“What? Why is everyone staring? Did I wrestle something I was supposed to again? I promise the crab was totally into Mom!” Frank yelled out after no one had said anything.
“It’s okay Frank, you didn’t do anything wrong. It’s just, you found something very interesting and now most of us are currently thinking about if we should go take a look at it too.” Ethel responded.
“Are we? What the hell is a Merlin?” Onelder asked.
“Fictional wizard, well, I guess maybe not fictional, but there is a story from one of the countries on Earth about a king and his wizard and a magic sword. Well, Ethel you thought someone from Earth had transplanted all of this. Are these animals from Britain?” Cal looked around the trees trying to spot some of the birds again after he asked.
“Likely yes, the squirrels I’ve spotted specifically had already made me jump to that conclusion as soon as Frank said the name, Merlin.” She answered.
“Huh, I used to love King Arthur stories as a kid. I’ve gotta see this.” Stan said as he walked over to the water’s edge and peered down. “How long would you say you had to swim to get to the cave, Frank? Think I can hold my breath that long?”
“Doesn’t matter, we can walk the river bed using the same bubble that kept us alive on the surface. I doubt I’d be able to do it in an ocean, but this should be fine. Probably good stress practice on my mana usage as well.” Ethel had shushed Frank to give her own answer.
“Well, before we go diving into the unknown, let’s call it a night and get some sleep. I’d rather do this after a nice breakfast.” Cal said to several agreements.
Cal opened his eyes the next morning, surprised at how easy sleep had come. He had expected somewhat of a restless attempt, especially with the man who had killed him so many times in the same room, but it hadn’t gone that way. If anything, he had slept easier knowing exactly where Onelder was. Then he smelled scrambled eggs, and his thoughts of last night's restful slumber disappeared.
“Albert, how did you manage to bring so many cooking supplies?” Cal asked as he grabbed a plate.
“Frank carried a lot of packs, but honestly, it won’t be nearly enough long-term. I wasn’t expecting us to be completely cut off like this. After our trip today, I’m going to have to start really cataloging the plants here. I need to find something to forage. A few apples would go a long way,” the capybara answered.
After everyone had woken and had breakfast Cal found himself once again in an atmospheric bubble, this time slowly walking into the river. The river was impressively deep. He was starting to strongly agree with Ethel’s manmade theory.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
“HELLO MR. CRAB!” Frank shouted through the bubble, having apparently spotted the behemoth crustation he had wrestled with the day before.
“You beat that in a fight?” Cal was a little surprised as the crab was at least five times as big as Frank.
“The Frank is mightier than the Crab.” Frank dropped into a victory pose as he said this.
“That may very well be, but right now, I need you to continue directing us, please Frank.” Ethel’s voice had her usual tone of command despite the gentle words used.
It took another ten minutes of wrong turns and all-around poor navigation from Frank, but they managed to reach the cave without any real harm.
“Looks like Frank was right; air seems breathable,” Ethel said as she dispersed the bubble. “Where to now, Frank?”
“Straight ahead, it opens to another large chamber.” The tree man pointed in front of himself down the darkened path.
Cal created a small ball of lightning and tried to hover it over his head as they walked. “This is probably a bad idea in the future, isn’t it?” He had realized just how much this would make him stand out as a target.
“Better you than us.” Stan laughed.
“Thanks, Dad.” Cal shook his head.
They walked on mostly in silence for the next couple of minutes until they entered the chamber Frank had mentioned. It was quickly apparent that the stone Frank had been talking about was some kind of coffin. Cal walked up to it and started wiping away a giant layer of dust. “Uh, this kind of English isn’t my specialty,” he said after looking over the letters. He could make out some of the words, but it was old enough that it didn’t translate to modern English well.
“So? Focus on the idea of language behind the words themselves, let the mana do the translating like it does for basically all spoken words now. At least I hope it does. You understand the animals pretty well. Please tell me you understand other human languages.” Onelder stared hard at Cal as he said this.
“Um... not really. I don’t understand all the animals either,” Cal replied, causing Onelder to burst into laughter.
“Oh god, you’re telling me it’s just their own tiny cores letting ya’ll understand them? Let’s add that to the list of things you need to learn. In the meantime, let me see the stone.” He walked over and pushed Cal away. He looked down at it and started reading aloud.
“Here in Avalon, I lay my best friend to rest. May he sleep eternally undisturbed by the petty wars of mankind. He was my final tie to my homeworld, and so with his death, I depart to worlds unknown. I leave behind Excalibur for one who may be one day worthy of finding this hidden place and once again wielding it for a righteous cause. Merlin”
“What’s an Excalibur?” Onelder asked after he finished reading it.
“It’s a powerful sword from Earth legends. We should probably search the cave.” Cal said.
“I call first dibs at trying to pull it out a stone!” Stan yelled out quickly. The smile on his face nearly reached his ears.