Converging Destinies: Part 1

Chapter 13

       The four woke up the next day with a sense of anticipation and dread hung over them. Cedric spent an hour in meditation, preparing his druidic power for the battle ahead. Ara' Sei spent time in thought, trying to figure out why it had taken so long for her to be useful in the previous battle. Ella went to the guards and asked if she could borrow some half-plate armor. The guards gave her armor, and then she spent the rest of the day doing drills in the armor and getting a feel for it. Eris was cleaning and sharpening their daggers.

       As the day transitioned to evening, the group headed out. Cedric led the way from his memory to the grove near the graveyard. As the group navigated their way into the grove, it was easy to find the hut. The hut was a structure that appeared to be made from tangled roots and thatched roof. As they all entered the hut, they could faintly smell decay and rot. The hut was filled with components and vials and other unknowable alchemical materials. Books lined the wall written in a language no one in the group could understand.

       "What's this?" Cedric asked, as his foot hit a hollow wooden section of the floor.

       "It's a trapdoor." Eris commented.

       "Okay, if anyone has any final preparations they need to make, make them now." Ara' Sei said. The group looked at each other, and no one said anything.

        "Alright, we're going in. Ella, since you're our best front line warrior, would you mind going first?" Ara' Sei asked.

       "Not at all!" Ella replied. As Ella opened the trapdoor, it led to a ladder that descended into darkness.

       "Uhh, I can't see anything." Ella pointed out.

       "Oh... here, since he seems to know we're coming I think it's fine." Ara' Sei said. Ara' Sei placed her hands on Ella's blade. Suddenly, the blade was illuminated, and began to radiate pale light.

       "Thanks."

       "Your welcome." After that, Ella finally began to descend. Then Eris followed, then Cedric, then Ara' Sei. The ladder descended for about fifty feet, and when Ella hopped off her boots hit the ground, a stone ground. Everyone behind her followed suit. After Ara' Sei's light faded, Cedric looked around the cavern.

       "It's a cavern, a huge cavern." He said nervously.

       "I'll hide away until the fighting starts." Eris whispered. And with that, they once again seemed to vanish from view in an instant. Cedric was the only one among them who could see as Eris effortlessly ducked behind stalagmites and other geometric formations.

       "Oh, I think you all have finally arrived." Ara' Sei, Cedric, and Ella frantically looked around to find the source of the voice. But none of them were expecting the red bead of light that flew towards them, and the fiery explosion that suddenly engulfed them.