Caliber: The Pilgrimage

The Cave

"I–Hate–Traveling." Lex said as he forced himself to trek up the mountain. The sun was beating down on his back. Lex was growing ever more thirsty and hungry. He didn't know how much farther he could go. Every step he took and every breath he took sent a jolt of pain to his brain. He was ready to give up and give himself over to the Orcs. To hopefully be reunited with Raven in the afterlife so he could apologize for what had happened to her.

    As Lex travelled for another hour he began to notice certain curious markings. To him it seemed as if they were set out as a cross to mark something. He couldn't quite make anything out of the crosses but he began to follow in hope that he would find a human settlement. It never occurred to Lex that there possibly could be something else, something more horrible.

    "Where'd the crosses go?" Lex was rubbing his head curiously now, he had been following the crosses for several miles and now they had just disappeared. He sighed. "Oh, darn, I guess I'll just have to keep on walking along." Lex stopped for a moment and decided it would be better to move on he didn't know how much more time he had left.

    He took ten steps and then he heard the screeches of beetles. It sent a chill up his spine. He looked around but saw nothing.

    He took one more step and then the ground underneath him gave away. For a second he saw nothing just the sky. He hit the floor seconds later, the air was knocked out of him. He rubbed his head and checked himself for any signs of bleeding. He found nothing, he began to look around and he saw tunnels lit up by torches. He didn't know where he was but he understood he probably shouldn't be there. He looked at the floor around him and saw dead beetles. Those must have been the ones he had heard he thought. 

    Lex looked up and saw that he had fallen quite a big distance and that there would be no way to climb up. He didn't see any beetles or any Orcs but the torches seemed suspicious.

    He stood up and drew the goblins knife. He looked down at it and for the first time he noticed that the blade was mostly blue but the tip of it had red and the edge was green. He thought that maybe the red was Raven's blood but he didn't linger on that thought much.

    He began to walk down the corridors and was looking for a way out. After what seemed like hours he had found a giant room that had a underwater river. He went up to it and drank until he was completely satisfied. Lex was happy to have found the water but he still was hungry. His stomach was yelling at him to eat. Still no matter how hard he tried he could not find food within the tunnels.

    After walking down the tunnels for another hour Lex felt lost. He didn't know where to go and he was worried he would never get out. And again he heard the screeching of beetles. He wanted to avoid the beetles as much as possible.

    Lex knew that these tunnels could not belong to the beetles because it was to... Perfect, he thought. It seemed as if the tunnels were made with a purpose. They seemed to perfect for the beetles which Lex was always told were very rudimentary creatures.

    Lex was still lost. Every step he took seemed to get him more and more lost within the tunnels. Still he ventured on. The screeching of the beetles was still heard and he seemed to be getting closer to Lex.

    "What is that? Whoa, is that–No it couldn't be, but I'm sure it is!" Lex began to run towards a door he saw. He opened the door slowly with the in his hand. He looked inside and there was nothing but mining equipment and clothing.

    Lex thought it was weird that a possible mining shaft would have clothing. However, that didn't matter to him he switched out and grabbed what fit. He also found some goggles that he decided to grab and put on. He decided that it was about time he tried to dig his way out of the tunnels he got a pick axe and got ready for grueling work.