgot which direction up was. He was going to die here; there was no question about it now. His mind raced to see if Abraxas had given him advice on what to do from this point, but nothing came to him. For all he knew, Abraxas could have another pet lurking in the waters waiting to devour him.

 A dull yellow light began emanating from the bottom of the pit. The light moved upwards, giving light to Eldwin and his surroundings. He noticed the wall was painted with intricate designs with gold paint above him; he assumed that was the top with the blue paint wall going down for several feet before the gold came back with more artwork painting what he thought was the bottom. He grabbed his neck as he began searching for other people. His vision faded as a complex piece of an object he couldn't tell the make of came into his mouth and pressed hard into his teeth.

Eldwin breathed in several lungs full of air as his vision became clear and crisper. He saw Kirk floating before him with what appeared to be a red piece of coral in his mouth before grabbing Eldwin's arm and pulling him to the bottom of the bowl. Eldwin wanted to pull away from the other teen but found all his energy had been exhausted from flailing; he was glad Kirk was there to land a hand. As they drew closer to what appeared to be the circular entrance, he watched as Abraxas poked his head through to see if they were coming before disappearing through the opening.

Kicking hard, the boys propelled each other toward the opening. Eldwin watched Kirk slip through first, then followed suit. The two boys emerged into a bigger room on the other side; this time, bubbles appeared on the far right, ponding heavily into the water's surface. Kirk yanked on Eldiwn's wrist, singling him to go upwards. It was all Eldwin could do to keep from wincing from his pressure. The two boys burst through the surface up to their shoulders before treading.

"Rax, they made it!" Came Sari's cheerful voice.

 "As I knew they could." Abraxas chuckled somewhere behind her.

"Oh, Eldwin, it has been forever since I came here. Did you see the turtle and starfish carvings?" Sari asked excitedly as she helped Eldwin out of the water. Eldwin stared at her blankly as he coughed the weird object out of his mouth and into his hand. It was red and bumpy, almost shaped like coral. 

 "I had already opened the entryway before he arrived, Sari." Abraxas voice came from behind her. Eldwin looked around her and noticed they were in a large cavern big enough to hold several football stadiums twice as long. So many statins were set up toward the back, and he couldn't get them out, but close by, he noticed a small kitchenette made out of several stones with a fire burning and water boiling on the top. Sitting a little ways in front of the kitchen was a makeshift table with four wooden stools nearby. Abraxas sat on one as he peered over a scroll on the table. Across from the kitchen was a pile of rocks that appeared to have some shortness of bedding on them, and a black curtain around it blocked the view of the rest of the cave.

The water splashed around him as Kirk pulled himself out. Sari handed him a towel before helping Eldiwn out as well. Eldwin turned and looked where he came from; if he hadn't known better, he had just gone for a delightful swim with a roaring waterfall raining down. With a sigh, he adventured closer to his teacher, who was still gazing downward at the scroll.