Just as everyone was processing what they had seen, one of the guys, next to the girl who had originally been talking to the cloaked man, went up to the stump. He seemed to be looking over the sign that was on top of it. Is he reading something? Some more people started to gather around him. Finally he looked up with a frustrated look.
"It says that we have to form groups of five and go back through the hole we came from."
What was he talking about? I went up to the stump to see why he was saying this. I looked down at it and read.
Those whom death has touched gather together and form a star traverse the depths from which you come
Death has touched? Were we dead? I understood why he looked so frustrated, this made no sense, it told us nothing of why we were here in the first place. I looked around to see what the others were thinking, some confused others scared and some who looked calm.
I went back to Colt who seemed to be lost in thought. I went to his side and asked.
"What do you think?"
"What's there to think, just gotta do what it says"
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He was right, we were in the middle of nowhere with no food or water. It was this or just starve to death. I looked at him and asked again.
"Who are you gonna group with"
"Well I came with you, you're the person I know most out of these guys so if you don't mind"
"Yea I was thinking the same, but what about the last three?"
That was the real problem, since we had came in last the others probably had time to get closer, there was even some groups already made. We went around asking people if they wanted to join us. Most said no and others said they were going to wait. In the end two girls and another guy joined us. The guy introduced himself as Lucas, he looked like a farmer, he was tall maybe even taller than colt and was carrying a pitchfork but we didn't inquire why. One of the girls called themselves Alice, apparently she was sick before coming here and one day just woke up in the cave. The last one being Emma, she was taller than I was and looked strong at that, she had a mace attached to her waist, one that looked like the ones those hunters use to have who came around the village.
After a while most people had their groups, and those that didn't just joined ones that had spots open. The guy who originally read the sign now in the front. He cleared his throat and spoke.
"Okay now that everyone is ready we'll start heading in"
We all walked back up the hill and started heading to the hole. The groups in-front of us went in one by one. The guy who was leading everyone made us go in 5 minutes separate from each other. Finally it was our turn all 5 of us went into the hole. Just as we were about to start making our way through I looked back to the hole and saw that it wasn't there anymore. I looked back about to tell Colt until I saw no one was there. Then suddenly everything turned black.