“Uh, is that a volcano?” Cal asked, looking at the giant structure that only partially filled the largest cavern he had seen so far. The rocky formation rose out of the ground hundreds of feet into the cavern, and there was an active flow of what looked like lava coming from one of the sides down towards the ground.
“Yeah, the big guy lives on the other side of it. I wonder why it’s so active, though. I’ve never seen that before,” Sleek’s answer spiked Cal’s worry. He had already not liked the look of magma running down the cracks, but if this was something new, that meant things were changing even here, deep inside the planet.
“Hey TS, what’s the deepest your people have ever been in the tunnels?” Cal wasn’t sure if the Third Smasher would know the answer, but he was curious about the level the squirrels had explored.
“There are some groves months away from where we started, but I cannot say how much further towards the core they go. Without Lady Sleek’s guidance, I would be hard-pressed to tell whether we are ascending or descending within the caves. It is not a thing that was considered important.” His head was quickly twitching from side to side as he spoke. Cal had learned it was one of his habits when he was concerned about an ambush. He had even come to appreciate it a few times.
“Makes sense. I suppose your people haven’t really traveled to the surface much,” Cal replied.
“There is a single passage I know of that goes to the surface. It is where the truly heinous criminals are exiled.” Third Smasher’s voice had an undertone of anger when he said this.
“Ah, Sleek any last-minute things we should know before the meeting?” Cal had decided to change the subject. He didn’t want to fracture any of the goodwill he had built up with Third on matters of the squirrel criminal justice system.
“Um, I don’t think so. That’s his cave over there,” She pointed to a hole in the wall Cal could barely make out on the far side of the cavern.
“Onward then, to destiny or something,” Strangely, Cal had enjoyed this trip so far. It almost felt relaxing compared to some of his previous loops. Now that Third Smasher wasn’t silent and brooding all the time, he made for adequate company, and Sleek’s cheeriness was always welcome. He was glad to have her bond.
As they approached nearer to the cave that Sleek had pointed out earlier some of the features that came easier into view. Despite the heat from the volcano, the cave entrance had a thick layer of snow. It looked like the top layer had freshly fallen, and the powdery snow made Cal just the tiniest bit homesick.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Cal opened his mouth to speak, but before any words could escape, a deep, rumbling voice came from within the cave. “Welcome back, my little Sleek. What guests have you brought with you? Have they treated you well? Or do you wish me to remove them from your presence?”
“No, I like them, especially Cal. Did you know he’s been fighting the Gryalth? He doesn’t like them either. I think you should meet them.” She answered, bobbing ahead into the cave.
“Well, if you say so, who am I to argue?” suddenly, a form manifested in front of Cal where the voice had trailed off moments ago. The world spirit in front of him looked so much more alive than the last he had met. There was no feeling of something past its prime in life. Even though he sported a large white beard, he still radiated a strength of youth that surprised Cal.
“Hello, I’m Cal from Earth and this is Third Smasher from here,” Cal introduced them to the world spirit.
“I always wondered if a squirrel would finally make the journey to my home, but I didn’t expect them in the company of a human. But anyway, where are my manners? Hmm, a name, what was it the wizard called me, Sleek?” He turned to the smaller spirit as he searched for a long-forgotten name.
“Mostly annoying, but I believe Icelord was common as well,” She answered.
“Ah yes, I am the annoying Icelord. It's nice to meet you,” Cal couldn’t tell if he was joking or not.
“Icelord for short?” He asked.
“Sure, whatever works. Please come in. As much as I wish otherwise, it is not entirely safe out here anymore. Between the abyssal beast incursion and the Gryalth above, I’ve had my hands full,” Icelord gestured for them to follow. Cal and Third both followed the dark red spirit further into his home.
“How did the incursion of beasts get so bad?” Cal asked as they walked.
“A few factors, but mostly, I made a huge mistake. I sent an envoy to the former leader of the squirrel empire, hoping to work together to defend our home. I didn’t realize what kind of monster he had grown into, and this left me with a new problem of trying to defend the spirits from everyone when I had hoped to bond them to some hosts and forge a few defenders of the planet,” the spirit looked at Third Smasher and sighed loudly.
“You had spoken with our leader before? I did not know. Though I have begun to suspect there is much, I did not know,” That was the first time Cal had heard the squirrel ever admit to doubting his former superior. He had thought that a change of heart was coming, but this was the first concrete proof of it.
“Yes, please sit,” Icelord pointed to some rocky furniture that looked as though it had been untouched for hundreds of years. Third Smasher remained standing, but Cal took the offer and found the chair surprisingly comfortable. “So now that you’ve heard of my issues previously and the dangerous situation I’ve ended in. Please explain why I shouldn’t just kill you both right now to ensure I don’t just have more enemies.”