10 Minute Tales, Part 2

Sep 1 - Forgotten Hero

She wandered deeper into the cave, leaning back as pebbles slid away from her feet and danced into the darkness. A torch flickered in her hand, the occasional ember drifting lazily away. The slope she was on smoothed out and she stood straight. She had found herself in a large chamber of sorts; a thin shaft of sunlight drifted in from far above, illuminating what seemed like a stone table. She walked over to it, her curiosity piqued now. There was a single stone plate on it, a couple of chopped, rotting mushrooms resting there. Somebody was here!

"Hello?" she asked, looking around. "Is anybody down here?" she waited for an answer, but none came. She pouted, a little disappointed, and continued exploring the cavern. There was a bedroll to one side, with a stream gently babbling nearby. She could see the remains of a firepit, too, and- she screamed in surprise as she recoiled from the remains of some individual, now little more than bones and rags. She picked a bone up and shuddered at its slimy texture, dropping it again quickly. "Okay, this was probably a person, sheesh..." she looked around, wiping her hand on her top.

"Who dares...?" A voice echoed. That was definitely not the wind. She looked around, startled, torch swinging around with her.

"Oh, uh... hi?" she swallowed nervously.

"Who disturbs the resting place of the forgotten warrior?" the voice asked again, clearer this time. Closer. She could feel an eerie chill shiver a path up her spine.

"I, uh... I don't mean anything by this! Uh... I was just exploring was all."

"Exploring..." the voice muttered, its eeriness somewhat less now she'd heard it. "I cannot fault you in your curiosity. It was that very same that brought me here."

"Wait, hold on. You said warrior?" she blinked, looking around at the firepit. "So, what, this was your retreat?"

"Indeed. It was a wonderful home, so close to the village I was protecting."

"What, Seaholm? I came from there!"

"Truly?" The presence came closer. She could almost make out an outline of a person's torso, bold and muscular. The ghost was taking form, then.

"Yeah! I mean, most of it's still being built, but the stuff that's there is ace!"

"Good... it has recovered, then."

"Recovered? From what?" she looked to the ghost. It was a handsome figure, one that bore the scars of many battles. She was grateful it didn't manifest anything below the stomach.

"My last battle brought me down to these very caves, fighting hordes of goblins. They had aims on the food reserves of the village."

"Whoa, really?" She took a seat on a raised bit by the firepit. Gone was her fear of this entity.

"Indeed. I had handled their kin before, but never in such quantity. They had included their summoner, a horrendous beast of a goblin that could conjure beasts of some foul flame."

"Whoa... how did you fight something like that?"

"With the very blade behind you." he replied. She looked and saw it, a rusty scrap of iron that she could imagine gleaming proudly once upon a time.